Why do we eat when we are bored? And there are solutions for that, and they are very successful. Sometimes we eat more, sometimes we eat less.
We eat out of boredom most often in situations when we watch TV when we are thirsty instead of water we eat, when we are stressed or just bored.
However, daily intake of large amounts of food should be avoided, especially when we do it out of boredom.
Research shows that we consume more calories during the winter than at other times of the year.
It can be a monotony or a desire to snack while watching a movie or series, and there can be a much bigger problem such as depression, anxiety, or a bad mood.
13 Solutions how not to eat out of boredom
One of the most dangerous reasons why we often eat and thus gain weight is eating out of boredom, ie when we are not hungry.
When we eat without feeling hungry, but only because we are bored or something happened to us, then we have the best chance to consume many more calories and gain weight, which we later regret.
So read the following situations and solutions to make it easier to avoid eating out of boredom.
1. Be aware of the situation
If you often or sometimes find yourself eating even though you do not feel hungry it is just a bad habit.
If you often look in the fridge looking for something to eat along the way, you really have nothing else to do at that moment.
Before you sit down to eat, remind yourself of the real reason and need for it. Maybe you are just bored or stressed.
If you are not really hungry, you have no excuse for chewing on something all the time.
2. Review the time spent in front of the TV
If you do not have anything planned, you can easily fall into temptation in front of the TV or computer.
If you have a habit of snacking on something, but the food aside and use the time better.
It is better to have a small arm weight and exercise your hands while watching the series than to eat.
3. Try to replace food with water
Many people confuse hunger and thirst. If you have recently eaten but still do not feel full, follow the advice of health experts:
If you find it difficult to distinguish between hunger and thirst, drink a glass of water and wait 20 to 30 minutes to see if you are hungry.
Thirst and hunger can often confuse our heads. Do not let that happen. Water is essential for metabolic processes and we must ingest it.
Our body does not need juice and liquid calories, but for optimal health we need water.
To know how much water you need in a day you can easily calculate yourself.
Multiply your weight by 35 and you will get the value of water in milliliters.
For example, I have 80 kg, my need for water is 80 kg x 35 ml = 2800 ml.
This value also refers to the water that is in the fruit, food, etc. but does not include the water that you will need plus if you are physically active and sweat.
4. Sit down and eat your meal
Eating or snacking often can be a hindrance to proper nutrition, not to mention the line.
While standing and eating you are often unaware that you are consuming food because you do not experience it as a meal.
Instead of snacking in front of the fridge, determine the exact place and time for meals.
Not only will you be able to distinguish between boredom and hunger, but you will also eat smaller meals if you learn to eat sitting on a chair and table, instead of moving or standing.
5. Answer the question: Why do I eat so much?
One of the best ways to prevent overeating is to understand why it happens. Currently, the biggest reason is boredom and stress.
The next time you think about reaching for food, first ask yourself the question “Why am I eating, am I hungry?”.
Just a second of thinking about it will be enough to get out of the fridge and avoid unnecessary calorie intake.
6. Do not buy snacks and sweets to find them
There is no time when you can find snacks and sweets, just do not keep such supplies at home.
If you know that there is a whole bar of chocolate and unopened chips in the kitchen drawer, it is very likely that it will be gone by tomorrow.
So do not buy and protect yourself from empty and unnecessary calories. When you really want a snack, make a sensible choice.
7. Make a meal plan
Before going to bed, make a meal plan for the next day depending on what you have at home.
Define exactly what you will cook and what you will eat the next day, even write down. That way you will prevent unplanned eating of pizza, hamburgers, and the like.
But it is very important in this process to respect yourself and what you promised the night before.
Working according to plan gives very good results not only for food, for everything in life.
Normally, sometimes some things are not foreseen, but still sticking to a framework that we will set ourselves makes great success in all fields.
8. Do not be too restrictive
However, in this whole process do not be restrictive because one extreme can take you to another.
It is okay to eat chocolate sometimes and pizza, but not every day of course.
Do not make excessive restrictions and restrictions because it can lead to reluctance and nervousness which can only deepen the problem even more.
9. Cook at home
Delivery of food home is always welcome when you do not have time to cook.
But unless you have a good reason for it, do not order, cook and try new and healthy recipes at home.
You can easily find recipes for very healthy meals that can give you inspiration in the kitchen.
10. Do not let yourself be bored
There are many activities you can do at home.
Read something that interests you, watch a movie, tidy up at home, reorganize the kitchen, the bedroom, the bathroom.
Tidy up the house and do the things you have long wanted but did not have the time for.
Exercise every day for 1 hour, now there is time is not an excuse. Make natural masks for face and hair care. Play with the children, hug them and rejoice with the family!
11. Control portion size
If you eat ice cream and bought ice cream at home in a large family package, the worst-case scenario is to take a spoon and eat from the package without control.
Put a small amount on a plate and do not come back again.
It is the same with meals, do not overfill the plates and do not fill them 2-3 times.
12. Buy nutritious foods
Healthy food is not expensive, snacks, chocolates, and sodas are expensive.
They are expensive because you will not pay for them and you will damage your health which will further “burden” you with additional economic and health problems.
Instead of 2 chocolates, buy 200 g of hazelnuts, instead of Coca-Cola, buy 1 kg of lemon from which you can squeeze natural juice every morning, instead of chips, buy 1 kg of oatmeal that you will have for breakfast and maybe more than 20 days.
13. Do not ignore alcohol
Alcohol is not without calories and consequences, 1 g of alcohol contains as many as 7 calories.
A glass of beer or wine may relax you, but if you do it every day the consequences can be great.
Alcohol increases the appetite so it is very likely that with a glass of wine or beer you will enter another 300-400 calories that you do not need at all and with which you will bring the body in a calorie surplus.
And now I will explain to you how many 400 calories are converted into fat.
1 gram of fat has 9 calories, so 400 calories is about 44.4 g of fat that will probably be stored.
Well, if we multiply it by 30 days, it is 1.3 kg for a month or almost 16 kg for a year.
The math is clear if you want a glass of wine or beer every night, practice them or consume them early in the day.
Does lack of sleep make us eat even when we are not hungry?
That’s right, we can eat even though we are not hungry due to lack of sleep. Lack of sleep ostensibly makes you hungry.
It causes an increase in the hormone ghrelin, which stimulates the appetite, doubling the desire for food.
To solve this problem, it is best to get enough sleep.
What do experts say about eating out of boredom?
Experts discover why we eat out of boredom and how to distinguish it from real hunger.
Thirst is often replaced by hunger. When you have finished your meal, reach for a drink.
This will help you understand if your desire to eat is stimulated by hunger, thirst, or boredom. They agree that there is nothing wrong with eating with pleasure sometimes.
However, if you reach for food every day as soon as you have some free time, it is neither good nor healthy.
Try to reduce this and make sure you always have healthy snacks on hand so you do not eat too much sugar and bad food.
Always eat fruits, protein chocolates, nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, and seeds. They will satisfy you, and at the same time, they are a healthy option in the diet.
Conclusion
We eat and in fact, we are not hungry for certain reasons, primarily due to stress and boredom. If we eat when we are not hungry, we can easily gain weight and worsen our health.
To avoid these consequences we need to change some eating habits that cause boredom.
We need to be careful about getting enough water, we need to eat proper daily meals, healthy food instead of sweets, snacks and the like.
Alcohol is a bad habit, as well as a lack of sleep that causes us to eat more food than we need.
In any case, eating out of boredom can be avoided or reduced, all in order to have optimal weight and of course maintain good health.
