Emotional Wellness
How to Stop Eating When You’re Bored
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When you get bored, does your mind wander to food? Snacking just because is common and can seem harmless. But you could be putting yourself in a difficult position and soon find yourself unable to stop eating—even when it starts to negatively impact your weight. Understanding why people turn to eating when bored can help you overcome your own cravings and any potential shame they may bring.
Diet and exercise can help you take back control over your eating habits and weight. Before diving into a new plan, let’s learn more about what’s behind eating from boredom and what you can do to combat negative eating habits.
Why Do We Eat When Bored?
Eating when you're bored isn't something new. In fact, many people do it. Eating when bored is related to emotional eating, when you may turn to food for reasons other than hunger. You may be familiar with some types of emotional eating, such as eating comfort foods when you’re having a bad day.
Eating because you’re bored is considered a form of distraction and procrastination. Wanting to take your mind off something dull or having to do something you don’t want to do (like a boring task) might result in you eating instead. The preparation of food and eating itself are stimulating activities that might help you feel less bored in any given moment.
There are many causes of emotional eating, but one that you need to be particularly aware of those related to mental health. Many people tend to eat when they're bored because they're trying to escape their negative feelings. They may choose unhealthy foods because those foods feel "exciting," though some people do choose healthy foods as well.
If you want to know how to stop eating when bored, then you need strategies to better handle your boredom. You can learn how to check your emotions and find other ways to keep yourself occupied before turning to food. If you have a troubled relationship with food or your emotional eating leads to obesity, then you might even consider speaking with your doctor about prescription weight loss medication that can help reduce cravings.
When Boredom Eating Becomes a Problem
It's normal for people to eat when they're bored occasionally. It becomes a problem when it begins to impact your physical and mental health. If you're seeing your weight increase significantly over time or have had a few bad test results at your doctor’s office, it may be time to take a look at your emotional eating habits. Finding healthy emotional outlets for yourself can help you live a healthier lifestyle and potentially minimize the risk weight-related health complications in the future.
How to Stop Eating When Bored
Now that you know what boredom eating is, it’s time to learn how to stop doing it! Below we offer a few pieces of advice to support you as you work hard to change your habits and make healthier decisions.
Start meal planning
One way to overcome boredom eating is to organize your food consumption. By creating a structure through meal planning, you’ll know exactly when you’re supposed to get your meals, what you’re eating, and what your calorie intake is. You can even start planning your macros (protein, fat, and carbohydrate counts) to make sure you’re getting the right nutrients.
Taking some time to get to better know your diet may help you appreciate what you’re putting into your body more—so you don’t eat just anything when you get bored.
Avoid purchasing unhealthy snacks
If you turn to high calorie, unhealthy snacks when bored, one thing you can do is not buy them in the first place! Boredom eating is rarely a problem when you’re eating healthy snacks like carrots or broccoli. It can be a big problem, however, if you’re snacking on chips, candy, or other types of junk food that are quick and easy to grab.
Avoid buying unhealthy snacks when you’re at the store and you’ll be better able to avoid snacking when you get bored.
Eat meals that are nutritious and filling
Sometimes, boredom eating happens more because you actually are a little hungry. If you eat regular, nutritious meals that leave you feeling full, you’ll be much less likely to turn to food when you’re bored. Your body will be satiated, so food may not even come to mind.
Try to balance your carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Most adult meals should be balanced with 45-65% carbs, 10-35% protein, and 20-35% fat.
Stay hydrated
Are you actually hungry or are you just thirsty? Many people don’t realize that the hunger they’re experiencing might actually be their body’s way of telling them that they need to drink more water.
If you get dehydrated, you’ll feel hungry as your body tries to get you to drink water or get water through your food. Try to drink around 15.5 cups of water per day if you’re an adult man and 11.5 cups of water if you’re a woman.
Address the feelings behind emotional eating
If you feel negative and bored more often than not, consider taking time to address your mental health, potentially with the support of a therapist or mental health provider. There may also be a medication that can help you if you find that you are struggling with emotional eating.
If you feel as though you have an unhealthy emotional connection to food and also have obesity or have at least one weight-related condition, consider speaking to your doctor about prescription weight loss medication. Prescription weight loss pills may help curb cravings and facilitate a healthier relationship with food. You can also learn more about weight loss medication and how it works.
Keep your mind and body busy
Keeping your mind and body busy will help you as you’re unlearning boredoem eating. Consider taking up a new hobby or doing a hobby you already enjoy more often.
One tip: plan the activity at a time when you observe yourself typically eating out of boredom. For instance, if you usually snack around 4:00 p.m. as you wait for your spouse to get home, consider booking that hour with a hobby or physical activity that you enjoy. This will help you avoid the extra calories of boredom eating, and may even lift your mood, too!
Focus on what you’re eating
Another way to stop eating when you’re bored is to focus more on what you’re eating while you’re eating it. Try specifically focusing on your food at mealtime—enjoy the colors, textures, and taste of the food itself.
Why do this? If you eat while distracted, there is a chance that you continue to eat because you don’t feel like you experienced a meal and thus don’t feel full. Focus on your meal and pay attention to what you’re doing (or eating) rather than watching TV or playing a game on your phone. Stay in the moment with your meals!
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Final Notes
Eating while you're bored is a habit you may be trying to unlearn, especially if it's starting to negatively impact your health. Boredom eating affects many people, but for some it can be a coping mechanism that leads to an unhealthy relationship with food. The next time you feel the urge to eat out of boredom, think back to the tips in this article on your journey to a healthier lifestyle.
