If you tend to eat a lot between meals, nibbling numerous snacks, it may mean that you are hungry; alternatively you may be bored or stressed. If you tend to eat out of boredom, don't blame yourself. You're not the only one! But be aware that overeating due to boredom or stress can contribute to diabetes, obesity, heart disease and other serious diseases. However, this does not solve the root of your problem: determining the causes that lead you to eat between meals. Fortunately, it is possible to learn new healthier habits and counterattack the symptoms of boredom in a different way.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Evaluate Your Eating Behavior
Step 1. Keep a food diary
Writing in a food diary can help you notice what you eat every day and take control of your eating habits thanks to the increased attention that comes from noticing them.
- Write down everything you eat and drink in your journal. Include a calorie list if you like. You can use a paper diary, but also your smartphone or computer - the important thing is consistency.
- Include the time and quantity of your snacks. For example: “9:45, 2 handfuls of M & Ms”.
- Specify what you were doing at the time. Also include how you felt. For example: “9:45 am, 2 handfuls of M & Ms. Eat at your desk while surfing the internet. I felt stressed because of the work project in progress”.
Step 2. Review your diary weekly
After you've accumulated a first week of valuable data, analyze it. Look for any patterns of behavior. For example, did you usually feel sad or stressed when you decided to eat? What activity were you doing (or not doing) when you decided to have a snack?
Also note any changes in your habits. For example, if you find that you always want to munch on something when you are at work, but don't need it as much when you are at home, you may not find your work stimulating. Alternatively, you may feel more stressed in office hours and use food as a defense mechanism
Step 3. Think about your snacking and snacking habits
What foods do you prefer when you feel bored? When they feel sad, bored or stressed, there are many who tend to choose fatty, sweet or carbohydrate-rich foods.
- If you tend to eat whatever is available, you can support your body's health by purchasing only healthful foods. If you usually buy your snacks from vending machines, try making healthy snacks and snacks yourself and taking them with you to school or work so you don't have to resort to harmful ready-made foods.
- Do you feel better after eating between meals? Do you have more energy? Or do you feel fatigued instead?
Step 4. Recognize the triggers
There are many factors that cause people to feel hungry, even though they are not physically hungry. Some of the triggers are mental or emotional, such as anxiety and boredom; others are related to situations. For example, some people may find that they are munching more frequently in front of the TV. Some don't like watching a movie without indulging in popcorn and drinks. You may also be among those who take the anxiety of being at a party on food. Or failing to dominate yourself after eating just one donut and wanting to want to eat them all. Whatever the factors that trigger your feeling of hunger, recognizing them will help you stop eating mechanically.
Many people will find that they cannot do without snacks while doing another activity (for example, reading or watching TV). In some cases, you can get up to 71% more calories when eating in front of the TV
Step 5. Analyze your fluid intake
Research shows that many are unable to recognize thirst symptoms accurately. In fact, we often tend to confuse the symptoms of thirst with those of hunger. Drinking more water can help reduce the need to eat between meals.
High anxiety levels can also cause you to feel thirsty
Method 2 of 4: Develop Healthy Eating Habits
Step 1. Learn to recognize genuine hunger
Many are unable to interpret the signals, convincing themselves that they are hungry even when they are not. If you have lost the natural sensitivity needed to recognize hunger, you can use some useful tricks.
- When did you last eat? The peak of the hunger cycle occurs approximately every 90 minutes, but if you have eaten something in the last 2-3 hours it is unlikely that you are really hungry (in fact you may have different needs if you are an athlete or do a lot of work. heavy).
- Record hunger on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is "totally full" and 10 "I could die if I don't eat a piece of pizza right away." Your perception may not be very accurate at first, but reflecting in terms of this scale will help you contextualize your feelings.
- Pay attention to physical signs. A rumbling stomach, headache, feelings of weakness, fatigue, or tremors for no specific reason may indicate that you need to eat.
- Recognize if it is true hunger or a simple craving. In many cases, if you are craving a bite of a particular food, for example chocolate or cheese pasta, you may not want to find some comfort in a given flavor.
Step 2. Start thinking about food and drink differently
Research shows that how we think about what we eat and drink affects our feelings. One study presented the same liquid first as a soup then as a drink. While it was exactly the same thing, people considered the soup to be more filling even though they consumed the exact same amount! You will be more prone to feel "full" believing that you have eaten a meal and not a simple snack.
- Arranging everything you are about to eat on a plate, including snacks, will help you not to eat mechanically. Using small plates will also help you keep the portions under control.
- Try to plan your snacks in advance to be able to cut back on them. The thought of "having" to eat something at a particular time will help you be more aware of what you are eating.
Step 3. Choose more filling foods
If you tend to eat a lot between meals, try making your meals more filling. Research indicates that a feeling of fullness or "satiety" makes us less likely to overeat. Foods rich in fiber, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, will help you feel full for longer.
Foods rich in water, such as fruits and vegetables, contribute in the best way to make you feel full; try to incorporate them regularly into your meals. If you feel the need for a snack, opt for a handful of carrots instead of chips: 30 g of carrots contain about 25 calories, while the same amount of chips contains 152
Step 4. Have breakfast
If you are among those who skip a healthy breakfast and just drink a cappuccino, you will need to review your habits. Numerous studies indicate that those who do not eat breakfast are more prone to binge during the day. They also tend to choose unhealthy snacks, for example high in fat or sugar.
- A low-sugar, high-protein breakfast is the best choice if you want to feel energetic and less hungry throughout the day.
- Having breakfast improves your attention and performance levels throughout the day. Since boredom can often result from the inability to focus on our thoughts and surroundings, the cognitive boost from a healthy breakfast can help you feel less bored.
Step 5. Slow down and savor
It takes your brain about 20 minutes to feel the sense of "satiety" that comes from a full stomach. By eating too quickly, you will end up overdoing the amount of food you eat because you won't give your body time to notice that you have had enough.
If you really have to eat a bar of chocolate, buy a very small one and limit yourself to one. Numerous studies indicate that one can learn to feel satisfied even from small portions of "comfort food"
Step 6. Hide the snacks from your view
It has been shown that keeping sweets and snacks visible, for example on the desk, increases their consumption. Even just having to get up and walk across the room to get to a snack significantly reduces the likelihood of you opting for it.
Method 3 of 4: Develop a Healthy Lifestyle
Step 1. Do something creative
Doing something boring has been known to cause you to be more creative in problem solving. If you feel bored, try shifting your focus to something that encourages creative reasoning or problem-solving.
For example, some studies suggest that when you are bored, doing an activity such as listing each use of a particular item can help break the routine. Brain teasers, puzzles, and other activities that require creative thinking can be just as useful
Step 2. Find a manual activity
Try getting yourself a manicure or sewing. If you play a musical instrument, this is a good time to practice. If you have to wait for the nail polish to dry you won't be able to use your hands to nibble!
Any activity that can distract you from the desire for a snack, even for a few minutes, will be a valid solution. You can use that time to assess whether yours is really hungry or just wanting to occupy the time because you have nothing better to do
Step 3. Connect with friends
A lack of fulfillment often leads to boredom. When you are bored, you do not feel stimulated or involved by the external environment. By connecting with those who are important to you in a social environment, you will be able to relieve boredom.
- If you can't see each other in person, use texting, phone calls and social networks to connect with your friends and be able to stave off boredom.
- If you don't know anyone at a party, make up a game. Are you able to say something interesting or flattering to one or two people? Focusing on small personal interactions can help you find relief from boredom.
Step 4. Exercise
Movement allows the release of endorphins, the natural chemicals capable of making us feel good. A short walk or a quick workout can improve your mood and boost your energy level. In addition, the effort will be able to distract you from the urgent need to eat.
Method 4 of 4: Understanding Boredom and Stress
Step 1. Learn to recognize times when boredom can appear
There are many things that can make you bored. Finding yourself in line at the supermarket or stuck in traffic are two of the most common causes of boredom. Even those who have jobs that require repetitive tasks and don't interact with colleagues often feel bored. In general, people find time-based situations more boring than effort-based ones. Situations with uncertain rewards or little response can also produce boredom.
- For example, no matter how good you are at driving, if you are stopped in traffic, there is no way your efforts will change the situation: you will simply have to wait for the traffic jam to clear up - you will have no idea when this might happen, you could get stuck for 10 minutes or hours. This is an excellent situation for boredom, as you cannot change the situation with your own intervention, and you have no way of knowing if and when your "reward" will come.
- People tend to be more satisfied when challenged with an assignment but remain able to carry it out. If they expect to succeed and have some sort of revenue from completing a task, they are less likely to feel bored.
- Some people have a higher level of "innate" boredom and tend to find even some situations that are not normally considered boring.
Step 2. Be aware of your body
When you are bored, your body posture and the position of your head change. Often those who feel bored lean back in their chairs, while letting their heads fall forward. Other physical signs of boredom include difficulty keeping your eyes open and feeling sleepy.
Some people react to boredom by fidgeting rather than lethargically. They may, for example, drum or shake their feet or fingers on the floor or table
Step 3. Recognize the feelings of boredom
Boredom goes beyond having nothing to do. In fact, people feel bored when they crave stimulation, but can't connect with their surroundings. Boredom is that feeling of dissatisfaction that assails you when you are unable to relate to yourself or the environment.
- When you struggle to connect with the outside, you can feel bored even in highly stimulating situations. For example, if you don't know anyone at a party, you can feel bored even with multiple distractions.
- Researchers suggest that there are numerous components to feeling bored. Boredom comes when you have difficulty paying attention to internal information (thoughts, feelings) and / or external information (what is happening around you). To participate in an activity and feel satisfied (satisfaction is the feeling that overlaps with boredom) you need this information.
- When you become aware that you are having a hard time paying attention, you go looking for a reason for the difficulty.
- You could explain the difficulty of connecting by making the environment around you responsible. For example, you might say to yourself “I have nothing to do”, although in reality the options available to you are numerous, letting boredom intervene by placing the responsibility elsewhere.
Step 4. Learn to recognize stress
You may risk interpreting stress as "boredom". Stress may even complicate the possibility of connecting with your external environment, convincing you to interpret the situation as "boring". If you feel restless or irritated or have difficulty concentrating or making decisions, you may be suffering from stress.
- Stress has been shown to impair our attention span. When we are stressed, we may have difficulty concentrating or getting involved. Such a ground is very fertile for boredom.
- Each of us experiences stress in different ways. For some people, stress comes with physical symptoms, such as headaches, aching stomach, acidity, fatigue, or muscle aches and tension. For others it comes in the form of anger, sadness or depression. You may also experience a combination of these symptoms.
Step 5. Recognize the tendency to procrastinate
When you worry about not succeeding in something you plan to do, you are more inclined to put off. Work-related stress, such as fear of failing on a major project or making a bad impression on superiors, is a common cause of procrastination. If you are postponing something that should be done now, you may choose to distract yourself by eating. Your food diary can help you recognize those moments when you eat to avoid doing something else.
- By giving yourself real deadlines for your projects you may be able to overcome procrastination.
- Even by reducing the causes of stress as much as possible, you will be able to avoid postponing your commitments over time.
- Try not to judge yourself too harshly for procrastinating. Extensive studies show that forgiving yourself and preparing to do better next time, rather than harshly punishing yourself, will make you more productive.
Advice
- Find a hobby. Find something you enjoy doing and start doing it!
- If you are still having difficulty managing your diet, consult a nutritionist to formulate a plan that suits your needs. From time to time, we all need professional help.
- Try chewing gum between meals. It will keep your mouth occupied so you can't nibble on more.
- Be moderately forgiving. Those who severely restrict their diet tend to overdo their snacking.
- Before your weight gain becomes a serious health concern, consult an experienced doctor.
