How To Stop Eating When You're Bored

Do you eat when you're bored?  If so, maybe you can relate to Kaitlin.

"I eat perfectly all day," she said.  "But when I'm home alone at night  it's a different story.  I can't stop eating out of boredom."

Are you really bored?

Boredom is related to the wish to do something.  The way to alleviate boredom is to do an activity, to be active and productive.  If you don't know what to do or what to do with yourself, or if nothing you do seems to work, maybe something else is going on.  

What could it be?

Lots of people think they're bored when they're really lonely or empty. 

Loneliness is about wanting to be with someone.  The solution to loneliness is to be in the presence of another person or people and feel connected.  The experience of connection is important - there's no worse loneliness than when you're feeling alone in the company of others.

People can be unreliable, unpredictable or unavailable, which means that food may become a substitute for relationships.  After all, food is reliable, predictable and available.  If you’re lonely, maybe you're filling up on food as a way of filling a symbolic emptiness. 

Maybe you restrict as a way of expressing that deprivation.

Emptiness has to do with feeling disconnected from yourself and your needs.  When you are not attuned with your thoughts, emotions and wishes, you may sense that something is missing, that you want "more" of something.  This can even manifest as physical hunger.  

Food For Thought:

• ·      Do you turn to food instead of to people?
• ·      What experiences have made you afraid to seek out or trust people?
• ·      Does thinking about food give you something to “do” and distract you from your internal world?
• ·      What would be most fulfilling to you right now?
• ·      When you’re alone, what feelings are most uncomfortable?
• ·      How did you deal with these feelings as a child?
• ·      How did your family manage being busy or being alone or being reflective?

What's the key to stop eating when you're bored?

Take two minutes and ask yourself if you're really bored - of if you're lonely or empty.  If you're craving companionship, connect with people - in person, on the phone, or online.

  

If you're empty, think about what would be fulfilling in the moment, an hour from now, and a week from now. What do you need more of in your life?

When you fill up your life, you won't use food (one way or another) for that purpose!!     

And that's how you make peace with food!

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https://winthedietwar.com/kick-the-diet-habit-now/