How many of us have found ourselves opening the fridge and asking ourselves this question? Or, maybe even asking ourselves “was I even hungry?” after having eaten half a bag of chips. It’s OK. Many people are in this same boat right now. We are in our homes all day, staring at our fully stocked fridge and cabinets, doing anything we can to get away from our unfulfilling zoom meetings. What else is there to do other than to reach for yet another snack?
Of course, this mindless eating can cause us to make some less-healthy choices, which can lead to unnecessary weight gain. This is probably the last thing some of us want as a result of this indefinite quarantine. Here are a few tips to stop the boredom eating:
1. Meal prep! Just like you would on a normal work/school day, prep some meals for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner ahead of time. Pack a lunchbox to keep in your fridge with your lunch and snacks for the day and eat only what is in your lunch box.
2. Hydrate. Our bodies and mind sometime confuse thirst for hunger, so if we haven’t been drinking enough water all day we might feel like we’re “always starving” when in reality we’re just dehydrated. Keep a water bottle with you by your couch-desk to sip on throughout your day, and aim to get at least one full glass of water at each meal.
3. Boredom Relievers. As I mentioned earlier, many of us reach for a snack to relieve the boredom that we’re experiencing after our 6th zoom call of the day. Instead of reaching for a snack when you’re bored, try another quick 5-minute activity that gives you the same change of stimulus that a bag of salt n’ vinegar chips would. Some examples might be: run up and down your steps 3 times, do 5 pushups, do a minute of jumping jacks, do one minute of deep breathing. You get the idea.
4. Become Aware. For many of us it isn’t until after we’ve eaten half a box of Oreos that we realize we were never hungry to begin with. Simply by checking in with ourselves when we get the urge to get up and grab a snack can cause us to be more aware of why we’re eating. When you feel the urge to get up and open the fridge, pause for 5 seconds and ask yourself “am I hungry?” Tune in to your physiological cues- is your stomach growling or feeling empty? If so, go ahead and grab one of your pre-prepped meals. If you feel satisfied, do a few pushups.
5. Control the Controllables. If you’ve found yourself binge eating out of boredom, anxiety, stress or for any other reason, don’t let yourself spiral. We all have slip ups, and there’s nothing you can do about what has happened in the past. Instead, control what you have control over-your future actions. Instead of letting yourself continue down the path of eating everything in your kitchen because you’ve already “messed up”, move forward and jump back into your healthy habits for the rest of the day.
Try some of these tips next time you find yourself going to the fridge for the third time-this hour. If you like these and want to learn some more self-care tips to use during the current pandemic, sign up for my FREE online holistic COVID self-care 7 day course.
Stay healthy!