I need some helpful tips on how to stop snacking out of boredom.

[Metalhead]

I have been overeating even when I am not hungry, just out of sheer boredom.

Or if I am brainlessly surfing the internet, I reach for a snack and gain some weight without a second thought.

Mindless overconsumption will literally kill me.

Of course, I should leave my house a lot more often, that is the obvious answer to all of this.

I would go on a long walk around my neighborhood right now if my knee were not killing me.

The only thing I have to change in my life is every bloody thing.

 

[Aspychata]

Switch over to healthy snacks, apples, celery sticks, rice cakes, popcorn with powder cheese seasoning, partially frozen bananas blended like soft serve, pretzel snacks, any type of broth.

 

[Xinyta]

Alot of it is the urge to chew. Have you tried chewing gum when those urges to snack come on?

 

[Rocco]

When I try to curb my snacks I do a variety of things like ; only buy less than desirable snacks or healthy snacks like veggies, chew gum, do pushups when I get a craving, spend a few minutes cleaning up an area in my place, read, lift an arm weight, chew a toothpick or plastic straw, drink water. Any distracting activity helps me.

 

[Xinyta]

@Rocco I learned the gum trick from my Uncle, when I first did the Lemonade Cleanse with him.

Since you are on a purely liquid food diet for a minimum of 10 days. You are going to need to be sure to keep things around, to help with the process. Gum is the easiest and cheapest way to do it. It curbs cravings and calms the desire to chew. As the want to chew is the one thing that makes it difficult to get through.

 

[Metalhead]

Once my knee recovers, I will expand my physical activity. I think I am eating because I am looking for dopamine. More exercise will provide more dopamine.

 

[Rocco]

If you are stuck home, can you game to distract the snacking urge, or do you usually snack while gaming?
I find that I snack the most when streaming a show or movie so I avoid that when trying to avoid snacking.

 

[Metalhead]

If you are stuck home, can you game to distract the snacking urge, or do you usually snack while gaming?
I find that I snack the most when streaming a show or movie so I avoid that when trying to avoid snacking.

I have been depressed and have lost interest in gaming and watching movies for the most part. Losing interest in things that used to give me immense pleasure is a sign I have much deeper issues to deal with.

 

[Rodafina]

I think sometimes stopping snacking starts in the grocery store. Like Rocco, I think it’s helpful to be very thoughtful about what I bring into the house. If there’s a box of cookies in the cupboard, I might eat the whole thing, but if all I have is something healthy, then there’s no problem. I can be more sensible in the grocery store than I can be while roaming through the fridge and the cupboards.

Also, it can help to start every snack with a glass of water. Often dehydration can cause a feeling of being hungry even when we are not actually in need of calories.

 

[Jeff T]

Drink water? Many times I think I feel hungry, I'm actually thirsty. A tall glass of water is very filling.

 

[Shevek]

I think sometimes stopping snacking starts in the grocery store. Like Rocco, I think it’s helpful to be very thoughtful about what I bring into the house. If there’s a box of cookies in the cupboard, I might eat the whole thing, but if all I have is something healthy, then there’s no problem. I can be more sensible in the grocery store than I can be while roaming through the fridge and the cupboards.

Also, it can help to start every snack with a glass of water. Often dehydration can cause a feeling of being hungry even when we are not actually in need of calories.

I second that. If it goes into the shopping bag, it will go into the mouth. More water is not just filling, it is necessary to break down fat, and it gives you more energy to burn it with.
I eat chocolate for my caffeine, and have no trouble rationing out a carton of 80% cocoa bars. At 70%, my hand develops a mind of its own and picks up more chocolate. 50% is gone very quickly, whatever my plans.
Sometimes, it is easiest to break a habit by substituting a new one. If sips of water are not enough, a single breath mint might help, or a short breathing exercise can get you thinking of something else.

 

[Outdated]

Whenever I wanted to lose weight I had the same problem, my stomach still expects the same volumes of food that I had been eating and hunger can be very distracting. I always made myself a cheap fruit and nut mix, I found I could eat and eat that while still losing weight.

Bags of "trail mix" cost a fortune, way overpriced for what they are. Instead what I did was buy a packet of dried fruit mix intended for use in making fruit cakes, and mix that with a big bag of salted peanuts. Quite tasty.

 

[TBRS1]

It's helpful if a person replaces one bad habit (snacking when bored) with a good (or, at least, neutral) habit.

If a person did something like get a cheap guitar or banjo and start picking that instead of nibbling, that sort of thing helps.

 

[Mary Terry]

Chewing gum is a good suggestion. Also, consider taking up a hobby that keeps your hands busy while you watch TV. Crocheting, knitting, needlepoint, weaving, macrame, origami, etc.

 

[Shevek]

When I was getting lots of exercise, I kept a bag of fruit and nuts handy and had no trouble with my weight. Now that I'm mostly idle, I tried keeping it handy again, hoping to get more energy, but instead, I got more weight, quickly.
I have to keep a record of my water consumption and regularly catch up or I get dehydrated and listless, and too stupid to figure it out without the record. The only time I notice I'm thirsty is when I take a sip and drink a pint (500 ml) For encouragement, I drink very pure water with a little bit of lemon and maple syrup. With just a tiny amount of lemon, my saliva tastes sweet by contrast, which is also nice.

 

[Metalhead]

I decided to pick up a book of Chekhov short stories this morning. I started to read them. I am several stories in, and I am definitely not bored.

 

[Judge]

You'd be better off at the moment researching what foods to stay away from. Two important things to consider about foods that can trigger gout:

1) Deciding to eliminate them from your diet altogether.
2) Avoiding them when you have an attack of gout.

Examples:

Chicken....mild purine content. Eat at your own risk during an attack.

Blue Cheese Dressing....you're in trouble, dude. Reversing whatever Allupurinol may be doing to alleviate your pain and swelling.

Eating potential trigger foods is bad. Eating them while you have gout? Much worse. You need to reevaluate everything you eat at breakfast, lunch, dinner and whatever snacks you consume. Start looking up what you normally eat and enjoy, and determine if you should be avoiding all that pain and swelling.

 

[Metalhead]

You'd be better off at the moment researching what foods to stay away from. Two important things to consider about foods that can trigger gout:

1) Deciding to eliminate them from your diet altogether.
2) Avoiding them when you have an attack of gout.

Examples:

Chicken....mild purine content. Eat at your own risk during an attack.

Blue Cheese Dressing....you're in trouble, dude. Reversing whatever Allupurinol may be doing to alleviate your pain and swelling.

Eating potential trigger foods is bad. Eating them while you have gout? Much worse. You need to reevaluate everything you eat at breakfast, lunch, dinner and whatever snacks you consume.

I already tossed my blue cheese dressing. I will dip my veggies in a vinegarette instead.

I will eat chicken sparingly and use portion control.

I am re-evalutating my diet.

 

[Judge]

I already tossed my blue cheese dressing. I will dip my veggies in a vinegarette instead.

I will eat chicken sparingly and use portion control.

I am re-evalutating my diet.

You literally have to look these things up as to their purine content. If you avoid them for the most part, you won't be so susceptible to an attack. And yes, it involves an inevitable learning curve.

 

[Shevek]

It takes me about ten days of a new diet to get used to it and forget any regrets for what I used to eat, provided that I'm still getting the nutrients I need. I worried about quitting butter a lot longer than it took to be satisfied with olive oil.