This is a topic close to my heart right now. As I write this, my husband, 2 boys and I are just completing our 14th day of quarantine in a Perth Hotel (we survived!). Escaping the feeling of boredom is a big culprit to sabotaging your weight loss goals. When you consistently eat to avoid boredom and when you are not physically hungry, you are most likely eating more than your body requires for fuel. Eating more than your body requires for fuel equals weight gain.
How do we know when we are eating too much, or giving our body too much fuel? Firstly, you will experience weight gain over time. Secondly, if you pay attention to your stomach, you will feel full. Ideally you want to eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied. Your bodies have all the wisdom to tell you this; when you listen to them and fuel them with foods that enable your hunger hormones to tell you when you are hungry and satisfied.
But the problem is that we use food not just to fuel our bodies. We associate it with celebration, reward, and sometimes use it to feel better when we feel bad, sad, or stressed or to pass the time when we feel bored.
Boredom happens when you are in a hotel room for 14 days, when you are on holiday and have time on your hands, in the evening when you have finished the tidying up and sit down on the couch, at a wedding during speeches or when you are sitting in an hour-long meeting with little input. When boredom is looming, you may decide that you need something to eat or drink. Something that will feel better than boredom or restlessness. This is not physical hunger but a way to escape the feeling of boredom. Kids are great at this… especially around dinner time when they don’t have a lot to do and you are cooking dinner.
So instead of escaping boredom and sabotaging your weight loss goal you may like to try the tips below.
- Decide if you are experiencing the sensation of physical hunger or boredom. Name it. “I am feeling bored and that’s OK”. Physical hunger is a physical sensation that happens in your stomach and comes and goes like waves. See if you can recognise the difference.
- Be open to experiencing boredom. Boredom is not unbearable it is a feeling in your body. Just let it be there without acting on it. Develop a meta skill and watch yourself experiencing it. Where in your body do you feel it, is it fast or slow, hard, or soft…? This is a great skill to practice.
- Create a different activity you can do instead of eating. Can you write in a journal or write some goals that you want to achieve for the week? Listen to a podcast, practice some mindfulness exercises, connect with a friend or family member, do an activity or exercise while watching TV?
- If you allow yourself to be bored, you may be able to recognise that it is not unbearable, and it may give you some space to create something new that you could do for yourself that can lead to personal growth.
Thankfully during my quarantine experience I have had the tools to avoid overeating when I felt bored. The most useful tool has been checking in with my hunger scales to see how much fuel my body needs. I am not burning as much fuel in the hotel room, so my body does not need the same amount of food. I am eating less than normal and not feeling as hungry when our meals are delivered to the hotel door. It seems like a simple piece of the puzzle, but so overlooked. I teach my clients about hunger scales and to be curious to about when they feel hungry before a meal and when the feel satiated, not full after a meal.
The other useful tool for me has been green tea. I get a small dopamine hit by eating well. So instead of having a biscuit when I feel bored, I recognise I am bored and have made a green tea. It makes me feel good to know I am looking after myself. Becoming aware of the chatter box in your head and what it is saying is so valuable. The sentences your chatter box repeats are not your truth they are optional. I love to challenge those sentences, and often ask myself ‘How else could I think about this to get a better result’. Practicing the thought “It’s OK to feel bored” has been useful.
If you have any questions on this work or want to find out about weight and life coaching can help you to up level your life, then email me on rebecca@rebeccagoodacre.com
Have a beautiful day.
