5 Steps to Stop Eating Snacks When Bored
Boredom eating…we all do it. But it can be distressing and often leaves us feeling out of control around food. As an Intuitive Eating dietitian I want to arm you with the tools and confidence to understand why you eat when you’re bored and what to do about it. Read on for our 5 steps to stop eating snacks when bored (and when it’s perfectly fine!)
Do you find yourself hitting the pantry for all the snacks when you’re bored? Or struggling with mindless eating to fill the time? If you answered yes, you’re definitely not alone and you can take a deep breath knowing there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you!
In today’s post we’ve got guest author and dietitian Ally Choo taking over to chat about why we experience so much guilt around this topic and what to do! As an Intuitive Eating dietitian we know that emotional eating is a big stressor for our clients, so we wanted to touch on this topic to help you understand why you might be eating out of boredom (it may actually surprise you!) and some tangible tips to help you tackle this challenge without feeling restricted or feeling guilty after eating.
Off the top, we often hear these two questions:
- Why do I eat out of boredom?
- Two common reasons you may be eating out of boredom are because you’re actually not eating enough throughout the day or that you are using food to cope with your emotions. Read more about that here.
- How can I stop eating when bored?
- Instead of feeling guilty for eating when bored, let’s explore why we may be turning to food and what we can do instead that may be more fulfilling, loving, and satisfying. Here are some tips on how to do that.
What is boredom eating?
Every human on this planet has felt bored at one point in their lives. Boredom can be defined as an emotion that lets you know that what you are doing is not giving you satisfaction.
It may also be a signal relaying to you that you are not fully engaged in a task or that the task isn’t meaningful to you. Boredom eating is when we turn to food to temporarily change this emotional state and momentarily feel a sense of pleasure, satisfaction, or fulfillment. You can find boredom eating along the spectrum of emotional eating, meaning that it serves as a similar function to help cope with other feelings like anger, sadness, and shame.
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Why do we eat when bored?
There are so many reasons we may turn to food; this is a relationship that can be complicated! This isn’t about what’s right or wrong, but it’s about building an understanding of our needs in the moment so we can take better care of ourselves. Two of the most common reasons you may be eating when bored are:
- You’re actually not eating enough!
So often our clients come to see us and label themselves with the term ‘emotional eater,’ in big capital letters, right off the bat. But what might actually be happening is that you’re not eating enough throughout the day. This can lead to a physiological drive to eat which can feel like out of control, or emotional eating. If you’ve had a long history of dieting or find yourself to be a careful eater, there’s a good chance it may have become second nature to tune out your body’s hunger signals. You may not notice the early signs of hunger (pleasant hunger) until it’s too late and you are ravenous! (If you’re unfamiliar with what the different levels of hunger feel like, or what they even are, using a hunger fullness scale can be really helpful!) Often, one of the first signs of hunger is in fact thinking about food. The preoccupation with food only builds as hunger gets stronger so what may feel like boredom or emotional eating may in fact just be…hunger!
- It’s a way you learned to cope with emotions
Turning to food when we feel unpleasant or distressed makes a ton of sense! Reflect back to when you were an infant and you were soothed by a bottle or when you were a child and you were consoled with a snack. We were trained to associate feeling better with food. Food can be a source of enjoyment, pleasure, and distraction from the uncomfortable feeling of boredom.
Is boredom eating always bad?
No! Emotional eating is 100% normal and can be part of your tool box to help you cope through unpleasant, distressing, or painful emotions. Emotional eating can also be a way to celebrate with yourself and/or others or share in enjoyment and experiences. Food is so much more than fuel, it is also a way for us to bond with others, connect to our heritage and traditions, and foster social connection.
When is boredom eating a problem?
Although boredom eating is completely normal, it can become a problem when it’s your only coping mechanism. Often when it’s your only coping mechanism, it can lead to a reliance on food to numb out emotions instead of addressing them which can leave us feeling worse in the end. Solely turning to food to cope with emotions can also leave us feeling worse both mentally and physically.
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Explore not just what you eat but why you eat, how you feel when you eat and any patterns that affect how you feel or impact any choices you make and start your journey to food freedom today!
So what can you do when you feel that boredom eating coming on?
- Assume physical hunger first: Ask yourself ‘when was the last time I ate?’ As mentioned before, hunger can manifest as increased thoughts about food and noticing you’re going to the pantry more often. This can be misinterpreted as boredom/emotional eating when really it’s your body asking for what it needs! If it’s been a few hours since your last meal or snack, consider what would taste good? What would feel good? And what would leave you feeling satisfied? Often combining at least two of the three macronutrients (ie. carbohydrates, protein and fat) into a balanced snack ticks both the mental and physical satisfaction boxes! (We’ve got a ton of balanced meal prep snack recipes here for inspo!)
- Eat regular meals and snacks throughout the day: Having stable blood sugars and honoring your hunger throughout the day can help to decipher what type of hunger you’re feeling (ie. stomach, mouth, or heart/emotional hunger. More on the 3 different types of hunger here.
- Tune in with mindfulness: With physical hunger out of the way, take a minute to tune in. Mindfulness is, simply put, awareness without judgement. Mindfulness opens up the opportunity to get curious and ask why am I eating? What am I feeling right now? What do I need, now? This helps us to assess if it’s food or perhaps something completely different we really need at this moment — like distraction, support, or stimulation.
- Create a nurture menu: This is something we work on with members in the Make Food Feel Good community to help build out additional ways to cope. Come up with 2-3 things you can do in both 5 minutes or less (ex. text/call a friend, listen to a song or write in a gratitude journal) and when you have more time (ex. organize your room or watch a funny movie). Remember, if you still want to eat after trying one of the activities, that’s okay! Building new and effective coping strategies takes time and intentionality – you will get there! If you do choose to eat, it can be helpful to take 10 minutes to turn off screens and tune into the eating experience to help you recognize when you’re full or satisfied.
- Remove the guilt! Yep, it’s actually okay to eat when bored at times. Food is so much more than just fuel. The key here is to approach each eating opportunity with curiosity. Did eating fulfill the need that was unmet? How do I feel now? Is there anything I would change for next time? It’s also important to remove the morality around emotional eating, because as we know, there is nothing wrong with eating for comfort! Feeling guilty after eating can actually increase our preoccupation with food.
Conclusion
Bottom line, it is totally normal to reach for food when bored but if it’s becoming bothersome of you find it’s not truly satisfying your needs in the moment, being able to identify why you’re eating and building out additional ways to cope can be super helpful in fostering a feel good relationship with food. The goal is not to restrict, or cause shame or guilt, but instead to build awareness and trust in your ability to honor your body’s needs both mentally and physically and feel confident in your everyday eating decisions!
Now over to you…
- Did this change your perspective on boredom eating at all?
- What are some additional ways you cope with feeling bored?
- Any other questions for us that we missed?
Share with us in the comments below! And if you found this post helpful, pass it along to a friend or family member who could benefit from it too!
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Where do I find more on what to eat when bored? I find I need more suggestions and help on the what. Veggies and fruit only go so far and I’m bored of my own ideas. Lol! That’s one of the reasons I turn to the pantry, I didn’t make it, and it’s already ready to eat. Do you have any quick, yet healthy snacks/meals on hand?
This is a great question Juliana! Having snacks prepped and ready on hand is a lifesaver! I should add this to the post and in the meantime, here is a roundup of some of my favorite (and delish) meal prep snacks 🙂 https://www.lindsaypleskot.com/quick-and-easy-meal-prep-snack-recipes/ Hope you enjoy!