Ever find yourself staring into the fridge when you're bored, even though you're not hungry? If so, you're not alone. While boredom eating is common, it can make it difficult to move closer to your health and fitness goals.
Here, we'll explore why boredom eating happens, the negative effects of boredom eating, and steps you can implement to help you stay on track toward feeling your best, even when you're tempted to go off-plan due to boredom.
Why does boredom eating happen?
Boredom can be an uncomfortable emotion. When we're bored, we may feel unsure of ourselves, or we may even feel that our lives lack purpose or meaning. Like many unpleasant emotions, boredom signals that we're experiencing an unmet need.
Boredom can feel empty, lonely, and leave us longing for a sense of meaning. Emotional eating offers a fast way to fill this void by providing a quick hit of feel-good chemicals alongside a sensory experience that can temporarily cure boredom.
Emotional vs. physical hunger: What's the difference?
In order to put a stop to boredom eating, it's key to understand when it's happening. Physical and emotional hunger can easily be confused. Boredom eating is a type of emotional eating.
Physical hunger comes from a genuine need for energy. Typically, physical hunger occurs gradually, and can be quelled with any type of food. Eating in response to genuine physical hunger typically leaves you feeling energized and satisfied.
Emotional hunger, on the other hand, can be triggered by a variety of emotions, including sadness, boredom, and stress. Many people experience cravings for comfort foods (including sugary and salty snacks) when they experience emotional hunger.
Negative effects of boredom eating
Boredom-related eating can leave you feeling less than your best, especially if you end up overeating. Understanding the potential consequences of boredom eating may help you move away from emotional eating.
Some of the negative effects of boredom eating can include:
- Mental health issues: Often, emotional eating involves consuming foods that are highly processed. Eating highly processed foods frequently can lead to increased inflammation and physical/mental stress, which may harm mental health. Relying on food to eliminate feelings of boredom may also stop you from developing the coping mechanisms you need to healthily deal with stress.
- Obesity and overweight: Research shows that engaging in emotional eating habits can lead to weight gain and may eventually lead to becoming overweight or obese.
- Diabetes: Overconsumption of high-sugar and/or high-fat foods during periods of boredom eating can increase the likelihood of type 2 diabetes. Boredom eating can also cause health issues for those who have type 1 diabetes.
Tips to stop boredom eating
Small lifestyle changes can make a big difference when it comes to stopping boredom eating. Try these tips to reduce boredom and develop healthier ways of dealing with uncomfortable emotions.
- Pause before eating. If you find that you regularly deal with emotional eating urges, taking a moment to pause before eating can make a major difference in your choices. Simply ask yourself whether you're physically hungry or emotionally hungry. This doesn't mean that you can't eat emotionally, however, it does make you aware of what's happening and may guide you to make choices conducive to your goals.
- Practice meditation. We get it—it's odd to think that spending a few minutes doing absolutely nothing could be a cure for boredom. Mindfulness can help you to de-stress, refocus, and align your thoughts with the next task at hand. While meditation can work in the moment when you're dealing with boredom eating, practicing meditation and mindfulness regularly can help to lessen the likelihood that you'll experience emotional eating urges in the first place.
- Socialize. Spending time with friends and family can help you feel engaged in your life. Even spending a few minutes on the phone with a friend may help curb the urge to eat out of boredom. If you feel comfortable, talking to a friend or family member about struggles with emotional eating may help to lessen the urge to eat when you're not physically hungry.
- Exercise. When you engage in physical activity, you're able to quickly get feel-good chemicals flowing, which may be enough to help you refocus. If you're short on time, even a quick walk around the block can be enough to help you get focused.
- Stick to a routine. Knowing what task comes next throughout the day can help to reduce the temptation to eat out of boredom. This can be especially challenging if you work from home and don't have to stick to a set schedule. Creating an hour-by-hour (or task-by-task) to-do list can help you stay focused during the day and lower the likelihood that you'll get off track and move toward the kitchen when you're not actually hungry.
- Talk to a therapist. It can be difficult to break long-standing habits. If you find that you're having a hard time with emotional eating and lifestyle changes aren't helping, you may want to consider talking to a mental health professional or registered dietitian for help.
We're here to help you create healthy habits, one day at a time
At Evidation, we're here to help you overcome health challenges, like boredom eating, by providing you with the support you need to stick to the nutrition plan that helps you feel your best. It's easy to get started with our free app. After you download Evidation, you'll be prompted to share the health information that you're already tracking, like data from your nutrition tracking apps, or data from your wearable fitness tracker. We'll use the information you provide to find patterns and connections, and we'll use this data to offer you personalized, content-based insights that can help to drive your health forward.
Whether you're interested in losing weight, getting fit, or simply becoming your healthiest self, we can help. If you're ready to get started, we're ready to support you. Click here to learn more about how Evidation works and get started today.
