Easy tips to stop stress or boredom eating while at home!

Since the quarantine recommendations have gone into effect I’ve had so many people reaching out to me with the same problem. “I’m overeating or eating when I’m not hungry”. It’s a big transition switching to working from home, surrounded by the food in your kitchen all day. As a Dietitian and someone who works form home I thought I would share what helps myself and my clients from boredom eating or emotional eating

Listen to the Podcast on iTunes right here

Listen to the Podcast on Spotify here

 

Podcast Notes: Emotional & Boredom Eating

Tip 1: When You Go To Eat Stop And Ask Yourself “Am I Actually Physically Hungry?”

Meaning is there a physical emptiness in my stomach; that I am truly feeling hungry. If the answer is yes then feel free to eat, you should honor your hunger whether its a meal time or not.

But if the answer is no, then ask yourself “What emotion am I feeling right now that’s leading me to want to eat?” The two most common emotions that lead to eating are boredom or stress. If you tempted to boredom eating, rather than eat to satisfy this emotion try and find activities that will help solve this. If you are feeling stressed then ask yourself “What can I do that is going to destress me?” Maybe it’s journaling, going on a walk, praying, reading a book. Make a list of 5 or 10 things to do when you’re feeling stressed that you can turn to when you feel like stress eating. 

Tip 2: Sit Down And Have Regular Meals And Snacks to Prevent Emotional / Boredom Eating

While you’re eating your meals make sure to be mindful and present. When you graze all day instead of having a real meal, you’re going to end up not mentally feeling full, and continuing to eat. Honor your hunger by eating whenever you are truly hungry, but have structured meals and sitting down to enjoy the meal. This will increase satiety in general vs grazing all day and not feeling like you ate when you really did. Instead of standing in the kitchen, or snacking while watching tv I want you to sit down when you eat and mindfully enjoy your food. Savor the flavors so it leads to more satisfaction. 

Tip 3: Don’t Be Around The Kitchen Unless You’re Ready To Eat

I naturally tend to grab something to eat just because I see the kitchen and food even tho I’m not hungry. Staying away from the kitchen realm unless you’re ready to eat will help fight the natural tendency to eat when you’re not really hungry!

Tip 4: Find Something To Pour Your Energy Into

We eat because we are bored or simply don’t know what else to do. Finding something that gives you purpose in your day or something exciting to do will help stop this. Here is a list of examples of things to do: get together your finances, clean out our closet, begin using essential oils and creating a more non-toxic life, deep clean your home, painting, creating recipes, making tiktoks, starting that business you always wanted to, journaling, doing my at home workouts I’ve been sending every day for the past 5 days!!!  Go check out https://www.sarahgracemeck.com/newsletter if you want to get on those free workouts and health tips daily!!

Last but not least the basics that’ll help you avoid overeating and/or emotional/ boredom eating:

• Eat enough throughout the day. If you eat too little during the day you’ll overeat at night. Make sure you’re getting good satisfying meals in throughout the day to prevent this.
• Drinking enough water. This will keep you feeling full throughout the day. It’s so easy to snack and mistake the feeling of thirsty as feeling hungry!
• #FRESHFITNFIVE 5 nutrients that’ll help you stay satisfied and full and curb those cravings. What is the #FreshFitnFive? A Protein, Healthy fat, Smart carb, Good fiber, and a boost to boost the flavor naturally.  Make sure to include all of them for meal, and 2-3 for snack.
• Move your body in the morning and throughout the day. I’m less tempted to overeat when I start my day on the right note. It sets you up to make better choices throughout the day.

I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful during this hard time. If you did tag me on instagram at @sarahgracemeck!! Stay safe and healthy 🙂

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