One of the most common reasons that people gain weight excessively is that they’re not just eating when they’re hungry. They might be eating just casually without thinking about it just because it’s become a habit.
When you eat without thinking about it, you can very easily end up eating way more food than you intended to, which can cause your calorie limits to vanish for the day. To prevent mindless eating, a good option for you might be distractions.
Because people eat mindlessly out of habit, it can easily be substituted for any other hands-on habit to fill that gap. Mindless eating is often done just as something to do with your hands while you’re not doing anything else, but you can do many things as distractions that won’t cause you to eat excessively.
One option is to take up arts and crafts. When you don’t have a specific goal in mind, arts and crafts can be a great way to take your mind off mindlessly eating. You can do something as simple as sketching in a notebook with a pencil or try learning new things like sewing or crocheting.
Not only will this take your mind off eating, but it can also help you learn new skills, and you can keep getting better and make some things you’re proud of or to give as a gift.
Another option that some have taken to is cleaning. Instead of eating, you can clean up around the house letting your mind wander. I must admit, it really isn’t one of my go to methods! However, when I do look at it as some time out mentally, pottering around doing a bit of cleaning can really clear some cobwebs!
Treating it as something that you’re choosing to do rather than something you must do can make a significant difference. If your house is already generally clean, you can always initiate some deeper cleaning tasks, getting into the spots that you tend to overlook – like closets or the attic.
Finally, it’s worth trying to learn new skills as hobbies to take your mind off eating. Find something that you’re interested in learning how to do. This could be anything from working on a car to learning an instrument.
No matter what it is you choose, you’ll be able to distract yourself from eating by devoting more time to that skill. For example, learning how to play the guitar can take a long time. Whenever you next feel like eating a snack, you could pick up the guitar instead and spend some time working on learning it.
At the end of the day, you can have a clean house, become proficient in something interesting, and lose weight! Bonus!
