Many people are stress eaters. They eat either when they are under immense stress or when they are bored. There is a greater chance that such people will develop weight problems. Moreover, such individuals have trouble maintaining a steady diet regimen.

This is because they tend to eat whenever they are bored. This is why the first step they need to take is eliminating the habit of eating when bored. It may come as a surprise, but it is quite easy to focus less on food when boredom strikes. There are a few tips that you can try to avoid eating when you are bored.

Measure Your Calorie Intake

The first step to reduce your desire to eat when feeling bored is to measure your calorie intake. The best way to do this is to document everything you eat in a day. Once you are done with this, you should calculate your recommended calorie intake. There are many online calculators you can use for this. Next, you should calculate the calorie count of the food you consumed the entire day. You will be surprised to see how high your calorie intake is. This is more likely to motivate you to focus less on food when boredom strikes.

Avoid Carrying the Wrong Food with You

One mistake that stress eaters make is to carry food with them. Some individuals even keep food in their bedroom. Making food easily accessible increases the probability of the individual overeating. If the food is in the next room, one is less likely to go get it. But chances of boredom-eating increase significantly if the food is in your pocket or in your room. This is why you should avoid carrying food with you at all times. Moreover, you should determine which food you prefer snacking on. The best way to avoid temptation is to quit stockpiling that food.

Make Low-Cal Snacks Very Convenient

While it’s never a good idea to keep higher calorie or low nutrient-density foods on hand, don’t try to stop eating altogether.  The reason is that this strategy will never work long-term.  Therefore, while you won’t want to surround yourself with food all the time, be smart about the foods you do have available.

Make your snacks inconvenient enough that you won’t grab them all the time out of sheer boredom.  Still, acknowledge the fact that you will need to snack on occasion, even if it happens when you’re bored. Therefore, make sure that when you do get up to grab something to eat, the most convenient option will be something low-cal and healthy. Have chopped veggies available all the time.  Make sure they’re pre-portioned in the fridge, too.  If you just have to grab a dish of cucumber, celery, carrots, radishes, or other light options, you will.

Carry Chewing Gum

In most cases, boredom eating is just an attempt to occupy your mouth. If you want to focus less on food when boredom strikes, you should consider carrying chewing gum. As soon as you feel bored, you can pop a stick of gum in your mouth and keep it busy. Chewing gums have considerably fewer calories and won’t induce weight gain.

Look for Hobbies and Activities

One of the best ways to quit overeating because of boredom is to find a hobby. The best hobby for a boredom eater is one that occupies your hands. This way you will not be tempted to eat whenever you are bored. Some great options can include:

• Knitting,
• Needlepoint,
• Mending or altering clothing with holes or that needs some adjustments to fit better
• Laundry folding
• Cleaning or polishing shoes
• Making jewelry

All these activities keep your hands completely busy the entire time, but free you to watch your favorite TV show or a great movie.  The key is to let yourself keep up your routine as much as possible while stopping yourself from being able to snack. That way, you won’t have to rework your life. You can stay in your comfort zone without becoming your own worst enemy.

If you are a boredom eater, you should follow the tips mentioned above. This will help you to focus less on food when you’re not stimulated in other ways.