My "go to list" when I am feeling bored and want to snack...

I have been pondering over all the ways of why and how we emotionally eat. I still find myself opening up that darn pantry sometimes when I am in between task or just to kill time. It is happening less and less but occasionally I still find myself wondering in the kitchen! So, I decided to share with you what I do now to help! I guess you could say I am a “bored” emotional eater. Normally, I would describe myself as a hyper person. I need to be busy. I like to-do list. When I complete a project and not feeling motivated to start the next is when I tend to want to eat. Hmm, salty snacks is my go to. So, today I am sharing what I have been doing since I realized my “unconscious” snacking.

Let’s review what emotional eating is: ANYTIME we are eating when we are not hungry! Let this sink in. When we were kids, we played hard, and mom would have to call us to come eat. We sometimes struggled to finish our meal because we wanted to play. Kind of hard to imagine that long ago that I had to be told to eat LOL. When we were kids, we only wanted to eat WHEN our bodies were hungry, and we only wanted to eat WHAT our bodies wanted. We listened to our bodies the way we were supposed to. Now, it is not our fault that some of us got messed up about food, we had a lot of help. We were told to finish our plate because there were kids in the world who were starving, we were told to not waste food so then we started finishing off our plates, we were given treats to make us feel better, and I could go on and on. Not to mention that every get together, every party, or event is always around food. It seems that where there is food, there is fun. So, yes, we have learned to eat well! That is why obesity has been on the rise, along with diabetes 2, heart disease, metabolic dysfunction, and other problems such as knees going bad.

When I feel the emotion of “boredom” in my body, sometimes it feels relaxed, lazy, and unmotivated. Sometimes it feels accomplished and excited and wants to celebrate (yep, with food) and eat a good ole salty snack. Now when I feel this coming on, I pause, ask myself if I am hungry-nope most often just want to eat, and I program my brain to do one of these corny task. Remember, an emotion, which is just a vibration in our body, only takes about 90 seconds to move through. So, no matter what makes you eat your emotions, these will help.

My go to menu when I feel the urge to eat peanuts or pretzels:

Don’t laugh- I go to the mailbox. (If you are in an office, get up and stretch then take a few minutes to breath deep.

I brush my teeth and put on some pretty lipstick. It works! I said no laughing. This is one of my most used that seems sidetracks my brain.

I make me a cup of hot tea or water with lemon. Make sure you use a favorite cup!

I check my email or my social media. Be careful, this can go on and on.

If you find yourself alone at night, take a bubble bath, put on some music, light some candles. I promise it works. Get your mind to another place.

I wiped down the microwave and dishwasher because I like them clean and they tend to always be dirty 🤷‍♂️.

I put on hand lotion and rub it in while smelling the scent.

I think of how I will feel later if I indulge in snacking when not hungry. You know, the feeling you get when you ate the plate of nachos or the big bowl of popcorn after dinner!

Lastly and most importantly, use your mind to go to the place of a healthy slimmer you. That is what works the most. Thinking of why you want to be healthier. Mine is that I want to feel good when I am eighty.

Ya’ll got this. Some might work for you or maybe you got some even better?

MY MISSION: To encourage myself and other women over 50 to keep improving how we treat our MINDSET and BODY that will empower us to have FUN in our 70s and 80s.

So, go brush your teeth and put on some RIDICULOUS lipstick! Some color that will bring a smile to your face!

Let me know your go to list!

What is your color lipstick choice? Mine will probably be a bright red! Nope I choose a soft pink! Here is mine! Let me know what color you choose!