10 Things I Don't Hate About You

So as I mentioned yesterday, this week's Weight Watchers meeting topic wanted us to ask ourselves the question "Why do I eat?" to address the question of real versus emotional hunger and how we deal with it.

So why do I eat when I'm not hungry?

Boredom-This is by far my worst habit that after almost two years of being on WW I have not been able to consistently conquer. For anyone who has been reading my blog for more than...well a day, knows boredom eating (nighttime/mindless eating) is my arch nemesis. It is possible I have whined a few times about it...and perhaps I may have blogged about how I felt like I was conquering it because of a few instances. It has certainly NOT been conquered. If I'm at home, I'm probably thinking about food. Or thinking about not thinking about food. Getting home in the evenings often results in the last few hours of my day in front of the tv with some sort of food as relaxation--and because there's nothing else going on. And you can forget about those days off...

Scheduling-while this is not quite as much of an issue, it's something I've been noticing recently. My life is certainly not in an orderly state, but there is some sort of structure--particularly M-F during work. But that structure also sort of backfires. Example: Since I've been going to the gym in the mornings, I make sure I'm eating breakfast. I get in at work between 10 and 10:30 (that would be the lack of structure there). My co-worker and I usually eat around 12:30. If I've eaten at 10 am, I'm not really hungry at 12:30. But I eat anyway. Of course by the time I leave work (6/6:30), I'm starving. (Even with a snack). So I go home, and I eat. Or loosely related is the situation where you are out and someone mentions that it's close to meal time, and you're like "eh, I'm not really hungry, but...well I could eat" (Cue nemesis music)

Happiness & Company-This is a difficult one to really solve, since it's not really something I want to eliminate from my life, just get a handle on. When people talk about emotional eating, they rarely address happiness. But happiness and company/relationships is a pretty big issue in controlling my eating. Think about it--when we're happy and celebrating, we eat. When we go to meet up with friends, it's usually over food (or drinks, which always lead to food). Celebrations=food. Friends=food. Friends + Celebrations = Happiness. So therefore does Happiness=Food? Well, that's what we're trying to change, right?

Strangely I am not prone to the emotional eating categories which plague the masses--stress, anger, depression, etc. Somehow I manage to handle those fairly well. It's the other situations I struggle with.

So what do I do about it? Well, this week's challenge is not only to know the difference between actual hunger and emotional hunger, but to make a list of 10 things you can do instead of eating.

Since Boredom eating is my Number One weakness, I'm creating a list of 10 things to do when I'm bored and start thinking about food...

1. Blog!! If I'm thinking about food, I can certainly write about it. Or the multitude of other subjects that are involved in the weight loss real of blogging. This is especially time consuming when I'm in front of the television. Note to self: American Idol easy to multitask and write. Masterpiece Theatre, not so easy.
2. Knitting. It takes two hands, and a certain amount of concentration. And I get a finished product from it.
   
3. Washing dishes. This may sound dumb, but I always have a collection of dirty dishes, pans, etc. It's endless. I hate not having a dishwasher. I always say I'll wash the plates as I use them, but I never do, and it's amazing how quickly they multiply. And I'm not even gonna get into the clothes pile...
4. Going through mail & papers. Another mundane task that never seems to get done. How many issues of my local newspaper am I not gonna read yet keep the pile
5. Do my nails. Another two handed task. Bonus is the drying time. Don't want to smudge the hard work.
6. Go for a walk. Okay--not this time of year, but in the warmer months, I definitely enjoyed the benefits of extra sunlight to walk down to the river or something.
7. Catch up with friends--whether by email or phone, this time of evening is a great opportunity to pass the time with good conversation. Oh, and there's always Facebook. And Twitter.
8. Browse magazines: for ideas on meals, fashion, fitness, organizing, etc. Magazines are great for multitasking, and it could provide some inspiration for my next big idea. Bonus--actually do the moves mentioned in fitness sections to tone or burn calories while passing the time!
9. Cook healthy. A little counter-intuitive, but for me cooking takes time. I never have all the ingredients, I'm always second guessing myself, working from recipes can be a pain, and, as I mentioned, I often have a pile of dirty dishes to either work around or clean before using. The benefit is I end up with food I can eat for the rest of the week. As long as I don't eat all of it or taste test too much.
10. Get a good night's sleep! Too often I stick myself in front of the television and dont' move until the wee hours of the morning. Lately I've been snoozing earlier because I'm getting up early and am tired, but in general I am very much a night owl. I could probably benefit from a self enforced bedtime, turn off the television and prepare myself for bed at a reasonable time.

Well those are my 10 things...what are yours?

Until next time