How Can I Resist Eating All Day When I’m Home?

Stress and boredom can be major factors in overeating. They can make your body think you are hungry when you aren’t, and we tend to fill voids in our time and attention with food. Resisting the urge to eat when home all day is easier said than done, though, so let’s take a look at six solutions for fighting the urge to overindulge.

1. 
   

   Before you reach for the next snack of the day or grab a handful of something as you walk through the kitchen, ask yourself why.

   
   

   It can even help to do this audibly, “Why am I eating this right now?” Maybe your just bored or being mindless. Maybe you need to go for a walk or drink a glass of water. Maybe you really haven’t eaten a solid meal in over three hours and it’s time to make something substantial to satiate you. Whatever the reason, you’ll be sure you actually

   
   

   need

   
   

   to eat, rather than cope in another way, if you are courageous enough to challenge yourself. 

   
   
   
   
   

2. 
   

   Plan your day into chunks of activity.

   
   

   Time management is perhaps even more important now than it was when you had natural activities breaking up your days. Time for cooking and eating, time for activity, time for leisure, time to call family, time to work. Planning your day will help you avoid long periods of binge consuming (of both the food and technological varieties) that can lead to mindless overeating. 

   
   
   
   
   

3. 
   

   Food shopping isn’t necessarily the quick or simple task it used to be.

   
   

   Out of something you want? Pre-COVID, popping into the store may not have been such a hassle, but it’s likely that now you are spreading your trips out and going only when needed. What that means is that we need to plan even more so to have nutritious foods available to us at home. Then, when you get that food home, prepare it for consumption so it is easy for you to choose it over unhealthy choices. Wash and cut your fruits and veggies and store them for easy eating. Avoid buying lots of salty and sugary snacks that you will eat ahead of healthy choice or cause perishable foods to go to waste. 

   
   
   
   
   

4. 
   

   Break the habit of eating out of bags and containers.

   
   

   We almost always overeat when it’s easy to reach for “one” more handful. Instead, attend to the portion size on the bag, measure out what’s appropriate into a separate bowl, and then put the container away so that it isn’t easily accessible. Enjoy your snack without overdoing it.

   
   
   
   
   

5. 
   

   List out other ways to relieve stress or channel emotions other than eating (and/or drinking alcohol).

   
   

   Consider keeping that list in a very visible location when you would be tempted to eat or drink as a coping mechanism for stress of boredom. That list may include things like: go for a walk, call a friend, read a book, knit, paint, or have a dance party. Whatever it is, it is good to recognize that food is not our only recourse for negative emotions, and junk food truly only helps in the moment. In both the long and short-terms we are better served to have other tools in our emotional toolbox. 

   
   
   
   
   

6. 
   

   What we eat can actually make the problem of overeating more problematic.

   
   

   Processed foods are often based on three ingredients: sugar, salt, and fat. They make the food taste good, but they also trigger reactions that make us crave these types of food. They decrease our stress response in the moment, but can actually add to the issues of physical and emotional stress in the long-term. Choose, instead, whole, real foods that give your body natural energy and nutrients. This choice may seem less satisfying at first, but as you reduce your dependency on processed foods, your body’s responses will show you how much more satisfied you actually are.