How do you deal with boredom? Yesterday was my first time confronting this emotion. According to wikipedia: Boredom (noun) is an emotional state experience during periods lacking activity or when individuals are uninterested in the opportonities surrounding them. This is true and I experienced this yesterday.
My history with the word bored goes back to my childhood. My mother would not allow myself and my three siblings to use the word bored. As far as my mother was concern this word was a curse-word and those were not allowed. If she heard the word which was rarely used, she would say "you are not allowed to be bored because there is always something to do" and she was right because she would always find something for us to do and it was not fun. So for me growing up I never recognized when I was bored and I think this has a lot to do with me being overweight. No, this is not my moms fault because I was a skinny kid growing up.
Yesterday, I went to the gym with a plan to do 35 minutes of free-weights and walk on the treadmill for 20 minute. Mission accomplished and I had the entire day to do nothing. That is when the problem started. Now for the past 8 - 12 weeks I have had weekend plans so boredom did not have time to show it's face. But yesterday the boredom train hit me hard. I watched television, cleaned house, talked on the phone, and watch more television. During the time I was watching television I felt the need to eat. I went for the blueberries, the next time I went for the peach, the next time I went for the grapes, (I have no junk food in my house at all-thank God), after that I wanted some pasta with chicken so I had that, after that I wanted........ After two hours of this back and forth game I stopped and said to myself "are you bored? and if you are, why?" That was it! Stop! But why food? Why not go for a walk or take a nap. I did not want to shop. I had gone to the gym. I had finished reading "The Great Gatsby" - awesome book. So why food? Here's my answer: eating is a quick fix and a distraction from boredom. Eating is an act of suppression and an act of distracting. So in the future I will take my mothers advice not to allow myself to become bored. I need to always have a plan to stay active even if it means taking a nap. What happen yesterday is a blessing and a lesson learned for future free days. Food can not be my distraction. Confronting and acknowledging boredom is the key to a happier and healthy life.
This is week is all about "bootcamp" and "free-weights". I feel the need to run so I will confront the pier. It's easier to run now because I have less belly fat. For the first time in years I can see my feet when I look down. Happy Dancing!
Going for it all!
Boredom can definitely equal trouble for a diet. I keep a list of activities that I can do instead of eating that I go to when I run into the "I'd just like to sit around and nosh" temptation. Find a few more books (and you're right, The Great Gatsby is fabulous), take walks, start cleaning out your closet, consider learning a new language or practicing one you know: there are tons of good productive things that you can do instead of eating.
ReplyDeleteGood on you for realizing the problem and thinking of solutions. Keep it up with the workouts: you're doing great!