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Emotional eating is a problem many of us have. We eat when we’re bored, sad, tired, happy, angry or anytime we’re feeling anything. Since bariatric surgery requires us to change so many habits, we also need to change our emotional response to situations. Food can no longer be a crutch. Instead, we need to lean onto things we enjoy to handle emotions, both good and bad. We already enjoy our hobbies, so why not tap into that enjoyment and do them instead of eating? Additionally, if your hobby is physical, like dancing or hiking, the extra physical activity can aid in weight loss. Keeping your hands and mind busy keeps them off food. Embrace your hobbies to lose weight. Allow your hobbies to become the emotional crutch that food used to be.
Changing Our Habits
Bariatric surgery requires us to change a lot of habits. We change what we eat, when we eat, how much we exercise and how we deal with our emotions. One of the reasons we emotionally eat is because eating fulfills us and even brings us joy. When we emotionally eat, our brain releases serotonin. It’s a feel-good hormone. Hobbies do the same thing. They make us feel good because we enjoy them. So while we’re busy working on our habits, we also need to reach for our knitting needles, colored pencils, puzzles, books or radio the next time we want to eat because we’re sad. We need to embrace hobbies to lose weight.
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Emotional Eating vs. Physical Hunger
One way you can figure out how much of the food you’re consuming comes from emotional hunger versus physical hunger is to evaluate how you feel before you eat. Emotional eating comes on suddenly, whereas physical hunger comes on slowly as your body digests food and exits your stomach. Know the difference. One of the best things you can do when you start to feel hungry is to drink some water to see if you’re thirsty instead. The same part of the brain manages hunger and thirst, so it’s easy to confuse the two. After you drink some water, first check-in with yourself. Are you eating for real stomach hunger? Or because you’re trying to soothe an unpleasant feeling?
If you are truly hungry, then eat a healthy, portioned snack or meal that you meal prepped ahead of time. If you’re simply trying to feel better after a hard day of work, turn to your hobbies to lose weight. Do you like to read? Grab your next book and get into it. Do you want to dance? Turn on some music and get moving. Do you wish to write? Open up your laptop or pull out your notebook. Where are my crafters? Visit Jennifer Maker for some fantastic ideas, then open your craft bin, and make something for yourself. The possibilities are endless.
Find joy in your hobbies. How many times do we say we wish we had more time to work on the things we love? Now is your perfect opportunity. Allow your hobbies and the things you enjoy doing replace food when you want to eat emotionally. Use hobbies to lose weight to avoid emotional eating.
Finding the Joy
I know you think that there is no way your puzzle will take your mind off food. I know you are worried about all these changes you have to make to be successful with your weight loss surgery. It can be overwhelming to think about taking your vitamins daily, hitting your water and protein goals, timing you’re drinking and eating, weighing your meals, meal prepping, finding time to exercise and more.
RELATED CONTENT: Want to learn the 10 changes you need to make in your life to be successful with bariatric surgery? Get our free download here!
Work Your Tool
However, let me clarify right now: your tool won’t work if you don’t. I know there will be times you’re going to crave that cheeseburger or slice of pizza because you had a bad day at work, your husband is on your nerves, and the kids won’t stop fighting. Those times are when you need to find joy in things other than food. Since you already enjoy your hobbies and find stress relief in them, hone in on that enjoyment.
If you enjoy coloring, consider getting my Color Yourself Thin workbook, which includes seven weight loss coloring charts, pages to determine your goals and motivation, and a list of over 50-non food rewards. Plus, you’ll get to use your coloring hobby to lose weight as you drop the pounds.
You Are Stronger than Emotional Eating
The enjoyment comes not only in doing your hobby but also in knowing you are stronger than your desire to eat emotionally. You’ve come so far in your journey, and you will not let one bad day ruin your progress. It’s a slippery slope, my friend. The more carbs you start to allow in your diet, the more carbs you will crave. Replace unhealthy food with healthy alternatives and use hobbies to lose weight by avoiding emotional eating and unnecessary calories.
Find joy in having the energy now to do your hobbies after a long day at work. Find comfort and contentment in making that perfect sign for your bathroom. See how satisfied you feel after you complete a home improvement project. Whatever your hobby is, find the joy in working on it, making progress and triumphing over your emotional eating issues.
Emotional Eating is a Thing of the Past
As you progress in your journey to bariatric surgery and after surgery, you will say goodbye to a lot of things. Let one of those things be emotional eating. But at the same time, you are also going to be embracing a lot of benefits to bariatric surgery: more energy, more self-worth, a better body image, smaller clothing, being able to fit on amusement park rides and more time for your hobbies.
As you replace your emotional eating episodes with time spent working on your hobbies, you will find passion and fulfillment as you’ve never known. Allow emotional eating to become a thing of your past and embrace the time you spend on your hobbies. Embrace hobbies to lose weight. The bariatric surgery journey is as much mental as it is physical. Conquering your mental demons is only going to help you in the long run.
Could it be that simple? Will I find enjoyment in crocheting a blanket as much as when I dig into a bacon cheese fries pile? If crocheting is your hobby, then yes. Don’t do something just because you think it will take your mind off food if you don’t like doing it. Otherwise, you will intensify whatever feeling you are trying to cover with food and resort to the food you shouldn’t have anyway.
What Have You Always Wanted To Do?
Take this opportunity to find your passion project. What makes you excited to get out of bed in the morning? Is there a business you’ve always wanted to start? (If you need some motivation, check out Ruth Soukup’s Do It Scared Podcast, where she will encourage you and push to go after a life you love.) Don’t you wish you had more time for
Fun Hobbies to Lose Weight
We all know that adding exercise to our routine is going to help with our weight loss. How great is it that some of your hobbies can actively help you lose weight? Maybe you like hiking, and nothing makes you feel better mentally and physically than getting out into the sunshine and hiking up a challenging mountain. Or if you’re into dancing, rejoice in how your new body moves and try some new steps that you haven’t tried before. If you like team sports, join a local softball team and hit it out of the park.
You may want to consider taking up gardening, which burns 100 to 200 calories per hour. To get started, check out the Ultimate Bundle’s Gardening and Sustainability bundle. You’ll get 21 ebooks, seven courses, and five printables for one low price. But hurry – it’s only available for a limited time!
Other Physical Hobbies to Lose Weight
Hobbies don’t have to be tedious tasks that you sit quietly and do. Get up and make noise and movement with your body. It’s going to thank you in the long run for it! Speaking of running, how about trying to run for a hobby (start with Couch to 5k!) or hitting the gym? Try something new and find what works for you.
These types of physical hobbies are only going to benefit you mentally and physically. Not only will you push past your emotional eating by doing something you enjoy and bringing you fulfillment, but you are also going to add physical activity to your life. Extra physical activity will boost weight loss. What a fantastic two-for-one deal?!
Seriously, I can’t tell you how much exercise changed my life. It’s become what helps me deal with my emotions, and it makes me feel good. I’ve replaced my emotional eating with physical activity, and it has made all the difference. I feel better, mentally and physically, each day. Give it a try and see how much of a difference it makes in your life.
Using Hobbies to Lose Weight
As you work your way up to surgery and start thinking about all the foods you can’t eat after surgery, you might want to do a “Last Supper” with those meals. I admit that I did eat a few things one last time and said goodbye to them forever. It can be hard not to want those foods, especially before surgery, when dealing with a regular-sized stomach and a regular-sized appetite. Focusing on the hobbies that bring you joy and fulfillment will help take your mind off food. Since your hands will also be busy with whatever hobby you enjoy, you won’t eat food. So now your hands can’t touch it, and your mind is concentrating on your hobby. Win-Win!
I know that so much of our lives revolve around food, and there will be temptations everywhere you go. Always remember your why, your reason for doing all this crazy work. Focus on the hobbies you love to keep your mind and hands busy. Just staying busy has a profound impact on your weight loss. I know it sounds crazy, but eliminating those 500 to 600 calorie binges from your emotional eating episodes will do so much for your weight loss and how you feel.
Taking Back Control
While emotional eating is partially to blame for our obesity, it no longer has to control us. Since our hobbies already fulfill us and make us happy, similar to food, we should use these hobbies to aid us in our weight loss. Replacing old habits with new healthy ones is vital to our success. Plus, if your hobbies include physical activity, it can actively aid in losing weight. When you keep your hands and mind busy, you won’t be thinking so much about the food you can’t have. Additionally, our hobbies are fun, so let’s use our surgery as an excuse to participate in our favorite hobby. You’ll never know where it may lead you!
If this article gave you some great ideas to incorporate into your life, just imagine what other amazing strategies I have for you! Share this post on social media by clicking one of the sharing buttons, and don’t forget to join my email list! You’ll be the first to get updates, access to my new products and lots of tips, inspiration and motivation to help in your bariatric surgery journey. Just for joining, I’ll send you a free Bariatric Beginner’s Guide to get you started, as well as some other pretty awesome goodies to keep you motivated. Join today!
In Summary
By allowing your hobbies, which are tasks you already enjoy, become the emotional crutch food used to be, you will lose weight. We enjoy our hobbies, and they bring us contentment and fulfillment. By honing in on those positive feelings, you can reduce your stress-eating binges that result in hundreds of extra calories in your day.
You can do many things at home to lose weight, like preparing healthy foods and using at-home exercise programs. However, one of the best things you can do at home to lose weight is to learn how to handle your emotional eating. One way to avoid emotional eating is to use your hobbies instead. This way, you’re doing something you enjoy, which triggers a serotonin release, and you’re avoiding those emotional eating binges that ruin your weight loss progress.
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