I had been doing great at Weight Watchers. I joined at the beginning of the year and I have lost 23 pounds. I love the program and I was doing so well. The last couple weeks, however, I've been backsliding A LOT.

I'm usually incredibly busy with work and school. But now that its summer (no school) and I'm on temporary unemployment from work, I have nothing to do. No routine. I wake up whenever I feel like and just mess around all day. No tasks, no structure. And every morning I wake up with great intentions to track my food and eat the right things, but by four o'clock I'm bored and hunting around the kitchen.

I know the old trick of, "If you're bored, take a walk! Read a book! Call a friend!" Well there are a lot of hours in the day where I'm bored. I don't have that many friends to call, you know? I'm just so use to having structure in my day and now that I'm aimless I can't control myself. I have gained back one pound and I can’t bear to gain back anymore of those hard fought pounds. Any help? Suggestions? I'm desperate!!!

I think you know what you need to do: Set yourself a daily schedule of things you're going to accomplish (examples: get up early, exercise, do some housework, do some reading, do some errands). Then plan out your food the night before, and the next day stick completely to your plan. Then, involve yourself in some ongoing projects that will keep you from boredom eating.

Pretty simple.

I totally understand how you feel. Trying to find work right now is just difficult, so all I have is free time!

Is there anything around the house that could use a good deep down organizing? Any day trips to museums, parks, a closeby town you've not explored, a strange tour (on water or land), a younger family member, maybe a niece or cousin, who would like to spend some time exploring with you as a treat for both the child and his/her mom?, a volunteer organization that could use some help now and then for a few months ... maybe come up with a "bucket list" of things that you'd like to do in your life and see how you can tackle a few of them ... maybe some of them are learning a new skill ...

Congrats on being down 23 pounds! Don't backslide because of boredom!

Yep - make some structure! Pick up a hobby, plan some exercise, take on a project, heck, make EXERCISE your project for some amount of the day. Structure isn't being forced on you, like with school, but you can still put structure in place.

Having time is such a blessing...you can really put groundwork in place for when you're busy again. Experiment with healthy recipes. Get out in your community and find a walking club, local markets, etc.

Or take some of that time and do something for good - volunteer! You can find a good match in your area at Volunteer Match

I've moved to a building where there are a lot of people who have recently retired. Some of them are happier with all the time they've been given, and some aren't & are floundering. The successful ones seem to do pretty much the same thing: They structure their time. You're temporarily retired, maybe so you ought to try living like them.

Get to bed at the same time & get up at the same time.

Get out of the house for most of the day. Then you won't be near the kitchen & watching the clock till your next meal.

Look for something that absorbs you so much that you nearly lose track of time while doing it.

Explore a natural area near you, on foot or on a bike.

Get to the library.

Check out a gym or possibly a pool.

Take a summer course, but one that's fun. (My swimming class starts up the weekend after Memorial Day -- I don't have time enough for the other classes offered, like yoga & tai chi.)

Set yourself a reading project. Specifically to get through a series or all of one author's books. Or books on health & nutrition or exercise or whatever interests you. (Not just "read a book" which is way too vague.)

If you have no interests or any inner resources or any curiosity about the community you live in, then summer will be a hard slog for you. But we have faith in you. ;-)

I am off in the summer and what I did was find some morning classes that I liked through my gym and I did those. It kept me going and I noticed that when I can work out before noon it helps keep me on track for the rest of the day

I hear you! I am so concerned this is going to be me. I lose my job 1st of June. Working, even a boring job, makes it easy for food to be "out of sight, out of mind." But I've taken a lot of days off recently, and did fine. I eat a very light breakfast, kill a bit of time on Facebook, or resume writing, and then go for my exercise. By the time I get back, stretch, re-hydrate, and shower, it's usually late morning and not hard to tell myself that I can wait until lunch.

Afternoon is harder, but I just keep myself busy and make going in to the kitchen for anything other than a drink OFF LIMITS.

So, exercise can definitely use up some of your dead time. You can also get out of the house. I might be doing that to escape the heat! Go get a plain iced coffee, light cream, little to no sugar, and read a book in the coffee house. (No cinnabuns or doughnuts!)

I'm sure there are plenty of things you've "always wanted to do." What are they? If you aren't wanting to do things, the issue isn't boredom so much as it is apathy. That is no judgement my friend, I have been there myself and seen so many others in it as well. It is a very slippery slope. Find something you enjoy, and make yourself go enjoy it!

hey don't worry... I have been in a similar situation some time back...Get involved in some activity which interests you....there are many summer camps going on at the moment...find one which you are interested in and join...just don't be idle...

1. Chew Gum
2. Drinks Lots of Water
3. Drink Hot Tea (the warmness tells the belly it's full)
4. Get some hobbies
5. Exercise
6. Stop excepting/labeling yourself as a bordem eater or emotional eater

Six is a tricky one and a theory I'm testing myself. I've always labeled myself a bordem eater, an emotional eater, a binge eater. But I've started to wonder, is this just something I've labeled myself to give myself permission to eat when I'm not hungry. To let myself off the hook because I binged. Just something to think about.

7. Ask yourself "Ok...am I hungry? Would I eat raw veggies right now or a piece of fruit? If so, then maybe you're hungry and have a handfull of carrots. If the answer is no, those items I would not eat right now then you know you're not hungry, and go does something elese.
8. Forgive yourself and move on. The next opportunity you have to get back on plan do it!

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! I didn't mean to sound so disintrested. I do love getting out and doing things! The fact is that most of my getting out and doing things involve either spending money or eating, which is what I'm trying to avoid. But you guys gave me several suggestions I hadn't even considered. Thank you! Any further suggestions would also be appreciated!

i had the same problem while i was out of work...

i had to force myself to get up in the morning and get out of the house.

you need to find something that will get you active. if you have pets try to get them outside and do a little running around, go for a bike ride or skating... anything is better than sitting at home.

drink your water, stay active and you wont think about food so much. i even tried some of appetite suppressants, i was out of work for almost 9 months. i liked burner balm the most, it was easy to carry around, inexpensive and i didnt have the disposable cash i used to.

good luck and all the best

My danger time is in the evenings. What I have found that works for me is to involve myself in a hobby that is not good with food. I cross stitch in the evening and the last thing I want is to drip food on my work, so I have stopped snacking at night from habit and have something concrete to show for my efforts. Not only do I have my stitching, but I've lost 5lbs since starting back with my stitching and that late night snacking is the only thing I've changed.

You have gotten so many good ideas in this thread. I hope you find a few that work for you and make the time zoom by for you!