As I sit here, my food is logged, exercise is planned...and I'm bored. With my food gone, my entertainment is gone too. It's what I did with my time. Hmmmm, what to have for breakfast....bored at work, go out for lunch or get a snack. Now that food is a no-brainer (lunch is packed the night before) I don't know what to do with the hole that's left behind.
Well, I don't feel like my entertainment is gone, but my new "obsession" is weight loss and that takes a lot of time. I love looking for trends in my fitday, reading the posts at 3FC, reading magazine articles about losing weight, watching fit TV or Discovery Health, reading nutrition or dieting books.
I have LESS time now than before because I'm trying to fit in exercise and spend more time preparing food than before. I wish I had a hole to fill in.
Sandi, it's so strange but I've been thinking about this all week. I think food for me is a source of entertainment - think I learnt over the years that it was a good release, how I let my hair down when I'd had a tiring day - or even as my main source of pleasure. I've definitely had to find other ways of filling my time and finding real entertainment and ways of getting pleasure (like I'd go for a massage now or a facial instead of sinking my teeth into a gateau! - well most of the time). But even though I've worked on this for a long time I get periods where maybe my social life is quiet and I haven't been vigilant about making sure I'm looking after myself the way I know I need to to avoid overeating and that's when I start thinking about food in the old way again. It's very difficult to overcome. I'd love to hear the strategies people have to get around this and what forms of non-food related entertainment/ pleasure they've thought up for themselves.
You've got the best gift of all......FREE TIME! you can shop, read, re-decorate, clean, play with your kids or pets (i don't know if you have any), take up a new hobby, plan a garden........I'm listing all the things I would do if I had some extra time. congrats on your wt. loss too.
I amuse myself by typing! I got a new laptop for christmas and spend a lot of time on it.. and have noticed I stopped snacking as much. I also picked up this nasty little habit of drinking latte's and hot chocolate (made with 1% milk and no sugar), the latte's can get a little expensive. While I type this I am watching tv and on here.. I also have started posting in more areas.
Tammy once again has hit the nail on the head. I could have written that post word for word This IS my new entertainment. It consumes a lot of my time. When I have some free time I just pop in a fitness video. But it does take time to get to this point, so I most certainly understand where you're coming from.
In the beginning I would journal a lot. It was the first time I've ever written in a journal. I wrote in my hopes and dreams and future goals. The things I would do when I lost the weight. My reasons for wanting to lose the weight. That kind of stuff. I would sometimes just read it over and over again, especially if I was having cravings.
I also straigtened up my house a lot. It kept me moving and busy. The house was immaculate.
Manicure, pedicure, a hot bath.
Sewing, knitting, crocheting and the such.
And 3fc was (is) a great source of info and it eats up time instead of you eating.
rockinrobin - the clean house thing reminds me.. my dishes are ALWAYS done! This is a big switch from before where I've always hated doing dishes.
I remember when I used to go for walks to amuse myself - these days it's not happening like that though.. I am going to force myself to get up and go for a run soon tho.. gotta get moving before I fall asleep! ( why do people call so early in the morning when they KNOW I worked really late last night!! grr!!)
I know exactly what you mean. Like others have said, I have less time on my hands when I'm really focused on losing weight (like now - knock on wood!). So, it isn't so much that I think of food as a way occupy myself. But, I find myself tempted to use food as a means to procrastinate. I do it at home and at work. I'll have plenty to do, say the laundry. I don't really want to do it but I don't have a good reason not to so I'll think to myself, "Well, I'll just get something to eat first!"
I'm finding what helps is to stop and remind myself that if I stop and eat first whatever chore I'm avoiding is going to still be there when I'm done. And then I'll have two things to regret - being behind on my work AND overeating!
But, I find myself tempted to use food as a means to procrastinate. I do it at home and at work. I'll have plenty to do, say the laundry. I don't really want to do it but I don't have a good reason not to so I'll think to myself, "Well, I'll just get something to eat first!"
Lucky, I couldn't agree with this more! This is exactly what I do. I use food to procrastinate. I do, though, understand the feeling of a "void" there as well. I, too, am spending more and more time researching health and wellness so that keeps me busy...BUT, it keeps me so busy that I put off housework and other things that need to be done so when I get to the point of neededing to do those things I revert back to the feeling of, "Oh, I'll just get something to eat first" and then it's all down hill from there. Ugh. This is an endless battle, isn't it?
For me, I have found that when I get those "empty" moments where I want to avoid eating I do something that I CAN'T eat while I'm doing it. Like, I take a hot bath or go to the gym or something. If I read a book I think about eating, if I watch tv I think about eating. If I do something more physical or location specific (i.e. the bathtub!) then I find that I forget about the food. Hope that makes sense?
As I sit here, my food is logged, exercise is planned...and I'm bored. With my food gone, my entertainment is gone too. It's what I did with my time. Hmmmm, what to have for breakfast....bored at work, go out for lunch or get a snack. Now that food is a no-brainer (lunch is packed the night before) I don't know what to do with the hole that's left behind.
Anyone else experiencing this??
Yeah - I know what you mean - got to get food off your mind or get so motivated and inspired that you don't want to eat purely for pleasure! Maybe you can add some exercise into some of that spare time. I love reading about diet-related issues to gain inspiration and motivation go keep going. I have found a great website that keeps me busy for hours - with articles about every aspect of diet, exercise and related topics - it's great - you can just read the articles that interest you and take any tips that you think might help to give you the edge in your weight loss success. The site is www.bthin.co.uk - hope you enjoy many happy hours of food-free pleasure there!
You know whats worse? When you eat before you do a chore, and then after you eat you get tired.. and then sit on the couch. I used to spend many a day off like that.. No more!!
I'm right there with ya! Food has always been my entertainment. If I get bored -- it eat. I need to find something to keep my hands busy, or I will mindlessly eat anything in sight. Even if I'm not hungry.
Finding something to keep myself occupied with is key. Either my needlework, or playing a game on the pc, or doing the dishes or laundry -- you get the idea
Food is entertainment. Sadly, for those of us who are overweight, we've been entertained by this for too long. But I love some of the comments (aimee) about posting more or having time to do dishes. This is some amazing stuff!
I used to say. "Okay, work through this set of math problems (I'm in school) and you can go get a snack from the kitchen." YIKES! I hate math, I hate being fat and yet their feeding into one another. Now, I say, "Finish this page and you can chat with your friend who just came online for 15 mintes." I'm a frickin' teenager again!
Sandi - I understand there is a hole though. And to make you WHOLE, you need to fill it. So here are my ideas:
- Decide to clean a closet for goodwill. Cleaning a closet is a heck of a lot of work but I think it's pretty awesome when it's done.
- Pick a new subject. Mine's College Algebra 101 (grrrrr). But yours can be more interesting. Pick some books up at the library on a subject you don't know anything about - it could be typical like biology, history or you could learn a new language. Lots of libraries have language learning tapes. Got 10 mintes? Pop in a tape.
-Write. I'm a creative writing person so you're going to get this from me. Write a short story. No one is going to read it but you! So relax! Don't know where to start? Writer's Digest has 365 writer's prompts. Pick one of them! http://www.writersdigest.com/writingprompts.asp
- Find your passion. We know it's not just food. What excites you? Crosswords or Crocheting? Volunteering or writing to relatives? It's in you woman!
Food = Entertainment
I love looking for trends in my fitday, reading the posts at 3FC, reading magazine articles about losing weight, watching fit TV or Discovery Health, reading nutrition or dieting books. 
