I've known for a while that most of my eating is done out of boredom or caused by some other emotion... I was told that I need a hobby, but never really understood the idea (I know that sounds stupid, but stay with me for a second...)

You see, when I was younger, my hobbies were dance, color guard and playing piano. Now that i'm older, I work as a dance teacher and color guard instructor, and play weddings/funerals/church services on the side. What were my hobbies have now become work. (not saying they're not enjoyable, quite the opposite). However, they are my job and not typically something I partake in, unless I'm researching teaching methods for my next class of rehearsal, during my free time.

The great flaw in all of this is my abundance of free time... and the amount it encourages me to eat... and eat and eat and eat (I'm thinking that's my current hobby...lol). I have no idea where to start looking for something to do... mainly I think I just want to know, what do you do?

I was actually kind of wondering the same thing. There are some days where I don't go out at night after I get home from the gym and this leaves me with a good 5 - 6 hours before I go to bed. I try to go onto this website but and search around the internet for a while but after I've read the new posts and checked my email and such, it gets old!

I crochet, sketch, and make collages from magazines clip outs...... and I check perezhilton.com about a million times a day. LoL. I'm a boredom/automatic eater also. It can be reaaaaally discouraging. Half the time I snack without consciously realizing I'm eating. One thing I've started doing is whenever I want to snack but I'm not actually "hungry" I go into the kitchen and drink a tall glass of cold water or an entire waterbottle. It by the time I"m done with it... I normally forgot that I wanted to snack or it took the curb off my crave.

p.s. .... I also plan imaginary weddings, just for fun.

I read, crochet, and knit.

The Stitch and B**** books are really helpful when just starting out. Most local yarn shops will have lessons too.

As far as reading, I check out books from the library since I don't like to pay for books that I won't read more then once.

You sound like you're really creative, so how about some art? Painting, drawing, writing, or even scrapbooking?
Go to your local art store and browse the aisles and you might find something fun to try!

Perezhilton.com and TMZ are the sites that I go to other than myspace and my email. I didn't used to be that into that sort of thing but since I've been trying to keep my butt out of the kitchen, celebrity gossip has helped! hehe

And I'm totally a boredom eater. I've started to notice at work I'll get bored and I'll think "hmmmm [insert vending machine food here] sounds really appetizing right now" but then I realize I'm not even hungry!

Martial Arts rock!

Not only is it a great form of exercise when you are in class. But there are many forms, movements and patterns to work on between classes.

I was and still am a boredom eater. Tae Kwon do has worked wonders for me. Instead of being bored at the gym I now work to improve my tae kwon do. Instead of being bored at home I practice my patterns. Did you know that in two to three years you can earn a black belt!

I've thought about martial arts... I'm really looking for something physical, that will keep me out of the house... but will I be stuck in a class of little kids, as an adult beginner?

I have strange hours of free time, usually in the mornings and very late at night.
I like taking new classes at the gym (but if you`re not a gym member, I'd bet your community has classes like martial arts, yoga, etc you could take.) I also keep a list of sites bookmarked that I check obsessively too. I like slate.com for when I get tired of the celebrity gossip. For less intellectual stuff, I like bestweekever.tv and dlisted.com. Those are both funny.
Annnnd lets see.. I crochet, although I'm not very good. Its still a good way to occupy my hands when they would be reaching for some cookies. Speaking of eating, learning to make healthy foods is one of my newer hobbies. I've found that preparing those can take a lot of time, so its a good way to not only have healthy stuff on hand, but also keep yourself busy from mindlessly eating.
What about volunteering? Not really a "hobby" but if you like animals, I'm sure the local shelter needs people to help out. Whatever your cause is, I bet your hands are needed around your community somewhere.

Wow, that seems like a lot. I started living by myself a few months ago and started making lists in my head about things I could do to keep busy.

I usually like to talk someone into going for walks with me or I'll go by myself and take pictures with my digital camera. Then I like to put them on my computer and photoshop them... it's fun for me, but I'm a dork!

Hi - I'm not in the 20's group but when I read the subject I thought I'd post this one since I just took this little questionnaire; it's kind of fun! Gives you some ideas about hobbies!
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/lei...uiz/index.html

I am always trying to think of things to do and also have a list on my fridge because I fight to not eat out of boredom/lonliness.

Here are some of the things on my list:
volunteer (humane society, retirement home, I volunteer as a mentor to a young woman, soup kitchen, church, etc)
go for walks
go to a museum (some days are free.. i like to go then!)
go to the library and go into a section you wouldnt normally, I also read magazines at the library..
go to a bookstore and read .. i can be in there for hours.
take a class - excercise, language, computer program, ?
clean
I'm always "writing a book".. I have 2 on the go. I dont know if eitehr will end up in anyuthing but I like to write.
clean out your closet!
knitting is something I always wanted to learn but still haven't
go rock climbing indoors
skating, skiing (I live in Canada)
paint, draw
go to a local show
meditate/yoga
go to a mud oven- where you paint pottery or something like that.

Thats all I can think of right now.. I'm always looking for more ideas.

I like to scrapbook. Once I get all my stuff out and get started I don't want to stop to eat. I don't want crumbs or fingerprints or anything on my pages either so I don't bring food around. My hubby actually gets mad at me because once I get started I don't like to stop for dinner or anything. I'm in a zone. LOL!