I clean my kitchen. Then my bathroom. Then dust the baseboards, all the bookcases, etc. Then I go for a walk. Or I write in a journal. Or I lie on the floor and do stretches while watching a movie. Or I lift my weights. Or I have a cup of tea.
I live alone - so I'm alone a lot. It's definitely enabled my binging.
Sometimes I just have to sit with the thoughts and fight them. Basically just sit and not move until the feeling passes. If I want to eat because I'm angry/upset, I feel better if I can motivate myself to kickbox. It's a great outlet for aggression.
Crocheting keeps my hands busy. I have a chore schedule that I try to complete everyday. I just recently put together an exercise schedule too. Sometimes I get out of the house to run errands, shop without buying anything, or go for a hike. Also a couple hobbies that get me out of the house for meetings/practices.
I also try to remember my health goals. I jump on 3FC and browse the forums and remind myself that food may temporarily numb whatever is making me feel less than, but it's not going to fix the problem. I window shop online, especially with business clothes because one of my goals is to look and feel great at an upcoming conference. Last year I had to run out and buy new dress pants a size bigger the day before I left because I binge ate my stress of preparing my presentation.
Hot tea works for me. Also, I go through magazines/catalogs and pick out all the things I'll be able to wear when I lose weight. I straighten my closet and find clothes I will be able to wear soon. Or get on the phone with somebody you haven't spoken with in a long time.
I drink tea, occupy my thoughts somewhere else IE cleaning, listening to music and fidgeting around, paint, color, call someone, and if worst comes to worst I just leave my place and go for a quick walk
Do something active instead of passive - poke around the garden, walk the dogs, journal, figure out if I'm angry and hit or break safe things if I am, call old friends out of town, write a real letter and mail it, bead cheap jewelry, draw whatever I feel like with soap paints on the shower wall. Back in my old state I used to chop wood and/or go for a swim, too.
I do one of three things. I clean something (because there's always something that needs to be cleaned or organized) and I find something to watch on TV that is really compelling for me. And has no commercials. And then, I also end up on the computer where I surf the Net, pay bills, participate in some online education, or watch the commercial-free TV or movies that I love.
I guess there's a fourth thing...I set a timer until I can eat again. No going into the kitchen until the timer goes off.
Now that I am back in OA, I sometimes pick up a piece of literature such as one of their recovery books, go to an online meeting, make an outreach phone call, go for a walk, do tasks around my home, etc. If I feel hungry, I sometimes ask myself if instead I am really thirsty and have a beverage that I consider abstinent/safe.
I am the same way, and while having a strong personality is good for some things it does not seem to be so good for discipline with respect to food. I can plot out all the chores or errands I want, I can even look at the list as I eat. It's hard for me. My therapist recently told me about HALT, which I think there are more, but when when you go to eat you're supposed to ask yourself if you're hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. I thought it was silly, but does actually help me identify why I'm eating and then gives me a chance to address the actual issue. If not physically than at least mentally and emotionally. Recently I also started keeping 5lb weights by my couch. If I want to go eat, I do a couple sets first and then reconsider munching. And generally chug some water or crystal light.
I drink hot tea or have broth with chopped kale. I make my own broth with chicken wings. It's so good. I try to keep busy cleaning, knitting, organizing a closet, go for a walk, look at pictures, play a game on my ipad, call someone.
If I can, I go out for a walk and listen to a book on tape. If I can't, I try to find some TV shows online to watch (love Korean dramas! No commercials and you can watch a bunch of episodes at once). Sometimes coffee helps, so another vote for hot drinks. Drinking a bottle of water can help sometimes.
If that fails, I'll make a very light salad with lettuce and low cal dressing, and eat that as a snack.
Also, if it's a ton of junk food in the house, I will throw it away PRONTO. I hate to waste food, but me bingeing on it is bad, too. I am not a trash can.
I go to an online chat- there's one that has an OA online meeting every 3 hours. If anybody is interested in the site, send me a message- don't want to publicly advertise.
So yeah.....
What do you do when your home alone and all that you can think about is eating?
I find someone to talk to, and if no humans are available, I talk to god. (Sorry god, I'd put you first, but I'm new to this whole prayer thing.)
Sometimes, when I find myself circling the kitchen, staring into my fridge like the answer to life is in there, I meow at myself. 'Cause I'm acting like a cat waiting for dinner and trying to convince the human to bring it on two hours early. That makes me giggle, which helps break the spell.