Often find yourself rummaging through the pantry out of sheer boredom?
Let's explore why the kitchen often becomes a pitstop when boredom strikes and how dopamine and habits drive mindless snacking.
We'll discuss practical tips and smart habits like the piggyback method, creating a nourishing pantry, and meal prepping for overcoming emotional eating.
Want to feel more in control around food? Check out my Stop Struggling With Food Guide, currently on sale for 40% off.
You’ll also find 50 of my favourite recipes to get you inspired!
Looking for more support to feel in control around food? I'd love to support you in my Binge Free Academy.
Come follow me on the gram at @nude_nutritionist (no nude pics, sorry).
Want to share some feedback or have an idea for an episode, I'd LOVE to hear from you - hit me up at hello@lyndicohen.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
I think the time I realised I was boredom eating
was during COVID, and do youremember all the lockdowns?
Suddenly we were all workingfrom home and I'd be at my desk,
you know, typing away, sendingmy silly little emails, and then
suddenly I'd get an urge.
Oh, maybe I just go check outwhat's in the kitchen, open the
(00:24):
pantry, have a snoop around andI knew I wasn't hungry.
I mean, I'd really just eatenlunch not long ago.
But there I was grabbing alittle snack and sauntering back
to my computer.
All right, I'll do a bit morework.
And then I think I was kind ofusing food as a little bit of a
reward.
So, okay, I'll do another hourof work and then next thing, you
know, I'm back in the kitchenand recognizing this boredom
(00:46):
eating for what it is is areally crucial part in getting
in control around it.
And maybe you know boredomeating intimately because I
think to some degree we all dosome boredom eating.
It is a normal part of ourexperience.
But sometimes it gets a littlebit out of control and we find
that we're bored of eating allthe time, every day.
(01:07):
It has become our go-to copingstrategy.
So let's talk about it intoday's episode.
Hey everyone, if you're new here, I'm Lindy Cohen, dietitian
nutritionist, and I'm not one ofthose people who has it all
sorted with food all the time.
(01:27):
In a way, I'm just like you.
I used to struggle with myweight.
It used to be something I guessmy Roman empire that would keep
me up at night.
In fact, I tried all the dietscountless diets over a decade,
and all it did was lead me tofeel totally out of control
around food, which is now whatthis podcast is geared to help
(01:49):
you do.
I'm collating all the researchand my experience as a dietitian
helping thousands and thousandsof people feel normal around
food, to help you do the same.
So I'm so glad you're here.
Stick around, let's get into ithere.
(02:10):
Stick around, let's get into it.
Number one place to start, Ithink, is why the heck do you
eat?
Out of boredom.
You can probably guess a few ofthese, but let's go through
them real quick.
The first thing to note is thatwhen you eat food, it releases
feel-good chemicals and that canhelp you shake the boredom, so
I think that's probably a reallygood explanation.
Like me, creeping into thepantry, I was sick of feeling
bored, and it's a really quickfix for getting rid of boredom.
(02:32):
And number two it starts tobecome a habit, a conditioned
response.
So every time you feel thattwinge, that slight discomfort
of being a bit bored, you runinto the kitchen.
It helps to soothe it a littlebit.
Things just feel good hormones,and then you go all right.
Well, that worked as a strategy, it was a solve, and that
reinforces this habit.
So it can be something that youend up doing every day,
(02:53):
multiple times a day, and Ithink that's when it becomes a
real big problem.
Another reason why we eat out ofboredom is food noise.
So if you're someone whorestricts certain foods and then
you obsess about what you eat,then food might already
frequently be on your mind.
What you're probably finding isthe very food that you tell
yourself you're not allowed toeat.
Well, that's the food thatyou're going for when you are
(03:14):
bored, and so I think, if youare someone restricting, food
will always be on your mind andit's going to further enhance
boredom, meaning how ironicallybecause it's the thing you're
trying to do less of I know whata pain.
Let's fix that.
Number four is I think boredomeating is a coping strategy,
because boredom eating is a typeof emotional eating.
(03:35):
There's been a lot of debate inpsychology about this, but I
guess the growing consensus isthat boredom is an emotion just
like any other emotion that youexperience, like anger or
sadness.
So, as I said, there is adiscomfort in experiencing an
emotion boredom which doesn'tfeel so good, and food is a way
for us to try and pull ourselvesout of it a solve, although it
(03:59):
is not a healthy solve.
So then, what to do about thisboredom eating that's getting in
the way of your healthyintentions and your consistency?
Well, I've got a few tips andtricks up my sleeve.
Number one is to do the appleor the carrot test.
Now, I do laugh about this,because I remember going to my
(04:21):
dietician when I was 16 andshe'd say something like if you
don't feel like eating an apple,then you're probably not hungry
.
And I've seen some non-dietpeople recently being like you
know what?
Sometimes I am hungry and Ijust don't feel like eating an
apple.
But here's how the test works.
I really do think it is valid.
(04:42):
You pick a food that you feelneutrally about.
It could be an apple, it couldbe a carrot, it could be a piece
of bread, whatever it is.
You feel neutrally about whatyou think you feel like eating
and you ask yourself if you'regoing, am I actually hungry?
Would I eat an apple or would Ieat a carrot right now?
And I think it's kind of just areally easy solve.
I give you an example Lastnight my toddler was screaming
(05:02):
at 9pm saying he wantedchocolate.
And I was like cool, cool bro,nice story, things that aren't
happening.
And I simply said to himchocolate's not on the menu
right now, it's just not on themenu.
Remember, I didn't saychocolate's bad, I didn't say we
don't need chocolate at 9pm,it's too late to eat chocolate.
I just said simply chocolate'snot on the menu right now.
(05:23):
Because my gut feeling was hewas trying to avoid going to
sleep and he was feeling alittle bit frazzled and bored
that sleep wasn't coming, and sohe wanted to try and get
himself out of that feeling byhaving chocolate.
So I said to him well, cool, doyou want a carrot?
And he said, yeah, I'd love acarrot.
And I brought him the carrotand he didn't eat the carrot
because I don't think he washungry, I don't think he wanted
(05:43):
the chocolate because he washungry, I don't think he wanted
the carrot.
I think he just said yes.
But I've done this test withmyself multiple times and I find
that when I am actually hungry,I do, I will eat.
I will eat a carrot, I will eatan apple, I will eat pretty
much anything that's palatablethat you throw at me because I
have genuine hunger.
Now I'll be honest, I don'tthink boredom eating is at all
(06:04):
about hunger.
So we can kind of just use thatstrategy.
If you're kind of going, oh, amI hungry, am I bored, I think
that's a very useful strategy.
But let's move on to anotherlittle tip.
Strategy number two is thedistraction-free test.
You ask yourself the questionwould I be willing to eat this
distraction-free?
Sometimes we say to ourselves Ionly want to eat this in front
(06:26):
of the TV.
That's what I'm really lookingforward to.
I want to open this, I want towatch my favorite show, I want
to chill out, and that's the joyfor me.
And I think totally there aretimes where we're going to do
that and that's going to bewithin the realm of a healthy,
balanced approach to food.
But if that is how you genuinelyfeel about these foods, then I
think it's a really good signthat you are using them as a way
(06:46):
of distracting yourself, ofbecoming unbored.
And it's just a little bit of aclue.
And even if you are going to doa little bit of boredom eating,
you're going.
Okay, I know I'm bored, I'meating right now.
I'm not hungry, lindy sillyapple carrot test.
But if you can go, all right, Iwill at least sit and I will
(07:07):
eat it free from distraction.
I think that's really prettybrilliant.
So already we've shifted theboredom eating from mindless
boredom eating to mindfulboredom eating, and I know I
giggle, but that is a hugeimprovement.
That is a huge increase in yourattention intention around food
.
So can you sit down free fromyour phone, free from the TV,
(07:27):
and sit at the table and, betteryet, put it on a plate?
Cause I find most boredomeating is like all emotional
eating it's happening on thecouch, it's happening crouched
in the pantry, it is chaotic.
Eating and changing your boredomeating will instantly help you
feel like you're more in control.
If you're going, I really don'twant to do this.
(07:47):
This is the thing I talk aboutin Binge Free Academy, which is
my program to help you stopbinge and emotional eating.
I give you lots of tips abouthow to actually do this a little
bit more well, a lot more thanwhat is currently in the podcast
.
So if you feel like you areready for a little bit more
support in dealing with your outof control eating, then I
highly recommend Binge FreeAcademy.
You get that support from meinside it with group coaching,
(08:09):
so highly recommend.
I'll leave a link to it in theshow notes, if you like.
All right.
The third strategy I want totalk about is something I
haven't been able to stopthinking about.
Really I haven't.
I've been thinking about it allthe time.
It is the antidote to boredom.
Eating or emotional eating, isto build a fun life, a life
where you don't need to try andrun away from, where your life
(08:32):
is filled with things that bringyou joy.
I had a realization a while agothat I was doing some emotional
eating.
This is a good few years back,lots of emotional eating.
I was feeling like, oh, it wasa bad week.
And then that weekend I wentfor a walk, put on an AirPod,
ran into some friends.
I totally forgot to eat.
(08:55):
I forgot about eating.
I say this because my life thatday was filled with goodness.
I got my little exercise in, Isaw some friends, I was in
sunshine, I was genuinely,really happy and, as a result, I
didn't feel like I needed touse food as a crutch and I
didn't do a boarder meetingbecause I was doing something
that I really, truly enjoyed.
(09:16):
And now I know this is tricky,because life is not all flowers
and lollipops and butterflies.
There are some very hard thingsthat we need to deal with in
life and sometimes there arethings in our life that we can't
change.
Whether you're a parent withkids who are really young and
your partner flies away for work, or you're a carer for someone
(09:37):
and it's just a constant slog, Ithink those situations are
really tricky.
However, I don't think you arestuck, because I think there are
options about making your lifemore fulfilling and more fun and
more joyful.
Now, when I was a dieter, mylife, my hobby, my passion was
food.
It was a very good way for meto cover up my disordered eating
(09:59):
, just to be like I'm reallyinto fitness, when really, aka,
I have an eating disorder that'sundiagnosed.
Anyway, dieting became mypersonality, or at least I
thought it was.
I thought it was a hobby and aninterest, and it is not.
And what I realized is that Ineeded to be more fulfilled.
That watching TV at the end ofa day and reading up on diets
(10:24):
and scrolling on social mediajust wasn't making me feel
fulfilled.
And so I turned to food at theend of the day because I was
looking for something.
And I realized, after I keptgoing back for chocolate after
chocolate, after chocolate, thatI just wasn't finding it in the
chocolate, that the chocolatewasn't going to give me the
thing, that what I really needed.
And I think, if you noticeyou're doing this, we kind of
(10:46):
keep going back for something.
At some point you got to go.
It doesn't matter how much ofthis food I'm going to find, I'm
not going to find what I'mlooking for at the bottom of the
packet.
And I had that big realization.
And I still have this bigrealization.
I keep coming back to this.
So I, after I had my children, Ihad a um, an identity crisis,
not a little identity crisis.
I had a good couple of yearsthere of feeling quite lost and
(11:08):
feeling like I didn't recognizemyself.
And that's when I decided thatI needed to invest in more me
time and as a mom, I feel like Idon't get that much me time.
So I went on pursuit of tryingto work out what the heck I
liked.
So I started beach volleyball,I went to improv classes, I
started salsa dancing, I startedsewing, I started reading and I
(11:30):
started actually gettinghobbies.
I invested in friendships aswell.
I've gone through a period ofreally trying to make my life
feel fulfilled and full withthings that I truly like and
enjoy, not stuff my husbandenjoys or my friends enjoy, like
what do I want to do?
And I do these things tofulfill myself because I know
there's advice out there.
That's like, when you feel likeemotional eating, just go and
(11:52):
meditate, just go for a littlewalk, and I'm like cool bro,
nice advice, but I don't want todo that.
I don't want to do that at all.
And if you ever had thatsensation, then I think let's
talk about this.
Number four is the piggybackmethod.
Once again, I teach you aboutthis inside Binge Free Academy,
but I'll share it with you now.
Piggyback method is basically,if you find yourself emotional
(12:13):
eating, it's very tricky for meto just say to you all right,
just stop emotional eating andgo meditate.
It's silly, it's silly and it'sjust try it and if you can hack
it, amazing.
But for most people that's justnot going to fly.
So piggyback method is aboutintroducing a new, healthier
coping strategy for youremotions.
So let's say you have a reallyhard day, you're feeling really
(12:34):
tired, you might still go, I'mstill going to do some degree of
emotional eating, aka alsoboredom eating, but now I'm
going to introduce a healthiercoping strategy in addition to
it.
So then, after I've eaten, I'mgoing to go like whip out my
phone and just write down whatI'm feeling.
Or I'm going to go like whipout my phone and just write down
what I'm feeling.
Or I'm going to go for a walk,or I am going to meditate, or
I'm going to do one of thosecliche things that people talk
(12:55):
about, like having a bath, andwhat we do is we slowly
integrate this little habit,this healthier habit,
piggybacking off the emotionaleating, so that at some point
you go oh, this time I actuallyfound that I didn't emotionally.
I went straight to the othercoping strategy, I went for a
walk because I just knew thatwas going to make me feel better
.
So this little process ofintroducing something new can
help you lean less on emotionaleating and transition into a
(13:19):
place where it's not your solecoping strategy.
I think this is reallyimportant.
I will teach you more aboutthis in Binge Fear Academy if
you come over and join us.
Number five I think you've gotto supercharge your pantry and
you do have to have stuff thatis healthy and that you truly
actually want to eat.
That is a very key piece.
(13:41):
You hear me talking about thatall the time.
We have to make healthy eatingenjoyable if you want to be
consistent at it.
Otherwise it's a bore.
You might find that even yourboredom eating isn't fulfilled
by the boring foods you'retrying to eat, and that is when
you are going for that moreexciting food.
So we've got to strike thebalance between our food being,
like, truly a little bitenjoyable and fun.
(14:01):
So I like, I like popcorn.
I like a nut mix.
I love Brazil nuts.
I'm into a Brazil nut phase.
I like dates.
I have my homemade muesli.
I think sometimes a nut bar canbe a very convenient grab and
go option.
I think that is something wedon't talk about enough is those
grab and go options thatsometimes, yes, you could go
make yourself a piece of avocadotoast, but that requires a few
(14:24):
steps and sometimes it's justtoo many steps.
I think that's fair for us tobe realistic about it.
You can also meal prep somestuff that is going to be
healthy snack options, ready foryou to go.
So if you are that way inclined, a reminder that diet culture
doesn't own meal prep or mealplanning.
That is something that you canown, that can be healthy, but it
doesn't have to feel like a sad, boring loser.
(14:47):
Chicken and broccoli.
I said it here, so that's theway I think about that stuff.
So in my Back to Basics app, Igive you lots of healthy, easy
snack options that you can storein the fridge, that you can
meal prep ahead of a week,because I think when you are
creating these options thattruly feel satisfying, that make
you feel balanced, thatintegrate some of your binge or
(15:09):
trigger foods into your diet, Ithink you stop feeling the need
to emotionally eat, to boredom,eat nearly as much and of course
you've heard me talk about thisit is so key to have a balance
of nutrients on your plate, andthis also relates to a snack
plate.
I know, I know all the nutritiongirlies these days are talking
(15:29):
about why you're not allowed tohave carbohydrates.
Boo them.
I think that havingcarbohydrates, protein, fat, the
fruits, the stuff that givesyou the antioxidants.
I think the mix of it is whatwe really need, and I know
people have been saying that foryears and it sounds boring and
cliched and blur.
But tell you what, guys?
This advice is timeless.
It's classic because it works.
(15:50):
It's not going to go out ofstyle like this high protein
absolute obsession at the moment.
So I like to build myself alittle bit of a snack plate and
I'm including a mix of thesethings on my plate.
There's something I teach youhow to do in my Stop Struggling
With Food Guide, so you can kindof get a little bit of this,
bit of that bit of this and yousit down to a meal that's
actually satisfying.
(16:11):
Now, this is particularlyrelevant.
If you are the kind of personwho finds that you are
constantly snacking while you'remaking dinner and you're going
oh my goodness, by the time Iget to dinner, I'm actually not
even hungry because I've snackedthe entire time.
Then I really want you to trythis method.
I think it's really importantto build out that healthier
snack plate, giving yourselfpermission to have more during
that snack time, or even movingyour dinner earlier.
(16:33):
There are options, but I talkabout that in Stop Struggling
With Food Guide.
I'll leave a link to that downbelow as well, because I think
it is mightily helpful anduseful.
And last thing I want to talkabout is mastering the art of
intentional eating.
Now, intentional eating, whatis that?
That's mindful eating, it is.
It is just being aware of whatyou're doing.
We talked about the fact ofsimply noticing that your
(16:55):
boredom eating is powerful.
The other day yesterdayactually I had a really bad
night's sleep.
I got about six hours of sleepthat was interrupted multiple
times by a baby and a toddler,and I woke up the next day and I
found my thoughts just keptcoming back to food.
I kept wanting chocolate.
The cravings were reallyintense.
So this is a reminder that ifyou feel like you can't stop
(17:20):
eating, that you can't stopthinking about these foods.
Do not underestimate theimportance, the value of getting
enough sleep, enough highquality sleep, and how it
affects your energy levels, yourmood and your emotional or
boredom eating.
This is really crucial andreally key.
There is research to say thattypically, we've been
recommended that seven to eighthours is appropriate, or enough
sleep, and now new research hascome out saying, yeah, that
(17:43):
research was well and good formen, but for women they need
more sleep, and I'd certainlynoticed this for myself.
I personally need around eightto nine hours of quality sleep
to feel well rested.
So it's about working out howmuch sleep you need to feel
energized and good, and part ofthe equation for me is
exercising.
If I move my body and howeverthat looks for you it could be a
(18:03):
walk, it could be a jog, a run,whatever intensity you want
that to be and I find that Isleep so much better and I don't
get stuck in that bad cycle offailing to fall asleep, not
wanting to exercise because Idon't have enough energy.
And just a reminder there thatif you're not getting enough
rest from sleep, you will seekout energy in the simplest form,
(18:24):
and typically the simplest formis from food high energy food,
high sugar food, and that reallyreinforces the boredom eating.
So I know it sounds simple, butfocusing on sleep really can be
a very important thing,something I talk about with the
hierarchy of healthy habits.
If you've read my book, you'regoing to know exactly what
that's all about.
(18:47):
I hope you have found today'sepisode useful.
There are so many strategies.
Give them a whirl.
Let me know how you go.
Write to me on comments and onInstagram or send me an email.
Hello, at Lindy Cohen, you canask me a question.
If you want me to answer aquestion on the podcast, I would
love to hear from you.
I really enjoy hearing from you, so please do reach out and
thanks for listening.
I'll see you next time.
(19:07):
Bye.
I think the time I realised I was boredom eating
was during COVID, and do youremember all the lockdowns?
Suddenly we were all workingfrom home and I'd be at my desk,
you know, typing away, sendingmy silly little emails, and then
suddenly I'd get an urge.
Oh, maybe I just go check outwhat's in the kitchen, open the
(00:24):
pantry, have a snoop around andI knew I wasn't hungry.
I mean, I'd really just eatenlunch not long ago.
But there I was grabbing alittle snack and sauntering back
to my computer.
All right, I'll do a bit morework.
And then I think I was kind ofusing food as a little bit of a
reward.
So, okay, I'll do another hourof work and then next thing, you
know, I'm back in the kitchenand recognizing this boredom
(00:46):
eating for what it is is areally crucial part in getting
in control around it.
And maybe you know boredomeating intimately because I
think to some degree we all dosome boredom eating.
It is a normal part of ourexperience.
But sometimes it gets a littlebit out of control and we find
that we're bored of eating allthe time, every day.
(01:07):
It has become our go-to copingstrategy.
So let's talk about it intoday's episode.
Hey everyone, if you're new here, I'm Lindy Cohen, dietitian
nutritionist, and I'm not one ofthose people who has it all
sorted with food all the time.
(01:27):
In a way, I'm just like you.
I used to struggle with myweight.
It used to be something I guessmy Roman empire that would keep
me up at night.
In fact, I tried all the dietscountless diets over a decade,
and all it did was lead me tofeel totally out of control
around food, which is now whatthis podcast is geared to help
(01:49):
you do.
I'm collating all the researchand my experience as a dietitian
helping thousands and thousandsof people feel normal around
food, to help you do the same.
So I'm so glad you're here.
Stick around, let's get into ithere.
(02:10):
Stick around, let's get into it.
Number one place to start, Ithink, is why the heck do you
eat?
Out of boredom.
You can probably guess a few ofthese, but let's go through
them real quick.
The first thing to note is thatwhen you eat food, it releases
feel-good chemicals and that canhelp you shake the boredom, so
I think that's probably a reallygood explanation.
Like me, creeping into thepantry, I was sick of feeling
bored, and it's a really quickfix for getting rid of boredom.
(02:32):
And number two it starts tobecome a habit, a conditioned
response.
So every time you feel thattwinge, that slight discomfort
of being a bit bored, you runinto the kitchen.
It helps to soothe it a littlebit.
Things just feel good hormones,and then you go all right.
Well, that worked as a strategy, it was a solve, and that
reinforces this habit.
So it can be something that youend up doing every day,
(02:53):
multiple times a day, and Ithink that's when it becomes a
real big problem.
Another reason why we eat out ofboredom is food noise.
So if you're someone whorestricts certain foods and then
you obsess about what you eat,then food might already
frequently be on your mind.
What you're probably finding isthe very food that you tell
yourself you're not allowed toeat.
Well, that's the food thatyou're going for when you are
(03:14):
bored, and so I think, if youare someone restricting, food
will always be on your mind andit's going to further enhance
boredom, meaning how ironicallybecause it's the thing you're
trying to do less of I know whata pain.
Let's fix that.
Number four is I think boredomeating is a coping strategy,
because boredom eating is a typeof emotional eating.
(03:35):
There's been a lot of debate inpsychology about this, but I
guess the growing consensus isthat boredom is an emotion just
like any other emotion that youexperience, like anger or
sadness.
So, as I said, there is adiscomfort in experiencing an
emotion boredom which doesn'tfeel so good, and food is a way
for us to try and pull ourselvesout of it a solve, although it
(03:59):
is not a healthy solve.
So then, what to do about thisboredom eating that's getting in
the way of your healthyintentions and your consistency?
Well, I've got a few tips andtricks up my sleeve.
Number one is to do the appleor the carrot test.
Now, I do laugh about this,because I remember going to my
(04:21):
dietician when I was 16 andshe'd say something like if you
don't feel like eating an apple,then you're probably not hungry
.
And I've seen some non-dietpeople recently being like you
know what?
Sometimes I am hungry and Ijust don't feel like eating an
apple.
But here's how the test works.
I really do think it is valid.
(04:42):
You pick a food that you feelneutrally about.
It could be an apple, it couldbe a carrot, it could be a piece
of bread, whatever it is.
You feel neutrally about whatyou think you feel like eating
and you ask yourself if you'regoing, am I actually hungry?
Would I eat an apple or would Ieat a carrot right now?
And I think it's kind of just areally easy solve.
I give you an example Lastnight my toddler was screaming
(05:02):
at 9pm saying he wantedchocolate.
And I was like cool, cool bro,nice story, things that aren't
happening.
And I simply said to himchocolate's not on the menu
right now, it's just not on themenu.
Remember, I didn't saychocolate's bad, I didn't say we
don't need chocolate at 9pm,it's too late to eat chocolate.
I just said simply chocolate'snot on the menu right now.
(05:23):
Because my gut feeling was hewas trying to avoid going to
sleep and he was feeling alittle bit frazzled and bored
that sleep wasn't coming, and sohe wanted to try and get
himself out of that feeling byhaving chocolate.
So I said to him well, cool, doyou want a carrot?
And he said, yeah, I'd love acarrot.
And I brought him the carrotand he didn't eat the carrot
because I don't think he washungry, I don't think he wanted
(05:43):
the chocolate because he washungry, I don't think he wanted
the carrot.
I think he just said yes.
But I've done this test withmyself multiple times and I find
that when I am actually hungry,I do, I will eat.
I will eat a carrot, I will eatan apple, I will eat pretty
much anything that's palatablethat you throw at me because I
have genuine hunger.
Now I'll be honest, I don'tthink boredom eating is at all
(06:04):
about hunger.
So we can kind of just use thatstrategy.
If you're kind of going, oh, amI hungry, am I bored, I think
that's a very useful strategy.
But let's move on to anotherlittle tip.
Strategy number two is thedistraction-free test.
You ask yourself the questionwould I be willing to eat this
distraction-free?
Sometimes we say to ourselves Ionly want to eat this in front
(06:26):
of the TV.
That's what I'm really lookingforward to.
I want to open this, I want towatch my favorite show, I want
to chill out, and that's the joyfor me.
And I think totally there aretimes where we're going to do
that and that's going to bewithin the realm of a healthy,
balanced approach to food.
But if that is how you genuinelyfeel about these foods, then I
think it's a really good signthat you are using them as a way
(06:46):
of distracting yourself, ofbecoming unbored.
And it's just a little bit of aclue.
And even if you are going to doa little bit of boredom eating,
you're going.
Okay, I know I'm bored, I'meating right now.
I'm not hungry, lindy sillyapple carrot test.
But if you can go, all right, Iwill at least sit and I will
(07:07):
eat it free from distraction.
I think that's really prettybrilliant.
So already we've shifted theboredom eating from mindless
boredom eating to mindfulboredom eating, and I know I
giggle, but that is a hugeimprovement.
That is a huge increase in yourattention intention around food
.
So can you sit down free fromyour phone, free from the TV,
(07:27):
and sit at the table and, betteryet, put it on a plate?
Cause I find most boredomeating is like all emotional
eating it's happening on thecouch, it's happening crouched
in the pantry, it is chaotic.
Eating and changing your boredomeating will instantly help you
feel like you're more in control.
If you're going, I really don'twant to do this.
(07:47):
This is the thing I talk aboutin Binge Free Academy, which is
my program to help you stopbinge and emotional eating.
I give you lots of tips abouthow to actually do this a little
bit more well, a lot more thanwhat is currently in the podcast
.
So if you feel like you areready for a little bit more
support in dealing with your outof control eating, then I
highly recommend Binge FreeAcademy.
You get that support from meinside it with group coaching,
(08:09):
so highly recommend.
I'll leave a link to it in theshow notes, if you like.
All right.
The third strategy I want totalk about is something I
haven't been able to stopthinking about.
Really I haven't.
I've been thinking about it allthe time.
It is the antidote to boredom.
Eating or emotional eating, isto build a fun life, a life
where you don't need to try andrun away from, where your life
(08:32):
is filled with things that bringyou joy.
I had a realization a while agothat I was doing some emotional
eating.
This is a good few years back,lots of emotional eating.
I was feeling like, oh, it wasa bad week.
And then that weekend I wentfor a walk, put on an AirPod,
ran into some friends.
I totally forgot to eat.
(08:55):
I forgot about eating.
I say this because my life thatday was filled with goodness.
I got my little exercise in, Isaw some friends, I was in
sunshine, I was genuinely,really happy and, as a result, I
didn't feel like I needed touse food as a crutch and I
didn't do a boarder meetingbecause I was doing something
that I really, truly enjoyed.
(09:16):
And now I know this is tricky,because life is not all flowers
and lollipops and butterflies.
There are some very hard thingsthat we need to deal with in
life and sometimes there arethings in our life that we can't
change.
Whether you're a parent withkids who are really young and
your partner flies away for work, or you're a carer for someone
(09:37):
and it's just a constant slog, Ithink those situations are
really tricky.
However, I don't think you arestuck, because I think there are
options about making your lifemore fulfilling and more fun and
more joyful.
Now, when I was a dieter, mylife, my hobby, my passion was
food.
It was a very good way for meto cover up my disordered eating
(09:59):
, just to be like I'm reallyinto fitness, when really, aka,
I have an eating disorder that'sundiagnosed.
Anyway, dieting became mypersonality, or at least I
thought it was.
I thought it was a hobby and aninterest, and it is not.
And what I realized is that Ineeded to be more fulfilled.
That watching TV at the end ofa day and reading up on diets
(10:24):
and scrolling on social mediajust wasn't making me feel
fulfilled.
And so I turned to food at theend of the day because I was
looking for something.
And I realized, after I keptgoing back for chocolate after
chocolate, after chocolate, thatI just wasn't finding it in the
chocolate, that the chocolatewasn't going to give me the
thing, that what I really needed.
And I think, if you noticeyou're doing this, we kind of
(10:46):
keep going back for something.
At some point you got to go.
It doesn't matter how much ofthis food I'm going to find, I'm
not going to find what I'mlooking for at the bottom of the
packet.
And I had that big realization.
And I still have this bigrealization.
I keep coming back to this.
So I, after I had my children, Ihad a um, an identity crisis,
not a little identity crisis.
I had a good couple of yearsthere of feeling quite lost and
(11:08):
feeling like I didn't recognizemyself.
And that's when I decided thatI needed to invest in more me
time and as a mom, I feel like Idon't get that much me time.
So I went on pursuit of tryingto work out what the heck I
liked.
So I started beach volleyball,I went to improv classes, I
started salsa dancing, I startedsewing, I started reading and I
(11:30):
started actually gettinghobbies.
I invested in friendships aswell.
I've gone through a period ofreally trying to make my life
feel fulfilled and full withthings that I truly like and
enjoy, not stuff my husbandenjoys or my friends enjoy, like
what do I want to do?
And I do these things tofulfill myself because I know
there's advice out there.
That's like, when you feel likeemotional eating, just go and
(11:52):
meditate, just go for a littlewalk, and I'm like cool bro,
nice advice, but I don't want todo that.
I don't want to do that at all.
And if you ever had thatsensation, then I think let's
talk about this.
Number four is the piggybackmethod.
Once again, I teach you aboutthis inside Binge Free Academy,
but I'll share it with you now.
Piggyback method is basically,if you find yourself emotional
(12:13):
eating, it's very tricky for meto just say to you all right,
just stop emotional eating andgo meditate.
It's silly, it's silly and it'sjust try it and if you can hack
it, amazing.
But for most people that's justnot going to fly.
So piggyback method is aboutintroducing a new, healthier
coping strategy for youremotions.
So let's say you have a reallyhard day, you're feeling really
(12:34):
tired, you might still go, I'mstill going to do some degree of
emotional eating, aka alsoboredom eating, but now I'm
going to introduce a healthiercoping strategy in addition to
it.
So then, after I've eaten, I'mgoing to go like whip out my
phone and just write down whatI'm feeling.
Or I'm going to go like whipout my phone and just write down
what I'm feeling.
Or I'm going to go for a walk,or I am going to meditate, or
I'm going to do one of thosecliche things that people talk
(12:55):
about, like having a bath, andwhat we do is we slowly
integrate this little habit,this healthier habit,
piggybacking off the emotionaleating, so that at some point
you go oh, this time I actuallyfound that I didn't emotionally.
I went straight to the othercoping strategy, I went for a
walk because I just knew thatwas going to make me feel better
.
So this little process ofintroducing something new can
help you lean less on emotionaleating and transition into a
(13:19):
place where it's not your solecoping strategy.
I think this is reallyimportant.
I will teach you more aboutthis in Binge Fear Academy if
you come over and join us.
Number five I think you've gotto supercharge your pantry and
you do have to have stuff thatis healthy and that you truly
actually want to eat.
That is a very key piece.
(13:41):
You hear me talking about thatall the time.
We have to make healthy eatingenjoyable if you want to be
consistent at it.
Otherwise it's a bore.
You might find that even yourboredom eating isn't fulfilled
by the boring foods you'retrying to eat, and that is when
you are going for that moreexciting food.
So we've got to strike thebalance between our food being,
like, truly a little bitenjoyable and fun.
(14:01):
So I like, I like popcorn.
I like a nut mix.
I love Brazil nuts.
I'm into a Brazil nut phase.
I like dates.
I have my homemade muesli.
I think sometimes a nut bar canbe a very convenient grab and
go option.
I think that is something wedon't talk about enough is those
grab and go options thatsometimes, yes, you could go
make yourself a piece of avocadotoast, but that requires a few
(14:24):
steps and sometimes it's justtoo many steps.
I think that's fair for us tobe realistic about it.
You can also meal prep somestuff that is going to be
healthy snack options, ready foryou to go.
So if you are that way inclined, a reminder that diet culture
doesn't own meal prep or mealplanning.
That is something that you canown, that can be healthy, but it
doesn't have to feel like a sad, boring loser.
(14:47):
Chicken and broccoli.
I said it here, so that's theway I think about that stuff.
So in my Back to Basics app, Igive you lots of healthy, easy
snack options that you can storein the fridge, that you can
meal prep ahead of a week,because I think when you are
creating these options thattruly feel satisfying, that make
you feel balanced, thatintegrate some of your binge or
(15:09):
trigger foods into your diet, Ithink you stop feeling the need
to emotionally eat, to boredom,eat nearly as much and of course
you've heard me talk about thisit is so key to have a balance
of nutrients on your plate, andthis also relates to a snack
plate.
I know, I know all the nutritiongirlies these days are talking
(15:29):
about why you're not allowed tohave carbohydrates.
Boo them.
I think that havingcarbohydrates, protein, fat, the
fruits, the stuff that givesyou the antioxidants.
I think the mix of it is whatwe really need, and I know
people have been saying that foryears and it sounds boring and
cliched and blur.
But tell you what, guys?
This advice is timeless.
It's classic because it works.
(15:50):
It's not going to go out ofstyle like this high protein
absolute obsession at the moment.
So I like to build myself alittle bit of a snack plate and
I'm including a mix of thesethings on my plate.
There's something I teach youhow to do in my Stop Struggling
With Food Guide, so you can kindof get a little bit of this,
bit of that bit of this and yousit down to a meal that's
actually satisfying.
(16:11):
Now, this is particularlyrelevant.
If you are the kind of personwho finds that you are
constantly snacking while you'remaking dinner and you're going
oh my goodness, by the time Iget to dinner, I'm actually not
even hungry because I've snackedthe entire time.
Then I really want you to trythis method.
I think it's really importantto build out that healthier
snack plate, giving yourselfpermission to have more during
that snack time, or even movingyour dinner earlier.
(16:33):
There are options, but I talkabout that in Stop Struggling
With Food Guide.
I'll leave a link to that downbelow as well, because I think
it is mightily helpful anduseful.
And last thing I want to talkabout is mastering the art of
intentional eating.
Now, intentional eating, whatis that?
That's mindful eating, it is.
It is just being aware of whatyou're doing.
We talked about the fact ofsimply noticing that your
(16:55):
boredom eating is powerful.
The other day yesterdayactually I had a really bad
night's sleep.
I got about six hours of sleepthat was interrupted multiple
times by a baby and a toddler,and I woke up the next day and I
found my thoughts just keptcoming back to food.
I kept wanting chocolate.
The cravings were reallyintense.
So this is a reminder that ifyou feel like you can't stop
(17:20):
eating, that you can't stopthinking about these foods.
Do not underestimate theimportance, the value of getting
enough sleep, enough highquality sleep, and how it
affects your energy levels, yourmood and your emotional or
boredom eating.
This is really crucial andreally key.
There is research to say thattypically, we've been
recommended that seven to eighthours is appropriate, or enough
sleep, and now new research hascome out saying, yeah, that
(17:43):
research was well and good formen, but for women they need
more sleep, and I'd certainlynoticed this for myself.
I personally need around eightto nine hours of quality sleep
to feel well rested.
So it's about working out howmuch sleep you need to feel
energized and good, and part ofthe equation for me is
exercising.
If I move my body and howeverthat looks for you it could be a
(18:03):
walk, it could be a jog, a run,whatever intensity you want
that to be and I find that Isleep so much better and I don't
get stuck in that bad cycle offailing to fall asleep, not
wanting to exercise because Idon't have enough energy.
And just a reminder there thatif you're not getting enough
rest from sleep, you will seekout energy in the simplest form,
(18:24):
and typically the simplest formis from food high energy food,
high sugar food, and that reallyreinforces the boredom eating.
So I know it sounds simple, butfocusing on sleep really can be
a very important thing,something I talk about with the
hierarchy of healthy habits.
If you've read my book, you'regoing to know exactly what
that's all about.
(18:47):
I hope you have found today'sepisode useful.
There are so many strategies.
Give them a whirl.
Let me know how you go.
Write to me on comments and onInstagram or send me an email.
Hello, at Lindy Cohen, you canask me a question.
If you want me to answer aquestion on the podcast, I would
love to hear from you.
I really enjoy hearing from you, so please do reach out and
thanks for listening.
I'll see you next time.
(19:07):
Bye.
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