Boredom eating is a top reason why people gain weight.

‘I was bored and before I knew it I had eaten the lot’

Does this familiar to you and has it happened to you. For many years, people have told me a story of how they gained weight. It boils down to boredom or another strong emotion such as worry or anger.

The mind and how we think, plays a dramatic role in weight-gain.  When we get bored our mind can travel in any direction, trundling over negative past events or worrying future events and to distract ourselves we eat.

In one bored binge we can consume 500 kcalories in a large popcorn serving! That is alot of kcalories when 1800 to 2000 are the maximum for the average female per day to maintain weight.

The solution is simple. Don’t allow yourself to get bored particularly if you have an active mind that requires constant stimulation. When you get angry or worried, step away from it. Get out and walk or talk it off. Don’t try to eat it off. It does not work.

Learning something new activates the same reward areas of the brain as any addictive substance such as food, alcohol, drugs, sex and gambling.

Dopamine, a powerful brain chemical, controls the feelings of pleasure, enthusiasm and gives us motivation and drive to change things in our life and see things through. For example, when we fall in love, take-up a new hobby or do anything new, our brain produces Dopamine. We feel enthralled, fully engaged and food can become the last thing on our mind.

Learning something new is a safe and exciting way to lose weight.  It will potentially enrich you life in many ways. Instead of sitting on the couch every evening, try something new. Be adventurous. Grow older excitingly not boringly.

However, we are human and the ‘new thing’  becomes that bit less exciting after a time e.g. marriage and we can drift into boredom. To keep a marriage fresh we do new things together. In summary our brains need new information and new activities every so often.

I’m not recommending crazy stuff eg. learning to fly. I prefer my 2 feet firmly on the ground. Think back in time. We all remember the teacher at school who inspired us and who we learnt the most from. When they taught us, our Dopamine cells lit up and we retained information much better than other subjects. When people inspire you, motivate you, it stirs you and you perform better. So if you try one new activity and it does not inspire, don’t give up, try something else.

My clients tell me I inspire them and motivate them. If you want help losing weight, try my 8 week programme.