Hey everyone and welcome to the official JUNGLE FITNESS Orange County Personal Trainer Blog!  Today is Motivational Monday, we’re going to discuss ways to exercise your mind. According to a recent survey, 400 million bags of chips are eaten in the US, every year, out of sheer boredom.

Of all the eating we do every day, emotional eating can be the worst for sabotaging our weight loss. When we feel bored, lonely or stressed, the kitchen is often our first refuge and we usually aren’t reaching for the carrot sticks.

Food, especially of the junk variety, can be a natural pick-me-up when you’re feeling down, but it can easily add extra pounds, making you feel even worse about yourself. Even worse, the best laid healthy plans can go right out the window in the face of stress or boredom.

Okay, maybe you won’t go crazy as this guy above you… but I’m quite sure you feel the same way.  So much things to do and so little time, you’re hungry, tired, and you’re urging to just grab that bag of chips while you finish your work (because of its convenience or you order take out food).

Some scenarios you might face:

-   You spend an entire day working on a presentation about synergistic restructuring of customer-based initiatives. Hours into the project, you’re so bored you’ve used all your change to buy candy bars from the vending machine. When you run out, you consider panhandling for more.

-   You’re home alone watching bad reality TV and feeling lonely. You’re almost desperate enough to call your mom to talk, but realize you’ll get less guilt if you inhale a bag of Doritos and a bottle of wine.

-   After a long day, you’re exhausted but determined to make a healthy meal. The pizza delivery boy drives by and, before you can stop yourself, you’re running into the street, waving a $20 bill and screaming for him to come back.

Stop the Sabotage

-   Keep a food diary. Habitually writing down what you’re eating makes it easier to notice what triggers emotional eating and help you avoid it.

-   Have a backup plan. Make a list of things you can do when you’re bored or lonely - take a walk, call a friend, brush your teeth, clean out the junk drawer, etc. When you want to eat to make yourself feel better, do just one thing on your list and you may bypass the urge.

-   Explore new options. Research ides for what you can do on a regular basis to reduce stress or beat boredom. Make food your last resort instead of your first.

(quoted from: exercise.about.com)

I hope you consider searching new ways to relax yourself from stress or boredom than to eat.  However, if you’re those type of people that can eat anything and still stay fairly skinny or lean, you should watch your health.  It’s still not healthy to eat like that without any daily physical exercise.