If you find yourself snacking a lot outside mealtimes, it might be because you’re hungry. It might also be because you’re bored or stressed. If you eat when you’re bored, don’t feel bad. You’re not alone! However, overeating as a result of boredom or stress may contribute to diabetes, obesity, heart disease and other serious medical conditions. This also doesn’t help with your root problem, which is determining what’s causing you to snack. Fortunately, you can learn how to start healthier habits and fight back when boredom strikes.


1. Evaluating Your Eating Behavior

Keep a food diary.
Keeping a food diary can help you learn what you eat every day. It can also help you take control of your eating habits because you pay more attention to them as you note them in your diary.
Write down everything you eat and drink in a journal. Include a list of calories, if desired. You can use a paper journal to keep track of your intake or you can use your phone or computer. Consistency is very important.
Include the time and how much you ate. For example, 9:45 a.m., 2 handfuls of M&Ms.
Note what you were doing at the time. Also note how you were feeling. For example, 9:45 a.m., 2 handfuls of M&Ms. I ate them at my desk while I was browsing online. Felt stressed over this project at work.
Review your food diary weekly.
Once you have a week’s worth of diary entries, look back through them. Look for any patterns. For example, did you feel sad or stressed often when you ate? What activities were you doing (or not doing) when you ate?
Also notice any variations in your patterns. For example, if you notice that you snack a lot at work but not much when you’re home in the evening, it might be because you don’t find your work stimulating. Or it might be because you feel more stressed at work and you use snacks as a coping mechanism.
Think about your snack habits.
What foods do you choose to eat when you feel bored? Many people gravitate toward greasy, sweet or carbohydrate-laden foods when they feel upset, bored or stressed.
If you tend to eat whatever is around you, you can help yourself out by purchasing only healthy snack foods when you go shopping. If you go to the vending machines at work or school, try packing a healthy snack to take with you so you aren't tempted to visit the vending machines.
Do you feel better after you eat outside mealtimes? Do you have more energy? Or do you feel tired?
Learn your triggers.
A variety of triggers make people feel like they need to eat, even if they don’t feel physically hungry. Some of these are mental and emotional, such as boredom or anxiety. Others are related to situations. For example, some people may find that they snack more when they watch TV. Maybe it feels “wrong” to see a movie without getting a popcorn and soda. Perhaps you feel pressure to eat when you’re at a party. Or maybe once you eat one doughnut, you feel like you have to eat them all. Whatever your triggers are, learning them can help you avoid mindless eating.
Many people find themselves snacking when doing other activities (e.g., reading, watching TV). In some cases, you may eat 71 percent more calories if you eat while watching TV.
Check your fluid intake.
Research shows that a lot of people don’t accurately recognize when they are thirsty. People often confuse symptoms of thirst for symptoms of hunger. Drinking more water may help reduce the urge to snack.
High levels of anxiety may also cause you to feel thirsty.


2. Developing Healthy Eating Habits

Learn to recognize real hunger.
Many people can't interpret hunger cues, leading them to think they’re hungry when they’re not. If your hunger recognition is off, you can use some tricks to learn how to tell when you’re hungry.
Think about when you last ate. Hunger cycles peak every 90 minutes or so, but if you ate within the last 2 or 3 hours, you’re probably not really hungry. (Obviously, you may have different hunger needs if you're an athlete or if your job is very physical.)
Chart your hunger on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is “totally full” and 10 is “I might die if I don’t get a pizza right now.” You may not be very accurate with this at first, but thinking about the scale will help you learn to think about your hunger in context.
Watch for physical cues.
A rumbling stomach, headache, feeling weak or shaky, or feeling tired for unexplainable reasons may all be signs that you need to eat.
Think about whether you’re hungry or just experiencing a craving. In many cases, if you’re craving a particular food, such as chocolate or macaroni and cheese, you may just want comfort from a specific taste.
Think differently about your eating and drinking.
Research shows that how you think about what you eat and drink affects how full you feel. One study presented the same liquid as a soup and then as a beverage. People rated the soup as more filling even though they were given the exact same amount of the exact same liquid! You’re more likely to feel “full” if you think of what you’ve eaten as a meal rather than a snack.
Putting everything you eat, including snacks, on a plate may help you control mindless eating. Using small plates will help you control portion sizes, too.
Try scheduling your snacks to help you cut down. If you’re “supposed” to be eating at a particular time, you may be more mindful of what you consume.
Choose more filling foods.
If you find yourself eating a lot between meals, try making your meals more filling. Research shows that feeling full, or “satiated,” makes you less likely to overeat. Foods with a lot of fiber, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, will help you feel full for a longer period of time.
Foods that are high in water, such as vegetables and fruits, are very good for helping you feel full. Try to incorporate these into all of your meals. If you must snack, choose a handful of carrots over a handful of chips: 1 ounce of carrots contains a mere 25 calories, vs. 152 calories in 1 ounce of potato chips.

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