Can Being Bored Make You Fat?

Hey friends!

I had a fascinating conversation with a flight attendant on a trip I went on a few weeks ago, and I thought I’d tell you about it. I think you might get some ‘AHA!’ moments from reading this…

The flight attendant sometimes works on flights where people have to pay to purchase soda (but water is free) and sometimes works on flights where people can get both soda and water for free.

So I asked her if she noticed any difference in frequency of ordering soda when they charge a dollar for it, versus it being free.

She replied “Oh yeah…. huge difference! When we charge for it, very few people get it and the majority drink water. When it’s free, most people order soda.”

So why is this significant?

Because it shows that the COST of food (or the simple FREE AVAILABILITY of food) has a huge impact on how many calories we consume at the end of the day.

So be aware that it’s NOT only our body’s hunger/satiety cues that dictate how many calories we consume–it’s also things like boredom, and even more importantly for many people, the SIMPLE AVAILABILITY of CHEAP/FREE food.

Also, here’s another thing worth considering: Our environment has a big impact on how much we eat.

Think about it… If you’re off doing something fun (whatever your favorite thing is… hiking in the woods, going for a walk or bike ride, watching a movie, reading a book, spending time at a party, etc) you can often times go for hours not consuming any food and not even thinking about it.

But when you’re bored or sitting around doing stuff you don’t enjoy, or simply PRESENTED with an OPPORTUNITY to eat some cookies or soda or whatever, you might find yourself indulging SIMPLY BECAUSE IT’S THERE.

Be aware of how much your immediate physical environment and the things you do with your time influence your feeding behaviors.

How many of you have had experiences like this where you notice that spending your time in different ways (doing something you enjoy vs. being bored) influences your eating behavior?

How many of you notice that being in different environments (maybe out in nature vs. being in an office with cookies and crackers around you all day) influences how much and how often you eat?

I would love to hear your experiences on this! Comment below.

Source
http://www.myneurogym.com/can-being-bored-make-you-fat/#gs.b7d31e53d746464580fc0ef2dfa4b097