How to Replace Eating With Activities

If you're watching what you eat, you're likely to get to a point where you have a burst of hunger or sudden cravings you want to indulge in. Especially if you're watching your calorie count and you know that one extra snack will throw your diet well beyond where it should be, you must find other things to distract you from wanting to eat. Create a routine plan filled with daily activities so you're not left bored and binge eating.

Instructions

• 1

  Get some exercise. Commit to a regular routine of working out. Try splitting longer workouts in two by dividing them so that you exercise in the beginning and toward the end of your day. Get up and go for a brisk walk for 15 minutes when you feel like eating a snack. Focus on your physical fitness and the progress you make as encouragement to stay on track. Give yourself a mental reminder that when you commit to working out, you don't waste sweat therapy by consuming unneeded calories.

• 2

  Run some errands. Combat your need to feed by redirecting your energy to run errands. Get some fresh air and get your blood pumping by taking a break and getting a change of scenery. Go pick up your dry cleaning, go to the post office or take your dog for a walk. Do something you know needs to be done for the day, but use it as a distraction to rid your case of the munchies.

• 3

  Create a to-do list. Start your day with a to-do list no matter if you have full day of leisure or an action-packed busy day to tackle. Give yourself a mental schedule of all the things you need to do for the day so you keep your mind focused on getting through the task list. Understand that an idle mind will remind you that when you're bored and inactive, you want a snack.

• 4

  Post visuals to remind you of why you're watching your weight in the first place. Hang a picture of yourself at your dream weight from a previous year, or even an image in a magazine of the body type you'd like to get down to. Use whatever motivation you need as a visual aid to keep you on track and motivated. Make a daily food journal and keep it handy so you know where you stand as the day goes by. This way if you're on a 1,500-calorie diet and slowly approaching the limit, you'll have a mental picture with each entry of how close you are to going over your calorie count.