How important can a hobby be in your weight loss efforts? Do you think that having a hobby can keep you from gaining weight or even help you to lose weight?
If you think about what a hobby means it could help you in your efforts with any negative behavior.
When you start a hobby there is usually a learning curve. You have to learn how to do whatever hobby you’re starting. If you decide to crochet or quilt you’ll need to take some lessons. Or maybe you’ve decided to take up painting or jewelry making, or playing tennis. If you’ve never done these things before you’ll probably need to spend some time learning how to do them either by self-learning online or by going to some kind of offline classes. Whatever hobby you take up there will probably be a given amount of time allocated to learning about how to do this particular hobby.
When you’re working on your hobby you’ll be very busy. Perhaps you’ll be too busy to be thinking about eating or snacking. You might even be so busy you forget to stop and eat. Could this really happen? I know it’s happened to me. When I’m busy working on a project I don’t want to stop and take a break to make a sandwich or cook something so before I know it hours have gone by and I’ve forgotten about that hungry feeling I thought I had. Because for me, many times I’m not really hungry, but just bored or wanting something to do and since I’m already busy I don’t really need food at the moment.
I’ve been making jewelry for 10 years and I find that once I get involved in a project it’s very hard to tear myself away from that to even have lunch. I tell myself that I’ll go downstairs and get something in a little while and before I know it hours have gone by. This worked for me years ago when I quit smoking “cold turkey” too. I purposely decided I had to keep my hands busy so I took classes in crocheting and rug hooking. I got so busy that I never wanted to stop for a cigarette. I made a lot of cool things for my house and everyone in my family got crochet slippers for Christmas. But another bonus was that in the classes I met other interesting people and expanded my horizons further. One woman taught me macramé and I began making macramé tables and purses, giving me another hobby to pursue. You never know where one road will take you when you begin down that path. Just take that first step on the journey and new horizons open up. And when they do your old habits don’t seem so interesting anymore.
Think about how little kids never seem to be hungry. They’re always playing and never want to stop to eat. That’s the last thing on their mind. They’re having way too much fun. So if you can figure out a way to focus your thoughts and energies away from food or whatever your negative habit is and replace it with a positive one you’ll be able to gain control once again.
Having a hobby can do much more than just help with your weight loss efforts. Having a hobby develops new pathways in the brain. It helps to fight dementia and keeps your brain healthy. It keeps you busy and prevents boredom. And sometimes having a hobby can help you meet new friends depending on the type of hobby.
And the best part about having a hobby or craft that you enjoy is that there is a bonus. You end up with some kind of tangible finished product. If you’re a scrap book maker than you have memories to share. If you knot or crochet you have lovely pieces to keep or give as gifts. Paintings can be hung or even sold. And jewelry can be given as gifts or sold in a business. All of these things are REAL worldly goods that came about because you were not eating or snacking and you didn’t even realize it. So the next time you feel like you’re struggling to control your food cravings perhaps you should think about taking up a hobby of some sort to keep your mind and hands occupied. You’ll find so many benefits that you won’t even miss the not snacking part. Before you know it you’ll have changed your whole way of behaving and your life patterns and daily routines will be different.
