How important can a hobby be in your weight loss efforts? Do you think that having a hobby can prevent you from gaining weight or even help you lose weight?
If you think about what a hobby means, it could help 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 out with. If you decide to crochet or quilt, you’ll need to take a few lessons. Or maybe you’ve decided to go into painting, jewelry making, or tennis. If you’ve never done these things before, you probably need to spend some time learning how to do them, either by learning on your own online or by taking some sort of offline class. Whichever hobby you choose, there will probably be a certain amount of time spent learning how to do this particular hobby.
When you are working on your hobby you will be very busy. Maybe you are too busy to think about eating or snacking. You might even be so busy that you forget to stop and eat. Could this really happen? I know it has 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 passed and I’ve forgotten about that feeling of hunger I thought I had. Because for me, a lot of times I’m not really hungry, but rather bored or in the mood to do something and since I’m already busy, I don’t really need food right now.
I have been making jewelry for 10 years and I find that once I get involved in a project it is very hard to get away from it even for lunch. I tell myself I’ll go down and buy something in a bit and before I know it, hours will have passed. This worked for me years ago when I also quit “cold turkey”. I purposely decided that I needed to keep my hands busy, so I took classes in crochet and rug sewing. I was so busy I never wanted to stop for a cigarette. I made so many great things for my house and everyone in my family got crochet slippers for Christmas. But another advantage was that in the classes I met other interesting people and further expanded my horizons. A woman taught me macrame and I started making macrame tables and bags, which gave me another hobby to pursue. You never know where a path will take you when you start down that path. Just take that first step on the journey and new horizons will open up. And when they do, your old clothes don’t look that interesting anymore.
Think of how little children never seem to be hungry. They are always playing and never want to stop eating. That’s the last thing on their minds. They are having too much fun. So if you can find 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 regain control once again.
Having a hobby can do much more than just help you with your weight loss efforts. Having a hobby develops new pathways in the brain. Help fight dementia and keep 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 thing about having a hobby or a job that you enjoy is that there is a bonus. You end up with some sort of tangible finished product. If you are a scrapbook maker, then you have memories to share. If you make knots or crochet you have precious pieces to save or give away. The paintings can be hung or even sold. And the jewelry can be given away or sold in a business. All of these things are REAL worldly goods that came about because you weren’t eating or snacking and didn’t even realize it. So the next time you feel like you’re struggling to control your food cravings, maybe you should consider taking up some sort of hobby to keep your mind and hands occupied. You’ll find so many benefits that you won’t even miss the part about not snacking. Before you know it you will have changed your whole way of behaving and your life patterns and daily routines will be different.
