17 Helpful Tricks To Beat Boredom Snacking

Mindless snacking is incredibly common. While the occasional chip or cookie is fine, it's snacking when you aren't hungry that can get you into trouble. Some may attribute it to being "hangry," while others might just be bored.

It's important not to beat yourself up over this — and helpful to understand why mindless snacking happens, whether it's an occasional thing or a more frequent issue that you'd like to quit for good.

Sometimes an unplanned snack is the result of a lack of a structured routine. When you don't follow a specific eating schedule, eating habits run amok. Or you might not be much of a cook, in which case it's easier to grab anything nearby. It could even be that you don't know what to eat for meals, so you give up and go for the snack. Once you identify the root cause, you can easily develop strategies to avoid it — and one of these may be a good starting point.

People often mistake boredom for hunger, but a break can be a great time to fill the gap with fresh air or pet time. The important point is that you don't make food the integral part of every break, or you risk eating "just because."

"If you are snacking out of boredom, try to find an alternative activity, like reading or getting outside," advises Barbara Grossman, a clinical associate professor at the University of Georgia. Ali Berg, an assistant professor at the school as well as a Cooperative Extension nutrition and health specialist, says, "When the snacking urge starts, try an 'exercise snack' instead, such as one minute of jumping jacks, marching in place, seated punches, dancing or a lap or two around your house."

This is common for people who work from home. One way around this is to pause and take a deep breath before you eat. Rate your hunger level on a scale of one to 10. If you aren't very hungry, go for a walk instead.

You'd be surprised at how easy it is to snack endlessly when you don't have a designated place to eat. Reverse the habit by choosing a place to eat snacks and plating the food. Otherwise, you might find yourself on the couch in front of the television, or in the kitchen munching on chips while browsing on your phone. Because you're distracted by other activities, you could easily lose track of where your hunger pangs end. That's a cue you should learn to recognize, because it can help you complete your snack so you don't overeat.

And when you plate your food, you can set it on a table and be more intentional about your choices. Plus, you have to be more mindful of portions when you put your snack on a plate. This is a great way to snack sensibly — without going overboard.

Do you put much thought into what you eat for a snack? Mindless snacking is often associated with unhealthy foods like chips and cookies. The tastier and more indulgent, the more likely you'll devour your snack — and you aren't alone there.

One way to resolve this is to prepare a shopping list before you head to the store. Buying snacks can be fun when you put some effort into what you eat. It comes back to being intentional by choosing foods that benefit your body's unique needs. Plus, snacks do ultimately serve a purpose: They fill the gap in between meals and keep you satisfied while giving an energy boost.

Healthy snack ideas include fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, pretzels, popcorn, Greek yogurt, and string cheese. All of these can be thoughtful additions to your daily diet, satiating you throughout the day and keeping you away from so-called "junk" food that might otherwise lead you to overeat.

Are you actually hungry, thirsty, or maybe even upset or bored? It's not always easy to tell, because hunger isn't always just a feeling. There are several factors that come into play, from your body's physical processes to your emotions. Even something that's going on in your life on a particular day can have an effect on hunger.

Usually, genuine hunger will leave you with an "empty stomach" sensation. Says Dr. Janice Hillman, MD, a doctor at Penn Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine Radnor, "If you're actually hungry, you'll experience true hunger cues, such as stomach growling, low energy, shakiness, headaches and problem focusing."

By contrast, thirst typically causes the mouth to dry out. Your throat might itch, and you may have an insatiable appetite for any type of beverage. If emotions are causing your appetite to go awry, pause and reflect for a moment before you take that first bite. Think about whether you're having a tough day and whether that might have an impact on your desire to snack mindlessly. Often, this is the case!

Munching on chips and crackers "just because" is the very definition of mindless snacking. If you can relate to this, you aren't alone — and the other good news is that you can take steps to avoid this by keeping said snacks out of sight as much as possible.

There are a few ways to accomplish that, and you need to be honest with yourself about what works best for you. You could purchase the items in question less frequently and keep them tucked away, reserved only for occasional treats. You could otherwise avoid buying them altogether, in which case you'd be forced to get ready and go out to purchase them again.

If you do want to indulge in the so-called "naughty" snack, try the bowl trick. "We tend to want to eat things with our eyes," explains nutritionist Jessica Cording, RD, to Women's Health. Put a little bit of your snack in a much smaller bowl and munch on that; you'll eat less, but still feel satisfied.

While you might not want to quit buying your favorite snacks altogether, you can give yourself a little challenge just by purchasing slightly smaller packages instead. Portion control is, after all, one of those sneaky "tricks" that can make all the difference in helping you avoid over-snacking — and it's a habit that is relatively easy to adopt.

It's not just smaller packages that make a difference, either. You can purchase a standard-size bag and apportion servings in plastic baggies that are ready for you to grab whenever a snack craving strikes. That will also help you avoid reaching into the larger bag for second and third helpings.

If you want to stick to a specific serving size, start using measuring cups to determine how much to put inside your plastic baggies. That's an easy way to calculate your caloric intake and stay within your daily dietary goals if you have a specific number in mind.

It's hard to avoid a snack that's right in front of you. If you make it harder to access those snacks, you'll be much less tempted to give in (or you'll need to make yourself work for it whenever temptation strikes).

A study published in the International Journal of Obesity found that proximity to snacks played a significant role in how much of the snack was consumed. People consumed more candy in the experiment when it was both visible and situated on their desk as opposed to set at a distance. So, people may be less compelled to eat if the snack isn't easy to access.

Make this work for you by putting less healthy snacks on shelves that are harder for you to reach. Don't do this with items that are better for you, however. You should always keep nuts, fruit, and other nutritious snacks within reach (and practice healthy habits, like portion control and plating, to help you manage how you eat them).

The "food clock" is a real thing that can affect when you eat. It's an interesting way of changing your diet, too. It all relates to your biological clock, or body clock, which is responsible for controlling your circadian rhythm.

Your body clock is meant to be a well-functioning machine that regulates your behaviors, including sleeping and eating. It aids in digestion and metabolization, then stops temporarily until your brain receives the signal that it's time to eat again.

You can support your internal clock by eating at the same time each day and choosing healthy foods. Limiting fat and sugar intake is vital, as your clock "reads" these signals. You might feel hungrier sooner when you consume excess sugar, for example, since it won't fill you up. That disrupts your natural clock, and you'll naturally eat more as a result. Learning what to eat and when to eat can make a big difference.