Finding The Right Outlets

In yesterday’s blog post from David Smith, David talks about the importance of having outlets. It’s a great point, and it’s one that Chris Powell makes often, too. Eating is, for many people, an outlet for stress, entertainment, enjoyment, and even boredom. If we can supplant eating as an outlet, then we can dramatically decrease our food intake.

Well… that was an easy solution. All overeating problems are solved!

Not quite, right? It’s easy for us at Reshape The Nation to say “find other outlets,” but finding those other outlets is challenging since life, more often than not, tends to revolve around eating. We go out with friends and it often involves eating. We go on vacation and it involves eating. We come home to our families and the first priority is “what’s for dinner?” We wake up, eat breakfast, and pack lunches for our children—all food related activities. We meet friends after work for happy hours. We go to the movies and order popcorn. Heck, we even get enticed to meetings, sales, openings, and events with the promise of things like “free pizza.” Food is such a universal focus of our lives that it’s hard to imagine activities that don’t involve it. But, because this is the Reshape The Nation blog, we’re going to offer some. Here’s a list of some great non-food-based activities:

Writing
David made a good suggestion. Writing is a great activity that doesn’t involve food and also gives you the opportunity to express yourself in ways you might not otherwise be able to. You can write for yourself, or go to a site like Wordpress.com and set up a free blog.

Exercise
Admit it… you knew this was coming. But you also know picking up a slice of pizza is much harder to do when your hands are holding weights.

Sports
Yes, sports are exercise, but participating in a sporting activity feels different than running on a treadmill. It’s less “work” more “play.”

Read a Book
Reading might be a little “old school,” but give it a try. It’s pretty easy to get “lost” in a good book. And if you’re wondering how reading is any better than TV, reading requires both hands.

Volunteer
By helping others, not only are you doing something good for your community, you’re also keeping yourself busy. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.

These are just a few suggestions, but it’s by no means an exhaustive list. If you have any great ideas about outlets and how to keep from relying on food, send them to us and we’ll pass them along! Or better yet, hop on into the Reshape Community and share them yourself!

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