Can a hobby help you lose weight?
How important can a hobby be to 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 might help you in your efforts with any negative behaviors.
When you start a hobby, there is usually a learning curve. You have to learn to do whatever hobby you are starting. If you decide to crochet or quilt, you will need to take a few 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 through online self-study or by attending some kind of offline classes. Whatever hobby you take up, there will likely be a certain amount of time spent learning how to do this particular hobby.
When you work on your hobby, you will be very busy. You may be too busy to think about eating or snacking. You may even be so busy that you forget to stop and eat. Could this really happen? I know it 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, many times I am not very hungry, I am just bored or wanting to do something and since I am already busy, I do not need food at the moment.
I have been making jewelry for 10 years and I find that once I get involved in a project it is very difficult to break away from it to even have lunch. I tell myself that I will go down to get something in a little while and before I know it, hours have passed. This worked for me years ago when I quit smoking “all at once” as well. I purposely decided that I had to keep my hands busy, so I took crochet and crochet classes. I was so busy that I never wanted to stop for a cigarette. I did a lot of cool 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 broadened my horizons even more. A woman taught me macrame and I started making macrame tables and purses, which gave me another hobby to pursue. You never know where a path will take you when you start down that path. Just take the first step on the journey and new horizons will open up. And when they do, your old habits don’t seem so interesting anymore.
Think about how young children never seem to be hungry. They are always playing and they never want to stop eating. That is the last thing they have in mind. 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 will be able to regain control once again.
Having a hobby can do a lot more than just help you with your weight loss efforts. Having a hobby develops new pathways in the brain. Helps 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 profession that you enjoy is that there is a bonus. You end up with some kind of tangible finished product. If you are a scrapbook maker, you have memories to share. If you knot or crochet, you have precious pieces to keep or give as gifts. The paintings can be hung or even sold. And the jewelry can be given away or sold in a store. 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 think about indulging in a hobby of some kind to keep your mind and hands busy. You’ll find so many benefits that you won’t even miss the no-snack part. Before you know it, you will have completely changed the way you behave and your life patterns and daily routines will be different.