There is a book "50 ways to Soothe Yourself without food"

Anonymous wrote:I've developed an obsession with hand creams.

Can you recommend me a good hand cream under $50?

Green juice and yoga.

I know how that makes me sound, but I cannot stress enough that I am not a crunchy person and those two things are the last things I ever expected to get into.

Re the yoga: as I started to lose weight and get more fit I found it more and more enjoyable. Nowadays basically any time I have a few minutes to spare I’ll either steam a short peloton yoga class or just run through some sun salutations or other poses. My body actually craves the movement and feels so good doing it. And it fills a lot of the empty time I used to spend snacking or thinking about food.

On the juice, I know that doesn’t answer your question because it is actually food, but it totally realigned my relationship with food. I starting making a green juice for breakfast as part of my weight loss plan and just got addicted. (To be clear, I always ate real food too, never did juice fasts.) I hit my goal weight a long time ago but will never ever stop juicing. I don’t crave sweets anymore ever and I very rarely crave any other type of food. A fresh green juice in the morning gives me the kind of pleasure I used to get from a big fried meal. I make fruitier juices for snacks or desert and it tastes and feels like I’m having something bad for me, even though it’s still quite healthy.

Things I have done:
Used Duolingo as the bridge for when I have a craving (you just need to give it 10-20 minutes and the craving passes and guess who can read some Arabic now!)
Practicing art (I am occasionally a working artist)
Write down the cute thing your kids said
Exercise bike (they’re small and fold up!)

Things I would do:
Something houseplant related. Orchids and African violets seem to take enough care to keep your hands busy but don’t need babysitting. Terrariums.

Have a really luxurious tea-making process with high-quality teas.

Also, I started getting glossy magazines delivered again.

I've developed an obsession with hand creams.

thanks so much, all.

I do love to walk, and it does feel physically great, but I just don’t have an opportunity to do it, with work, small children, and unsafe neighborhood + no room for treadmill.

fermented foods — really interesting idea.

any more ideas, please keep them coming. 💜

I often eat when I am bored. Finding other ways to engage my brain other than food is how I substitute the pleasure of food for something else.

Meant to add to my earlier post that I also love to combine walking or hiking with foraging. It’s definitely a thrill to find tasty wild edibles.

Anonymous wrote:Walking and listening to a great book or podcast.

I always keep a supply of clementines handy.

Good herb teas can ease my oral fixation too.

Agree with all these. We got a treadmill a couple months ago, and walking or jogging while listening to books on Audible is one of my favorite parts of each day.

I also find you can have some really pleasurable experiences with healthful foods. I cherish my two cups of black coffee every morning and I also like to prepare or buy intensely flavored sauces like nam pla or Tkemali (Georgian sour plum sauce) to add excitement to whatever I’m eating. Herbs and fermented foods serve the same function for me. Learn to love the world of krauts and kimchis.

This is one thing Weight loss for busy physicians taught me- the pleasure of crossing to-do’s off your list. I use an old-fashioned planner, but it can also be done electronically.

For one, there’s the satisfaction of accomplishment. Two, it helps me keep everything straight and organized in my head, preventing me from stressing out which leads to eating to relax/feel better.

Walking and listening to a great book or podcast.

I always keep a supply of clementines handy.

Good herb teas can ease my oral fixation too.

thanks for writing back — i can see sex as being as pleasurable as food. air, water, and gum intrigue me — did you really get to a place where they gave you a real hit of pleasure?

shopping does it for me, but that’s not sustainable. would love to get to a point where simple, healthy things like air and water would as rewarding.

gum, water, fresh air, sex.

anyone done this as a weight loss tool? if so, what did you replace food with?