Can a hobby help you lose weight?
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 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 perhaps you have decided to dedicate yourself to painting, making jewelry, or playing tennis. If you’ve never done these things before, you probably need to spend some time learning how to do them, either through self-study online or by attending some kind of offline classes. Whichever hobby you choose, there will likely 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. Perhaps you are too busy to think about something to eat or snack. You might 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, but I am bored or wanting to do something and since I am already busy, I really do not need food at the moment.
I have been making jewelry for 10 years and I realize that once I get involved in a project it is very difficult to walk away from it even for lunch. I tell myself that I’ll go downstairs and buy something in a little while and before I know it it will be hours. This worked for me years ago when I also stopped smoking “cold turkey”. I purposely decided that I had to keep my hands busy, so I took classes in crochet and carpet sewing. 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 crocheted slippers for Christmas. But another advantage was that in the classes I met other interesting people and expanded 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 that 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 great thing 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, then you have memories to share. If you make knots or crochet you have precious pieces to keep or give as gifts. The paintings can be hung or even sold. And 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 some kind of hobby 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 changed your whole way of behaving and your life patterns and daily routines will be different.