Bored Mouth Syndrome

I Think I have identified a new Syndrome... I am going to call it the Bored Mouth Syndrome.  Does anyone else suffer from this?  Its 9 pm, I am home alone, and am NOT hungry and yet my mouth just has this desire to chew something.  I REALLY don't want to eat, I actually had a snack a little while ago, have reached my calorie limit for the day and feel full, but my mouth, it just wants to have something in it!  My poor mouth, it is just so bored!  I popped a piece of chewing gum and that seems to have made it happy for now, but I have a feeling we will go through this again around the same time tomorrow night and the next night and so on....

Does this EVER go away, or am I doomed to chew gum for the rest of my life?

 

You are doomed.

I suffer from the same syndrome and fight it with herbal tea, soda water, a very good book or going to bed early...

I have been fighting for the past 2 weeks and it's not going away. I intend to keep fighting till it does. I believe it's caused by my former bad snacking habits, and as the philosopher said, you don't combat a bad habit by throwing it out the window. It takes time. Energy. Heroism. Hang in there!

If you find a really clever way to make it go away, please tell me. I promise to do the same. 

 

Love this discussion.

No, you're not doomed. lol (I was in your shoes.)

But, you may be bored.

One of the really cool things I found about changing my diet was that my whole lifestyle had to change. I started picking up my art work again and hiking into the woods every day and hanging out new places, adding fruit to my baking, plannin a garden.

It's like running down hill. When gravity starts to pull you down, just let it all go, lean into it, don't be in control. It takes time to learn...I've been at this for a very LONG time. But, after a while, your focus will come away from dieting because you are confident with the changes you've made. Then, if you let it, that confidence will spread to other things and you'll start exploring things you never thought possible.

You'll see. stay with it and give it time.

Oh, I definitely notice that I am much more productive in the evenings now, but having a 2 year old that goes to bed at 7:30 pm means I am stuck in after that most evenings particularly on those night when my husband works late (he didnt get home last night until 10:30). 

Its funny, because most of the time, I really don't want to eat, and with a little bit of willpower, I don't, its just that my mouth LOVES the taste of food.... its not my stomach that likes it... its my mouth!  So, I guess I can start blaming my weight gain on my mouth then

I am like that a lot of time when I am eating meals too... I can be full, but my mouth is still hungry!  Again, a little willpower is all it takes to overcome this, but you know, sometimes I just want to be lazy and not worry about it.  Of course, while in weight loss mode I have been vigilant about my eating for the last few months, I am just hoping that one my mouth will stop being so bored and I can be lazy and not worry about my newly defined syndrome and not eat out of boredom!  

Maybe I should just talk more, oh I am sure my husband would LOVE that, as if I don't talk enough as is!

ahhh well, I guess doomed to chewing gum for the rest would be OK, it could be worse I suppose!

 

I hope you realized my remark was tongue-in-cheek...

Yes, you are probably bored. My husband also works long hours. My children are grown now, but I remember a very funny cartoon I had pinned to my sewing room door some years ago: a husband was standing in the door, having obviously come home from work, staring at his wife crawling toward the door, across a floor littered with baby toys, and muttering: "Adult conversation... adult conversation..." 

Food is tricky. Because it uses the sense of taste, but also all the other senses: smell, sight (don't the food makers know that - just look at the packaging and mouth-watering advertisement they use to make us want their stuff), hearing (Ah! the crunch of an apple, the soft crackling of roasting bacon...) and touch (Ah! the texture of a well-balanced sandwich, the melting of that chocolate gently coating your tongue...). Add to that mix the memories of being loved and protected some "comfort" foods have for some of us, and you have a very good explanation of why so many people are literally addicted.

It's always there, it's cheap, you enjoy it just as much when completely alone, and it never tells you anything unpleasant... Better than a friend! Simpler than sex! 

I agree with Sharonclaire. You have to try and find another balance. To realize what food is to you and what could take its place. Then let "gravity do its work" (I like that idea!).

The way I cope with my urges (apart from a good book or going to bed early - which I never seem to be able to do LOL) is by concentrating on WHY I want to eat something, rather than on WHAT I want to eat. Eating is the symptom. You have to find the cause. You may be surprised to see how easily your desire evaporates once you really focus on its cause.

I also cook for my family. For some reason, I never eat while I cook, and once I am finished I have been around food so long I want to think of something else. My husband always knows I am dieting when his fare starts improving!!! By concentrating on what HE would like, I forget about what I want.

Hope this helps. Have a nice day!

 

 

How about sipping sugar-free herbal tea to relax & indulge your taste buds? Snacking on a raw cabbage salad (20 calories)? Sugar-free lemonade? Allowing yourself an orange? I have the same problem (bored mouth and all the other parts of me, with an 11mo baby all day...), and find I enjoy healthy snacks and drinks MORE! Good luck, you're NOT doomed.

I was looking up lemon juice and just out of curiosity clicked on you to find out what kind of people log on under this item. Your title, "bored mouth syndrome" just cracked me up. I think it's a problem nationwide for many women out there. I'm a stay at home person and I get pretty bored and lonely sometimes. Food is a companion and my mouth seems to be the only thing that gets exercise these days. I just drink a lot of low caloric fluids. And if I'm tempted to eat, I read the Nutrition Label first. It's my guide as well as my savior. Plus, I know how hard it is to burn calories on a treadmill. I keep my mouth mindful so my stomach doesn't forget.

Good luck!

Irene Kauble

I call it grazing   and since I like little things like carrot sticks and such I think slowly nibbling on them throughout the day makes a little difference and puts a little something in your stomach.  But then I don't know if that would enforce the mentallity of the bad habit hmmmm maybe I better re-think that lol

Well..  I just think my mouth has a mind of its own.  Hopefully, after a few more months of this, it will start to listen better to my stomach! 

Water is my saviour most of the time because no matter how much a drink in a day, I can always have more (I get thirsty a lot!), its a good thing I have always liked water.  I probably drink 100+ ounces at work alone,  Then another 50+ at home. 

Eating often during the day helps me, and I am happy to do that, but its the night time stuff that just annoys me more than anything else!  I have enough self control to deal with it, its just annoying!  Like I said, lots of water (and lots of trips to the toilet!).

herbal tea is my safety net. I sip it slowly, and can drink several cups of it if I need to to keep my mouth occupied (for 0 calories, you can't go wrong!). My bored mouth syndrome often goes along with my homework and studying allergies.

Even before I started counting calories and watching what I ate, I almost always felt like I needed something in my mouth, even when I wasn't hungry or craving food.  I carry water with me and drink it almost constantly, and when I'm alone, I find something like a straw or a plastic bottle cap and work on that. XD

::Chuckles softly:: I attributed this to quiting smoking, maybe I ought to rethink.  Anyways, try gum or chewing on straws. Worked for me.

Love the TITLE !  LOL!

I don't have many days at this diet under my belt (so to speak) yet, but I went out before I started it and bought all kinds of veggies, "0" calorie drinks, all which I've always had.  The one new thing I bought was the sugar-free candies, Werther's and Baskin Robbins have them, about 4 calories apiece.  They keep your mouth busy, but the down side I've noticed is.........they give a person GAS !!   So try 'em, but only when you're not expecting any company. 

Just a word of warning  :)

That is so interesting - I just saw your post, but last night while posting on the forum I decided I have Empty Plate Syndrome!  I miss flavors and the actual act of eating; in fact, I just miss food - period!  I started a thread and journaled about it and I was thinking today that it really must be at least in part an issue of self-identity.  I am (was) an eater.  That's what I do.  I'm also always late, and I never hesitate to say, "Oh, yeah, I know I'm always late."  But would I be as late if I decided to act as if I were always on time or early?   Hmmm...  I wonder if changing my idea of how I label myself would make a difference in how I behave.  It might be an interesting experiment!  Okay, I'll settle for "rational eater" instead of "overeater" - I think I'll try it and see...  Thanks!