Non food hobbies

[Johnnypiratesfriend]

Posting for traffic.
Trying to lose alot of weight ( over 6 stone). Got diet sorted got family support.
But my old life was centered around food e.g
Finding new recipes and cooking them
Baking
Finding and eating out at independent restaurants (salads are fine but not often what they are famous for)
Afternoon teas at lovely places spending the whole afternoon chilling with friends.
Watching cooking programs on TV.

Now I'm able to make wize choices and suggest going for coffee instead of afternoon tea and everyone is supportive. But I'm missing googling restaurants and recipes. I open magazines straight to food. I can't think of anything to watch on TV.

I was food obsessed and that was probably part of my issue.

How do you lovely normal people spend time? Any normal hobbies etc to keep me on straight and narrow. I tried sewing and drawing but can't do either.
Today I planned some lovely days out /mini breaks but the bank balance won't allow that for long.
I also want to protect my children from food obsessions.
Thanks everyone!!
P.s please ignore my spelling and gammer I'm dyslexic.

Also running. I have been running for over 10 years now and it’s all just so I can eat cake.

How quickly did you give up on crochet and drawing ?

Most hobbles and take years to get good and it's the process that can be enjoyed not always the end result result

Geocaching
Cross stitch and embroidery
Writing
Jigsaws

Paint by numbers, you can get some really detailed non childish ones for cheap

I agree with that.

Add to it things like fermenting, pickling etc an it's a winner.
I now have more spices and sauces I ever had before and I already had loads! Checking out new pikled stuff or spices in foreign shops is a hobby imo🙈 whole dried lime is amazing in rice dishes! Pickled lemon is great in salads, pickled baby grapes too, fermented veg is great with everything.
Herbs make everything 1000x better and good mixed peppecorns are heaven.

Yeah. I like food.

I do Pilates which is gentle exercise and helps to tone up. I also do boxing for fitness which is quite brutal and a massive fat burner.

yoga - you can find online free or go to a class and meet people

workout - home / online / join a gym or go to classes

walking and listening to a podcast or audiobook - fresh air, exercise and education all in one

reading - fiction or educational (I love a good self-help book!)

use your love of food and cooking to create delicious nutritious recipes, look for ways to adapt recipes to make them healthier - check out the bodycoach for inspo

gardening

Join the WI?

with mine I could be out 3-4 times a week if I joined all the groups

I know you said you tried sewing and you weren't very good at it but have you tried cross stitch? Easy, impossible to go wrong and they don't take up too much space.. Start with the little kits -mouseloft cross stitch kits are good. The small projects are easy to finish and not daunting. I make all my own cards now. It stops those. 'Ohhhhh I might get something to eat' grazing moments.

I'm in the same boat with around 5/6 stone to lose. I know I can do it because I did it once before in 2016 - lost 5 stone. But then my 3rd and 4th children came one after the other and I was back to square one. I haven't had a hold of my weight since then.

I don't have many hobbies really. I don't go out socialising either. I do enjoy walking, jigsaws, sudoku puzzles, and mindlessly browsing the internet (something else I'm trying to cut back on). Obviously the kids keep me busy but in an evening (my most likely to binge time) I've had a Nintendo Switch for years that was never used - but now I use it as a distraction. Not daily obviously. But I've got a few games that I enjoy, puzzles and brain training ones, monopoly etc - as well as a couple of 'traditional' games like Mario Kart.

Plodders type running group or wild swimming group? Hill walking or rambling group? Dog walking group?

@Pothoswithasparkle oh yes, things like home made kimchi and home cured trout! Cant beat a good pickle!

How do you do / where do you get whole dried lime?

Asian/arabic/african/mixed supermarkets.
Poke it few times before putting it in the dish to cook.

Open Water swimming. It’s so inclusive and so so good for you mentally and physically. Join the Bluetits for ways in. There will be a local group near you to help introduce you to it.

I started going to the gym, joining classes like Zumba and HIIT, and embracing healthy food options. It’s quite addictive, cardio workouts and training. Especially if you go somewhere where the equipment shows you how many calories you’re burning as you’re working out.

I find a higher end gym with a lovely spa motivates me much more than a basic Council run place, and the monthly cost is equal to a nice meal out for two.

Good luck OP, hope one or more of the suggestions works for you.

Reading, crochet, writing, theatre, choir, gardening, swing dancing, going to museums and art galleries, walking, cooking but in a way that suits what you eat now.

How about making things with your hands that aren't food but are made in a cooking/baking/recipe kind of process, e.g. soap, bath bombs, candles, clay models, etc?

If you are sporty you could try walking netball or football. I also sing in a choir so that might be of use.

Running, if you aren’t ready for anything to strenuous what about heading down to your local parkrun to volunteer, drag the kids along too. It’s a lovely way to meet people as well.

Walking
I pretend I don’t hate yoga occasionally
Reading
I used to knit but don’t have time

Are there any art classes like drawing or clay workshops that you could join? Photography courses maybe? During the pandemic I developed some interest in photography and learned it through online tutorials and articles, and there are tons of photo editing programs for beginners that are easy to use and good for learning the basics. It's both time consuming and entertaining, really helps to get your thoughts off the food or things you don't want to think about.

I’ve recently taken up pottery and it’s been great for getting obsessed over. Lots of planning to do, youtube videos to watch, glazes and techniques to investigate. Also shows to attend, gorgeous examples to look at, groups of like minded obsessive s to chat with on the Internet. And aspects of it have some similarity to baking (which I also used to do too much of!) so it’s been fun to be able to use some of that.

You’d need a community pottery of some sort nearby, though, as need some instruction and it’s too expensive to just set up at home on your own without knowing you’re hooked.