How do I stop the habit of walking around the house when thinking something or having my lunch or dinner ?

February 2, 2006 4:43 AM

I have a habit of walking to and fro from one room of my house to another, whenever I am thinking something, or even when I am having my lunch or dinner ? I am aware this is not a good habit, as I waste valuable calories in the process (I am a thin person by the way). How do I get rid of this habit ? Please give some innovative ideas. Has anyone else suffered from the same habit ? Basically I am quite a restless person. This habit looks quite odd in front of guests.
posted by inquisitive to Health & Fitness (20 answers total)

You could do what the majority of Americans do: plop your skinny ass on the couch and watch some TV while you eat and put on the pounds.

Or you could continue what you're doing, as it sounds perfectly healthy to my un-doctored ears.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:52 AM on February 2, 2006

Response by poster: No. I will like to change the habit. Even I know that I can sit down on a sofa , but the problem is mental / psychological. This is an old habit and How do I let go of it ... Some innovative answers pls.
posted by inquisitive at 4:55 AM on February 2, 2006

You really want to break a habit that seems perfectly healthy... just sit down then!

Any habit is going to be hard to break, you need to break the routine. Could you lock the door when you sit down for your dinner? use a different room for a while.

Or, do what i do - light up a big spliff, sink into that couch and enjoy!
posted by twistedonion at 5:00 AM on February 2, 2006

We'd need more information to be certain, but it sounds like a mild manifestation of an obsessive-compulsive disorder.

If it is, I wouldn't recommend attempting to stop absent professional support (and possibly even medication), since o-c personalities will often try to replace one compulsion with another.

Having said that:

Try to involve yourself in the now, especially in social situations. Prepare or order food that you enjoy eating, and focus on enjoying it (and nothing else!) while you eat. Listen to and involve yourself in the now of the conversation. Don't let your mind race too far ahead, and don't walk away, figuratively or literally.
posted by The Confessor at 5:06 AM on February 2, 2006

This is a good habit. Increase calorie consumption.

Moving stimulates thinking. Exercise keeps you from getting senile. Get some "thinking man's hand weights".
posted by ewkpates at 5:22 AM on February 2, 2006

drink chocolate milk and eat cheesecake as a penalty every time you walk :)
posted by Izzmeister at 5:23 AM on February 2, 2006

Ankle weights.
posted by pracowity at 5:26 AM on February 2, 2006

This reminds me of my cat. He had hyperthyroidism. Perhaps yours is working overtime as well.

Seriously, though, it may be hormonal. Wouldn't hurt to get a blood test. If it is, likely getting it in balance will remove your restlessness and help you put on a little weight.

If that's what you want...
posted by qwip at 5:44 AM on February 2, 2006

Try clipping or tying your ankles together when you sit down. The extra effort of untying them may stop you from bothering to get up to pace. Otherwise you may fall on your face a few times, this may also cure you of your pacing.
posted by sic at 6:07 AM on February 2, 2006

Begin by making it a point to sit down at your table to eat. Don't eat or snack over the sink, or while standing in the kitchen. Prepare whatever it is you are going to eat on a plate or bowl as appropriate, take it to the table, and sit down to eat, always. If you can successfully break a general habit associated with multiple situations in only one of those situations, you will probably become more aware of it in the other situations, and can later, in the same way, focus on eliminating it in those as well.

I doubt you'd be successful trying to change a behavior as general and as neurologically low level as walking, by trying only to walk when you think it is rationally appropriate. The key is to focus on the situational cues where you feel it is inappropriate, and train yourself with different acceptable behaviors. Try to relax when/while training these new behaviors, as well. As an example, when you sit down to eat at your table, be conscious that this is to be a relaxing refreshment activity, and not a bit of suppression training. This will help your nervous system quickly learn new muscle memories associated with that situation, which is also key to the effectiveness of the technique.
posted by paulsc at 6:09 AM on February 2, 2006

I remember reading something regarding the physics of fidgeting-- the article was about weight. It discussed the fact that a subset of people (who tended from merely healthy-thin to chronically underweight) expended a LOT of calories during the day from fidgeting and being restless and such. And the people studied who were underweight would periodically try to control their restlessness but couldn't because it was nearly as unconscious as breathing. I wish I could find the article, but the gist of it was that you can't stop fidgeting if you're inclined to do it because it would be like constantly supressing a sneeze.

So you can probably condition yourself not to pace, but it's going to come out in some other expension of energy. Unless you take sedatives, which no one's going to prescribe for you unless this is somehow runing your life.
posted by Mayor Curley at 6:16 AM on February 2, 2006

wear only one shoe around the house, the skewed balance should remind you that you shouldn't be walking

many friends swear by wearing a rubberband around the wrist...whenever you find yourself doing the habit you wish to break, snap yourself with the rubberband

do you live with anyone else? have them dump a glass of icewater on your head whenever they catch you doing this (my wife would love to get that permission!)

allow youself one circuit of pacing before you must to sit for a full minute

wear a watch that you can set to go off every x number of minutes, if you are pacing twhen it beeps...dump icewater on yourself

eat in the dark, if you pace you're bound to crack your shin on something and that'll learn ya really quick

re-arrange your furniture so that it's akward to pace for any real distance

eat at restaurants

write your ideas down/type them in a computer, that way you need to be seated at a table

there's a few for you to get started with.
posted by iurodivii at 6:27 AM on February 2, 2006

I have this problem in a big way - I can't seem to sit still for even a minute. However, I am a large person who finds it difficult to shed pounds. Also, my family has a history of thyroid problems. So maybe that is the connection.
posted by sid at 6:29 AM on February 2, 2006

What paulsc said. I am pretty restless and fidgetty, but I find that if I'm wandering around doing bits and bobs while I eat, then I don't really enjoy what I'm eating. So I try to make a definite decision to stop doing stuff for a bit and just sit down and eat.

Two thoughts that occurred to me based on iurodiviis post:
- if you're sitting at a table, maybe you could get a loose belt or something that you do up before you start eating. That would remind you not to get up unless you had to.
- if it's mental distractions, or "I could just..." type things that make you get up, then I think the writing /typing them while you sit suggestion will be helpful.
posted by crocomancer at 6:54 AM on February 2, 2006

This is a problem? Thank your lucky, fidgety stars. Studies (OK something in the media in the last month or two which may or may not have been replicated) have shown that small bits of activity like yours are an important component in how many calories someone burns every day. Too skinny beats too pudgy any day.
posted by caddis at 7:06 AM on February 2, 2006

Uh, when I said a belt, I meant one that goes round the chair as well. Just wearing a belt probably won't help.

One more idea: learn some basic breathing meditation. Sit in meditation for about 15 minutes, and pretty soon your brain will be cueing you to get up and wander. The meditation won't fix it, but you'll hopefully become aware of what triggers the impulse.
posted by crocomancer at 7:07 AM on February 2, 2006

Although I tend to wander from room to room when chatting on the phone, I can see how this would be annoying when dining.

If you've got a surplus of nervous energy, exercise. You'll be tuckered out enough that you'll be happy to stay put for a while.
posted by adamrice at 7:34 AM on February 2, 2006

I'm going to look at this as two separate problems.

1) roaming while thinking
2) roaming while eating, especially in front of guests

If it were me, I'd totally put #1 on the back burner. I place a high value on thinking clearly, and if a little roaming helps remove distractions, I say go for it. Especially since the alternative may mean distracting your thinking in order to control your roaming.

As for #2, do you have any regular guests you could enlist to help you? A friend or two who could politely make you concious of what you are doing without making you feel bad about it?
posted by Good Brain at 9:22 AM on February 2, 2006

i'm going to second quip's answer. my dad had hyperthyroidism and would do things like this. in his case, he'd go in and out of the house constantly and frequently. it can't hurt to have your thyroid levels checked. he's much calmer (and happier!) now that it's been treated.
posted by clarahamster at 10:41 AM on February 2, 2006

Philip Roth, the novelist, reportedly paces while he thinks and walks a half mile for every page he writes. So you're in good company, whether you like your habit or not.

(See "The Long Road Home," by Al Alvarez, The Guardian, Saturday September 11, 2004.)
posted by jayder at 11:21 AM on February 2, 2006