food was once our hobby but now that is gone and we must find new ways to occupy our time and minds. So what if any hobbies do you currently have? It can be anything from arts and crafts to exercising. Anything you can think of. Share pictures if you like. My hobbies are collecting comics and vintage toys but the main thing I am focused on is my art. I draw, write, sculpt and even sew. Currently I am working on self publishing my own graphic novel.

I love this topic! Baking used to be a hobby, but in the past few years, it's become a 2nd business for my husband and me. We make carved cakes/tiered cakes/etc. My husband works midnights and I work days, so on his days off, baking/decorating is something we do together! Surprisingly, none of my excess weight came from my baking business (check out our site at www.fortheloveoffrosting.com) Our give-back is that we're members of Icing Smiles - and organization that provides free dream cakes to kids and siblings of kids with cancer. It's so incredibly rewarding.

Aside from baking, we have 3 rescue English Bulldogs. We have 6 kids but now that the youngest is in college, our direction changed drastically from hobbies being things they're participating in to stuff for ourselves!! We like to travel (tropical locations for me) and just booked a trip to Cabo in the Winter.

I don't have much more time that I can add another hobby in, but all of your answers are making me think about trying some other hobbies and see how I like them!

I’ve been training white voice singing (a very distinct traditional singing style from Eastern Europe) for the last 3 years. Unfortunately since I had the surgery my diaphragm has been giving me hard time, I hope it will bounce back quickly.

I also like cooking for friends and family.

And I love salsa.

@@Comicbookguy, my daughter is a sophomore in college studying Computer Animation. One of her projects is to create a character. Last night she was telling me about her final exam in another class - a 2D animation scene for 2 minutes. The number of frames is insane!! Great work on your art!

I love to write! And I also love crafts.

I am working on my doctorate. That takes up enough time.

@@Comicbookguy, my daughter is a sophomore in college studying Computer Animation. One of her projects is to create a character. Last night she was telling me about her final exam in another class - a 2D animation scene for 2 minutes. The number of frames is insane!! Great work on your art!

Thanks. I went to art school myself for illustrations but I was supposed to take animation too but never got to it. I unfortunately had to drop out after my second semester due to rising tuition costs and not being able to juggle both a job and school along with my newly developed health problems from being overweight. Hopefully after I get back on track health wise I can return after my ten year absence.

Exercise has always been a hobby, but now I can push myself further and further than I could. I always wanted to be able to, but physically couldn't do all I wanted to do.

I love cycling..

Always wanted to be a runner and could never run more than 3-5 minutes at a time, now I can run almost 2 miles without stopping.

I want to be a triathlete..

I love crossfit, weight lifting..
I love extreme sports.

I team rope, steer wrestle and trip steers. I have struggled with my weight on and off all my life. I would get over 300lbs then go on a diet, start exercising loose a little weight and before I knew it I would get complacent, stop exercising, start eating poorly and was back over 300. its been an yo-yo effect for the last 15+ years. As you can imagine, trying to compete at a professional level when you are overweight is extremely difficult. I made the decision to get the surgery in may of this year and had it done in July. Since then I have not regretted it for even one minute. My doctors told me not to rope for 6 weeks. I gave it one week and started roping again with no issues what so ever..... Since then I have lost 74 lbs and can tell a huge difference in my ability to perform inside and outside the arena. My balance and core strength and energy level are the most noticeable changes. I finally feel like I am able to compete at a top level again and I cant wait until I have lost an other 70 lbs to see even more change. I'm sure my horses appreciate the fact they don't have to carry an extra 70+ lbs of me around as well.

For me Im an avid Gamer on PC. I also take guitar lessons, ( started the month before my surgery) sort of a way to live my dream of playing an instrument and doing it in tandem with this life change. Im an avid sci fi buff as well. I sold off my toy collection to help some of the bills from surgery.

@Dub. Woohoo on the shooting sports. What sports???

Lately I'm just resuming handgun target shooting.

I want to do more trap shooting and sporting clays.

3-Gun competitions look like they would be fun.

My local range had an IDPA style handgun comp every month.

My birthday gift to myself was a sweet 1911 that I'd love to use in the local stuff.

Glock offers the GSSF events. Obviously, you have to run Glocks in their events, but I'm fairly well covered with those.

I'm really looking forward to getting back into a steady diet of trigger time.

Im in massachusetts one of the tougher states for buying a handgun. in expense as well as licensing. I found a place that will take me through the safety course for handguns and an hour of range time for 100 bucks. So im saving up for that. The hard part is im a revolver fan, although I love 1911's as well. My good friend on colorado just picked up a glock 21 and loves the heck out of it. Im really interested in a .357 revolver, the problem is coming up with the 5 to 8 hundred bucks for one, is probably not going to happen anytime soon with surgical bills, and i have to save for skin surgery etc. But i love watching hickox45 videos on youtube. and the like.

Comicbookguy,

Great question! I love this way of looking at it, because a “new hobby” to replace food as a hobby sounds so much better than replacing a food addiction with a “replacement addiction” like alcohol or drugs!

Let’s see. I suppose I have replaced my food focus with work and family. I now work way more than I used to, but it doesn’t feel like work since it’s BariatricPal and I love it! I also get to spend quality time with my kids rather than just watching them. Of course, there’s working out, but I always have done that to some extent. I guess work and family don’t count as true “hobbies,” but they’re what I fill my time with.

I took on the mantle as family genealogist. The last time anything was researched or updated was 1989, before the internet and Ancestry.com. It definitely keeps me out of trouble. I made a colorful PowerPoint of each branch of the family and put all of the old family pictures (from as far back as 1890) in groups, catalogued them and put them on the disc, too.

My next phase now is a monthly newsletter to my siblings and cousins to highlight an obscure ancestor every month, plus provide updates to my research. I had no idea when I started this project post-op that I would become so well-read in American Colonial History.

Aside from the usual watching television and surfing the web, I knit, paint (not great at it and don't do it often these days but I do find it incredibly relaxing), walking, watching some sport (mainly rugby union and some motorsport), cooking, and reading. I do a LOT of reading! (usually a book a week)

As of this Friday I am officially retired. I love to China Paint but because of my busy schedule I have not been able to do so for a long time. Looking forward to get to paint once again. I am still fighting the urge of food for comfort. I sit behind a desk all day and cannot get up unless someone relieves me...now that I can move around and not be stuck behind a desk...I am hoping to conquer my battle with food.

@@TEXASLADY52

Congrats on retirement!!!! The world is your oyster, now (and those are ok!!!), so go out and have fun!!!! Love your hobbies!