Eating Better During Social Distancing
First of all Happy Easter to all of you that celebrate! I know things are very different this year and maybe it doesn't totally feel like a holiday because you are not at your big family dinner, didn't go to Easter Sunday mass, or were not able to make an Easter basket for a loved one. What does matter though is that you are here to celebrate, and there are plenty of ways to stay in touch with the ones you love even while you are social distancing. One thing you may still be doing is enjoying the yummy Easter dinner (or parts of it) you normally would be. Maybe you, like myself, have already eaten the ears off of your chocolate bunny. I have always had the attitude that you should enjoy yourself on holidays, however, I think social isolation has also wrecked havoc on a lot of people's diets and I wanted to talk a little about that this week.
Here we are stuck at home pretty much 24/7 other than the occasional trip to the store unless you are an essential worker. I know emotional eating is a very real thing and think about all of the different emotions most people are going through right now. Stress, sadness, fear, etc. all leading someone who may be an emotional eater right into a pint of ice cream or bag or chips. I am not condoning this of course, but it is a very real thing. In top of that we are likely moving a lot less. I know me alone during my work day am moving a lot less simply because there are no walks to the main printer or up the stairs as much to check the mail. It is a pretty bad combo if you really think of it. So what are some things we can do to help with this? I wanted t spend a little time talking about just that.
My first piece of advice is going to be to stick to your schedule as much as possible as far as meals. Try to eat similar meals than you would on a work day or better yet, take your extra time in the morning that you normally would be commuting during to cook yourself a much more decent breakfast instead of the protein shake or power bar you grab on your way out the door. Are you a coffee lover like me? Well, I love to stop at the Starbucks by work and pick up a cold brew, usually with vanilla cream. Now that I am home I have been making my own cold brew and just adding a some of the creamer in my fridge. I have something that tastes the same, if not better, and with less fat, sugar, and calories than the drink I would have paid $4 for at Starbucks. Why not utilize this extra time to form some better habits in the morning before your commute once we are back to our new normal? Try your best to eat your lunch at the same time you normally would at your job, even if you are home and can eat really any time you want. Dinner can work the same way. Try to keep your routine as normal as possible when it comes to eating. I personally have still had my fair share of avocado toast and over easy eggs for breakfast, just as I would before work.
If you are like me, you still may struggle a bit. I will admit I have been snacking more than usual. I think it honestly just part of a lot of our nature to graze during the day. So what are some things we can do to help with that? Well next time you go shopping opt for some healthier options. Carrot and celery sticks, fresh fruit, plain popcorn (so you control how much butter goes on.) yogurts, even lean deli meats and cheeses. There are really a ton of possibilities and I myself need to do this as well next time I shop. For lunches I recently decided to start using a meal prep service that is in my area. You would probably hear more of that later (hint, hint) but I have found that very helpful. Have a bunch of healthy meals on standby in the fridge so once noon hits I can leave my desk, grab one, heat it up, and just eat it. I know it seems silly that we have all this time to cook to use a service, but a lot of grocery stores are scarce and there are plenty of other things to worry about. Having those meals on hand makes it very easy to have a healthy lunch. Or you could even meal prep as usual on Sundays to have your lunches all ready to go. Consistency during this time is really going to be key!
Stay on a normal and healthy diet has been proven to be hard during all of this. Trust me I know! It is so easy to just grab a bag of cookies and mindlessly eat them while you work from home. It is very easy to just order greasy take out (with no contact delivery of course) instead of taking the time to plan out a decent meal. Grocery shopping is pretty intimidating right now as it is with the somewhat empty shelves, Plexiglas barricades in front of the cashiers, and people walking around in masks. I get that it might be easier to just grab what you see and get out of the store so you can get home and sanitize. That really is the new normal for the time being. But you can also take some time to make some decent choices along the way as well! Our bodies needs that now more than ever!
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