I’m going to go right ahead and say I’m not the only one who’s been reaching for the cookie jar (or dough for that matter) multiple times a day, and indulging in a mid week wine for the purpose of a zoom catch up with friends and family this last couple of weeks.
During these unprecedented times, we can start to in some cases see some unprecedented actions occur in our health habits… like walking to the pantry every 20 minutes to see if anything new has magically appeared to snack on…. Am I right?
So how do we get our nutrition back on track, stay motivated to keep it on track, and ensure we don’t fall back in to old habits that don’t serve our “healthy self” well? Here are a few tips that I encourage my clients to take on board, and I have personally implemented!
- It’s important to reestablish some goals and boundaries around your food. The first couple of weeks in isolation almost feel like a novelty, a holiday even… You’re working from home and it’s a different vibe, so treating yourself to a mid afternoon baking session on a Tuesday in between zoom meetings might seem like a great idea. Well…it could be.. If you can restrain from eating the entire batch.
Set yourself a wildly important goal that YOU want to achieve whilst in isolation. It might be that by then end of it, you lose 3kg, or you are able to run 5km without stopping. Something small that will help you keeps purpose to fuelling yourself well. - Set a routine around your food. Like anything, if we have no structure or routine we usually get nothing done. With food.. if we have no routine or structure, we’ll either binge, over eat, or find easy and not to healthy options as a quick fix. Get piece of paper, and actually map out your day. It might feel like you are going back to school, but set times that you stop to eat your breakfast, your mid morning and mid afternoon snacks, lunch, and dinner. Don’t budge on it. When 1pm strikes, take yourself away from the computer, open the kitchen, prepare your meal, and sit down to enjoy it, away from your work environment. The reason we can often not feel fulfilled after eating meal is because we have not stopped to enjoy it. Sit down. Chew slowly. Enjoy!
- Set a menu for the week. Know exactly what you are cooking for the week, and stick to it. Have everything you need to cook the meals you want to cook, and if you are ordering pre made meals, or choosing to order in, have the clearly written down too so you are not tempted to peruse through the Uber eats specials and go for the $9.95 McDonald’s free delivery option… We’ve all been tempted! Pick an exciting meal each night with your family that’s healthy, fresh, and easy to prepare. If you can make enough for left overs, this is a great option too. Pick one day of the week (one meal actually) that is your treat meal. It might be Saturday night Thai, or a Friday nightpizza, but pick on day and stick to it. That way you will look forward to it.
- Now is your chance to avoid those work social events that require you to drink and in the “normal” world you dread because it puts you off track. Choose one night a week to have a beer, wine… or a marg! But don’t fall in to the trap of day drinking on a Monday because you’re behind closed doors. Remember, old habits die hard. This is our opportunity to reset and create new healthy ones, not create bad ones!!
- Pack your lunch for the day. Yes, yes, I know. It sounds like you’re going back to school. But if you set out exactly what you have allocated for your daily intake, and you know that this part of the fridge is today’s portion only, then you will be less tempted to continue walking to the fridge between every meeting. Two pieces of fruit, yoghurt, a small serve of nuts, a nice luscious salad for lunch and maybe a sweet treat like a homemade protein ball.
They day is prepped, easy, and readily available. Once its finished, your lunch box is empty until dinnertime! This little drill helps me immensely; otherwise I am the over snacking the snack QUEEN!
Remember, this time is one to be cherished. We have a lot of opportunity for the first time ever to really take control of our lifestyles, our sleep, our food, and our social interactions. So use it well. Remember your goal, assess what you need to do to stay on track, and make your road map. Like anything In life, if we don’t know where we are going or why we are going… we’ll just do circles.. Let’s just take those circles outside the kitchen! 😉
Camilla x x x