With most of us working remotely from our homes, our sedentary lifestyles have been amplified with little to no movement. For some, such situations trigger binge-eating or their eating disorders and for others, the fear of unavailability of food leads to its restricted intake. Does this mean you ignore them? No. It is not necessary to go harsh on yourself and start a strict regime tomorrow. It only means, try moving a little closer to being healthy, instead of not moving at all.
Tips to practice conscious food eating habits:
• Have frequent meals in smaller portions for stable metabolism and good amount of energy.
• If you have a sweet tooth, choose figs, dates or moderate amount of jaggery.
• To avoid consuming more than required, make it a habit to have your meals someplace away from the computer or TV.
• Buy products which have higher nutritional value instead of those you have might have cravings for.
• Avoid hoarding food due to anxiety to avoid temptations of binge eating.
• Seek support to find solutions for emotional eating. Because it might give you temporary happiness, but also gives rise to physical discomfort and weight gain without eliminating the actual trigger points.
If you are wondering how to have a proper diet in the face of less accessibility, here are a few simple things which might help you.
A well-balanced diet keeps the extra calories away!
• Reduce your salt intake: Since canned or processed foods have high levels of salt, buy foods which have low or no salt. Also, rinse vegetables thoroughly to remove the excess sodium and use less salt while cooking.
• Consume more fibre to prevent overeating: For a feeling of fullness for a longer duration and to reduce your food intake, consume fibre-rich foods which are beneficial for the digestive system.
• Drink water and stay hydrated: Prefer normal water over sweetened water as it is found to be extremely helpful in burning calories. If you drink alcohol, try avoiding it or reducing the quantity since it might weaken your immunity and trigger depression symptoms which is common during such times.
Additionally, it is important that you exercise daily to keep yourself fit. 150 minutes of moderately intense exercises or 75 minutes of rigorous exercise per week is what WHO recommends, which can be easily achieved indoors! Here are some steps that you can follow to exercise for an optimum amount of time while being indoors.
• Take short breaks for some exercise, games with your children, household chores or an impromptu dance session!
• Make the most of the online classes available to have guided exercising sessions.
• Walk while attending calls, after meals, brushing teeth, etc. and also stand up every 30 minutes to avoid sitting for long.
• Practice relaxing techniques to calm yourself.
It is important that we spend excessive time indoors and protect ourselves from the virus. But we also need to focus on other factors that might affect our health. With the right amount of nutritious food and proper exercise, keep your weight in check during this quarantine for your comfort and a healthy body.
