Psst, hey you!
Yes, YOU, with your head hidden in the pantry.
Step away from the pantry, and let’s chat for a second.
As we’re in the thick of another week of social distancing/self-quarantine, many people are working from home. I know many of us are looking for strategies on how we can stay on top of our health goals and not gain additional weight.
Here are 7 tips you can use to limit the #quarantinesnacking and prevent gaining #pandemicpounds.
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Keep snack foods out of the house
By snack foods, I mean chips, cookies, cakes, crackers, etc. You know snack foods are going to tempt you when you’re not even hungry. You’ll be sitting around the house bored and find yourself facedown in a bag of chips. When you bring snack foods into the house, you know you’re going to have to eat all of them eventually, and with this pandemic, it’s going to be sooner rather than later. We don’t need those kinds of problems! So, don’t even set yourself up like that. Leave the snack foods at the store.
2. Keep healthy snacks on hand
Throughout the day you’re gonna wanna eat a little something. I get it. Snacking on veggies, fruit, and other low-calorie foods that also provide nutrients are better choices than eating chips, candy or cookies. Let’s choose healthy snacks and keep those stocked up for times we feel a little bit hungry.
3. Stick to your normal eating schedule
This is going to be easier said than done because there’s just something about being in the house all day that makes you hungry more often. Aim to stick to your normal eating pattern for meals and snacks. If you need to, you may have to set an alarm to remind you when to eat. If the alarm isn’t going off, it’s not time to eat!
4. Focus on your water intake
When you’re dehydrated, you may feel like you’re hungry when you’re really just thirsty. Drink water consistently throughout the day. The recommendation is to drink at least half of your body weight in ounces. And just like with your normal eating schedule, you may need to set reminders of when to drink water.
5. Plan your meals and snacks in advance and stick to the plan
When you haven’t planned your meals/snacks in advance, you tend to make less healthy choices. You’re standing in the pantry just looking for something to eat and you’re going to be more tempted to make an impulse decision. So, make a plan and make sure you’re sticking to that plan throughout the week.
6. Monitor your portion sizes
Sometimes is not what you eat, it’s how much you eat. It’s not that you ate a grape… it’s that you ate the whole bag of grapes. It’s not that you ate almonds… it’s that you ate half the container of almonds. You may need to portion out what you’re going to eat, set that to the side, and then put the package/container back in the pantry or fridge. This will prevent you from over-consuming. If the bag is right in front of you, it’s easier to absentmindedly eat too much. Stick to your normal portion sizes so you’re not overeating and packing on additional pounds.
7. Eat real food
Real food is food that is as close to his natural state as possible. We want to limit and avoid a lot of packaged goods because they have sugars and salt added to them. When you eat those foods, your body tends to crave those foods. So if you’re wondering why you’re craving snack foods all day long, it’s because the food was designed to make crave them by the ingredients they contain. We can avoid these foods and stick to the real foods to get more nutrients, limit your cravings, and decrease the amount of sugar and salt that you’re eating throughout the day.
Bonus! Limit the calories you drink
I had to add this one in because I know a lot of people have stocked up on wine, alcohol, juice, punch, and sodas. When you drink these consistently throughout the day, it’s an easy way to drink too many calories because you’re not really thinking about how many drinks you’re knocking back. Try to stick to water or low-calorie beverages as much as possible. Limit how many alcoholic or sugar-sweetened beverages you’re drinking throughout the day.
If you’re looking for guidance on how you can stay both committed and accountable during this time, especially when working from home, please send me a DM and reach out to me about my virtual training sessions and virtual nutrition consultations. This way we can work together to establish a plan that will keep you consistently moving towards your goals over these next few weeks!
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