While we are in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak I felt it was timely to discuss mindless eating while we may be quarantined at home for who knows how long. As we all know, certain grocery items are out of stock, things are changing rapidly every day which makes nutrition feel unpredictable. In addition, stores and gyms are closing and we are becoming more and more isolated to our homes where we must lean on our creativity to keep our sanity!
If you are beginning to feel very overwhelmed with your eating habits or current lifestyle under these circumstances, I’d encouraged you to take advantage of today’s technology and find a therapist to connect with over telehealth, call friends or engage in outdoor activities rather than staying on the couch and watching Netflix. When we become rigid routine individuals, just one small thing can be out of our normal and it impacts our mood greatly. It is more important than ever to practice self-care and maintain appointments with your mental health providers.
As you may know, I am a dietitian and work with individuals who have eating disorders and individuals who feel their relationship with food is so negative that it is causing them a lot of stress in regard to their health.
While the panic around hunkering down pursues, I would like to challenge you to use this time to re-instate some flexibility into your life. Cook old recipes that are dependable, maybe your eating is less structured, and that is ok. I also want to encourage you to use this time to be mindful around your eating. It’s easy to get into the habit of grazing or snacking all day, however, our body relies on meals for balanced nutrition and a schedule in order to regulate hunger and fullness appropriately. Maybe use a hunger and fullness scale, listen to your body and practice being mindful at meals and snacks. Lastly, if you’re stuck inside but have family members, roommates, or significant others at home with you, try eating together more often. Make meals to sit down and enjoy together over conversation rather than in front of the TV or alone.
Food is not your enemy right now. It never is! Food might be different and feel overwhelming right now, but there are ways to increase pleasure around food, especially when you have no where else to go. Do the hard work, make your relationship with food and self-care a priority. Now is not the time to experiment with a new diet or restrict. Now is the time to practice psychological flexibility and give yourself grace and kindness. Below are some ideas of ways you can increase pleasure around food:
Decorate your kitchen or dining table; Make this area an inviting place!
Pull out old family recipes, add you new favorites to them and make a recipe book
Bake!!
Invite others into the kitchen to cook with you
Go on a picnic, enjoy this amazing weather!
Learn how to make some of your favorite ingredients from scratch i.e. salsa
Make a fancy beverage and enjoy it outside in the sunshine
You don’t need to be a cook, baker, or food enthusiast to have fun in your kitchen. Turn some music on and just relax :D
If food and nutrition just seem too stressful right now, reach out to me. Let’s find a time to chat and reduce the burden, judgement, fear and guilt you may be feeling right now. Bamboo Nutrition is offering telehealth in place of meeting in person. You do not have to struggle with food on your own! We are here to help!