Eating is weird right now!
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This is an anxious time! For those of us able to stay home, stress-baking bread has become a national pastime, and this new, unwelcomed way of life inside has given us unfettered, 24-hour access to the fridge and kitchen pantry. (Not to mention the liquor cabinet.) But whether you’ve been eating more, eating less or just forgetting to eat at all, there are tactics to put to work now to build habits that will pay dividends when real life returns. |
“This is the time, it doesn’t matter your age, to do a self-exam,” said Dr. Zhaoping Li, director of the Center of Human Nutrition, and chief of the division of clinical nutrition at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Use this window of opportunity to figure out what is good for our bodies, what can we do for our bodies, and then hopefully you have a plan when everything restarts again.” |
Learning to be mindful of our eating habits now can help us ease back into a more normal life, whenever that is. |
Make an appointment with your food |
Remember taking a lunch break? |
For many of us now working from home, our lives have lost significant amounts of structure. Whereas normally we might have meals generally around the same time every day, sticking to that schedule is difficult when the lines between personal time and work time have become so fundamentally blurred. (And we should consider ourselves fortunate, as many are still working outside the home, and food banks nationwide are overrun and running short on supplies.) |
But reintroducing that structure, along with incorporating our normal exercise routines, now can help get our habits back on track and ease us back into more normal eating habits, said Dr. David Seres, associate professor of medicine in the Institute of Human Nutrition at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. |
Set aside specific time for breakfast, lunch and dinner by creating an event on your calendar just to eat — no work allowed. First, it gives you something to look forward to; maybe that bag of Skittles looks a little less tempting when you know lunch is just an hour away. But being deliberate with your food time also helps you to savor your meals, which can result in feeling more full and satisfied. |
Another way to recapture your old routine and help you ease back into it is to also set aside specific meal places in your home. Try your best not to eat where you work. |
If you’re cooking less, try to bring it back |
Running to the grocery store, formerly a mundane part of everyday life, can now be a stress-inducing venture outside that requires social distancing, hand-washing hygiene and a mask. Though worries of a food shortage were overblown, a desire to limit your time inside stores can mean you dash in to pick up whatever is easiest. |
Even in normal times, home-cooked meals are a healthier option, and incorporating them back into your life now can help you focus on your overall health, too. |
“Meals don’t just provide us with energy and nutrients, it’s also a time of pleasure and enjoyment interacting with the people in your house,” said Jessica Bihuniak, assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the nutrition and food studies department at N.Y.U. |
Dr. Bihuniak added that sharing meals provides emotional benefits, too, and that because so many of us are working and eating in the same area or nearby, cooking and sharing a meal can help us draw boundaries to stave off work-creep into our personal lives. |
Now can be a good time to experiment with new types of food and recipes, she added. |
Mind your mindless snacking — and start to phase out your indulgences |
Self-control is already challenging without the stress of a pandemic, so as you slowly resume normal-ish daily life, consider simply not stocking foods you’ll want to phase out of your current diet, added Dr. Li, calling this a “golden time” to think about not just your health, but your environment. |
“It’s a time for spring cleaning,” Dr. Li said. “Any processed food, including the wonderful cereals, cookies and juice, they need to be out. Processed food is never doing us anything good.” |
Again, draw boundaries between eating and your other activities, and perhaps try to have healthier foods around to snack on, Dr. Bihuniak suggested. |
But remember that even with attempts to bring back normal eating, accept and make peace with the fact that you will certainly mess up again. In the end, don’t be too hard on yourself: Even Anna Wintour is endorsing joggers these days, so wear your sweats outdoors with pride. |
Thanks, have a great week! |
From our friends at Wirecutter |
