During this prolonged period of curfew, we often find ourselves eating and snacking far more than we usually would. Snacking can be a good thing when it is part of a balanced diet but it can result in us consuming more energy, sugar, fat or salt than we should.
Snacking can sometimes be attributed to boredom or stress. With the challenge you face during the curfew of not being able to visit supermarkets or the Pola, you often struggle to find the foods you usually eat and prefer. When you work from home, the changes you find yourself having to adapt to as well as the uncertainty of when you can get back to your usual routine can indeed be quite stressful. To help with keeping a routine, try to have fairly structured meal times.
Here are 5 tips to help you control and focus on healthier snacking:
- Avoid sitting in front of the TV or computer while you eat. When you aren’t focusing your attention on what you are eating, you involuntarily tend to eat far more than you normally would.
- Ask yourself if you really are hungry. If the reason for your sudden desire to nibble something is boredom, loneliness or stress then it’s best to distract yourself in a non-food kind of way.
- Stay Organized. It’s a fact that we usually opt to snack on what we first see. So, rearrange your refrigerator and grocery cupboard with the healthier choices in front and the less healthy ones at the back. Remember, out of sight is out of mind.
- Before you start your work from home, take some time to prepare some healthy snacks. Maybe some fruit or veggie sticks or a salad. If you wait till you get hungry, you will most often yield to a more convenient and less healthy option.
- Aim for sources of steady energy. Since the main objective of snacking is for energy, make food choices that help you sustain your energy for as long as possible. Low Glycemic and High Fiber foods are often useful for this, as they release energy slowly into your bloodstream over a longer period of time.
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