Last week I went “live” in the Peach Club community group and talked about how to approach food within self-isolation. Because, well let’s face it life is going to be a little different from now and our normal day to day routine is going to become very different , however, you absolutely do have control of this. In fact you probably have more control than ever right now, and that might actually feel even more daunting. So, I thought I would share my tips and tactics that I discussed with my clients with you to. I work from home regardless, so for me this adaptation is slightly easier, but for those who don’t I can appreciate how strange it may feel, it took me a while to adapt to the home office life…but you will, and can do this…#yougotthis
Routine is KEY
First things first, you need routine. In ‘normal life’ you would wake up, shower, get dressed, make breakfast, pack your bag ready to leave for the office, leave at 8am so you’d be on time for work, so for now you need to do the same. I encourage you to wake up at the same time, shower, get dressed ‘for work’ and make a space in your house for “work”. Make this space your working location, if you spread yourself out all over the house it’s hard to disconnect, start with one space and if you need to move it later then do so.
Now when it comes to food, create a routine and plan what you are going to eat. Then make sure you don’t eat where you work. You need to teach yourself to disconnect more than ever now, so try not to have ‘work lunches’, try to move into a different space, this will allow your mind to switch off from work mode and switch into ‘being mindful about what I’m eating’ mode.
Now let’s talk about the nitty gritty of food and routine, your previous routine may have been:
8am Breakfast, 11am Snack, 1pm Lunch…. and so on
So do what you can to stick to that for the moment, treat this right now as normal life, plan your lunches and dinners as you would if you were going ‘out’ to work. Hell why not even prep your lunches like you did before? Treat your work day like any other work day. The more you do this the better you’ll eat when you’re hungry, and only when you’re hungry. If you get into the habit of working from bed, eating at your laptop and snacking all day the easier it is to become lazy with your nutrition and start to feel very demotivated.
Overtime your appetite may change, you might become less hungry due to moving less, and your new ‘normal’ might need adjusting, continue reading to find out more…
Boredom Eating?
If you are moving less you will feel less hungry so tune into that. However you need to watch out for boredom eating! Boredom eating is something that we can all easily fall into the trap of, and right now is the time to practice overcoming that. If you’ve stocked up on biscuits and yummy foods that you wouldn’t eat on a ‘normal’ day, and boredom kicks in, it is very tempting to eat yourself ‘happy’. Your food environment is important, and keeping your environment clear is going to be key right now. Don’t have ‘easy to eat high calorie dense foods’ that accessible, i.e. put your biscuit tin in the bathroom…only kidding! Swap your biscuit tin for a fruit bowl, put chocolate bars and crisps in tupper-ware boxes. Make comfort foods less accessible, because the more accessible ‘comfort’ is the more it will start to become a habit.
What if you do find yourself boredom eating?
The best thing to do is to ‘break the chain’ with another action. So if you find yourself staring in the cupboard/fridge wanting to pick have an action in place to replace that. This action should be an action that serves you, something that actually enhances your life BUT saying that right now “going for a short 10 min walk” might not be something we are able to do. So maybe you could break the chain with going up and down the stairs a few times? Perhaps reading a book for 5mins, maybe getting outside in the garden to get 5mins of sunshine, or even 10 star jumps?! Just something to distract you and break the “chain”.
Activity?
If you are moving much less and your fitbit/activity tracker is doing your nut in take it off, I want to encourage people not to get too obsessed with lack of movement and feeling bad about it, we are all in the same boat right now! However if you find it is a positive influence to get moving then keep it on!
It helps to get out of your chair every couple of hours, even if it’s to get up and walk around your house/flat a few times. If you drink more water, you’ll need to go to the toilet more so you can use that tactic for sure. Get up from your work space, stretch your body, take calls stood up and pace your garden, have a standing work desk where and when possible. Move more where and when you can.
I will be running 15min lunchtime mobility “flows” with my Peach Club members, to encourage them to get moving day to day.
Calories?
If you are tracking calories right now and moving much less, you could drop your calories by 100-200 per day for a few days, again if you are feeling less hungry tune into it. I am suggesting this as an option, not as a rule, however if you are professionally coached ask your coach for their advice.
Fasting?
You could practice fasting, having set “times” in which you fast, for example a 16 hour fast is a good approach, eating your last meal at 7pm and then eating your first meal at 12pm is a 16 hour fast which is doable. However, try not to leave it too long, fasting can leave you starving hungry and that’s when we enter the “red charging bull” syndrome (you know, when you are charging through the kitchen ready to raid and demolish whatever you can!!). I personally like fasting at the start of the week, I find I am less hungry earlier on in the week, which allows me to bank more calories for the weekend. Fasting isn’t for everyone and for some people fasting can encourage binge like behaviour, you do you, if you know fasting doesn’t suit you don’t do it. If you have tried it before and found it manageable and a good way to balance out your eating habits then go for it. Again ask a professional if you are unsure.
Carbs?
You could reduce carbs if you are moving much less and not hitting your normal day to day steps/activity, personally I don’t see any harm in eating a few less carbs when your activity is lower. However, remember CARBS AREN’T THE DEVIL!!! Don’t be a d*ck and go completely “zero carb”. My advice is this, you could if you like lower them to 100-150g per day (check your macros on MyFitness Pal to do this). It depends though because if you are still training at home with good intensity you still need energy from carbs to recover, to sleep well and for brain power so take this advice carefully, you do what’s best for you. Now if you are lowering your carb intake do ensure you are still hitting your fibre intake! Eating starchy carbs, whole wheat, legumes, berries, lots of greens, fruit and veg with skin on that kind of thing, you still need to be able to poop!
Protein?
High protein is a good tactic as ever as it will fill you up for longer. The thermogenic effect of protein is useful right now, especially if you are moving less, as you burn calories to digest protein. Also Protein powder is a great thing to stock up on right now, it’s not going to empty the shelves at the supermarket! Play around with some of the recipes on the members area there are some nice dessert/sweet treats you could try with the kids (for Peach Club members only)! You gotta try the protein cheesecake! So yes keep protein high, we don’t want to lose your lean muscle tissue, we want to maintain it!
Calm Your Tits!
Don’t panic, even though we don’t know what’s to come you can and still are in control of what you put in your mouth! Even though when we feel sad and anxious we are more likely to comfort eat now is the time to practice how to NOT do this. Communicate, talk to your family, friends, tell them how you feel, feel the emotion, cry let it all out, don’t mask it. Comfort eating (or drinking) is a coping mechanism and now more than ever is a great way to practice overcoming this.
Self Care & Mindful Eating
You could journal, either write a food journal, write how you feel after each meal, write down what you ate (if not tracking) to record it down so you don’t go over board. Practice being mindful when eating sit down at the table to eat your meal distraction free (no phones etc), slow down, taste the food, stop before you are full to the brim and ask yourself “could I stop here?”. When was the last time you can honestly put your hand on heart and say “I fully acknowledged eating that entire meal”?? I know I am struggling to do so.
Don’t forget H20…
Have a big drink of water before your meal, have a big sip of water when you feel full and see if that does the job.
Drink more water! Sip water all day, basically drink all of the liquids!!
I hope you found that helpful, stay safe and I do hope everyone is looking after themselves!
Sending lots of positive, healthy, happy vibes (socially distanced)
– with love, Angi xxx
Peach Club
If during this time you need some support either from an amazing community of like minded women or with working out from home, Peach Club is perfect. We are now focusing on ‘Quarantine Club’ which will deliver home workouts to you through the app and you’ll join our amazing community of women who are all in the same position helping each other during this time. For more information check out the Peach Club page!
