While being in isolation prevents Covid-19, being locked down at home can lead to overeating due to stress and boredom.
In times of stress, turning to food for comfort is a natural reaction. However, one needs to be cautious about over-indulging on food. Being stuck at home can lead to some unhealthy habits such as overeating. You may find comfort and feel occupied munching your way through the day. But it is essential to keep in mind that regular overeating can have negative effects on your body as well as your mental health.
Here are 10 simple ways to prevent yourself from overeating.
- Self-evaluation – You need to check in on yourself. Try to understand what is making you eat so much – it could be boredom, stress, or anxiety. Observe how frequently you are eating or if you are eating a large portion in one sitting. Every time you take a bite pay attention to how you are feeling – whether you are stressed, anxious, lonely or simply bored. Self-evaluation itself will help you eat mindfully.
- Keep them out of sight – A jar of cookies, munchies, chocolates… keep them out of sight. If you surround yourself with all the inviting visuals of food, you are actually setting a trap for yourself. Sometimes we tend to reach out for these goodies just because it is in sight, causing one to overindulge while they are not even hungry.
- Eat on time – When you schedule your meals you can look past the urge to eat all the time. Just because you are home that shouldn’t change your meal times. Stick to having three meals a day and a snack. Keeping this in mind will help you channel your urge to eat.
- Restriction is a bad idea – Never deprive yourself of food. Your meals should be well-balanced and the idea is to prevent overeating. When you begin to restrict yourself from eating even when you are hungry it turns to stress and anxiety which eventually leads to overeating.
- Experiment in the kitchen – Looking for comfort in food? Cook something interesting, write your own recipes, be creative with what you have. This way you will get to know your food better and your inner chef will thank you. Doing so will boost positivity, help you keep calm and prevent overeating.
- Move around – There are plenty of things you can do which you may have been procrastinating. Keeping yourself engaged with physical activity will uplift your mood. Dance to your favourite number, no ones watching.
- Portion control – Snacking directly from the container will definitely make you eat everything in one go. Always take another smaller container and fill it up. This will trick your mind and prevent you from overeating. Portion control will help you keep track of how frequently you are eating.
- Choose nutritious food – You are what you eat. So be mindful of what is going in your stomach. A well-balanced meal will make you feel lighter and active. While eating junk could be really tasty but it will make you feel tried and lethargic. Get creative in the kitchen and experiment with healthy food.
- Stay hydrated – Often we tend to forget drinking enough water or confuse thirst pangs with hunger. Hydration prevents you from overeating and boosts energy levels. You can make flavoured water by slicing fruits and add it to the water or brew some amazing flavoured teas. This will encourage you to drink more water.
- Prevent Boredom – Don’t know what to do? How about making a to-do list every night before going to bed? This will help you have a plan for the day. You will get work done as well as feel accomplished for completing all the task on your to-do list or you may pick up a new skill or start a small doable project at home. The idea is to keep yourself busy.
