It starts with awareness
By working from home a lot, we move less, we eat unhealthily and we snack more than before. You may order something tasty more often and take an unhealthy snack more often. How do you avoid comfort food or eating out of boredom?
become aware
A biscuit with the coffee, an extra sandwich with lunch and chips in front of the television. Sometimes before you know it you’ve already put something in your mouth. At these moments you don’t think about whether you are really hungry and then you quickly take in more calories than you would like. You often do not eat the extras very consciously and that is precisely the crux: awareness. By keeping a food diary you gain insight into what, when and how much you eat. You don’t have to write everything down for a whole week, with a few days you get a lot of insight! For example, take two weekdays and at least one weekend day.
Feel what you feel
Sometimes you simply eat through emotions and feelings. Then it may be that you are actually comforting or numbing yourself with food. Learn to notice the difference when you eat because you are hungry or when you are bored or experience some other unpleasant feeling. These can be all kinds of emotions: frustration, sadness, stress, anger or maybe you are just tired. Perhaps a 20-minute power nap or a round trip would be a much better idea.
Eat at the table
Mindful eating starts at the table. Or at least in a quiet place where there is no contact with your laptop, telephone or TV. The good thing is that you immediately take a good break from work. And that is so sensible in this time when work is so close. Schedule time for lunch so that you can focus on preparing as well as eating. By taking a conscious moment and thinking about what you eat, you are less likely to eat an extra sandwich carelessly. This also applies to snacks and other goodies: put chips in a bowl rather than eating straight from the bag. And serve a pastry on a nice saucer.
Avoid impulse purchases
You probably recognize it. You walk into the supermarket and at the checkout you still have more tasty things in your cart than you planned. There’s a good chance you’ll be making more of these impulse purchases if you walk into the store without a shopping list. The time of day also plays a role. If you go just before a meal, you buy more ‘tasty’ things than when you visit the supermarket with a full stomach. So go into the supermarket with a plan and make a list of what you need for that day or week. Another trick is to only take the outer aisle in the supermarket. Almost all supermarkets contain the most unprocessed food and hardly any snacks and sweets. Ordering groceries online and having them delivered to your home also prevents you from being easily tempted by snacks.
Give yourself a nudge
Eating out of boredom or emotion happens more quickly if there is treats in the picture. Whenever you come across the unhealthy food, it means you have to make a choice whether or not to take it. Usually this is not a problem in the morning, but during the day your discipline can decrease due to stress or fatigue. So move the candy jar out of sight, put the chips in a cupboard or kitchen drawer that you don’t look in every day and put fruit and candy vegetables in a prominent place, such as the counter or on the kitchen table. This way you automatically give yourself a nudge in the right direction, because you will also eat more of healthy snacks if you walk past them a few times every day.
drink enough
Drink 1.5 to 2 liters of fluid daily, which includes milk, tea and coffee. A well-hydrated body is less likely to give a hunger stimulus. If you feel hungry, drink a glass of water first, that can already help to satisfy your hunger. It also helps to drink a glass of water before every meal. Drinking water before your meal makes you feel fuller and prevents you from overeating.
keep moving
Those who move more have less time to snack. Not only do you have less time for it, but your attention to food can also decrease. Exercise also creates a healthy vicious circle. If you started the morning with a walk or an online sports lesson, it is easier to turn down that cookie with your coffee.
Find distraction
Usually the craving for something tasty subsides after about 20 minutes. So it pays not to immediately give in to a snack attack and distract yourself. Above we already mentioned drinking something and moving, but you can also think of dancing to your favorite song, calling a good friend, brushing your teeth or folding the laundry.
