Food lover? How to stay away from snacks at home
by Tia Dewick in News
In the present difficult times we are all facing unnatural alterations to our lifestyle. Working on make shift desks, maybe even working from a slouched position of the sofa, or those of you that have been placed on furlough, you might be spending most of your day sitting down of the sofa watching the television. Due to boredom associated with this unnatural change of lifestyle of being housebound and more sedentary, this unfortunately leaves us wanting to graze a lot throughout the day and may potentially encourage us to eat through our usual weekly stash of goodies during just one movie. You have all done so well in your weight loss journeys and we really want to help you continue your progress in these difficult times. So never fear, here are some tips and tricks of how you can stop yourself from losing track of your food routine whilst being housebound.
Are you really hungry?
I know this sounds a little simplistic, but first of all just ask yourself if you are actually hungry or whether you’re just bored
Drink some water or tea
Alternatively, if you decide you do feel hungry, consider that often when we feel hungry, we’re actually just thirsty. So why not drink some water or have a cup of tea to fill up your stomach and help ease your craving
Wait 20 minutes
After having a drink, try waiting approximately 20 minutes to allow your brain time to recognise that the fluid that you have just consumed may have filled your stomach. This time also helps reduce the likelihood of you making impulsive decisions to snack before you actually realised what you’ve done. Have you ever had a nap and woke up feeling hungry so you eat a bag of crisps and a chocolate bar and then as soon as you’ve done it you feel instant regret and almost like you can’t even remember doing it? I have! So give your brain chance to evaluate the situation before making any hasty decisions
Do some exercise
During this 20 minutes doing some exercise can also help mitigate any cravings. Why not try going for a walk or do some exercise such as a 20 minutes of stretching or yoga
Eat more vegetables at meal times
Another way to stop yourself from feeling hungry is to fill your stomach at meal times to stop your brain from sending hunger impulses later on. However, be mindful to consume low calorie and healthy foods in an attempt to fill your stomach such as having a good portion of a side salad with your dinner or lunch
Choose healthier alternatives
Quite often when we do actually feel hungry (not from boredom, actual hunger), it’s our bodies telling us that we need carbohydrates. Therefore, rather than going straight to the goodie cupboard for some chocolate or crisps, try and fill this craving with a healthier and less calorie dense alternatives such as fruit
Plan your food
Another way to help keep you on top of your daily food consumption is to plan ahead of time your daily meal/snack items. Remember we have a nutrition website available for you to select all of your food items for the day based on your daily calorie/energy intake target. Not only does this help you meet your calorie targets, it also helps reduce the temptation of snacking throughout the day as you know what your next meal/planned snack will be.
Shop only for what you need
Our nutrition website also emails you with a shopping list to know what food products and how much of them you need to order/purchase to stick to your weekly plan. This will help you to stop eating that extra banana to stop it from going to waste as you will have in exactly what you need to meet your daily targets
Bring your typical late dinner routine forward
Normally, the typical adult consumes their dinner between 7pm and 8pm to fit in around work. However, due to the present working at home and saving travel time outside of your working hours, try and bring your dinner time forward to maybe 6pm. Evidence suggests that the later we eat, the more appetite we build and therefore the more food we consume during our meal. Alternatively, bringing your meal time forward should stop your appetite from building too high and enable you to consume a less energy dense portion
I hope this helps! Don’t forget to stay happy and healthy 🙂
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