Many of us have been stuck behind our computers more than ever because of the pandemic. Whether you work from home every day or only occasionally, it's easy to slip into bad habits, grab food and drink that aren't always the healthiest choices or neglect our nutrition altogether if we get buried too deeply in our work! If this sounds like you.....here are a few tips to make sure you look after your body and your brain!!!
Be prepared!
Create snack pots for the week ahead while you're preparing another meal during the week or at the weekend. Nuts, dried fruits, little treats like chocolate covered dates or juicy snack bars can all help you to fend off cravings that will have you reaching for the biscuit tin if you're not careful. Take the time to draft out a menu for the week ahead and if you can, rope in other family members to take it in turns to prepare meals. Take time to move away from your computer, stretch and relax over a proper meal at least once a day!
Ring the changes
Have a plant based week, a dairy-free week, a curry week, a salad week....a whatever you want week....just something a little different to usual to shake things up. There are literally hundreds of thousands of web sites out there full of recipes, lifestyle advice and ideas to help you break out of your rut, but if you don't make active time to stop what you're doing, cook from scratch and take some exercise, all the web sites in the world won't help you.
Try to follow these rules:
Avoid working in or near the kitchen - it sounds obvious, but mooching around searching the cupboards will lead to temptation.
Schedule your snack and meal times - by taking regular breaks and making sure you have nutritious snacks and meals available, you're more likely to stick to a healthy plan.
Don't think '5 more minutes.....' - If you regularly find yourself 'just' doing one last thing, you'll probably find that it's suddenly time for the next meal or snack and you're behind the schedule. Eat when you are supposed to and it'll help keep a stable system and allow your body to digest food properly.
Not everyone enjoys meal prep, we know that. So make it easy for yourself by shopping for or ordering a week's worth of meal ingredients and know what you are eating and when.
Focus on real food, if there's a local farmer's or fruit and veg market, make sure you make use of it. Try to avoid processed, ready made, out of the packet meals. Think that less is more.....one piece of protein with a salad or veg accompaniment and a few carbs will keep you satisfied.
Drink plenty of water.! Even if you think you already do this, chances are your body would appreciate more. Aim for 2 litres a day, every day.
Too much caffeine can really make you edgy....if you can reduce your caffeine intake and replace it with pure water or a fruit tea or tisane if you want a hot drink your body will thank you.
Never say never - We know junk food isn't good for us.......but we also need to indulge our cravings and desires occasionally. If you can stick with the maxim that 'a little of what you fancy will do you good' then the odd slice of overloaded pizza won't do any lasting damage.
We like the BBC Good Food web site...for easy to follow recipes and loads of ideas, interesting articles and suggestions. Let us know where you get YOUR healthy eating inspiration from!