I hope everyone is doing as well as they can during this very strange time in our world. I know it is hard. Really hard. Staying at home, with little social interaction is not typical or easy. I find myself experiencing a wide range of emotions on any given day, from gratitude that I have plenty of food to eat, to fear about what is going to happen, to anger that I am stuck at home. 

In full transparency, I don’t have this all figured out. I do not feel balanced and healthy every day. But luckily over the past few months, I have had plenty of time to figure out some things that help me — and I’m sharing them here with the hopes that these three tips might help you, too. 

1. Buy Healthy Foods 

I’ve noticed that there’s something about having to stay home that makes people want to buy junk food. I don’t know what it is, but I did it too. The first few weeks of quarantine I bought things I would never normally buy, like crackers and ice cream. 

The problem is that you eat the food that comes into your house, especially if you are stuck at home. So if you are buying chips and cookies, you will be eating chips and cookies. Eating junk food while you are limited to eating at home is not a great combination for your overall health or mood. You eat what you buy so make sure to buy nutritious foods. 

2. Keep plenty of grab-n-go healthy options on hand. 

Buying healthy food is one thing. Eating those healthy foods can be a whole different story. The key is to make sure the healthy foods you are buying are grab-n-go ready. Let me say that again. The key is to make sure the healthy foods you are buying are grab n go ready. Here are some easy ways to make this happen: 

• Pre-cut up veggies and put them at eye level in your fridge. Most people aren’t going to open the produce drawer in their fridge to cut up a bell pepper but they will reach for the container of pre-sliced veggie sticks. 
• Store your rice cakes, nuts, seeds in front of any chips or crackers in your pantry. 
• Pre-boil eggs ahead of time to make an easy protein-rich snack. 
• Keep a bowl of fresh fruit available on your kitchen counter. 

3. Pay attention to why you are eating 

Since being at home, I’ve found myself eating for various reasons besides hunger, such as stress, boredom, and just out of habit. I know I am not alone in this, as I’ve had this conversation with many of my clients lately. So, what can we do about it? Pay attention to why you are eating. This is the first step to changing this behavior. 

I starting finding myself grabbing for a little chocolate every afternoon before both my kids would wake up from their nap. I wasn’t hungry, but I was anxious about everything going on in the world, tired, and a little bored from the repetition of each day. Just being aware of what I was doing helped me curb this habit.  So, when you find yourself eating throughout the day, ask yourself, Am I hungry? Am I bored? Tired? Stressed? Just being aware can make all the difference. If emotional or stress eating is something you’re concerned about — you’re not alone. Stay tuned for a future post that will dive more deeply into that topic.