It’s a difficult time at the moment for everyone. We all need a bit of self-care and treats are important. It’s also a time where people are likely to over indulge and potentially gain weight. We are stuck in the house, a lot of us are bored, stressed, anxious and emotional. The kitchen cupboard, biscuit tin and fridge are constantly tempting us and food is comforting and healing.
Lockdown weight gain
Lots of people are complaining to me of overeating and lockdown weight gain at the moment. So I thought i would think about how to avoid this and how to move into a healthier relationship with snacking and our food intake. Disclaimer: I am not a nutritional expert but i do know a few things from my training and personal weight loss experience.
How do we avoid overeating and consequential lockdown weight gain?
Here are 10 things you can try:
1. Eat a nice filling breakfast: get your breakfasts planned so you have something healthy and filling at the ready. My favourite breakfast is chopped banana, apple, pear and berries (frozen easiest at the moment), with a spoon of sugar free muesli and some plain low fat yogurt which contains the live culture Lactobacillus acidophilus. See my earlier post on stress and the virtues of yogurt for a healthy gut.
If you have been active in the morning make sure you get a dose of protein in with your breakfast to help your muscles repair. Eggs and avocado on toast is my favourite if I’ve been out running or swimming.
2. Snack on healthy snacks: there’s so much debate about snacking. I actually don’t think we should deprive ourselves of the odd snack as long as it’s in moderation. I think it can discourage bingeing and encourage smaller portions at mealtimes. If you have healthy snacks available you are more likely to opt for them over a chocolate biscuit or a bag of crisps. Make sure your fresh and dried fruit, nuts, carrots and hummus supplies are stocked up so you can dip in when you feel an urge to snack. Have these snacks in easy reach and if you can’t resist the chocolate biscuits try not to buy them very often.
3. Drink lots of water: it’s important to stay hydrated of course and water also has the added benefit of making you feel fuller. Drinking water has also been proven to burn more calories. It also replaces other drinks which may have higher numbers of calories. So next time you have an urge to have a snack have a glass of water first. It’s also a good idea to have a glass of water when you first wake up. The recommendation is to drink 8 glasses of water a day but more if you are active. If you wake up in the night and are tempted by a midnight snack have a glass of water instead.
4. Eat a mainly plant based diet rich in unprocessed foods: try to fill your meals with as much unprocessed food as possible. Wholegrains, vegetables and fruit are more nutritious and filling than alternatives. My absolute favourite meal is red daily dal and aubergine and tomato curry from Meera Sodha’s Made in India recipe book with some brown rice. You can make a vat of it to last more than one meal and it’s delicious, nutritious, filling and low fat all at the same time!
5. Try eating within a 12 hour window: research shows that it is not necessary what you eat when you eat which makes a difference to weight gain. This is called Time Restricted Eating (TRE). Professor Satchin Panda is an expert in this realm (I will be writing a full post in the next few weeks on his research).
The science shows that implementing a 12 hour, or longer, gap between eating can be really beneficial to overall health and can assist in weight loss. For example, eating your evening meal no later than 8pm and breakfast after 8am the next morning. In a very simplistic sense this rest from food intake allows the liver to burn off fat and repair the body more efficiently. This doesn’t sound too hard right? I think it’d be worth giving it a go for a month and seeing if it makes a difference.
Dr Rangan Chatterjee has two excellent podcast episodes with Professor Satchin Panda which are worth a listen if you are interested in Time Restricted Eating and the science behind it.
6. Be aware of portion control: it’s really easy to eat massive amounts at the moment especially if you are experimenting in the kitchen with exciting new recipes. Try having your evening meal on a smaller plate to encourage smaller portions.
7. Eat mindfully: try to really pay attention to the present moment when you are eating. Savour each bite and the taste in your mouth and take your time to chew your food slowly so you appreciate every morsale. If you have done the mindfulness “eating a raisin” meditation you will know what this means.
Before opting for second helpings leave yourself 10 minutes for your body to register whether it is full or not. Chances are you will be and you won’t need that second helping after all.
8. Allow yourself some treats: if you completely deprive yourself of all treats you will most probably end up bingeing on them later. So allow yourself small treats, for example a couple of squares of chocolate, and treasure the taste of them (step 7 above).
9. Try to limit your alcohol intake: there are lots of hidden calories in alcohol. Alcohol consumption also seems to encourage unhealthy eating. Try to limit your alcohol intake to 2 or 3 days a week. Lighter coloured drinks tend to be lower in calories. Go for gin or vodka, with diet tonic or soda and white wine instead of darker spirits like rum with full fat coke or red wine.
10. Get lots of movement into your day! If you exercise you will use up some of the calories you have consumed and it will help you maintain a healthy weight. If you want to lose weight you will need to combine a sensible diet with an exercise plan.
