Has your mum braved the trip to the supermarket and arrived home with bags filled with any last confectionery item that she could find? Do you find yourself stuffing your face in with bags of popcorn or bowls of sweets while binge-watching Netflix at 3 in the morning?
Within the last few weeks, these habits have undoubtedly crept upon us in quarantine and will be hard to control as we continue in lockdown. The temptations are there hidden basket upon basket in our kitchen cupboards. They cannot be escaped because we are all at home exposed to these treats right there in front of our very eyes.
As teenagers, we need to ensure that we are feeding our bodies with the right sort of nutrients and avoid unnecessary sugary content as we continue to grow our minds and bodies. Therefore, it is important, especially at this time, to control what our body intakes and ignore the temptations from the kitchen. This is hard and takes a large amount of willpower, however, here are some tips to maintain a balanced diet and avoid food binges during this lockdown.
1. Pay the most attention to breakfast
Breakfast is the act of 'breaking your fast', throughout the night your body is busy taking in all the food from the day before and breaking it down into all the right acids and enzymes needed for the body to function. In the morning, your body is, therefore, begging to be fed. Breakfast kick starts your metabolism and, thus, helps you burn more calories throughout the day. My favourite healthy breakfast choices are smoothie bowls, oatmeal or a fruit salad. It's important to make sure you're breakfast is filling enough to last you until lunch so you don't feel hungry before and resort to snacking which, unfortunately, is when you would find yourself raiding your kitchen cupboards in hope for something to get rid of that hunger.
2. Exercise before eating
Exercising before a meal helps the body to reach a starved point and is ready to be fed. This helps to ensure your meal is filling and provides you with all the correct nutrients. When hungry, carbohydrates and proteins tend to be the chosen foods as they are heavy and filling, these foods take longer to digest and keep you full for a longer amount of time. Therefore, your body doesn't feel the need to snack unnecessarily. Additionally, exercising before eating has been proven to psychologically affect your food choices, after working out your body responds to the work done and wants to proceed in feeding the body healthily.
3. Snack on fruit
It sounds boring but fruit can be just as fun as sweets sometimes. There are a plethora of ways to make eating fruit fun, from smoothies to salads. When your body feels hungry in between meals the easy option is to resort to a packet of crisps or a chocolate bar but if you want to fill yourself up you need a more substantial option. Once you start eating any of those more unhealthy options, your body craves more and more as it is never satisfied with just one bag. A bowl of fruit can provide your body with that satisfaction of feeling both full and healthy simultaneously.
4. Keep busy
There are so many things to get up to while at home, but when sat in one place watching Netflix or soaking up the sun, your body can get tired and can resort to comfort food. Planning several activities to accomplish in a day helps your mind stay busy and avoid the distractions of food. First thing in the morning, I like to make a to-do list, this visually helps me to see the tasks I must get done and will keep me away from hovering about the kitchen. When your mind is at rest, it finds a way to persuade yourself that you are hungry, however, when your mind is actively preoccupied, it is less likely to pay close attention to the feeling of hunger and instead will wait for a lunch or dinner break.
5. Everything in moderation
This is my new go-to quote, chocolate and crisps are absolutely fine to indulge on once in a while but it is important to control yourself and eat moderately. Keep a close eye on your portion sizes. Besides if you eat all your treats now, there'll soon be none left, so space it out and enjoy the goodies sparingly.
