How to: avoid stuffing yourself during a lockdown
It’s day three of staying inside for me and, besides the coronavirus, I’ve acquired another major concern. I fear that when the Netherlands steps outside again for the first time on 7 April, we’ll all suddenly be morbidly obese. Am I the only one who has done nothing but eat so far?
Day 1
My first day of lockdown, Sunday 15 March, was truly shameful. Only going outside when absolutely necessary resulted in: binge-watching two seasons of a Netflix series and devouring and drinking the worst things. Cookies, sweets, cola, wine and bread—lots of bread. Products I don’t use at all (cola), or use much less of (sweets), in everyday life. Out of sheer boredom and self-pity, you decide to ‘reward’ yourself, to soothe the pain with food, resulting in feeling full, nauseous and even more self-pity (and disgust). Sound familiar? Then read on.
Stick to your habits
Try to stick to your normal eating habits as much as possible. Normally I have quark and fruit for breakfast, so why did I suddenly have bread and cheese now? And oh yes, is stockpiling one of your habits? Probably not. Besides being completely unnecessary and even irresponsible, it also means that you suddenly have weeks’ worth of food at home, without having much else to do. Ergo: stuffing yourself 2.0.
Plan what you’re going to eat
Keep it within reasonable proportions. Think a little throughout the day about what you’re going to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Try to stick to that. If you want cookies with your tea while working from home, put two on a plate instead of taking out the whole package. Want to eat some crisps while watching the news? Put them in a bowl. An entire bag of crisps taken to the sofa simply won’t survive (at least, not at my place..)
Stay active
And besides eating, try to stay active. Is there a park nearby? Go for a walk while you’re still allowed to, or go for a run. Put your yoga mat on the floor and get lost in the wonderful world of YouTube workouts. I now watch my boyfriend do push-ups and sit-ups on the floor every day (and who knows, maybe I’ll join him later). And besides sporty activities: find things to do. Finally hang those paintings, play games instead of watching TV. Fight the boredom and beat those quarantine cravings! Good luck!
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