Attack of the snacks: How to improve your diet in lockdown

In work you had a stricter eating schedule, set lunch and tea breaks (if you’re lucky) and you had to prep your lunch or plan where you’d get it. You also had to share a fridge with others. But now, at home, the fridge is all yours. With remote working here to stay for many of us, here are my top tips to get into a healthy eating and drinking routine.

1 Create a schedule

Just because you don’t have to commute in the morning doesn’t mean you can’t ‘stage your own commute’. Why not set your alarm 15mins earlier to allow a quick walk? Carve out at least 30mins for lunch and perhaps a couple more shorter breaks for a cuppa/ snack. This way you’ll set yourself boundaries to stop you from falling into the trap of continuously snacking throughout the day.

2 Hydrate

Dehydration can affect concentration and although you can turn your camera off in virtual meetings, a snooze during them is less than ideal. Fill four bottles or a large jug of water in the morning and pop in the fridge. Set time targets to finish each bottle/¼ jug to help you chip away at the 2L/day.

3 Cap the caffeine

There is nothing quite like a hug in a mug but too much caffeine can wreak havoc with your sleep and lead to irritability and headaches. Keep caffeine <400mg/ day: one cup of tea contains 75mg whereas instant coffee has 100mg/ cup and there’s 140mg in a cup of filtered coffee.

4 Avoid working in the kitchen

Chances are you don’t work where you eat in the office so make sure you’re not doing this at home. There’s a lot to be said for ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Set your ‘home office’ away from the kitchen and don’t leave foods out on the counter.

5 Plan meals/snacks

Most of us plan out our meals to some extent but few plan their snacks. So when hunger hits, the quickest options are usually least healthy — biscuits, crisps, etc. Pop a few healthier snack options on the shopping list so you have options such as yogurt, nuts or fruit and veg with dips like hummus.