BOREDOM EATING DURING COVID-19

Disruptions to routine elevate stress & cause emotional eating

With the COVID-19 pandemic, changes to eating habits might be one of the biggest adjustments we need to make when working from home. People who are used to following a regular break schedule at work around mealtimes, find a lack of structure, can make it easy to fall into a rut with meal habits. This can also mean a sparked increase in ‘nonhungry’, ‘emotional’ or ‘boredom’ eating across the day which, if it becomes out of control, can wreak havoc on our health. Although your routine may be disrupted, it is not out of your control.

Why do we tend to graze more when we are at home?

The main reason why healthy eating might become more of a challenge is because of a change in routine. During a normal workweek, when we are expected to be somewhere for eight hours a day, we need to have done some level of planning around how we are going to eat for the day. Being at home, there is no need to pack lunch or go somewhere to buy food. The options are now as far and wide as the kitchen.

Having the house full of food could go either way in terms of nutrition. Plenty of food on hand could mean that it is easier to prepare healthy meals. However, if you are not organised, a full fridge and pantry at your disposal day-long can also set the stage for convenient, less healthy choices.

Here is what you need to do if you are battling with grazing while working from home: 1. Follow a meal structure.

Skipping meals or a lack of balanced meals will make you hungry and usually for the wrong things. Aim to include structured meals throughout the day that contain a good amount of protein and healthy fat. This is key to having longlasting energy levels, keep hunger at bay and balance out blood sugar levels.

Although toast may be an easy choice to fill the hunger gap at the time, quick meals that lack protein and healthy fat will only fuel food cravings and further ‘nonhungry’ eating later. Refined carbs and sugars such as cereal and baked goods send blood sugar levels skyrocketing, quickly followed by a crash. Crashing blood sugar can mean one thing – hungry again, and usually for sweet food. Giving into these cravings fuels the cycle over and over.

Stress levels are elevated due to a change in routine, causing‘ emotional‘ & ‘boredom‘ eating across the day.

Get organised and follow a meal structure, just as you would if you were leaving the house. Keep it simple by utilising leftovers or preparing dishes in advance such as salad or roast vegetables. Proteinrich options such as tins of tuna, boiled eggs, and leftover meat are also great for bulking up meals. With a few base items like these on hand, it makes putting together a nutritious, satisfying meal an easy choice.

2. Create a healthy habit-forming fridge & pantry.

Keeping snacks in easy-to-reach places are a guaranteed invitation to graze more than needed. If it is in your house, then it is probably also in your stomach. That means if you want to banish the graze, you need to create an anti-grazing environment.

If you do not really want to eat it, then do not buy it. If you must, however, then start by rearranging food items so that the less healthy snacks are more difficult to access. Delicious snack foods such as baking, chocolate, crackers, biscuits, cheese, and nuts are best stored in sealed containers away from eye level. Fresh home baking on the kitchen counter is only asking to be eaten. Instead, store alternatives such as chopped up fruit and vegetables in the fridge at eye level, making them a more appealing and easier choice.

When stress levels become elevated due to a change in routine, it is entirely natural for emotions to play out in our eating. However, at the end of the day, developing healthy habits around nutrition are the key to foster emotional resilience and to avoid being caught up in unhealthy patterns. It is not just about will-power, it is about environment. To nail these habits at the root, start by getting organised with balanced meals and clean out the cupboards from temptations in the house.

Sylvia North is whole-food dietitian in New Zealand. Her expertise is in overcoming digestive problems, reducing inflammation for better energy, preventing chronic health problems, and overcoming weight loss resistance. Sylvia is a PhD candidate at AUT University with a special interest in pregnancy nutrition, gestational diabetes, and diabetes prevention. Her philosophy is about lifelong healthy eating for energy, resilience, and freedom from dieting. Sylvia can be found at her website.