Published April 20, 2020
Author: Rainie Ye, special to penqu.in
Hopefully, staying home will put an end to the COVID-19 crisis, but not your healthy habits! It’s natural to struggle with healthy eating and stick to your “normal” fitness routines when things are everything but normal. Here are our tips to help.
Keep yourself distracted from stress eating
Stress and boredom are two triggers for overeating. You are more likely to crave for comfort food when you are not doing much or feeling overwhelmed. But a temporary pleasure relief may soon become a bad habit. Try to keep yourself distracted with something interesting like:
- Listen to a new podcast
- Watch some TED talks to learn trendy topics
- Read a new book or one that has been on your list forever
- Watch a new documentary
- Pick up a new hobby, such as writing
Consider meal plan deliveries
Planning your own meals ahead would usually save you from eating unhealthy food. But if it’s just too much for you now, that’s okay too.
Meal plan deliveries such as a set of 21 meals each week can help you stick to eating the right amount food. Usually, the service providers also ensure the meals are nutritiously balanced, which could otherwise be hard on your own.
If you prefer to cook, you can also find deliveries of food boxes that include raw ingredients and recipes.
Try new home exercises
The gym may be closed, but internet isn’t! There are tons of home workout videos online that can keep you engaged every day. Exercise is known to release the happiness hormone, endorphins, which can help lighten up your day while keeping you fit. Don’t see “home exercise” as a limitation, but a great opportunity for you to try new forms of workout.
The easiest to start is a bodyweight workout that requires no equipment and does the job. If you want to ramp up the difficulty, you can add some resistance with either a resistance band or dumbbells.
If you are not a fan of hardcore stuff, try some gentle calming movements. Yoga is the perfect mind-body practice that can calm a mental storm. Why not join the 7 million yogis on Youtube?
By: Rainie YeRainie is a biomedical science graduate and future PhD student. She loves writing about science, health, nutrition and fitness. She has written for more than 100 blogs as a freelancer in English and Chinese. You can find her and read about her past work here: http://rainieye.com.
