Quarantine Days: How to Avoid Constant Snacking?

These days, with time seemingly at a standstill and the fridge so close, let's maintain controlled eating. The pandemic is a great opportunity to realize the importance of health as a value, teaching us the inner strength we have to overcome our challenges. Healthy nutrition and lifestyle will ensure a healthy mind in a healthy body.

Here are some tips to help you develop good habits:

1. Thought Creates Reality: Remember throughout this period that thought creates reality. Imagine being past the crisis and act accordingly. The key is to emerge stronger by having faced one of the toughest challenges, a global pandemic, and to implement this strength into nutrition and a healthy lifestyle.

2. Focus on What to Eat: Most people know what not to eat and avoid, which can lead to nutritional deficiencies and even malnutrition. Prepare a focused shopping list. Include proteins—chicken, beef, eggs, fish, cheese, plant-based proteins like tofu, miso, and seitan. Healthy fats—olive oil, avocado, olives, butter, coconut oil, avocado oil, nuts, and almonds—and fresh and frozen vegetables. This is also an opportunity for diabetics to personally monitor how different foods affect them, and you can consult with a dietitian via online health services these days.

3. COVID-19 Focused Shopping List -

* Fish - contain omega 3 and fatty acids that protect the brain from degenerative diseases and support nerve activity.

* Garlic - for fighting bacteria and protecting the brain and blood vessels.

* Dark chocolate - contains strong antioxidants that help slow brain aging processes and improve blood flow.

* Almonds - contain vitamin E which is important for brain function.

* Red wine - contains resveratrol that improves blood flow and is an antioxidant.

* Tomatoes - contain lycopene, which protects against Alzheimer's, dementia, and various types of cancer.

* Avocado - an excellent source of potassium, fiber, and monounsaturated fats that aid heart and vascular health. They also reduce inflammation and oxidation processes and reduce insulin resistance.

* Green tea - contains antioxidants essential for maintaining brain function and even for forming new connections between brain cells.

* Eggs - provide high biological value protein important for immune function and muscle mass preservation.

* Ginger - contains a strong antioxidant that reduces inflammation.

* Cinnamon - reduces insulin resistance and helps lower sugar in diabetics.

* Broccoli - rich in dietary fibers that give a sense of fullness and polyphenol antioxidants.

* Brazil nuts - (up to five a day) rich in selenium, a powerful antioxidant that benefits pancreas function.

4. Routine and Eating Schedule - Don’t stay in pajamas. Shower and dress as if you have a meeting. Create a schedule and decide in advance when to eat, work, clean, and tidy the house, exercise, and take medications and supplements. If possible, go to the balcony or garden and get some sunlight—remember to take vitamin D during days with low sun exposure.

5. Wear Sports Clothes - When you get up in the morning, start with a short 20-30 minute workout. This will give you energy for the day ahead and help start the day with high energy. Prepare your workout clothes the night before—it'll help you get it done in the morning.

6. Cooperation - Doing the process together makes it much easier. Set rules that will help you through and enlist family members to support you. You can even prepare a list of rules and put it on the fridge to ensure everyone keeps to them. Set a time together for a physical activity break—a quality time you can enjoy and take a break together..

7. Listening to Your Body - Food is a source of energy that enables the body's functions. The more we view food as a treat or compensation, we increase the risk of uncontrolled eating.

8. Hungry or Thirsty - If you’re in doubt, it means it’s not true hunger; distract yourself and learn to ride the waves of craving. If you manage to delay eating by even 5 minutes, you'll notice the urge decreases, giving you a few hours of quiet, and when you decide to eat, the food will taste better. Try drinking a glass of water, perhaps with a few drops of lemon, thus gaining vitamin C along the way.

Adina Bachar is a clinical dietitian at DMC Diabetes Treatment Center.