Balanced diet in stressful situations.

Daily life has changed radically for most of us in the past few months. Work is now done from home , which has become both a personal and professional space at the same time. Whether we live alone, with a roommate or with our family, with the new realities of everyday life, our schedule is very different and our daily habits are constantly being adjusted. Our daily food, our eating habits and our body weight are three factors that have been directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. How can we maintain a balanced diet under pressure?

Deprivation, our insidious enemy

We often think that by deprivation , by eating very little for a few times a day, our body “hardens” itself and learns to make do with fewer calories on its own. However, the body does not work that way and constant deprivation leads us to “ outbursts ” and “ attacks ” in the refrigerator. Therefore, where a healthy snack is not enough to satisfy our appetite for sweet or salty foods, a “dietary indulgence”, a piece of chocolate, a slice of salami, anything that will satisfy the taste and improve our psychology is a legitimate solution, which will not have disastrous consequences on our diet, but on the contrary will protect us from nutritional excess.

Sleep, our best friend

The temptation to stay up late is great , especially when we work from home and save time commuting to and from work, but insufficient sleep affects the feeling of hunger, resulting in our metabolism changing and not being able to feel full easily, as well as constantly craving sweets and fatty foods. Therefore, we make sure to sleep 7-8 hours every night, depending on our specific needs, so that we rest adequately and do not get hungry more.

Our kitchen, “this unknown”

We don’t all have to be “Master Chefs”, nor does it have to be mandatory for cooking to be part of our hobbies or daily habits. However, everyday food from outside, in addition to being more expensive, is also much more caloric than what we would cook ourselves, and we often cannot be sure of its quality. If we learn to cook a few simple and healthy dishes, such as grilled poultry, meat, fish and simple recipes for legumes and salads, it is much easier to maintain our weight.

Hidden calories, the unknown danger

Many times our efforts to maintain our weight are sabotaged by a lack of knowledge or awareness that many foods contain sugar, and in large quantities. Coffee, milk-based drinks, soft drinks, ready-made cold tea and, of course, juices that we have not made ourselves, can become calorie “bombs” for our diet. We do not need to completely cut sugar from our coffee, for example, if we cannot get used to it otherwise, but by avoiding drinks that contain 3 or even 4 teaspoons of sugar, we maintain our healthy habits and, of course, our body weight stable.