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Being mindful about your weight, what you eat, and consuming your food is a family affair and a step in the right direction towards achieving good health and nutrition.
With every family adjusting and adapting to the coronavirus, working from home and "home" schooling is part of our new normal. Managing these changes makes it that much more essential to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Optimal nutrition, learning smart eating habits, exercising regularly, and making cooking at home a family tradition all play an essential role.
Here is a few essential tips to jump-start your family's journey:
Try to prepare for stressful eating. Keep pre-made brown rice, beans, cut veggies, and roasted vegetables in the refrigerator for a quick buddha bowl. Aim for three balanced meals and fruit and veggies for a snack (if needed)
Assign each family member as a dinner helper to allow the whole family to become familiar with home cooking. Explore new recipes to try once a week.
Plan a simple monthly menu. Allow the whole family to offer their input. (example: Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, Wild Wednesday (new recipe), Thursday homemade pizza night ( try fresh veggie toppings), Fabulous Friday (favorite family meal) etc.
Take control of the monotony and stress of the pandemic by switching things up. We have made Friday movie nights with one snack per family member. We have tried out new veggies and dips and snack recipes. The rule for Friday Movie night is that the movie has to be one none of us have seen; that's pretty hard. It has been fun finding new films and creating new memories. Sunday is breakfast for dinner, so we have smoothies in the morning and then make our favorite breakfast dishes for dinner.
Try to pick a few days a week where the whole family eats together and talks about their day. We like to have each member share a good and a bad for the day or share what they learned.
Try to avoid frozen foods; they have high salt (sodium) content. Aim for fresh foods.
A food log helps you stay conscious of the new habits you are creating, change the bad ones. A food log also allows you to track your progress towards better nutrition and health.
Drink more water. Make a goal of how much you would like to drink. A simple rule of thumb is to take your body weight, divide it in half, and that is generally the amount of water in ounces you should drink daily. Your body usually interprets thirst for hunger. When you stay hydrated = You usually snack less.
Sugary drinks are not your friends. Soda and juices have lots of added sugar. Water, Tea, and fruit, and a better choice.
Be mindful of your portions.
Try not to eat in front of the TV. Watching TV and eating causes you to not pay attention to your body cues like being satisfied and leads to overeating. Eating at the table with family is the goal. Bonding with loved ones is great for easing stress and isolation.
Exercise regularly. Go for a walk, do a yoga video, climb the stairs, do squats while folding laundry and washing dishes. Move your body to stay fit and control weight gain
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