A majority of us have been faced with more time at home during COVID – which means more effort spent cooking and preparing food for ourselves and our families. Any type of nutrition “plan” established pre-quarantine may be difficult to sustain given the change in routines and schedules. But, all is not lost! It may take a few tweaks in focus and preparation in nutrition planning at home, but it’s still possible to reach body composition and overall health goals during a time of uncertainty. We’ve listed out top three tips our coaches suggest to optimize nutrition at home to stay on track.
Shop smart
Grocery shopping looks different these days – and so might your cart. Either you have found yourself giving in to impulse buys to cope with stress, or you have thrown out a plan all together due to life complications – we get it! Regardless, the easiest way to control what is brought into the house is controlling what happens at the grocery store. This takes a little bit of preparation and a lot of discipline. Prepare a list ahead of time based on your set meals each week and fill your cart with only those items. Want to avoid temptation all together? Many stores offer online shopping ordering systems and personal delivery services. Take advantage of these to stick to a dedicated list each week and avoid impulse buys strategically placed around check-out lines.
Zone in on measuring
The quickest way to fall of a plan is to ignore portion control. Even those with the best intentions may become unaware of the amount of food consumed at a meal or snack. Break out the food scale or measuring cups to recalibrate what a serving size looks like. Even small tweaks in macronutrient proportion over time can mean a huge difference in reaching a body composition goal.
Bonus: measuring food intake and actually understanding what your body absorbs is another. Blood panel testing can give clues to what levels of micronutrients your body is lacking or has in excess in order to stay optimally healthy – and help balance the immune system. (Learn more about comprehensive blood panel testing by contacting our team.)
Make a habit of tracking
Remember tracking? It’s the one tool that’s been proven to support weight loss in several national studies, but even if losing weight is not your goal, tracking brings a heightened awareness of food intake that can help with portion control – and controlling impulses to eat outside of a nutrition plan. The mere act of writing down or recording food consumption on an app can help you feel more in control of eating behaviors, and can provide a look into the proportions of macronutrients consumed on a daily basis. If tracking every morsel of food consumed feels overwhelming, start with recording one meal a day, or one full day a week to ease into the habit. Work towards adding more details (if it feels right for your mindset and goals) to establish a regular practice and become more mindful of food intake.
Out of all the tips our Nutrition Coaches give to clients, the number one piece of advice: consistency. Keep consistent in your nutrition habits to achieve your health goals. Even the smallest changes continued consistently over time can bring incredible results.
Interested in making the most of your nutrition plan based on your unique metabolism and body composition? Schedule a consultation with our team today!
