Before this, it is important that you follow these tips to keep your weight and health at bay and not fall into temptation.
“Weight gain is one of the risks of confinement if a healthy lifestyle is not followed.”
Depending on whether the diet is balanced or not and whether the level of physical activity is maintained, the reality is that “you can gain weight in a few weeks,” specialists warn.
But weight gain is not the only worrying thing about not following the guidelines recommended by experts, since "we should also be concerned about other aspects such as the state of muscle mass and the state of inflammation," since, according to the expert, , loss of bone and muscle mass are also potential dangers in confinement.
“Even maintaining weight is not a guarantee of improving health parameters, since adipose tissue (fat) could be gained while bone and muscle mass is lost.”
This is especially important because “muscle mass is responsible for maintaining our functional capacity and is linked to metabolic improvements.”
“Maintain exercise and ensure protein intake, distributed throughout the day.” These “are ideal methods to mitigate muscle and bone loss as a result of confinement.”
Another important reason to maintain a balanced diet is to provide the body with nutrients necessary to cope with confinement and to strengthen the immune system. In summary to achieve this is: “Restrict nutritionally empty foods and prioritize the most nutritionally dense ones.”
According to this, “all foods that contain a lot of simple sugars and fats, such as snacks, sweets and pastries, or refreshing drinks, etc., as well as alcohol, are not good allies during confinement since they provide quick energy unnecessarily.”
For example, “100 calories from fruit, vegetables or nuts provide many more nutrients than 100 calories from industrial pastries, although they provide the same energy.”
Objective: strengthen the immune system
Furthermore, and now that time is not an excuse, it would be a good time to cook as healthy as possible, in order to strengthen the immune system since it is the one in charge of helping to fight possible viral infections, such as the coronavirus. For this reason, “a diet rich and varied in fruits and vegetables, both cooked and raw, is advisable.”
The variety in color of these foods "will also provide variety in antioxidants, which act as protectors of the body." Thus, “berries and red fruits, for example, are rich in vitamin C and flavonoids, and yellow, orange and green leafy vegetables have a high content of beta-carotene, an antioxidant relevant to the immunity of the skin and mucous membranes. ”.
Another group of foods that should be chosen during confinement would be whole grains and lean meats “which provide vitamin B and amino acids, important for building the components of the immune system, as well as iron and zinc.”
Yogurt and fermented milk drinks help to “increase resistance to these infections and have a healthy microbiota and nuts, in addition to zinc, contain antioxidants such as selenium and vitamin E”, which is why they are essential at this time. of confinement.
Tips to fight temptations
But the reality is that there are still days of confinement and it is becoming increasingly difficult not to fall into unhealthy culinary temptations. What can we do to prevent it?
“Make a weekly menu to avoid improvisation” is key. If we cook in advance, “we will avoid choosing the first thing in the refrigerator or pantry.”
They also remember the importance of “following a meal schedule so as not to snack during the day and try not to go into the kitchen if it is not time to eat or cook.”
Another piece of advice from experts is to choose a couple of specific physical spaces in the house to eat (dining room, kitchen) since “in this way inappropriate intakes can be reduced.”
When shopping, it is important to moderate the purchase of products such as pastries, sugary soft drinks, salty or sweet snacks, so it is advisable to make a prior list in order to avoid purchasing these foods.
Sitting calmly at the table, enjoying the food and chewing properly and with time are other recommendations.
In addition to choosing the foods we eat carefully, we must also pay special attention to what we drink. The recommendation of experts in this regard is to preferably choose water or, in the case of adults, infusions or coffee. To give it a little joy, you can add a splash of orange, lemon or mint.
Other sources of hydration would be hot and cold soups, dairy products and, where appropriate, natural juices and non-caloric drinks.
Even following these tips, there are times when uncontrollable hunger appears without knowing why. This is what is called emotional hunger. To overcome this feeling, the first thing you have to do is identify what triggers it, whether boredom or sadness, for example, and try to combat it.
To do this, these days, “you can choose entertaining and pleasant activities so that we forget about the feeling of hunger.” Some examples would be reading, writing, exercising, organizing, sewing, playing board games, and staying active is very important during confinement.
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