The Truth About Your Quarantine Stress Eating

It Might Not Be As Problematic As You Think.

You’re working from home. You’re schooling from home. You’ve canceled all your plans for the next several weeks, and let’s face it: You may have more extra time on your hands than you bargained for this spring. So what’s a gal to do??

Snack. Bake. Eat. For most of us, the answer is food. Is that true for you?

This is the part where you’re probably expecting me to give you some advice on staying strong, getting the sweets out of your house, and sticking to your nutrition plan. I AM your nutrition coach after all—isn’t that what we do??

Sometimes, yeah . . . But other times, life happens. And I think we can all agree that this is one of those times.

How the COVID-19 Quarantine Has Impacted My Nutrition

Even as a health and nutrition expert, I still find myself craving my favorite comfort foods when life gets stressful. It should be no surprise to you, then, that our meals here at the McGee household haven’t been exactly picture perfect as of late. 

We haven’t totally gone off the deep end, but we have done a LOT of baking. Our bread machine is firing on all cylinders—we actually just made a delicious, herby loaf the other day. And we’ve made a few more batches of cookies than what we’d normally go for, because what makes better comfort food than fresh, warm chocolate chip cookies?

Now, I’m not telling you this to give you permission to totally jump ship from your nutrition plan—and if you’ve actually managed to eat perfectly PFC-Every-3 so far, then kudos to you! 

What I’m trying to emphasize here, though, is that THIS is the big difference between a lifelong nutrition plan versus a diet. Diets don’t work because they’re far too rigid. Our nutrition plan, on the other hand, accommodates for periods when we might need to be a little more flexible with our eating, like parties, holidays, and--yep--even pandemics.

If you’ve found yourself snacking, splurging, and treating yourself more than you meant to, that’s TOTALLY understandable, and you shouldn’t feel guilty for indulging in a little comfort food when we are, collectively, so very in need of something comforting. Now is a good time to give yourself a little bit of a pass.

Everything in Moderation

The key is not to let yourself stray *too* insanely far off track. Have your cookies, but don’t have cookies and ice cream for every meal. Enjoy a delicious batch of fresh bread, but don’t eat half the loaf in one sitting. And by all means, have some wine after dinner. Just be mindful about your consumption and don’t over-indulge.

The important thing here is that you’re taking care of yourself. Some days, taking care of yourself will mean eating super well and getting in a great workout, but right now, taking care of yourself might just mean keeping your stress levels as low as possible, making choices that make you feel good, and setting a good example for your kids. Get extra sleep. Drink your water. Eat as well as you can. But by all means, cut yourself just a little slack.

Join My Free Stress Reduction Challenge

In just a couple weeks, I’ll be hosting a free stress reduction challenge over in my free Facebook Community, Never Diet Again, and I’d love for you to join us! This will be a totally lightweight chance to check in with yourself, connect with other women who are also trying to prioritize their health during these crazy days, and get some daily tips from yours truly on keeping your stress at bay so you can feel as good as possible. Just click this link to visit + join the community!