Snack Food Sales up 16% for 2020
Sales of snack foods have leaped up to more than 16% this year and there is one big reason: when we started to go into lockdown, Americans stocked up on comfort food. Several surveys done to date found that 76% of Americans have gained anywhere from 5-16 pounds since March of this year. People are struggling with stress, boredom, children at home, reduced income, and ultimately an inability to commit to making the changes necessary to shift the weight and negative mindset. If this sounds like you, read on for some innovative ideas!
How to Cook More
First and foremost, start thinking positively! As terrible as lockdown has been, it has given us the gift of time at home. For many of us, this means no long stressful commutes and more creative time at home and in the kitchen. It is a wonderful time to learn how to cook. If cooking is daunting for you, I highly recommend signing up with a food kit delivery service like Green Chef, Sun Basket, or Daily Harvest. This can be a fun way to learn how to cook. Then eventually you can ditch the service as you master the recipes. If you are not into cooking, you could embrace semi-homemade. Buy some prepared meals that are quick to assemble.
Meal Ideas
One simple meal is to pick up a roast chicken from your grocery store and some pre-made salads. Buy additional greens and cut up veggies to expand your salad. Look for healthy olive oil based dressings (avoid plant seed oils, soy, and high fructose corn sweetener) or check out my Irish “Use For Everything Dressing” on the Total Health website. The next day you can use the chicken leftovers in a soup (I love Trader Joe’s Lentil soup), and add additional frozen vegetables to make a yummy and quick meal.
Avoiding Junk Food
There are several tricks to eating successfully at home. DON’T have junk foods or any food that tempts you in the house. Food has this sneaky ability to “talk” to you, and if it’s sitting in your fridge or freezer, it will be calling your name. Keep these foods out of the house! If you really have a hankering for a treat, get out of the house, go get the best treatment, and enjoy it mindfully.
Creating an Eating Schedule
Next is establishing a good eating schedule. Plan when to have your meals and stay out of the kitchen at all other times. Have set meal times, but allow yourself to enjoy fluids between meals. The best, of course, is water, but also wonderful is hot or cold herbal teas or even a cup of organic bone broth. Make it a point not to eat foods or snacks in-between meals!
Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is another great consideration to help you lose some weight. Intermittent fasting limits your eating time to a set number of hours each day. Simply by not eating early in the morning and/or late at night, you’ll probably find you’re eating less. Eating brunch and eating an early dinner, means eating only 2 meals a day. If you find yourself hungry or just craving food at the end of the day, enjoy a cup of warm organic bone broth.
Locking up the Liquor
Do lock the liquor cabinet - even temporarily! Not only does alcohol provide excess calories, but these calories are also of the worst kind - liquid sugar calories that magically attach to your waistline. Alcohol also takes away your ability to regulate your food intake. If you start drinking while you’re cooking, you stop caring about what you are eating. Do it for a short stint, and see the difference not drinking alcohol can make on your belly.
Exercise to Replace Commute Time
Use your commute time for exercise. Discover the amazing world of YOUTUBE workouts. There is everything from yoga, pilates, body pump, line dancing, strength training with and without weights, to senior exercises, and more. YouTube is amazing and mostly free! Start with 20 minutes 3x/ week, but make sure you make exercise appointments. Add them into your diary or calendar, so there’s no confusion or excuses. Once you have established a new bottom line of 20 minutes 3x/week, see if you can expand, but avoid falling back into the all or nothing couch scenario.
How We Can Help
I hope some of these tips can start helping you feel better. Know also that we are here for you. The practitioners at Total Health take great pride in supporting our clients, not only with personalized strategies for success but also looking beyond the overrated and unsuccessful "calorie in calorie out" theory.
Finding Nutritional Deficiencies, Correcting Digestive Issues, Finding Food Intolerances, Etc.
We support you in creating a healthy gut microbiome that supports diversity and the growth of the beneficial bacteria that support weight loss. Correcting nutrient deficiencies and digestive issues that can hamper optimal digestion, absorption, and elimination of your food is something we can help with. We guide you in making the best food choices for your specific health concerns and lifestyle. You can receive help determining any food intolerances that can contribute to weight gain, bloating, gas, and elimination issues. You can get support in balancing your hormones, whether your thyroid, pancreas, or adrenals are out of kilter.
We address the toxicity your body is exposed to daily that may be contributing to your cells becoming weight loss resistant. Losing weight is not a numbers game, it is a complex problem. Let us help you do the detective work and figure out a path to shift your weight. We are passionate about helping our clients achieve their best health by using natural medicine.
For more information, a free consultation, or for an appointment please call us at Total Health Nutrition Center: 262 251 2929.