Category: Internal Medicine

The Importance of Creating a Routine

If you are currently isolated because of the pandemic, it is essential that you create a
routine. This isn’t a new normal, but a temporary new normal, so don’t panic it will be
like this forever. Instead, focus on what you can control, which is how you spend your
time. Here are some reasons why having a routine is so important right now.

Start Your Day with Healthy Self-Care Habits

As part of your routine, you can add some simple self-care habits to your morning
routine that are easy to do and also good for your physical and mental health. Think
about what will help you get ready for the day, such as taking a shower and brushing
your teeth, going through your skincare routine, and drinking a glass of water before
having any caffeine.

For self-care, it might also include doing yoga or a gentle stretching routine, writing in
your journal, or just sitting for a few minutes with a candle burning and doing deep
breathing exercises. This really helps you to set yourself up for a good day.

Enjoy Fresh Air and Sunshine

Even if you are on isolation or have to stay indoors most of the time, you need fresh air
and vitamin D. You can get vitamin D naturally just from the sun’s UV rays. Try to get
outside and soak up the sun at least a few times a day. This might be sitting on your
patio or balcony, going for a short walk, walking your dogs, or sitting on a bench nearby.
This might seem simple, but the activity helps you to get vitamin D, fresh air, and
ground yourself at the same time.

Get Daily Exercise

Another thing to add to your new daily routine is a little bit of exercise. Remember it
doesn’t have to be anything strenuous – this is not the time for advanced fitness
challenges. Just try to get your body moving every day. If you have a treadmill or bike at
home, by all means use it. Otherwise, you can walk, do an online workout routine, use
simple equipment like dumbbells or resistance bands, or even just turn on some music
and dance in your living room.

Routines Help with School Work and Other Changes

If you are currently in quarantine lockdown, then your routine will also include things like
chores, more cooking and baking, or helping your kids with their school work. Make
sure you choose a routine that fits in all the important things, from homeschooling with
the kids and adding in recess to get them physical activity, to cooking meals, completing
your chores, and fitting in fun and self-care time.

How Can You Avoid Stress Eating

When you are spending more time at home, it is easier to turn to food when you feel
stressed or anxious. This is a normal stress response, and not inherently bad, though
you might not want to only use food as a way to cope. Here are some tips for reducing
how much you stress or emotionally eat.

Know Your Stress Triggers

To avoid stress eating, it helps a lot to first be aware of what causes you stress in the
first place. For many people, it isn’t just a general feeling of stress, but specific things
that can trigger it. This might be reading the same sad reports on the news, going on
social media, talking to certain people, or even something like not getting enough
sunshine or having a different routine. Start making note of how you feel, what worsens
your stress or anxiety, and when you tend to emotionally eat.

Get Into a Mindful State

Being more mindful is a wonderful way to start reducing how often you turn to food
because of stress, and not physical hunger. When you start to feel stressed, take a
moment to just take some deep breaths, relax, and sit with your feelings for a few
minutes. This doesn’t mean you are going to deprive yourself and not eat, but first
understand if you are hungry, or your brain is just reacting to the stress.

People tend ot stress eat because it feels like a temporary fix, a way to have some
control over how you feel. But if you can just sit with those feelings and slow down a bit,
you might find you don’t need the food until you are actually physically hungry.

Don’t Let Yourself Get Too Hungry

If you are going without meals or snacks for several hours at a time, you are naturally
going to turn to food first to deal with stress, anxiety, or other uncomfortable emotions.
You have gotten yourself so hungry that you are now ravenous. Not only will you be
more likely to turn to food to deal with stress, but likely not the healthiest option. At this
point, your body wants the quickest and most convenient option, so maybe you choose
a bag of chips and a cookie instead of cooking something more nutritious.

Emotional VS Physical Hunger

Lastly, learn the difference between emotional and physical hunger. This will help
tremendously to figure out if you’re actually hungry, or your brain just wants food. Here
are a few ways to tell the difference:

Is your hunger coming on slowly or suddenly? Physical hunger tends to come on
gradually, while emotional hunger will be urgent and sudden. One minute you’re fine,
the next you feel like you’re starving.

Do you feel satisfied? If after a meal or snack, you feel full or satisfied, it was physical
hunger. If you still feel “starving”, it was probably emotional hunger.

Can you eat anything? If you feel fine eating anything, it is more like physical hunger.
But if you only want specific things, it might just be emotional hunger.