10 Ways to Keep Quarantine Food Cravings in Check 

Keep your quarantine food cravings in check with these 10 tips. No need to bin the diet because you can’t go out.

With spending so much time at home these days, it’s easy to get caught up on snacking more than you should.

Multiple trips to the fridge every day soon develops into multiple rings around your midsection.

I have this struggle as well. One of my quarantine cravings has not been chocolate, surprisingly, but ice cream.

This is weird because I don’t even like ice cream normally. I dig into a tub of Ben and Jerry’s maybe 3 times a year if that.

I have no doubt the stress of quarantine and worrying about what will happen with Coronavirus contributed to it. 

Below are some of the best tips I’ve engaged to get the cravings under control and not turn myself into a stress-eating maniac.

Best Ways to Control Food Cravings

1. Don’t Stop Working Out

Whatever your workout regimen was before quarantine started, stick to it. Maintaining that routine is paramount to controlling stress-eating. Why?

Exercise reduces stress and helps you deal with this ongoing situation better. I have continued to workout through quarantine.

I’ve reviewed a few of those workouts as well HERE. 

2. Have a Filling Breakfast

You should have a nutrient-dense, protein-packed breakfast after your workout.

This type of meal will give you a full effect for much longer and keep you going till lunch or even late evening.

Examples of a nutrient-dense breakfast include:-

• Beans
• Overnight oats prepared with oats, chia seeds, and yogurt
• Smoked salmon and cream cheese on a whole wheat bagel
• Avocado omelet topped with fresh tomatoes and some greens
• Egg muffins
• Quinoa and chicken breakfast salad

There are so many variations of protein-rich foods you can mix and match together for a healthy and filling breakfast.

3. Stick to Your Meal Planning Schedule

When the world was still operating normally, most people did have a meal plan to optimize the time available during the day.

Now that most of that time is at home, it’s easy to let the meal plan slide. That’s a mistake.

Stick to the schedule – meal prepping, packing and storing the fridge, etc.

If you weren’t on a meal plan before, quarantine is one of the best times to develop this habit.

4. Eat Slowly

It takes me a while to finish eating most things because I eat slowly, which is why my breakfast pre-quarantine was an apple, Wow Butter, and a handful of nuts.

Now that we’re home, I eat a bigger breakfast but I still eat slowly. Taking the time to chew and swallow helps you eat less.

Eating slowly activates a hormone that sends messages that you’re full to your brain. This will in turn make you stop eating. Try it.

5. Don’t Eat in Bed

Do not eat any meals or snacks in bed ever. Your bed is comfortable and a comfort zone. If you start bringing food into it, it’ll be easier to eat more food.

Also, if you have to get up and make a trip to the fridge every time you want to eat, you’ll be less likely to eat more than usual.

6. Don’t Skimp on Water

As I’ve said many times, I am a drinker of ginormous amounts of water every day. Quarantine actually makes it easier for me to drink water now.

Take your bottle with you around the house or apartment and sip on it all day. Tea, cucumber, and smoothies also count towards the liquid intake.

7. Snack Healthy

When you feel the munchies coming on between meals, turn to snacks to keep your cravings in check but snack on healthy things that also taste good.

Healthy snacks like almonds, macadamia nuts, celery sticks, fruits, carrot sticks, cucumber bites, and hummus are great.

8. Buy Yourself a Self-Care Package

Remember to take care of you and your mental self. Try out the TheraBox Self-Care Package.

This package is a carefully curated selection of items to reduce stress and increase joy through self-love.

Each package contains 6 to 8 self-care wellness goodies to reduce stress & enhance your life!

The package also contains 1 therapeutic activity to wire your brain for more joy. This package is curated by therapists.

Grab 10% off when you order HERE. 

Check out an unboxing of one of the self-care packages in the video below:-

9. Pick Up a New Hobby

Picking up a new hobby is a great way to distract yourself from overeating during the quarantine.

My friends have picked up hobbies like gardening, crafting, painting, and sewing since quarantine started.

10. Take Products Out of the Package

Don’t eat anything out of a box or a package. That’s a fantastic way to finish a giant bag of crisps in one sitting.

Yes, you can eat crisps BUT always take out a set amount (portion control) and put it on a plate before you start eating.

I’ve mentioned I’m a chocoholic but when I want to eat chocolate, I break off only 1 or 2 squares, put it on a napkin, and put the rest back in the fridge.

This is how I make a bar of chocolate last over a week depending on the size.

This is a tough time for everyone and no one knows how long we’ll be in this quarantine so don’t be too hard on yourself.

Take it one day at a time following the set schedule you’ve set for yourself. The fitness goals planner and worksheet might also come in handy here.

Stay fit!