8 ideas to avoid emotional eating and stay strong mentally and physically in Corona craziness

I live in Kirkland, at the heart of pandemic, and wow...it was different this time than all the other viruses I’ve heard/lived through. 

We were very careful from the beginning as I had other info from Japan, and my parents who are in their 70s are with us here.  We’ve kept our kids from school days before they finally decided to close. We stopped going to our Yoga studio and cafes. We’ve isolated ourselves and stuck together, full house with 6 people.  It was quite a stressful shift for me, who was used to having a quiet space 8+ hours/day, but now I have a lot less stress and am still enjoying all sorts of healthy food with pure joy.

So, here I am sharing some ideas that have been working for me to keep the stress low (high stress weakens your immunity!) and not turning to food.

1). Block off a 15 min slot to yourself daily (if it means getting up earlier, it’s worth it) and write down/type up all the stressors.

2). Find out what you can do about them and write/type. Put it where you can be reminded. Saving as a screensaver might work. If things look absolutely out of your hand, there’s always some solutions to help you feel better/empowered - let me know if you need some tips on that.

3). Go outside (if allowed) and do deep breathing.  Even for a minute. You might be working from home while juggling ‘homeschooling’, but you can always find a minute. Fresh air always helps us to get grounded.  When you do, it’s easier to find gratitudes toward our life for what we already have.

4). Add nutrition, especially by 3pm.  When the body is filled with nutrients, it’s easier to walk away from junk food & binge eating.  I like to start a day with a 16 oz-ish celery juice, I’d have a 12 oz-ish of homemade green juice around 10am.  I’d drink another 12 oz-ish green juice (leftover from the morning) around 2pm. If eating snacks, fresh fruits and hummus or nut/seed butter.  Or, maybe just a handful nuts. Or, homemade “hot-chocolate-for-grown-ups” (let me know if you want the recipe, loaded with protein while it’s so rich & creamy). A piece of high-quality dark chocolate, perhaps.

5). Read/Listen/Watch that lift up your energies/vibes. I like Abraham Hicks (“Everything is working out for me”, anyone?), and so many other recommendations I can make, and curious about yours!

6). Move your body - online exercises are everywhere!  I like Peloton and their yoga classes. I like to go for a walk in nature, I like to play with kids outside (usually max 15mix though, lol).  Vacuuming, climbing up stairs, shoveling can be great movements too. Be creative with your current situation!.

7). If you have others in the house, create a daily schedule so that all know what’s happening and can give space to each other.  Especially for kids - I have 10 & 7 yrs at home, and I have a weekly simple timetable for them to cover learning, exploring, art-ing, exercising, and being kids.  Let me know if you want to see one of my timetables. 

8). Journal and meditate.  Just write down all the thoughts that you haven’t expressed fully.  They need a place to be released, otherwise, they form as stress, and you might turn to food.  I’m still working on meditation, but I close my eyes and sit with all the emotions/thoughts for a few minutes daily at least while deep breathing.  Even this small act makes me feel grounded.

Well, what do you think?  Anything you’d like to try or already doing?
Let me know: [email protected]