Being cooped up at home for weeks now means easy access to some of your favourite treats, increased boredom and ultimately more snacking. However, staying fit and healthy is arguably more important than ever. UAE Team Emirates’ nutritionist, Gorka Prieto shares 10 healthy eating tips which are super easy to follow.
To keep your body healthy during the lockdown, you need to stay active, drink enough water and eat the right food. Luckily, there are many ways to do that during the lockdown. Here are healthy eating tips that will help!
- Maximise your supply of vitamins and minerals by eating 3-4 servings of fruit and 2 servings of vegetables per day. They will support your immune system, provide the fibre you need for the proper functioning of your intestine, increase hydration and are also low in calorie count. Tip: Berries, Strawberries and Spinach are two products loaded with nutrients and antioxidants which are very important during the lockdown.
- Stay on top of your hydration. If you do a workout, try to hydrate yourself with 500-700ml of water/h + mineral salts. If the session lasts more than an hour, add 40g of carbohydrates before in the form of an energy bar, isotonic gel, isotonic drink + 700ml of water/h. Weighing yourself before and after doing a workout is a good strategy to know how much weight you have lost and to know how much you need to rehydrate. Tip: Multiply the weight lost in Kg by 1.5 and the result will be the liquid you must drink to properly rehydrate.
- Try to ingest a minimum of 30-40 g of protein divided into 4-5 intakes per day. This should be enough to preserve your lean tissue (muscle mass) and help with recovery after each workout.
- Try to periodize carbohydrate intake based on exercise workload. If you do moderate/high-intensity exercise, try to eat whole carbohydrates at each meal of the day (rice, potato, bread, sweet potato, pasta, cereals, etc.). If you do not exercise, try to decrease the amount of these during the day.
- Consuming healthy fat such as nuts, bluefish, avocado, extra virgin olive oil, is important for the proper hormonal function of your body.
- Try to buy foods that are low in calorie density. Avoid all ultra-processed foods and replace with quality foods such as vegetables, nuts, fermented dairy products, eggs, fish, lean meats, and legumes.
- Try to consume bluefish 3 times a week (salmon, mackerel, horse mackerel, sardines, tuna, etc). Foods high in omega 3 (EPA and DHA) contain many anti-inflammatory and immunological benefits that will keep your immune system strong during the lockdown.
- Make your menus in advance. Not improvising is the key, having a weekly menu prepared will help you not to be tempted to eat processed and unhealthy food.
- Avoid vitamin D3 shortage: In the current situation, most of us cannot sunbathe, so it is important that we consume foods rich in vitamin D (vitamin found in fat). Also, consider supplementing with vitamin D3 if you are inside all day. 15-20 minutes in the sun is equal to between 1000UI-2000UI/day.
- Take care of your mind: try to carry out daily physical activity. In addition to keeping your weight stable, it will help you mentally as well. 40-60 minutes a day is enough to maintain healthy physical and psychological levels.