Covid 19 coronavirus: How to beat erratic eating during lockdown

During the lockdown, many of us are snacking more between meals. Photo / Getty Images

Reaching for my seventh cup of instant coffee today, it occurred to me that perhaps — just perhaps — I have not been handling the lockdown so far in quite the controlled fashion I'd thought.

There have been elevenses as well which, on occasion, have also been eaten at 10am and noon, too, and sometimes at 4pm as well — because one Tunnocks teacake is never quite enough, is it?

Now looking at my caffeine and teacakes consumption compared to a few weeks ago, when I was rationed to two cups pre-lunch and no cakes ever, I am clearly on the C19 diet.

The C19 diet is a polite way of describing the panicked, disordered, often frankly gluttonous disordered eating patterns adopted by so many.

Frankly, the C19 diet is widespread. Actor Naomi Watts has admitted to stress eating, posting a picture of herself eating a whole cake with her hands, on Instagram, captioned: "Eat your feelings".

Meanwhile, reality star Amy Hart has revealed online that her mother has told her off for non-stop snacking in isolation.

One friend tells me she has rediscovered Nutella and is now eating it from the jar, expecting to "roll-out" of quarantine when it ends. Another says she's taken to eating the food she loved as a child — tinned peaches, custard and Garibaldis.

NeedToKnow3

Food influencer Luisa Ruocco says she has become obsessed with baking: "Since the lockdown," she says, "all I do is bake, eat it, and repeat! So far I have made brownies, carrot cake, doughnuts, beignets, banana bread, and pizza every week."

Others talk of mealtimes disappearing into chaos. One says she and her husband now seem to eat supper at 10.30pm. Another talks of pork pies for breakfast and Jaffa cakes for supper.

Our experiences fit well with the new survey by King's College London (KCL) that has found one in three of us (35 per cent) have eaten more food or less healthy food than normal and that half of us (49 per cent) say they have felt more anxious or depressed than normal as a result of coronavirus.

One in five (19 per cent) are even drinking more alcohol than normal as a result.

And while the odd week of crazed eating or drinking is surely a small price to pay for our Covid-19 sanity, experts are warning that unless we find a way to get back under control, as quarantine stretches on, there will be a reckoning.

Childhood obesity could be the next epidemic, say scientists from Columbia University in the US, in a study published in the journal Obesity last week.

Established data shows that children are already prone to gaining weight during the long summer holidays, especially among those already overweight. Moreover, this is the kind of weight which accrues year on year.

"When a child experiences obesity," says Professor Andrew Rundle, an epidemiologist who led the study, "even at a young age, they are at risk for higher, unhealthy weight, all the way into middle age."

Part of the problem is that children are already spending more time on their tablets and phones — and there is a known association between screen time and snacking.

Then there's the effect of coronavirus stress and anxiety, which can negatively affect eating habits — sometimes without us even realising it, says Dr Andreas Michaelides, Chief of Psychology at Noom, a mobile health technology company.

"Periods of heightened stress are known to impact our daily living," says Michaelides, "which may change our relationships with food.

"Under such conditions, some people ignore or simply overlook feelings of hunger. For others, stress can lead to overeating [often unhealthy] foods."

Nutritionist Kim Pearson points out that humans need routine, especially when it comes to eating well and, if necessary, losing weight.

"Most of us have had our normal routines turned upside down," she says. "Before the lockdown, we would have had breakfast at a certain time, perhaps so we could leave for work or school, then lunch to fit into the daily routine, and our evening meal when we came home. That need for a fixed time has disappeared."

Instead, she says people pick and graze and so they aren't hungry when it is time to sit down. "Plus," she points out, "if you don't eat proper meals, your blood sugar levels go on a rollercoaster, so you keep feeling you need to eat something in order to stay happy."

But it's not just our emotions driving us to the biscuit tin, Pearson says: boredom, stress, and loneliness all play a part.

'There are so many reasons why we eat when we are not hungry,' she says. 'When we want to move away from an uncomfortable feeling, we eat, distracting ourselves with food, filling that space inside us with food.'

And the fact that many of us are having trouble sleeping could also be a factor, says Pearson. The KCL study reported that 38 per cent have slept less or less well than normal.

When we suffer insomnia, she explains, we produce more of the hormone ghrelin, associated with hunger, and less leptin, the hormone which helps us to feel full.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

But it's not all bad news. For some, the lockdown has been a force for positive change. Haley, a London mum who has two girls aged 8 and 6, has found that limitations on how she can eat have led to new habits and weight loss.

"I'm finding having to cook for myself three meals a day is preventing me from eating loads of junk," she says. "Whereas I used to grab a high cal coffee and croissant for breakfast, a grab and go lunch and head out for dinner and drinks with friends, I'm now eating more fresh, homemade food than I ever have in my life. I've lost 4kg in the past three weeks."

She adds: "Partly it's because of the limited availability of groceries — I'm not going to fill up my shopping basket with junk. Plus, wholesalers are delivering fruit and vegetables so I'm cooking unusual stuff."

Nor are her daughters over-eating, content to snack on fruit and a few biscuits. "I've definitely been spurred on to healthier eating habits," she says, "and cooking more fresh stuff. I'd like to carry that on after lockdown ends."

But what can you do if erratic eating is your new normal? How can you get order back on your daily diet?

First up, says Pearson, keep a food diary and note your feelings when you eat. Consider what you could do instead.

"If you are feeling stressed and you have a desire to eat," she says, "what could you do instead to calm down? Would it work to go for your walk, light a candle or have a cup of tea?"

If the driving factor is loneliness, try to recognise that feeling and instead pick up the phone and contact someone.

Start a sleep routine too, she suggests, so that you get eight hours a night. And if you do want a treat, plan for it.

"You shouldn't be eating a food as a reaction to something but as part of a meal."

So, make chocolate brownies and have them as a pudding in the evening, not staggered throughout the day.

Paying attention to how you consume food matters too. Eating while distracted or hurried eating can prompt you to eat more, warns a University of Birmingham report published in the 2013 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

It found that paying attention to a meal was linked to eating less later on because our minds need time to register what we are doing. If we don't concentrate, we may not "remember" that we don't need more food.

And with fewer food distractions around, this could be the time – as Haley found – to shed some excess weight.

Why not try periodic eating, like the five-day fast Prolon diet, so that you leave lockdown healthier than when you started — or the 5:2 Fast Diet eating plan designed by Dr Michael Mosely to help you lose and maintain weight long-term.

"Most of us seem to have a fear of hunger," says Pearson. "But that won't be a problem if you start structuring meals properly. Get the recipe book out and develop some new healthy recipes."

And her last tip to stop you cracking open the choc chip muffins or hoovering up some chorizo.

"Stop buying these foods in the first place. It's the only sure way."

How to control erratic eating

1. Be mindful when you eat so your body registers that it's full
2. Keep a food diary to see who much you are actually eating
3. Get a sleep routine going so that you have plenty of rest
4. Work out what's causing you to overeat and solve the problem a different way
5. Structure meals with filling ingredients like protein and try new recipes.
6. Try a fasting-style diet to remind you of what appetite feels like