Blog post written by Lindzie O’Reilly, MAN, RD. Student Wellness Services, University of Guelph
We are all adjusting to a new reality amidst COVID-19. While our situation continues to change and many things remain unknown, creating a routine can help you manage physical and mental wellbeing and support your current stage of eating disorder recovery.
Create and maintain a consistent sleep schedule – With fewer options to occupy our time, many of us have fallen into a habit of sleeping for much longer than usual. For others, motivation to enforce a bedtime might be low, meaning you are staying up late into the night (or morning) and experiencing a decrease in sleep quality. With fewer obligations, there’s no need to stick to the same sleep schedule you had pre-COVID-19, but it is important to have a schedule. Give thought to what your natural sleep rhythm looks like, the sleep routine that would help you fit in the number of meals and snacks you need, and the amount of sleep that helps you feel your best. Choose a rough time to get to bed by each night. This will also likely mean choosing a time by which you need to start to wind down and get ready for bed, move away from screens, and transition to activities that help you relax. Choose a rough time to wake up each day. This may mean setting an alarm to wake you up, ensure you don’t oversleep, and ensure you get your first meal of the day in at a reasonable time.
Decide on times for meals and snacks – Based on your sleep schedule and on the number of meals and snacks you need to include each day to support your recovery, choose eating times throughout the day. For many working on eating disorder recovery, pushing off meals and snacks is a common behavior, and justifying meals and snacks when you haven’t left the house or engaged in many activities can feel really challenging. Based on our current reality, we will all be going fewer places and doing fewer things for the next while. Decide on meal and snack times that are non-negotiable regardless of what you’ve accomplished in a day.
Create a list of meaningful activities – social activities and hobbies are going to look different than they did pre-COVID-19, but that doesn’t mean you can’t include meaningful and enjoyable things every day. Create a list of things you enjoy – like listening to music, drawing, practicing a language, reading a book, getting some fresh air or chatting with a friend. Schedule times for activities each day as a way to break up the day. Just as an example, this could mean creative time from 10-11am, self-care time from 3-4pm, and connection time from 7-8pm On this list, also include supports you can reach out to, be they professional supports or friends and loved ones.
Stock up on staples – As we all try to limit how often we grocery shop, it’s helpful to purchase a few things with a longer shelf life each time you go to the store. Some folks may be used to writing out a weekly meal plan as a step in their recovery. For those who don’t or who haven’t for a while, it might be good to restart the practice during this time to ensure you get everything you need, can make a grocery list, and can arrive at the store with a purpose. Give thought to items you are comfortable with that have a longer shelf life – perhaps things like rice, quinoa, potato or sweet potato, canned legumes, or meat that you can freeze. Great meal options could be things like chili and toast, a stirfry with meat/tofu, frozen veggies and rice, a tuna melt, or an omelet with toast or potatoes. Give thought to substitutions you can make, such as buying fruits and veggies like carrots, apples, oranges and pears with a longer shelf life, or canned or frozen fruits and veggies. In line with the SPREAD acronym, now is likely not the time to add new food challenges, but it is a really important time to maintain current recovery goals. If part of your recovery includes having a baked good once a day, for example, this means ensuring that you buy enough options each grocery trip to last you through until your next trip.
While we are all adjusting to a new day-to-day, it’s really common for it to feel even harder to create structure and routine. The goal of a routine is not to have a strict schedule that you must follow and that feels rule bound or rigid, but it is really helpful to outline a consistent bedtime, wake up time, and eating times. Creating a list of supports and activities you enjoy and can look forward to can help combat worry, loneliness, and sadness. Planning ahead and creating a meal plan can help you make the most of grocery trips and ensure you have what you need to maintain recovery.