COVID Cuisine

 

    COVID-19 obviously has a huge impact on heath habits of all kinds. It affects physical, mental, as well as emotional health. As our normal lives shut down, so do our typical eating habits. Personally, I was very active before the lockdown. I grew up as a cheerleader, so my diet and exercise routine was very strict. That all was altered as gyms shut down, and grocery stores went empty. At first, I thought the shut down was a good thing. Maybe I could live a normal life, eat what I wanted, and worked out when it was convenient for me. Unfortunately, that mindset did not do me well. After literally a week, I became a couch potato, not wanting to be in any routine at all. I was bored, sad, and had given up hope that life would go back to normal. This is the mindset of several people who had been basically house bound for three months. 

    Back to the healthy habits, the diet aspect of my life had for sure been abolished. My family began to eat out all the time just to take a fifteen minute trip out of the house. This became a regular event, and what I looked forward to most days. Unfortunately, this lead me to consume what I knew was not appropriate for my body. I didn’t think much of it at first because all I could think was how awesome it was that I could eat whatever I wanted without getting sick before or after a workout. Again, this became a routine mindset leading me to never getting back on track with what my eating habits were. 

    When everything started to reopen, I had lost all motivation to get back to where I was. I never wanted to leave the house or even get up off my couch. I kept telling myself that I would do better tomorrow. Tomorrow lead up to my time at the University of Kentucky. Here, we have everything we could want at the tips of our fingers. With meal swipes, it is impossible to say no. When I first got here, I started myself back on a routine. Working out in the morning, eating a healthy lunch and dinner, buying appropriate food from the grocery, but that all changed when classes started. With everything being online for me, I never leave my dorm unless it is to go get food. 

    Overall, my diet has definitely worsened since COVID-19 took over. In reality, I can blame my changed eating habits on the virus, but it is actually up to me to take action and make a change to get back to where I used to be.