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Covid 19 Lockdown – Is it a barrier to following dietary guidelines?

Recommended Dietary Guidelines

The current UK guidelines to healthy eating are based on the ‘Eatwell Guide’ and recommends a daily calorie allowance of 2000 for women and 2500 for men.

It is recommended that adults eat a balanced diet in order to stay fit and healthy, this should be rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, proteins, starchy foods and a little fat:

5 Portions of fruit and veg – It is recommended that we eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables per day

Low in fat – Adults should follow a diet that is low in fat. Many of us eat the wrong kind of fat – saturated fat, which is found in many processed foods such as cakes, biscuits, ready meals etc.

Low in sugar and salt – Too much sugar and salt in the diet can cause obesity and cardiovascular problems. Both are often added to foodstuff by the manufacturers. Recommended salt consumption is no more than 6g per day.

High in Fibre – Adults should eat 18 grams per day.

Hydration - Drink at least 6-8 glasses of fluid per day.

 Barriers to Healthy Eating

In general the barriers to eating healthily are lack of knowledge of what constitutes a healthy diet, lack of finance, perceiving that it is more expensive to eat healthily, lack of time, peer pressure, for example a teenager whose friends all pick the unhealthy lunch option is very likely to do the same and the lack of availability of healthy food.

 My Experience

On face value the guidelines are easy to follow and as someone who teaches yoga and is conscious of what they consume, I initially thought that I followed the guidelines well and have a very healthy diet.

However, as I reflected on my diet to write this essay, I have realized that since the Covid 19 lock down my diet has suffered.

During the original lock down in March we had no idea how long the lock down would last and what the availability of food would be like. The whole country envisaged food shortages. We bulk brought and stocked up our freezer for a long lock down. After the first couple of weeks our fresh fruit and vegetables ran out, although we had frozen fresh fruit and vegetables. Whilst the vegetables were fine, I found out that certain fruit did not freeze well. So after a certain time period we were lacking in fresh fruit and vegetables. I also became a vegetarian during the lock down and found that I was often lacking in protein, as it was difficult to get eggs and milk.

When restrictions were lifted in June, I was able to return to a healthy eating regime once more.  Fresh produce was readily available and I was able to go to the supermarket and purchase a wide variety of healthy food products.

However, since the country has been locked down again it is proving difficult to follow government guidelines regarding a healthy diet.

In the first instance, everyone is meant to stay indoors and only shop for essentials.  I have experienced difficulty in getting supermarket delivery slots, coupled with the fact that some of the vegetables and fruit that I ordered had been substituted for other items as the shop didn’t have the items I’d ordered in stock.

There is then the problem that if the shopping doesn’t contain everything that has been ordered, whether to eat the recommended five a day portions and  run out of vegetables and fruit until you get another delivery slot, or whether to eat less than the guidelines but be able to have fruit and vegetables every day.

Owing to travel restrictions and social distancing, I tend to shop locally in our village shop, however, unfortunately, the shop doesn’t have a large selection of stock and I am often unable to buy fresh fruit or vegetables, and often have to rely on processed foods and ready meals. As a vegetarian, I also find my choices very limited when I shop at the small local shop.

In the current climate, I think we all turn more to comfort food, so for example, I may go to my local shop and be more inclined to purchase a bar of chocolate as a treat, which is something I wouldn’t have done prior to lockdown.

So whilst I want to eat a healthy diet and follow the guidelines, there are barriers that are stopping me from achieving this, including lack of availability of certain food items, difficulty in obtaining supermarket orders, plus travel restrictions that mean I am unable to travel to a different supermarket in order to buy more nutritious items.

Another barrier now is finance, as I am currently unable to open my yoga studio due to social distancing, I have lost income as a few of my clients don’t wish to transition to online yoga.

I am now reluctant to spend as much on fresh produce, whereas in the past if I’d gone to the local stop and wanted to purchase blueberries, for example, and they’d been twice the price of the supermarket I would still have brought them, now with an uncertain future, I would think twice about the price and most likely not purchase the item

Overcoming/Removing the Barriers

I have removed the barriers that are preventing me from following a healthy diet by finding a local market stall trader who is willing to deliver to the house, this means that I can purchase fresh fruit and vegetables that are reasonably priced and know which day my shopping will arrive so I am able to plan meals for the week.

I have also started making healthy treats instead of purchasing chocolate.

I’ve purchased some vegetarian cookbooks, so if the products I order are substituted, I will be able to still cook healthy meals.

In conclusion, I would say that while it is not impossible to follow the government guidelines on nutritional eating whilst we are on a strict lockdown, it is very difficult.

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