This issue can present itself in a couple of different ways. Maybe you’re finding that you can’t concentrate at work and are spending more time staring blankly at your computer screen than being able to really get anything done. Your short-term memory might be affected, and you’re forgetting things that you normally would have no issue remembering. You might feel like you are literally in a fog and just can’t pull yourself out of it.

It’s frustrating to find that you just aren’t feeling like yourself and your work and every day routine are affected because of it.  You might be desperately slamming coffee and energy drinks and getting a temporary buzz, but still just not being able to think straight.

The answer might lie in your diet and lifestyle. Your body is a finely tuned machine that needs the correct levels of dietary nutrients to function properly – your brain fog might indicate that your diet and lifestyle need a shakeup.

So before you slam yet another cup of coffee, read on!

Dehydration

Let’s start with an easy one.

Neglecting drinking your water and staying hydrated can impair your ability to pay attention and your overall cognitive performance¹. Even if you feel like you are drinking an adequate amount of water, you may be counteracting it by drinking excess amounts of caffeine. Caffeine is a diuretic, meaning that it can lead to dehydration, So drinking tons of coffee or other caffeinated beverages might actually be hurting you instead of helping!

To ensure that you are getting enough hydration in your diet,

• Make sure you are drinking enough water. While there are no current recommendations for the amount of water you should be drinking, do make sure to keep a glass or bottle of water handy to keep yourself hydrated throughout the day.  
• Fortify with electrolytes. If you need even more hydration (say, you’re also drinking diuretic liquids like caffeine or alcohol, or if you are an active athlete who works up a sweat) you can fortify with electrolytes like potassium. Avoid uber-sugary sports drinks and go instead for more natural options like bananas and coconut water (just watch the added sugar).

(The Right) Carbohydrates

Contrary to what has unfortunately become popular belief, carbohydrates do not need to be avoided at all costs. In fact, having a healthy serving of carbohydrates in your diet is necessary for properly powering your brain – If you’ve ever been on a low-carb diet and found that you were experiencing brain fog, you know this to be true. This all comes down to whether you are eating the correct carbohydrates to give your brain the energy that it needs to perform at its optimum.  

Carbohydrates break down into glucose, which is your brain’s primary source of energy, and it takes twice as much energy to power this muscle than any other part of your body. You might be familiar with the idea that consuming sugar can give you a quick “jolt” of energy, but this can quickly lead to the dreaded “sugar crash” and does nothing to brain fog long-term. Eating excess simple sugars over long periods of time can also result in insulin resistance and obesity.

If you want to properly fuel your brain, you should instead be incorporating complex, slow-absorbing carbohydrates that are heavy in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Some good examples of this include:

• Whole Grains: Some carb switches can be as easy as looking for “whole grains” on your pasta or cereal packages. Avoid heavily processed, or “refined” grains like white rice and bread, opting instead for the whole grain versions – the grains on these offerings still have their nutritious and fibrous hull.
• Fruits: In moderation, fruit can be a good carbohydrate source with tons of vitamins and minerals. To get the most out of your fruits, make sure to keep the skins on your apples and pears, and look for fruits that are inherently heavy on fiber, like raspberries.
• Legumes: A staple in many healthy diets, legumes contain good amounts of both proteins and fiber, making them an excellent and balanced source of slow-absorbing carbohydrates.

It’s important to note that, while you do want to cut down on your sugar intake, artificial sugar may actually just contribute even more to brain fog. They may have a negative affect on your gut bacteria, which could in return hurt your production of serotonin, a mood regulating neurochemical². So think twice about replacing your sugary coffee creamer or energy bar with an artificial sugar substitute.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 also plays a role in the production of serotonin. Vitamin B12 levels have long been associated with brain function. Studies have shown that there is an association between deficient and low-normal levels of Vitamin B12 and instances of depression, while increasing B12 levels helped people respond better to their antidepression medications³.

The main sources of Vitamin B12 come from animal sources – think meats and dairy. The obvious answer to increasing your Vitamin B12 would be to increase your consumption of meat and dairy, but if you follow a vegan or even vegetarian lifestyle, you may need to supplement your diet with a Vitamin B12 shot or Vitamin B complex in order to obtain adequate vitamin levels.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D may also play a role in your brain’s ability to process and retain information. Some studies have suggested that higher levels of Vitamin D are correlated with increased neuroprocessing abilities, while those with lower levels displayed poorer memory abilities and cognitive performance⁴.  

Vitamin D deficiency is relatively common in the United States – in fact, the Nutrition Facts Label was updated in 2020 order to display Vitamin D levels present in food and increase consumer awareness⁵. You can get Vitamin D from adequate sunlight exposure, but if you suspect that you are not getting enough from sunning alone, fatty fish is a good source. A fish oil pill might be a good idea if seafood is not a regular part of your diet.

It’s important to note that Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that cannot be absorbed if you are not receiving an adequate amount of healthy fat in your diet. If this is the case in your diet, add a little olive oil to your veggies or throw in a portion of avocado to increase your healthy fat intake.

Exercise

If you have been sitting at your desk for hours and feel like you just cannot process another piece of information, you might want to start moving. Getting an adequate amount of exercise, in addition to all the fitness and cardiovascular benefits, can be a quick mood booster and combat the oxidative stress that leads you to have a hard time focusing ⁶.

Take a quick walk around your block during lunchtime, set aside five minutes every hour to stand up and stretch, or start off your day with a quick jog to get the blood flowing and the cobwebs cleared.

A Word On Nootropics

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, nootropics are supplements and drugs that claim to increase focus and overall cognitive performance. They can range from substances that you’re probably very familiar with (caffeine, anyone?) to illegally obtained prescription drugs that do much more harm than good when not used for their intended purpose (ie, Adderall).

Unfortunately, it’s not proven that popping a pill is the end-all-be-all of improving your mental capacity⁷. Just like with most dietary supplements, statements are not evaluated by the FDA and there have been no real scientific proof that using nootropics will improve your brain function. So if you’re thinking about going this route to improve your brain function, make sure that you are not making it your only option and becoming dependent on them.  

In conclusion, addressing your brain fog could be as easy as making sure you’re eating a nutritious, balanced diet and moving around a little more.

Your brain is the command center for the rest of your body, and every health decision can aid or impair its performance.

If you feel like you are doing everything right and are still experiencing less-than-optimum brain capacity, you may want to consult with a doctor to rule out other health conditions that are affecting your ability to concentrate.

Here’s to a healthier, more productive week!

Sources:

1. Wittbrodt, M.T., & Millard-Stafford, M. (2018). Dehydration Impairs Cognitive Performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 50(11), 2360–2368. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000001682
2. Dow, M. (2016). The Brain Fog Fix: Reclaim Your Focus, Memory, and Joy in Just 3 Weeks (Illustrated ed.). Hay House Inc.
3. Syed, E. U., Wasay, M., & Awan, S. (2013). Vitamin B12 Supplementation in Treating Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial. The Open Neurology Journal, 7(1), 44–48. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874205×01307010044
4. Devere, R. (2014, January/February). Cognitive Consequences of Vitamin D Deficiency. Practical Neurology. https://practicalneurology.com/articles/2014-jan-feb/cognitive-consequences-of-vitamin-d-deficiency
5. Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label. (2020, July 10). U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/changes-nutrition-facts-label
6. Radak, Z., Kumagai, S., Taylor, A. W., Naito, H., & Goto, S. (2007). Effects of exercise on brain function: role of free radicals. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 32(5), 942–946. https://doi.org/10.1139/h07-081
7. Brody, B. (2019, July 30). What Are Nootropics? WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/features/nootropics-smart-drugs-overview

Whether we are focusing on increasing our protein intake, going back to our caveman roots, or playing with intermittent fasting, one thing remains the same: the focus on cutting out the carbohydrates.

Here’s a hot take: the issue with our diets is not that there are carbohydrates in them. Yes, you may lose weight and feel better because you’ve cut out the carbs, but when you’re cutting out the white bread, the pasta, and the sugary cereal, what you are probably actually cutting out is the overprocessed, undernutritious foods that are hurting your diet as a whole. It gets close to addressing some real issues — namely, that the food industry has become so highly manufactured and artificial that it’s no wonder we have a food problem – but it points a finger at an easy target instead of actually fixing the problem itself.

Sans an actual food intolerance, cutting out all of your carbs without addressing other dietary issues isn’t going to solve much in the long run. So before you go carb-free, let’s take a look at what we’re actually talking about here.

So what exactly are carbohydrates?

“Carbohydrate” isn’t a dirty word. It’s a macronutrient that your body needs to function.

To put it simply, carbohydrates are an easily accessible form of energy. When eaten, your body processes carbohydrates and breaks it down into glucose, which is the primary fuel that your brain needs to function.

There are two different kinds of carbohydrates: simple and complex. Simple carbs get their name because they are quick and easy for our bodies to process and digest – your body doesn’t have to do a lot of work in order to access this energy. If you’ve ever eaten sweets and gotten a quick sugar-rush off of it (or witnessed a little kid doing the same), you’re probably familiar with this concept. Processed grains and sweets can fall into this category.

Your body has to do more work to break down complex carbohydrates into glucose for energy. This category includes things like whole grains, fibrous fruits and vegetables, beans, and legumes, to name a few.

It is important to note that you often can’t categorize a single food item into one macronutrient category. In other words, you can’t always look at one food item and say that it just has carbs, or just has protein. Most foods have a varied nutrient content. For example, beans have a carbohydrate content, but they also have protein.

So why the bad rap?

When you don’t use up all the energy from the food that you eat (aka burn calories), your body stores it as fat. Like we talked about before, carbohydrates are a calorie-dense form of energy. Therefore, an excess of carbohydrates will probably lead to an excess of stored body fat.

Imagine, if you will, a table loaded with carbs. You’ve got your white bread begging to be slathered with butter, the spaghetti piled high on your plate for the main course, and then comes the triple-chocolate fudge lava cake for dessert. It sounds delicious, but it’s also heavy. This kind of meal might leave you in desperate need of coffee and a nap right after you finish, rather than fueling you with the clean energy you need to take on the rest of the day. The kind of meal associated with lethargy, poor health, and weight gain.

If your diet is regularly loaded with all the simple carbs listed above and you are not an uber-active athlete, it’s likely that you are storing an excess of these calories.

Why you actually need them

Yes, carbohydrates are calorie-dense. That’s because they’re our body’s main and most efficient form of energy. Your brain depends on them to function quickly – pretty important! If you’ve ever tried to cut out carbs completely and experienced brain fog, dizziness, and weakness, you already know this to be true.

Your body needs a properly portioned amount of carbohydrates in order to function at its best. The key here is to make sure that you are loading up on complex carbohydrates more often than you are reaching for the simple, sugary things. In any good, balanced diet, it is important to be looking at the nutrient-density of the items you are eating, not just how many calories are in it. In a lot of cases, the switches can be easy: going for the brown rice instead of the white, choosing the whole grain bread at the grocery store, having mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes as your side.

In a balanced, healthy diet, the goal should be to aim for complex carbohydrates in moderation, rather than cutting out as many as you possibly can.

Figure out what that looks like for you. Someone who leads a less-active lifestyle needs less carbohydrates than someone who needs to power extreme workouts, for example.

It’s all about the balance. So have your brown rice, indulge in those apples, and let carbs have their time in the nutrition spotlight!

It was in the first grade, the same year that I learned that best friends don’t always last forever and that there were scary people in the world who could fly planes into buildings. At the start of the school year, my class was told we were going to be doing a little project. Every day, a classmate was chosen to stand in front of the class and give a presentation, answering a list of questions from the teacher so that we could get to know each other a little better.

The day before my own nervewracking presentation, a tiny speck of a girl stood in front of the class, knees shaking and eyes glued to the floor, as the teacher patiently walked her through the questions. Among all the obvious questions – “What’s your favorite color?” “What do you want to be when you grow up?” – was this one:

“How much do you weigh?” 

My classmate whispered, in a shaky voice that was barely audible, “I weigh forty-five pounds.”

And the presentation went on. But I was struck, and I was ashamed.

When I brought home the presentation prompt to my parents a couple weeks prior, my mom read through it and, upon reaching the weight question, went out and bought a scale for me to check. “We need one anyways,” she quipped. “I feel like I’ve gained some weight this year.”

And apparently, she had – the scale confirmed it. She was no longer the same weight that she was before having my baby brother, and the commotion that came with this realization quietly shook our house. I watched her watching the weight loss infomercials that blared on our boxy ‘90’s TV set with rapt interest. I quietly mimicked it when she started cutting back on the fried pork and bistek that made up the backbone of our Filipino diet at the dinner table. I walked into her room to catch her standing in front of the mirror, poking her stomach and standing sideways as if to gauge its size. I saw my dad shrug his shoulders noncommittally, agreeing in his silent compliance as my mom asked if she was getting fat. I watched her picking up the bottle of diet pills at our local Walmart, turning it over in her hand and reading its label that promised sunshine and bikini bodies. I saw a woman who I thought was the most beautiful woman in the world telling herself, day in and day out, that she was not.

When the girl standing at the whiteboard told the class her weight, I realized that my own weight was a full five pounds heavier than hers. I was fat.

And when I gave my presentation the next day – my first clash with the horrors of public speaking, no less – I lied and said I was forty-five pounds as well.

I flash back to this moment more times than I care to admit – it’s embarrassing to say that something so small, and so seemingly insignificant, could hold that much weight in the formation of my budding self-worth. But after that project, I thought about my weight so much that it became intricately tied to who I was as a person. At seven years old, I decided I wasn’t going to eat cake anymore, turning my nose up at the confection that I was dying to have and reaching for a piece of unsatisfying fruit instead. At twelve, I picked up my first gaudy teen magazine and eagerly devoured the recipes and the exercises that swore that, if I followed their advice, I would reach my dream summer body in two months.

It didn’t matter that I was growing up, childish plumpness giving way to awkward teenage gangliness and long limbs. Every time I looked at myself in the mirror, all I could see was that my stomach wasn’t flat, that my legs were solid tree trunks and not willowy stems. When I saw someone who I thought I was pretty, I analyzed the photo, staring at it and guessing at what they scale looked like when they stepped on it. As the internet and social media in its early phases started to grow, I would Google it, anonymously send pretty girls questions on their Tumblrs.  Every time I spoke with my girlfriends about our weight – which was a lot – nobody was happy, not even the smallest and thinnest of us. We all wanted to lose, lose, lose.  We wasted our youths trying to waste away. And for what?

I’d like to say that I have grown past this. Recent years have seen a much-needed revolution that suggests that uncompromisingly loving your own body cool – what a concept! I pursued a degree in nutrition, learned how to cook and eat well and teach others to do the same.

And yet, I am still obsessed with my weight. It’s gotten better, thankfully – I eat well because I genuinely enjoy it, hit the gym because I want to be stronger, faster, more mentally clear. But I still have a hard time looking in the mirror and seeing anything other than pudginess and disappointment, no matter what the scale says.

I am realizing, though, that I am happiest when I am genuinely living a healthy lifestyle, for no other reason than to be healthy. When I focus on eating my vegetables, balancing my carbs, and fueling myself with protein, I am more productive, less likely to snap. At the gym, I set goals for myself to lift as much weight as I can, not lose it, and get to celebrate my accomplishments in a way that has nothing to do with my physical appearance.

Will that stuff follow on the scale? Sometimes. I’m learning not to let it bother me when it doesn’t.  

I have made a career out of trying to empower women and give them the validation I so desperately needed, all while encouraging healthy eating habits and lifestyle changes. I’ve helped them reach their goal weights, but I was markedly more interested in hearing how they lowered their cholesterol and were able to get off their medications for the first time in fifteen years. I celebrated when they told me that they were finally able to chase their toddlers around, cried tears of joy with them when they improved their lifestyles enough that they were confident they would be around for their grandkids’ weddings.

But it needs to go deeper than that. I am sick of women – strong, perfectly healthy women – feeling like they constantly need to hit a specific number on the scale. I hate helping women as they struggle and starve so that they can be the same weight they were in high school, while their kids silently watch and absorb from the side of the consultation. How many times have I seen someone hit their goal weight, only to decide they needed to be even smaller?

When I think back to my own childhood, I ask myself: When was the first time that someone told me that I didn’t need to change anything?

I envision a world where my future six-year-old won’t pick at herself, unraveling her strength and her joy, because the scale doesn’t say the number she thinks that it should say.

I’d like to go back in time and give six-year-old me a hug. I’d remind her that she was beautiful and strong, and she could beat everyone in her class in arm wrestling, even the boys. She could outskip anyone when jumping rope and consistently hit home runs when playing softball. I would tell her not to waste another second stressing about the scale, and to count joy and ecstatic experiences instead of calories.

I’ve only recently begun to eat cake, and I am only sad that it has taken me this long.

Nothing strikes wanderlust in me quite like seeing all the beautiful hiking views my friends are exploring on my Instagram feed. There’s just something about seeing fit, happy people perching on the edge of sunlit cliffs at the end of long hikes that just makes you want to get out there, commune with nature, and complete a great workout in the process.

On its face, hiking is a really easily accessible form of exercise with beautiful, scenic payoffs. After all, what is hiking but a strenuous form of walking?

And yet, the outdoor space can be quite intimidating if you don’t trek into it too often. Do you need a certain kind of gear to go on a hike? Why is everyone on the trail wearing expensive fleeces and I’m just here in a hoodie? And what about bears?

Luckily, you don’t actually need expensive, high-tech gear or a degree in outdoor survival to get a good workout in. With the right preparation, all you need is a trail, your own two feet, and enough fuel to carry you through your workout!

• Choosing A Trail – The first step in any hike is to select the trail that you’ll be following. It’s important to do at least a little bit of research on your chosen trail before you head out. AllTrails is a good community-based app that will help you find good trails in your target area and tell you all the information you need to know about the trek. Important things to note are the mileage, whether it’s out-and-back or a loop, whether or not it closes for certain parts of the year, if you need to pay to access it, et cetera.
  
  It’s also important to select a hike that is a reasonable difficulty for you. Many hikes can feel grueling, and that is part of the challenge that makes it so much fun to finish – but is it out of your realm of physical endurance to climb up a couple thousand feet in elevation? Are there intersecting trails that you could get caught up on and get you lost? Be realistic about your own physical endurance.

• Choosing the Right Pair of Shoes – When you are on your feet for miles of rough terrain, your footwear matters. You generally don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on the highest-tech boots you see to have a suitable pair of shoes to take out on the trail – a lot of the time, a good pair of trail-running shoes will suffice, especially for a beginner hiker exploring some easier trails.
  
  However, you do want to keep in mind the kind of trail you will be doing and make sure that your footwear can handle it. Will you be climbing up the face of a smooth granite mountain or stomping through a muddy puddle? In that case, you may want to invest in a hardier pair of boots instead of your worn-in gym shoes. They will keep you from slipping, protect your ankles from rolling, and keep your feet much drier. One rule of thumb is to make sure that no matter what shoes you choose, you choose a pair that has a good amount of traction. You don’t want to find yourself on the face of a rocky cliff in well-worn sneakers with no grip.

• Clothing – This will vary greatly depending on where you are embarking on your hike and what season it is, but don’t feel like you need to have the most expensive hiking gear in order to have a good workout. A lot of the time, I can get by on hikes with things I have in my closet for workouts and cold weather. Keep your first layer light with sweat-wicking fabrics – preferably athletic gear so that you can move easily. From there, layers are key. When the weather may dip drastically, add on a warm thermal layer and then another jacket or vest on top that you can remove or keep on depending on the conditions. A nice pair of hiking socks can make a huge difference, and I always keep a beanie in my pack for when the weather really takes a cold turn.
  
  However, I do live in a moderate climate in Northern California. Please keep in mind that if you are going to be hiking in an area with temperature extremes, you need to be properly prepared.
  

• Pack – It doesn’t have to be fancy, but you should have some kind of pack to carry your essentials. It can be as simple as your old school backpack if you are going on a short trek. However, it really does make a difference to carry a pack that was specifically made for hiking, particularly if you find that you have an achy back at the end of a long hike. I bought my REI Trail 25 Pack for Women on sale and have sworn by it for day hikes — having hip and chest straps to take the pressure off of my shoulders has made a tremendous difference for me, especially since I carry a heavy DSLR camera pack. Most packs that are made specifically for hiking will also come with lots of storage space to carry everything you could possibly need for your walk in nature, so they are a worthy investment if you plan on making hiking a regular activity.
  

• Nutrition – It is always a good idea to carry food with you, even if you think you won’t be out long enough to necessitate it. Something light, like an energy bar or banana, will give you a boost of energy if you start to feel tired, and I like to have at least a sandwich if I know I’ll be hiking more than a couple of miles. Don’t underestimate how taxing hiking is to your body – even if the trail is just a couple of miles long, you’ll likely be dealing with elevation changes and maneuvering difficult terrain. The right fuel can make all the difference. If your intent is to get a good workout, don’t just grab a portable bag of junk food and call it a day. The correct nutrition is key!
  

• Safety – Venturing out into nature can present its share of dangers. Injuries, wildlife, and even other people can make a trek into the woods a little more dangerous than your average trip to the gym.
  
  If possible, going with a partner or two is a much safer bet than doing it alone. If something was to happen – say, you twist your ankle and can no longer walk on your own – your partner can be someone to lean on or go for help. Always let someone know where you are planning to go and when you expect to be back, especially if you are heading out alone.
  
  It’s also a good idea to carry some form of protection for self-defense in the rare case that you need to fight off an animal or other human beings. A nice multitool can be a good, portable carry, or you can clip some pepper spray onto your pack to be easily accessible.
  
  This is another reason why it is good to study up on your trail before you head out. Be prepared if you are walking into an area that is known to have predatory animals such as bears or mountain lions. Learn what poisonous plants in the area look like and always make sure you stay aware of your surroundings!

Enjoy those beautiful views, feel your quads burn, and don’t forget to stop and just breathe in the fresh air!

Unfortunately, my wallet and my stomach do not thank me for this bad habit. Because of the sheer convenience, I often end up ordering food so much more often than I would normally actually go to a restaurant. I’ll end up paying $20 for an $8 entree while the perfectly good groceries in my fridge lay neglected and rotting in my fridge. The habit has only gotten worse since COVID-19 has forced us all into our homes and the use of convenient straight-to-your-door apps has skyrocketed.

So I’ve decided that I need to put a stop to this. The occasional Chipotle burrito bowl is one thing, but I just cannot justify not even touching the vegetables in my fridge and buying them just to let them wilt (sorry, little guys).

• Actually Cooking. I know, this is a shocker. But actually having good options for eating already available in your home make it that much easier to avoid whipping out the Postmates app. I like to have an arsenal of quick, easy meals that you can whip up in a shorter time than it would take you to get something delivered to your house (and not have to pay exorbitant fees).
  
  Along with some standard healthy dishes, you should also have some things that are a little more decadent to really satisfy that urge for having something hearty and delicious. This way, even if you make something more self-indulgent, you still have full control of your ingredients and know more about your dish than something coming from a restaurant. This Spicy Miso Pasta from Cravings by Chrissy Teigen has been my go-to lately. I always have the ingredients on hand, and it is quick, cheesy, and delicious.
  
  Meal-prepping is also your friend. I find that the best way this works for me is to schedule a time to dedicate to cooking early in the week so that I have a couple of easy meals available to allow for maximum laziness in the next couple of days. Win-win.

• Embrace Your Love of Convenience. Like I mentioned earlier, one of the most beautiful things about food delivery couriers is that you don’t have to get yourself together in order to get a hot and delicious meal. Let your lazy bones relax and do the same thing but with your grocery shopping! I have really been leaning into the Instacart app these past couple of months as trips to the grocery store have become frustrating and stressful events. With Instacart and other personal-shopper apps, you can do all your grocery shopping straight from the couch and stock up on all the things you need to feed you for the week. If your favorite grocery store isn’t included in any apps, check their website! With the shelter-at-home orders, many have begun to offer delivery services of their own. Just make sure you tip your shoppers well – you don’t have to worry about keeping six feet apart from other distracted and rushing patrons, but they do.

• Keep Healthy Snacks on Hand!! I think that this is one of the most crucial things that you can do to help keep you off of food delivery apps, and also one of the things I overlook the most. If you have healthy things to munch on at home, you’re much less likely to give in to momentary lapses. Also, snacks are one of the things that make this world go around.
  
  While you’re cruising around on your Instacart app, throw in some pita chips and hummus (or preferably, ingredients for your own!), dried apples, or fruit and Tajin for a spicy, salty kick. I keep a jar of pickled banana peppers on hand at all times – whatever floats your boat and keeps you from getting the munchies.

• Frozen Meals (??) Yes. I know frozen meals get a bad rap, and for good reason, but some brands have come a long way since the sodium-laden behemoths of the past. If you just can’t stomach the thought of turning on your stove or chopping veggies, the occasional frozen meal might be your saving grace.
  
  A word of caution though: be picky about the frozen meals that you are selecting and look at the nutrition labels! My personal favorite brand for frozen meals is Amy’s, and if you have a Trader Joe’s in your area, their selection is mostly great.

Hopefully this helps you get off of your food courier app and into your own kitchen! I know I won’t be deleting my beloved Postmates any time soon, but I will not be spending any more consecutive days without stepping foot into my own kitchen.