The Biggest Problem With Losing Weight During Quarantine And How You Can Fix It
So we’re all cooped up, hopefully not constantly snacking on lots of candy or junk, out of boredom or worry.
Worried or Bored Eating is the worst thing that we can do.
Probably the most destructive and sneaky type of weight gain. We’re looking for trouble when we start implementing food as a coping mechanism or as an activity to do.
Why not get moving instead?
Here are some simple scientific wellness tips to stay active and focused on our health during quarantine and while practicing social distancing.
It’s not necessary to be worried about weight loss right now, but maintaining your current weight is a healthy and reasonable goal.
Even though summer won’t look quite the same for us this year. Being “summer ready” is still a wonderful thing.
Think of it as a yearly “spring cleaning” for your body, focusing on healthy eating and increased physical activity to melt away the previous year’s accumulation and clutter of excess pounds.
Most of us have been home for a while, slacking on our healthy routines, snacking on junk food- which is understandable at first.
Mentally we really weren’t able to initially rationalize the immediate lifestyle changes of this pandemic.
Here are some new habits to keep you from feeling like your headed to an unhealthy slump. These will keep you on track or get you back on track….
1.Stay Hydrated
Water helps to filter waste for the organs. Dehydration causes the kidneys to retain water.
When waste builds up in the body, people may feel bloated, swollen, and tired. Bloating can add inches to a person’s waist.
Staying hydrated is a good way to avoid retaining waste, which may add a few extra pounds. Water also serves as an appetite suppressant, calorie burner and decreases overall liquid caloric intake, equaling overall weight loss.
How much water should you take in?
Most health authorities suggest ranges for daily water intake. The following water intake recommendations are from the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) in the United States:
- 2,700 mL/day for adult women
- 3,700 mL/day for adult men
Tips to help to increase water intake:
- drink at least one 8-ounce glass of water with each meal
- drink extra water when exercising or during physical activity
- carry water in a reusable water bottle
- drink extra water when it is warm, humid, or very sunny
- keep a glass of water near the bed
Here’s My Favorite High pH Alkaline Water Filter Bottle:
2. Get Enough Sleep
Despite the fact that many of us are furloughed or able to work from home.
We should make sure that we are getting sufficient sleep to keep our metabolism healthy and our bodies well rested with rejuvenating sleep.
Researchers report that women who sleep 5 hours or less per night generally weigh more than women who sleep 7 hours per night.
Negative effects of inadequate sleep:
Drives down leptin levels, which causes the body to crave carbohydrates.
Interferes with the body’s ability to metabolize carbohydrates and causes high blood levels of glucose, which leads to higher insulin levels and greater body-fat storage.
Can increase the risk of heart disease & high blood pressure
Can lead to insulin resistance and contribute to increased risk of diabetes
Reduces levels of growth hormone — a protein that helps regulate the body’s proportions of fat and muscle.
3. Start Moving
The most important part of any healthy routine or lifestyle. Nothing takes the place of movement. Our bodies crave it, we are amazing biological machines that need activity to function well and fully.
Start Simple…. like walking or doing yoga. Yard work or gardening can also increase your daily caloric burn and contribute to added weight loss.
Exercise improves circulation greatly improving your body and mind collectively.
Exercise also prevents cardiovascular disease, even dementia… with just 10 min a day of daily movement.
4. Make Healthy Food Choices
Start Snacking on Negative Calorie Foods
These are the foods that take more energy to consume than the calories they contain, so it’s easy to understand why anyone who wants to lose weight would be going for these types of foods.
Here is a short list of negative calorie foods-some of them may surprise you:
Celery
Grapefruit
Watermelon
Lettuce
Cauliflower
Oranges
Apples
Strawberries
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Apricots
Zucchini
Tangerines
Carrots
Hot Chili Peppers
The other great thing about negative calorie foods such as those in the list above is that they actually utilize calories from other sources in your body in order to be digested.
Always remember that when your body runs out of energy from carbohydrate sources, the next place it looks for energy is in your body fat.
This is one way to get rid of excess fat in your body and this is how negative calorie types of food help you lose weight and maintain the weight that you eventually achieve.
Getting weight loss meals delivered to your door is also a THING! Read my post about how it all works…
5. Stand As Often as Possible
We all sit too much, which tightens hip flexors, that cause back pain and decrease metabolism. Excessive Sitting has so many negative impacts on our health.
We can easily plop down on our couch or at a desk chair for hours and hours, particularly now, without no reasons to get up, because there’s nowhere to go, nothing to do.
Science has found that people who stand for six hours a day, could potentially lose up to five pounds a year, due to the increased calorie burn of assuming the standing position more often.
Start by standing while on the phone…
Be sure to stand more and do a few light stretches every hour. Set a timer on your phone or smartwatch- to get up and stretch.
Here’s a great Hip Flexor Stretch to perform every day… to avoid or decrease back pain while increasing overall hip mobility…
Start implementing these five easy habits… that science has found to be very beneficial to overall health, wellness and weight loss.
They are all easy enough to start today, and there is no better day than today to do that much-needed Summer Body, Spring Cleaning.
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