6 tips on how to fight weight gain when staying at home
During these unprecedented times, maintaining great health is more important than ever. While a lot of us are stuck at home and out of routine, the consensus is that weight gain is inevitable. Although keeping the weight off at home may be tougher it’s not impossible. Here are some tips to maintain or even lose weight while at home.
Workout more: Yes this is the most simple answer, but evaluate how much you were working out beforehand. You probably have more time on your hands, take some time out of your daily routine to get some cardio or strength training in. In a 30 minute cardio workout an average person burns 150-400 calories, depending on intensity. In a strength (resistance) training workout you’ll most likely burn less during your workout, although you’ll get an additional burn the days after your sessions. This is due to your muscles burning more calories at rest, they expend energy rebuilding and recovering, this has a larger effect on your resting metabolism. Either way find some time to still do your favorite workout.
Get off your butt: Being sedentary for too long is a fast track to a more unhealthy lifestyle. Move around every now and then, there’s nothing important enough where you have to sit down hours on end. There’s plenty of ways to conquer this, web browsers have extensions that send reminders to stand up every 15 or 30 minutes, as well as phone apps that can do the same thing. Sitting down for too long will also contribute to low energy levels, this affects your body chemistry and the chemicals that contribute to fighting weight loss continue to reign. Low energy will also result in you being too lazy to get a workout in, not to mention being planted in a chair for hours allows us to keep snacking on our favorite junk food.
Cooking, actual cooking: What people seem to miss is, we are always burning calories. Your body expends energy just to keep you breathing everyday. With that being said, cooking is one of the best NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) activities, which is just any activity that isn’t eating, sleeping, or exercising. When I mean actual cooking I’m talking about cutting up the produce, running over and grabbing the seasoning, cooking every part of the dish you are preparing, not a frozen microwaveable pot pie. And when you’re done you get to wash the dishes! Even more calorie burn!
Side note: If you’re not up for cooking and you’re ordering takeout, go pick it up instead of delivery.
Take walk breaks: If you’re working at home, schedule walk breaks twice during your day. Being outdoors can boost your mood as well. Instead of going on Netflix or social media go outside!
Eat either a big breakfast or lunch: Eating a big meal may encourage your body to go lighter on another meal. If you’re not a big fan of breakfast food, go light and have some fruit, yogurt, or a few eggs. If you don’t care much for lunch, increase the amount of portions in your breakfast.
Eat more filling foods: Protein-rich foods tend to give you the greatest feeling of satiety. If you’re a fan of protein powder they might be the key to prevent you from overeating. We tend to be unaware of how much food we are consuming and eating filling foods can be the solution. Here’s a great rundown of what foods to add to your diet.
Bottomline: While spending a lot of time at home may sound scary to your health, there’s always a way to be healthy. In simple terms, the more you move the more calories you’ll burn, combine that with habits that will prevent you from overeating and you can stop weight-gain. You may lose a few pounds!
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Resources:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cardio-vs-weights-for-weight-loss
https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/epocarticle.html