According to the results of a global study published in the Obesity journal, the coronavirus and its effects (such as wide-ranging lockdowns and massive industry shutdowns) led many people to stress-eat and forego physical activities. Additionally, affected individuals showed increased levels of anxiety and sleep deprivation.
The study further revealed that obese people were significantly more affected by the pandemic’s effects on physical and mental health due to their existing conditions.
That weight gain was among COVID-19’s most pronounced effects is almost expected, with many individuals turning to stress-eating and living a sedentary lifestyle in times of great uncertainty such as pandemics.
If you or anyone in your family has been struggling to cope with the negative impacts of the ongoing crisis and is specifically gaining weight as a result, you should act quickly and decisively to prevent other ill effects such as heart-related diseases and mental health problems.
Here are six inexpensive weight management tricks you should explore during COVID-19:
Keep yourself hydrated
Being stuck at home and having plenty of spare time could make one sedentary and fool the mind into thinking that the body is not thirsty most of the time. You can avoid dehydration by drinking lots of water each day.
Staying well-hydrated daily will not only take care of your water intake needs but will also let you refrain from gobbling up unhealthy food. Additionally, you’ll enjoy better digestion and greater-looking skin just by keeping yourself fully hydrated every single day.
Have a custom diet plan created for you
Just like fingerprints, individuals have unique dietary needs. This means that whatever diet plan works perfectly for others may not work the same way with you. Knowing this, you should tap a weight-loss expert to devise a custom diet plan based on your particular dietary and nutrition requirements.
You can simply schedule a visit to your local weight management clinic to undergo screening, so the in-house weight-loss professional can access your condition and create the right diet plan for you. Keep in mind that going on a diet without a scientific basis can only do you more harm than good, so be sure to consult with a weight management expert first.
Get physical as often as possible
When you’re bored and stagnant in one place, you tend to get hungry often and overeat, especially if you’re dealing with anxiety and stress at the same time. One simple way of fighting this off is to find creative means of working up your muscles and keeping your blood flow vigorous.
You can buy some inexpensive exercise items such as a jump rope, some dumbbells, and an exercise ball. You can also fashion exercise items out of discarded or common household materials such as cement, a piece of pipe, and discarded milk can for a dumbbell.
Stick to a regular meal schedule
Just like with many things in life, not having a solid structure or guideline to follow can lead to confusion on what is right or wrong. Ultimately, such an inability to discern could lead to devastating problems that could make a person suffer greatly. This holds true with your meal schedule.
Without a clear schedule on when exactly to take your meals, you could either eat way ahead of time or way past it — either of which is not good for you. As such, you should set definite times for your breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner to avoid over-eating or under-eating.
If your stress gives you the urge to binge-eat, sticking to your schedule could help you overcome the urge to eat, so you can avoid putting on too much weight.
Don’t eat because you’re stressed and stop eating when you’re already full
No matter how strong the urge to go binge-eating is due to the intense stress that you’re experiencing, you should summon the courage and strength to fight it off. Instead of turning to food when you’re getting anxiety attacks, you can exercise, do a mini home improvement project, or clean up the house.
Meanwhile, you should discipline yourself to stop eating when your tummy is already full. No matter how delicious that cake may be or how tasty your dinner is, you should always eat in moderation., especially when you’re consuming food that is rich in sugar, trans-fat, and other ingredients that facilitates and accelerates weight gain among individuals.
Get plenty of Zs each day
Without proper and ample sleep, you’ll run the risk of craving comfort food when you wake up. Inadequate and poor sleep patterns can also lead to reduced motivation to exercise, plus the disruption of the hormones that regulate the feeling of being hungry.
So, the quick and inexpensive way to avoid all of these problems is to just catch enough sleep each day. With a restful sleep, you’ll surely wake up feeling refreshed and energetic, so you’ll have the energy needed to stay active and stay away from unhealthy food.
Just follow these tips and you’ll surely find it easier to control your weight, so you can maintain a healthy lifestyle.
