The Fear of Post Lock Down Weight Gain

The work from home idea wouldn’t have been such a nightmare for a lot many people until this period. It’s a time when everything you see around seems to be a privilege and that we need to respect them. Most of us are not so fond of being flexible with our daily schedule. From hitting the gym early in the morning to doing the meal preparation upfront and heading for work, as much as it would look like a typical machine life, yet we have been so accustomed that we find it hard to accept sudden changes. It’s always good when things go as per the plans. However, there are circumstances when the only thing you can do is learn to adapt and evolve.

• The stack of work keeps piling up with all the household chores around. Things can get even more challenging if you have kids and other family members around to take care off; with no workout in the gym and hardly any change of environment, there can be no end to the panic.

• Most of us who are not so accustomed with the work from culture have been badly affected with the stress of being caught up seated for longer hours.

• Lack of inactivity has been leading to a certain reduction in the overall NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis).

• There are many who might be going through stress eating and unnecessary munching due to the continuous boredom, while few would be struggling with managing the sleep cycle.

And then the biggest fear?

Post Lock down weight gain.

So, what to do??

Well, there are few tips that can help make sure you don’t get derailed from the track:

• Maintaining a Schedule — It’s important to understand at this moment that we all are working towards developing a habit, so keeping up with our routine is the most important thing to do right now. Try following the same as you would have been or the way you want it to be when things get back to a little normal than now.

• Set timely reminders to get up and have a walk around, so that you don’t remain seated for long and also don’t bring down your NEAT/ daily expenditure.

• Meditation and journal- Starting the day with a small amount of time dedicated to some self reflection process can help in reducing the anxiety and resistances created inside. It can script down your day in advance and stick to that schedule as close as possible.

• Exercise Regularly — Yeah, keep exercising, remember you didn’t’ build that habit in just one day, you had to work upon it, so don’t spoil it with the inertia of rest. Train regularly with whatever accessories or equipment you have, so that you feel good about yourself. And if you didn’t start it yet, probably this is the best time since you might find yourself at peace to explore new things and activities.

• Avoid storing high calorie snacks and chips or other highly processed foods, as they can easily get you carried away and in no time you are well above the target calories. Stay hydrated so that you stay focused and don’t keep on munching in between the meals. Keeping enough of slow digesting food sources like rice, oats, potatoes, etc can help maintain the fullness factor for long.

• Try keeping the Work desk away from food or kitchen, so that you don’t mess up with the casual habit of picking up any food items.

• Sleep well and try maintaining a fixed routine, so that your body adjusts to that clock cycle and you are energetic enough to start your next days.