The Quarantine 15 | How to Lose it
Happy Wednesday Squadies! If you have gained some weight throughout this pandemic, you are definitely not alone! A pandemic is no joke - it leads to many changes happening unexpectedly and within a short span of time. That means disrupted routines, extra stress, and having to find ways to cope with all these changes. If you are one of the many who have gained the quarantine 15, don’t worry! Today I will be talking ALL about the quarantine 15, and how to lose it!
Why?
First of all, let’s talk about WHY we can gain weight throughout a pandemic. There are many reasons, depending on your situation and what has changed for you!
Stress
Of course, living through a pandemic is going to be stressful. Losing your job is stressful, having to work in public through a pandemic is hard, and having to deal with all the changes that go along with it is also stressful. Stress can cause us to ‘stress eat.’ This means we are eating too much sometimes, craving more unhealthy foods, and/or eating more often. Eating ABOVE our maintenance calories will cause us to gain weight resulting in the quarantine 15.
Being home
Whether you are working from home or just home more often, being home can cause us to eat more than we would regularly. If you are working from home, your kitchen is now steps away from your office! Easy access to ALL your favourite snacks - which aren’t always healthy! Being home more often can leave us bored at times, which can cause us to just eat out of boredom. With more free time, many of us have got the baking bug, meaning we are baking more of those tasty but often unhealthy treats we love.
Habits and routines
All this really boils down to is the fact that our regular routines are broken and new habits and routines are being formed in its place. When we have a routine that works well for us, it could be hard to stay on track and avoid the quarantine 15 when there is so much change happening at once with a high level of stress entangled in these changes.
If you have gained the quarantine 15 - cut yourself some slack!
We are all in this together, and we are all still learning and figuring out how to live through this pandemic. Don’t feel down or negative about your body, cut yourself some slack! Many of us are also dealing with the quarantine 15 and are also dealing with new stresses and routines! This is totally normal! Although it is okay to gain some weight, it is also important to make sure we are not letting that quarantine 15 spiral into a quarantine 30! We have to acknowledge that it is happening and find ways to motivate ourselves to turn it around! If the bad habits continue, it could have negative effects on your health in the long run! More snacking, less moving around and more unhealthy foods for long periods of time can definitely take it toll on you!
How to lose the quarantine 15
Habits and Routines
The first step in losing weight is breaking bad habits and replacing them with new, healthy ones. Since we are still living through the pandemic, things still aren’t back to normal. Many of us are still working from home and still dealing with the stress of living through a pandemic. That being said, you can still begin to form new habits and routines while in your current situation. First of all, make sure you are getting rid of any unhealthy foods and snacks you have around the house and replace them with healthy ones. Exercise from home, or go for a jog or run outside. Start giving yourself a little bit of discipline, wake up at a certain time, and make time for the things that matter to you most. All these things play a huge role in creating healthy habits and routines. To find out more about how you can create these routines, check out my blog lost of creating healthy habits and routines HERE.
Healthy Foods and Exercise
One of the biggest culprits of the quarantine 15 is unhealthy eating habits. It is so easy to just eat out of stress or boredom. It is just as easy for us to grab a comfort food, such as chips, cookies or a warm baked good to eat. Although this is totally okay once in a while, when we are eating like this continuously, it is definitely not good for our health! When getting rid of these unhealthy foods, you can replace them with lean, healthier ones! Of course you can still have your snacks, but instead of eating your chips ahoy cookies, have these peanut butter protein cookies. If you're feeling like ice cream, popcorn or chips, try one of these swaps. Rather than reaching for some sugary cereal for breakfast, try these lean egg cups! No matter what eating habits you have created throughout this quarantine, you can find a healthy food to swap it out for. This will definitely help you to start getting back on track! Since many gyms are still closed or just opening up, many of us still don’t have the option or don't feel comfortable going to their local gym. Many of us are also moving around less in general because there is less to do and we are more confined to our homes. Although this is the case, you can STILL get moving and have a great workout session from home! LEANSQUAD has leanmazing workout programs you can do right from your home, no equipment needed! You can start losing your quarantine 15 with the right workout regime and meal plan in no time!
Motivation
All this is great, but how are you going to do ANY of it without the motivation to do so?! It's easy to tell you to change your routine, eat healthy and exercise, but it is EXTREMELY hard to do if you are not motivated. So now the real question is… How DO you get motivated?! The answer will be different for everyone, but there are a few things you can try:Find a lean buddy - Having a lean buddy can be a HUGE help in motivation. Having that person who you rely on and who relies on you is always a great push to get moving! Find an online community - There are SO many health and wellness communities online which have members trying to reach the same goals as you. When you join the LEANSQUAD, you get access to a private slack group where you can always find your daily dose of motivation! You can also find other squadies to connect with who are on their lean journey too!Commitment - Once you have decided to go forward with your new lifestyle, the BEST way to be successful is to dive right into it! When we take things slow and cut things out one by one, it can be more difficult to let go. This can lead to bad habits easily returning. When we jump right in and give our 100% commitment you are more likely to see success and quicker results! There you have it squadies! If you are struggling with the quarantine 15, follow these tips back to leanness!