Are you on home quarantine too due to the coronavirus outbreak? Do you have permission too to work from home? During this time of coronavirus pandemic outbreak, working from home is a way to avoid contracting the virus while still earning. Though working from home has its perks, potential weight gain isn’t one of them. With the outbreak, a combination of job stress, easy access to the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets and uncertainty surrounding public health could prompt you to eat more than you would normally do at your workplace.
During this time of the outbreak, exactly how are you going to stay on track with your weight loss goal? How are you going to avoid gaining weight? Just because you are not able to shop for your favorite low carb smoothie or head to the gym doesn’t mean you still can’t stay healthy.
Here are a few tips to follow to avoid weight gain while on home quarantine
- Stock not hoard
During this time of outbreak, you make sure you have enough food supply to sustain you and your family for days. You plan ahead and you buy enough provisions from the grocery stores and market so you can prevent frequent trips and to further prevent you from contracting the disease. However, don’t hoard on them unnecessarily. Hoarding will create food shortages in the market and will give rise to a more serious problem later on.
- Stick to an eating schedule
Maintain the same eating schedule you have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as you would normally do. Do not skip meals as you are more likely to overeat on the next meals which could lead to weight gain.
- Keep track of your weight while on home quarantine
Avoid binge eating just because you have easy access to the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets all the time. Try to live your day as normally as you would. Remember that the provisions you stock on the cabinet are meant to last for days while you and your family are on home quarantine.
- Avoid unhealthy and continued snacking
When you are at home quarantine, you have more idle time and more chances of laying your hands on all types of snacks and cravings that get in your way. These unhealthy habits can surely lead to weight gain. Watch out what you eat. Avoid snacking at any cost. If you can’t help, then snack on healthy fruits and nuts to satiate your hunger pangs. Having enough fruit stock during this outbreak can help you keep on track with healthy eating habits while on home quarantine.
- Prepare for your next meal
Instead of going for a snack just because you are bored why not prepare for your next meal to keep you busy. Make a fruit skewer or chop up some cauliflower for dinner or whatever you can do to prepare for your family’s next meal.
- Do not eat on the bed
One of the worst habits is eating while sitting on bed. Eating on the bed makes it a potential background for germs and bacteria to increase in number. It’s also linked with disruptive sleeping patterns. So, always make it a habit to eat on the table.
- Take time to exercise
Take time to exercise even when on home quarantine. Exercise is not just important for weight loss and for you to be fitter but for you to develop stronger immunity too. There are multiple exercises that you can do at home including weight training exercise and cardio exercise. On-the-spot jogging, climbing the stairs and jumping rope are some cardio exercises that you can do while on home quarantine. These exercises can boost your stamina at the same time will help you shed extra pounds. Push-ups, planks, and pull-ups can help build your muscles and improve body strength.
- Stay hydrated
Dehydration can make you gain weight by slowing down your metabolism. You tend to find yourself twice as hungrier than normal when you are dehydrated. When you are dehydrated you tend to eat more because you’ve mistaken the feeling of thirst for hunger. To avoid this, drink plenty of water. Water is a great appetite suppressant.
- Hide all the junk foods
Keep junk foods such as potato chips and cakes out of sight and put healthy foods like vegetables and fruits at eye level. Junk foods can make you fat. It’s high in sugar and it contains nearly twice as many calories as normal foods do. To control your weight and improve your energy while on home quarantine simple dietary changes can make a big difference.
