To lose weight (Or avoid weight gain) at home should be a focus of everyone at the moment. With the majority of us are facing a ‘work from home’ style life, it is important that we adapt accordingly. Now that we are a few weeks into social distancing and isolation, it has allowed us to settle into the new routine. It wouldn’t be surprising if you are starting to feel sluggish and low on energy considering the massive physical and emotional toll that COVID-19 has had on the world.
Perhaps even the wardrobe is feeling a little tighter?
If this is the case, you are not alone.
The combination of moving less and eating a little more (a common response to stress and emotion), will always lead to weight gain. The added issues of largely being confined to home, close to the kitchen and away from the gym/outdoors only magnifies both areas.
Adding this to the mental impact that comes with self-isolation and the lack of human interaction that comes with it, we are facing an uphill battle in the health department.
There are countless benefits that come with being in the best health possible at the moment. Your mood will improve, and motivation levels will increase. The mental capacity to deal with challenges will grow.
Adding to the fact that winter and the flu season is almost here it means proactiveness instead of reactiveness will greatly help you get through.
Simply put, now is the most important time to ensure that you lose weight, or at least avoid weight gain whilst working from home.
Here are 5 tips that will help that process.
Plan Your Daily Caloric Intake
Knowing what and how much to eat helps weight loss
Do you know how many calories you should be consuming on a daily basis?
This is super important, especially if you are moving less than you otherwise would on a daily basis.
Why?
In order to lose weight, we must burn more energy than we consume. It is that simple.
As a result, if you are moving less, you are burning less energy. If you do not reduce your daily calories to match, you will put on weight.
Here is a calculator that can help you figure out what your new daily caloric intake should be.
Planning out your daily meals also gives you a lot more clarity and direction, which in turn reduces the chance for grazing.
A great way to track your daily nutritional intake (once you know how many calories to consume), is through a tracking app such as MyFitnessPal. You can put in your daily goals, map out your meals and keep yourself accountable to that plan.
The last thing you want to do is leave it up to chance.
If you can go into the week knowing what you will eat and that if you follow that plan you will be successful then it will improve your headspace and motivation which in turn will help you in other important areas of your life.
Ensure There Are No ‘Bad Foods’ In The House
Banana Oat Protein Muffins are a tasty and easy snack option
This might sound a bit silly, but if you know there is something naughty in the house, it does not matter how much self-control you have. Eventually you will find it.
The best way to remove this temptation is to do exactly that. Remove the temptation.
Go into your cupboards and get rid of all the shit. All the snacks, biscuits, chocolates and lollies. You do not need it. It will not help you lose weight, but it will certainly help you gain it.
You might think that you have the self-control to say NO but if you are working from home it is always close by and the temptation will be magnified.
Throw it out and replace it with healthier snacks.
That way if you are grazing, your only option will be to have the healthy foods that are already there. If they are healthy then you are already one step ahead of the game.
Unsure of what some healthy snacks could be? Simply click for some great healthy snack ideas that can be made at home.
Remember, if you are trying to lose weight (or avoid weight gain) at home, then you need to be giving yourself the best chance possible.
Removing temptation does that from the beginning.
Drink Lots Of Water
Staying hydrated is the key to success
Sitting at your desk (regardless of at home or work), it can be very easy to forget one of the most important daily activities. Drinking enough water.
Hydration is essential to life, yet it is the most easily forgotten.
How many times have you made it to the end of the day and realised that you haven’t even had a glass? Do you feel sluggish and generally low on energy?
Water is essential for life and it has so many wonderful benefits.
Consistent water consumption throughout the day will:
- Increase energy levels
- Improve brain function
- Improve skin health
- Transport essential vitamins around the body
- Help to remove toxins
- Aid in the digestion of food
- Aid weight loss through boosted metabolic rate
- Give you a ‘full’ feeling if you are hungry
The list goes on and it all undoubtedly helps with body efficiency and weight loss.
Here is a great clip that helps you understand the importance of daily hydration.
So how much water should you consume on a daily basis?
There is no hard and fast rule on this, but if you aim to consume 1 x cup (250ml) each hour you are awake then you will be doing very well.
Spreading it out like this also means that you are allowing for absorption at regular intervals instead of flooding the body all at once. This does not have the best impact and often goes right through you.
Have a glass now!
Daily Exercise
Ensuring you stay fit means that you are able to be your best self
Just because you are working from home and practicing self-isolation, does not mean that you get to give up on moving.
Sure, you are unable to catch up with friends and go for a walk. There is a good chance that your gym is probably closed as well.
Newsflash.
There are lots of other options available and if your gym has not been able to provide you with some, then there are hundreds of others that are ready to.
The pure fact that you are not allowed inside a gym at the moment means that there has been an explosion in Outdoor or Online Personal Training. This allows you to connect with your Personal Trainer either outside or through video-chat. They still can take you through a training session, you are simply just not in the gym.
It is incredibly effective, allows you to have a regular exercise commitment, provides accountability and ensures that you have someone on your side who is invested in your health.
Just because you are not face-to-face does not mean that you cannot reap the benefits of having a health coach.
Online Group Exercise is also a huge bonus at the moment. You get all the benefits of having a group exercise class, without the concern of social distancing getting in the way. Many fitness companies are now offering the ability to connect into their group classes through video conferencing. Allowing you to participate in a class as a part of their modified offering, helps their business and allows you to keep moving.
If yours isn’t then you should find one that is.
You should aim to move in some way at least once a day for 30 minutes. This means that you are going to be creating a lot of structure and increased energy expenditure on a weekly basis.
The combination of this increased movement with your structure around food will definitely result the ability to lose weight (or avoid weight gain) at home.
The benefits of this will also flow on to your work and home balance and you will find that your mood, productivity, effectiveness and energy levels are all improved.
You must still plan to exercise every single day regardless of your work/home situation.
There are only benefits.
Use a Tracker/Smart Watch
Keeping track of your goals will help you succeed.
We are living in a very connected world now, and it is very easy to keep yourself accountable to daily step counts, nutritional intake, sleep quality etc with smart devices.
If you are someone who is driven by data and want to know how you are tracking, then making sure that you have a smart watch (or something similar), it will make a huge difference.
They allow you to set goals and tell you how much further you have to go to achieve them.
They will tell you how much energy you have burned and when you compare that to your planned energy intake it will allow you to see if you are on track to lose weight.
You can track your steps and you will get a reminder when you have been sedentary for too long.
A high quality smart watch will allow you to always be on track with your targets and have that motivation in front of your eyes at all times.
It makes things quantifiable and turns it into a challenge.
If you are looking to lose weight (or avoid weight gain) at home, then it would be highly recommended to get one to help the process.
All in all, the above 5 points are not a foolproof plan to success.
If you are focusing on your daily nutritional intake, removing temptation from the house, drinking more water, exercising daily and tracking success as you go, then you are giving yourself incredibly good chance to lose weight (or avoid weight gain) at home.
Over the past weeks, we have aimed to deliver some great information as to how we can remain healthy, productive and in good spirits during this COVID-19 lockdown. These iso-cooking recipes are the latest addition to a growing library of information.
To read more on these topics click below:
- Boost your immune system now, thank yourself later
- Immune boosting recipes to help you avoid illness
- Create balance when you work from home
- Keep food exciting during lockdown – 4 tips to success
- Iso-Cooking Recipes – 3 Immune Boosting Options
At the moment we are facing a health issue unlike anything seen before. It is so important that we are doing everything we can to boost our immune system and stay healthy. The combination of good nutrition and quality exercise is a proven recipe for success. Whilst it is incredibly easy to take the easy option these days, it should be encouraged to take a bit more control over what you are eating.
Over the last 4 years Authentic Personal Training has established itself as a leading health and fitness studio on the Lower North Shore. We are incredibly proud to announce that we have been voted The Best Fitness Business on The North Shore for 2019.
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