Combating the “Covid 15”

Have you noticed the scale inch up since the shut-down in March? We have. Extra time in front of the television means more snacks and less physical activity. Less activity and fewer things to do mean more time to think about food. Gyms being closed means that we need to find new routines for maintaining our muscles and burning calories. It all comes full circle: What you eat and do determines how you feel and think.

First, we’ll talk about food. Neither Marjorie or I have really gone off our food plans but did some frank talking about what might be causing this weight gain. We agreed that we are spending more time sitting watching movies and TV. We also realized that we have been snacking more on foods that would be considered perfectly fine on WW, but in greater quantities. Also, the unstructured hours have changed our ability to tune into feelings of satisfaction. How do we get that feeling during a shutdown with empty hours and full pantries?

Satiety, that feeling that you’ve had enough, is something that we had become familiar with as we both woke up each day at the weight we preferred. In the days of Covid-19, that feeling of satiety is harder to come by. There are fewer distractions and more opportunities to snack. It’s simple math. Both Marjorie and I know that to actually lose the additional pounds that have weaseled their way into our well-balanced and confident weight loss achievements, we will have to change what we do take in to the point that we are feeling hungry as we go to bed at night once again. This is not the time to do that.

When my husband and I enjoy a lot of screen-time, my Fitbit nudges me that I have sat too long, but what is there to do? So much is closed down, friends are much less likely to be willing to make plans, and being closed inside is easier when we are distracted by something fun. Marjorie and her partner Sharon have also found themselves escaping into the world of TV. Marjorie says that part of their movie addiction involves eating popcorn. Although she is being careful, after years of maintaining she has put on weight–not the Covid 15, but a few pounds. We are guessing that there is something about being enclosed in our houses too much of the time that has changed our ability to judge when we have simply had enough. Being active seems to help us feel satiated.

We realize that we can’t talk about diet without talking about exercise. Exercise does improve the food choices we make, and seems to be helpful in letting us know when we have eaten enough. It helps with that feeling of satiety, keeping us out of the kitchen and busy with other things. Marjorie and I spoke today about the changes that have taken place in our lives since Covid-19 began to impact many of the things we had learned to take for granted. My gym closed in March, and we here are hoping it will reopen soon. The New York State Governor has enjoyed high praise for his grasp of this crisis, but people have been chomping at the bit to get back into the gyms because our state has done so well getting a handle on this awful disease. Marjorie is in San Diego, and her gym has put classes online. California has experienced a spike in Covid-19 cases and has re-shut gyms as well as other businesses that provide other personal services. This is no time to be in an enclosed place with other Californians!

The gym is one of the fun parts of our lives that has, by necessity, taken a sabbatical. So, we have defined one problem: Too many hours in the house. Although it is true that weight loss is not closely tied to exercise, exercise is very important for maintaining a weight loss (Guyenet, 2017). I have had to get back into walking in the same neighborhood in which I have lived for 43 years. It is not fun like joining in a gym class with energized instructors and peers. Strength training here at home with my hand weights is tremendously boring compared to doing it in a group. Yet this is my reality right now. I’ve gotten online and taken some classes, but all that came to a stop when I had a hernia repaired 3 months ago and can only now begin to engage my core muscles again.

Marjorie says her gym is putting classes online as well, yet we agree that it is not the same as feeling that you are part of a group of people all working toward a fitness goal. Our current tasks are basic: to burn calories, build muscles, and stay out of the pantry!

We invite you to join us in our journey as we Stop Losing and Win. We will post what we learn about weight management, engaging you in our physical and psychological journey toward better health. But for now, here are a few strategies that might help you ward off the Covid 15 during Covid-19.

1. Try to maintain. Now is not the time to try to lose the extra pounds any more than you would quit smoking while looking for a new job. A time of stress and crisis requires that you be kind to yourself. It will be a victory just to stay put for now!
2. Stay satiated. You may be tempted to nibble between meals, prepare wonderful dishes, and drink that extra glass of wine. We jokingly say that we treat ourselves like toddlers with it comes to food, always having a little container of something nutritious and delicious at hand. We keep high protein, low calorie snacks around such as roasted vegetables (they are good cold), hard boiled eggs, Greek yogurt, fruit, and bean salad. Indulge without worry or guilt.
3. Stay active every day. Schedule in a walk or a class the same way you would plan to take a shower or brush your teeth. It’s too easy to find a comfy couch or chair–and just stay there. If “doing something” is an imperative, you’ll better protect yourself from unwanted pounds.
4. Maintain your sleep/wake schedule. For some reason, sleep is really important to weight management (**Guyenet, S. 2017). Both of us just feel more capable of making good choices when we’re rested, and an accumulation of good choices is what weight management is all about.
5. Attend to your emotional needs. It’s been four months and we have nearly forgotten that we are in the middle of a crisis of epoch proportions. This is a good time to stay in touch with the right people which might include a therapist or psychiatrist. Be generous with yourself, and thrive.

Guyenet, S. (2017). The Hungry Brain: Outsmarting the instincts that make us overeat. ref. pg. 142, second ref. pg.219