With all of the other bad things that come with a pandemic, people also have to deal with being quarantined. A particularly bad thing about the quarantine is that you usually have nothing to do. In other cases, you could have too much to do, even during the quarantine. Whatever the case is, people tend to have the same reaction to it – they turn to food. In extreme situations such as this one, it sometimes seems like there is no other way to cope with your emotion but to overeat. Fortunately, there are ways for you to avoid getting too much weight even during a pandemic.
Plan your meals
The best way to avoid any serious weight gain is to do your best to prevent it. To do so, you’ll need a plan. You should plan your every meal and prevent any uncontrollable weight gain that way. It’s never early to start planning and the best time to do so is when you go shopping. The pandemic can cause some pretty irrational behavior and overbuying is one of those too. That is why you should approach the whole food shopping process on time. You can do your shopping once a week, or once in two weeks. A good strategy is to make a specific list of all of your necessities.
Buying necessities only can play a major role when it comes to avoiding overeating. If you stuff your home with bags of chips or tons of cookies, you’ll have nothing else to do but to eat all of them. Instead, if you buy enough food to provide you energy for the next two weeks, you won’t have to worry about excessive eating at all. That is why you should sit down, plan the meals for the next week or two, and then get to the store. All of the pounds you get during the quarantine are very hard to get rid of afterwards. Due to this reason, don’t forget to make an effort, stay determined, and follow your meal plans.
Use fresh ingredients
Some of the most important tips for not gaining weight during a pandemic are meal-related. There are a lot of factors that go into the meal making and that affects your weight. Some of these factors are the ingredients you use when you prepare a meal. A piece of advice that is particularly useful when in quarantine is to eat the fresh ingredients first.
The fresh ingredients, including fruits and vegetables, should be always prioritized. Not only should you prioritize the fruits and vegetables, but you also shouldn’t forget about the reduced-fat dairy products either. By strategically using the ingredients you can do a lot both for your body and your finances. You’ll be sure about the quality of the ingredients you are using and you will be able to save the non-perishables. A good idea is to freeze the meals, if possible. Frozen fruits and vegetables especially are good since they have a similar nutrient profile as the fresh options.
Prepare home-cooked meals
The home-cooked meals should always be prioritized over food delivery options. When you cook the meal, you are in full control over what you’re using and how much of each ingredient you’re using. That is the main difference between home-cooked meals and those that are just ordered. If you usually don’t have the time to cook the meals for yourself, now is the time you started doing so. This pandemic, even though it carries a lot of bad things, still can be inspiring and let you become a better and healthier individual. Since quarantine means spending a lot of time at home, you can use that time and master some of the harder culinary challenges.
If there are recipes that you’ve always wanted to try out, but there never was a chance, you can relax because that is about to change. Since you’ll be able to prepare the meals yourself, you’ll be able to decide on the nutritional values of each of your meals. That is the thing that matters the most when it comes to weight gain. There is a ton of healthy recipes that you can find online. Most of these recipes are easy to make and they are usually inexpensive. If you live in a home with a garden, you’ll spend even less on the ingredients. If you do have the garden, you can relax for yet another reason. Namely, you’ll know what the exact growing process of your vegetables was and you won’t have to worry about processed food that usually adds weight.
Pay special attention to the portions
The limited activities that you are condemned to during quarantine can often lead to overeating. You may feel bored all the time or unsatisfied. You may also be under a lot of stress if not everything is going according to your plans or you may have too much work to do around the house. Whatever the situation may be, people do tend to look for comfort in food. Once you start with the emotional eating, it’s hard to stop. It’s hard to stop in every possible meaning. It’s hard to break the habit and it’s hard to stop at the moment when you start doing it. Because of all this, it’s important to keep the portions in mind.
The key to being happy with your body is to avoid overeating. The key to avoiding overeating is determining what the perfect portions are for you. Several factors matter when the right amount of food is in question. The first one would be your age. Depending on your age, you’ll need less or more food. What also matters is the nutritive value of the meal. Sometimes, you’ll be able to eat more than you need, especially if the meal doesn’t have a great nutritive value. Another important thing is the kind of energy you need. If you’re doing a physically demanding job, you’ll need more food than otherwise. When you consider all these things, you’ll be able to see what the right meal portions are for you.
Limit your sugar intake
If you’ve ever had trouble with weight, you probably know that sugar is guilty in most of the cases. That is why it’s important to be careful with your sugar intake. The best way to keep your weight under control is to exercise and be careful with your food. In quarantine, your choices for good exercise are limited. You can do yoga, you can do push-ups, and you can lift weights. You can do, look for some exercise equipment for the time after quarantine since you’ll need to compensate for all of the time of inactivity. You could look for a bike at Bikes Online and find the one for you. This could be a great form of motivation for you to endure through the hard quarantine days since you’ll have something to look forward to after all this is over.
To make this whole exercising process easier, it’s best to eat smart. Eating smart means limiting your sugar intake. Excessive sugar intake can cause a lot of trouble for your health. Next to all those health issues, it can also help you gain more weight than you would like to. When you crave something sweet, it’s always better to get some fruit instead of getting a bar of chocolate. There are a lot of supplements for the sweets that are too high in sugar. For instance, dried fruits are the best because they have no sugar at all. That makes them a perfect snack. They can provide you with energy and strength and you don’t have to worry about any extra pounds when consuming them. However, if you still prefer the sweets with some sugar, make sure to choose those that are low in it. Of course, don’t forget to avoid sweetened beverages too since they also make you gain weight.
Limit your fat intake
Another important thing you should limit is your fat intake. Next to sugar, saturated fat is also usually the one guilty of weight gain. Fortunately, there are ways for you to limit that intake or take it out of your diet completely. Steaming, grilling, or sautéing are some of the meal preparation methods that will make the biggest difference when it comes to saturated fat. On the other hand, frying will do the opposite which is why you should try and avoid it, at least for a while. Rapeseed, olive, or sunflower oil are instances of unsaturated oils that are good even for frying.
Fish and nuts will help you keep your weight under control since they contain unsaturated fats. On the other hand, red meats and full-fat dairy won’t be your allies when fighting against those pounds. Speaking of bad fats, trans fats are the ones that should be fully avoided. You can easily check whether the hydrogenated oils are contained in a product if you just read the ingredient list. Doughnuts and baked goods are perfect instances of foods full of trans fats. Because of that, you should avoid these too.
Don’t forget to stay hydrated
Finally, for the perfect health and ideal weight, you need to drink enough water. Whenever you can drink water. Water is the cheapest drink and it’s the best beverage for your health. It’s even better once you compare it to the sugar-sweetened drinks. These can take their toll on your health. You may not even realize it, but you have your intake of the excess calories and sugar each time you have this kind of beverage.
On the other hand, water won’t make you feel bad in any way. It is the best beverage out there. It provides you with energy and strength and it’s the only beverage you couldn’t survive without. If you don’t like the fact that it lacks taste, you can always change that by adding fresh or frozen fruits like berries or herbs such as mint and lavender.
Conclusion
Even though it sometimes seems impossible, keeping your weight under control even during a pandemic is doable. With some strong will, determination, and the right choices, you’ll be able to do everything.