How Not to Get Overweight During Quarantine

February 12, 2021

A shifted schedule, erratic food and a couple of extra pounds. How to prevent this scenario and learn how to use quarantine to your advantage? Today the editorial team of The Fashiongton Post will share with you all the subtleties and secrets of how not to gain weight during the quarantine.

Quarantine diet

Why do we start eating more in quarantine?

Boredom, anxiety and stress — these three factors are the source of increased appetite. Food is one of the easily accessible ways to delight and pamper yourself. The anxiety and tension that we now have in our lives causes a lingering release of cortisol. This hormone directly affects our appetite and the process of fat deposition, so we constantly want starchy foods and more carbohydrates. To prevent overeating, you need to understand why it happens. If boredom is the reason — then you should sit down and write a list of 30 favorite activities that exclude the absorption of food. And if it’s because of the stress and anxiety — you need to learn how to calm yourself down by other means, because food gives you a feeling of comfort just for a very short period of time.

Quarantine diet

What is important to remember before every meal?

Very often we think of “What will I cook today?”, which takes up our time and energy. It’s much better to sit down and sketch out a rough menu for the next week, for example. This will make it much easier for you to prepare and plan the right diet. The list must include protein, vegetables, healthy carbohydrates. This approach will save you from snacking on sandwiches.

Quarantine diet

Is there a universal rule not to get fat?

The “healthy plate” rule: when a quarter of our plate is the protein, another quarter has healthy carbohydrates (buckwheat, barley porridge, legumes), and half of the plate includes vegetables. Fruits, dairy products and nuts can be used for a dessert.

Quarantine diet

How to get back to normal diet after quarantine?

The main piece of advice will be that you do not have to wait until the end of the quarantine to get back to normal nutrition. Quarantine is a long period of time, it is not one or two weeks, so we need to learn to live our usual life during quarantine, with the same schedule and diet. On the contrary, there’s an opportunity to improve nutrition and make it even better. Home-cooked food is always more dietary and more natural. Now is the time to expand the usual diet and try something new and useful. If you still haven’t gotten into your normal eating pattern during quarantine, it’s high time to start!

Quarantine diet