The emergence of COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the health and diets of many people across the globe. The resulting lockdown has made people adopt unhealthy eating habits and rediscover the joy of simple pleasures such as drawing rainbows and jigsaw puzzles. Having been cooped up at home, rewarding ourselves with standby snacks for a hard day of working at home, homeschooling and looking after kids has enhanced weight gain.
Reduced activity levels, increased intake of alcohol and comfort-eating habits have left about half of Britons heavier than they were during the beginning of this year. If you have been a victim, you don’t have to worry. You can turn this around and trim down by just following a healthy plan to get you into your best shape. Since pandemic stress has taken a heavy toll on many, you could start by taking measures to manage stress and anxiety levels.
As the lockdown measures continue, it’s a good time to begin transitioning eating habits to something that resembles a healthy diet. Remember your ‘New Year’s resolution’ to lose weight and eat healthily? Perhaps it’s time execute it. You could start with small steps and improve gradually. Yes, this means no more nightly G&Ts or cakes for breakfast.
Tips to help you with safe and effective lockdown weight loss:
- Stop snacking
The biggest portion of weight gain is caused by those devilishly good snacks that are hard to resist. During the lockdown period, reaching out for these snacks has been a by-product of being bored. It’s important to get a grip on your snacking and switch up your routine. You could go for a walk, or do anything to avoid boredom.
Also, ensure that your meals have a nutritional balance of carbohydrates, essential fats and protein. Products that contain high-quality, natural ingredients such as yoghurt, soya and honey (rich in enzymes) with added minerals and vitamins could also help. This unique blend is protein-packed, full of essential nutrients, and filling, to provide optimum nutrition to your body – so you won’t feel the need to snack or look for sustenance elsewhere. This will be an effective move that will help you with lockdown weight loss.
- Boost your metabolism
When your body metabolism is working in order, your body gets more energy to move while burning calories more effectively. Drinking more water and eating protein-rich meals boosts body metabolism. For a healthy, sustainable weight loss, you could try meal-replacement shakes that are packed with essential minerals, antioxidants and vitamins. These can be used to replace any meal of the day when combined with a veg-rich, calorie-controlled diet.
Here are some foods you need to include in your diet plan to help with lockdown weight loss:
- Grapefruits – Grapefruit is packed with vitamin C, a great immune booster. Research has established that overweight people lose more weight when they include grapefruit in their diet. This is because this sharp-tasting fruit lowers the output of insulin, which is a fat-storage hormone. The fruit also curbs appetite, which results in weight loss.
- Peppers –Peppers are a great source of beta-carotene, a health-boosting nutrient. Some sweet peppers have a heating (mild thermogenic) action that boosts metabolism, which encourages the body to burn more calories to enhance weight loss.
- Broccoli –Broccoli has high chromium content that helps the pancreas to stabilise the release of insulin. This helps to control the fluctuation of blood sugar levels that cause food cravings and bingeing. Broccoli also contains antioxidants that help your body to fight off illnesses.
- Spinach –Spinach is a great source of antioxidant beta-carotene and vitamin C. It also contains thylakoid, a unique plant membrane that has been proved to reduce cravings for junk foods.
- Salmon –Salmon is a great source of the protein leptin, which helps to control the appetite to overeat.
It’s clear that when you’re surrounded by temptation at home, avoiding junk foods is key to helping you stay on course with your weight loss plans. Always endeavour to consume foods that will not leave you hungry all day. Some solid options that will keep you full at every meal include:
- Fibre (fruit, vegetables and whole grains)
- Protein (chicken, seafood and lean meat)
- Healthy fats (canola oil, nuts and olive oil)
Losing weight is not always a quick and straightforward journey. It should always be a linear process. Rather than fast weight loss and quick-fix diets, you should instead think of general lifestyle and diet changes that could take time. The bottom line is adopting healthy habits and making small lifestyle changes over time to help you with lockdown weight loss in a healthy, sustainable and enjoyable way.