It's not just you, lots of us have struggled with putting on the "Quarantine 19"-those unwanted pounds adding on while staying at home during the pandemic. Comfort foods, constant access to snacks, and Grub Hub all contribute to our higher calories consumption lately. So what can you do about it? Here are my 4 top tips for losing that COVID weight gain.
Know your Calorie Intake!
It's easy to make cookies and then eat six of them and not keep track of how many calories you are consuming. Hey, it was a family movie night, right? But the only way to lose weight is to be in a deficit of calories and that won't happen unless you know how many calories you're consuming. Here's what I do to be in charge of my calorie intake.
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Use a tracker like MyFitnessPal to track how many calories and macronutrients you eat a day. To learn more about macronutrients and how much you should eat in a day, check out my free Macro 101 guide and macro calculator here.
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Make sure you are weighing and measuring your foods to know actually how much you are getting.
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Cut back on all of the heavy dressings and sauces. These can add hundreds of extra calories a day.
Drink more water.
It sounds easy, but like with food, many people don't know how much water they're getting in a day unless they track it. Besides staying hydrated, studies show drinking 17oz of water in an hour can increase your metabolic rate by as much as 30% for the next 30-40mins. Water also:
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Improves your mental clarity and mood.
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Makes your workouts more effective and energizes your muscles.
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Can help you control calories. Often when we think we are hungry we are thirsty. Water makes you feel full.
You should be drinking at least half of your body weight in ounces each day (at a minimum!). Seem impossible? These are my tricks!
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Take 10 gulps every time you drink.
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Set alarms to remind yourself to drink.
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I like a big ass water bottle.
Do more strength training.
The best fitness routine is a combination of strength training and cardio. They both have their uses. Strength training overall is going to be the BEST for long term fat loss. Why is that? Sixty percent of your daily calories burned comes from your Basal Metabolic Rate-WHICH IS A LOT! The more strength training you do, the more muscle you build. The more muscle you build, the faster your metabolism is going to be and the more calories you are going to burn at rest (Basal Metabolic Rate).
Cardio burns calories while you exercise, but not after. When you do too much cardio, you are teaching your body to become more efficient with calories and in turn, slow down your metabolism. To maximize your results, do strength training, and use cardio as a boost when needed.
Get your MIND right.
Create the belief that you CAN do this and develop the habit of self-integrity. Start with one change you can do right now towards your goal. Pick ONE thing. Make that your daily promise to yourself. That daily promise can be an intentional movement for 15 minutes, getting a certain amount of water in, or tracking your food. You can pick any one real thing. When you accomplish that thing every day, it's going to help you move forward.
Commit yourself happen each day, NO MATTER WHAT! It's your integrity. Each day you do it you will build belief that you CAN do this. Each day you do it, you are creating self-integrity which is what you need to create these changes. After this one commitment becomes a solid promise, stack another promise on top of it.
By monitoring your calorie intake, drinking more water, incorporating strength training, and getting your mind right, you will see those COVID pounds start to disappear. Will it happen in a day? In a week? Of course not. But if you stay committed to yourself and the work, you will find yourself making steady progress towards your goal.
This guest post was authored by Rachel Pastor
Ms. Career Girl was started in 2008 to help ambitious young professional women figure out who they are, what they want and how to get it.
