Well none of us saw this coming, none. Gyms, schools, parks, and recreational places are all closed. As of June 1, 2020, some stores have reopened and government officials are slowly lifting restrictions in phases. The sad part? People are putting on weight!

Researchers say it’s too soon to say for sure how widespread the weight gain really is. William Dietz, MD, PhD, chair of the Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, says staying indoors means most people are less active, and many are eating more ultra-processed foods than they might otherwise. Add the anxiety that comes with a deadly pandemic, and you’ve got an ideal situation for weight gain, he says.

In a poll of more than 1,000 U.S. readers of WebMD, nearly half of the women and almost one-quarter of the men said they’d gained weight “due to COVID restrictions.” A separate poll of 900 international readers found more than half of men and about a third of women reporting weight gain.

In the last 30 days, more than half a million Facebook users have engaged with terms around quarantine weight gain, including quarantine 15 and #quarantineweight gain.

The Quarantine Diet: More Sugar, Carbs, Alcohol

Some data show that people are eating more foods that may contribute to weight gain. Website Lose It! reported a 266% increase in candy eating in the last 2 weeks of March, compared to February, among its 1.4 million monthly active members, along with an increase in eating carb-heavy foods like bread (54%) and noodles (36%). Data provided by WW (formerly Weight Watchers) shows their members are using the app to record they’re using and consuming almost 40% more baking ingredients like flour than they did before the lockdown.

How to Regain Control

Nobody knows when COVID-19 lockdowns will end for good. So if this is going to be the new normal, how can you rebuild some of the healthy habits that went with the old normal?

 

  • Change the narrative. “Instead of thinking about the ‘Quarantine 15,’ look at this as an opportunity to lose weight,” says Kirkpatrick. “Do you throw your arms up and say, ‘This stinks and I'm going to give up?’ Or do you say, ‘This is a huge opportunity for change, and I'm going to rise to the occasion? I'm going to be healthier and live longer because of what we're going through now.’”
  • Adjust your setup. Get your office out of the kitchen, Kirkpatrick says. “If you must be near food while working, set a schedule for yourself, like you can’t open the fridge before 10. Give yourself the structure you’d have in a normal workday.”
  • Focus on easy meals. Even though we’re not going out, this new life feels exhausting. At the end of a long day, it may seem easier to just get takeout. But getting a simple, healthy meal on the table doesn’t have to take a long time or effort. A pot of whole-grain pasta topped with a good-quality jarred sauce can be on the table in less than half an hour. An omelet stuffed with garlicky sautéed mushrooms can be ready even sooner.
  • Shop smarter. Stock up on inexpensive staples like canned beans and tomatoes, whole grains, and frozen vegetables. And before you head out, think about what you’d like to eat for the next 2 weeks and write up a list. Include the snacks you want on the list, and stick to it, to avoid comfort-food impulse buys.
  • Try meal planning. Living in quarantine means you can’t just run out to the store if you’re missing an ingredient. Instead, look at what you have on hand ahead of time and build meals around it.
  • Step outside. You don’t need a daily 6-mile hike with your family to improve your health. “We have studies showing that even 20 minutes in nature reduces cortisol, which can help with eating habits,” says Kirkpatrick. And it doesn’t even have to be 20 minutes. “When you feel like you want to go and just eat the entire fridge, go outside for 10 minutes, go on your deck, go in your front yard, whatever the case may be, but give yourself a diversion from the food.”
  • Get some help. If you don’t feel like you can get things under control on your own, a single telemedicine consult with a dietitian might help. “Every approach needs to be individualized,” Kirkpatrick says. “That can really make someone more likely to succeed.”

Above all, Kirkpatrick says, we should assume that some version of our lockdown lifestyle will continue for a while. “I tell my patients to adjust to the current environment in a positive manner so that when we go back to ‘normal,’ be it 3 months or 3 years from now, we emerge healthier.”

 

Source: Excerpts of this article was taken verbatim from WebMD: https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200521/quarantine-weight-gain-not-a-joking-matter which was written by Debbie Koenig