5 Tips to Lose the Pandemic Weight
The scientists who study this kind of stuff tell us 61% of us gained weight during the past pandemic year, an average of 29 pounds per person. And 10% of us gained more than 50 pounds. Ouch.
Time to take off those pounds! Of course our biggest tip is to start a new PWM plan, where you'll get the weekly guidance you need to stick to your commitment, but that's easy. Here are the five more tips:
1) Get a scale. Not the kind you stand on, but the smaller kind that sits on your kitchen counter. While we often say a 3 ounce serving of chicken is about the size of a deck of cards, depending on that visual leaves a lot of wiggle room on nutrition and can leave you either with too many calories or too little protein. A kitchen scale puts the power of your plan back into your hands for fewer surprises at your weekly weigh-in.
You can spend a fortune on a high-tech scale but a simple one will do. Like the Etekcity Food Kitchen Scale, only $12.99 right now at Bed, Bath & Beyond. With a 4.5 rating from more than 72,000 Amazon reviews, it sounds like a good bet.
2) Breathe. Deep breathing really helps to reduce stress, one of the biggest contributors to overeating. There’s even scientific evidence that deep breathing can help you lose weight. An eight week study revealed that regular breathing exercises—45 minutes daily at least three times weekly—resulted in significantly reduced body weight and BMI.
3) Get a Fit Bit. Or an Apple Watch. They not only can prompt you to move your body, track your exercise, and even provide a soundtrack to keep you moving, but some can even prompt you to remember to breathe. Even in an MRI when you’re supposed to be remaining perfectly still and your Apple Watch keeps buzzing to tell you to take a breath. Ask Tammi how we know that.
Like the scales, smart watch pricing ranges from affordable to oh-my-goodness high. We found the Fitbit Inspire 2 with 24/7 heart rate, active zone minutes, and activity and sleep tracking on sale (as of this writing) at Best Buy for $69.95.
4) Do your grocery shopping online. One of the few bright spots of the pandemic were the expanding opportunities to do our grocery shopping from our couch, with quick and easy pick-up. And one of the biggest advantages of online grocery shopping is the way it eliminates impulse buying. No more seduction on the bakery aisle. No more high calorie, processed food shelved temptingly at eye level. No more candy bars at the check-out lane. You can even check nutrition labels before tossing your selection in the virtual cart.
Plan your weekly menus and buy your needed ingredients online so you’re prepared for a full week of healthy meals.
5) Out with stress! Seriously--get outside. There are so many benefits to walking, hiking or biking, and outdoor activities are worth it even if all they do is get you away from the fridge. We found some cool activities sponsored by our local parks:
Springfield-Greene County:
Gigs in the Garden Concerts. Enjoy live music at the Springfield Botanical Gardens' Peace Through People Pavilion at 2pm Sundays on May 2, 9, 16 and 23. Bring your own lawn chairs or blankets (can we count carrying lawn chairs as exercise?). Concerts are free but a $10 donation is welcome.
Bike, Walk & Wheel Week. Plan to use an active mode at of transportation to work at least once the week of May 8-16, whether it's biking, walking, rolling, taking the bus or any combination. Tag photos with #BikeWalkWheelWeekSGF and #OzarkGreenways to be entered into prize drawings. Learn more at OzarkGreenways.org.
Branson AquaPlex:
It may seem a bit cool now, but Branson's 12,250 square foot aquatic park opens Memorial Day Weekend. Adult features include:
Eight lanes for lap swimming
Diving Well
Aquatic Climbing Wall