7 Effective Ways To Maintain Your Weight During The Lockdown

Apart from the fear and panic caused by the pandemic, the reality of the lockdown is just beginning to dawn on Nigerians and concerns about this varies.

They range from conspiracy theories to the ignorance about the true nature of the virus and then the fear of the unknown.

However, apart from the scare that comes with the COVID-19, regular daily problems persist.

One of such major concern is weight gain for people who aren’t big on exercise on regular days and the fear of coming out of this lockdown two to three sizes bigger.

Below are five effective ways to maintain your weight during the lockdown without necessarily exercising.

Intermittent fasting
THIS IS NOT A DIET! It is a pattern of eating where you schedule meals to get the most out of them, that is, you cycle between the period of eating and fasting. It also means stalling a bit on how early you eat and how early you stop eating. To engage, try not to eat before 11 am and after 6:30 pm. This way you eat less than you eat regularly. If you must eat after 6: 30 pm, do fruit.

Drink a lot of water
Water! Water is essential to weight maintenance and weight loss. It helps boost your metabolism, double as an appetite suppressant so you eat less and it keeps you hydrated. You don’t want to joke with being hydrated at this time. Also, drinking lots of water helps reduce the amount of water your body retains.

Sharpen your cooking skills
This is the best time to boost your cooking skills. Studies show that people who understand how to prepare meals and make different kinds of dishes are likely to eat more nutritious meals. Now is the time to cut down on our rice and bread intake. Learn to make healthy meals with available resources such as the internet or your favourite family chef.

Portion control
Lesson 101 of weight loss and maintenance is portion control. Eat whatever but in the right portion, that way you don’t feel like you’re on a diet, but you are cutting calories. Eating two “hungry man-size” noodles at a time will probably cause you more harm than good. You could reduce that to one regular size and add veggies and protein. Another trick is to serve food in smaller plates. Thank me later *wink*

Online challenge
Yup! This one is as important; you know those online challenges where you have to dance to a song on TikTok or make a thriller video? Yes, that one. It takes a couple of trials before you get the perfect video for the gram (Instagram). It is also a form of physical activity so go ahead and participate for your weight sake.

Snack on fruit
Fruits are usually high on fibre and nutrients and low in calories, it then makes sense to snack on fruits. If you’re the type that is big on Netflix and Chills [and I mean the literal Chills], then I can only mourn for all the consumed wraps of chocolate bars and salty snacks. You should change that. Snack on fruit, and let us celebrate apples, bananas, and sweet mangoes instead.

Get more sleep
Well, sleep is most likely 50% of what we do now, so this is not a part of it. Consider it a bonus for when you get back to your active life, a minimum of 8 hours of sleep is required.

Say NO to sugary beverages
This means no carbonated drink of any kind. Choose water instead. Since we have a lot of time, you can make your natural juice. SAY NO TO SUGAR!

Finally, this is not to say you shouldn’t exercise. Please do if you can; fitness is life but I also understand if you don’t have the motivation at this time. I recommend a combination of all the above for the best result.