Maintaining during the pandemic
iowalinda
Posts: 357 Member
Anybody else struggling a little to stay on track right now? How are you keeping your spirits and motivation up?
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Replies
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Are you still able to use your regular exercise facilities? My regular gym is closed due to the virus. Other places I've gone to walk (inside) require a mask, which makes it hard to breathe while exerting yourself. Outside walking is dependent on the weather, which has turned cold and rainy here. I find myself feeling anxious and kind of depressed. The weight has been creeping back over the last 4 or so months. I am still in the normal range, but want to get it back under control before it gets out of hand. What are you doing during this trying time?1
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I'm also unable to use my regular gym but I go for a walk every day. If it's cold, I put an extra layer on and if it's raining I put my waterproof jacket on. Getting out, even if it's just a 20 minute brisk walk, helps lift my mood and stops me getting cabin fever.
Food-wise, I mostly avoid having too many snacks in the house so there's limited temptation. My meals tend to be cooked in batch and bagged in portion sizes so there's less chance of me over-eating. I also meal plan ahead and pre-log in MFP at the start of the day so that I know whether I need to walk for longer / have room for a snack. And I make sure I stay hydrated.
It took me 2 years to get to this weight - I reached my goal just before lockdown - and I don't intend to blow it immediately.13 -
"Anybody else struggling a little to stay on track right now?" - It's been harder. Mostly concerns about my family rather than myself.
"How are you keeping your spirits and motivation up?" - Concentrated on my cycling goals which had to be modified a bit (to avoid stops) but were still mostly attainable during lockdown.
"Are you still able to use your regular exercise facilities?" - Yes for outdoors but not indoors for a long time as my gym shut and I realised I just wasn't motivated to workout at home (boring and limited equipment). Accepted that I would lose a little muscle size and strength which I'm reversing now my gym is open again (but in a slightly restrictive way). I only do cardio in the gym when the weather is poor. Masks not required.
I did a fair bit of walking with my wife, I find being outside in the countryside, or even just in the garden, is a great way to raise my spirits/avoid getting down.
I lost weight during lockdown but not as quick as I normally do when I transition from my winter weight to my optimum cycling weight, cancelled events meant I lost some focus as I had no deadline to work towards.
Strange times do IMHO require being a bit more accepting that this year is not normal and trying not to make any compromises would be a hard path to choose. Accepting that I might not be exactly the weight I wanted to be, when I wanted to be, I might not be quite as strong as normal and haven't done the very long rides I normally do have de-stressed the situation. The one thing I wouldn't compromise on is when I hit my upper intervention weight I did intervene and reversed the trend. In reality COVID-19 doesn't mean I have to eat too much!
PS - There seems to be quite a divide between people that see home as being a place of temptation and struggle making weight loss or mainteannce harder and those that see home as an environment that they can control. Constant struggle and long term maintenance aren't really compatible.8 -
I tend to eat junk when I'm bored and stressed, and I am definitely both now. OTOH, I'm not eating out much and we aren't able to do the occasional donut stop at the mini-mart any more, so I am able to resist that sort of temptation a lot easier. Being home all the time means I have control over what we eat. Both DH and I have been very stable in our weights as a result. I may not enjoy resisting temptation, but I am the one in charge of shopping and cooking, so we mostly do. I may want a piece of cake, but I am not likely to go out to a restaurant to get one, and I don't make one very often since that means eating several pieces, not just one. I am running less since I have no races on the near horizon, so burn fewer calories, but we aren't traveling, so I am able to run on a regular schedule, which is good. Long road trips tend to mean days I am too tired to do much exercise and less quality in my meals.1
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I gained 2 lb in the first couple of weeks which was very unusual for me. It woke me up. I lowered my calorie goal to get rid of those two lb and I increased my exercise. I was going to the gym for classes days a week: weights, yoga, zumba, and pilates. I do the same now but with youtube videos and go for walks on the other days (not now due to smoke
). I didn't raise my calorie goal once I lost the 2 lb but let myself have a treat now and then - a takeout meal, a beer on the deck, etc. Plus I have been keeping up on my social life and my volunteer life as best as possible through Zoom and email. So far so good. Just keeping the focus. 5 -
I caught the virus in March. It only lasted about a week, but it made me so hungry. I think my body decided I needed more reserves. Stress uses a lot of energy, so it's no wonder we want quick calories.
I've gained 10 kg in 3 months and then maintained for 3 months so far. I'm almost used to being this weight but I'm right at the top of the Healthy weight range and might be ready to try and lose it again.6 -
I found lots of YouTube videos. I also just walked or jogged in place while watching TV. Since I couldn't go to the gym, I started followed Sydney Cummings daily. I also do step with Karla@fitoutsidethebox. I am able to go to the gym now and lift, but I still cardio at home or run outside.1
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I normally walk an hour a day but the air quality is so bad we have to stay indoors. Also my gym is closed due to Covid. Struggling4
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I used to walk 10K per day in different forested areas, some of which burned.
Now, as several have mentioned the air is unhealthy.
So I’m doing hand weights, resistance bands, yoga YouTube, exercise bike & really active floor mopping 🤣
Hoping our Blue skies will be back soon!
Weight has dropped/maintained since I reduced calories in when I realized I wasn’t going to be able to walk in awhile.2 -
Sorry so many of you are affected by the fires. Hope you are all safe and sound!
As far as the OP's question, I think the COVID shutdown stuff has actually helped me lose the weight. Not as many distractions, couldn't go out and eat/drink, had more time to work out at home and focus on my goals instead of other distractions. For me it was a blessing in disguise. It doesn't stress me out at all. Frustrates me sometimes, but it's given me time to focus on myself that I probably wouldn't have had otherwise!
Life gives you lemons, time to make some lemonade!
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I, too, am so so sorry to those of you dealing with fire and smoke. Sometimes when I feel wound up and angsty, a quick walk around my neighborhood helps me get into more of a self reflective mode vs. a reactionary mode in which reacting to stressors with despair only deepens the stress. I would definitely need some kind of physical exertion as a substitute if I could not go outside. But I know it is not the same as being in nature. You have all my sympathy on that. It's gotta be tough.
Early in the pandemic, there were lots of adjustments as 3 college aged kids came home. I was also provisioning for 4 octogenarian parents (so shopping for 9 and cooking for 5), and some stuff that everyone wanted was just hard to get, e.g. eggs. I was giving my parents food from my pantry and freezer because it was what they wanted and it was just easier to give them ours than to find it for them. It seemed like they were getting by on so little food to start with, I didn't want them to go without or have a long conversation about substitutes or for them to shop behind my back. I ended up losing weight the first couple months because there just wasn't enough (especially protein). I padded meals with more grains but evidently not enough. Eventually I got the hang of buying/cooking more and stuff was easier to get so I returned to my maintenance weight.
My exercise routine didn't change at all, but I've recently hit a setback in my right arm/shoulder. It first struck as a sharp pain when I extended my arm up & back in a couple yoga poses. SHARP pain. It only hurt when I was extending, though. I took a week off weights & yoga. At that point, it hurt when just sitting at rest, but lifting weights didn't hurt at all. Yoga still hurt like a *kitten*, and more poses were hurting, so I decided my time with yoga has come to an end. Now it's disrupting my sleep, and I feel like it's even impairing my ability to do some ADLs. It's SO discouraging to have pain. I feel kinda anxious about it, too. DH is urging me to go to Dr, and since it has worsened over the past month, I guess he's right. Such a bummer. 7 -
I, too, am so so sorry to those of you dealing with fire and smoke. Sometimes when I feel wound up and angsty, a quick walk around my neighborhood helps me get into more of a self reflective mode vs. a reactionary mode in which reacting to stressors with despair only deepens the stress. I would definitely need some kind of physical exertion as a substitute if I could not go outside. But I know it is not the same as being in nature. You have all my sympathy on that. It's gotta be tough.
Early in the pandemic, there were lots of adjustments as 3 college aged kids came home. I was also provisioning for 4 octogenarian parents (so shopping for 9 and cooking for 5), and some stuff that everyone wanted was just hard to get, e.g. eggs. I was giving my parents food from my pantry and freezer because it was what they wanted and it was just easier to give them ours than to find it for them. It seemed like they were getting by on so little food to start with, I didn't want them to go without or have a long conversation about substitutes or for them to shop behind my back. I ended up losing weight the first couple months because there just wasn't enough (especially protein). I padded meals with more grains but evidently not enough. Eventually I got the hang of buying/cooking more and stuff was easier to get so I returned to my maintenance weight.
My exercise routine didn't change at all, but I've recently hit a setback in my right arm/shoulder. It first struck as a sharp pain when I extended my arm up & back in a couple yoga poses. SHARP pain. It only hurt when I was extending, though. I took a week off weights & yoga. At that point, it hurt when just sitting at rest, but lifting weights didn't hurt at all. Yoga still hurt like a *kitten*, and more poses were hurting, so I decided my time with yoga has come to an end. Now it's disrupting my sleep, and I feel like it's even impairing my ability to do some ADLs. It's SO discouraging to have pain. I feel kinda anxious about it, too. DH is urging me to go to Dr, and since it has worsened over the past month, I guess he's right. Such a bummer.
Sorry to hear about your bad shoulder. It sounds like my hip pain and me and running. I'm off to the doctor tomorrow and will probably get an Xray.
I like how the pandemic has let some of us improve our cooking/catering skills.3 -
I lost 14 pounds or so during the pandemic. My son has lost 5. My husband’s gained.
For me I’m exercising more - which I need for mental health as well s maintenance. Just walking 5 miles a day. My husband walking with me but has been snacking too much.
It's changing habits.
I eat my meals like clockwork and snack at 4. We got a subscription veg bad delivered to avoid grocery stores so have tons of fruit.1 -
I, too, am so so sorry to those of you dealing with fire and smoke. Sometimes when I feel wound up and angsty, a quick walk around my neighborhood helps me get into more of a self reflective mode vs. a reactionary mode in which reacting to stressors with despair only deepens the stress. I would definitely need some kind of physical exertion as a substitute if I could not go outside. But I know it is not the same as being in nature. You have all my sympathy on that. It's gotta be tough.
Early in the pandemic, there were lots of adjustments as 3 college aged kids came home. I was also provisioning for 4 octogenarian parents (so shopping for 9 and cooking for 5), and some stuff that everyone wanted was just hard to get, e.g. eggs. I was giving my parents food from my pantry and freezer because it was what they wanted and it was just easier to give them ours than to find it for them. It seemed like they were getting by on so little food to start with, I didn't want them to go without or have a long conversation about substitutes or for them to shop behind my back. I ended up losing weight the first couple months because there just wasn't enough (especially protein). I padded meals with more grains but evidently not enough. Eventually I got the hang of buying/cooking more and stuff was easier to get so I returned to my maintenance weight.
My exercise routine didn't change at all, but I've recently hit a setback in my right arm/shoulder. It first struck as a sharp pain when I extended my arm up & back in a couple yoga poses. SHARP pain. It only hurt when I was extending, though. I took a week off weights & yoga. At that point, it hurt when just sitting at rest, but lifting weights didn't hurt at all. Yoga still hurt like a *kitten*, and more poses were hurting, so I decided my time with yoga has come to an end. Now it's disrupting my sleep, and I feel like it's even impairing my ability to do some ADLs. It's SO discouraging to have pain. I feel kinda anxious about it, too. DH is urging me to go to Dr, and since it has worsened over the past month, I guess he's right. Such a bummer.
Sorry to hear about your bad shoulder. It sounds like my hip pain and me and running. I'm off to the doctor tomorrow and will probably get an Xray.
I like how the pandemic has let some of us improve our cooking/catering skills.
How did things go at the Dr?0 -
Maintaining has been tough with COVID, I did great at the beginning but then developed severe nerve pain from the waist down and can't get effective medical treatment as my insurance is denying everything so I'm stuck going to the ER for help. I'd gone to YouTube videos for working out and went from low impact to now I can only do arm cardio, upper and ab strengthening, and stretching. It sucks and it makes my pain worse but I spend the rest of the day with my legs elevated so the pain doesn't get worse and I'd go absolutely insane if I didn't burn out some energy. It's not about motivation at all, it's habit and not wanting my body to crash even more than it already has as in 6 months all of my body systems are having issues so I'm desperately doing all I can through diet, light exercise, and spiritually to hang in there and keep my body from getting worse while I fight my lousy insurance. I was bedridden before and am close to that now so it makes me even more determined not to go 100% back to how I was after I changed my life. I struggle when my pain levels hit fight-or-flight, when it feels like you're dying you don't really care about calories very much and stuffing your face takes your mind partially off the pain for a few minutes but I always feel lousy the next morning. Luckily I was too thin at goal weight and would like to lose 7lbs but am trying not to be too hard on myself until I get medical treatment plus I feel my body needs me to roughly maintain to get nutrients to help inflammation. Aside of all that I see my family when I can and started dating someone from high school so he comes and stays with me when he can then my college classes are through Zoom (hate it!).
The 25th was my year maintenance and year from going off Metformin for diabetes, it was hard to celebrate doing so much worse physically than I was a year ago but even with a little extra weight on me I'm better than when I started. Hang in there!7 -
I'm one of those lucky introverts who has discovered the utter joy of working from home for the first time in my life. I function very well on structure, and working from home and having few outings has allowed me to be extremely consistent and find the structure that works best for me. (I have access to my kitchen and appliances at all times for healthy meals, I can easily change and shower for a lunchtime workout, I can flex my hours and take that 10am Dance Cardio class, I can walk during many meetings to stay active, etc.)
I lost the last ~18 pounds to get to goal weight from the end of March until the end of August, and for the first time ever, I'm a month into maintenance. (In the past, I often approached goal in time for a vacation or major event, got all out of routine on said (awesome) vacation, and then kept gaining weight until I started the cycle all over again.)
I've been keeping myself engaged by trying out a variety of different live Zoom exercise classes as well as a variety of videos, signing up for virtual races (not the same as live ones, but still giving me goals to shoot for), and investing in a new Fitbit (this one with a HR monitor) so that I could focus on some non-weight health & fitness measures. I've also been trying to participate in a variety of spiritual/educational classes and workshops (meditation, Kundalini yoga, stress reduction, life hacks, etc.). I've always enjoyed working out alone, so that hasn't changed my routine much.
Big hugs to everyone who is struggling. I really hope you find solutions that work for you, that your health improves, and that the world recovers from all the turmoil that it's in from so many sources.12 -
I didn’t start really struggling until wildfire smoke forced me to stay inside with all the windows shut. I could have exercised inside but the horrible skies were so oppressive and dystopian. I felt depressed because until then my husband and I had been enjoying hiking several times a week. Now I had to wear a mask just to take out the garbage. There was no escape. The entire West was burning. I was also really worried that another fire would start nearby and we’d get evacuated again. I didn’t exercise and buried myself in books and TV, with LOTS of snacking, especially after dinner. Thank goodness that’s over, but now I’m up several pounds. I bought a spin bike and a step, and just signed up for Studio Sweat on Demand for spin classes. I also have a weight workout I do at home, even though it’s just light weights and bodyweight resistance. My gym was actually allowed to reopen but it’s one of those 24-hour unstaffed “box” gyms, and I’m not going in there. I actually cancelled my membership.4
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I guesstimate I've lost a few pounds since March. I've not weighed myself in over 2 years but my clothes are looser and my loose skin (the aftermath of a 90lb weight 6 years ago) is more wrinkly and pliable! I'm exercising more (walking) and I'm eating one snack less a day due to getting up later and not having breakfast and a tea break at work.1
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the gyms here were shut for 41 days. i decided that i would use that time to let my body rest. i stopped taking all my supplements and relaxed my diet. i didnt gain any real weight but i did loose 90% of my muscle tone. that upset me as it was hard earned. i have spent the last two and a half months trying to get it back. im on a good cut now and am actually looking better than i have in years. so i guess im all good for the moment.3
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@evilokc That's the way you do it. Muscles are everything and supplements ain't free. I take my daily vitamin with a dose of reality. Think Dire Straits here.0
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Diatonic12 wrote: »@evilokc That's the way you do it. Muscles are everything and supplements ain't free. I take my daily vitamin with a dose of reality. Think Dire Straits here.
I very much enjoy this fitness take on Knopfler's genius0 -
I have struggled.
- January 2019, I was five feet tall and 86.6 kg - very overweight
- latter part of 2019, after working very hard I got myself down to 54-55kg ... losing 32-36kg, getting to around a size 8 - 10 after having been a size 16 / size 18 for the last 20 years or so
- end of 2019 / beginning of 2020, we had the bushfires in Australia and extremely bad toxic smoke in Canberra, making it hard to exercise. I managed to maintain more or less, but it was hard.
Alas, during lockdown and the latest holiday season, I've struggled to maintain and am currently on 60-61kg which is a fairly significant weight gain .. I guess around 13 pounds? My clothing size is now around 10-12.
I am still doing a tonne of exercise - cardio in the morning and lots of walking. The problem is that I'm just eating more than I should and not having a deficit. I know exactly what I need to do, I know what I need to eat and what I should not eat - it's a self-control issue. The danger time is the evenings - I'm really good in the mornings and afternoons and early evenings, but then I snack in the evening and destroy whatever deficit I've accrued during the day with exercise. I make excuses for myself - that it's been a stressful year, dealing with a lot of stuff. But I think I need to get a grip.
So as of today, I've gone back into MFP and 'reset' it in the sense that rather than saying starting weight 86.6 kg and goal weight 54-55kg, I've said my starting weight is my current weight of 61.7 kg and I'm starting again from today. I think leaving my original weight in there was lulling me into a false sense of complacency.
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koalathebear wrote: »I have struggled.
- January 2019, I was five feet tall and 86.6 kg - very overweight
- latter part of 2019, after working very hard I got myself down to 54-55kg ... losing 32-36kg, getting to around a size 8 - 10 after having been a size 16 / size 18 for the last 20 years or so
- end of 2019 / beginning of 2020, we had the bushfires in Australia and extremely bad toxic smoke in Canberra, making it hard to exercise. I managed to maintain more or less, but it was hard.
Alas, during lockdown and the latest holiday season, I've struggled to maintain and am currently on 60-61kg which is a fairly significant weight gain .. I guess around 13 pounds? My clothing size is now around 10-12.
I am still doing a tonne of exercise - cardio in the morning and lots of walking. The problem is that I'm just eating more than I should and not having a deficit. I know exactly what I need to do, I know what I need to eat and what I should not eat - it's a self-control issue. The danger time is the evenings - I'm really good in the mornings and afternoons and early evenings, but then I snack in the evening and destroy whatever deficit I've accrued during the day with exercise. I make excuses for myself - that it's been a stressful year, dealing with a lot of stuff. But I think I need to get a grip.
So as of today, I've gone back into MFP and 'reset' it in the sense that rather than saying starting weight 86.6 kg and goal weight 54-55kg, I've said my starting weight is my current weight of 61.7 kg and I'm starting again from today. I think leaving my original weight in there was lulling me into a false sense of complacency.
The lockdowns are emotionally hard on all of us. You are not alone. I think the average person has gained 15 pounds. There are the fortunate ones who actually used the time to get into shape..while the rest of us were losing ours. It sounds like you're getting it together.. the motivation. you have to stay on track is working during the day. I wonder if there is a trigger of a routine that you're doing in the evenings that leads to overeating. Maybe sitting down to watch t.v.? Maybe shake up your routine...see if that flips a switch.
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The irony for me anyway, I 'needed' the non-stop seemingly never-ending series of lockdowns to be able to lose weight. Last march I weighed 290 lbs at 5.8 fairly obese with all the usual stuff high blood pressure feeling fat and just really bad overall. Then the first lockdown happened. My job suspended, feeling sorry for myself, nothing to do really, I was kind of forced to do something that makes sense, to keep my sanity. Before I was never really able to focus on my overall health I was just too busy. So i got a bike, some home exercise equipment the gym being closed, and started to go for it. Changed my diet as well. Nine months later, a total financial disaster barely able to pay my bills, but I have lost at present 90 pounds. Feeling better, my sanity intact-hopefully-,high blood pressure gone. So I have mixed feelings TBH, on one hand my job is F-d dont even know when I will be able to get back to normal, on the other hand I never felt better when it comes to health.12
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elisa123gal wrote: »koalathebear wrote: »The lockdowns are emotionally hard on all of us. You are not alone. I think the average person has gained 15 pounds. There are the fortunate ones who actually used the time to get into shape..while the rest of us were losing ours. It sounds like you're getting it together.. the motivation. you have to stay on track is working during the day. I wonder if there is a trigger of a routine that you're doing in the evenings that leads to overeating. Maybe sitting down to watch t.v.? Maybe shake up your routine...see if that flips a switch.
The thing is, I've managed to do cardio and walking every day during the pandemic because I'm lucky to live in Canberra which is low density so even during the worst of COVID, we could still go for walks and do our own exercise - although gyms closed down etc.
My night time routine is just that I start getting peckish for snacks (potato crisps, chocolate, biscuits etc at night) so I need to either find another snack or spread out my eating during the day so that I allocate snack budget towards the night. This happens regardless of whether I'm at my computer or doing puzzles in the kitchen - but now that I'm being very conscious about it, I am resisting the urge to go over-budget.
The second issue is that for me my maintenance calorie budget (without exercise calories) is 1300 calories a day and my weight loss budget is 1200 (without exercise calories). I have found over the last year that exercise calories can be a bit misleading and make me think I can eat more. Even if I exercise like a demon and earn a tonne of exercise calories that give me a exercise-created deficit, it sort of loses effectiveness if I eat beyond 1600/1700 calories in a day. If I eat 1200 - 1400 and maintain a modest deficit it's far more effective at losing weight than if I eat 1600/1700 and have a calorie budget of 500+ The occasional day of exceeding 1500 is totally fine - it's if I go for a few days of high calorie intake - exercise doesn't seem to be able to offset it much.
So for my body at least, it seems that I can really only create a calorie deficit with exercise to a point. The other frustrating thing for me is that I'm so short that it's so easy for me to tip into the overweight category.
As you have said - I'm taking steps to rectify my slide and I do know what I need to do and I have done it before - I just have to stay strong
Thanks for listening.0 -
I was able to reach my goal weight during the pandemic. Rather than focusing on the pandemic I focused on my weight loss. My gym closed so I found work out videos and have been buying dumb bells and when weather permits go for walks and bike rides. My regular cardio class that I used to do at the gym now meets during its regularly scheduled times over zoom. To limit our exposure we have done more meal planning so we only need to go to the grocery store once a week. I've really embraced low-carb cooking and baking.0
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Yes! I'm getting pretty good at exercising outdoors, on my bike trainer, and with my meager weight set. But, I'm missing swimming!0
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My gym has reopened and I am going to aquafit classes and power circuit now, but last summer the gym was shut and it was too hot to exercise outdoors. We bough a VR set up and I do PowerBeatsVR and BoxVR, both get the heart rate up and it is a lot of fun.0
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I think it was my mindset. I gained 20 lbs from March of last year to the beginning of this year. I slowly started letting myself eat stuff I shouldn't - in amounts that I shouldn't. I finally had a wake-up call when none of my goal-weight clothes would fit me any longer. Glad to say that I was able to reverse the weight gain and am back at my goal weight. So glad I didn't let it get further out of contol.2
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