Did COVID kick you into fitness?

Allot of people have started to keep fit, eat better and take up a healthy lifestyle because of COVID.

Mine was a mixture of COVID and an old photo…..what was yours?

Replies

  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
    no. i joined MFP in 2012, got serious in 2015. lost 189 pounds. i actually gained back a few pounds during covid but it had nothing to do with covid, but rather a deep depression (also not covid related) but have since lost that.
  • EMc8800
    EMc8800 Posts: 15 Member
    I think COVID has brought on stress and anxiety, if not through the virus itself but through other worries associated with it. I myself have a clearer mind, less depression and anxiety when I exercise and on top of that I look and feel better.

    It’s hard motivating myself daily to hit the gym or the road, eat well and stay focussed but I feel that without it life would be allot more of a struggle.

  • laurad1978
    laurad1978 Posts: 22 Member
    Working from home as a result of covid allowed me a work life balance I had never experienced before. I used to commute 15 hours a week and I've directly transferred these hours to exercise. Also, as I'm in the house all day I'm not eating out and have a much healthier diet. I think this is the first time in 30 years that I'm a healthy BMI.
    I'm nervous of things returning to normal and slowly going back but I've had my work contract amended to be remote working. I hope as a society we keep some of the positives from Covid.
    Also on a separate note I have found covid even through extensive lockdowns here in Ireland to be more social than previous - OK so it's not nights out but I meet friends far more regularly now for walks and other activities - previously we just didn't have the time.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,724 Member
    EMc8800 wrote: »
    Allot of people have started to keep fit, eat better and take up a healthy lifestyle because of COVID.

    Mine was a mixture of COVID and an old photo…..what was yours?

    To the extent that COVID has people pursuing better health practices, that's great . . . but I sure see a lot of "joke" memes about getting fat, overeating because of stress, not fitting in one's work clothes after not having to go the office for months, drinking more alcohol, etc. That makes me think there's a counter-current to pursuing health during the pandemic, though I have know way to know the proportions of people involved.

    I started to be active after cancer treatment in my mid-40s, after sedentary/overweight prior decades that probably contributed to my getting that cancer in the first place. After treatment, I realized that if I ever wanted to feel strong, energetic, healthy and happy again, I was going to have to work at it. From there, I gradually increased exercise activity, with big positive results for my quality of life within a few years. I became the near-mythical pretty-fit fat person: Low resting heart rate, good cardiovascular performance; even some age-group race medals.

    I still stayed overweight/obese for another dozen years or so, until I was 59; at the point, I couldn't delude myself any longer that my very active exercise schedule was enough for health. My blood pressure was borderline high, my cholesterol/triglycerides very high, and then - as a sort of last straw to convince me - I had gallbladder adenomyomatosis, a thing that's neither stones nor sludge, but can be associated with gallbladder cancer. When they removed it, the pathology report revealed that it was an ugly, thickened thing, cholesterolized, with actual holes in it. (No malignancy, fortunately.)

    By the time of the surgery, I'd started losing weight. That reinforced the need. In just under a year, O lost from class 1 obese to a healthy weight (at age 60), and have stayed at a healthy weight since (now 65), keeping about the same activity/exercise habits throughout.

    Getting active was a big quality of life improvement. So was reaching a healthy weight. Doing either is better than neither IMO (and they're more distinct than many people believe, think). Doing both is pretty excellent, IMO - very worthwhile.

    For me, the pandemic made it easier for me to lose a few pounds within the healthy range, because there were fewer restaurant and social temptations. That's about it.
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    That's really interesting @MaltedTea, thank you for sharing that. And it looks like I scored higher than your average boomer. :)
    But notice the difference with parents and essential workers. I've got to think so much of that, especially with essential workers, was stress driven eating. :(

    (Way off topic here but A former daycare mom shared on FB the other day, a whole bunch of different foods and goodies she'd brought in to the ER department of the hospital where she works. Such a sweet thoughtful thing for her to do that I hope many people are doing now, in appreciation of our essential workers who have endured this crisis.)
  • ljashley1952
    ljashley1952 Posts: 273 Member
    Nope, Covid added 15 extra pounds, but I'm am committed to losing them now and have made good progress. Plus, I needed to lose 15 pounds before Covid. So I have my work cut out for me. I just had to get into the right mindset and do it!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    I lost weight and got into fitness in 2013 and was kicking *kitten* for years before COVID hit. It actually took me out of the game. Gyms closed, no cycling events or races, some of my favorite cycling paths and trails closed, etc. Put on about 20 Lbs.