Think Before You Eat It!

Your scale weight cannot tell if you are skinny fat or not. This popular term describes a medical condition of someone who is metabolically obese with high fat mass and low muscle mass. So, you need to measure your percentage of body fat rather than focus on your total weight when you step on the scale. Metabolically unhealthy individuals that appear to be skinny fat but who are not obese can fall victim to the same diagnostic markers as diabetics as well as those with high blood pressure, low good cholesterol with high triglycerides, and ongoing problems with inflammation that increases cardiovascular risks. Although carbohydrates and other high-calorie foods are great for fueling the body, if those sources of energy are not used through physical activities and exercise, your body stores the excess as fat.

Tips for Improving a Skinny Fat Appearance

Since it took several months for you to pack on the pandemic pounds, you should aim for a healthy, sustainable rate of weight loss with no more than one or two pounds per week. Listed below are tips included in many evidence-based programs, such as:

• Drink More Water - As soon as you wake up, start your day with a glass of lemon water and honey to rejuvenate your body, cleanse some of the toxins, and rev up your metabolism. It is a nourishing alkaline superstar and your body will look forward to early morning hydration.
• Fast Between Meals - Your body is built to feast and fast. The digestive process triggers your pancreas to release insulin hormone that the body uses to process blood sugar and store excess energy as glucose in fat cells. Fasting signals the body to start burning stored fat for fuel.
• Think Before You Eat It - Ask yourself whether you are truly hungry or eating to fulfill another need, such as stress or boredom. Mindless eating is one of the quickest ways to consume more calories than you thought, which might explain why your clothes are feeling a bit snug.
• Front Load Your Meals - Studies suggest that front loading calories early in the day seems to jump start your metabolism and may help prevent obesity. Try starting off with a healthy breakfast, try not to snack between meals, and taper off with a smaller diner meal.
• Keep a Positive Mindset - To get your mindset ready to shed pandemic weight gain, observe which habits are detrimental to losing newly acquired fat deposits. Restoring the same behaviors you followed before the lockdown will put you on track for losing weight and keeping it off.

If you want to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic as healthy and fit as when it started, you need to start doing everything you can to live your life with the same commitment you had before it started.

Metabolic Research Center Can Jump Start Your Efforts

Although it might sound insensitive to worry about a little weight gain while others are getting sick or dying from the coronavirus, we all have a responsibility to keep ourselves as healthy as possible during the pandemic. A big part of remaining healthy is to avoid the temptation of stress eating, sticking with healthy food choices, and replacing gym time with an at-home exercise regimen, taking a daily walk, and not focusing on the crisis. Instead of trying to fix the world, concentrate on making your world better. If you constantly find yourself starring at the refrigerator light or endlessly looking through your cupboard, use your kitchen time to toss junk food in the garbage and take out the trash. Whether you’re facing lockdown alone or sheltering with others, Metabolic Research Center can design a personalized menu plan that is tailored to your body’s specific needs and will deliver virtual coaching and encouragement to jump start your efforts.