Renew Your Interest in Cooking Healthy Foods

You may have heard that the Quarantine 15 has replaced the Freshman 15 as the hottest buzz term for unexpected weight gain. Unfortunately, this is misplaced blame, as your problem isn’t that the country is closed; your problem is visiting your pantry too often while you’re at home. Now that you know you may be home sheltering in place for longer than first expected, it is time to renew your interest in cooking healthy foods. You can learn how your taste affects your sense of fullness as opposed to mindlessly shoveling down quantities of comfort foods. Instead of giving in to your cravings for comfort food, consider using the time you have while sheltering from the pandemic to create healthier versions of those irresistible favorites. Nonetheless, it is important to keep your weight from racing out of control. It is much easier to pack on the pounds than to shed unwanted weight once you settle on what your new normal will look like. Below are some useful tips for dealing with pandemic pounds:

• Avoid Sugary Food & Drinks - Excess consumption of added sugars in soft drinks and other sugary beverages may be the cause of unwanted body fat.
• Consume More Protein - If your goal is to lose extra weight, adding protein to your diet may be the single most effective change of macronutrient consumption that you can make since protein can reduce cravings for simple carbs and unhealthy fats.
• Eat Fewer Carbohydrates - Weight loss studies have concluded that eliminating simple carbohydrates is particularly effective at reducing stored fat around the belly, the liver and in the arteries.
• Be More Active - In addition to limiting refined sugar in your diet, exercising regularly helps to reduce belly fat. Eliminating harmful visceral fat deposits from around internal organs is among the amazing health benefits of exercise.
• Eat More Whole Foods - Dietary experts agree that a whole food menu plan is a smart way to eat, as it encourages selecting nutritious options from all macronutrient food groups, including carbs.
• Improve the Quality of Your Sleep - Deep sleep is a crucial phase for physical renewal, hormonal regulation, and growth. Without deep sleep, you are more likely to get sick, suffer from depression and experience unwanted weight gain.

Getting control of emotional eating during the COVID-19 pandemic is a challenge that most of us have never encountered, but getting started on a weight loss journey that ends with sustainable weight loss requires the same level of personal commitment that it did before the viral outbreak. The most promising weight loss strategies for dealing with pandemic weight gain include finding the right source of support and education to help you make better food choices as you adapt to your new normal. After all, your workplace and time schedule may never be the same as it was before. In dealing with the Quarantine 10 or 15 or 50, get the help you need to create a personalized menu plan that will work for you, and utilize the support mechanisms available. Since you know that you turned to comfort foods and possibly an extra shot of alcohol to help ease the stress and anxiety caused by the pandemic, restoring your health and wellness can be easier if you seek the guidance provided by a weight loss professional.