10 Strategies to Losing Quarantine Weight Gain and Keeping it Off

Changing your lifestyle to become a healthier version of yourself is no easy task. It’s going to take consistency, discipline, sacrifice and hard work. Like anything else in life, your results on your weight loss journey are based on what you put into it. Being mentally strong is just as important as being physically strong in your quest for a healthier body. First, you have to decide that you want to make this change for yourself.

If there is anything 2020 has taught us, it’s that we are resilient and can adapt to anything no matter how difficult the obstacle may be. I’m going to share what I learned throughout the past 8 months and how I was able to lose 28 pounds and get my body fat percentage down from the mid 20s to 17.7% all by working out at home and with minimal equipment.

The video above on the left shows how I gained weight about a month into working 100% from home. I put on a few extra pounds and was probably the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life. Fortunately, hard work and discipline paid off and I achieved my weight goal several months later as you can see on the right.

1. Make a decision to change your lifestyle

Anything worth having in life takes effort. You cannot just wish for a healthier body, you have to be the one to put in the work. There are always ways to work in healthier habits into your daily routine if you make it a priority in your life. It might mean that you have to wake up an hour earlier before the kids wake up to get in a cardio session in your living room. Maybe you can challenge yourself to learning one healthy recipe a week to get better in the kitchen. You can even do an ab workout during one of your Zoom staff meetings instead of just sitting hunched over at your desk. So, if you’re tired of procrastinating and want to make fitness and nutrition a permanent part of your lifestyle once and for all, then there’s no better time to get started then NOW!

2. Find your why

Only you can determine how successful you’ll be at losing weight and becoming a healthier version of yourself. Why do you want to make this lifestyle change? Maybe you want to live long enough to see your grandchildren grow up or maybe you want to get in shape for an upcoming beach vacation. Whatever your motivation might be, it could help to put an inspirational photo or quote on your fridge to keep you accountable when you do get tempted to snack more than you need to throughout the day. Remember why you started on this journey in the first place and you’ll be less likely to slack off when things get difficult or you hit a roadblock.

3. Be disciplined with your diet

Once COVID hit and I was teleworking full-time beginning in late March, I started gaining weight even though I still was working out 4x-5x a week. I figured the issue was my diet, portion control and snacking more often since my kitchen was only steps away from my office now. I’ve never been on a diet, but I decided to give Weight Watchers a try since since my boyfriend recommended the system and thought it would be good if we pushed each other to get back in shape. Once I figured out the old points system and how to use the calculator, I was sold on the program. Your daily points allowance which you can figure out here, keeps you disciplined and forces you to make healthier low-point meal choices so that you don’t go over your limit.

I highly recommend tracking your points at least until you get to your weight loss goal and are in maintenance mode. It can be a tedious process to keep track of what you’re eating for every meal, and calculating your points every single day, but you get into a routine and it becomes somewhat of a game. Shopping at the grocery store also becomes a treasure hunt to find tasty 1 and 2 point snacks.

Remember that if you’re starting a diet for the first time, there’s going to be somewhat of a learning curve but don’t let that deter you from moving forward. I highly recommend Weight Watchers because it worked for me and it was my first diet so I have nothing else to compare it to. Don’t just take my word for it though. Experts ranked WW as the Best Weight Loss Diet (out of 35 diets) and also the Best Commercial Diet. “They considered seven criteria, including how easy a plan is to follow, its ability to produce short-term and long-term weight loss, its nutritional completeness, its safety, and its potential for preventing and managing diabetes and heart disease.” (1)

4. Set a goal and track your progress

No matter what amount of weight you’d like to lose, set a start date for your diet and then calculate how long it will take you to reach that goal based on losing 1.5 pounds per week. If you aim to lose too much too fast, you could gain it right back. The more sustainable method is to be patient and go at a slow and steady pace. (2)

I tracked my progress every week in a note on my phone so it was easily accessible. As you can see in the table below, my original target date to reach my goal of getting under 143 pounds was early September, however I didn’t actually reach my goal of getting into the low 140’s until a month later. Be patient with yourself. As long as you stick to the system and maintain your workouts, you will see progress.

Week	Weight (Goal)	Weight (Actual)	Body Fat %
6/1		161.0	23.2%
6/8	159.5	158.0	22.6%
6/15	158.0	158.6	22.4%
6/22	156.5	156.6	21.7%
6/29	155.0	156.0	22.0%
7/6	153.5	153.4	21.3%
7/13	152.0	154.2	21.4%
7/20	150.5	152.4	20.9%
7/27	149.0	150.6	20.6%
8/3	147.5	150.4	20.3%
8/10	146.0	148.4	19.9%
8/17	144.5	147.0	19.9%
8/24	143.0	146.6	19.6%
8/31	141.5	148.8	19.7%
9/7	140.0	147.0	19.4%
9/14	Maintain…	145.6	19.3%
9/21		145.0	19.2%
9/28		144.7	18.7%
10/5		142.2	18.6%
10/12		n/a	n/a
10/19		146.8	19.5%
10/26		144.6	19.2%
11/2		144.2	19.1%
11/9		143.8	19.0%
11/16		142.2	18.9%
11/23		138.4	17.7%

There were a few times during my progress where I gained weight. The first time was only 2 weeks in and even though I had only gained .6 lbs, I felt defeated because the week before I had lost 3 pounds just in my first week of committing to my new diet. Another time was after my birthday week on July 8th. Give yourself a break sometimes especially if you have a special event or celebration. Your body is constantly changing and this journey is more than just about numbers on the scale. You will learn how to stick to smaller portions and healthier food choices throughout this process so you can always get back on track if you happen to gain weight one week. When you do treat yourself on your birthday, every bite of your favorite cake or dessert will taste that much sweeter!

5. Invest in a fitness tracker

Once of the best investments you can make for yourself is getting a fitness tracker. It helps track your workouts and the calories you burn as well as reminding you to get up and move around more so you don’t fall into the routine of sitting at your desk all day. I’ve been tracking all of my workouts with the Apple Watch Series 5. I love how I can track how many calories I burn throughout my workouts. It even helps me to push harder when I exercise since I have a goal of burning 600+ calories for every dance fitness workout I do at home.

As a Zumba instructor, I really like how I can view the heart rate diagram so I can see if my class playlist is giving my students the optimal interval workout with both high and low-intensity routines. Moving between high- and low-intensity dance moves gets your heart rate up and helps to boost your cardio endurance. (3)

6. Stock up on healthy snacks

Before I started on my diet, I got rid of all my junk food and made sure to stock up on healthy meals and snacks. I also made sure to get berries every time I went to the grocery store because I ate them for breakfast and snacks almost every single day.

If you don’t have berries in your current diet, you should consider adding them in because not only are they delicious, they provide a wealth of nutritional benefits. They are a great source of fiber, Vitamin C and are full of antioxidants. Berries are also great for heart health and reduce risks for heart disease and diabetes. (4)

7. Drink more water

Make it a goal everyday to drink at least 8 glasses of water per day. I start my day by drinking at least 2 glasses of water before I drink anything else like coffee or tea. Drinking water helps to boost your metabolic rate, which increases the rate at which calories are burned. Water can also help flush out any harmful toxins in your body and it also hydrates your skin to keep it looking radiant and clear.

Drinking water will also help you feel more full throughout the day so that you don’t end up snacking and eating more calories than you need to. “The timing is important too. Drinking water half an hour before meals is the most effective. In one study, dieters who drank 16.9 ounces (0.5 liters) of water before meals lost 44% more weight over a period of 12 weeks than dieters who didn’t drink water before meals.” (5)

Try cutting out all other liquid calories from your diet and just stick with water. You can always add flavoring to your water to switch it up from time to time but the great thing is you won’t be adding on more calories to your diet.

8. Find a workout program you love

The key to sticking to your workout routine is finding something that you actually enjoy doing. My workout routine over the past 8 months has consisted of doing HIIT workouts 3x a week following the Body Boss 12-Week Fitness Guide either at home or outside and my own Zumba workouts 2-3x per week. On the weekends I like to switch things up and either go biking or running outside. If you’re not sure which workout will work for you, here’s a list of 10 virtual workouts ranked from worst to best to help you narrow down your choices.

9. Move your workouts outside

Switch up your workout routines by getting fresh air and going for a bike ride or a walk outside. Exercising outdoors has many health benefits like relieving stress, reducing cortisol levels and reducing anxiety.

“Nature has all kinds of unseen elements that are affecting us,” says Eva Selhub, M.D., a resiliency expert and a co-author of the book Your Brain on Nature. For example, “as we breathe in the negative ions at the seaside from the saltwater, they go directly to our brain and counteract the positive ions that come from computers and are causing fatigue.” That means however you’re exercising your muscles in an outdoor workout, a cascade of other body benefits is going on in the background. (6)

10. Grab a friend or partner

In this time of quarantining and social distancing, it could help to start your journey with an accountability partner like a family member, friend or your significant other. Both of you can hold each other accountable and encourage each other to workout on days that you’re just not feeling it. Plus, it’s much easier knowing that someone else understands the challenges you’re facing with your new diet and exercise routine. Having a support system is a great tool to keeping you on track and motivated. You can also make your workouts a fun family social activity that everyone can benefit from.

Remember that every body is different so don’t compare your results to anyone else. People lose weight at different rates so don’t be discouraged if your timeline is longer than someone else’s. Making small lifestyle changes like the ones I’ve discussed can have lasting benefits for the rest of your life. And if you need extra support along the way, just remember you can do anything you put your mind to especially with God by your side.

xoxo,

(This content uses affiliate links. Read my disclaimer for more info.)