Gained weight from staying home? Me too. How I lost it.

Due to the stay-at-home order from our government, that meant I couldn’t train my clients at the gym, which temporally closed, or at their homes. I also couldn’t do my own 60-90-minute workouts at the gym. What this meant, is that I was moving a lot less, and burning fewer calories, so it didn’t surprise me that I was gaining weight. What did surprise me, what that I was gaining a pound a week.

At first, I didn’t care, I was stuck at home. But, then, I did care. How I look in the mirror affects how I feel, inside and out. I still exercised at home, an hour a day, with the weights and equipment I already have, but I added 20-minute yoga YouTube videos. This way, I was moving, at least twice a day, and, up to three times a day.

Those workouts are a lot less strenuous than what I’m used to, so I reduced daily calories too. Instead of snacking on nuts all day long, I limited it to a handful, once a day. I also stopped eating the homemade protein cookies (yummy and healthy, but high calorie, and I wouldn’t eat just one…more like three!). Lastly, I cut back on the tortilla chips.

With these changes, I lost a pound a week, and am back to my pre-quarantine weight. Even though we are all moving less by the shelter-in-place laws, and may even have fewer food choices due to shortages or reduced income, it is possible to lose the weight you gained, and, you can even lose additional weight, if you put in the extra effort.