Struggling with "Quarantine" weight

[DraigGoch]

I know I'm far from alone with this one at the moment, but wondered if anyone might have some suggestions.

Before the world stopped, I was at around 145 (beginning of March).  Between moving to work-at-home (sitting on the couch all day, no longer having routine "background" activity of a typical workday), cooking/baking more at home, and doing my part to support favorite local restaurants so there's something to get back to when normality returns, and probably a not insignificant bit of generalized stress...) my weight was up to 159 in mid-June. 

Since then, I've been trying to get back on track, measuring, weighing, and tracking calories, getting a fat-burn-level walk of at least half an hour in as often as possible (when heat and humidity don't make it impossible for me to get outside) and getting back to isometrics a few days a week.  

The fact is, though, that my weight has been over 160 the last few weeks (between 162.5 and 165, weight taken first thing in the morning).  This has me firmly in the overweight category and that scares the hell out of me.  I was 138 at this time two years ago through knocking myself out with exercise at the gym and tracking every caloric crumb. I have genuine concerns about this 30 pounds getting harder to shift the longer it stays (and the older I get!) 

I can probably cut *some* more calories, but I'm already keeping about 1400 daily, so can't go a whole lot lower, and already don't eat sweets or drink sugary juices, sodas, etc.  I feel like I don't have a lot of options for increasing activity without basically just walking pointlessly around my apartment a dozen times an hour.  

Just wondering if anybody else has seen some wins with some sustainable change that I haven't considered.  Logically, I know some of this will drop once routine activity gets back to normal, but with most of us looking at that probably not happening for months, something's gotta give 😞

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, thank you for sharing this @DraigGoch! 

I also gained some weight during the quarantine and I started to get concerned I would loose all the progress I made in the previous years, so I eventually returned to my diet (1500 calories per day) and made sure to create a home workout routine that would help me loose some of the extra weight. 

I eventually lost all the extra pounds I'd gained during the last few months, but it was possible due to a combination of physical activity and diet, I don't think it would've been possible by doing only one. 

I'm also working from home and I get up to walk every 30 minutes and I also walk while doing other activities like listening to music or just cleaning the house. I made sure to reach my daily step goal every single day and eventually lost all the extra weight. 

[SunsetRunner]

Hi @DraigGoch, I identify with everything you said.  I have 30 lbs. to lose also.  Last year I lost 13 lbs. and 6" off my waist only to gain it back during the quarantine.  I've discovered Yoga With Adriene on Youtube and I love it.  It reduces stress and makes me feel better.  I've discovered The Mayo Clinic Diet 2nd Edition which has a lot of helpful information on adding good habits and breaking bad habits.  It had a lot of ideas I hadn't thought of before.  The biggest thing for me was stress, but I'm keeping busy.  I've found new interests and I'm trying new things.  Pinterest and Bucketlist.org have 10,000+ ideas of things to learn and do at home.  I think stress leads to the body producing cortisol which makes it harder to lose weight.  Also, stress eating for me was a problem.  I just research online, come up with things to do at home, order a few things online.  There's inexpensive kits to try new hobbies.  I try not to run out of new interests to keep busy.  I'm using the quarantine time for self-discovery and exploration and research new interests.  There are lots of free Youtube videos for exercise classes at home.  Some days are harder than others to keep positive, but we're all doing the best we can do.  Just never give up.  It takes time and patience.  I know it can be discouraging at times, but there are still positives.  This is temporary and it will come to an end.  Every day is a step closer to the end of the quarantine.  You'll find your way and get through it.  You've got this!

[Baltoscott]

@DraigGoch -- Maybe try meal planning? Part of the issue for me was changes in daily habits when I stopped commuting. Try to emulate the daily meal times (and maybe the better meals) you had pre-covid, and think about any snacks, tastes, trips to the fridge etc, that have may have happened over the past week that would not have happened in your pre-Covid schedule. Your calorie count is probably correct on the days you focus and measure every thing that goes into your mouth, but it is really hard to be consistently accurate your schedule and habits change. 

Another tip might be daily weigh-ins. I know this is controversial, and it is hard to remember that 90% of daily change is just hydration, but focusing on the weekly trend helps your awareness before the jump seems too dramatic.  I've been up during COVID too, but the jump since late March (when I stopped commuting) has only been 3 or 4 lbs on average and I continue to work on limiting my eating to meal times.

Up since working from home, but not too bad ...