The pandemic has been great for my personal health! I had complete control of my food environment, more time to exercise and more restful sleeps.
I've lost 22.5% of my bodyweight and reduced my waistline from 36 down to 32.
I've lost 22.5% of my bodyweight and reduced my waistline from 36 down to 32.
> A majority of adults (61%) reported experiencing undesired weight changes since the start of the pandemic, with more than 2 in 5 (42%) saying they gained more weight than they intended. Of this group, adults reported gaining an average of 29 pounds (with a typical gain of 15 pounds, which is the median).
Have had exactly the same experience: walked and cycled more (and progressively faster); eaten better home-cooked food (presumably adding less fat, salt and sugar than city-center lunch food); enjoyed the fresh air of open windows and a balcony instead of the stultifying atmosphere of an air-conditioned office; and generally rested, focused and felt better than ever.
Went back to the office last week buckling under the drive from senior colleagues to get back to “normal”. Now have a cold and a mild chest-infection.
That being said, a mild cold is nothing compared to the stress and pressure and exposure that everyone else lower on the totem pole has been subject to while supporting your comfortable WFH arrangement.
We're all in this together, right?
But yes, as someone who has been working remote even before the pandemic, I have had a similar experience. It's great being able to exercise between tasks, fast for most of the day, and overall have more control over my schedule. If I ever have to work in an office again, I know I will gain a minimum of 10 lbs. Group lunches, the desire of management to have you be there even if there's no meetings, no real ability to exercise during the day without being a weirdo, and commute time would take its toll. For me, that environment is evil.
I've certainly worked places where exercising at lunch would get you labelled as anti-social. Of course, this is the same place that would cause snickers and thought people were "weirdos" for being vegetarian or even ordering healthier options of food.
No.
EDIT: LOL, I submitted that before finishing my thought.
It's just been my experience that people frequently remark on differences in the workplace and I just get tired of frequently explaining my habits to never gain anything from it.
That combined with the uncertainty of even being near people outdoors for a few months killed the rhythm I had for mountain biking, hiking, and climbing. It took me about 9 months to adjust my food intake for this, and as a result I gained 15 pounds.
Luckily in the last three months I've gotten back on to a good active hobby schedule and adjusted my diet a bit and I'm just a few pounds above where I was!
Congrats on the weight loss!
If you stay in a calorie deficit and eat enough protein, you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time which is nice :)
Cardio seems to be good for overall health so I do a bit of that too sometimes, but I don't think it's strictly needed for fat loss.
Some form of exercise and a sustainable diet is all that's needed really. If you do both of those things in any way, you'll be way healthier than the average person.