My exercise routine has had to change while all America is doing this semi voluntary quarantine for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The gyms and swimming pools are closed in order to slow the rate of infection, and swimming is my favorite exercise. But even little things like walking downstairs to the schoolbus are no longer part of my day since schools are closed too! And I am doing 100% telework, so no going to the office. I am having a very physically inactive week. I am starting to get very creaky. Walking sis all I have right now, though I am thinking about getting a bike. Bikes are nice. So: today I walked to the store, I walked up six flights of steps, and I chased some children on their bikes. I took any excuse to walk down to my car. It’s not 40 minutes of swimming, but it is better than nothing. But it’s true, as a commenter has pointed out, that a sedentary lifestyle burns fewer calories than an active one. This lack of exercise will definitely make weight loss more difficult.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – Steel cut oats (320)
- 320 calories
Lunch – Reuben grill wrap: 1/4 pound corned beef (140); wheat wrap (110); 2Tbsp Thousand Island dressing (130); Swiss cheese (150); sauerkraut (inconsequential calories);
- 530 calories
Dinner – Aldi frozen pizza (525);
- 525 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80); ham (150); chocolate (250);
- 480 calories
Total for the day: 1850 calories (limit 1800)
The coronavirus diet
This is going to be a challenging time for many people. The danger of runaway infection and after that, overloading the hospitals and medical people with too many cases at he same time, has everybody in agreement: the spread of the virus must be slowed. This is sometimes called ‘flattening the curve’ and even has a Twitter tag #FlattenTheCurve. So many people are being told to stay at home for the good of the public health. I wouldn’t be the first to note that the usual forms of exercise will be unavailable. But it is dieting and really, weight control, that will be an issue for many. Activity is down for most people, since people aren’t doing anything more strenuous than walking around the house or from a car to the store and back. Carrying groceries is the new exercise!
But it is weight control that will have to be encouraged during this time. With so many people cutting their physical activity and having nothing to do but sit at home with the temptations of eating all around, all the time, we can predict a few consequences. #1. Baby boom. I’m not the first to say that either, but I am sure that there will be one. #2. Routines are disrupted and that means interrupted sleep. Interrupted sleep in my experience makes it harder to focus on controlling your weight. It also means people will eat more because eating seems to make people more awake. #3. Less physical activity and the opportunity for regular meals and disrupted sleep cycles will mean overeating and lots of weight gain.
So I will keep writing and extolling the virtues of weight control. Part of controlling your weight is establishing and sticking to an eating and sleeping routine that will support your ability to control your weight. If your top desire in life is to be in control of your weight, then you must and will create a new routine and eating schedule that works during this disrupted time.
Weight control starts with a simple realization: the goal is not to be thin. The goal is control, to be able to choose any weight you want and make it happen. Once you place yourself in control of your weight, then you can see that being heavy or thin is in your control. That does mean that being heavy is a choice or trade-off you have made for some other, more important good in your life. You can work on making weight control an essential and all-but-central part of your life. It will be what gets you out of bed in the morning.
Choose your weight carefully. The thinner you want to be, the more work it is.
-The Doctor