Lose Quarantine Weight with These 12 Tips

Aug 6

Photo by Marques Jackson/Filles Garcons Photography.

It’s easy to gain weight during the coronavirus pandemic. With all the stress, time at home and access to snacks and comfort food, it’s no surprise many people are reporting packing on the “quarantine 15.” Staying motivated to workout during this time can be especially challenging, compounding the problem. If you’ve gained a few pounds and are still within a healthy weight, it may not be cause for alarm, but as the scale continues to tip up and into the obesity range, it poses a greater risk to your health.

But living through a pandemic does not have to be all doom and gloom, and the good news is you can get back on track with healthy habits and lose weight during quarantine. These simple tips will help you reach your healthy weight loss goals:

Drink more water. Water helps flush out toxins and keep you from retaining salt. Drink at least 8 ounces of water when you wake up every morning and then throughout the day. Also, an easy fix to reduce junk calories and sugar is to replace your snack drinks and juices with water. Unless you are making fresh juice at home, skip the juice - most store-bought juices are full of refined sugars and empty calories. If you’re in doubt, check your labels.
Eat less processed foods. Eating at home can be really healthy or it can be terribly unhealthy, depending on what you eat. And during stressful times and late-night Netflix binges, it’s easy to reach for old favorite snacks and comfort foods. Instead choose whole, real foods for your meals and snacks, and you’ll quickly see weight loss if you were previously binging on processed snack foods. Also, keep in mind that you can have tasty snacks and eat plenty, but just choose a variety of real foods. Check out our easy hummus recipe or quick post-workout protein meal ideas for inspo, or make your own popcorn for the perfect movie snack.
Move more. It’s easy to stay in your comfortable rut on the couch, but taking even 5-minute breaks to move throughout the day can really help boost your metabolism and your mood.
Follow a workout program or join a fitness challenge to stay motivated and measure your fitness progress. This will keep you accountable and able to work out more regularly.
Eat small meals often. It can be very easy to get sucked into a time warp and forget to eat and then binge on everything late at night when you realize you’re hungry. Keep your metabolism running smoothly and satisfy your hunger throughout the day so you don’t overdue it one sitting.
Add intensity to your workouts. Adding intensity to your workouts will boost your calorie burning and metabolism, helping lose those extra quarantine pounds. See our post on Best Training Principles to Lose Weight for more weight loss workout tips. Also, intensity is great for boosting your fitness level so it’s a win-win.
Get into a routine. Besides following a running training plan, it’s important to have a schedule to stay on track with your workouts. Run in the mornings before work, for instance, and plan strength training sessions during a few lunch breaks a week. Make sure you take into account the weather when planning your running schedule and avoid peak heat hours.
Go for daily walks. If you don’t have a lot of energy or your feel stressed or you just are on the couch too much, start going for walks. One walk a day can really help your mental state and your body because many of us are not going to work, shopping and going out and walking around places like we normally would. Taking a walk around your neighborhood is a great antidote.
Plan an outdoor adventure. Enjoy the outdoors and get in some fun active time by going for a hike, bike ride, camping trip or weekend getaway. You can practice social distancing safely in nature and burn some extra quarantine calories.
Enlist a workout buddy. Whether you have a friend you keep in touch with over text or a family member, partner or pet who wants to join you in workouts, having a training partner will boost your accountability and motivation. Working out with someone or keeping in touch remotely about your workouts will make your training more fun.
Bike more. Biking is a great way to get out and see your city and also burn calories. Biking is also an excellent cross training workout for runners since it is low impact. For an easy way to start biking more, bike to do some of your errands like small grocery store trips or going to drop something off at the post office.
Get more sleep. Lack of sleep can contribute to unhealthy eating habits and slow down your metabolism. Stay on track with 8 hours of sleep every night or as often as possible.

How are you staying motivated to workout and run during quarantine? Leave your tips below.

Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified traininer and USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach and the creator of Runstreet Art Runs, which bring together communities through running and street art. She is a Brooklyn resident, running coach and writer. She enjoys traveling, art, and eating messily. You can follow her running and events at @Runstreet Instagram and Runstreet Facebook.