COVID weight gain. It’s real, and it can be frustrating.
Listen, I get it. The last 18 months have been challenging enough, but it feels like adding insult to injury to find yourself weighing more than you are happy weighing as a result.
But the thing is, your body has one job, and that job is keeping you alive. And sometimes, especially under times of stress (hello Global Pandemic), one of the ways it tries to protect you and keep you alive is by going through a gaining phase.
Sure, you may have gained weight because you were unable to keep up with your regular activities, maybe you ate more junk food, or maybe you don’t feel like you did anything differently at all and still gained.
Guess what? No matter what the “reason”, you did not commit a criminal offense.
For those who prefer to listen, click the play button below to listen to the podcast version of this blog post.
Wellness Simplified Podcast: Gaining Weight isn’t a Criminal Offense
For those who prefer to read here is the short & condensed version:
Your body has one job – keeping you alive. And sometimes (like during a Global Pandemic) one way that our body tries to do that is by gaining weight so it has more resources stored just in case it needs it.
COVID Weight Gain might not be a desirable outcome but you know what? If you can come out the other side of this pandemic where millions and millions of people have died with a little extra weight on your frame, well then I think you did alright.
I truly believe we all have a set point weight where our bodies are happy. A weight where we feel good, where we don’t have to work to maintain it and can live our lives. For each of us, that set point is different, and it also can change throughout your life. It’s possible that where you are right now is your body’s new happy weight BUT it’s more likely than not that this weight isn’t here to stay. Once you find yourself in a place where your body feels safe, where it doesn’t feel like it needs to protect you by holding onto extra weight, that weight will come off.
That’s not to say you won’t need to make sure you are moving your body and fueling it with foods that make it feel good, but it does mean that crash diets and extreme exercising aren’t the answer.
So what do I do about it?
So what is? Well, part of it is out of our control (sorry!), because we are still in a pandemic. But the good news is this pandemic won’t last forever. I promise you, not a soul will look back at pictures of you during and immediately following this pandemic and say, “Mannnnnn, I can’t believe s/he/they gained 20 pounds during the COVID-19 pandemic!”
COVID weight gain is NOT the end of the world. It’s not a bad thing. It’s not something to be ashamed of either.
You don’t need to be happy about it but the answer is not a crash diet or extreme workout routine.
In fact, crash diets and extreme workouts are going to overtax your already tapped-out nervous system and make matters worse, not better. Sure they might help in the short-term, but long-term you’re going to be stuck in a nasty cycle.
Next week I will be back to talk about what you actually CAN do to start bringing balance back to your nervous system, and while yes yoga can be part of the answer that is not what I’m going to be sharing 😉
In the meantime…
Do yourself a favour and go buy yourself a couple of pairs of pants that fit. Because shoving yourself into pants that don’t fit is going to make you feel a lot worse about yourself than wearing pants that fit and look AMAZING but just happen to be a bigger size than you like.
Newsflash – pant sizes (especially in women’s clothing) are made up and mean nothing. Find what fits and cut out the tag if it bothers you. Trust me, you’ll feel a million times better if you do that one thing!
