Succeeding At Weight Management During COVID

For a lot of reasons, the pandemic is making weight management difficult for many people. Factors such as stress, being stuck at home, not having access to a gym, and having fewer dietary options can wreak havoc on your health and wellness. If your weight has been fluctuating through all of this, you’re not alone. Around 22% of adults in the U.S. report gaining weight during COVID, approximately 5-10 pounds. While we’re all looking forward to things returning to normal, you don’t have to wait that long to address extra weight. Our helpful guide lays out the essentials for staying in shape no matter what’s happening in the news.

Healthy Diet Tips 

Following a healthy, balanced diet is the best way to maintain a healthy weight, but challenging even in the best of times. If you find yourself visiting the fridge more often because you’re stuck at home during COVID, you’re going to notice it showing up on the scale. So here are a few tricks to curbing the impact of those frequent kitchen visits: 

• Drink a tall glass of water instead. This also helps lower your stress and cortisol levels, making you less likely to stress eat.
• Stock the fridge with healthy, low-calorie snacks like berries, cut vegetables, or full-fat yogurt.
• Before you open the fridge, pause, close your eyes, and take three deep breaths. If you’re snacking due to stress, this can stop the urge in its tracks.
• Stick to a routine, like having three meals a day that incorporates whole foods, lean protein, and vegetables. 

Sticking to your healthy eating habits when you’re stuck at home is tough. If you get off track, you can reboot with a natural detox or try intermittent fasting, a method of fasting for certain intervals during the day to promote weight loss.

Exercise Tips 

When it comes to losing weight, you have to expend more calories than you’re taking in—but the benefits of exercise go far beyond that. Exercise boosts ‘good mood’ chemicals, like serotonin and endorphin, which can be a lifesaver during uncertain times. With time, exercise helps you to lose weight, build muscle, and improve your overall health. Like maintaining a healthy diet, it can be challenging to stick to when you’re stuck at home and don’t have access to a gym or your favorite fitness classes. We’ve got you covered with the following tips:

• Get outside! Going on a long walk or a short run can make a big difference and all you need is a pair of sneakers.
• Work out at home with our at-home workout using items you already have, or try our targeted flanks workout for a slimmer middle.
• Tune in to one of the many online fitness classes out there, either free on Youtube or through a subscription service.
• Download a fitness tracker to stay accountable. There are dozens available to use on your phone that makes sticking to a routine as fun and rewarding as possible. 

Whatever you choose to do, try for at least thirty minutes of physical exercise every day. Your post-COVID self will thank you for it. 

Sleep And Stress Management Tips 

Especially now, getting those all-important eight hours every night is vital. Sleeping actually boosts your resting metabolism, which in turn maintains the proper balance of weight-related hormones in your body. Most people can improve their sleep quality by making a few simple changes to their nightly routine:

• Try sticking to a sleep schedule, which means going to bed and waking up at the same time every day.
• Nightly meditation practice and other sleep rituals that incorporate mindfulness are excellent tools for anyone who has trouble falling asleep due to stress.
• Refrain from midnight snacking, caffeine, and alcohol, all of which can negatively impact your ability to fall, and stay asleep.
• Give yoga a try. Our simple five-pose routine helps to relieve stress quickly and effectively.

Aesthetic Treatments With Venus Bliss™

Staying fit while you’re stuck at home is a major challenge, and you might find that even with the right diet and exercise, the stress and inactivity of recent months have left you with a few extra inches you didn’t have before. Aesthetics treatments are ideal for targeting stubborn areas of fat in areas like the flanks, abdomen, and inner thighs. These areas are especially prone to accumulating fatty tissue due to stress—and what’s more stressful than living through a pandemic? 

Our Venus Bliss™ fat treatments use a diode laser to break down fat cells underneath the skin’s surface. The advanced non-surgical treatments combat hard-to-beat fat, reduce cellulite, and create a leaner appearance painlessly and without the recovery time a more invasive procedure would require. Venus Bliss™ also kickstarts your skin’s natural production of collagen and elastin, the two molecules responsible for giving a youthful, toned appearance to the skin. Delivered in comfortable 15-30 minute sessions, Venus Bliss™ treatments are your secret weapon in achieving your aesthetic goals through self-care.

Find a Venus Bliss™ treatment provider near you today by using the search field below.