The  23rd of  March 2020 marked the start of the scary lockdown of the world’s nations due to the current Corona Virus disease 2019 (Covid-19). The unpredictable lockdown had shaken our families and the global economy. According to the government regulations many people started working from home, millions have lost their jobs while others are thriving in various online businesses.

The pandemic has temporarily trapped people within their homes, and many are fed up with this new lifestyle. Apparently, nothing so huge has shook the world for the past 70 years. The start of the pandemic had people stockpiling their pantries with the necessities, such as toilet roll. As a result of social distancing, people have decided to try new things, start new hobbies and, of course, losing those extra few pounds. In this article, I will be spilling all my insider knowledge on how to successfully lose weight.

 From my social media platforms, I have discovered that people and their families are eating a lot more food than usual due to boredom and anxiety. I know, there is tendency to overeat and gain weight due to reduced exercise and going about daily duties.I can relate to this feeling as I have found myself lacking from time to time and having to motivate myself. Previously, prior to lockdown, I was an active member at a gym- I have had to find different things to make up for this. Long walks, Dancing, skipping, and challenging family members in table tennis (at home) have seemed to interest me the most as they keep my brain engaged. I have also involved my entire family, so we all motivate and entertain each other through exercise and games. A word of advice to people at home would be to get loved ones involved with activities, and with children of younger ages staging it as a fun game.

The most important thing, according to a lot of research; exercise, diet, and sleep are all significant in losing weight. A common myth with the aspect of losing weight is that healthy eating breaks the bank. It seems terrifying these days with store prices almost through the roof but with meal planning and selecting healthier choices avoiding costs will be a lot less hassle. As tempting as it may seem, save your money, and avoid takeaway food. I know for us parents a takeaway would be an easy way out for those hectic days. Being in a house with family members all day, may cause a lack of motivation from peers in the household resulting in relying on takeaways. Takeaways, if eaten regularly can add up to A LOT of calories which all add to the same pounds we are trying to lose. You do not necessarily have to acquire the culinary skills of celebrity chef to prepare, nutritious meals for the family. Easy to make recipes can be found online for beginners all the way to experienced chefs, with meal ideas catered toward young, old and the picky eaters.  You can even make up your own healthy meal ideas for the family, make it a daily activity a fun time to bond. Please try your best to avoid comfort eating as it may cause weight gain, if you ever feel the urge to snack resort to fruit and water and avoid carb dense snacks such as chocolate bars or cakes especially if you aren’t engaging in regular exercise.

Another bad habit would be late-night snacking, salty crisps and sweet chocolate bars. Please avoid comfort eating to increase the hours of night fast, where the body uses up stored fat and calories from the day. 

Rehydration, drinking water and mild squashes, is the key in weight loss and cannot be stressed enough. It is ideal to drink at least 2-4 litres of water a day, to aid detox. Water is the best way to start the day and kickstart your brain. I often hear people complain about disliking water, if you belong to this group of people there’s a loophole to this, try taking fruit infused water (using bottle filters) slicing lemons, strawberries and cucumbers or any fruit of your choice. This gives a taste of the water and makes it bearable to drink. Ditch the coffee and soda as caffeine and other high sugar content drinks during this quarantine as these have so many pesky calories!

The final deal with weight loss is rest and sleep, receiving adequate sleep is vital in the journey towards weight loss. Though this may seem a surprising thing to mention during quarantine, you would be surprised to know the amount of people who are not getting their 6-8 hours of needed sleep, due to mental health issues and technology use (which stimulates the brain). During sleep your metabolic rate is working overtime, without enough sleep the metabolism will not be able to break down all foods. 

To come to an end, losing weight this quarantine may not be easy for everyone but with determination and discipline your weight loss goal will become achievable.

Don’t be too hard on yourself as everyone weight loss journey will vary, instead praise yourself on every baby step you take.

Please folks stick to government guidelines regards to Covid-19, depending on your country of residence. You all know what I mean….social distancing and regular hand hygiene. Stay healthy and active!

♣Margaret

PS: have personally lost 3 dress sizes in my weight loss journey using the products. Our health supplements can either be used to gain, lose or maintain healthy weight alongside various health plan and exercise. These are my results pictures

Margaret Ayeni writes from Manchester. She is a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse with almost 2 decades of experience. She also owns a Juiceplus Franchise on inspiring healthy living around the world! Contact via http://mayeni.juiceplus.com  or via Our Guest writer