Considering how many of us are still working from home, it could seem like the ideal moment to commit to losing weight. However, losing weight might be difficult due to the abundance of pressures to cope with. However, adopting the proper self-care techniques can aid in weight loss.
Most of us have high levels of the stress hormone cortisol in our veins, which can make losing weight exceedingly challenging. It’s also typical to turn to food to help dull the pain, pass the time, or calm anxiety when we’re feeling anxious and helpless. This is why scheduling self-care activities or concentrating on your health, happiness, and needs is crucial to your weight-loss goals.
1) Mindfulness is the best way to start your morning
There are a lot of unknowns at the moment, but worrying about the future and all the “what ifs” that lie ahead makes things worse. To reduce stress and lower your cortisol levels, begin your day with a minute of mindfulness.
Maintaining a weight-loss strategy requires practising mindfulness, which is observing your thoughts and feelings without becoming absorbed into them. This is especially important when times are difficult. Spend ten minutes sitting still and allowing your thoughts and feelings to come and go before picking up your phone or turning on the TV. Alternatively, use an app like Headspace or Calm to learn how to do guided meditations to cultivate mindfulness.
2) Self-soothe in simple ways
Use your five senses to find things that help you relax throughout the day without consuming additional calories to resist the temptation to overindulge in stress food. For example, you may play your favourite music for a little dance party as you tidy and arrange your home, diffuse your favourite essential oil before your workday, or take a lunch break and listen to birds singing.
3) A new hobby is a great way to de-stress
Working from home makes it simple to become engrossed in the never-ending social media feed or the 24/7 news cycle, a surefire recipe for increased stress eating, overindulging, and weight gain. The remedy: Try taking an online fitness class you were too nervous to attend in person or look into a new hobby you have never had time for. These are two ways to decompress. In addition to offering a healthy outlet, feel-good activities like online yoga classes, virtual guitar lessons, or app-based fitness sessions may also prevent you from nibbling throughout the day.
4) Scheduled your meals
Routines are important to our bodies and brains because they help us regulate our emotions and let us know when to eat, sleep, and move. When we follow these cues, our hormone levels change. Without the established schedule of your regular commute and workday, it’s simple to find yourself aimlessly munching all day long without any clear structure or goal. Make a meal and snack timetable to help you achieve your weight loss and overall well-being objectives. Simple meal-planning techniques can help you cook wholesome, satisfying meals, stop eating at night, and concentrate on taking a more thoughtful approach to eating.
5) Take mini-movement breaks
Almost any movement-based activity can help you burn calories and release pent-up energy. However, this need not include an intense workout each day. By combining exercise breaks with an existing daily regular activity, you can incorporate them into your life. For example, take a morning stroll around your neighbourhood to improve your energy and relieve tension; fit in a 7-minute high-intensity interval training before lunch to relieve work-related stress, or unwind with a quick yoga session after dinner.
6) Solidify your sleep schedule
Sleep deprivation has been shown to impede weight loss by elevating cortisol levels and encouraging snacking to sustain energy levels. Because of this, keeping a regular bedtime and wake-up time is also a part of self-care. Decide how much time you spend on screens each night (no Netflix after 9 p.m., for example) and establish a calming bedtime ritual (brushing your teeth, having a hot bath with scented candles, reading a nice book before bed). In addition to boosting your metabolism, preventing anxiety and sadness, and helping you wake up feeling rested, getting adequate sleep also helps you lose weight.
