The Elephant in the Room

What if I told you that you had gained at least 10 pounds just by not going to the office, Surprised? Allow me to explain. Sunil is a category manager for an e-commerce company. He has been working from home for the past eight months. He was averaging 4000-5000 steps a day till evening when he used to work from his office, but now he is missing out on those daily steps.

If we run the numbers, Sunil has gained approximately 10 pounds just by working from home, and if you include increased snacking, stress eating (and there is a lot of it), binge drinking, then the sky is your limit.

In my opinion, this is the most overlooked subject in Corporate-COVID-19-World. People who know me personally know that I am not fit by any stretch of the imagination. Still, from April 2020 till now, I have not only prevented myself from gaining weight but have successfully reduced around 20 pounds.

I will touch upon what I did and learned and the traps that I fell into along this journey. Before this, I want to make it clear being healthy and losing weight are not entirely the same thing. Losing weight has to do with calorie restriction being healthy is when you start tracking your macros (carbs, fats, and proteins) along with it

In this article, I am only focussing on losing weight!

Restrict calories 

Trust me, there are no two ways about it, had there been any other way, I would have figured it out by now. All the diets that existed in the past or are presently there or will exist in the future lead you to consume fewer calories than required to maintain your current weight. So, why don't we address this head-on? 

I will explain the simple calorie calculation I use that gives you room to indulge in foods that you like later in this article. And No, Stacy, having honey and lemon with lukewarm water in the morning will not cut fat. Nothing in this world can cut fat. I am repeating this.

EAT FEWER CALORIES! 

and now doing it slowly

E A T F E W E R C A L O R I E S!

The Cardio Queen/King

Rahul is fed up with his increasing weight and has vowed to run on a treadmill for 30 mins every day (burned 250-300 cal). One month has passed; instead of losing, Rahul has gained 2 pounds! Little did he knew that cardio is not end all be all. It is just a tool. Let's see where he went wrong. Since he was running on a treadmill, he started treating himself daily with a heavy breakfast (extra 500 cal), and that's how we fail and start hating cardio and then go on a binge spree and gain 20-30 pounds and think we are meant to be like this, No Rahul, you just don't know what you are doing!

Cardio is used to augment calorie restriction. It is not a magic pill.

100-Day Challenge 

Just do this for 100 days, take your goal body weight (the weight you want to be/your ideal weight), and multiply it by 12. That is the number of calories you take every day for the next 100 days to lose weight and be at least 90% consistent with it. For instance, my ideal weight is 180 pounds. For me, the daily calorie requirement is 2160 calories. This is the most relaxed way for sustainable weight loss.

Ther are many free apps out there to track calories. I use HealthifyMe.

The Amazing Binge Spree 

After reading this article, Atul took up my 100-day challenge and was consistent for the first two weeks. He was eating lower than the above formula's calorie, but one Friday night after work, he went out with friends for a few drinks. He went all in and missed his daily target, and that is fine. But in guilt, he said to himself, "what the heck, let me eat whatever I can this weekend, and I will start afresh from Monday" I hate to break it to you, Atul, that Monday will never come!

For Atul, an innocent binge Friday turned into a sinful binge month and beyond.

It is okay to slip for a day for a weekend, but you are all right if you get back on track the very next day. The moment you start thinking like Atul, you are gone!

The only way you can fail this thing is when you be an Atul, so don't be an Atul. Don't start like you will lose 20 pounds in a month and then end up with more weight than you started with. Aim for slow and sustainable weight loss (1-2 pounds per week)

I used to google how to lose 10 kgs in a month every month. It took me more time than I am willing to admit to understand that there is no deadline for weight loss. It took you your entire life to be like this, you can't reduce 20% of it in 2 months! Give yourself some time and enjoy the journey!

(Disclaimer: The information that I shared in this article is based on my personal experience and should not be seen as a replacement for expert medical advice)