Ask the therapists: Stuck home and gaining weight
I’m a month into self-isolation and working from home. I feel exhausted all the time and I’m gaining weight, what can I do to get through this without self-destructing?
Blair
To speak to your exhaustion that you’re feeling, many health experts are reporting that everyone is experiencing the same phenomenon. Some attribute it to the total change in our routine, which for many is increasing stress levels. If you are working from home, there could be ongoing distractions and temptations, requiring extra effort to maintain focus.
For many people, the usual time they took commuting provided a reprieve from responsibilities and a break in the work regimen. In most cases, people are waking up and juggling parenting and work right off the bat, all day long. What’s more, the stress of having these new standards of cleanliness from washing hands, to groceries, to door handles demand a whole new level of effort, not to mention the life or death reason behind these best practices that weighs heavily in the back of our minds.
What I have done is considered my optimal work period, which for me is morning time. I remove myself from the family dynamic for three to four hours and then resurface to make a nutritious meal. Any work I do in the afternoon is light work that doesn’t require intense concentration.
What keeps my energy high is my habit of interspersing light exercise, mainly walking and biking, throughout my day to release any negative or stressful energy. As per usual, I strongly encourage you to get your bones outside too, while honoring social distance. There’s just no replacement for the energy and oxygen we absorb from being outdoors, amongst the elements and the wildlife. Not only does it nourish our bodies, exercising outdoors has also been linked to improvements in our mood.
Since COVID 19 is a virus that attacks the respiratory system, it makes sense to commit to taking deep breaths in the natural world, which help to stretch our breathing muscles, fortify the lungs and maximize our oxygen uptake.
Jenny
Funny thing, I spoke with my doctor yesterday and she reported that everyone is gaining 5-10lbs these days. While there are some people who are working harder than ever to provide essential services at this time, many of us are stuck at home, with seemingly little else to do but watch shows all day long. But in reality, there’s actually a whole variety of things we can be doing to nurture our health, and it’s particularly important at this time when we want to stay as strong as we can in order to fight incoming pathogens.
The first thing we need to do is muster the discipline to turn off the screen, or at least monitor consumption, a) because unless you’ve got a stationary bike or elliptical machine, watching a screen equals inactivity and b) we are not designed to sit and live passively 10 hours a day. It’s helpful to make a plan, like our girls, who have been creating a HIIT workout and yoga practice schedule for themselves each week. If you’ve not been active since you’ve been isolating, you’ll want to ease into it gently, now is not the time to be injuring yourself and requiring treatment. It’s also not a time to severely exert yourself and push for a personal best. We want to diminish our stress on every level possible and keep our energy high, so moderate activity is ideal. That being said, there’s a sweet spot for everyone when it comes to the right amount and type of exercise, given your constitution, your fitness level and any pre-existing conditions you may be living with.
Secondly, there are endless exercises you can do within the confines of your home, no equipment required. The following are three suggestions to keep your major muscles moving:
- Push-ups: the easiest version is to start with incline push-ups by standing about three feet away from the wall and lean in to plant your hands on the wall in front of the shoulders. Bend at the elbows until your chest comes near the wall and then press away until your arms straighten again. Do five to ten repetitions a few times a day and gradually build up to doing these with hands on a counter, then hands on the floor and if you’re hardcore, lift your feet onto the seat of a chair and do decline push-ups (with hands on the floor).
- Squats: step your feet about two to three feet apart, toes facing forward and take a breath or two here to steady your balance. Inhale and release your hips back and down, bending your knees no further than 90 degrees. Exhale press through your feet and return to standing. If you want to add the arms, as your hips sink, your arms could float up in front of your shoulders, and as you rise to standing, the arms lower alongside the body. If you can, do these ten times a few times a day to maintain strength and stamina in your legs.
- Spinal extensions: since most of us are likely spending our days in a seated position, it’s important to strengthen the muscles along the backside to keep our posture tall and open. For this exercise, you can lay on the ground, face down, with arms alongside your torso. Inhale and lift your head, chest, feet and legs off the ground squeeze your backside muscles and exhale lower. Initially you may want to lift one leg at a time. Feel free to add a lift in the arms as well and even try interlocking fingers behind you to recruit more muscles and stretch the chest area. Do these ten times, two times a day and you’ll soon notice greater ease in standing up straight and breathing deeply.
Have a question for Jenny and Blair? Send your inquiries to info@BreathingSpaceYogaStudio.ca