Why are people gaining weight during corona?

[Anonymous]

To me the bigger question to me is not whether people are gaining weight (some are, some aren't, according to responses to this thread) but: why do we care?

I know people who have gained a few pounds because they are snacking more at home and can't exercise as they did before. I know others who feel they are eating better and exercising more because they don't have long commutes anymore.

But who cares? So you gained 10 lbs during a pandemic. Oh well, that seems understandable. So you lost 10 lbs during a pandemic. Good for you I guess, but is it really that important?

It just doesn't matter. It's a few pounds. Why do we fixate on weight so much? I worry about people's health, but I'm way more worried about stress levels, exposure to Covid and the flu, and access to healthcare. All of those are much more dangerous than any of us sitting on a little more cushioning while we consume some ice cream and Netflix in the evening.

This feels like the worst possible sort of navel gazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me count the ways.

1) I no longer bike 15 miles round trip to work 3x a week. I now run 3x a week but I have basically cut my exercise time in 1/3 because i no longer have the free time. Valid

2) But if I'm not spending my time commuting why don't i just replace it with exercise? Because my day is split into work and childcare shifts from 7 am to 6 PM. After 6 I have to make dinner, bathe the kids, and get them to bed, which usually takes until 9 PM. At that point I'm exhausted, it's dark out, I have to deal with stuff like health and financial paperwork and packing to move, and i just want 30 damn minutes to myself. And I consider myself very lucky that i don't have to log back on for work after my kids are asleep! Wake up earlier to exercise

3) I'd like to spend more time outside with my kids, but it has been a HOT summer, and now it's a rainy and humid week. We don't feel safe going to our local public pool, which we'd normally do in this weather. The baby is too small to put on a bike. We are just too cooped up. It sucks. I'm not trying to keep my kids stuck indoors but we're apartment dwellers and the options are limited. Excuse

4) It's harder to buy lots of fruits and vegetables when you're shopping in person less frequently, and harder to cook them when you are short on dinner prep time due to childcare. I have tried to order boxes ahead from wholesale services and farms for curbside pickup, but honestly my days are so hectic i find it difficult to remember to do so at least 2 days in advance.

Excuse

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me count the ways.

1) I no longer bike 15 miles round trip to work 3x a week. I now run 3x a week but I have basically cut my exercise time in 1/3 because i no longer have the free time. Valid

2) But if I'm not spending my time commuting why don't i just replace it with exercise? Because my day is split into work and childcare shifts from 7 am to 6 PM. After 6 I have to make dinner, bathe the kids, and get them to bed, which usually takes until 9 PM. At that point I'm exhausted, it's dark out, I have to deal with stuff like health and financial paperwork and packing to move, and i just want 30 damn minutes to myself. And I consider myself very lucky that i don't have to log back on for work after my kids are asleep! Wake up earlier to exercise

3) I'd like to spend more time outside with my kids, but it has been a HOT summer, and now it's a rainy and humid week. We don't feel safe going to our local public pool, which we'd normally do in this weather. The baby is too small to put on a bike. We are just too cooped up. It sucks. I'm not trying to keep my kids stuck indoors but we're apartment dwellers and the options are limited. Excuse

4) It's harder to buy lots of fruits and vegetables when you're shopping in person less frequently, and harder to cook them when you are short on dinner prep time due to childcare. I have tried to order boxes ahead from wholesale services and farms for curbside pickup, but honestly my days are so hectic i find it difficult to remember to do so at least 2 days in advance.

Excuse

PP botched that response!

[Anonymous]

Eating more and moving less. Take personal responsibility people! COVID pandemic itself does not cause weight gain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To me the bigger question to me is not whether people are gaining weight (some are, some aren't, according to responses to this thread) but: why do we care?

I know people who have gained a few pounds because they are snacking more at home and can't exercise as they did before. I know others who feel they are eating better and exercising more because they don't have long commutes anymore.

But who cares? So you gained 10 lbs during a pandemic. Oh well, that seems understandable. So you lost 10 lbs during a pandemic. Good for you I guess, but is it really that important?

It just doesn't matter. It's a few pounds. Why do we fixate on weight so much? I worry about people's health, but I'm way more worried about stress levels, exposure to Covid and the flu, and access to healthcare. All of those are much more dangerous than any of us sitting on a little more cushioning while we consume some ice cream and Netflix in the evening.

This feels like the worst possible sort of navel gazing.

We don’t care. But when people gain weight and constantly talk it that can trigger a “why are they gaining weight during the pandemic?” thought. Thus is why OP is probably is asking the question.

[Anonymous]

Don't ask stupid questions.

[Anonymous]

The same reason they always gain weight:. They eat too much.

[Anonymous]

I think binge eating and other disordered eating can be triggered by anxiety/depression and those are skyrocketing right now. I used to manage disordered eating by not having food at my office. Now I'm 10 feet from food at all times...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to walk to the metro, walk to work, walk to get lunch, and then do it all on the way home. I could easily hit 10,000 steps just doing that. Now all that walking is cut out. I still work out, but I’ve gained 10 pounds. I’ve started going for a walk before and after work, but I hate walking for the sake of walking. I guess I never considered the extra walking exercise but it turns out it was. I increased my workouts, but it’s going to be a lot harder to lose than it was to gain.

This is me. I used to have a lot more "ambient" exercise in my day. Not only my commute by foot and metro but also I spent a lot of time charging about the office--our office culture was such that it was common for me to run down to someone's office to ask a question in person rather than picking up the phone. Just walking around the office during the day was typically 4000 steps/day for me (not counting running out to get lunch). Adding in commute and running out to get a salad at lunch, I typically logged 9000 steps per day, without counting dedicated exercise time. (I also spent a lot more time standing at my standing desk and on the metro--I never sat on metro but rather always stood).

Now my "ambient" exercise can be as little as 1200 steps. Turns out it is a HUGE difference. I also don't have a standing desk at home, so I sit a lot more.

I used to run out for a salad each day, so my going out for lunch did not add a lot of calories to my diet. We didn't get takeout or eat in restaurants much before. Now, I think because there is so much less "fun" in our lives, we get takeout more, which adds calories; I bake more, which adds calories; and I drink more, which adds calories.

I put on 6 pounds in the first months of quarantine. With some concerted effort, I lost the weight this summer, but now it's creeping back again. Maddening.

[Anonymous]

Think about all of the steps that people took who commuted by metro into the city. Walk from house to metro stop, walk from metro stop to office. Walk out for lunch. Walk around the building for a break or to run an errand.

Another thing is that now that you don't see anyone or have to fit into that work outfit, there is less pressure there.

For all the feds who got paid to work out each week at the building gym, that is now gone.

Less of a routine now causes people to eat differently and more.

On and on. For most people, all it takes is one factor to get them off track and with COVID, multiple factors have been added.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To me the bigger question to me is not whether people are gaining weight (some are, some aren't, according to responses to this thread) but: why do we care?

I know people who have gained a few pounds because they are snacking more at home and can't exercise as they did before. I know others who feel they are eating better and exercising more because they don't have long commutes anymore.

But who cares? So you gained 10 lbs during a pandemic. Oh well, that seems understandable. So you lost 10 lbs during a pandemic. Good for you I guess, but is it really that important?

It just doesn't matter. It's a few pounds. Why do we fixate on weight so much? I worry about people's health, but I'm way more worried about stress levels, exposure to Covid and the flu, and access to healthcare. All of those are much more dangerous than any of us sitting on a little more cushioning while we consume some ice cream and Netflix in the evening.

This feels like the worst possible sort of navel gazing.

PP who gained (and then lost and now is in the process of gaining back) 6 pounds here. It matters to me because I am short and a 6 pound weight gain means my clothes become uncomfortably tight. It also matters to me because I seem to gain it all in my belly and that makes me anxious because I have a family history of ovarian cancer. I prefer to stay slimmer and worry less about "bloating" that is actually fat. I guess my worry about this is, literally, "navel gazing" LOL.

[Anonymous]

Cooking lots of good food, have only put on a few lbs but needed to lose about 10 so not great. As others have said, I’m getting more concentrated exercise time but I’m not getting that normal movement most days walking around an office, etc do it may sort of even out. Cooking the family good meals has been one of the ways to keep everyone’s spirits up and has been a creative outlet. Tween us always baking yummy things.

Probably indulged a bit too much at the outset - thinking this would be a month or two situation.

[Anonymous]

I had a job that required constant movement. The shift to a screen was a huge reduction in physical activity.

I also had more time to bake and it became one of our only sources of entertainment in the late winter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To me the bigger question to me is not whether people are gaining weight (some are, some aren't, according to responses to this thread) but: why do we care?

I know people who have gained a few pounds because they are snacking more at home and can't exercise as they did before. I know others who feel they are eating better and exercising more because they don't have long commutes anymore.

But who cares? So you gained 10 lbs during a pandemic. Oh well, that seems understandable. So you lost 10 lbs during a pandemic. Good for you I guess, but is it really that important?

It just doesn't matter. It's a few pounds. Why do we fixate on weight so much? I worry about people's health, but I'm way more worried about stress levels, exposure to Covid and the flu, and access to healthcare. All of those are much more dangerous than any of us sitting on a little more cushioning while we consume some ice cream and Netflix in the evening.

This feels like the worst possible sort of navel gazing.

Why does anyone care about anything in their lives? I mean we cant just spend all our times ruminating about healthcare and Covid. What good would that do?

[Anonymous]

I can work out like a mad person and in fact in periods of my life, I have as I instructed several classes a day and then did my own morning workout, and can still be chubby or thinner/toned depending solely on my diet. I have to REALLY track everything I eat and only drink maybe 1 night per week 3 drinks max in order to stay in shape. Its all what goes in the mouth and home 24/7 meant more snacking and boozing. Its so simple. Its not about time to work out or even time to plan meals, its the mindless in between. And I won't even hate on myself for it. You know what, the happy hours on the deck for the first few months with DH was a super nice way to feel like we had something to "do" and connect to that part of ourselves that missed going out or being social.