About lockdown weight gain

[Leanandmean31]

So I was talking to a friend on Zoom and she told me that she has gained a stone and a half during lockdown. I was shocked when I then spoke to other friends and heard the same thing and that I am one of the only ones I know who hasn’t gained weight and used lockdown as an excuse to eat what I like. I am worried about the NHS burden as there are so many patients who have had their treatment delayed due to Covid and the last thing we need is more health issues caused by obesity.
AIBU to think that people should be more responsible? Btw before anyone flames me I am not talking about people who have had a very stressful job during lockdown. My friend said her DH has discovered a love for baking so she has just been sitting there eating bread and butter for 2 months.

I lost three pounds initially due to eating fresh food instead of convenience foods and because this was the only option due to food shortages. When that eased I gained it back plus an additional two pounds due to extra treats that we've been making / sneaking into the online shops and a bit too much booze TBH. It is one of the few pleasures apart from music and sex, and for me TV and wine go hand in hand! I don't normally have time to watch TV. Booze has been making me dehydrated and lethargic so less exercise being done. Trying to knock that on the head.

Incidentally don't believe anyone who tells you not exercising makes no difference to weight. It definitely does.

@Lily193

You say you’re a doctor with published papers in the Lancet?

Goodness - two months ago you posted * I'm my own boss and work part time at home whenever I choose, so it's not restrictive at all. Not everyone has en employer or a rigid working life.*

@Lily193

* Personally, I would be very concerned if I had experienced the shift in fat deposition you have. So many women are happy to allow this to happen when it's widely accepted it's very unhealthy to carry abdominal fat. This shift is not an inevitable consequence of ageing.*

So you do agree that obesity is unhealthy?

Incidentally don't believe anyone who tells you not exercising makes no difference to weight. It definitely does

I agree but everyone says it doesn’t. It’s quite disheartening when even personal trainers say it’s 90% diet, 10% exercise. I think it puts people off even trying.

@SpokeTooSoon, I had a week where I was very busy (sitting on my bum though) and eating normally but not doing any of my normal walk and other exercise. Put on two pounds.

Those who say exercise does bugger all - either hate exercise and looking for an excuse to stop or don’t do any at all and don’t went to start or think they do exercise but it still doesn’t lead to weight loss but don’t actually really do exercise (two women at my gym for example, very overweight, would attend back to back classes. They would natter throughout, take ages to get equipment in between exercises, long coffees, late at start etc. They were able to truthfully say they’d spent three hours at the gym but had they actually worked out? Broken a sweat? Challenged themselves? Had they heck!)

I've gained half a stone and it is down to lack of exercise. On my working days i can do over twenty thousand steps plus half an hour of exercise morning and night. On my days off i do the same exercise but perhaps 10 thousand steps. During lockdown I've struggled to hit 5 thousand. Its annoying but now I'm starting work im hoping i will be able to drop the weight. Am intending to do more exercise as well

Exercise makes a big difference to weight loss but it only works if you combine it with a good diet. If I am active and go running, my TDEE is 2450 but if I am sedentary it is 1800. I have a big appetite and wouldn’t be able to survive on 1200 cals a day so doing daily exercise allows me to eat enough to feel satisfied.

I also recall watching a show about the fact that most people who lose weight regain it. It found that nearly all of those who had kept it off had adopted an active lifestyle with plenty of exercise. So yes you can drink shakes for 4 months and lose 3 stone while being inactive but it’s statistically unlikely to stay off.

Am a lockdown loser myself. The Covid stats scared the shit out of me. I had a BMI of nearly 33 so well into the obese range so I needed that kick up the arse. My BMI is now 28.8. Aiming for 25 by mid September or so.

Hey OP! I was a average BMI before, slightly leaning towards overweight but healthy for my body. I've lost nearly 2 stone and am now very lower end of BMI. Go me!

Trouble is, lockdown has caused my bulimia (had been 8 years free) to come back with a vengeance. Black coffee and laxatives all day until 6 and then I eat a big meal and purge.

Go on, tell me how fantastic I am for not gaining weight. The NHS definitely won't be burdened by me.

I'm such a fucking inspiration, especially compared to those lazy fat bastards.

I also recall watching a show about the fact that most people who lose weight regain it. It found that nearly all of those who had kept it off had adopted an active lifestyle with plenty of exercise. So yes you can drink shakes for 4 months and lose 3 stone while being inactive but it’s statistically unlikely to stay off.
Absolutely. That's the difference between changing lifestyle and dieting. One is sustainable, second one isn't. But people want results and fast so they turn to latter rather than consider how to change so it would last.

Some of the responses to OP are so uncalled for. But that is MN where 40% have eating disorders and are in denial bigger than I was about my weight, 40% just makes up bs in here and the remaining 20% is just scratching their hads about all of this🙄

I have gained over a stone and I have enjoyed every extra cake, biscuit, chocolate bar and all the pizza.

I will lose it (one day!)

@fandajji

That is so crap for you. Certain issues of mine have resurfaced during this pandemic and I wonder how many people all over the country, all over the world, have found themselves wrestling with mental health problems they thought they had overcome.

It makes the prospect of gaining a few pounds during lockdown fade into insignificance.

I hope you'll be ok.

ah

I'll be fine once my normal routine is back (please god be soon!). It just irrationally angers me when people become snooty over other people's weight gain. As if a few months of overeating will see off our NHS. Moronic oversimplification of the year!

As if a few months of overeating will see off our NHS. Moronic oversimplification of the year!

I beg to differ. That's actually how I personally started. Few months of eating this and that became a habit and voilà. From size 12 to morbidly obese👀 Habits are hard to break. If you spend 4 months overeating, it will be hard to stop. There is a valid concern.

I beg to differ. That's actually how I personally started. Few months of eating this and that became a habit and voilà. From size 12 to morbidly obese👀 Habits are hard to break. If you spend 4 months overeating, it will be hard to stop. There is a valid concern.

Obviously this doesn't apply to everyone. Even after putting a stone on my BMI is 22. I've never had a problem with food. I just overeat when bored. I've cut out the crap and plan to be my usual weight in the next 2-3 months.

Definitely agree that you can lose weight with dieting alone. However, to sustain that weight loss exercise is required.

.

I do power yoga 6 times a week, walk or cycle an hour every day. I put weight on as I was bored/greedy. I can easily lose it in 2-3 months.

Obviously this doesn't apply to everyone. Even after putting a stone on my BMI is 22. I've never had a problem with food. I just overeat when bored. I've cut out the crap and plan to be my usual weight in the next 2-3 months.

Oh yeah. Of course it doesn't apply to everyone. I just didn't agree that it's moronic oversimplification.

Guess I made my own moronic oversimplification there 🙈 ah well happens to the best of us!

Also agree that it’s not an oversimplification. I know it sounds dumb but I didn’t realise I had gotten so big. I was 14 and a half stone and I thought I was at least 2 stone less than that. I was in major denial. Also, losing weight is hard work mentally. I still haven’t hit the 2 stone mark and I have to tell myself constantly that I can’t get down about it taking a long time to come off. It’s depressing living a healthy lifestyle and exercising all the time and knowing you’re still nearly 13 stone and that you used to think that was a shockingly high weight. People who have gained over a stone shouldn’t underestimate how hard it will be to lose those extra pounds. Also, if you’re not a BMI of 22 and weight gain has tipped you into the obese category then getting back to a more healthy weight is harder. The bigger you get the harder it is to go back basically.

Also once you develop fat cells they are there for life, even if they are empty. That means that it will be much easier to regain the weight than if you’d never put it on to begin with. Even that odious Katie Hopkins who spent ages trumpeting about how easy it is to lose weight was unable to get down to her previous weight after her weight gain experiment and ended up almost a stone heavier.

@Shedtheload it's not dumb! My brain still likes to tell me I am same like before🙄 It lies more than an average MN husband!

Absolutely agree many don't realise how difficult it is to lose weight and keep it off once you had it. I wish I listened when my family told me "it's easier to keep fit than get fit".

Good luck, don't give up, it will budge.

Thank you SchrodingersImmigrant! Yes, I will definitely keep going and I am glad I’m not the only one whose brain is lying to them! It’s so true that it’s easier to keep fit than get fit.

I have gained about half a stone. Mainly due to the fact that as I have only been out once a week so shopping for fresh fruit and veg has been limited and what I buy only last half the week then it is more pasta, potatoes and carb. I have also been having more takeaways due to laziness and want to support My local pub that is a free house so no big chain to bake them out. The only income they have had for the past three months is by selling home delivery of meals.

I am starting to feel uncomfortable as I carry any extra weight on my tummy so it is now time for me to do something about the extra weight and it has inspired me to look into joining a gym once they reopen.