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've put on a few lb, still "healthy" range but not really feeling it.
Less incidental exercise, walking around the neighbourhood on school runs, community activities. Longer periods of just sitting.
Loss of fitness classes.
No races to train for.
Loss of routine, struggling with motivation.
Family requiring constant feeding for 4 of mutually agreeable foods. I normally have a lighter lunch, but no one else would eat it and I'm not a chef, so not doing custom dinners. More carbs, less veg-trying to keep some flesh on my very ribby DCs.
More snacks and alcohol because I can while the rest of my life is in suspended animation. Boredom picking for a bit of sensory stimulation.

@Juliet2014

Hopefully you understand that not all of us who are Diabetics or have strokes are due to ever having been overweight?

Speaking from experience, my entire paternal side of the family have Diabetes (some Type 1, some Type 2) and some are average weight, some are underweight. We’re from an ethnic background where Diabetes is extremely prevalent regardless of weight.

Similarly, Stroke here at 24 years old, weighing 8 and a half stone at 5”6. Non smoker, non drinker. I have a genetic vascular disorder.

Yes there will be obese people in the Shielding category but we’ve not all got here through lifestyle choices.

Rather an emotional eater than a multitude of other self medicating substances or activities.

Just thought I'd give another biscuit for your goadiness OP
Careful it doesn't make you gain weight because then what would you do for a personality?

Basically your OP is common sense but you should be sensitive to the fact that knowing what is sensible and actually doing what is sensible are quite separate things and a bit of a challenge. Help solving that one would be welcome rather than just stating the obvious and sounding a bit smug.

Lots of people I know have lost weight

And here is what a narcissist looks like to anyone who has not met one. Look at me it's a pandemic and I'm gr8.

Anyways I gained 1lb thought was more tbh but slimming world lady said I was 1lb lighter. I was eating terrible and yesterday ate the nutella (whole jar) bk on plan today.

@NameChange84

Yes I recognise not all are shielding as a result of conditions caused by or exacerbated by obesity

But many many conditions are indeed caused by and exacerbated by obesity and these fall in the shielding group.

I've put on weight during lockdown because of massive changes to my routine. I usually play tennis 4 times a week and go to the gym to lift weights 3 lunchtimes a week. Neither of these things I've been able to do in lockdown.

My step count is normally up around 15,000, from getting to work etc. In lockdown it's not been anything like that.

Christ, what a pile on! The OP may have been a bit clumsy and judgemental in her wording but many posters have quickly clamoured to stick the boot in far more viciously than the post warranted. ‘Bet you were popular at school’, ‘you must love yourself’ etc from a sea of voices is far nastier than anything in the OP. It’s a legitimate discussion. I had a training day back at work last week and was really shocked by how much weight people had put on. I can understand it, most people have eaten more, moved less and been stressed. But some people have eaten a lot more and moved a lot less than others.

I also recognise that some of those shielding condition may well be caused by and or exacerbated by obesity BUT also caused by completely unrelated to obesity, as in your case

@Woodchiponthewall

I completely agree

I went back and read all the OP’s posts and I don’t think goody at all. She raises a very relevant point.

The contradiction of so many being careful re wearing face masks and following lockdown rules carefully BUT then gaining substantial weight, and obesity has been confirmed as a very high risk factor to covid.

@toomanyplants

You've annoyed us. Go and eat a leaf.

😂😂😂😂😂

This x200000

I too have put on a stone and a half during lockdown - very depressing as in the 8 months prior to March I lost 2.5 stone! Gaining 7 lb a month is actually easier than you'd think when you're living in an unstable time, not knowing what the future holds, stuck at home when really the only enjoyable things to do are to eat/drink, structure and routine are out the window, you have worry for family etc. 7lb a month is about 1.5 lb a week , which is what we decide people should lose on a diet if they're doing it sensibly. Hardly surprising it works the other way too! A lot of people feel that the key to surviving lockdown is "getting through it" which means doing whatever you need to do, including eating /drinking more than normal. They think, like me, that temporary weight gain can be sorted out once life returns to some semblance of normality. Which is actually quite sensible? And maybe suggests a more balanced view than that of someone whose only priority is to stay "lean and mean" at any cost. After all if there were to be serious food shortages - as could happen in a time of global crisis - you would be a gonner before us fatties

... also your username makes your comment even better @toomanyplants

It’s hard OP if you are not naturally slim. It won’t be just a change in diet and eating more calories than usual.

It’s most likely the lack of routine staying up late on a night. Lack of exercise even simple things like the school run! It’s a drastic change.
Also with No gyms or swimming baths open you can expect most to gain a few pounds.

I think the problem is in the UK the perception of food is problematic. It's trendy and socially acceptable to joke about how much fun your drank, or oops i ate the whole tube of pringles, kids couldn't wait to have their first McDonalds in 3 months. But if you say you go for a run or cycle a few times a week or that you don't eat sugary foods then you are fair game to be mocked.

How many people eat 7 lots of fruit and veg a day and do 30 minutes of exercise 5 times a week. These are guidelines for our health.

I'm convinced that one of the main reasons that covid-19 has been so bad here is because of poor nutrition and weight.

It's fascinating that you can lock someone for being healthy but not for over eating. It's so easy to have excuses like emotional eating but actually every one of us iscapable of not buying biscuits in Asda so we can't eat them and pile of weight.

I don’t think a few people
Gaining a few stones due to emotional eating is going to topple the NHS

For the record, I normally go to the gym asi have a fairly sedentary job so I have been running,cycling and getting exercise classes on YouTube.

I prepare a salad each evening ready for lunch the next day as I would if I was at work and maintain my sleep wale cycle and mealtimes. It's not quantum physics.

How many people eat 7 lots of fruit and veg a day and do 30 minutes of exercise 5 times a week. These are guidelines for our health.

Me! But been stress eating carbs

It does need addressing actually

It’s most likely the lack of routine staying up late on a night. Lack of exercise even simple things like the school run! It’s a drastic change

Absolutely. I’m staying up far later than I would normally, watching Netflix etc and reaching for snacks like every night is a Saturday because I don’t have to get up as early.

@Malbecblooms

For the record, I normally go to the gym asi have a fairly sedentary job so I have been running,cycling and getting exercise classes on YouTube.

I prepare a salad each evening ready for lunch the next day as I would if I was at work and maintain my sleep wale cycle and mealtimes. It's not quantum physics.

It is when you have children.

I prepare a salad each evening ready for lunch the next day as I would if I was at work and maintain my sleep wale cycle and mealtimes. It's not quantum physics

It’s not, but can you understand that there is a psychological contribution to the problem for many people? We all know it’s a simple equation. Every overweight person out there knows the science of weight loss. It’s not as easy as that. I think people who have never struggled with their weight are very lucky and I can see why they’d find it hard to understand the enormous will-power required for others to keep their weight under control.

Same with alcohol and smoking and drugs I guess. I’ve never done any of those (well, the odd drink but I can take or leave). Others have lifelong struggles. I would never say to a smoker “Hey, just stop buying them then you won’t have them in the house. Problem solved!” Or to an alcoholic “Why not just have half a glass and save the rest for tomorrow like me?”.

I’ve gained 9lb, which takes me up to a BMI of 23, what a terrible burden on the NHS I am 🙄

Not particularly due to overeating I don’t think, much more because I’ve been less active. Doing the same amount of running as normal, but my day to day activity is way lower - very hard to replicate that 🤷🏻‍♀️

I really think we should have a separate topic on here called "Obesity Crisis", so that all the people who pretend they care about health, but secretly loathe the overweight can fuck off there. You could have thread after thread to post "I weigh 9 stone" and "I wear a size 6/8" and bash the fatties all day long!