Telecommuting Health and Wellness: Physical Health

• Aim to get at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day.
• Limit prolonged sedentary behavior (aka sitting for long periods of time).
  • Get up and stretch your legs every once in a while.
  • Go outside and take walking breaks during the day (keeping a safe distance from people).
• Outdoor exercise, like walking, running, biking, etc., also has the added benefit of providing vitamin D.
• If you don't want to go outside, take advantage of what is available at home.
  • Take advantage of online exercise videos and classes (many of which are free).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), if "you’re currently at a healthy weight, you’re already one step ahead of the game. To stay at a healthy weight, it’s worth doing a little planning now. Or maybe you are overweight but aren’t ready to lose weight yet. If this is the case, preventing further weight gain is a worthy goal."

The CDC provides further guidance on:

• Choosing an eating plan to prevent weight gain
  • Healthy Eating for a Healthy Weight
  • Balancing Calories
• Getting active
  • Physical Activity for Healthy Weight
• Self-monitoring
  • Activity diary (PDF)
  • Food diary (PDF)

9 Ways to Avoid the "Quarantine 15"

Tina Hreso, a registered dietitian, (via the website Novant Health), offers nine tips on how to avoid weight gain during COVID-19:

1. Create an eating pattern where you have a meal or snack about every three hours. This can help prevent mindless snacking.
2. Keep a food journal – tracking the time of day, the food and the amount – to hold yourself accountable.
3. Limit snacking of highly processed foods such as chips and cookies. If you don’t buy it, you can’t eat it.
4. Portion out your snacks. Place cheese and crackers, for example, in individual bags to prevent overeating.
5. Drink at least 64 ounces of water each day to stay hydrated and keep your body’s systems functioning normally; consider adding things like mint, cucumber or ginger. Avoid sugary beverages.
6. Practice mindful eating. Ask yourself, “Why am I reaching for this?” or “Has it been three hours since my last meal or snack?”
7. Stay active. Lay out a yoga mat, walk up and down the stairs, stream a workout online or dust off your old workout tapes.
8. Call or FaceTime a friend or family member to talk about your emotions. Getting your feelings out can help curb emotional eating.
9. Buy food that comes from the earth – fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and lean protein [aka eat lots of fruits and vegetables].

According to Yale Medicine, "[when] you are managing new stresses—like being isolated or working at home for an extended period—it may be helpful to start identifying the circumstances that tend to make you want to overeat… Times of stress and change can disrupt healthy behaviors—and that can lead to weight gain…"

Yale Medicine also includes the following tips to avoid stress eating include:

• Plan your snacks and your meals.
• Instead of planning meals around a set of ingredients, plan around the foods you have available for consumption.
• If you feel you need to stockpile food, make sure to store that food away so it is not readily available.
• Boredom is often a trigger for impulsive snacking, so try to keep busy.
• Creating routines for eating, working, exercise, and play is also important.

Planning and preparing meals/ snacks ahead of time is a great way to avoid eating unhealthy foods, stress eating, etc. Explore the resources below to learn more.