Dr. David Buchin, director of Bariatric Surgery at Huntington Hospital and founder of Long Island Obesity Surgery, PC, is an expert in weight loss and offers some advice to people now in quarantine on how to avoid what is being called “the COVID-15” named after the infamous “Freshman 15” lb. weight gain that is sometimes experienced by college freshmen.
“Many people are now working from home, or perhaps under self-quarantine,” said Dr. Buchin, “and with the refrigerator just feet away from us, we can fall into binge-eating from stress, or boredom. This coupled with a more sedentary lifestyle can lead to weight gain.”
And if it’s any deterrent to eating too much, did you know that you have to decrease your caloric intake by 3,500 calories to lose just ONE LB.! So, by just decreasing your intake by 300 calories a day, it would take you nearly 12 days!
Dr. Buchin offers these important tips to eat healthy, avoid weight gain and to improve your immune system during this very stressful time.
The old adage to “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper” is still great advice he says.
“Eating your biggest meal of the day in the morning gives you more time during the day to burn calories and also keeps your blood sugar at a steady level throughout the day,” he said.
TIPS
- Avoid sweets. They spike your insulin and will result in you feeling more hungry. Instead eat proteins, fats and complex carbohydrates.
- Make a “calorie budget” based on your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and keep a journal of what you eat. Your BMR is like figuring out how much gas a car uses when idling. To figure out your BMR and how many calories you should have in your budget, try this BMR calculator.
- Get back to normalcy. Keep your meals on a regular schedule. If you are working from home, it may be tempting to walk those few feet to the kitchen, but eat when you would have eaten if working at the office!
- When shopping or getting food deliveries get plenty of fresh vegetables! Dr. Buchin says not to worry about purchasing too much fresh vegetables because you can freeze whatever you do not use right away. Fresh frozen vegetables contain more vitamins than canned.
- Exercise and MOVE! Even if it means getting up from the couch between episodes of “The Insider” or if you are watching commercial TV, use the commercial breaks to do squats, sit ups, leg lifts, walk…anything that involves moving.
- Get out in the fresh air and out of the stagnant indoor air of your house! This is important for both physical and mental health.
- Strengthen your immune system with foods rich in vitamin C, Vit A, green leafy vegetables, and take a multi vitamin each day if you think your diet is slacking, A strong immune system is what will help you fight the COVID-19 virus.
Dr. Buchin says that binge eating can lead to obesity and an increase in the risk of serious health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea. Obesity robs millions of Americans of their quality of life, limits range of motion, and can cause depression and a low quality of life overall.
More about Dr. David Buchin, MD, FACS, FASMBS.
