This article was written while being stuck at home during lockdown (isolation) whatever you want to call it. I needed a way to keep fit and lose weight while stuck at home. It is surprisingly easy!
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Can You Lose Weight While Stuck at Home
Can you lose weight if you are stuck at home?
Some people will tell you no. Those people are wrong.
Being confined to the house may make you more likely to gain weight instead of losing it but it does not have to be that way.
You can either spend your home time putting extra calories into your body or burning more calories instead. It’s your call – do you really want that chubby face!
What do you want to do?
Whether you are out and about or stuck between four walls, you can only lose weight if you get your diet right.
That means restricting your calorie intake by eating foods that don’t contain too many calories.
You have to ensure your body has less calories than it needs. That’s the only way to make it burn fat.
When you exercise, you burn more calories and lose extra weight but diet always comes first.
The problem is, people often think exercise is more important than it is.
That’s why they panic when they cannot go out but there is no need to panic.
If you want to exercise, there are plenty of ways to work up a sweat when you are stuck at home. Combining exercise with natural weight loss supplement is another strategy that is highly recommended.
Although exercise is second to diet, it’s always good.
You should do it if you can. Apart from being good for your body, it also benefits the mind.
When you are exercising, your body releases endorphins that elevate the mood and make you feel good. There is lots of data that suggests exercise can help to counter depression.
Recommended Reading: Unfair as it may seem men lose weight quicker than women. Find out why.
4 Things You Can Do to Lose Weight While Restricted to the House
1. Watch What You Eat
When you are stuck at home 24-hours a day it’s incredibly easy to overeat.
When people are bored or struggling to find things to do, it makes them more likely to snack. It’s something to do that fills in the time.
Comfort eating can be a big part of it too so try not to fall into the trap.
It’s best to stick to three nutritious, low-calorie meals per day.
If hunger becomes a problem, drinking extra water may help because it helps fill the stomach. It is important to keep hydrated and topped up with electrolytes.
There are some very good diet pills available that can help with hunger as well.
Keeping a food journal or logging your calorie intake in an app are both good ways to make sure your calorie intake does not go over the top.
2. Keep Busy
When you keep your mind busy your thoughts are less likely to dwell on food.
Some people like to keep their minds busy by reading a book.
Others keep themselves busy by decorating or making repairs to the house.
Apart from providing mental diversion, such activities also burn extra calories.
That’s always good when you are trying to lose weight.
3. Exercise and Keep Active
Just because the couch is there it doesn’t mean you have to glue your tush to it most of the time.
If you are going to be stuck at home for a while you may as well use that time to put all your focus into losing weight and getting fit.
Seriously, what are your excuses not to?
Even if you have a family stuck at home with you, the number of distractions are bound to be less.
Why not organize regular family workouts? You could have a family fitness challenge with your partner and kids.
Here’s some simple exercises to try:
- Push-ups
- Jumping Jacks
- Sit-ups
- Handstands (if you are feeling adventurous)
- Running on the spot
- Lunges
- Squats
The plank is simple and effective – especially if you want to lose your stomach fat and tighten those abs.
While you are exercising, it may be an idea to crank up the radio or pull up some of your favorite tunes on your mobile phone.
It will help create a feel-good atmosphere and the right choice of music can be very inspirational.
Think Physical (Olivia Newton-John) or Eye of the Tiger (Survivor).
Don’t remember those?
Try them anyway or go for something more modern like Work (Rihanna ft. Drake).
Note: it is very easy to get carried away with the fitness bug and workout or train perhaps too much. Resting is vitally important to have rest days or you could be overtraining.
4. Take Advantage of All Resources
Remember that old workout DVD? The one you never use?
Dig it out and put it to work. What did you buy it for anyway? It was a waste of money if its just sitting gathering dust.
Even if you don’t have a home workout DVD you can use to help you lose weight and keep fit, there’s still plenty of other free resources you can use.
If you want to workout to music and cannot locate your favorite tunes Spotify will probably be able to help.
If you don’t mind ads with your music, you can even listen for free.
The internet also provides a wealth of information. Need a healthy, low-calorie recipe or a diet plan? Google can help.
A simple internet search can also supply you with exercise programs and advice.
However, if you want to lose weight by exercising at home, YouTube is probably the best place to go.
The site has so many home workout videos you will be spoiled for choice.
There are home workouts for men, home workouts for women, ones with equipment, without equipment, and even home workouts that aim to destroy belly fat.
Just type in the type of workout you want and hit enter or tap on the magnifying glass next to the search box.
However, be aware many YouTube home workouts are very advanced.
If your level of fitness is poor or you haven’t exercised for a while be sure to let YouTube know it’s a beginner’s home workout you want.
Here’s a good 30-minute fat-burning workout to try:
Here’s a more advanced beginner’s workout.
It only lasts 20 minutes but you still may need to work up to it:
How to Lose Weight While Stuck at Home – Concluding Thoughts
It is possible to lose weight when you are stuck at home and it’s unlikely to be harder than losing weight at a gym.
The trick is to become proactive and adopt a can-do attitude.
Even if you are alone, you don’t have to go it alone with so many great video workout tutorials that can help.
Instead of feeling stuck in a rut, get stuck in and make your time at home count.