Fighting Back Against the Quarantine 15
By: Foodom, published on 12/02/2020
By now, you’ve probably heard at least one friend say they’ve gained the dreaded Quarantine 15–15 lbs. of excess weight brought on by the quarantine lifestyle. When the pandemic first started, many of us thought quarantining would just be a two-week downtime to “flatten the curve” so we could all quickly get back to our usual routines. We worked in our jammies, had school at home, ordered pizza, and watched every episode of The Queen’s Gambit. It was almost fun at first to have this mandatory downtime…until it wasn’t two weeks…and it wasn’t fun.
Once school was shut down indefinitely, parents soon realized that the pajama party was over, and they were now officially working, caregiving, and schooling from home. The kitchen table was now the school room, and work projects were often completed at 11 pm.
The Impact of Chronic Stress
All of this stress leads to weight gain. How? According to Psychology Today, “Research shows that stress alters overall food intake, resulting in either under- or overeating, which may be influenced by stressor severity. Chronic life stress seems to be associated with a greater preference for energy- and nutrient-dense foods, namely those that are high in sugar and fat.” Increased stress levels also increase the risk of serious health problems down the road, such as heart disease, diabetes, depression and anxiety.
What’s more stressful than a pandemic, forcing you to wear more hats than you can handle, and limited options for reducing that stress?
Not only that, but when your workday starts at 5 am so you can get a few hours in before school Zoom meetings, and then you start working again from 3 pm on, who has the energy to go to the grocery store to shop, cook a bunch of food, then clean that whole mess? Thus, the rise in takeout meals skyrocketed. And takeout meals often equate to pizza, burgers, tacos, French fries, and subs. This type of comfort eating adds to our waistlines and declining health.
Breaking the Cycle
So, how do you fight the Quarantine 15, especially as it looks like more restrictions are coming our way for the winter? There are 3 main ways to break this vicious cycle:
1. Stock your kitchen with healthy and nutritious foods for snacking like easy to grab fruits, veggies, and low fat cheese, and protein.
2. Meal plan and portion out healthy meals on the weekend that you can simply re-heat during the busy weeknights.
3. Take time for self-care such as rest, meditation, exercise, and some solo time away from daily responsibilities.
But how can busy people and families like yours reduce stress, get more time back in your day, AND eat healthier the whole week for less than the price of takeout? By using Foodom.
Here’s how it works
1. Go to www.myfoodom.com
2. Click on Food Menu, or All Dishes
3. You can then use the Filters on the left to narrow down by diets, courses, cuisines, and more. All chefs cook all dishes.
4. Start choosing the dishes you’d like and remember to choose 10 servings whenever possible to ensure you have leftovers!
5. As you choose more dishes, the cooking fee per dish changes dramatically as the chef can often be working on multiple dishes at the same time.
6. Finish up your order and schedule a chef near you to cook everything in one day! You can even have the chef shop for the ingredients for you, store leftovers, and they always clean up all the cooking dishes before they go.
7. An updated shopping list will be emailed to you after the chef approves your order. You may have many of the ingredients at home already.
Check this video for an example of how it works!
Variety, flexibility and knowing what’s in your food
Foodom has many healthy dishes available to aid with weight loss and can cater to a variety of diets like KETO, low-fat, sugar-free, gluten-free, heart-healthy, and more. Plus, since dishes are being cooked in your home, ingredients can be purchased fresh that day unlike restaurants which may have longer shelf life foods filled with preservatives. And, you know exactly what goes into your meals, a vegetarian meal is really vegetarian, with no hidden chicken stock or lard!
By reducing trips to the grocery store, and restaurant pick-ups, you are saving money from buying impulse foods, and you are reducing your exposure to COVID-19. All of the chefs have been thoroughly certified not only in food safety, but also the precautions they need to take like wearing a mask, frequent handwashing, and socially distancing to keep everyone safe while in your home.
We invite you to give Foodom a try to help reduce your stress, eat healthier, and get precious time back!
