Covid 15
I got an email asking what exactly Covid 15 is. Well, the term is just a figure of speech invented by health and fitness experts on the added weight brought about by the Covid lockdown.
Most of us had been staying home to be safe from infection. Eventually, boredom enters. In our comfort zones, we all have unlimited access to our kitchen and food pantries resulting in mindless snacking, sometimes finding several reasons for midnight raids to the fridge. Yep, Covid-15 sets in, translated to 15 pounds more.
Surely, most of us had escaped Covid-19 but not Covid-15, the quarantine weight gain. With all the down time we had and wearing loose-fitting house clothes, we experimented in the kitchen, learned how to bake and cook with delicious results.
Retail shops could have suffered but online sales have risen because what used to be medium sized had now become large or larger. Returns as well spiked because we thought that what used to fit us perfectly is now tighter than skin tight.
Mindless eating comes with boredom and stress and dieticians have tips for us to combat Covid-15. Snacking keeps our hunger under control but they said we must not wait to be too hungry as we tend to overeat on unhealthy and high calorie snacks.
All-time favorites chips and bite-sized chocolates are a no-no and if we can’t really resist the temptation, it was suggested to read the labels for serving size and stick to one serving. Do we really have time to read the prints when we rip open a pack of Piattos or Nagarayas? Would a small pack be enough with an ice cold Coke?
To keep our minds off food, they suggest for us to read a book, talk to friends on the telephone or go out of the house for a walk. I know of people who can talk for hours on the phone that sometimes I wonder if mouths can overheat from talking. I don’t think going out of the house for a walk is a good idea as every eskina around the neighborhood has something like saging pinaypay or tinuhog, lechon manok or liempo or ngohiong, barbecue and puso.
Above all, they say consistency is the key. We don’t have to change our meal times because our routines had changed as it can lead to overeating. As if we hag not overeaten already. It was advised that at least 50% of our plates to be veggies.
So let’s go easy on impulsive eating to get away from Covid 15. Pasingot pud ta, at least 30 minutes a day, dili kay panington ta’g hinigop sa sabaw sa pochero.
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