9 Ways to Lose Weight

Originally Published August 11, 2020
Updated November 5, 2020
in Diet & Weight, Fitness & Training, Nutrition

How I Lost Weight During Quarantine

While many have gained weight during the quarantine, I was able to actually lose weight and totally recompose my body!

As a personal trainer and a nutritionist, that’s really an area that I can help many people with.

I want to let you know What I did and what worked for me.

Now, I did this during quarantine, but if I can lose weight during quarantine, I bet you can lose weight right now!

I realized that my calorie expenditure was much less in quarantine than running around from rink to rink, teaching lessons on the ice, and training kids every day.

So obviously, I had to be more mindful of what I was eating.

Before the stay-at-home orders happened, I was always running around, and I would put snacks in my bag.

I would often just snack all day and what I realized was that I was actually eating way more than I thought I was!

#1: Be More Mindful

The first thing I did was to be more mindful of what I was eating…

…when I was eating…
…and how I was eating.

I always feel that I eat healthy because I’m conscientious about what I buy.

So everything I have in the house is pretty healthy.

But, I would put cheese in my bag.

I would put multiple packets of nuts in there too.

And sometimes, I wouldn’t eat anything all day.

And other times, there would be two days worth of snacks in there, and I would find myself while I was driving from one place to another eating them ALL in the car!

So, I realized I was eating a lot more than I thought I was!

We’ve all been there – right?!

To be more mindful about it, I made sure that I was eating meals and not snacks.

And not to snack between meals.

#2: Portion Control

This is a big one because I feel that much of my weight loss may be attributed to organic foods.

The good thing about organic foods is that you know there are no chemicals in them!

You know there are no pesticides.
You know there’s no hormones or antibiotics.

And, with everything going on in the world, I just want to eat very clean.

I was pretty good with eating whole foods and organic foods before but became even more mindful about it.

I began by eating only organic meats and eggs.

Only organic vegetables.

I discovered some excellent sources for those too!

#3: Focus on Whole, Minimally Processed Foods

This is a big one because I feel that a lot of my weight loss may be been attributed to organic foods.

The good thing about organic foods is that you know there’s, no chemicals in them.

You know there’s, no pesticides.

You know there’s, no hormones or antibiotics.

And, with everything going on in the world.

I just want to eat very clean.

I was pretty good with eating whole foods and organic foods before, but became even more mindful about it.

I started by eating only organic meats and eggs.

Only organic vegetables.

I discovered some really good sources for those too!

#4: Eliminate Artificial Sweeteners

Before quarantine, I would feel dehydrated – a lot.

Particularly when I was coaching for several hours at a time, without a break.

I would be talking a lot and start to feel very dry.

So, I would buy drinks like Vitamin Water – the no sugar added variety, but all that means is that there are artificial sweeteners in there!

There’s also what they call “natural flavors” and artificial flavors too.

And, while I already knew that – I bought it anyway!

That’s one of those things you notice when you’re in quarantine – the foolish things you’ve been doing when normally always on-the-go!

The thing about natural flavors is that that they are anything but natural.

I realize that it sounds like they would be natural, and they probably should be natural.

But they’re not!

They’re often the same thing as artificial flavors.

So, I was mindful to just steer clear of them!

I only drank water!

I have an alkaline water pitcher that I keep next to my sink in my kitchen.

I fill a glass of water six to eight times a day.

I do have coffee in the morning with some unsweetened organic almond milk.

But, otherwise, it’s all water.

#5: Exercise

For the first two weeks of quarantine, we were under the impression it was only going to be a two-week thing.

Or, we were TOLD it was going to be a two-week thing.

It became more and more apparent as time went on, that it was going to actually be much longer than we initially thought!

But during the first two weeks or so, i didn’t exercise.

That seems odd to me because I’m usually a very active person – very fit.

But, being at home, I was trying to relax with all the anxiety that was going on.

So, what happened to me is that I started to feel weird tingles, sensations, pain, and weakness in my legs and feet.

Granted, I have some nerve damage from previous injuries.

But I realized that I HAD to do SOMETHING!

So, I pulled out all of my home exercise equipment.

I have a lot that I purchased over the years for different reasons and for different things, and I created my own program.

I started with three days a week because it had been a while since I had actually done any of these specific activities.

And, worked my way up to daily workouts of 30 to 60 minutes each.

#6: Sleep

I reset my whole sleep schedule.

I made it a point to get at least eight hours of sleep every night.

You need to sleep for recovery.

#7: Recovery

Recovery cannot be overestimated.

Beyond sleep, you NEED to do stretching and self-massage.

Pre-pandemic, I went to a chiropractor and licensed massage therapist regularly.

This may sound like a luxury, but when you’re a 46 years-old athlete and livelihood depends on your body working properly – it’s a necessity!

Due to the close contact you need to have with chiropractic and massage, it wasn’t an option for me to continue during a pandemic.

But, I have some foam rollers that I brushed off and began to use for self-massage.

I also have a Theragun, which is a percussive therapy tool that my chiropractor uses too.

I use the Theragun at least twice a day.

#8: Assessments

I did give myself assessments, so I did weigh myself.

(And prior to this, I hadn’t weighed myself in a VERY long time!)

I did measure myself.

I have a body fat scale, so I’m able to track my body composition.

How much did I actually lose?

I only lost about eight pounds, but I lost about six percent body fat.

Six percent of body fat is pretty huge, even though i didn’t lose so much weight.

My weight changed, and I recomposed my body, and I knew this because I performed the assessments.

I lost two inches from my waist.

And, I’ve lost several inches in other areas of my body.

I’ve actually given myself a total body recomposition!

#9: Keeping a Food Diary

I kept a food diary to keep myself accountable.

I wrote down everything that I ate and the portion size.

I did not count calories because if you’re looking at portions and know the right things to eat, it’s not really necessary to calculate the calories.

What I did instead was count my macros.

So, using the palm-sized portion of protein for each meal.

Then for carbs, it’s just a closed fist.

And, for vegetables, an open handful.

That’s it, and it makes it so much easier you don’t – have to look something up to figure out the calories or the points.

Calorie counting can sometimes be inaccurate because you might eat more than the portion size or underestimate.

Unfortunately, calorie counting just isn’t an exact science.

As a nutritionist, I don’t rely on calorie counting.

Instead, I look to macros and portion sizing.

Conclusion

Those are the nine simple ways that I lost weight and recomposed my body during quarantine.

It centers around making small changes that can add up to big results!

If you would like some help getting started with your weight loss journey, check out my online programs.