HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT AND SURVIVE THE APOCALYPSE

Amidst the crisis in the world at this moment, It is important that we hold our head up high and believe this saying that has kept me through the worst times "This too shall pass". As we believe that there will be a light at the end of this vicious cycle of a tunnel we have to adhere strictly to every rule of social distancing, hygiene, and isolation for the greater good. This pandemic will only be controlled if we appreciate all the work and sacrifice health workers all over the world are giving and most importantly stay the f**k at home.

I saw a rare picture of my uncle a doctor in Harlingen, TX a few days ago dressed to the nines in protective gear, treating a patient in the ICU of the hospital he works in and beyond a reasonable doubt if I ever thought surviving being cooped up at home all day was a biggie I knew I had been selfish all along and heartless to not think of all the behind of the scenes of the pandemic I am not privy to. Doctors have gone and done well beyond their Hippocratic oath in managing the spread of this virus. Although this is not an appreciation post yet, the respect that I have garnered for doctors in the last three weeks has quadrupled and this is a little way of saying thank you to every doctor out there in the frontline fighting this virus and staying separated from their homes and their families. God bless you, DR Sanjay Gupta, for not caving into the pressure Mr. Trump mounts on you (😄)

Now let's talk;

On the first day of my stay at home, I vividly remembered how I battled with almost eating 5 square meals and how every single food seemed more fascinating. I knew I was in for big trouble because unlike the rest of the people I know, I have been cursed with a much slower metabolism hence I don't even have to eat a lot much to add on weight. I figured there might be people like me who are hoping to slow down on eating and eat a lot at the same time. This may not totally work if you shirk it every other day. I know it will be hard but have some faith brethren.

For the rest of the brave people that are looking to shed some weight, this is all the time you need to commit to those routines (grueling or not), jog around your neighborhood, and stick to your keto's and meal plans. Don't cheat the body and don't cheat on your plans as well. The feasibility of this for me is a sure negative because I have to deal with irregular sleep patterns not to talk of adding exercises. I will literally break in two days if I tried.

• First, try to keep busy- you will realize half the time you are eating is because you are less occupied with work and are probably just wandering about, so hunger creeps in more often. You can testify that there were times food didn't cross your mind over a long period of time in a day because you were neck-deep tied down with work. So, you have it, get busier and busier. The mind is pretty funny. It will tell your body things that have been translated by your brain as a thought. So half the time you think you are hungry you may not be really hungry. Like my sister likes to say you are probably peckish but your brain registered something different. Moral lesson your head isn't right all the time.

In between eating right and getting some work done, the importance of good sleep can never be overemphasized.

• Sleep is important for the rejuvenation of your body but too much of it makes you a slob. This is a time to regularize your sleep patterns and if it is as bad as mine you can work with alarms or smart bands. These will check how healthy your sleeping habits are and boost up your energy levels daily.

This period will be harder on the outgoing ladies and gents. I thought I would not be able to relate because I am an unrepentant couch potato but life has a way of handing you lemons to make a jar of orange juice. Hence, brethren, I was insanely bored the first week. I had loads of work to do and after I delivered my daily KPI I would revert back to my boring state. Good news I got busier.

• Try to fill your time with reading, writing, learning a skill (indoors might I add), taking online classes (I am concurrently enrolled in two classes), baking or cooking or sleeping if you like that.

This will hit other people harder but if you can not get your creative juices running this period or you are less productive in your work from home, don't stress it. Pace yourself and do something else you like; it will only get better.

• A lot of people are working from home and if you have not experienced remote jobs before, this is your first hands-on test to see how efficient your work turns out. Don't fail this test because you think you have all the time of the day. I struggled in my first month of working a remote job a year ago and timetables and to -do's helped a lot. Incorporate these and see how it works wonders in a short time. Relax, attend your virtual video meetings on Zoom and Hangouts as often as is needed but stick to the rut brothers.

    Finally, as they say, all work and no play .... try to find some playtime. Video games, movies, taking pictures, board, and card games are the prescribed play tools. I am terrible at all of the above except movies, so old boring me will still stick to reading at playtime or binge-watching the thousand and one TV shows my sister can not for the life of her, wrap her head around. Good thing ABC is back with HTGAWM, NBC is airing the last parts of The Blacklist and FreeForm and The CW didn't disappoint as well so it's series galore at some point of the day every day.


Fear will mess up your beautiful mind but it's okay to be scared for ourselves, loved ones and family. Be prayerful enough to not give the enemy any validations or opportunity to affect your mind negatively. Shalom



Your Blogger and friend in these hard times
Helen Dami 💚