Five tips to shed your Covid weight by Spring.

How to gradually shed weight gained during Covid.

Covid 15 is not a mutation of the virus but rather the average weight gained during the pandemic.

If you haven’t put your pre-Covid street clothes on in a while, you might want to do so. It’s a good way to figure out if you’ve changed sizes or not especially if you don’t own a scale.

If you’ve added a few pounds or just want to improve your health before spring, these tips will help.

Five tips to shed your Covid weight

1/ Purchase a scale

Studies show that weighing yourself daily helps to prevent weight gain. However, if weighing yourself daily makes you unhappy, try monthly. It’s enough to tell you whether the needle is moving in the right direction or not.

2/ Check your step counter

Studies have shown that 10,000 steps per day is enough to maintain good health. Step counters on your smartphone or other device will give you your step count per day and tell you how your daily count compares to last week and last year.

Chances are your activity level has declined. Walking is one of the safe activities that you can do with friends during the pandemic. Walking in nature has added health benefits.

3/ Increase your plant consumption

Plant based diets are the healthiest diets and the most environmentally friendly. Rather than going all in on a really restrictive diet, try Meatless Mondays and other small changes that you can build on overtime.

It takes some trial and error to find satisfying substitutes for dairy. Guacamole, salsa, hummus and vegetable antipasto are all good plant-based substitutes for cheese. Many plant based yogurts still leave something to be desired but they are good in smoothies.

Be sure to check the nutritional values of your plant based substitutes. Some brands are richer in calcium and other nutrients than others.

4/ Invest in prep tools to make cooking easier

Updating your cookbooks is a good start but where rubber hits the road is in making the prep easier. Assess your tools and consider some updates.

I love the OXO brand and have purchased the mini mandolin set as well as the chopper to help with prep. A good knife sharpener and new cutting boards are also good purchases that will help make prep a snap.

Good prep tools requires an investment upfront but it will save you money on packaged vegetables while also reducing your environmental footprint.

5/ Get enough rest

Try to establish a sleep schedule so that you get good quality rest. Studies suggest that sleep affects your weight and your mental health.

Check Amazon’s annual winter sales for discounts on mattresses. A new mattress or topper can make all the difference in how your body feels when you wake. Pay to have your old mattress removed by a company that will either donate it or have it properly recycled.