A survey conducted by Glamor magazine in America analyzed the tweets, posts and instagram photos of women in this period of restrictions on personal mobility, but above all the memes circulating on social networks. From this survey it turns out that the majority of women in this moment of world emergency are afraid of gaining weight by staying at home more time.

Sometimes these are ironic posts and memes, but other times this fear of gaining weight is combined with the stress caused by not being able to go out as before and already being limited in freedoms. Which triggers a boomerang effect where hunger increases as much as one can control herself. But how much do we have to worry about this thing?

And how to overcome it unscathed?

FEAR OF FAT AT HOME: HOW TO OVERCOME IT

First of all, the survey showed that there is no cultural or educational separation between women who are afraid of gaining weight during an emergency in which they are forced to home.
They may be educated women or not, the fear is the same.

They are all aware, some more or less, that there are more serious problems to think about: starting with the dangers of getting infected or seeing loved ones get sick or having the concern of distant relatives and friends in critical health conditions or isolation. Finally, the self-isolation depression, the management of children at home, up to realities that we women do not want to deepen, but exist, such as domestic violence.

Yet neither can we relegate or diminish the fear of gaining weight to a purely vanity, feeling guilty if we try it. Because the fear of gaining weight has an effect on our immune system, due to the fact that it increases the already high degree of stress.
So it is right to think that there are problems and situations that are bigger than us and more serious than our size. But it is also not right to feel guilty for a more selfish thought, which does not make us feel good.

How then to overcome the fear of gaining weight?

• The first thing to do is to think about keeping ourselves busy in another way.

  Of course, I know, but try to “formalize” it by writing on a piece of paper, every day, all the things you can do and cross them out once done. This symbolic gesture may seem silly to you but it is very very powerful on a psychological level. It literally gives us power. It makes us think that we are able to do things, a lot of things, that we are acting in a direction, that we are making sense of our day. It makes us feel capable.

  So every morning, grab a pen and paper and come up with a non-food to-do list. It can be some housework, chores, helping with homework, reading a book, writing, or other things we’ve always put off, like looking after plants or starting something new.
  At the same time we include in the list all those communications that we can make during the day. Video calls, messages to friends who would like to receive a “How are you?”

• We can also participate in a challenge.

  But not about diets or food. For example a fitness challenge. Every day you take a few minutes and give yourself 30 days to be able to continue it until the end. On youtube we find some also in Italian. The challenge to firm the belly , the 10-minute challenge in which we must be able to progressively increase the number of repetitions of these exercises, the 30-day squat challenge. 

• Or play.

  This option is perfect to avoid relegating your free time to just watching TV or being on social media. Play online games, quizzes, crosswords or other games that stimulate our mind in a creative way. Because the brain also burns calories.

  Plus it’s a way to spend time with the kids. Make DIY board games with your children. In the future, you may also want to pack others as gift ideas. Here are nine of them here. With the older ones you can organize themed evenings. For example, home cinema clubs, or watch a documentary together and discuss it.

• Or meditate.

  This option is not linked to creativity, but to our inner self. And it is something that we always put off as captivating as it seems to us. Yet meditating, with background music, even for ten minutes a day, allows you to reduce anxiety and stress, two close friends of nervous hunger.
  On youtube you will find many guided meditation videos, just write “guided meditation” in the search bar.

• Learn something new.

  We can also think of learning something new, that we would have liked to have done in some course, maybe, but you want the time you want the commitments we never realized. For example learning the rudiments of a new language (for example with Babbel ) or learning to dance ( click here) .

• Take advantage of the dish rule

  Finally, instead of imposing a diet on ourselves, we can simply use the rule of the dish in the three main meals. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, click here to find out how. 
  It is not good: skipping a meal, having a meal of only vegetables or proteins instead of losing weight, cutting calories too much. It’s not good in general and it’s not good now. Because we are going through a stressful period, and it is more useful to support yourself with the right diet but without punishing yourself.
  Hunger is also a reaction to what we are experiencing.
  The important thing is not to ignore it, but to eat the right amount trying to find small forms of leisure, lightness, disengagement in the rest of the time.

  See also : diet breakfast ideas.
  Diet lunches.
  Ideas for dinner.