Pandemic Weight Gain

If you're worried about it, consider this: 

I rarely discuss weight explicitly, because "weight" itself doesn't tell very much about overall health. It's an outcome that is out of our control -- our behaviors are what we can control, so that is what I focus on in my coaching. I'm only bringing it up today because I've seen some headlines about pandemic weight gain, and a lot of headlines and stories about this can be really sensationalized. I want you to have solid, helpful information.

As we hit the milestone of a full year of the pandemic, there are A LOT of news segments and articles "looking back." Y'all. I am not interested in looking back at any of that mess, especially when it's still here (but probably not ever!)

The American Psychological Association (APA) did look back, surveying American adults for their annual Stress in America report. We can probably all guess how that went.
Here's what it found:

• 61% of adults experienced unwanted weight change (gain or loss)

• 42% gained more weight than intended, with an average of 29 lbs gained

• 18% lost more weight than intended, with an average of 26 lbs lost

• 67% had changes in sleep (more or less) since the pandemic began

• 23% reported drinking more alcohol in the past year

• Parents (29% of mothers and 48% of fathers) were more likely to report increased alcohol consumption to cope with stress

• 31% reported their mental health was worse than before the start of the pandemic

Check out the report here for more data.

So let's talk about it. Because as things hopefully start to improve over the next few months, you're going to hear a lot of messages from a lot of companies and individuals trying to profit off of pandemic-related weight changes, and I am not about that life.

1. We were (are) in a pandemic.

This is the key point I always want to bring up when I have people upset about unwanted weight gain over the past year. There are a lot of things in this world that are more significant than what you think your scale should say. If you and your family made it safely through the past year, that is priority #1. If your body has changed along the way, that's truly not the worst thing in the world. Being alive and well is literally step one.

2. For many of us, daily movement took a big nosedive.

We spent months under a Stay at Home order, many of us transitioned to working at home, and there weren't many places to go when we weren't at home. It has not been a great year for getting our steps and daily activity in. This is ok! Remember, step one was just staying alive. But because we weren't walking between our cars and office buildings, or strolling the aisles at Target as often, or going to gym in person, we just weren't moving as much, and for those who did experience weight gain during the pandemic, that's probably one reason why. Now that the weather is getting nicer and we have more daylight hours, there will be more opportunities to get out and get moving. Keep in mind, all movement counts!

3. Alcohol can cause weight gain

I know some of y'all are not gonna want to hear this, but if you increased your alcohol consumption due to stress or boredom during the pandemic and you gained weight, that's one reason why. I'm 100% not here to judge your coping mechanisms, but here's the deal: Alcohol basically shuts down your body's ability to burn fat, and it also makes you more likely to eat unhealthy foods in larger quantities without realizing it.

When alcohol is broken down in the body, it's converted into different energy/fuel sources than other foods. Those fuel sources can't be stored so the body will use them before glucose (sugar) or fat. That means excess sugar and fat gets stored instead.

While many people increased their alcohol consumption this year to try to manage stress, alcohol actually makes it more difficult for the body to replenish and recover and affects sleep, which creates a vicious cycle!

4. Stress itself affects hormones that control metabolism
Even if you're still getting all your steps in and you don't drink, the sheer stress of existing during a pandemic might have had an impact on any unintended weight gain or loss.

Remember how I said simply making it through the last year was goal #1? That's always your body's goal. Your physical and physiological body does not care what the scale says; its job is just to keep you alive as efficiently as possible.

The brain uses feedback from things like food intake, fluid balance (aka how much water you drink or how dehydrated you are from alcohol), fatigue, sleep, and other factors to maintain the body's equilibrium. Many of the items on that list were impacted by the pandemic, and since chronic stress both from external environmental signals and internal worries and anxieties can cause hormonal changes to "downshift" the metabolic rate, it's no wonder that many people reported weight change.

(More on stress and the impact it can have on the body here.)

5. You don't need anything anyone tries to sell you to "bounce back"
There is an entire industry (ok, multiple industries) that survive based on preying on people's insecurities and making them feel bad about themselves in order to sell them things they don't need. I am sadly part of one of those industries, but that's not my game. I've already given you the keys to healthy living. I can, through personal training or nutrition coaching, help you get better at some of those, but there is not a product or a program on the market that will be magically better than eating a balanced diet, drinking enough water, sleeping, being active regularly, and managing stress. Most people suck at one or more of those things and would rather pay for a quick fix. Save your money, get your basics in check, and you'll be on the right track.


The Bottom Line...

Regardless of whether you did or didn't lose or gain weight as a result of the pandemic, YOUR BODY IS GOOD. It is worthy. It got you through a full year of a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic and it's still going. That's what's important. There is nothing wrong with you if your body changed over the last year. It's what bodies do constantly, and especially in response to extreme circumstances. Be kind to yourself. Give yourself some grace and some time. Reach out if you need guidance.