Online 'weight loss' period

The increase in time spent at home to protect against coronavirus and the habit of sedentary life caused a "weight" crisis for thousands of people. Those who cannot control themselves at home and eat constantly, find the remedy to turn to dietitians who provide online services, while also examining the exercise recommendations shared on the internet. Stating that the energy need of the body is less than normal during this period when it is necessary to stay at home, Prof. Nazan Turhan, Head of Department of Food Engineering, Izmir University of Economics (IUE), said, “Recently, there has been a significant increase in the number of people with weight problems. One of the most important reasons for this is getting 2-3 times more energy than the body needs. There are those who open the refrigerator every half an hour and wonder what they can eat. Eating cannot be the way out of boredom. We have to give up this habit.”

Prof. Nazan Turhan stated that maintaining a healthy diet during the pandemic period is of great importance both in terms of protecting the immune system and preventing other health problems that may occur.

ATTENTION TO SECOND-HAND KNOWLEDGE

Emphasizing that many people need help with weight problems and feel unhappy, Prof. Turhan said, “Many people switched to remote work due to the pandemic. We are also at home at nights. When this is the case, our movement during the day is restricted, and accordingly, our energy need decreases compared to our regular life. We should change our regular eating habits during this period, and we should not give the body more energy than it needs. The first condition for this is to reduce the portion sizes and increase the variety of food at the same time. We should not only eat meat, grains, or vegetables; we have to eat a balanced amount of all of them and switch to a diet with a lot of variety. The daily calorie needs of a child, teenager, or adult are not the same. However, we must take the first step of a healthy diet within ourselves and gain control. Those with weight problems can of course get support from dietitians who are experts in this area. However, every information we hear should not be taken into account, diet or nutritional recommendations read on the internet should not be applied without consulting an expert first.”

HEALTHY SNACKS INSTEAD OF PASTRIES

Prof. Turhan continued as follows: “Total fat should not exceed 30 percent of total energy intake to prevent unhealthy weight gain. Instead of frying food, we should steam it and prefer cooking methods that require less fat, such as grilling or sautéing. We should remove excess fat from red and white meats and consume skinless products. We can consume walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds instead of snacks such as cakes and pastries with tea/coffee. We must start the day with breakfast. When the working routine changed due to the pandemic, some people started to have two meals, lunch and dinner. However, this is not correct at all. We should not give up breakfast and skip morning meals. Additionally, we should not neglect to drink plenty of water.”  

DO NOT PURCHASE EVERYTHING JUST TO HAVE IT AT HOME

Noting that many people shop as if they will not go out again because there is a curfew at nights and on the weekends, Prof. Turhan said, “People, perhaps without even realizing, purchase unnecessary products just to have it at home. Food shopping must be done in a planned way. A list should be prepared before shopping, and steps should be taken accordingly. We should increase the movement at home and prepare a program consisting of simple exercises. Sports will be relaxing and motivating nowadays when we are going through a difficult period not only physically but also psychologically.”