For many of us, the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t been kind to our bodies. I’m not ashamed to admit that I have “covid body,” characterized by weight gain and related unhealthiness associated with the effects of lockdown, isolation, and other pandemic-related living changes. You would think that because I have beaten cancer and written a book on health that maintaining my body size and health in a pandemic would be no different.

But it raises an important point about the challenges of weight loss and staying healthy: Sometimes life happens and you can’t control how it will affect you. In these circumstances sometimes all you can do is the best that you can.

Ask anyone who has had a loved one in the hospital; your world is turned upside down. Long days and nights are spent staying at their side. You eat sporadically, get little sleep, and worry and stress a lot — very much like what’s happened in the face of the pandemic. Before covid, many people were living like that trying to make ends meet.

It’s been more than twenty years since I’ve lived in the midwest. I came back to help care for a loved one shortly before the pandemic began and haven’t left yet. With the change in locale and events, I’ve been doing the best that I can.

For example, for the previous fifteen years when I was living in Los Angeles, I used to eat fresh, nutrient-rich organic food hand-picked from the local farmer’s markets. Here, my family eats plenty of fruit and vegetables, but they also regularly eat pizza, pasta (we’re Italian) and (eek!) fast food. And desserts! This is the land of Handel’s ice cream, rated #1 in the world by National Geographic Travel — there’s a location 4 minutes around the corner! I can’t say that I haven’t given in to eating any of these foods. (I recommend the chocolate pecan ice cream.)

When I was living in California, I used to ride my bike ten miles a day year round to stay in shape. I like to get my exercise outdoors. Here in Ohio, I’ve rediscovered a forest nearby where I can take long walks — I’m very grateful for that — and sometimes I watch YouTube videos while I grudgingly ride the AirDyne in the basement. But I’m not in the same shape as I was in California. I miss those bike rides.

These are but a few examples. What I haven’t touched on is how the stressors at home and in the world have affected my food choices — healthy, comfort, or fast. Or whether I make it to the forest for a walk or end up riding the exercise bike in the basement instead — or whether I feel motivated to do anything at all. Every time a choice comes up, armed with what I know, I do the best that I can.

And that’s what I’d like to do in this blog — share with you what I know. #uncovidme aims to apply information from The Simple Seven book in the context of a real world example: Living in the times of a pandemic. Life happens, but the human body is resilient. You can bring back your body size and health under some of the most difficult circumstances. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again. Join me if you’d like to to learn how. Let’s do it together.

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The Simple Seven © Marlene Veltre 2021 All rights reserved. No portion of this post may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including recording or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of Marlene Veltre. The information in this post is to be used for educational purposes only. It is not intended to serve as a substitute for professional medical advice or to prevent, cure, or heal any illness or disease. You should always see your doctor or health practitioner.