Working From Home: Wellness in the wake of COVID-19

This all sounds very confusing. Can you break it down for me?

It's quite simple – look at the following formula:

TDEE = BMR + NEAT + TEF +PAL

TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate – the calories you need for your body to complete basic functions, such as breathing)

NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis – is the activity not planned or thought about by the body, including actions such as walking and twitching)

TEF (Thermic Effect of Food – the energy needed to digest food)

PAL (Physical Activity Level – planned training, such as going for a run, or lifting weights)

Now that we're working from home, your PAL and NEAT levels have decreased, which means your TDEE is lower – the calories your body requires is less. This means that consuming more calories than your body needs will lead to weight gain.

Ok, I understand. I need to eat less, but how much less? How many calories does my body need?

It's specific to each person. But I will give you a couple examples of a typical male and female lawyer who has been forced to work from home.

How many calories should I eat to maintain my weight?

Use tdeecalculator.net and set your activity to sedentary. If you naturally do 10,000 steps per day, your activity is moderate. If you do more than 15,000 steps a day, set your activity level to high.

How many calories should I eat to lose weight?

Once you've worked out your TDEE, you take 10% off this number. If you stick to this amount, you should safely lose around 1lb per week.

What's the point in using my previous commuting time to walk? It's not going to make much difference to my weight?

This is where you're wrong. Walking increases your NEAT levels – which as you can see above, increases your Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

I have a confession to make. I rarely do cardio. Instead – I get my 10,000 steps in per day (and focus on weight lifting.)

How many steps should I aim to get in every day?

I aim to get between 10,000 – 13,000 per day depending on whether I am maintaining my weight or cutting (decreasing calories to look more 'lean.') The more I want to cut, the more steps I get in (max 13,000).

Ok, I think I understand. Eat less, move more. But what type of food should I eat, when there's little choice in the supermarkets at the moment?

Protein is king! Don't roll your eyes. When your diet is comprised of more carbohydrates and fat macronutrients, your body easily stores excess amounts as adipose tissue (fat.) The body struggles to store excess protein and instead excretes it. As such, fill up on lean protein sources!

All of this macro talk is giving me a headache. What are they?

Macros, or macronutrients are simply the three key nutrients our body needs to function: protein, carbohydrates and fat. All are crucial to body functioning. From the calories you digest, we can recommend the amount of calories which should be protein, fat or carbohydrate depending on whether you want to maintain, cut or build your physique.

Now that I've worked out how many calories I should be eating, how do I track what I am eating and drinking?

There's no easy way to do this other than using a food diary, such as MyFitnessPal. Once you understand what's in food, you can track less. But in the first couple of weeks, start understanding what calories are in food and the portion sizes you should be eating. I rarely track now, as I understand what's in the most common foods I eat.

I struggle with a sweet tooth when I work from home. What do you do?

Here is my go-to list:

• Fage Greek Yoghurt (0% or 5%) – great to mix with cinnamon powder, chopped up apple and peanut butter for a mid-afternoon treat! I also sprinkle some granola over this too sometimes
• Protein bars – Carb Killas are fabulous. Protein heavy and little fat and carbohydrates – taste like Mars bars!
• Protein pancakes – 1 scoop protein powder, 2 egg whites, 1 egg, cinnamon – beat it all together and fry in the pan. Add chopped strawberries and honey

When should you work out? I heard you should exercise first thing in the morning, to burn more fat?

There are studies which show that you burn more fat on an empty stomach, as the body goes straight to your fat stores to utilise as energy, rather than having to raid the glycogen stores first. However, there are also studies that show more fat is burned after having something to eat, as you have more energy to give to the workout and therefore work harder. Personally, I have tried both and always exercise after having something to eat – I can definitely lift more weight after consuming calories!

What are your best workout ideas?

I will be posting some of my best ideas in the coming week – but I am a huge proponent of Joe Wickes' YouTube videos. High intensity interval training has huge benefits to fat burning – and your mind – during these long days at home! All you need is a mat and a space big enough to jump around in.