I have been quarantined for 63 days. On a normal day I am a 35 year old kindergarten teacher and single mom. Tomorrow the stay home band will be lifted, but now school is out. Any suggestions on staying in control while stuck at home? SD (sleeve) 7/11/19

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Sixty three days? That sounds like a long time. One of my coworkers tested positive and she only had to quarantine herself for 14 days.

If you live in a house with a yard try to go outside into your yard as much as you can. Start a garden or plant some flowers. Get some good books. Binge watch something new (but fast-forward over the food commercials!?) Maybe do some sort of needlework to keep your hands busy.

I know it's tough being stuck at home, so hopefully this virus is just a speed bump...good luck!

@JRT Mom, "quarantined" and "under a stay at home order" are being used pretty exchangeably. I've been under a stay at home order for about two months. I can leave for the grocery store, drug store, to take walks, for emergencies, and that's about it.

The things that help me are calorie tracking, exercising, planned Zoom get-togethers with my friends or volunteer groups, and walking my dogs outside. Maintaining my weight loss has been very challenging.

What has really helped me is the excitement of losing as much weight as possible to surprise everyone with the "new me" when the quarantine is over!

I haven't seen my coworkers in over 2 months, and likely won't see them again until September. Same holds true for all of my friends, and most of my family! Can't wait to unveil the new me!!!

How old are your children? Maybe you can get them to exercise with you for fun? I've been doing Youtube videos (Popsugar fitness barre is my favorite), and then when the weather is nice, we go on bike rides together. I've found that I can use my kids to keep me motivated. I'll tell them we are going on a bike ride at 4pm, and come 4pm they are bugging me for that bike ride, so I can't change my mind and be lazy instead! LOL!

1 hour ago, JessLess said:

@JRT Mom, "quarantined" and "under a stay at home order" are being used pretty exchangeably. I've been under a stay at home order for about two months. I can leave for the grocery store, drug store, to take walks, for emergencies, and that's about it.

Our state has the same rules. It's not a true quarantine because we can still go out. Our restrictions have lifted a bit and instead of "stay at home" they are saying "safer at home". It must be working because my county has had no new cases for almost a week.?

They've just opened hair salons, but good luck getting an appointment! I would like to get my hair cut really short since it's falling out anyway!

2 hours ago, JRT Mom said:

Start a garden or plant some flowers.

Ohhhh....this is a good idea! This is going on my list of corona-boredom-distractions...

As for @KLUB, things I've been doing and with and without the fam (mind you my kid is a teenager...)

• cleaning out long-ignored areas of the house (basement, office)
• cooking/baking LOTS
• Running/cycling (when the weather co-operates)
• Participating in various 2wk, 1month exercise/strength "challenges" with the fam (lots of ideas on youtube). We are currently in a "race" to see who can successfully complete a yoga lift based on our abilities (spoiler alert: I'm losing)
• teaching the Kid to drive
• making friends with neighbours (which is funny because we've lived here for YEARS, and I only recently learned the names of my backyard-adjacent neighbours)
• perfecting "My Sharona" on expert level on Rock Band
• card games and Scrabble with the fam
• binge-watching various series on Netfflix & Amazon
• getting Ukulele lessons from the Kid
• aimless drives around the city with the music turned up HIGH
• staying in touch with friends and fam via online social networks/group texts
• spending waaaaay too much time on these forums...

Yes, I still do get bored and I am ACHING to go out already (grocery shopping day is one of the highlights of my week!), but I try to do something mind/body stimulating several times a day so that I don't end up killing someone. And if all else fails, I'll take a shower or a nap, lol.

@ChubRub, I like your perspective on unveiling the new you! I had my surgery at the end of January and was only back at work for a few weeks before the safer start home order so most friends haven’t seen me since December! I’m working out like a champ (5 mile walk yesterday ??) but the weight is not coming off as quickly so I’m trying to stay encouraged.

we've been under "safer-at-home" orders for two months, but much to my chagrin, my state supreme court just flipped the switch and totally opened everything, rather than a gradual re-opening. At least my county has decided to stay locked down for a couple more weeks and then start gradually re-opening, but I'm a little freaked to go out anymore because of people coming in from other counties. UGH.

anyway, I've managed to maintain my weight during this time, but I'm pretty obsessive about counting calories and tracking everything I eat and keeping my fridge stocked with "safer" snack foods in case I can't resist urges (grapes and cut-up raw veggies, mostly). I also take a long walk 5-6 days a week. At first I tried exercising at home to videos, too, but I had a hard time motivating myself to do that. But when the mood strikes, I do that as well. Also, I keep well-stocked in no-cal flavored waters and herbal teas so I can drink fluids when I'm bored or thinking of eating when I'm not hungry, since I get burnt out on water after awhile. Having some beverage options keeps it more "interesting" (for lack of a better word).

This has been the topic for the last month of the support group from the hospital. They suggested activities like adult coloring books etc.

since I am not working due to the pandemic I have been exploring and making lots of new healthy recipies. I try and make ones that I can freeze portions of, this helps me with quantity control