In early 2020, the novel coronavirus pandemic changed the world as we knew it. As a physician, COVID-19 made it apparent to me that the party was over, and we as a society would have to start taking things more seriously from now on…
If you’re reading this at some better time in the future, allow me to briefly recap some of the events of the first half of 2020 with respect to the coronavirus pandemic:
January: “Hey did you hear about some new virus in China?”
February: “Do you think we need to worry about this?”
March: “Earth is closed, lock everything down! Also, buy toilet paper.”
April: “Did you hear 1 million people across the world have COVID-19? Wait, make that 2.8 million because it’s spreading rapidly!”
May: “100,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the US alone.”
June: “10 million people have COVID-19 on this planet and 500,000 have died. Are we all going to get it eventually?”
And just like that, everything changed
Due to fears about spreading the virus, I no longer had patients physically visiting my office. Telemedicine was used to provide “virtual visits” so patients could stay at home. I began working shifts at my local hospital helping with the overflow of COVID-19 patients in a surge that lasted for about six weeks.
Working with COVID-19 patients, I quickly noticed that the virus seemed to cause the most problems in patients who were elderly, male, or who had pre-existing conditions. This fact was not a surprise: These risk factors for poor outcomes due to COVID-19 had been reported in medical journals and in the lay press from the beginning of the pandemic.
However, there were a large number of patients who developed severe disease at a younger age. People in their 40s and 50s were getting the virus and doing very poorly, requiring intensive care units and not being able to breathe without very high levels of supplemental oxygen or in the most extreme cases, a ventilator.
I noticed that many of the younger patients that did the worst often I noticed that many of the younger patients that fared the worst often had the same things in common: Most were male, most were significantly overweight or obese, and many also had diabetes (often undiagnosed) and high blood pressure.
Origin of the “Quarantine 15” concept
As I am writing this, most of the world is sitting at home, anxious about so many things. Many people are without jobs, many families are dealing with the loss of loved ones to COVID-19, and stress levels are at an all-time high.
During the pandemic, many people turned to food and alcohol for comfort. Naturally, being trapped inside during a very stressful time with nothing else to do but eat and drink can lead to some serious weight gain! This phenomenon has been dubbed the “Quarantine 15.”
Why is this important? No one is going to be seeing you in a bathing suit anytime soon right?
Well, worrying about the way you look is one thing. Everyone’s perception of what looks good is different however, and there is no one-size-fits-all policy when it comes to bodyweight.
However, we should be worried about our health, specifically keeping ourselves fit and healthy to fight this virus if we get it in the future! Sitting at home and eating due to stress or out of boredom is precisely the opposite of what we should be doing right now! We should be preparing ourselves to face this virus head-on!
Keeping the weight off and the blood sugar and blood pressure in check is a matter of survival when it comes to COVID-19!
This pandemic is not going away anytime soon
We may live in the shadow of the coronavirus for many years to come. It would be smart to change our ways now to give us a fighting chance against the virus if (and possibly when) we eventually get it!
Steps you take today can literally save your life in the next few years.
Everyone knows it is prudent to be in good shape to prevent heart attacks and strokes, but these diseases also seem like abstract concepts to most people— distant problems that people in their thirties and forties don’t usually think about too much. However, now there is this new disease that can strike anyone at any age and can devastate people just the same as any other serious illness.
I have seen patients in their thirties with horrible cases of COVID-19 who likely would have done a whole lot better if they didn’t have the risk factors of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. Even worse, many of these patients didn’t even know they were walking around with these issues until showing up at the hospital with COVID-19!
Hopefully by now I have made it clear that in order to protect yourself against what the future might have in store for you, it is time to focus on your physical fitness and make real attempts to reduce excess weight, control your blood sugar, and lower your blood pressure. But how do you even begin to accomplish these difficult tasks?
I designed the “Quarantine 15” fitness plan just for this reason!
This course is a 40-day starter plan to teach you how to take control of your health, lose excess weight, build better habits, and start your path towards lifelong fitness.
The overriding principle of the Q15 plan is SIMPLICITY
- follow a balanced whole-food diet
- simple bodyweight exercises anyone can do at home
- no “superfoods” or gimmicks
- no supplements, pills, or powders to buy
However, just because it is simple, does not mean it is EASY!
The program is designed to be effective because of its consistency. You will focus on eating well and working out, but you will also spend a large chunk of time forming the habits and building the discipline needed to remain consistent.
Consistency = Progress
Read more about the program, and sign up for free right here!
