My lockdown, my plate and my heart

 

 

                                  

                                                                    

                                                                                HUNGRY HEART

     

                                                                 

 

If someone told me at the beginning of 2020, that I have to spend the next 6 months in quarantine while the world fights off a pandemic, I would have laughed at their faces.

But now, all of us are stuck in the same limbo. Everything seems unreal and unsolvable. Months and months of sitting at home has definitely changed our perspectives and our lifestyle patterns. As far as my story goes, the lockdown had been variegated for me. Not entirely bad but not entirely good either.

On one hand, all this sitting at home has been good for me (I got rid of my tan. Ha!), on the other hand, it has been disastrous for my health and my heart.

My sedentary lifestyle has escalated to ridiculous levels. I still remember when the lockdown was announced, the first thing I did was hoard junk food. I am sure if someone ever asked one of those questions, what are the three things I would take with me if stranded on an island, one of my options would definitely be maggie. Thus not surprisingly, junk food has been my constant companion during the quarantine.

 

Here’s my cue to acquaint you with the list of the self-sabotaging habits I garnered and mastered during the lockdown.

 

First and foremost is the irregular sleep patterns. 

“Sleep tight and getup right” we hear it every day, but how many of us actually follow it? And with the commencement of the pandemic and then the lockdown, my normal day-to-day schedule was completely destroyed including my sleep cycle. Technically speaking most adults need at least 7 hours of sleep each night to maintain a healthy heart, and help prevent type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression.

The researchers found that participants with the most irregular sleep duration or timing had more than double the risk of developing a CVD event over the follow-up period compared to those with the most regular sleep patterns.

So anything that affects the body’s circadian rhythm, or sleep cycle, can contribute to inflammation. When patients have sleep abnormalities, there is a reduction in a hormone called leptin. This hormone tells us that we are full and not to eat anymore. When leptin levels are low we eat more and exercise less, leading to weight gain, obesity, and ultimately insulin resistance, which is a state of inflammation that can upset the cholesterol plaque in our arteries and lead to a heart attack.

So you see here folks, its an ultimate vicious cycle. I fell prey to it and completely messed up my biological clock. No surprises there, Adulting is way too difficult and so is doing the responsible thing when it comes to sleeping on time.

 

The next thing I stopped doing is the bare minimum exercising. 

The teeny tiny bit of walking I used to do before lockdown, in the metro, from college to the momos stall (what? I am a foodie! Don’t judge) completely seized. now my junk food intake has seriously increased and the amount of exercise has completely vanished (going from the bedroom to the fridge doesn’t count you all). Therefore not surprisingly, such blatant mistreatment of my body has resulted in health issues. The most seemingly obvious and big one being obesity(yes pun intended). 

Lord almighty, The spike in my blood pressure alone was more than Republic Bharat's TRP. (6 months worth of fat does that to you)

 

Technically speaking people Do not spend as much time exercising as they should? Maybe it's time to get to the heart of the matter. Regular exercise not only burns calories and shapes muscles but also protects the heart. How? Like other muscles, the heart becomes stronger with regular physical activity. As our cardiovascular fitness improves, the heart muscle doesn't have to work as forcefully to pump oxygen-rich blood through our body. Promoting efficient blood flow is just a one-way exercise that helps your heart. You probably know that regular exercise at a moderate or vigorous intensity lowers the risk of heart disease and heart attack. And having a strong heart helps you cope with other stresses in life, whether physical or emotional. Which is especially needed during the obviously unfortunate year we are having.

 

Its time for Unveiling the contents of my lockdown plate. 

So, why don’t you pull out your chair and get comfortable! Learn from my mistakes. Because if you don’t, you sure as hell won’t be fitting in the chair you so comfortably sat on.

Let me start by explaining my need for incessant eating during the lockdown.

The covid19 pandemic instilled panickily, and anxious feelings within me. It was the first time we were in a situation like this. No doubt I was stressed about my dad continuing to go to work, my mom going for grocery shopping, and errands. In addition to that, I was worried about my final year exams as well as the entrances.

Biologically speaking, The hormone cortisol is released in response to stress. Studies suggest that the high levels of cortisol from long-term stress can increase blood cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, and blood pressure. These are common risk factors for heart disease. This stress can also cause changes that promote the buildup of plaque deposits in the arteries. Even minor stress can trigger heart problems like poor blood flow to the heart muscle. This is a condition in which the heart doesn't get enough blood or oxygen. And, long-term stress can affect how blood clots. This makes the blood stickier and increases the risk of stroke.

High blood levels of cortisol are also linked to increased appetite. The psychological need for food also arises from stress. And during such bouts of hunger, we tend to consume unhealthy food to satiate mental health. 

Therefore as a result, I ate a lot of feel good food. Even though my mom force-fed me vegetables too, but junk food was what I preferred. 

Some of the feel-good junk, I ate includes

• Deep-fried foods: Fried foods are high in trans fats. Trans fats raise bad (LDL) cholesterol levels, lower good (HDL) cholesterol levels, increasing chances of heart disease.

• Sugary cereals: Eating refined carbohydrates and sugars in the morning produce inflammation and make blood sugar go up and down, which increases sugar craving throughout the day.

• Baked Goods: Cookies, cakes, and muffins. They’re typically loaded with added sugar, which leads to weight gain. They’re also linked to higher triglyceride levels, and that can lead to heart disease. Their main ingredient is usually white flour, which may spike blood sugar and increase hunger. 

• White Rice, Bread, and Pasta: these are made from white flour and are missing their healthy fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Refined grains quickly convert to sugar, which your body stores as fat. A diet high in refined grains can cause belly fat, which studies link to heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

 

This is what junk food is essentially doing to my body

caused fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Junk food is high in refined sugar which puts the metabolism under stress. Refined sugar causes the pancreas to secrete more amount of insulin to prevent a drastic spike in the blood sugar levels. Because junk food lacks sufficient levels of good carbohydrates and proteins, the levels of blood sugar drop suddenly after eating. This makes us feel irritable and further increases your craving for more junk food. It increases the risk of heart disease: 

Junks food increases cholesterol and triglyceride levels which are major risk factors for the development of heart diseases. 

Moreover, fats from junk food accumulate over time in the body and cause obesity. The more weight, the higher the risk of suffering from a heart attack.

Thus my waistline, as well as the triglyceride levels in my arteries, has been increasing at a pace faster than our country’s economy.

In a nutshell, I believe that During the COVID-19 lockdown, the sense of hunger and satiety changed for me. Tremendous stress, monotonous, and sedentary lifestyle resulted in my increased sense of hunger(both physiological and psychological ) and the consequent change in eating habits justifies my weight gain. Thus for a phenomenal body and the phenomenal heart, we need to satiate our hungry heart by indulging in rigorous and frequent physical activities and eating heart-healthy food.