Every freshman at college is familiar with the Freshman 15. Now, many of us are all too familiar with Corona 15. It’s simple: Stress triggers emotional eating. And the times we are living through produce high-stress levels on many fronts: social, financial, health concerns and general worry about the new world we will be living in for some time. Stress triggers the hormone cortisol, a hormone that plays an essential role in energy regulation. In times of stress, we turn to sugary snacks and carbs for quick energy. Trust me, I know all the right things to do, such as burn out the stress with a good workout and meditate. But no, I stress-eat all day and de-stress after work with a glass of wine (more calories, more carbs). It didn’t help that my husband took up bread baking! A low carb diet is non-existent in my house. Happily, the warm weather has returned to the Northeast, and I can get outside, so I am more active and eat a bit less, except now I’m craving ice cream! (More calories, more carbs!)

While I am blaming the COVID-19 pandemic for packing on the pounds, I also blame missing out on Vision Expo East, my favorite EXPO, because I love New York!  Every year in anticipation of seeing everyone at the show, the preparations begin. Prep for the show always entailed the shedding of much of the winter weight gain, with the ritual pre-show diet. Then the calorie burn of walking the show combined with no time to eat, and I am back to prewinter weight. I’m sorry that we won’t have the chance to see each other at Vision Expo West, I will miss your mask-donned faces. I’m really looking forward to New York VEE in 2021. Hopefully my Corona 15 won’t become Corona 20 by then.

Deborah Kotob
Pro to Pro Director
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