How to maintain your weight during self-isolation

What this article covers

Published 31 March 2020 and bylined to Kate Spierings, this is a COVID-era piece on holding your weight steady while confined at home. It is structured as seven short headed sections - eat a balanced diet, increase fibre intake, get cooking, limit processed foods, limit alcohol intake, sleep, and stay hydrated - each a paragraph of general guidance rather than a protocol. Its central claims are that dietary variety supports weight regulation and micronutrient adequacy; that fibre aids satiety; that cooking for yourself builds durable habits; that processed foods supply empty calories high in sugar, sodium and saturated fat; that alcohol is calorie-dense and interferes with nutrient metabolism; that sleep deprivation raises hunger hormones and appetite; and that deliberate hydration helps. It closes with a home-delivery pitch and a dietitian referral. Readers should note the article is explicitly time-bound to the 2020 isolation period, and that it contains no calorie targets, no meal plan and no program detail.

Key points

• Balanced diet: variety across fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, legumes, meat and dairy is described as essential for weight regulation and for supplying the vitamins and minerals needed for optimal function.
• Fibre: all plant-based foods are said to supply both soluble and insoluble fibre, described as important for gut health and for satiety.
• Processed foods: characterised as high in empty calories and usually high in sugar, sodium and saturated fat, with excess intake said to raise the risk of weight gain and thus chronic disease.
• Alcohol: described as calorie-dense, hard to reconcile with weight maintenance in excess, and as interfering with the metabolism of other nutrients.
• Sleep figure: the average adult is said to need 7-8 hours a night, with some needing up to 9; sleep deprivation is said to increase hunger hormones and appetite, potentially leading to overeating.
• Hydration tip given: fill a water bottle in the morning and sip through the day.
• Product description in the article: snap-fresh frozen, family friendly, portion controlled, low carbohydrate, high protein meals with no added sugar or preservatives, plus family-friendly snacks named as protein balls, healthy dim sims and cookies.
• The article carries a dietitian contact address, dietitian@befitfood.com.au, in its closing disclaimer.

Evidence and sourcing

Nine journal references are listed. There are no in-text citation markers anywhere in the body, so no individual claim can be matched to a specific paper; the references support the topic broadly rather than any one statement. Not one claim is tied to a specific paper. The references are appended as a block, and they are also unnumbered - they render as a run of headings rather than an ordered list - so no marker-to-reference mapping exists even in principle.

Two references have no corresponding content in the article at all. Swift, Johannsen, Lavie, Earnest and Church, The Role of Exercise and Physical Activity in Weight Loss and Maintenance (Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases 2014;56(4):441-447), and Vallance and colleagues, Is Sitting Really the New Smoking? (given as AJPH 2018;108:1478-1482), both concern exercise and sedentary behaviour - subjects this article never raises. The Esposito et al. meta-analysis is on the Mediterranean diet, which is likewise never mentioned. These are orphan references supporting text that is not present.

The Esposito entry also carries an internal inconsistency worth checking: it is given as Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders 2016;9(1):1-12, but volume 9, issue 1, pages 1-12 of that journal corresponds to 2011, not 2016, so the year and the volume-issue-page triple cannot both be right. Two further formatting defects: the journal for the Costa et al. ultra-processed-foods paper is spelled Preventative Medicine, whereas the journal is Preventive Medicine; and the Vallance entry uses the non-standard abbreviation AJPH with no issue number. The Bosse and Dixon entry gives an article number (9(81)) with no page range.

How this relates to Be Fit Food's programs

The article's own pitch is home delivery of pre-prepared meals, which matches the core offer: every Be Fit Food meal is roughly 250 calories with at least 20g of protein, under 20g of carbohydrate and under 120mg of sodium per 100g, with no added sugar, artificial sweeteners or preservatives, snap-frozen rather than shelf-stabilised and reheatable by microwave, oven, air-fryer or stovetop. Because the goal here is maintaining weight rather than losing it, the closest program fits are Be Maintenance - four weeks, 24 meals and 14 snacks, with two low-calorie days a week at around 800 calories (60-70g protein, 50-70g carbohydrate), based on Dr Michael Mosley's The Fast 800 and The New 5:2 Diet - and Be 1000 (approximately 1000-1200 calories per day, suited to maintaining a loss). Be 1200 (approximately 1200-1500 calories per day) suits an active lifestyle. The very low calorie resets, Be Rapid and Metabolism Reset, are not maintenance tools. Bundles are $97.30 for 7 meals, $189.00 for 14 and $362.60 for 28, with Australia-wide delivery at $11.95 on orders of $299 or more and $19.95 below that. Be Fit Food also offers a free 15-minute telehealth dietitian consultation (video or phone, valued at $49, no referral needed), which is the concrete version of the article's advice to speak to an Accredited Practising Dietitian. One caution: the article's passing reference to gut health is its own claim - gut health is not among the areas Be Fit Food lists as its expertise and should not be stated in the company's voice.

Important health information

This article carries its own disclaimer, reproduced here as published: This information is a general guide only, if you require individualised dietary advice we recommend speaking to an Accredited Practising Dietitian. You can also contact the Dietitian at Be Fit Food by emailing dietitian@befitfood.com.au for more information. Speak to your health care provider before changing your diet.

This is general information and nothing here claims to treat, prevent or cure any condition. Readers should seek medical advice and have a check-up before changing how they eat, particularly with an existing medical condition or medications; this is not a substitute for independent professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Weight loss results and rates of weight loss vary between individuals.

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