Maybe this will help you (and maybe I will just sound like a jerk shrugs), but the pandemic didn't make you unfit and put on weight, you and your diet did. I have been struggling with this for the last few years and while pacing about (or any movement really) certainly helps, you can veeery easily outeat whatever you burned; our bodies are freakishly efficient. I would recommend trying to take a look at whether your diet changed while working from home and if not, trying to change it up so that it corresponds to your current activity levels.
... or if you don't care, then don't, it would have just helped me if someone pointed this out to me earlier in my life, so I try to do it for other people.
Your absolutely right mate, and thanks for taking a punt on "seeming a
jerk" and saying the honest truth. My diet definitely changed for the
worse during that time. Bulking up is a comfort/stress behaviour for
sure. And boredom. How those hours indoors seemed to linger if I'm not
lost in code or creativity.
But now it's under control again I need to find tricks to keep both
the munching and the burn working together. Part of the walking
benefit isn't just calorie output, it's the positive mental state that
comes with the deal, that makes me not think about food for 8 hours at
a time.
... or if you don't care, then don't, it would have just helped me if someone pointed this out to me earlier in my life, so I try to do it for other people.