How to have a healthy lifestyle during lockdown
Life in lockdown, it's probably going
one of two ways right?!
You're either getting fitter, eating healthier, working harder and being more creative than you've ever been OR you've barely moved from your couch, eating rubbish, drinking more alcohol and have lost all motivation! There's a happy medium between the two so let's see how we can achieve that.
Let's take one thing at a time:
Fitness
Have you lost motivation? Are you new to fitness and don't know what to do? Are you over-exercising because you have more time?
If you were a gym bunny or exercised outdoors with a group before lockdown, then you may be struggling with the social aspect of things, it's always more motivating when you're with others. Don't despair, there are literally hundreds of virtual group classes out there that you can join. My boot camps used to be in fabulous locations and we often had coffee and breakfast afterwards. I've now adapted my boot camps to being virtual HIIT style workouts and my fitness peeps are loving them. They can still see and speak to each other and feel part of a group. I've also set up a weekly virtual coffee morning where we just sit and talk and put the world to rights. We're also just as daft as we ever were, take a look at the pic below of our Easter-themed boot camp!
Even if you're new to exercise and now want to utilise the time to start a fitness regime, there's loads of information at your fingertips online. Just make sure you take the time to check people's credentials rather than choosing some random person on YouTube who may not have a clue about fitness safety. The simplest and easiest thing you can do is go for a walk. Forget about the duration and effort for the time being, instead aim to be consistent. Once you get into a routine you can then start building in longer walks, faster walks and hillier walks.
At the other end of the spectrum, there's over-exercising. Just because you have the time doesn't mean you should be exercising for every minute of it and certainly not at high intensity. Although I'm someone who does exercise every day, not every session is hard work, I might go for a very easy jog or do some yoga a couple of days a week. Along with consistency, mixing up what you do in terms of exercise is really important.
Nutrition
Are you stuck for ideas on what to cook? Eating too much junk food and too often? Are you restricting what you eat in a bid to lose weight? Are you drinking too much alcohol?
I will apologise now for repeating myself on numerous occasions throughout this blog because as with fitness, as with life in general to be honest, it's all about achieving balance. I've heard some real horror stories where people are using lockdown to do extreme diets and such like. First of all, let's get this out of the way ... diets don't work, never have, never will. Good nutrition is a lifestyle choice like anything else and has to be sustainable.
As with fitness, there are hundreds of recipes online and loads of cooking programmes on TV right now that are geared towards helping people during lockdown. As a wealthy nation, we're not accustomed to food shortages so it's been a real eye-opener to see empty shelves in our supermarkets. It's also highlighted the shocking fact that huge numbers of people in this country rely on food banks. We must be ever more resourceful and avoid waste at all cost if we are in the lucky position of being able to shop and choose our own food.
The better we eat, the better we feel, so please respect your body and what you put in it. There's a time and place for treats (and yes, most definitely alcohol!) but aim for overall balance in your diet.
Here's a few really easy and cheap recipes to try:
and check out the BBC Good Food website for a whole heap of good advice whilst being at home BBC Good Food
Motivation
When it comes to motivation it's important to keep an open mind and not to 'pigeon hole' yourself. Many people fall into the trap of thinking they can't do something simply because they don't associate themselves with that thing. For example, 'I'm not sporty, therefore I can't run', 'I can't draw, therefore I'm not creative', 'I'm not academic, therefore I can't learn'. These are all rubbish 'limiting beliefs'. We all have them, these invisible barriers we carry inside our heads stopping us achieving what we want to do.
Due to the current situation you may have lost your job recently, been furloughed or have been asked to change your role. These are all serious blows to our confidence and motivation and it's absolutely ok to feel upset and angry but not for a prolonged period of time. As hard as it may be, we need to focus on what we can do to make us feel better. Despite initial thoughts that we don't, we really do have the choice to think and do something different. Even if our role hasn't changed as such, we might be feeling unmotivated due to the fact we're now isolated from our colleagues and missing the buzz of the workplace.
To get your mojo back, you need to focus on doing things that make you feel better. First of all, take time out to relax and de-stress so that you have a clear mind going forwards. There's lots of guided meditations and yoga sessions online that will help you feel calmer. Are you missing friends, family, colleagues? Set up a video call with your favourite peeps and come up with a challenge so that you can motivate each other. Are you concerned about work issues? Accept that this is not in your control and instead focus on what you can do right now. Whether you're in employment or not, take the time to improve your current skills / learn new skills.
Accept that motivation comes and goes, no-one is 100% motivated for 100% of the time, it's just not possible. It's perfectly normal to feel great one day and not so good the next for no apparent reason. Ride the storm, be kind to yourself and you'll come out the other side.
These are three huge topic areas and I've barely scratched the surface but I hope I've given you some inspiration and things to think about.
Until next week, have a good one and know that you are doing the best you can right now. A friend reminded me of a very good saying the other day, it's running related of course but applies to everything in life ...
#2020
Comments
Post a Comment