Lockdown has been tough on all of us and just when we thought it was over, it came back to slap us in the face again. This is the second lockdown we’ve gone into and I have to admit that it’s harder than the first one. We find ourselves stuck in the house, unable to go to the gym or get our steps in (unless you luckily have an at-home gym) and thus we’re mostly inactive throughout the day. This means that our energy expenditure lowers significantly and you may be worrying about putting on weight or losing your gains, but I want to share a few ways that you can stay healthy during lockdown. However, I’d like to preface that these tips can be helpful even out of lockdown, for example if you don’t have access to a gym. These tips are from personal experience only, so adapt them to your body and your needs.

Let’s get started…

#1. Don’t Stress About the Little Things

We’re already dealing with enough stress during lockdown and we don’t need to add any unnecessary stress onto that. So worrying about losing muscle or putting on weight is not going to help, because there is nothing wrong with either of those things. Most of us, including me, stress too much about things that won’t even alter our lives, however I don’t want to belittle these emotions because they are very real and hard to control. I still want to reassure you that those things don’t matter in the long run.

#2. Do What You Can

It can be hard to stay active during lockdown, but you can find ways to use up your energy through home workouts, yoga, dancing, skipping rope or any way you’d like. Simply find a way to keep your body moving, it will help you feel much better both physically and mentally.

#3. Trust Your Body

Sometimes you need to trust your body to regulate itself, for example when I got into lockdown, my appetite decreased along with my energy expenditure. So if your body is asking for food don’t deny it, restricting yourself will not help, but if you feel like you’re constantly binge eating and things are going out of hand then you might want to try implementing some structure into your day like intermittent fasting.

#4. Mental Health Matters

Do not neglect this aspect of your life in such critical moments, your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Take time to unwind because if you’re working or studying during lockdown, the boundaries between productivity and relaxation are blurred. Do not punish yourself for overeating or not exercising either, the best thing to do is to start back up the next day as you usually would. Punishing yourself only puts unnecessary stress on your mind and body.

#5.Be Mindful of Your Nutrition

Lastly, being more mindful of the things you consume will help you stay healthy during lockdown, while eating something that doesn’t form part of your usual diet isn’t going to harm you, try to have wholesome meals as much as possible, ensuring you’re having carbs, protein, healthy fats and veggies. If you want to binge eat a pack of chips, make sure you’re doing it intentionally as in actively deciding that that’s what you want to do instead of mindlessly eating, but also make sure you have healthier meals throughout the day.

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Check out How to eat Healthy on a Budget!