How To Make The Most Out Of A Second Lock-down

As you're most likely aware, England is going into another lockdown. Perhaps after the last one, you found yourself a few pounds heavier with any healthy habits and routines thrown out of the window and a general negative feeling inside? Well as this is now the second time around, we have learnt from the previous lockdown and know what to do and what not to do to guarantee you come out of lockdown feeling happier, stronger and healthier.

5 Things To Avoid

Here are 5 ways to guarantee you come out of ‘self isolation’ heavier, more unhealthy, less confident, lazier, and with worse fitness levels. 

This is important. Not only for your physical being, but your mental wellbeing too.

I can guarantee that IF you don’t start taking action right away, and get in a healthy, pretty fulfilling routine, in a few weeks or months you’ll be wishing you had....

1 - SLEEPING IN 

Getting into the routine of ‘lazy Jim jam’ mornings is a sure fired way to breed laziness, lethargy, and fitness losses.

Try this - get up at a regular time, hydrate, get active - workout for 20-60 mins, prep a nutritious breakfast for you and your family. Get some fresh air!!!

2 - CONTINUING TO EAT THE SAME

If your activity level plummets, but you carry on eating the same (or more)...well you can guess the outcome - you’ll gain weight. That weight isn’t gonna fall off easily or on its own, and is 100% preventable.

Try this - adjust your fuel intake - chances are if you’re self isolating you’ll not be burning as many calories as you would normally day to day - so get conscious about how much you’re eating. If the scales start to go up, it’s time to re-jig things.

3 - STAYING INSIDE ALL DAY

If you stay inside all day every day, barely talk to anyone, and just mope around the home...your head is getting fried. You’ll become more and more bored, likely eat more and more, and become more and more lazy.

Try This - as of right now (could always change), you’re allowed to go outside for exercise. So do it. Responsibly of course. The impact even going for a half hour walk once a day will have on your HEAD alone is monumental, let alone your health, motivation and life in general

4 - COMFORT EATING AND NETFLIX

Sitting around all day, watching tv, eating junk...you know how this story ends. With a fatter, lazier you. If that sounds ‘harsh’ - it’s not - it’s reality. and will be YOUR reality IF YOU let it be

Try this - spend more time planning healthy meals, honing your culinary skills, exercising, doing things to further your career, and less time smashing back choccies while binging on Game of Thrones

5 - LOSE CONTROL

Big one this. There’s loads you can’t control right now. Poop hitting fans all over the place. If you allow yourself to lose control of things that you CAN control though, you’re at massive risk of spiralling into a horrible, horrible pit.

Try this - If you’ve lost control somewhere - maybe your job has gone or changed or you can’t do your normal routine...take control BACK somewhere else.

Get better in the kitchen. Workout. Something to keep you feeling more in control and less like the carpet has been swept from your feet.

 

4 Things To Do

 

If it isn't in (or as close as is sensible) to its natural form - don't eat it. It just adds (more) stress to your body to try and process it, eliminate it etc... that stress is going to take pretty much all of your energy from you. Probably more than you currently have to cope with everything right now! 

 

Try living off vegetables, fruit, decent cuts of meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices for the next couple of days and see how that works out for you.

Here's the deal - the lower the intensity - the longer you have to do it for. If walking is your movement medicine of choice. Fine. But you need a couple of hours of it and at least get a bit of a heart rate going too. Next time you feel the low, try and move AS SOON as you can. Typically tired people question movement as an 'energy provider', until they actually do it! And find themselves feeling more of a buzz than any caffeine hit they've had (or otherwise)

Not lucozade, not diet cherryade, not red bull, not luminous sugar drink with ice cubes and straw in it, not endless tea and coffee (a couple a day can be ok)!

 

H2O - 2 litres a day and if you're drinking these other things (good luck) but also you'll need MORE water to at least try and dilute them

I'm all for party's and a good time and I've done holidays and nights out I'll never forget. And there's plenty more to come!

 

But I keep my garden watered, nourished and in check at least 80% of the time, so it can handle the party from time to time and live strongly enough to tell the tales.

 

If you're drinking alcohol most days, eating fast food mcnuggets, overindulging in nonsense. Your 'joy' is your pain. Chances are you're getting more of the pain than the joy.

 

You either have to take them both and stop complaining about it OR start cutting it out! Tough love that one! 

 

 

If you do the above it's a guaranteed path to feeling more positive! Your energy will be strong and your feelings calmer. 

 

Self isolation, social distancing, done WRONG is a sure fired way to gain weight, lose fitness, spiral into depressive states, and become the laziest most unproductive version of you that there’s ever been.

Done right...

It’s something that can help FORGE you into a more resilient, healthier, ruthlessly committed person with a bulletproof mentality, who controls their life and makes the very BEST of shituations.

Only YOU get to make the decision on which way you play this.