How to stay healthy at home during lockdown

If you are currently living in the UK (or even other countries across the world), you'll be experiencing lockdown and tight restrictions right now. For many of us this comes with staying at home rather than our usual routines of going to work and meeting our family/friends. It can be hard to be suddenly taken out of normality especially when it comes with big restrictions. Our health can be majorly impacted by this, both physically and mentally. But I strongly believe we can use this time at home to our advantage and beat the negative energy. How you wonder? well here is my advice for staying healthy during lockdown. 

Allow yourself to feel the feels

I believe it is important to accept the range of emotions you might be feeling right now because through acceptance we can grow.

For me I've had days where I suddenly feel empty inside because I haven't see the faces of my loved ones for so long. I know this is because I've never really had to experience this isolation before and I miss people. It's normal. 

Having acceptance for my emotions allows me to say hello to the pain and then (in time) work on ways to improve it. I'm not clouding my mind with negative thoughts of 'oh why are you feeling like this', 'people have it worse-stop it' so the sadness doesn't sit forever. Once I let the emotions pass I can look forward. I  like to organise Zoom meetings with friends and plan events for when life gets back to normal. Does this make all the pain go away? No, but I allows me to positively deal with the situation. After all, nothing in life ever stays the same and before we know it this experience will be a distant memory.

Get into a new routine

I am a big fan of having a routine. Planning out daily goals and sticking to a regular sleeping pattern gives me a sense of purpose thus has improved my energy. I think the constant headlines during this time has made us all feel trapped in our homes but it doesn't stop us being able to achieve some of the things we want to do.

To begin a routine I recommend setting an alarm to wake up at a suitable time and go to bed a reasonable hour. The first day of an earlier rise or sleep is always the hardest but use that determined voice inside you (which you must have if you clicked on this blog) to power through your sleepy eyes. Next, set yourself one key thing you want to achieve that day. It could be cleaning your room, painting or even cooking your favourite meal. It doesn't matter how big or small but setting your mind to do something and achieving it will make you feel incredible.

Exercise

Endorphins are real, which is why you should take some time each day to workout. It doesn't have to be anything crazy, a simple walk can do the trick in boosting your mood and energy. If you are unable to get out for a walk have a look online for free workout content. On YouTube there are some great videos to do home workouts that require little space from beginner level to advance.

Limit the news

Although it is important to know what is going on in the world, especially now, you can easily get swept up in a ball of negativity when watching and reading the news. At the start of lockdown I felt I couldn't escape the pandemic and it made me feel low. To beat this I reduced my time on social media and only allowed myself to view the news once a day. If you're struggling with this I recommend doing the same, within a week of cutting my media consumption my mood was lifted. If you still want to use social media, you can stop Twitter showing you posts with key words and you can unfollow or mute accounts on all platforms. If you don't  want to watch the news at all, you can ask a friend or family member to send you a message if anything significant changes. If the start of 2020 has shown us anything it's that people have the kindest hearts, so I'm sure someone will help you. 

Stock up the cupboard with healthy foods

I don't know about you but when I'm at home I feel like the hangry monster inside me comes out and they always want their head in the cupboard. Snacking is my weakness and before you know I've eating my daily calorie intake in one sitting. This is not good- not only for my waist line but my relationship with food. Emotional eating is something I am learning to overcome, which is challenging during a time when I'm stuck at home. I found the best way for me to eat healthy is to not buy the tempting treats to store away. If I fancy a treat I will buy one thing to have when I feel like it. I also asked my mum (who I'm staying with) to help me with this, so she doesn't fill the cupboards with unhealthy snacks. 

Some of my favourite healthy snacks during this lockdown has been fruit, yogurts, rice cakes and Fibre One bars. All help me with my sweet tooth and keep me within my calories. 

Meditate 

Meditation is a practice that allows you to control your thoughts. I've always wanted to do it regularly but with a busy routine I hadn't put in the effort to do it. Lockdown has presented me (and you) with the perfect chance to learn meditation. I'm sure most of you will have a mind full of racing thoughts and it would be nice to quieten them down and feel less stressed. Well, you can. To start meditating I recommend using the app Calm. It has a free '7 days of Calm' series, which is an  introduction into the practice. For only 10 minutes a day you will develop skills to quieten your mind. Perfect for beginners and those a little bit sceptical of the practice. The app is free to download on your smartphone and also has tools to help you sleep. 

There you have it, my advice on staying healthy with your body, soul and mind. I hope it can help some of you out there who are struggling. Please remember you are not alone and this will not be forever. If you have any other advice please leave a comment below and let me know if any of my advice helps you. 

Stay safe and speak soon,
M x