5 tips to help you stay healthy during lockdown - with Vicky Fleetwood, England Rugby player
We’ve heard lots about the ‘new normal’ and we’ve had to adjust in lots of different ways. Here are a few tips for you to try that have helped me through this strange time:
1. Up your snack game.
As you’ll be in the house more than ever, you’ll probably be reaching into your cupboards more often, even if this is just through boredom. Make sure you buy ‘healthy snacks’ at the shops such a nuts and fruit or even pop open a can of tinned fish or packet of skinless chicken, which is pure protein. It is important to get a balanced diet so make sure you are coupling these snacks with balanced meals throughout the day.
2. Block out time to exercise.
This could be a workout, or just a walk but this will help you mentally as well as physically. Whichever you choose, having a goal will keep you motivated. This could be to improve your 5k time, or just to hit 10,000 steps everyday. If you’re struggling to relax at home because you’re working there in the day, get this exercise in at the end of your working hours. This will help split up your ‘work time’ and your ‘down time’.
3. Buy frozen fish and meat.
This will mean you don’t have to venture to the shops as often, and you can still make cracking healthy recipes with frozen alternatives. The temptation at the beginning of lockdown was to stock up on as much food as possible. The trouble is, this often goes to waste if it’s all fresh. By ensuring you have a good percentage of frozen food in each shop, you can be more thoughtful with your other purchases. Frozen alternatives are often more cost effective too, meaning you can be more frugal if Coronavirus has affected your job/income. Recently, I’ve been buying wild Alaska salmon and pollock fillets which can be cooked from frozen.
4. Try and stick to a routine.
This will give you purpose. Get up at the same time every day, have breakfast, get dressed! Make sure you have regular breaks and an actual ‘lunch break’. Being an athlete, I don’t have a regular job, but my partner does. We’ll always keep an hour free in the middle of a day to have a nice walk – particularly now we’re entering summer. Remember – lunchtimes are for strolling, not scrolling!
5. Keep an eye on your alcohol intake.
It’s worth remembering that alcohol provides empty calories only and doesn’t offer any nutritional value or benefit so re-assigning alcohol calories to healthy food is more worthwhile. If you wouldn’t normally crack open a bottle of wine mid-week, then keep it closed until the weekend. When lockdown first started, people said it was like the Christmas period but without the fun. We’re now 10 weeks in though, so probably worth saving that bottle of Baileys until December!