How I’m Staying Healthy

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

As we are entering our third (or second? I don’t look at calendars anymore) week of quarantine/ social isolation, I am starting to lose some of the motivation I had at the beginning. The more time we spend in isolation, the more time it seems to be extended, and I’m sometimes having trouble seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. So many social events that I have been looking for have been cancelled, including my very own birthday celebrations. 

One of the easiest things to lose sight of in this crazy time is your health routine, both with eating and physical exercise. Without gyms, studios, and workout classes, staying on a workout routine is harder than ever. Equally as difficult is keeping a healthy diet with all of your food available to your 24/7- and not moving as much during the day (my biggest trip is often from upstairs to downstairs) can lead to weight gain in some cases. 

The good news is, it is never too late to start a habit and work towards better health during this quarantine time. Here are some of the things that I have found helpful for health upkeep during my quarantine; hopefully you will too: 

• Meal prep! Now is a great time to unlock new, healthy recipes and to have fun cooking them. Take some time going through your cookbooks, or googling some recipes you want to try- and head to the grocery store (in moderation, of course) and pick up your fresh ingredients.
• Pack your lunch. For those of us working from home, it is still important to take a lunch break. During the normal work week, I pack my lunch for the work day the night before. Packing your lunch during this quarantine time, just as you would a normal work day, will help you with portion control and reduce your snacking during the day. 
• Switch up your snacks. Change out your salty snacks for more fresh items, like apples with peanut butter and carrots with ranch. Grocery stores may be sold out of frozen foods, but still have a surprising amount of fresh produce. Give some new snacks a try!
• Drink more water. If you know me, you know I go nowhere without my hydroflask. Take this time while you are hanging out at home to drink some more water- what else do you have to do? 
• Put workouts on agenda. In my last post about quarantine, I encouraged everyone to make a daily agenda and stick to it. With that idea in mind, add workouts to that agenda, so that you have no choice but to follow through with them. I have a fairly relaxed work from home schedule, so I have two times a day carved out for workouts, and I use them both for different types of workouts. Try to carve out at least 30 minutes of your day for exercise. 
• Move! For those of us who have Fitbits or smartwatches, they often remind us to move every hour. Admittedly, I  usually ignore this, but I think now is a great time to make sure you are getting some steps during the day.
• Keep up your hygiene. This one can be challenging, as there can be little motivation to get ready as you normally would during the week. Even so, take time to shower, look presentable, and take care of yourself. When you look better, you feel better, and you will work better. 

Everyone has their own ways of maintaining their health, so if none of these points resonate with you, don’t worry. You know yourself best and how to take care of yourself. Focus on how to integrate health into your daily quarantine agenda, and you will come out of this thing a better, stronger, and healthier version of you!