By: Natasha Archary
Did anyone factor in how much weight we’d be prone to during the lockdown? Naturally, being home meant multiple trips to the kitchen. It also meant hours either sitting in bed or on the couch thanks to remote working.
Now, as the country eases back to normal with adjustments to the Alert Level 1 regulations, people are trying to get their a lock down on weight gain.
Lockdown weight gain
South Africans are not known to be the most active, but with our lifestyles being so severely restricted during lockdown, it may not have been motivating to get up and burn some calories.
Healthy lifestyle choices are just that, a choice you make to implement a change and commit to it. We know what some of the benefits to an active lifestyle and clean eating plan are, but it is still very much a mindset change.
Bad habits don’t just happen overnight. It’s a series of poor choices that build over time that becomes tough to break out of.
Eat clean and hydrate
Swapping out the junk foods for wholesome meals, fresh fruit and veg and nourishing home-cooked meals should be the new norm that stays.
One of the ways to speed up your metabolism and boost fat-burning is through intermittent fasting. Controlling your cravings or the urge to constantly be eating is a method of curbing over-eating.
The number of hours you fast depends on how long you are capable of pushing your body, under the advisement of your health practitioner of course. For the average, health cleared, South African this could be anything from 6 to 8 hours or 12 to 18 hours.
You are advised to drink water throughout the fast and snack on fruits or load up on veggie juices to take your metabolism into over-drive.
Get up off the couch
A run or brisk walk is a great cardio workout. Breaking a sweat and accelerating your heartbeat through exercise is one of the best ways to boost endorphins. Those feel-good hormones that relieve stress and anxiety.
It’s not just about dropping a few cms or kgs, it’s about improving your state of mind. A small change or short bursts of physical activity should be celebrated as a step in the right direction.
For all of you who use the excuse, “there’s no time to exercise,” try some of the activities below in the comfort of your home.
Some fun ways to keep active at home especially if you have kids and can’t get to the gym:
– Play hopscotch
– Kick a soccer ball around
– Make use of the basketball hoop, swing-ball set, or any sport set you have in your yard
– Take turns skipping with the kids. Skipping is a fantastic full-body workout and just 15mins can burn up to 250 calories.
– Do some yoga in the garden. YouTube has some excellent yoga workouts that you can try.
– Download a workout app that doesn’t require a full gym setup. Something you can modify or perform with just your body weight.
– Play with the dog.
– Do some gardening. Squatting to pull out the weeds count as a workout.
