How are you leveraging this pandemic to create a healthier living style at home? While CoVID-19 has caused some roadblocks in various areas of our lives, it does not have to stop us from living a healthy lifestyle. By focusing on a few key things, you can shed those extra pounds, just in time for your holiday picture. You can strengthen your body and improve your overall health.
Here are some tips and tricks to creating a healthier you and lifestyle during this crazy time.
- Create a meal plan. While exercise is important, it can be argued that exercise only accounts for 15-25% of weight loss. Nutrition is the ticket. This starts with meal planning. Plan out the meals that you are going to eat for the week. This does a few things. It prevents the kids from asking a million times during the week, “What are we having for dinner tonight?” It also helps one know what to grocery shop for (thus, saving money) and it prevents trips to the pantry or fridge, scavenging for a bag of chips or empty carbs. You can take your meal planning a step further and plan out every meal. This is highly recommended—especially if you are at the beginning of eating healthy and getting on track to a healthy living style.
- Meal prep. This is different than meal planning. If you have already planned out your meals for the week and purchased all of the necessary ingredients, this completes that process. One of the biggest complaints about healthy eating is that it takes too much time. There’s not enough time to prep or cook healthy meals. Well, prepping is going to be key for you. Start by purchasing enough Tupperware containers for each day. Choose one of your days off from work to prep. Cook your proteins, wash and chop up veggies for snacks in designated portions, and cut up anything else that will stay fresh and last through the week. Stock your fridge with nutritious foods that will keep you on track. There may be a few things that you cannot do until the last minute; however, prepping everything else ahead of time will reduce the chances of you eating off plan and it will save you time.
- Participate in a wellness program. Many insurance companies, as well as corporations, have wellness programs that host things like diabetes prevention programs, get moving competitions, and more. These programs are typically free to the users and promote a healthy living style. Check into your insurance and/or place of employment to see if a wellness program is in place. If not in place, speak up to your management team to begin incorporating such.
- Retain a certified personal trainer. Many people have a membership to a gym but lack the motivation to go regularly or struggle to know what to do at the gym. Often times, patrons of the gym work out and show little to no results for the efforts they put in. Working with a certified personal trainer can be really helpful because the trainer will sit down with you and help you gear your training toward your personalized goals. They create customized training programs, specifically for your body type and to help you reach the targets you want/need. This is a fantastic tool that will help you get the most out of your training at the gym.
The pandemic does not have to be all doom and gloom. Take advantage of the extra time in your day that is no longer spent commuting, since you are now working from home. Start meal planning out your week, so that you get the most bang for your buck, as well as keep your eating habits on target. Save yourself time by meal prepping ahead of time. Just a few hours one day a week will help you prepare for the week ahead to make sure that you have healthy snacks ready and lunches/dinners for grab and go. Get moving with a wellness program or start your own, if your company does not have one. Last, consult with a certified professional trainer to make certain you are utilizing exercise properly, based on your body shape and size. I’m confident that each of these items can go a long way if carefully thought out and planned. Best of luck with your new healthy living lifestyle!
