People have been told to stay healthy during the pandemic, but it may not be so easy. It might look like it since healthy equals not being infected during the time of COVID-19. How can you stay healthy if you can’t walk around or go to the gym like you used to?
Obesity and staying still is your enemy when you can’t go out. These are diseases that you can’t use your claims for Social Security disability for unless you’ve become morbidly obese. You wouldn’t want to wait until that happens. There are ways to stay active and fit during the pandemic but that also requires staying within shouting distance of your home and a proactive effort to keep your distance from other people.
Staying healthy during a lockdown requires a different level of commitment on top of being active. Here are a few activities that might help you keep your promise to yourself. It’s important to also lookout for things that may make you stray from the health protocols.
Stick to a Daily routine
The stricter the lockdown, the more you should put a routine to your daily schedules. It gives you the impression of control, which is a good boost for your mental health. This is important especially when you’re noticing that your days seem to be melding into one another.
If you’re working, you could start by setting a definite time for waking up for work. That also goes for when you take your breaks as well as when you log off from work. The goal is to be able to sleep anywhere from seven to nine hours per night, which is a bonus to your schedule.
Make sure to include exercise in your schedule. If you can’t make it, at least make space for a long walk to clear your mind, or to jolt it ready for work.
You are What You Eat
As the saying goes, what you eat defines who you are. If you’re preparing nutritious meals, then it wouldn’t be too much to think that you will be healthy. Eating the right meals also helps if you’re working out or if you’re trying to care for your mental health.
Five portions of fruit and vegetables a day are perfect. It will help you get all the vitamins and minerals that you need. If all you have at home are either fresh, dried, frozen, or tinned fruits and vegetables, then that’s counted too; all you really need are nutrients.
A daily dose of vitamin D supplements should also help, during the winter or especially when staying at home due to the coronavirus situation.
Keep Away from Excessive Behavior
During the pandemic, it’s easy to fall into your doubts and fears and develop unhealthy habits. It’s a coping mechanism that people fall into when they’re under a lot of stress or under duress. If this is what’s happening to you, you should work to get out of it.
If you find yourself drinking a lot of coffee, try to cut back on the cups you consume. It might lead to more problems like hyper-acidity which is hard to cure with hospitals under lockdown. It might also start to seep into your habits and make you more irritable than good.
Keep a Healthy Weight
If you’re eating and sleeping well, then it would show in how you do your daily routine and how your body weighs. More processed food has added more salt, fat, and sugar than our body needs. If you’re eating a lot of these processed foods, then it will show on your body too.
You should avoid food with empty calories as well as those TV meals that are so easy to prepare. While home-cooked meals are fussier and more time-consuming, they are full of nutrients and can be prepared better, according to what you think your body needs. If given the choice, consider going after the home-cooked options.
Regular Exercise is Not Overrated
For those working from home, the danger of a sedentary lifestyle is real. There’s nothing else to do and, while working, it might be hard for you to move around. Find time to become active. It could be something as simple as standing up and walking around the house to something like a daily exercise at the same time. Doing the little things to keep yourself healthy will benefit you far longer than the pandemic lasts.
There are many ways to fight back against the pandemic. A combination of exercise and staying at home is a good start, but there are many things that could follow that. Choose to be positive about being at home rather than finding the negative in this.