Quarantine is here to stay and so is the importance of maintaining your training and nutrition routine • Nutritionist Keren Ann Gaiman gives advice to help us get through it safely.
The second lockdown, which entered our lives a little over two weeks ago, is affecting us considerably, just like the first, ranging from the type and amount of food we eat, the calories we consume and burn, to sporting activities and even mood and energy levels.
During the previous lockdown, it wasn't so simple, but in the end we got used to it, and it turns out that working out at home isn't such a terrible or complicated thing. This may be one reason for optimism ahead of the weeks or months we still have to spend at home. However, there are quite a few other things we can do to improve our lives in terms of fitness and nutrition, making this second lockdown as easy as possible.
Clinical nutritionist, fitness trainer and television presenter Anne Gaiman has given some effective nutrition and fitness tips so we can improve our time at home and make our activities more appealing and also lose weight!
You should schedule one family meal per day
One of the principles of good nutrition is the structure in which we eat. Setting a date and time for a family meal makes it easier to eat healthily than eating alone and spontaneously. Furthermore, a family meal is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate to your children the benefits of a healthy and varied diet without directly discussing food. Studies show a link between family meals and greater academic achievement, so it's worth taking advantage of the quarantine period to adopt this practice.
Fill the house with healthy snacks
Deciding not to snack at all is probably a decision that will be harder to stick to, especially when you're spending a lot of time at home. So, it's better to prepare healthier spreads, high-fiber crackers, and sweet fruit.
Cooking together
Take advantage of the boredom of quarantine to develop better cooking skills. Try making cooking a family activity and a time to connect. It's a good time to try new ingredients and enrich your menu. If you have children, keep in mind that cooking together can spark their interest in trying new treats in your creations.
Make sure you consume foods rich in vitamin D and take a supplement
According to a summary document published last May by the US USDA, the Center for Endocrine Research in Haifa, and the Hebrew University's School of Nutrition Sciences, vitamin D intake is essential. Being confined to our homes reduces our exposure to sunlight, leading to decreased vitamin D production, which is crucial for maintaining good health, thus increasing the risk of deficiency.
Studies in recent years have linked vitamin D deficiency to an increased risk of developing respiratory infections. Given that the coronavirus is known to significantly damage the respiratory system, preventing vitamin D deficiency may reduce the risk of becoming ill.
Don't forget to drink
Spending extended periods indoors with air conditioning and limited time outside can make us feel less thirsty. Even mild dehydration can cause headaches and, in the worst cases, serious health problems. Make sure to refill a water bottle frequently and keep it with you at all times, or drink a glass of water with every meal or healthy snack. Now is the perfect time to enjoy water-rich summer fruits like watermelon, grapes, and melon.
Choose an activity that you will do daily
In the near future, we will be less active and go out less, so it's important to replace our daily walk with another activity – you could choose a daily stretching routine, going up and down the stairs in your building, a daily walk within a 500-meter radius of your home (two laps, for example), and so on. This is an activity that isn't intense but involves daily movement. Daily exercise will "force" you to plan the rest of your day, to think about meals before and after your workout, so that it will actually help create structure in the crazy world we live in.
Choose an activity that you will color more intensely, between 2 and 4 times per week.
This could be a home fitness workout with your favorite YouTube video, jumping jacks, a stress-relieving workout, etc. Your 500-meter walk can easily turn into a run – the key is to do it weekly. Besides keeping you healthy, physical exercise will also improve your mood and bring optimism into your home.
Develop new skills
If flexibility has always been a challenge, if you've always wanted to do yoga but simply haven't found the time, or if you've found a stress-relieving workout that sounds like a cool challenge you've always dreamed of – now's the time! With normal days and workloads, it's hard to find the time to engage in all the types of fitness we desire, and some dreams get put on hold. Take the time to try a new sport or develop a skill you've been struggling with. By the end of this period of isolation, you won't have to face the initial challenge; you'll already have a routine.
Set challenges
Social media has been overflowing with challenges since the lockdowns, so it's easy to think it's all over and a thing of the past – but not exactly. A fitness challenge can give you the motivation you need to stick to your plans. It could be a plank (a static abdominal exercise) that you do daily. It could be a sequence of exercises that you try to complete faster each time, or even a combination of fitness exercises set to music (look them up on TikTok).
Let your creativity flow!
Toilet paper, old pots, and water bottles can become excellent training tools, not only for you but also for your children. A bag full of bottles can be used as weights for a crucial strength training workout. Toilet paper rolls and old pots can be transformed into obstacle courses where you can organize sporting competitions with your children.
Don't let yourself go!
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