‘COVID-19’ and ‘stay at home’ are some of the most trending words since the last three months. The ongoing pandemic has made severe changes to our lifestyle, thereby, indirectly affecting our physical and psychological well-being. We moved from working from office to our home desks, from dining at restaurants to just eating at home, from hitting the gym daily to performing daily household chores – our lives are rewired and our movements are restricted. While there are many who found a way to exercise daily and stick to a healthy eating pattern, but for most of us it was just sitting, eating all the delicious and decadent homemade treats, which we were missing because of the rush of daily life.
Today, as we are slowly getting out of our homes, starting to go to office, we find that the stamina to do so isn’t there. We get tired easily and feel the need to push ourselves mentally and physically to do what we used to do without putting extra effort. But fret not! It’s time to rewire ourselves – we just need to take small steps to reach back where we want to be and do so in a systematic manner.
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Boost stamina post lockdown: Take small steps to reach back.
Eat At Proper Times
It makes a world of difference to our system which is closely linked to the solar clock. Set your meal timings and stick to them keeping a leeway of 30 minutes up or down. Eating at regular hours means the energy levels remain steady and don’t sway from highs to lows. This will help your body rhythm settle down; it will balance out the hormones, keeping you energised.
Eating at regular hours means the energy levels remain steady.
Eat Nutrient-Rich Food
One of the best things that happened during lockdown was that we were eating fresh home-cooked food with mostly fresh ingredients. We learnt to make pizzas and burgers at home but all with fresh and healthy ingredients. Any food that is closest to its natural form, least processed and seasonal is the best for your health. Cheat meals are only 1-2 meals a week. Nutrient-rich food adds health while processed and refined foods add empty calories leaving you without energy and feeling low. Fermented foods add good bacteria that keep our gut healthy and the absorption of nutrients efficient.
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Any food that is closest to its natural form, least processed and seasonal is the best for your health.
Drink, Drink And Drink Lots Of Water
We are in the thick of summers and need hydration. Even a mild dehydration leaves us exhausted; therefore, one must take adequate fluids, and a plain glass of water is the best option. But if just having water is monotonous, you can have fresh lemon water, coconut water, fresh iced tea, jaljeera or aam panna without sugar or with the minimum amount of sugar. Bael sherbet is another amazing drink that you can try. Again while rediscovering food, I am sure you must have found a lot of traditional summer drinks that need very little work and are super hydrating. But keep the caffeine to the minimum!
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Have fresh lemon water, coconut water, fresh iced tea, jaljeera or aam panna but without sugar.
Include Nuts And Seeds In Your Diet
Nuts and seeds are a Yes in summers too. You can soak them if you believe they are “garam” in summers. You can even add nuts to your summer drinks. Almond thandai is a healthy drink and you can even have it in summers. We just need one ounce of nuts and seeds per day – meaning 15-20 almonds, one walnut and a teaspoon of seeds. Nuts add healthy fats, fibre, protein and most importantly, antioxidants, which are known to clean up the free radicals from our system. They are great for boosting immunity to.
Nuts add healthy fats, fibre, protein and most importantly, antioxidants.
Get Back To Exercising
The ones, who have taken this time to do nothing in the exercise space, need to restart. Never mind where you were when the lockdown happened, you need to start all over again. Don’t get back to the high level of exercise immediately – get there slowly. And the ones, who have maintained a mid-level of exercise, can go on to the next level, but gradually.
While exercising at home keep all distractions away.
These are testing times and though a lot is unlocking, minimum social contact is still to be maintained along with frequent handwashing and sanitising. We will reclaim our lives but the good habits that we were forced to relearn like having home-cooked food, rediscovering traditional foods, hand and body hygiene, spending quality time with family and sitting still for a while, shouldn’t be forgotten. There is a silver lining to every cloud and the sun shines after every dark night.
Stay safe, stay healthy and get back in the zone!
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