10 Do’s and Don’t’s of Lockdown 3.0

There is no denying these are difficult times, so here are 10 do’s and don’t’s to ensure you emerge from Lockdown 3.0 mentally and physically stronger.

Do Not: 

1. Repeat behaviors and habits from lockdown 1 and 2 that didn’t serve you and expect a different outcome this time around. Do what you’ve always done and you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.
2. Buy a boatload of booze/chocolate/biscuits/crisps if you’ll likely consume that boatload of booze/chocolate/biscuits and feel totally crap for it.
3. Stop moving. It’s a fast-track route to chronic disease, poor mental health, and impaired immunity. The absolute LAST thing you need right now.
4. Struggle alone. Thanks to tech you can Facetime, Zoom and join online communities. Connections have the potential to make or break your lockdown experience. When things feel rough, reach out.
5. Waste time complaining about a situation you cannot change, focus on adapting and reassure yourself it will not last.
6. Compare yourself to others. They’re not in your shoes, walk your own walk and be happy for them.
7. Ask questions that can’t be answered: How long? What next? What if? There’s no point at this time. Focus on one day at a time… your next task, meal, movement break, and just keep doing your best.
8. Keep going on about lockdown, instead devote some energy to making some exciting, post-Covid world plans.
9. Overwork, overtrain, overcompensate, over-anything. Covid has shown us the longevity of your health is what really matters and it doesn’t like ‘overs.’
10. Expect much from the decision-makers, it’s been a shambles. But YOU can make a difference to everyone you know and care about. Help friends, family, and your community in any way you can.

Do:

1. Give yourself a break! Ditch any hint of perfectionism, it has no place in a global pandemic but, once you ease off the pressure, significant changes and progress are still very much possible.
2. Anticipate your brain will ask you to eat too much, drink too much, spend too much, get annoyed too much, at regular intervals, and find ways to ignore it.
3. Seek accountability. Everyone needs motivating in different ways. Don’t follow the path of lockdown 1 or 2, if you didn’t show up to that workout or cook that nutritious meal, find ways to do so.
4. Move outside of a workout, you still need some Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis or NEAT which means you’re burning calories just moving around. Find excuses to move.
5. Turn the music up loud. Devise playlists for focus, energy, and a change of mindset. It provides an escape (helpful when you can’t!) Music can make a batch cooking or cleaning session a chance to bust some moves and bump up the step count.
6. Listen to Fitter Food Radio – we offer plenty of advice on maneuvering through lockdown life.
7. Take vitamin D, get outside daily, eat zinc-rich foods (meat, fish, eggs, pumpkin seeds), consume plenty of ginger and garlic, and have protein with main meals for immune support.
8. Have some mindful escapes – yoga, singing, playing a game, crafts, barbell technique work, kettlebell training practice – it takes many forms.
9. Breathe deeply and find a guided practice if this is difficult e.g. Calm, IBreathe, Stop, Breath, Think.
10. Be proud of yourself and your actions in this lockdown. Everyone has contributed in their own way. Whether you homeschooled, continued to work in uncertain times, supported loved ones, or volunteered. Stay strong for the last leg and keep doing your bit.