Staying Fit WFH

Working from home has its benefits and its drawbacks. The obvious one for a lot of people is not having to commute to work. Not to mention the big ‘F’ word for working parents – Flexibility. What were you thinking?! 😋

For me, having the flexibility to do a small workout in between meetings or as soon as the clock hits 5pm is dealmaker.

As soon as 2020 hit us with the pandemic businesses including gyms improvised and created online workout lessons that people could do from the comfort of their home while practicing social distancing. Having set up my gym in the garage, heading from work to gym has never been easier.

There are some unforeseen pitfalls to watchout for in the WFH scenario. Motivation. My motivation levels definitely took a dip. There are numerous reasons for it – lack of movement ( Motivation follows action, not the other way around), job insecurity, health safety but mainly lack of social interaction temporarily suspending the need to look good in dresses, coupled with the fact that lounge wear became new office wear for most! And we all know what that does to our waistlines 

After struggling to make a workout routine (and sticking to it) I came up with some of my own commandments to stay fighting fit and ready for your first post lockdown social outing. Here goes!

1 – Incidental exercise – Treat household chores as exercise. Cleaners are out, incidental exercise is in! Squat when you can when vacuuming or mopping. bicep curls with grocery bags, Lunges with 3 litre milk cans – Let your creativity go crazy. Safely.

2 – Aim for Weights training 5 times a week – I’m a cardio fan and have used it successfully to reach my weight loss goal in a breakthrough challenge. Combining it with resistance/ strength training though, takes it to another level because it burns calories even after you finish the workout. It tones the muscle under the fat. Think of it as a doona coming off to uncover the rocks underneath. Makes you feel stronger and is a great option to get a good workout if you’re not feeling the vigorous activity vibes on any given day.

3 – Aim for at least 3 long walks per week – They can be relaxing relaxed pace long walk or medium paced jog or a combination of sprints and brisk walk. The key is to keep it challenging for your body for the fat loss. You can choose to listen to workout music to pump you up or an audio book. Or just tune into the sounds of nature if you prefer a relaxed quiet walk.

4 – Track your food – Too many people either deprive their bodies of nutritious foods &the food they love because of not tracking their food. Personally using myfitnesspal has helped me immensely on my weight-loss and strength-building journey. When you log your food, it takes the thinking & guesswork out of the process and you can include a favourite food as long as it fits within you macro goal.

5 – Do an Accelerator day – If you haven’t already heard of it. An accelerator day is a high protein/ low carb diet one protein calorie intake while dropping down your carb consumption for the day, say to 10% – 20%. When hunger strikes, keep another protein rich snack ready and avoid all starchy vegetables. I can guarantee results will show fast and your stomach will thank you for those rest days!

Over the course of my weight loss journey, I’ve realised that getting a weigh drop through a breakthrough challenge is a great way to kickstart your health and fitness journey but maintaining it as a sustainable lifestyle requires consistency but also with kindness towards yourself!

Healthy Thermomix recipes coming soon!