LOSING YOUR GYM BOD AND YOUR MIND?
Are you surviving the Coronavirus? I barely made it past day 1 and am currently on day 10 of total and complete isolation, feeling bored, stagnate, lazy and fat. So, I’ve decided to implement a few things into my quarantine day to day to help myself stay fit and mentally intact.
1. If you need a day to be mad, I’m giving you permission to do it. One thing though, be honest and kind to your spouse. Let them know that you are struggling and need a day to be angry. This is important… Don’t take your anger/stress out on anyone else, it’s not their fault and its not your fault for feeling this way so go ahead and be mad, sad, or whatever emotion you feel, feel it. Don’t have any expectations of yourself for that day and take it one hour at a time. If you need to nap, curl up and take one. If you need to deep clean the house to make yourself feel better, clean away. This is your day to be angry at what this virus has caused and that’s okay.
2. If it's at all possible SLEEP IN or at least sleep longer than you normally would on a regular workday. Most experts would tell you not to disrupt your sleep/wake cycle to maximize productivity. Here’s what I think…. A little extra sleep feels damn good and makes me feel like I'm on vacation. I have found some peace with this since I’ve been waking up without an annoying alarm clock, I feel rested and happy, and It makes me feel like I took back some of my control over this. Try it and I don’t feel bad about it.
3. Make an extremely healthy breakfast. Like something you've always wanted to have time for but never could make it happen because of time restraints. I'll throw on a couple of my go-to breakfast ideas at the end of this blog.
4. It's still wise to have some sort of daily schedule so that you feel accomplished at the end of the day, however, you should also make time for something that feeds your soul. For example, read a book, do a puzzle, color, meditate, learn how to draw, or exercise. BTW it’s OKAY to do more than one of these in a day and there are a million other ideas to choose from, these are just the tip of the iceberg. If you need help getting off the couch, go to our “motivation” tab to see workouts, tips and other good stuff.
5. If the sun is out, go for a walk, run or hike. If you're stuck at home, drag out the lawn chair and watch your kids play, read a book, or practice your harmonica. Yes, I've been learning the Harm, check back for some sweet homemade music videos.
6. Don’t eat junk. In order to do this, don’t buy junk. All you have to do is say no to that bag of double stuffed Oreos once while at the store instead of 20 times after you bring the thing home. If you want a treat learn how to make better for you sweet treats. I am currently munching on my homemade no-bake cacao/peanut butter oatmeal cookies, I’ll link my favorite recipe at the bottom of this blog. Bottom line….Don’t be lazy, you literally have nothing better to do so you might as well make better choices.
7. Plan a healthy dinner for the whole family. Eating better foods makes you feel better and gives you a chance to practice making better choices for the whole family. Why not come out of quarantine a few pounds lighter, have more energy and feel like you made a positive impact for you and your family.
8. In today’s age, we have such amazing technology. Use this to your advantage if you’re like me and needs person to person interaction; Use these social tools: FaceTime, Zoom, Google Hangout, or Skype to connect with your family, friends, and coworkers, whatever fills you up, that’s what you should do. Go grab your beverage of choice from the fridge and have a virtual Happy Hour with your buddies. It’s fun, it’s free and it gives you a sense of community and support.
9. If you need to put in some hours for work, try to balance it with these other ideas. What this virus is teaching us is humility and a valuable lesson in BALANCE. If one element is out of balance the whole freaking world will be.
10. When all else fails…. Get silly. Dress up like a dork and make workout videos, have a nerf gun shoot out with your partner and kids, make pillow forts and obstacle courses. I guess what I’m trying to tell you is, get outside of your grumpy mood and make the most out of a shitty situation- You’re welcome.
Bottom line—— FEED your soul, whatever that means to you please do it. These are the things I've been doing to get through each day and I hope some or all of these things will help you too.
-Practice patience, empathy, and love.-Take less and give more.
I love you all and hope this will help get you through this tough time!
Stay strong Encore warriors!
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Links To My Favorite Recipes:
-Poached Eggs & Cottage Cheese- https://www.myencorefitness.com/blog/2020/3/25/poached-eggs
-No-Bake Cookies- https://www.myencorefitness.com/blog/2020/3/30/no-bake
-Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet- https://www.lifeloveliz.com/2017/05/15/ground-turkey-sweet-potato-skillet/#_a5y_p=6338506
Written By: Courtney Coleman
