Lucy Lockdown Life Tips

Personally I don’t like to use the word Lockdown so I’m going to call it Lucy instead and share some tips to help with your health and wellness.

As we come to grips with Lucy again I thought it worth revisiting some things that might help make it more comfortable so if you find these useful please do share with your friends and family as we are all in the same situation more or less.

These are not in any order of importance and I’m hoping you do many them already.

• Have a routine – this time for many it will be easier as the kids are still at school, but for some people not so try to get up at the same time (not too late) and get some regularity in your day even if it is writing down what time you will go for a walk.

• Get out in nature – I know this is harder for some people living in cities but if you can walk to a park or at least somewhere where there are trees it really helps the brain to feel calmer plus breathing in some fresh-air helps your concentration and productivity especially if you are doing brisk walk in nature.

• Prioritise sleep – tempting though it might be to catch up on netflix or some other entertainment it’s not going to help you feel as good the next day as to getting bed at a reasonable time. If you have trouble sleeping make sure you are getting outdoors in the daytime as that helps your brain know when to release the sleep hormones later in the day. Also get off devices at least an hour before bed and avoid caffeine in the afternoon. You may also benefit from a bath in magnesium salts and/or taking a supplement.

• Watch the news sparingly – We can easily listen to the radio, go online etc and get the headlines so sitting down to watch the news (especially before we go to bed) isn’t going to boost our mood. Minimise your time on social media too if you want to boost your mood (except videos of cute kittens although even those don’t seem to be around much)

• Be sure to have some moments on your own if you are surrounded by people at home. Taking some time out just for 10 mins is so vital – even if you have to sit in your car and put on a meditation app. If you live on your own then spending some time doing some deep breathing and/or meditation will be really useful to calm the mind. If you haven’t tried rescue remedy it’s a natural product that can really help calm us – this one helps sleep too.

• Speak to your friends on the phone or FaceTime etc even if just for a quick 5 mins and be honest about how you feel, it’s ok not to be ok so don’t bottle it up – it’s important to keep our social connection with others and it’s something we maintain via our online classes at Zest Bootcamp – everyone gets a chance to see their fitness friends on screen (we always have a few mins of chit chat before we start the class)

• Move your body every day even if it just some stretching and a little walk around the block. If you are working from home consider a standing desk or just staining up if you are on a call (I do this with all my non- bootcamp Zoom meetings by putting a small stool on my desk and the laptop sits on that). If you aren’t motivated to do structured exercise on your own then why not try our exercise classes for a trial week.

• Write down your thoughts and feelings in a journal – There is something powerful about getting things out of your head and onto paper and if you can write down 1-3 things you are grateful for it really helps. I like this one

• And of course keep nourishing your body with real food that leaves you with energy and not feeling lethargic, bloated and uncomfortable. The odd treat whether it is wine, chocolate or ice cream is fine but Lucy doesn’t have to mean binge eating rubbish as it is only the equivalent of sticking a plaster over a wound. If you can do some of the actions above it may not leave you wanting to reach for the biscuit tin.

Other sources of help might be joining my free Eat Well, Feel Great Facebook group where I share foodie ideas and healthy things you may not have come across before such as nutritional yeast as a way to add vegan protein and flavour to meals.

I’m passionate about helping more women over 40 to feel great which is why I’d encourage you to try out our online classes for a week – £10 for 3 classes plus a complimentary stretch class is great value and gives you a chance to see if we are a good fit for each other. I’ve been running Zest Bootcamp for over 11 years so it must work so why not try it out – Ann recently joined us for a trial week aged 62 and I’ll be sharing a video she did soon saying how much better she feels in just 6 weeks, she loves the classes.

If you’d like to join our Eat well group or come for a trial week at bootcamp online you can message me at fitnesszita@gmail.com or complete the trial week registration HERE

Finally remember that we got through the last LUCY so we can do this one 🙂

Zita x