Wellbeing, Rachel Grunwell: How to lose lockdown weight

Embrace self compassion, says wellness columnist Rachel Grunwell.

Lockdown life has turned more than a few of us into domestic-goddess mode. My various social media feeds keep revealing different things to, well, "feed".

Everyone I know seems to have morphed into Nigella Lawson. People keep showing off their latest stunning cakes and baking creations. These all tend to make my mouth water and inspire me into the kitchen too of course. Again!

All that home baking and cooking is comforting and delicious. But some of us may worry about emerging from lockdown cuddlier.

You can either hide your "winter coat" under a proper winter coat this winter ... or if you are keen to kick a few unwanted kilos here are a few suggestions that I've shared with some of my wellness clients lately.

Don't feel like you have to do everything. Choose one thing to work on. Small steps are the best start and they can take you far.

1 Quit eating by the clock
If the clock says midday or 3pm — this doesn't mean you have to race to the kitchen. If you are not starving, wait until you feel hungry.

2 Cut sugar-loaded fizzy drinks
They make you happy and then send your mood crashing. Some can have as much as 10 teaspoons of sugar. Drink water instead.

3 Quit the negative self-talk
It's more toxic than sugar. Self-compassion can improve body image. This can then lead to us wanting to do more healthy behaviours like exercising.

4 Eat protein at every meal
This can be meat based, or vegan sourced. Protein increases satiety (feeling full) and so you are less likely to snack (and hence eat too much).

5 Move more
Movement does more than help you to lose body fat. In a world with Covid-19, walking, jogging or running is one of the few freedoms we have. So put your shoes on and get outdoors. Even upping your step count will help your mental health compared to if you did nothing at all.

By the way, I started walking/jogging for 20 minutes twice weekly to kick off my fitness journey.

After three months of this, I could run around my neighbourhood without stopping. So, small steps count and can propel a cool fitness journey.

Running now helps me to feel good. I can notice I feel different after a run.

The World Health Organisation recommends 150 minutes of exercise weekly of moderate intensity or 75 minutes' high intensity exercise weekly.

All you need is a pair of running shoes and I love using my Fitbit watch to track my calories burned, kilometres walked or run etc. It's great to track your progress and celebrate every step of your success!

Rachel Grunwell is a wellness coach, speaker and author of Balance: Food, Health and Happiness. Find her via at inspiredhealth.co.nz Instagram @rachelgrunwell