Quarantine life

Just want to check in with you if you still stay sane? and strong at home? At least we’re still allowed to go buy food in the supermarket, have the internet at home. And if you still have food in your fridge and a roof over your head, safe and healthy at home. It’s a bless!

If you’re like me, who’s into health and fitness. I am sure that there might have been some thoughts run into your head – how am I going to lose my gain, and will I get fat at this time. Some of us get used to going to the gym (where we can let it all out and make it up for the food we ate on the weekend) but now the gym is closed and I have to stay home where I can get access to my fridge and kitchen cabinet whenever I want. Sounds scary right? I feel for you. That’s why I make sure to stick to my workout, journal and meditate to keep me grounded and sane.

One morning I was having breakfast and watching my mom take all her medicines out. I thought to myself, does she normally have so many different medicines? Maybe I just do not know because I was always rushing to work or busy doing my own thing. Then it’s kind of a self-realisation for me in a way to slow down a bit and look around. Perhaps it’s a time for us all to slow down and look after ourselves and our loved ones. 

To be honest this is the first time in my life I get to witness a crisis like this. I mean there have been many crises in the past, but I think this is probably the one that I feel the most. I was driving home the other day; the road was quite empty, and I have never seen Bangkok this quiet before, except on holiday (it feels like a holiday because you can stay home and not go to work but not really) I asked myself. Are we really in a crisis or have we been in a crisis all along, but we just wake up to a reality for the first time that we all need to change and do something for ourselves, for the environment, and for global mankind?

Anyway, today I am not here to tell you to think big right now or think way too much about the future because worrying too much for something that we can’t see or hasn’t happened yet, takes away today’s peace. This is the only moment we have now. Just try and take it one day at a time.

So, let me give you 5 tips to help you all stay fit and healthy at home. 

Look after your physical health.

As we know this virus can damage the lungs, so you better get your exercise (resistance training and cardio) regularly 3-4 times a week. I mean in general; you should do exercise regularly anyway but at this time we want to make sure we’re strong and healthy. Once our immune system is weak chances you might get sick.

If you’re a fitness freak or gym junky like me you need to work on your mindset that you’re not going to lose your gain or get fat, as long as you still put stress (stimulate) on your muscles. This is the time you pay attention to how your body moves; bodyweight exercise is a great way for you to work on your mind-muscle connection. Watch your tempo or time under tension, you can do the eccentric movement. Strengthen the part on your body that you’ve neglected, if you’ve been doing heavy lifting take this time to rest and recover. When you go back to the gym again, you’ll feel much better and can lift heavy again (maybe not the first week but slowly you’ll gain your all strength back if not more.)

Look after your mental health.

You can journal or meditate. If you’re stress or have anxiety about the situation. I want you to feel it. How does it feel? Do you feel scared? Does it feel like you are in darkness?

Now, close your eyes and think of the opposite feelings of calm and peace. How does it feel if you have nothing to worry about? Do you feel light? What colour do you see? Bright and colourful? Do you see the sunshine or rainbow in front of you? 

You do have a choice to choose any of those feelings. It is up to you how you want to feel. You can’t control what’s happening, but you can control how you perceive it, you can control how you react to it. I know we are all scared (myself included) but if you live in scarcity or survival mode you won’t find peace within yourself. Human beings are resilient, we adapt to any situation. We were in a worse crisis before and we got through it. We are in this together and we’ll get through this together.

Look after your nutrition.

Now that we are at home some of us might eat too much. There is nothing wrong with food or enjoy eating food (myself included??) but too much of anything is not good, it is about balance. Make sure you stick to whole food: natural food that we have to cook like good quality meat, rice, eggs, etc. Get enough good nutrients into your body. Eat your fruits and veggies and avoid processed food as has lots of calories with little nutrients. Make sure you hit 25g of fiber a day for women and 38g for men. Remember – healthy gut happy you ?

Most of us were super busy before, no breakfast, no time to cook. Hey! Now you don’t have to get up early and rushing to work, more time to make a hearty breakfast, enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in your favorite mug in the morning. 

Get plenty of sleep in.

You should get a minimum of 8-10 hours of sleep. Sleep helps with your stress and craving for sweets and carbs. Try going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time. Most people set an alarm clock to wake up but not for bedtime. On my daily schedule I write down what time I wake up and what time I go sleep but if you don’t have a schedule. I recommend you do a daily and weekly schedule at the moment. Avoid waking up and have nothing to do during a day. Because most people are used to having a set routine at work, but now there is no work at the moment, so you don’t need to go anywhere. Time can go very slowly and drive you crazy if you got nothing to do, so set an alarm clock for bedtime!

 Learn new things.

I am sure you must have a book that you bought ages ago but have never started it. This is the time to get it off the shelf and go down the rabbit hole. Have you always wanted to learn how to cook? Or maybe you to try some painting? There are many online courses out there that you can follow.

Last but not least I do not know what situation you are in right now, but my heart is with you. I know it is not easy to wake up one day and some of you may have lost your jobs or loved ones. But I want you to find just at least one thing to be grateful for. It could be you are reading this article that uplifts your spirit or you wake up to the loved one next to you, you still have the internet at home, food and water in your fridge. 

This is a transmission for all of us but it is such an opportunity for you to change, try new things and be creative. 

“Once you have a blank canvas in front of your eyes, you can think about how you want to paint it.”