This is a worrying time.  A frightening and anxiety inducing time for even those who have a positive attitude to life and all that it throws at them.

From various interactions on social media and with the voluntary work I am involved with I am aware that for many, the situation is really frightening, and they’ve been struggling with sleep, eating sensibly and managing their days whilst isolated from family, friends and regular social interactions.

I’m certain that you may have observed an increase in people running, walking, jogging and cycling.  Weekly routines for many individuals include regular gym visits or exercise classes and this group appear to be really struggling with the physical isolation aspect of life “in lockdown”.

We are unable to influence anything in the larger scheme of things.  All we can do is work within the constraints of what is in our direct control.

Some of these things such as not leaving the house unless absolutely necessary and, when we do, practising physical distancing are being imposed on us.  It’s imperative that we listen to the advice that we are being given and adhere to it.

But how can we ensure that we maintain or even improve our own physical and mental wellbeing at this time?  We have to take responsibility for keeping ourselves as mentally and physically fit as we are able to.

For me, there aren’t too many changes.  I am still exercising first thing in the morning, on a daily basis for around an hour and on my own – the same place and generally around the same time of day (7am/8am).

I have a daily exercise regime which involves back, neck and shoulder stretches to maintain my flexibility and ability to remain independent.  That’s particularly important to me as a disabled person.  I need to be able to maintain (and perhaps even improve) my ability to carry out everyday activities of personal care – showering, dressing managing to use the toilet, mobility.

Exercises to increase my heart rate, maintain muscle mass and strengthen my core are an essential part of my daily routine, just as much as dental care is.

My exercise routine is seated on a gym ball, in an upstairs room looking out to the street – we have views across a large open lawned area – a University hall of residence.  I put music on, music that I love listening to.  I fully immerse myself in what I am doing for an hour.  Counting my reps, making sure that my stretches are done fully.  30-40 minutes of vigorous bouncing and “marching’ swinging my arms to get my heart rate up to peak.

That exercise is now particularly important and the urge to just “get it over and done with” in order to get on with my day has gone.  I have more time in my day to get on with those other things.

I also have the time to concentrate on ensuring that my meals are as healthy and as nutritious as possible – including beans, pulses, nuts, seeds, fresh salads and vegetables.  This is also something I am very used to doing.  We don’t eat takeaways and we eat out only rarely – so we aren’t seeing the changes to our everyday life as being too restrictive.

We are also able to spend more time in our garden.  I appreciate that not everyone is lucky enough to have outdoor space and there isn’t a day that goes past at the moment when I am not grateful for the space that we have and the fact that we both love gardening so much.  Watching the progress on the growth of various seeds we have planted (courgette, cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, flowers, salad leaves, beetroot).

Stay safe everyone, stay well and take care of yourself.  It’s really crucial that you do that at the moment.

I realised quite a few years into my journey to think about lifestyle changes rather than “being on a diet”.

That lifestyle change will need to happen a bit at a time and will involve many things : changing your behaviour around food, portion control, identifying emotional eating triggers, increasing your activity levels, trying new foods, making healthy food swaps, etc.

Commitment to diet/lifestyle change and resistance to temptation doesn’t just happen! It has to be worked at.

The only way I have succeeded this time is to change how I approach food and eating it. I have learned to resist temptation! BUT please believe that this has taken a LOT of hard work and practice.

It’s about “normalising” or “modifying” behaviour around food… and I think that with enough “practice” it becomes more and more easy until you get to the point where a behaviour is modified to the point of it becoming the only way.

I am sure that even some people who are not over weight do sometimes over indulge – but the fact is they don’t do it very often…

Those of us who are over weight have been used to “treating” ourselves, eating portions that are too large, eating the things that we know are calorific because we can.

It’s been a combination of changing all of those aspects of how I behave around food that has meant I have been successful this time.

I have developed a respect for the food I eat. Not everyone has the ability to eat as well as we in the western world eat. We should not abuse the privilege.

I rarely eat “on the hoof” any more, I rarely eat between meals. I take time to sit at a table and present my meals nicely. I take a moment or two to really look at my plate of food before I pick up my knife and fork.

Almost daily I say to myself “Aren’t we lucky to be able to enjoy such lovely food”. I really mean that too, I am not saying it for anyones benefit, but acknowledging how priviledgedwe are in a country where food and food choices are a plenty. We should never take for granted having easy access to delicious food stuffs and our ability and love of cooking.

Logging food – keeping track of how many calories some favourite “treats” contain means that after a while they stay in your head (medium egg = 70 cals, slice of white bread 100 cals, meringue nest 57 cals, 30g/matchbox size of Cheddar, 122 cals)

I do have sweet treats/chocolate, but I buy my own choice, so things like 2 finger Kitkat, single finger Twix, Club biscuit… these are all around 100 calories. I keep them in a tin and I can have one whenever I want to, but they are occasional treats – and they are always logged into my diary.

Without keeping a log of what you are eating and the calories foods contain, then it’s a bit like trying to travel from one place to another without a map. You may get there eventually BUT it’s likely to take you much longer than if you planned the route and used a map PLUS you might take a few wrong turnings and end up going back on yourself or even getting completely lost.

I have also learned not to plan each trip out of the house to include food. Once upon a time, I’d have included lunch with a trip into town, coffee and cake with a visit to the garden centre.

I now plan or even prepare a meal BEFORE I go out (usually a salad) so that I know exactly what I can eat as soon as I walk into the door… and don’t turn to “what I fancy” (usually high calorie carbs that don’t keep you full for very long…)

Make a list of the reasons WHY you want to lose weight. Keep it somewhere safe (stuck to the inside of a kitchen cupboard door?) and look at it from time to time, especially when you are raiding the kitchen for treats!

I always ask myself before eating something really calorific “Do I really want to eat this thing more than I want to lose weight this week?”. It’s called “mindful eating” – being aware of why you are considering eating – real hunger? Boredom? Temptation? Feeling fed up?

Have a glass of water, wait 5 minutes and consider whether you still want the food. Once it’s been snaffled down, it’s too late and you may end up feeling cross and angry with yourself….

….and that feeling (guilt, failure) lasts for a long time, much longer than the temporary enjoyment of whatever treat you ate….

Oh, and I always remind myself how good the feeling is of seeing a loss on the scales at my weekly weigh in! That wonderful feeling lasts for days! Don’t forget how that feels – you need to remind yourself of that feeling next time temptation strikes!

I’m healthier and fitter now at the age of 57 than I was 20 years ago…..

I am writing this as someone who had struggled all of my life (since the age of 9) to lose weight.  I have a significant disability that affects my mobility – use a wheelchair outside of the house.  I am also very short (4ft 8”).  It wasn’t until the age of 49 when I started to log everything and kept track of the calories I was consuming that the truth hit me between the eyes.  I was eating FAR TOO MUCH for a short sedentary person.  I changed my whole approach to food and eating it that everything else clicked into place 🙂

Just wished I’d found what worked for me years ago.

I started my journey to lose weight and be as fit as I could for my 50th (2012)!

I’ve used many ways throughout my 7 year membership on the weight loss website I subscribe to, to keep my journey interesting and to learn what works best for me – I am very short (4ft 8″), 56 years old and don’t move very much on account of my disability. I use a wheelchair outside of the house.

One thing that has remained constant throughout is logging everything I eat and weighing out portions. If I have ever stopped doing that for any length of time, the weight starts to creep up again.

I have used 5:2 successfully and done a few rounds of the 8 week Blood Sugar Diet.
I now mostly try to avoid refined carbs (well, limit them!) so rice, pasta, cake, biscuits, pastries and bread (most things containing flour). I eat them occasionally (about once/twice a week, always small portions – 50g dry weight (rice/pasta), always wholewheat and ALWAYS measured). I try to eat alternatives – which on the whole, I now prefer!

I bulk out my meals with lots of vegetables – eat about 4-7 portions a day (home made soup or a salad for lunch, lots of veggies with dinner).

Through choice, I eat just two meals a day, that’s been for the past 2+ years. I eat lunch and dinner. I try to keep my eating to between 12 noon and 6pm. Outside of those times, I do drink tea and coffee and plenty of water. That’s a way that works for me, and I’m happy with this arrangement – not eating breakfast won’t work for everyone though. I used to LOVE breakfast and could never have imagined a few years ago that I’d skip it!

I don’t view exercise as a way to earn additional calories to eat – I use it as a way to remain flexible and independent. I do an hour long stretch and bounce seated routine around 4-7 times a week which lasts around an hour.

I try to do cardio exercise as often as possible, but because of my disability, it’s quite a challenge. For that I walk and run (HIIT) on a special treadmill called an Alter G which is able to support a percentage of my body weight as I walk and run – currently I exercise at 80% of my body weight. I do this for 30 minutes every other week. I’d love to do it weekly, but I need assistance to get into the machine and can only get this support fortnightly.

I keep on going…. as it’s what works for me.

I don’t deny myself anything in terms of food – however, I have changed over the course of my weight loss to eat much more mindfully – considering “Do I really want to eat this?” ahead of eating food that is particularly calorific or not very healthy.

Today I am eating a slice of home made carrot cake that I’ve made – I’ve worked out the calories and I’m going to have a slice as it is DEFINITELY worth it! I’ve sliced and frozen half of the cake (un-iced) in packs of two so that I can enjoy it on other days rather than knowing it’s there and needing to be consumed to stop it going off.

I have reduced the number of times I eat out as it’s impossible for me to stay within my low (1100 calorie) limit by eating out regularly – even if I choose wisely. But to be honest, I am very happy cooking my own meals and eating those, as I know precisely what’s in them – and I love, love LOVE my vegetables.

I rarely get a takeaway (perhaps 1 – 2 times a year – usually at others instigation when I am visiting friends). I used to resent these things, but I now accept and embrace them. I no longer view this as a tortuous journey but more a new way of life

I view my way of eating as keeping myself as healthy as I can in order to minimise the risk of developing middle aged illnesses (diabetes, stroke, heart attack…) and to maintain my mobility and independence.

I don’t judge my success by what others achieve nor do I judge others by the lifestyle they choose – I just try to do the best that I can for myself and in a way that works well for me.

It does help that I have an extremely supportive husband who’s happy to eat the same as I do – even though he doesn’t need to lose weight. He makes sure he does have plenty of little “extras” such as the odd biscuit, doughnut, cheese and crackers, crisps….

I hope this helps other understand that this really is a commitment for life, but it has the ability to change and prolong ones life.