How are you feeling about coming out of lockdown?
Are you ready-to-go with a spring in your step, wanting to show off the amazing weight loss you have had since March? Or are you worried, anxious and just a little bit nervous because you have gained weight during lockdown?
If lockdown has shown us one thing, it’s that our willpower to do what we are told for our physical health is strong and we are able to resist doing the things we normally do, for the sake of our well-being.
But what it has also proven for a lot of us, is that when things get stressful or worrying or even just boring, our willpower when it comes to snacks, unhealthy foods and alcohol is weak.
For a lot of us, emotional eating and drinking is the way we have found comfort in these unusual times and, OK, a few pounds gained in lockdown won’t cause major issues – they will more than likely drop off when things return to some normality.
What we do need to be wary of is gaining excessive amounts of weight, potentially becoming more sedentary and adding to weight-related health issues we might have already been facing by not addressing habits we might have formed in lockdown.
It seems that, for many, lockdown has exacerbated existing issues with food and mental health we might have had, as well as creating new problems related to weight as eating habits have changed in these unprecedented times.
Turning to new, perhaps less-than-healthy eating habits over the last 12 weeks has been the downfall of a lot of us. According to a survey we ran back in May, nearly 60% of you had put on weight in lockdown in just 6 weeks – so how high would the figures be now?!
We have found from speaking to patients that people are struggling with the changes in life and being out of a ‘normal’ routine means they haven’t stuck to their usual, healthier eating habits.
At the start of lockdown, it was hard to find things in the shops that you needed and healthier items were more sparse, so add a few weeks of eating what you could and relying on convenience foods and it all adds up to poorer health habits building up.
As well as this, with a lot of workers not needing to be up early in the mornings, people have been turning to alcohol more often. Where before you might not have had a drink in the week, now, opening a bottle of wine in the evenings seems the norm.
Over short periods, these newly developed eating and drinking habits should not cause long term health damage, but what if we can’t break the habits once we’re out of lockdown? How do we address forming better habits again, before it causes lasting issues for our well-being?
Well, seeing as it’s been a whirlwind few months and things are already a bit crazy as we readjust to almost-normal life, we wanted to keep it really simple and not ask too much of you to help your health and weight loss journey.
This summer, we’re asking you to choose something, just one thing, you can change to help your health.
We believe that small changes add up to really big differences with weight loss journeys and so by choosing one small thing you will change over the coming months, you could and should start seeing your weight and health improve.
And when you’ve conquered that one small change, try changing something else and see where that takes your health and weight. By choosing to make these small adjustments in your life, over time, they can and will reverse any negative impact that lockdown habits might have caused.
To make it even easier, we’ve put together our favourite small changes that you could try.
- I choose to gain back my confidence
- I choose to get into the next clothing size down
- I choose to eat better
- I choose to move more
- I choose to be consistent with my healthy lifestyle
- I choose not to snack
- I choose to prepare fresh, homemade meals
So, what will it be?
If you want support making that change, try a Slimming Clinic online weight loss programme.
Each programme is designed around you, for you and your goals and delivered to you by a weight loss doctor.
You can get started today too – meaning we’re here when you are ready and motivated.