To ask your tips for a healthier lifestyle

[Patbutcherismyhero]

I've really let myself go during lockdown.

I've put on over a stone. I eat endlessly throughout the day. I am still working from home so rarely leave the house unless it's for shopping or the odd day out with dc. I'm overweight, unmotivated and really need to shake myself out of this rut.

I think when the dc go back to school it will signify a new start and change the routine slightly. But I'm really worried that this is how I am now. Do any of you have any practical tips for a healthier lifestyle? What do you do each day to help improve your mental and physical health? I need a massive kick up the arse!!!!

Stuff I do:

• hot water and lemon first thing each morning
• 3 square meals a day and no snacks apart from fruit
• hydrate mate to ensure I drink plenty of water
• I binge eat biscuits and chocolate on first 2 days of my period as I find this stops me having stuff like that throughout the month
• running twice a week. Maybe c25k could work for u?
• I walk everywhere often with a toddler in a buggy partly because I'm a nervous driver
• zero alcohol (it'll be 4 years in January)
• vegetarian

I think I'm pretty healthy. I love pasta, cheese and big meal portions but because I try hard in the areas listed above I can kind of get away with it (size 10). It all balances out imo!

You can't change everything overnight. .The thing for me that makes the most difference is exercise.

start walking or check out you tube..start easy and small to begin and build up slowly.

Yes to exercise. It's the key to feeling better about everything

To get healthy you need to adjust your mindset rather than just concentrate on a list of dos and donts. Healthy living is not about depriving yourself of something it’s about adding things which make you feel good.

Make sure you’re contented first, it’s hard to have a healthy body without a healthy mind. Think about how different foods make your body feel, how does exercise make you feel, maybe write a diary showing food, physical well-being and emotions. Be mindful of your body. Get to know yourself first.

Then exclude foods that don’t suit your body. I’m meat free and low sugar for example. If I eat either I can feel toxicity in my body and it also affects my mood. Fill your body with foods that make your body (rather than mind) feel good. If you connect good foods with feeling physically good you’re more likely to choose these. Use food to fuel your body not mind, people often put on weight by trying to fuel their minds which usually requires much more food (and instant gratification food at that) than trying to fuel their body.

My relationship with food isn't good. I am incredibly greedy. When I was out at work it wasn't a problem as I would take lunch with me and that would be that. But when I'm at home I have access to all of the food all of the time and I just mindlessly snack. I'm ashamed to say it but the foods I crave are junk - crisps, biscuits, chocolate, cheese, bread, carbs. I have very little willpower. Sometimes I can eat well all day and then I'll get a pang of hunger in the evening and go on a mad binge for half an hour just shovelling crisps and snacks. I really do feel quite disgusted with myself.

I'm not a natural fitness lover. I enjoy being in nature but I don't enjoy running or exercise. I find it very hard to motivate myself enough to get out and actually do it. This lack of motivation has gotten much worse during lockdown.

I know it can't all happen overnight. I have tried to introduce small changes over the weeks - started with buying some good skincare products and adopted a skincare routine which has made me feel a bit better. I tried a bit of morning meditation but struggled more so with that.

I just don't know where to start and I'm feeling really frustrated with my inability to make any changes.

almost identical to @firstimemamma
except i add in a multivit with my breakfast.
3 meals a day with no snacking, lots of water and exercise.
i grow some of my own food (arugula, parsley, chives etc and add them into my salads or meals) along with carrots potatoes and other stuff.
i also reduced my plastic purchases and store food in glass containers.

dr chatterjee has a really good podcast ..feel better live more. loads of different topics on both physical and mental health

If you love being in nature, go out and enjoy nature. Maybe find somewhere like a waterfall that you want to see but is a way from a car park concentrate on seeing the waterfall, see the walk to it as a means to get there. Don’t set out to do exercise.

Some people find sitting still to meditate difficult. Are you trying to do it for long periods. Start with no more than 3 minutes. Have you tried yoga?

If you are eating stuff you don’t actually want to eat don’t have it in the house (if others want it lock it up and give them the key)

It sounds like your trying to change too many things on a piecemeal basis. Be kind to yourself.

Ive found thst for me, lockdpwn has had the opposite effect. Before i was working 8-6 then going to an Na meeting every evening, esting pizza or sandwiches on the go, long knackering dsys and eating very little. Lockdown has given me space to re evaluate things and i wont be tiring myself going to that many meetings again!!

For me, intuitive eating has helped my head. I dont caorie count or obsess, i est when im hungry, stop when full and try to have plenty of fruit and veg. Pre lockdown this wasnt an option as i was esting around groups, wheras now i have that flexibility
Walking is a big one for me. When i was wfh id go walking each day, now eork has picked back up ive not gone on a proper walk for a week and im feeling it. I plan to log on work laptop tomorrow for a bit but think ill go for a walk in the morning.

For me, its

Meal planning- i loathe spending lots on food so do budget quite strictly. I shop in aldi and eat well on 30pw which incldes chocolate, wine etc. Have a takeaway once a month roughly
Not dieting - ive tried to eat when hungry, stop when full, plenty of veg. No ayns, calories, points or any other method that i get obsessive over. If theres chocolate in the ridge and i tell myself i csn only have 2squares i want the whle bar. Ive found, if i tell myelf theres chocolate in the fridge snd i csn eat as much as i want if i want it - i dont actually want it! I dont eat because its a certain time, and if im hngry at midnight ill hsve a cereal bar for eg. I enjoy cooking and making meals i enjoy, and i do try and have sensible portions, again telling myself theres more in the pan if i really want it but i never do. It helps that i like to make extra portions and freeze so portioning meals is easy. People hve commented ive lost weight but im not teyin to and am not weighing myself, or i become obsessive. Again its helped my MH so much
Cutting baxk on costa- pre covid i fuelled myself on sandwiches and coffee while dshing about, was a horrendous waste! In lockdown it wasnt an option. Its back open again but as i went without for so long, ive not got the costa bug and get 1 a wrek generaly. I treated myself to a brilliant chilly bottle and drink loads of ice cold water instead
Downtime - had a manic schedule pre lockdown, mainly through my pwn doing. a addict and sometimes still do na zoom meetings. But pre covid, id be knackered after work but feel guilty if i missed a meeting. So now i take it as it comes. Sometimes i need a meeting. Other times im knackered and need a shower snd to watch netflix or colour and thats ok.
Swiching off - when i first wfh, i had calls feom sU while in asda shopping or at 6pm on a Sunday and stupid me answered the call. Now, when i leave the office the phone is turned off. If i have a spare afternoon on a sunday and want to finish a report i will, but will then take off monday morning to compensate
Luxuries - i enjoy my money. When i used, all my money went to online pharmacies. Now i hsve dispoasable income and whle i wasnt poor growing up, i didnt get to choose my stuf. Shampoo was whaever was on offer bought in bulk for example. So i prioritise things like netlfix subscriptions- i have about 4 online subscriptions but thats a method to unwind so i do. I love lush shower gel so i have two bottles on the go, which i use every few days as a treat (using boots make rest of the time). I buy expensive colouring pens, wnd i do that by cutting bsck on food bils. It helps my MH and makes me think that life is worth it
Sleep - again pre lockdown this was shit. Now i try to be in bed for 11 on a work night and am no longer bone tired snd am more energetic
Looking after my needs - ive finally started doing this. Lsdt fridsy i was meant to go out with work, but i was tired, had just come on my period, in pain, sore and feeling sorry for myself, so i msde my excuses snd before I wouldn't have. Diring lockdown my anxiety got realy bad and i was self medicsting buying anxiety meds offline and double dosing, so i went to the gp snd got proper medication. If a NA newcomer is calling me snd its 2am i womy answer, and if i sont fancy a meeting i wont

I am finding it tricky maintaining these while back at work proper though. The walks have already fallen by tbe wayside but thatll become a weekend thing. The food im still keeping on track by effective planning, particularly around evening working. Im getting into bad sleeping habits again by being up til 12 on weekdays and 1am on weekends which isnt healthy and i need to stsrt setting alarms. But even with those things sliding ts much better than before snd so is my MH

I started an online PT class using zoom 6 weeks ago. I have 30 minutes private personal training and 2 lots of 30 minutes kick boxing free thrown in which I felt like I should do to show willing. When I started I could barely lift my legs up to kick, and I didn't enjoy it at all. 6 weeks in and I am starting to feel like I actually can be a fitter person. I have started c25k and actually run outside twice!! I was too ashamed before.
I am very overweight and am addicted to eating late at night. I am also very competitive, so I have started tonight to try and control myself ... with no snacking...if I can do the same tomorrow I will have a 2 day streak...wish me luck!
I think you have to find things to do that interest you and motivate you. I joined up to the PT after reading a thread about starting the couch 2 5k.
Good luck, I have found that actually doing something like PT has really made me think more positively about myself, even thought I haven't yet lost any weight.

Don't be so hard on yourself. ...you have already begun with your skincare regime!
could you commit to getting outside in your lunch break and going for a walk somewhere nice..I don't know your area but is there a park or similar nearby.....walking is great "exercise "
I know if I have things like biscuits in the house I will stuff them down.,I have no will power either..my solution is not to buy them.
I don't get on with "meditation "either but you can try other things like reading, jigsaws, both of which I love maybe adult colouring books. ....The benefits of these activities are amazing.
I mentioned dr chatterjee above. ..he also has a book out called feel better in 5.......(your local library will no doubt have a copy ) I really rate him (I promise I am not his wife, agent etc!).

Sleep enough. Everything else follows.
Limit alcohol to weekends.
Don't buy rubbish. I get shopping delivered and just don't put the rubbish in the basket.
Find some exercise you enjoy. Swimming? Pilates?

Meditate! Get your mind right first before you try and make big physical changes. Yes it’s hard and can feel frustrating but it works! When you’ve been running on autopilot for so long it can take a while to quieten down your thoughts.
Practice mindfulness and do regular body scans.
Before you start the mindless snacking, check in with yourself. Am I hungry? No, why am I snacking? How is my mood? Am I bored? Lonely? Tired?
What can I do to make myself feel better? (As obviously the snacking doesn’t work). Get out in fresh air? Meet a friend? De-clutter? Etc

I would add, get a good sleep each night, drink plenty of water and do little things each day which make you happy.
If you don’t like exercise, walking is brilliant and free. Just get up and get out.

Also can how much time do you spend scrolling on your phone? It’s something I struggle with but I know how much it negatively affects my moods and mental health. Try taking regular breaks from it.

Thank you all, some really good suggestions here.

I am also very guilty of wasting hours scrolling my phone which again makes me feel guilty. I have been drinking too much during lockdown and am working on cutting back there too.

When dc go back to school this week I am hoping for more opportunities to get out walking (it's sometimes easier to do it alone then wrangle kids) and I will try wearing my step counter again and set myself a minimum daily target. Baby steps as you've all said. I can't expect a total change overnight.

As from this week I will stop buying junk food and today i will do a meal plan so I feel a bit more in control of what I'm stuffing in my gob!

I am starting a 21 Day health kick challenge today. Starting small, just 5 daily things, and after I complete the 21 days I am treating myself to a massage. The idea is to reward myself for consistency rather than for results.

The five things are

• Drink 2l of water
• Get 12k steps
• Hit my macro targets
• Meditate for 5 mins
• Complete my Gratitude Journal

@waltzeswithsnobs that sounds really good. Achievable and not too much pressure but with enough structure to keep you on track.

I've also thought about journaling but whenever I sit down to do it I never really know where to start or what to write. How do you do it?

Sometimes planning is actually just procrastinating. It certainly is for me: "I'll start after I've eaten all the junk food in the house" or "I'll start walking after I've bought a new fitbit" or "once I'm back at school I'll walk my target steps each day" (I'm a teacher.) Or "I can't get in my target steps today, so I won't do any and double up tomorrow" (my personal favourite excuse ). I can find a million reasons why I can't start now and tell myself it's really planning ahead. But it's just avoidance. Because I'll find other totally 'valid' reasons once the first conditions are meet. I am queen of excuses wrapped in 'plans'!!

The first step is the most important, and the easiest to avoid - and I'm now going to get off my phone and go for a walk and stop telling myself I 'need' to wait for my new trainers to be delivered!!!

Yes, lots of people are advocating Journaling and I tried it last year but it really didn't work for me. I found I was sitting down right before bedtime and writing out things that were bothering me. For some people that would be good, getting things off their chest, but for me it reminded me of my problems right before trying to go to sleep. So I'd be worked up and angry and then obviously that affected my sleep.

So this time around I'm keeping it super simple. Just write out three things that you're grateful for. You can write them in a Notes app on your phone or go old school and use paper. I do it in bed so it's the end of the day and it could be things like 1) my son's gorgeous cheeky smile 2) really enjoyed my healthy lunch 3) I got the dishes done after dinner so the kitchen is clean for the morning

I think the main thing is to start. You can always change/adjust things as you learn more about what suits you.

I’ve always been an all or nothing person and in the past I’ve followed slimming world plan with good results. However there are things that I don’t like about it such as using frylite instead of bottled oil. It really messes up my cooking pans 😒

This time around I’ve gradually reduced my snacking. To the point where I’m now not really snacking at all and the big thing that helps that is not buying it in the first place. I’ve become really aware of how much junk is available in the shops and supermarkets. A wall of unhealthy temptation. It’s no wonder so many of us struggle! As a result my desire to snack is massively decreased.

I’m not following a plan this time. Just trying to eat well, allowing myself to feel hungry and look forward to dinner times. I’ve been cooking from the ‘pinch of nom’ recipe books which are filling and low calorie. I’m drinking more water. A snack after dinner if I want it has become a big chunk of watermelon that DP and I share.

I’ve been doing this for 5 or 6 weeks. 10lbs down now and during that time I’ve been able to still have a few take aways. This feels good and sustainable!

People are overweight for different reasons so not one thing works for all but for me cutting out snacking has made the biggest difference.

@PerfectionistProcrastinator I also followed Slimming world a few years back and lost a lot of weight. I thought about rejoining but I don't think groups are running at the moment. I still have my books so I might try and do it from home. I seem to remember it being quite achievable.

Am going to grab a shower and head out with the dogs this morning for a long walk. I'll wear my step tracker. You're all right, it needs to be baby steps so as not to overwhelm myself. But at the same time I benefit from having structure and routine.

@fallfallfall I also take a vitamin with breakfast and use minimal plastic / store food in glass containers! Could u be my mumsnet soulmate?!

I'm no saint but I'm 5ft 6 and a size 8-10 so I must be doing something right. I'm trying to think of 'habits' I have and I suppose heres a few. I aim to excersise every morning mon-fri before work (currently working from home) either a weights session (I use home weights and get routines from Alice Living or Nobs Guides on Instagram) a joe wicks HIIT and one yoga session a week using Yoga by Adrienne on YouTube. I aim for 5 mornings a week because inevitably there will be one morning I am totally not up to it and I treat myself to skipping it and that's okay. I also go to an external hardcore excersise class one evening a week so I'm getting in 5 sessions still.

As I'm working from home i always take my hours lunch break and go for a brisk walk for that hour. Even if it's raining I just get wet and make it 45mins so i have time to dry off and change when i get in. It makes such a difference.

I only drink alcohol fri, sat and sunday. And if I'm at home no more that 2 glasses. If I'm out socialising I do have more. I have a healthy breakfast and then a healthy lunch and no morning snack in the week. That way half my day has been healthy. I do always seem to have biscuits and a cuppa in the afternoon, a healthyish dinner and a bit of chocolate or sweets in the evening in front of the TV so it balances out. Saturday and sunday I have no real restrictions.

I am buying an Apple Watch as I think the activity tracking and measurement will be useful for me

I've had a pretty good day. Long walk this morning. Home for a healthy lunch then some gardening and another walk to the park with dc and dogs this evening. I clocked 9k steps which isnt massive but more than I usually would do. I've had two chocolate biscuits and a couple of crackers but otherwise my meals have been on plan. And no alcohol tonight which is always a mini victory!

I hope I can keep it up. Am really interested in journaling and some other mindfulness/meditative stuff but I guess maybe that will come in time.

Tomorrow it's back to work (from home) after the bank hol weekend so hopefully I can keep some of this going while juggling that and dc too.

Sounds brilliant OP. You can do this!