Getting Leaner After Spending 6+ Months In Lockdown

Lockdown has been a really tough time for so many of us. Staying at home, limiting our lives in so many ways, specifically socially, it has caused a lot of issues both physically and mentally for so many. Mentally, people have struggled with anxiety and depression, and even, in some cases, loneliness and PTSD. Then physically it may have been the lack of usual routine for you that might have caused an increase in weight gain. It can happen to the best of us. 

Losing weight can feel like the toughest of tasks for many of us, especially men. You may just want to lose a few pounds or have a larger amount to lose. However, there are many effective ways to lose weight. Even though we approach the winter months ahead, it is still possible for us to have a leaner lifestyle. With a new normal routine to follow and things not improving anytime soon, it is time to try and tackle the lifestyle you have fallen into and feel better about things. There are a combination of a few methods or just one, in particular, that may work for you and inspire you to make some changes. With that in mind, here are some of the things that you could try. 

Clean eating

You could consider what you eat as a way to lose weight. Clean eating doesn’t mean a specific diet. It is just being more aware of the food you are putting into your mouth. This means that the ingredients are bought from the source which may mean that during this difficult time you can start to support smaller and local businesses. No third party has modified them in any way. No freezing or deep refrigeration to prolong shelf life. People have said that doing this mentality makes them more aware of the food they are eating and less likely to eat the bad stuff. This may work on it’s own, but it is more likely to work well combining with another weight loss method. 

Changing your diet

You could consider changing your diet completely. This means that you follow a particular plan to lose weight. There are many diets you can consider. Things like no carbohydrates being one of them. Diets can really help you to get a head start on the losing weight journey, and enable you to start to see some results straight away. Another alternative would be to follow a lean plan. You may even want to consider a complete lifestyle change. Some people have found that a complete lifestyle change in terms of what they eat can help them in so many other ways as well. This could include trying a vegetarian diet or even a vegan diet. There is a lot of information online that can help you get started when it comes to changing your diet and lifestyle. Whichever one you try, it could be just what you need to start having more energy and feeling better physically and mentally. 

Take more exercise

One thing you can do is take more exercise. This could be walking or even jogging regularly. You may want to consider joining a local gym. While that might be hard right now, it could certainly be something for you to aim for. Sometimes heading to classes is a great way to keep motivated and keep doing something, so it definitely shouldn’t be something you discard. Especially if you make some friends. If you haven’t exercised in a while, it may feel like hard work. But you will soon grow to love how you feel after. If full on exercise isn’t your thing, then the last thing to consider would be just to move more in general. There are many devices you can buy to track your steps. Just by increasing the number of steps you take each day can be one way to improve your fitness. They do say that moving more is an active way to lose weight. 

Try a new hobby

If you don’t like the idea of specific exercising, then why not take on a hobby that is more active. This might be something like hiking. Spending your weekends exploring new places. Remote and rural settings means you are avoiding the hustle and bustle of cities, which right now is advised, and will enable you to move more and be active. However, depending on where you go hiking, it might be that you need to consider having some extra supplies with you in case of an emergency. Bear mace in case you come across an unwanted visitor, hiking essentials like phones and communication, torches and also emergency equipment in case you get into trouble. Other hobbies you could consider could be things like kayaking, boating, surfing if you live by the beach and sea. There are active hobbies that you can try that will naturally have you losing weight and feeling great, simply by just enjoying the things that you are doing. 

Surgery

Sometimes people struggle to lose weight. For one reason or another. So there are other things that you can consider in this instance. Surgery may seem extreme, but sometimes it’s wise to consider it. Especially if your health depends on it. Things like gastric bypass surgery can take some time to recover, but can provide great results. It might be hard to get appointments for things like this now, but it is certainly something to prepare for in the future when things start to calm down in our hospitals. It is always best to seek out advice from health professionals before making any rash decisions. 

Joining a weight loss group

Finally, joining a weight loss group can be a great motivator to stick to a diet. You meet like-minded people, and you can keep each other’s morale high. It can be tough when weight loss doesn’t go your way. So having friends to support you can be an excellent way to stay on track. These may be mostly online right now, but it can help you to track your progress and to stay accountable. 

Let’s hope this guide helps you on your journey to a leaner lifestyle.