If there is one thing that 2020 has taught me, it is how to take care of myself while being stuck at home. COVID-19 may have decimated my travel plans, but I couldn’t let it destroy my routine.
To be honest, I don’t know how I would have done health-wise had I not had very specific health needs. As a diabetic, I am particularly vulnerable to the virus, and now more than ever I have needed to keep a healthy diet.
Because of a knee injury from last year, I have no choice but to do exercise every day to avoid injuring it again. And having suffered from severe depression in the past, I am particularly sensitive to how difficult isolation can be without a focus on mental health. After all, travel is a major part of what normally keeps me happy.
In other words, I am doing a great job at keeping healthy precisely because I know what is at stake for me. Hopefully, you can benefit from some of the advice I have to offer.
Here is what I am doing to stay healthy at home in 2020.
Order Meal Kits
Order Meal KitsWhile stuck in quarantine, it is easy to give into the urge to eat fast food and snacks. Honestly, who has the motivation to cook nutritious meals? It is hard enough cooking a meal at all.
However, there is a simple way to eat healthily. Order a meal kit delivered to your door. Meal kits are boxes of pre-prepared meals that come with simple recipes for you to do the actual cooking. It is beyond easy, and it saves money and waste, considering you get exactly the ingredients you need. You can also get options that cater to any and every health need.
Meal kits can also help with the travel bug. There are many different options, including meals from around the world. While you may not actually get to your dream destination this year, you can eat the food! You can see a comparison of these services at https://www.top10.com/meal-delivery.
Home Workouts
Home WorkoutsI need to do very particular exercises to take care of my knees. I have worked with a physio on developing an exercise regime that I follow religiously. However, many of the exercises require equipment I don’t have.
The good news is that there are many workouts available online that will show you how to do alternative exercises with what you have at home. An exercise band is all you need to open up a whole world of possibilities, but even without one there are a number of options. You can use chairs, heavy backpacks, and the floor. I’ve even seen a full-body workout online that uses only pushups!
Apps like Sworkit are particularly helpful, as they provide guided home workouts that are timed and accompanied by gifs of pros doing each exercise.
Online Therapy
Online therapy is now having its time in the sun. It was not created for this situation but happens to be the perfect solution. Isolation is incredibly difficult, even if you are with a partner or family.
For me, being stuck in one city, let alone an apartment, is agonizing. Fortunately, my therapist has started doing online sessions and I have found them to be as useful as face-to-face sessions.
Services like BetterHelp are well-established and will help you get the mental health treatment and maintenance that is just so important right now. If you already have a therapist, ask them if they will do voice or video calls.
The good news is that studies have consistently shown that online therapy works. While you may have a very different experience to the one you would have had in your therapist’s office, there are actually benefits.
Among other things, you have to be more aware of your body, since your therapist can’t read your body language, and this opens up new avenues for therapeutic growth.
Take the opportunity for some sessions. Even if you don’t feel like you need it right now, you will thank yourself later.
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