Stay on track during lockdown with these six wellbeing tips

1. Make yourself accountable for your goals

Keep yourself accountable every day of the week. Too often I see us restrict calories, meal prep and diet down on very little food from Monday-Thursday and then as the weekend begins it all falls apart.

By all means, you can treat yourself on the weekend to some fish and chips or pizza and it doesn’t have to ruin your week. Enjoy your meal and stop there. Avoid consuming excess calories from alcoholic beverages and or a dessert that can rack up your calorie intake in one sitting. Today it's much easier to find alcoholic beverages lower in calories if you are going to drink opt for a low carb beer or Vodka with lime. At the end of the week, all that matters is you are under your weekly total calorie expenditure if your goal is weight loss.

You can quickly calculate your individual calories requirements with our calorie calculators:

2. Fit in a cheat meal without sacrificing your goals or restricting yourself

Here’s a clever way to fit in a cheat meal on the weekend. Simply drop 100 calories from each day of the week. Six days will leave you with 600 calories to spare for a weekend treat. This way you don’t have to feel the guilt trip and can treat yourself to pretty much anything whether it's your favourite savoury or sweet foods. I believe cheat meals are essential to make your diet easy to adhere to.

3. Make your exercise fun and refrain from just ‘going through the motions’

A well-structured routine is something we all strive for as consistency is a great tactic for reaching goals, but due to COVID19 restrictions, our routines have been turned upside down.

So while you may not be able to hit the gym or train with your team, you can set yourself an achievable goal each day such as reaching a step goal. I find a good step goal target is between 8000-10000 steps a day. If your outdoor exercise time is restricted, you can meet this target quite comfortably within an hour.

Struggling to meet your step target? Make your exercise fun with these hacks

4. Consider investing your money into a fitness tracker

These devices are amazing and I can’t recommend them enough! We all have a friend that MUST close their rings on the Apple Watch otherwise the day is a disaster :) These fitness trackers have so many cool features including tracking sleep, calories and workouts. They even buzz on your wrist to remind you to stand up and get moving. My favourite is the Apple Watch but there are lots of options on the market. You can pick up a tracker from $120 for one with very basic functions to $500+ for all the bells and whistles.

5. No gym doesn’t mean no supplements

Now more than ever you should be getting in your protein supplements to maintain that hard-earned physique/muscle. In fact, some of you may be making more progress from the comfort of home than at the gym so keep up your protein shakes to boost recovery and maintain muscle mass. Protein is also a useful tool against the hungry, it keeps you feeling more satisfied for longer so you can keep out of the cookie jar!

Vitamin based supplements are essential to keep on top of too. Prioritise getting the necessary vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay healthy and keep your immunity strong through a wide range of fruits and vegetables as well as supplements such as Green Fusion and Red Fusion.

6. Make smart food choices wherever possible

If your goal is fat loss and you’re eating at a calorie deficit, make smart choices with your food so you have greater volume foods that keep you satisfied longer. Over my time I've come across some great food tips and tricks, I can share with you to help you stay on track with your goals. Make these food alternatives your friends:

Carbohydrate Food Sources for more volume on low carb days

Boost your protein intake with these handy protein sources

Options for lower-calorie sweet treats

For those times when you're desperate for a sweet treat, satisfy the craving with one of these healthier hacks:

Tips for healthier cooking