Watch your weight as you practise social distancing
People across the world have embraced selfquarantine as the coronavirus pandemic spreads its tentacles. With over 250 cases reported in India, many have opted to practice social distancing to avoid the risk of infection. But even while at home, it’s important that you don’t ignore your fitness routine, eat right, and get some exercise to avoid putting on the kilos. Here’s how you can stay fit even when holed up at home.
A little cardio on a daily basis is most important. You can walk around the house, jog and perform jumping jacks. Climb up and down the stairs three times a day. “Target different areas everyday — arms, legs and abs. Squats, cross lunges, sidekicks are great for legs. When focusing on abs, do crunches and planks with variations. Make sure you do two to three sets for a 25 to 30-minute workout with 15 counts. Rest for 20 seconds between each. Warm up and cool down before and after,” says fitness expert Kitty Kalra, who recommends walking while talking on the phone as well. Do breathing exercises for 15 minutes daily.
Try and bring down your meal portion size; we usually control our number of meals but forget about the quantity consumed in each.
Eat at fixed intervals. “Start your day with lemon and honey water, followed by breakfast at 9.30am. Have lunch at 1pm, followed by a cup of herbal tea at 3pm and then indulge in a snack at 5pm. Tea, buttermilk, lemon water, fox nuts, chilla, channa chaat, roasted channa, eggs, popcorn, a simple sandwich can be a few healthy snack options. Have dinner between 7pm and 8.30pm,” suggests nutritionist Tripti Tandon. Avoid processed food and go for raw food instead. Fried food is a big no as you need to keep the stomach at ease. Have a lot of water. Add lemon to it or make fruitinfused drinks to keep you going throughout the day. Cut down on carbohydrates. “The capacity of the body to burn food goes down (due to reduced physical activity at home) so make sure you cut down on your intake of carbohydrates. An ideal meal would be one with fruits and vegetables as they are high on nutrients, and especially fruits with high vitamin C content. Also, make sure you walk after every 30 minutes and stretch after every two hours,” advises nutritionist Kavita Devgan.
Prerna Gauba Sibbal