Give yourself a break and be kind to your body
Haven’t lost 1st during lockdown? Us, neither…
You may have had big plans to emerge from the corona crisis with your best body ever, after smashing out home workouts every day and cooking healthy meals from scratch. The reality, though, is more likely a mad juggle of work and kids, completing Netflix binges, and eating and drinking more than you normally would. And it doesn’t help that social media is full of people smugly sharing pics of their latest 5k run or 6am HIIT workout. And while we might have shared some hilarious memes about our post-pandemic bodies looking more Teletubby than Love Island contestant, all of this negativity is probably the last thing we need right now. Eating disorder charities have seen a spike in people reaching out for help, so start giving your body a break…
CARDIO FOR CALORIES
Mental health and body image campaigner Natasha Devon warns about the dangers of punishing ourselves for pouring an extra glass of wine or eating a load of biscuits while snuggling on the sofa in front of a film. She says, “This idea that we have to compensate for the calories we consume has become common. I advocate doing some kind of physical activity – whatever you can do – every day for your mental health. But we need to let go of this idea that we’re doing these things as punishment for eating.” It’s worth remembering that feeding and nourishing our bodies should be our number-one priority right now, and Natasha points out, “Even if you just sat on a sofa all day, you would still need, on average, about 1,200 calories
to sustain you. But you need to eat healthily in order to have a good immune system. Severely restricting your food intake is the last thing that anybody should be doing right now.”
COMFORT EATING
Reaching for the snacks isn’t just an act of boredom, it’s a reaction to the unstable situation we find ourselves in. Natasha says, “During times of crisis, our bodies call out for more nourishment because we think, ‘If I can’t access food for a while, I need to be able to survive’.” No wonder there’s a socially distanced queue outside Sainsbury’s, then.
“Learn to trust your body,” says Natasha. “Tune into your hunger signals and try to eat more mindfully, because sometimes, if you’re anxiously eating, you don’t even taste or enjoy it
– and that’s when it can start to become a problem. But if you are genuinely taking comfort in what you’re eating, then there’s no harm in that.”
But when your Insta-feed is filled with people bragging about their latest sweat sesh, it’s hard not to feel anxious about not being able to “keep up”. Natasha tells us, “Remember, that is everyone else’s highlights – you’re not seeing those moments where they’re sitting on the sofa working their way through a packet of digestives, which they’re almost definitely doing.”
However, if your feed is still making you sweat (but not in a good way), Natasha suggests tuning out. “Your brain learns through repetition, and the average person checks their phone about 84 times a day, so it’s important our online wallpaper is positive. Go through your social media and notice how what people are posting is making you feel. If you need to mute someone for a bit, then do it. It’s what the button was invented for and they won’t know.”
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST?
The real winners at the end of this won’t be those people who lost an inch off their waist, but those who have kept their mental health intact. “Surviving this lockdown is all about trying to remain in the moment,” Natasha says. “Human beings are the only animals who have the capacity to worry about the future or reflect on the past. Part of that is to prepare us for the worst-case scenario, but a lot of the time, it means that we are giving ourselves anxiety over things we have no control over.
“It’s really important to take each day as it comes.” n