Whether you’ve spent the past few months in complete isolation at home, with limited movement, or your entire area was in lockdown, chances are that your lifestyle has changed drastically, almost overnight. Most people have abandoned their health and fitness goals in favor of Netflix binge watching and munching on all kinds of unhealthy sweets and snacks to reduce stress levels in a desperate attempt to introduce some fun and enjoyment into these trying times.

However, if you’ve had your mind set on losing weight before the chaos ensued, then this could be a perfect opportunity to regain the needed momentum. You can now use the time to slowly rebuild your strategy one smart decision at a time, and to come up with creative ways to stay motivated, so that you don’t take any more breaks. Here are a few actionable tips you can introduce into your plan to shed weight, restore your resilience, and to go back to your healthy lifestyle as soon as possible.

Losing weight and maintaining that weight is no easy feat. Try these tactics to shed weight, restore your resilience, and to go back to your healthy lifestyle.

Choose healthy rewards

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Motivation for many people depends on a reliable reward system. If you have continuously rewarded yourself with unhealthy foods to de-stress and manage negative situations in life, or even to celebrate, perhaps it’s time to make some changes in order to lead a healthier life and shed those pesky pounds.

For example, you can replace food as your go-to reward after training or after reaching a specific milestone, with activities. You can book a professional massage (when and if appropriate), buy yourself a brand-new book, or invest in online language lessons. Each little reward you give yourself is another way to respect your wellbeing and to invest in your long-term goals.

Make your home workouts more fun

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Spending time away from people who inspire you and away from places such as gyms where you can fuel on the energy of others with the same goals means that you need to find ways to stay active even in isolation, and during the lockdown. Even after the lockdown ends, or if it has already ended, you know that certain restrictions will remain relevant for months.

Knowing that, you will benefit from crafting a perfect and diverse home workout system, to keep yourself engaged, inspired, and to ensure that your training is challenging enough to shed weight. For example, you can increase the intensity of your workouts with the help of circuits and giant sets, or regularly changing your exercise selection. As long as you build yourself a challenge at home, you’ll be more motivated to stay true to your goals.

Keep track of your progress

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It’s too easy to feel underwhelmed when you can’t see any change in your appearance or how you feel. In fact, for a good portion of the weight loss journey, you might find yourself feeling miserable, because you’re depriving yourself of your favorite foods.

However, putting your journey in a new, measurable perspective can allow you to feel and recognize the progress you’re making. By checking your weight weekly, your caloric intake with the help of your fitness tracker, and your endurance levels, you’ll spot measurable improvements you’ll feel proud of, and that will allow you to move forward with your zeal renewed.

Planning to avoid cravings

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Like many illegal substances, sugar can be extremely addictive, causing you to feel cravings every time you lack energy, don’t sleep well, or simply feel stressed. Instead of allowing yourself to give in to those cravings, plan around them for the entire week! You already know when and why you crave unhealthy foods, so introduce alternative behaviors and healthy snacks to replace them.

De-stress the right way

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The weight loss journey alone comes with plenty of stressful events and challenges. Add to that the ongoing pandemic and the stress of it all, and you have a perfect way to wreck your own desire to train regularly and eat healthy.

To de-stress properly, make sure you don’t reach for sweets, but rather practice self-love and self-care through healthy treats and confidence-boosting activities. For example, take the time to meditate and sleep enough every night. That alone will boost your energy for all those tough training sessions!

Build a support system

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You can find all kinds of motivation sources. From watching motivational videos on Instagram, following fitness enthusiasts with the same goals, to creating a playlist that inspires you, you can surely get creative.

Another effective strategy is to create a support network, even online when you can’t interact with people in person. Share your progress with your friends, let them push you with words of support, ask them to give you an occasional verbal “nudge” to get you out of bed. It can make all the difference in the world, to surround yourself with supportive people.

With the right tactics, you can slowly regain your weight loss pace and rebuild your healthy lifestyle despite the impact of the pandemic.

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Losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight afterward is no easy feat, especially during a health crisis such as the ongoing pandemic, when you’re constantly worried and stressed. Thankfully, with the right tactics at hand, you can slowly regain your weight loss pace and rebuild your healthy lifestyle, not just for the sake of your physique, but for your overall health and longevity. Use these bits of advice, and you’ll be on the right track in no time!

About the Author

Sophia Smith is beauty and lifestyle blogger, graphic designer and a food enthusiast. She is very passionate about eco-friendly and green topics, sustainable fashion, eco beauty, and conscious business. Sophia’s other hobbies centre around her love for yoga, wellness rituals and living in balance with nature. She loves sharing meaningful content that inspires people and has covered topics ranging from organic beauty products and sustainability to self-care and mental health. Sophia has contributed to a number of publications including Eco Warrior Princess, Naughty Nutrition, Herbs Mother Earth Living, Yoga Trade, Sivana Spirit, Bonvita Style, Carousel, and Cause Artist. You can find out more about her writing by following her on: Twitter (@sophia_bri)

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