Best Ways to Stay Healthy During Quarantine

Gaffers shares her strategies for success

Sydney Geffers, Writer

While the recent quarantine may seem like an excuse to stay in bed and do nothing all day, it actually presents a perfect time to get up and get active and become the best version of yourself. With what seems like endless time at home, quarantine is the perfect time to work on that. Throughout the past few weeks in quarantine, I’ve discovered a few things to keep myself moving and my mentality positve. In my blod post, I’m going to go over a few ways you can keep healthy.

Outdoor Exercise

While the Midwest weather sure isn’t 80 degrees and sunny, we should consider ourselves blessed that it’s not the middle of January right now. On days where the outdoor temperature is bearable, there are plenty of ways to stay healthy. Running and walking are great ways to keep your heart rate up during quarantine. Cycling also provides for another outdoor means of exercise. Cycling also works all parts of the body and is a great way to burn some extra calories. Hiking is also a great way to enjoy the outdoors and local parks provide a great way to do so. Some great local places to hike include Menominee park, Terrell island, and the river walk by UWO.

Indoor Exercise

On days where the weather isn’t suitable to be outside, there’s plenty to do inside to stay active. Consulting the Internet and Youtube may be one of the most practical things to do. There are endless Youtube videos and channels that focus on working out. Pick which muscle group or type of workout you want to focus on that day and search it up on Youtube. If you don’t know where to begin, Sydney Cummings has a great Youtube channel devoted to staying active and at home workouts to follow. There are also workout DVDs you can invest in. Fitness instructor Jillian Michaels has lots of at home workout DVDs to follow. 

Fueling Your Body

When people think of staying healthy, exercise is usually the first thing that comes to mind. What people sometimes fail to realize is just how important food is when it comes to good health. It’s easy to get carried away when it comes to what you eat and how much you eat, especially in a time of quarantine.

Overeating

While being bored at home, it’s common for people to overeat. One way to avoid eating out of boredom is to avoid snacking between mealtimes. What might seem like a “small snack” can actually be a lot of calories. A second way to avoid eating out of boredom is to ask yourself “Am I hungry enough to eat an apple right now?”. Most of the time, when people eat out of boredom they go straight to the snacks. So if you aren;t hungry enough to eat something healthy, you probably aren’t hungry at all.  Another way to avoid eating is eating slowly. By eating too fast, you might consume an entire meal, but still feel hungry because the food hasn’t reached your stomach yet. Drinking water before a meal can also help with this issue. People also risk overeating when they eat while they’re preoccupied with something. This can mean eating while sitting on your phone, reading a book, or watching TV. One way to avoid doing this is to eat before you start an activity. By doing this, your focus will be on the food and how much of it you eat. If you aren’t ready to give up your snacks during a movie, portioning out your food can help. Instead of having a bag of chips in front of you while you watch TV, put some chips on a plate and then watch your show. 

To Wrap it Up

So there you have it, a guide to staying healthy and becoming your best life while stuck in quarantine! By combining healthy exercise habits and healthy eating habits, your result is a healthy lifestyle.