Leading up to the inevitable lockdown, a few clients were worried how a potential lockdown would affect their progress, whilst others focussed on the health implications of the coronavirus. Neither was wrong in their thinking, and this is such a personal issue for us all to deal with.

In the first couple of weeks we had the panic buying, which meant that not all our usual foods were available and sticking to a strict diet regimen might not have been possible.  As the food supply seems to have gone back to some kind of normality, the choice we have is also increasing.

Personally, our diet has been fairly varied and we haven’t had to change too much from our usual routine.  We warned the kids early on that we would try and keep things as normal as possible, but there might be certain things that we couldn’t guarantee would always be available. As long as they got their beloved Friday night pizza, a mutiny was avoided. I’m definitely drinking more, and that will have to change….. eventually! 😉

Plenty of people out there are currently following Weight Watchers, Slimming World or other diet plans and, as long as you give yourself enough flexibility, then you should be able to continue as normal.  I’ve always spoken about balance and flexibility when it comes to food, and this can stop the restrictive feeling which can be experienced when you’re trying to lose weight.

If you feel like you can’t find time for calorie counting, point systems or anything that takes you away from family or work too much, keep the K.I.S.S principle in mind. Keep it simple, stupid.  Protein will keep you full, fresh fruit and vegetables will provide nutrients and carbohydrates are not always the devil.  If you can cook from fresh as much as you can, and don’t rely on sugar and processed foods to get you through.

We’ve been enjoying the (very) occasional takeway, purely to keep supporting the local economy. Obviously.  The rest of the time, we’ve been eating the best that we can – not perfect, just the best we can under the current circumstances.

We all have different priorities at the moment, and that’s ok. Some people have more time on their hands, some people are busier and some people have to deal with illness or grief.  Whatever you have to prioritise is, there shouldn’t be any judgement.  We have to remember that this situation is only temporary, and that any diet can be restarted or revived once this is over and life goes back to normal…. whatever that normal will be.