BACKGROUND…
Regardless of your views regarding COVID-19 (it’s a cover up, too much panic, big to do about nothing etc), COVID-19 is coming to YOU and your life.
Statistically you WILL get it and your family will get it. Your life as you know it, possibly in only a matter of weeks according to the governments advice that we are running around 4 weeks behind Italy, is going to change DRAMATICALLY.
As I write this Spain has just gone down into a complete lockdown.
Socialising, eating out, visiting family and friends, work, your income, schooling, ability to go shopping, hobbies and leisure activities are ALL going to change, and possibly stop.
For how long, no one knows.
PREPARING YOU…
If you work off the assumption that before this is all over you ARE going to contract COVID-19, and that as a viral infection attacking your body any weaknesses you have in your health will be amplified many times, there are some things you can do to positively help yourself…
🚴♀️ EXERCISE
When you exercise, 2 things happen. You release endorphins that make you feel better, and it encourages and facilitates better nutrient and oxygen flow through strengthened heart, lung and cardiovascular function.
Better oxygen and nutrient delivery means the hormonal system can help to keep you strong and healthy, and you’re likely going to need ALL the help you can get.
COVID-19 attacks the respiratory pathways of the body, it compromises your ability to breath normally and to obtain lung saturation.
Exercise will, in literally as short a time as 14 days, strengthen your lungs and keep the group of diaphragmatic breathing muscles strong and working well.
This does not have to be manic HIIT style workouts, but you DO need to step your game up.
Walk more, make a point of getting more steps in, swing your arms, BREATHE DEEP AND STRONG, focus on deep breaths, don’t be lazy with your breathing, get DEEP, LONG and POWERFUL breaths in, get everything working, get it stronger.
The stronger you are before you contract COVID-19, the better chance you have (contraindications aside) of riding through it.
🥦 NUTRITION
In this period leading up to the larger infectious outbreaks, you can do a few things to get yourself ready.
Think of it as getting your car fully serviced before a long journey, it means the journey goes without hiccups, gives you peace of mind, and the car performs better.
If dieting for weight loss loses its priority, I completely understand, and that isn’t the point of this post.
The point is that you can improve the QUALITY and NUTRIENT DENSITY of the food you eat NOW, flooding your system with the micro nutrients it needs to help your hormonal and auto immune systems operate as optimally as possible.
Making moves NOW to simply ADD TO your current diet the right foods, will only help you get through the infection as and when it strikes, and put you in the best health position possible to fight the disease.
✅ Vegetables (fresh, frozen or tinned)
make these the mainstay of your plate, the more colourful and varied the better
✅ Fruit (fresh or tinned)
aim for multiple colours, plenty of citrus and berries
✅ Oily Fish (fresh or tinned)
Salmon, Trout, Mackerel, Pilchards etc
✅ Supplements (supermarket brand is fine)
A good quality Multi Vitamin and Mineral Tablet
Adding the above to your diet NOW is going to help build up your immune system (won’t stop you contracting the virus of course), and overall pick up and strengthen your hormonal system.
The stronger and healthier your body is when it becomes infected, the better the journey through the illness should hopefully be.
At the end of the day, what do you have to lose by starting NOW.
🧠 MENTAL ATTITUDE
If you go down the route of
“Oh I can’t possibly diet and eat well with all this Coronavirus stuff going on, I just can’t concentrate”
THEN HAVE A WORD WITH YOURSELF
I have explained WHY it is important to flood your body with as many nutrients as possible at this time, and I have explained the benefits exercise gives to your mental and physical health.
So if you are looking at this as an excuse and justification as to why you struggle to diet, and with all this going on ‘no one will judge me’ mentality, that’s fine.
Continue eating the junk and not tracking stuff etc
BUT PLEASE
take heed of the advice above, instead of trying to cut stuff out simply focus on adding the better stuff IN, focus on adding to instead of trying to take away.
IN CONCLUSION…
Being fitter, stronger and healthier when you contract COVID-19 is going to do you NO HARM, and remember, the odds are YOU WILL contract it.
Think NOW about the following:
✅ How you can be more active, walking more is enough
✅ Focus on deep, strong breaths, get the lungs working harder than they are used to
✅ Adding more veg, fruit, oily fish to your diet
✅ Supplementing with a multivitamin and mineral tablet.
In fact don’t THINK above these, START NOW AND IMPLEMENT THEM.