How I’m Losing my Lockdown Belly

Firstly, I hate diets. I don’t agree with them, they’re a waste of time and utterly ridiculous. However, over the last few months, I’ve been living with my parents during the lockdown, getting little to no exercise and eating three large-portion meals a day. As such, I have a Lockdown Belly.

This wouldn’t be a problem for me at any time, my weight tends to fluctuate throughout the year due to illness, stress, boredom and holidays. However, in October my sister is getting married and I am the bridesmaid. Again, not a problem except I have to fit in the dress which has already been bought and is about to be altered for the final time!

Needless to say, the size I was in when I got the dress ordered is not the same size now. According to my BMI aka the Body Mass Index aka the Bollocks Mass Index, I’m now obese. Great! To be honest, I was overweight beforehand so it’s not that big of a jump for me.

But for practical reasons I have to lose the lockdown belly and fast! So here’s how I’m planning to do it!

How to lose the lockdown belly

Stop snacking!

For anyone that knows me or watched my Isolation Tapes (Instagram stories) on Instagram, you’ll have seen that I stocked up on chocolate for the lockdown when it began. And I kept that stock high while I was living with my parents. I was eating a bag of chocolate a day at one point – I know, I know… that’s a sure way to gain weight. But honestly, I was so down in the dumps about lockdown life that I thought screw it. Take away my chocolate and I doubt I would have got out of bed.

Nevertheless, over the last few weeks, I’ve stopped snacking in between meals. Instead, if I get hungry, I have a smoothie or a Slimfast milkshake as they’re more filling and better for me than a bag of Caramel Nibbles.

Drink more water

I definitely haven’t been drinking enough water during the lockdown, mostly because I’ve been stupidly tempted by all the other drinks in my parent’s fridge – they’re notoriously well-stocked on fizzing drinks, orange juice, and hot drinks like coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.

Drinking more water leaves me fuller, with more energy and my skin looks 100% better than it did before!

Consider my portions

Over the next few weeks, I will be undertaking a relaxed version of the 21-Day Fix ‘diet’. I say ‘diet’ like that because it’s not really stopping me from eating anything it’s just portioning my food for me. There are boxes of varying sizes for each portion of carbs, proteins, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, sauces etc. Whenever you put together a meal or a snack you should portion it off with these pots.

You’re allocated a number of pots you’re allowed each day i.e. 4 portions of vegetables, 4 portions of fruits, 3 portions of protein, 3 portions of carbs etc. It makes sure you get your calorie intake without over-eating. Hopefully, it will help.

I got a Fitbit!

Well technically I got my mother’s Fitbit – don’t worry I paid her for it! – so that she could get a new one. This means I now have a way of tracking my daily steps, heart rate, exercise, and calories. You can also use certain Fitbits when swimming so I’ll be looking to do that in the future – when swimming pools reopen! Also, via the app, I can log my water and food intake for the day. It’s been really motivating to get me up and about, and do more daily exercise.

Currently, my only options for exercise are walking and playing swingball. Not the best. I’m hoping, when I get back to my flat, to also incorporate some HIIT exercise as well.

Eliminate a few bad habits

Similar to how I’ve stopped snacking I’ve also eliminated a few items from my regular food shop as well as my daily food intake. As soon as I get back to London, and am able to control my food intake more singularly I’m going to stop drinking all fizzy drinks. I’m also swapping out a few items for vegan options such as Vegan Mayo and Quorn instead of beef mince. I’m purchasing more salad and vegetables in place of snack options and I’m making sure I get the low-fat options of things that I eat regularly and enjoy such as hummus and yoghurt.

These changes are barely noticeable to me, and since I’ll only be able to eat what I have in the house it stops me from simply slipping back into old habits which I’m more prone to do when living with my parents.

I don’t have long until we’re meant to be getting the dresses altered for the final time, so I’m hoping these changes – however small – will be beneficial in getting me back to a healthy size 12-14.

Any other tips let me know. Also, if you have any suggestions for low-fat or healthy snack options or just tips for how to lose the lockdown belly, do send them my way! There’s only so much celery and hummus I can take!

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