Covid-19 has been the biggest rollercoaster and learning lesson to not only myself, but everyone around the world. There has definitely been a lot of cons to covid-19 and being quarantined, but for the sake of this topic, I’m going to focus on the positive.

 Before covid-19, Trevor and I had a number of conversations about me needing and craving a change in my life. I felt unhappy, stagnant, and just unhealthy. I decided to take the month off social media in January to dive deeper within myself. I wanted to start 2020 off on the right start, by being more present and grounded. No distractions. 

During my time off social media, (you can read all about my experience in this post), I created new healthy routines, better habits, and therefore, felt more connected to my body than ever before. 

As soon as I got back on social media in February, I felt overwhelmed and stressed again. It was very challenging for me to balance my side hustle (social media), my job as a podcast media buyer, and my social life. I knew I couldn’t just drop social media, my blog and all that goes along with it because it is my passion. It’s something I see myself doing long-term. But, it was so draining for me to balance it all. I needed more change.  

A month later, quarantine came. And wow, did I absolutely need that break. A break from it all. 

A reason to say no to plans. A reason to just be with myself. 

Here is how I’m healthier that ever after quarantine:

I’m working from home: I’ve always dreamt of a job that allowed me to work from home. If you didn’t know this, I’m definitely an extroverted introvert (or whatever you call it). All of my energy gets sucked out of me when I’m around people. I’m also a huge fan of not having a commute. My commute to work and back used to be around 2 hours. The traffic was really draining on my energy. 

From simply working home, my stress has gone down by 75%. With the lack of stress, the inflammation in my body has significantly decreased. I’ve lost so much water weight and inflammation from just working from home and not having to hear my co-worker’s stressful phone calls or deal with the madness that traffic causes. Another thing that comes with less stress, is better digestion. My gut is able to relax and actually work for one of the first times ever!

At-home workouts are my jam: This was a HUGE learning for me. I used to think the only way I could workout effectively is at a gym. I had zero interest in working out from home before quarantine. I did not see the benefits and never believed for one second that I could get sculpted from a fitness video.

WOW, was I wrong. It took me a little bit to find a workout that I liked. I tried a few classes out before my roommate introduced me to Melissa Wood Health. I was super hesitant about her workouts at first, as low resistant workouts never seemed like (in my head) that they could work.

I always thought high intensity workouts or heavy weight training (paired with macro-counting) were the only kind of workouts that were going to get you lean. However, looking back at my fitness journey, I actually was never happy with my body or felt good about doing those workouts. I think it just caused more stress to my body and made me look “puffy” (water weight). I also, was never consistent with those kinds of workouts, because I felt too tired all of the time to do them.

It took me only one month with the Melissa Wood Health workouts to see a huge difference in my body. Did I mention, I only workout with 2.5-pound ankle weights?! Way different than what I’m used to… and it works!

I think what’s most important, is that I look forward to my workouts now. I absolutely love it and I don’t nearly workout as long either. Maybe 15 minutes to 45 minutes a day. Since MWH’s workouts are so short and effect, I workout almost everyday now! (No excuses).

I don’t think I will ever go back to a gym! I’m obsessed with the flexibility at-home workouts provide me. My gym is one step away compared to a 20 minute drive. It’s less of a production to just workout.

I’m drinking more water than ever: I’m back to drinking 3 liters of water a day. For some reason, at some point, I made this less of a priority while working at an office. There’s so many distractions in an office, that drinking water and putting my health first was put on the back-burner.

Drinking water has been a game changer on my body. I have so much more energy, my mood is better, and it helps my digestion tremendously. Also, my skin is clear for like, the first time, ever!

Did I mention I’m eating better?: Don’t get me wrong, my food choices have always been “healthy”. However, when you’re going out to eat all of the time, even at so-called “healthy” restaurants, it’s not the same as cooking your own meals. You have no idea how much oil they are adding to a dish and the portions are always so much more than what you would serve yourself, in your own kitchen.

I was going out to eat a lot before quarantine. I felt as though, I never had time to cook my meals or prep for the week. Plus, when I was working 8 hours a day in an office, going out to eat was the best excuse to get out and get some fresh air. 

Working from home and cooking my own meals has helped me make my body a priority again. I’m giving it the ingredients it needs to perform at an optimal level. Food is thy medicine, right? 

I’m walking more than ever: During quarantine, going on walks was basically the only thing to do. It was one excuse to go outside and get some fresh air.

I grew addicted to walking because of quarantine. It’s my way of meditating. When I’m outside moving my body and focusing on the nature around me, I feel grounded and present. It leaves me mentally satisfied. It’s my “me” time.

I think the combination of walking (a lot) and doing low-resistance workouts is changing my body for the better. 

You guys I feel SO good from making these small adjustments in my life. I hope you found this blog helpful. If you are looking to incorporate these adjustments into your life, do it slowly. Don’t overwhelm yourself or be too hard on yourself if you don’t stick to them. Life is always fluctuating so you’re bound to have good weeks and not so great weeks. 

Love you all – let me know in the comments below what positives you learned from being quarantined! I would love to chat xx.