How I'm using lockdown to become a healthier person

Note: this post has been updated from the original in July 2020 to November 2020

Since I started lockdown, I have lost over 26kg (4 stone) and, overall, I feel much healthier not just because of the weight, but the different measures I have put in place to make it happen. This, of course, has a lot of connotations and while initially it can be perceived as a success case, it is just another chapter in my long journey battling with health.

I've always struggled with weight. All my life. Partly for genetics, partly because my knowledge of what good nutrition and lifestyle is has not been particularly good over the years. Here is a ‘selection’ of pictures since my early 20’s until now (I’m 40 years old) and how I’ve essentially been a balloon more or less deflated.

My turning point, however, was in early 2016 when I was diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes. It scared me massively and it was a hard punch to my face. However, I reacted promptly and started studying my condition and, in parallel with medical treatment, understand how I could get to a better place. I learnt a LOT about Diabetes, and nutrition in general, and my diet was never the same again. It has only improved and improved over the years, and I do not think I can go back to refined sugars or simple carbohydrates anymore, among many other things.

The result: I reverted my type 2 diabetes in less than a year by eating better and losing 35kg (over 6 stone). THAT was my success story. But… alas, one year later in early 2018 I had another tough punch to my life, which was my separation from my 11-year partner, something that got me in a really bad place from a mental health point of view (plus my natural tendency to have mental health instability), and of course this made me progressively gain weight again, almost 20 of the 35kg I had lost. At least, since I was eating healthier, my diabetes did not return. And while not quite there yet, I am in a much better place than I was.

In short: I ate better and I was healthy, but I needed to take back control of my weight and my mental health. Then, Coronavirus happened. And like when I reverted my diabetes, I decided to seize the opportunity in the middle of the tragedy.

You need to find your own way, which will be different to mine

So… Coronavirus happened and we all went into lockdown. At first, it was a drama for me being alone and, quite frankly, struggling with the lack of social activities and the physical contact with people. I started having massive ups and downs in my motivation and seeing lots of ghosts. I needed to fight my demons so… I started doing lots of things to fill the free time. And this was a mistake.

Not long after that I decided I would focus in three specific things: good balance of productivity and time off from work, take time to live with myself and rest, and become healthier in body and soul. I left everything else aside, including activities I liked but I could probably leave aside for the time being: my piano lessons, my Japanese classes, and a few more. Less is more, they say, and in this case it was a win-win.

Workouts

We all have something we like doing. I refuse to believe we enjoy being all day on a sofa. I will tell you what I found out: that I’m not a gym bunny. That I am not a fan of muscular workouts with weights. At least now. The only workout I could really commit to, consistently and happy, was to walk. I love walking. So that became my daily routine: at least one hour of walk every single day, with my EarPods on and listening to audiobooks. Sometimes I would walk for two or three hours without realising. It did work. And since April I started running using the Couch to 5K app, which I am enjoying a lot. At present time I am able to consistently run 5K three times per week.

Now I need to start thinking of muscle training, but for now, I love my exercise and I enjoy it. For real. That mindset is what makes it work.

Nutrition

Wow, I could write LOTS about this, but I will try and summarise what I’ve done in a nutshell.

Counting calories has worked for me. But this also includes eating the calories you burn. The more exercise, the more you NEED to eat. I use an app called Yazio for the calorie counting, and my Apple Watch to figure out the calories I could add to my intake.

Secondly, the quality of the calories I added to my body. A healthy combination of carbs, protein and fat. No Keto. Nothing crazy. Literally eat REAL food, nothing ultra processed. If I eat bread, I do it from a local bakery. If I eat pizza, I make my own sourdough.

Next, drinks. My body only needs water, so I only drank water and no soft drinks at all. I have had very few beers, wine, and two diet cokes in six months. One unit per week of alcohol, average? I do enjoy my booze, but only when it becomes truly a treat.

And talking about treats, I had them too. But considered really treats, and always homemade. I’ve had pizza, fried chicken, Japanese food, Chinese food… but always made by me, and only two or three per week, always having into account my allowed calories.

Another thing that has helped me is moving into a Flexi-vegetarian diet. I do eat meat and fish, but that is now the exception. I love eating more grains, legumes, cheese omelettes, butter toasts, coffee with soya milk, tofu, and a long etc.

While I do not want to become vegan or vegetarian, eating lots of vegetables and legumes has made me realise there’s a whole world of awesomeness in having a plant-based diet as default, and also more sustainable for the environment.

That won’t stop me, however, from having chicken, lamb, duck, cod or sea bass in my diet.

Here are some pictures of the meals I’ve been making: love salads with lots of things, miso glazed aubergines, broccoli with grated cheese, etc.

I'm lucky as I love to cook. I used this time not just to eat healthy, but also understand better about real nutrition, and eat with variety, trying new things, and most importantly, eat always at home. If I eat outdoors or with takeaway, it is just the exception and places I know are healthy and I want to support financially. For instance, I love 'Stir bakery'... they make the most amazing sourdough bread and great coffee.

And again, same tip as the workouts: you cannot like everything. Eat what you like, and do not worry if it is repetitive. Find a balance between what is healthy with moderation, and have into account that quality of the products matter. Find a compromise between what you like to eat and how you eat it. Above it all, avoid ultra-processed food.

Other thing I have also had into account is eating more or less at the same time every day (Five times: Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner), ideally having dinner early to have a small fasting of 12 hours.

Routines

Keeping a routine has also helped me massively in achieving my objectives. Some of these are:

• Wake up at 7, shower, and breakfast while watching the news.
• Every day I weight myself at the same time, same conditions. It helps me keeping my focus, not to mention how good it feels when you see yourself losing weight.
• Morning walk, 30-40 mins.
• Start working around 8:30, finishing around 5pm, with the corresponding breaks. It has been very important to keep my working hours regular, while not always possible.
• After 5, I go for a second walk or a run.
• By 6 or 6:30 I am home and resting.
• I have dinner around 7:30.
• I do my video calls of the day with friends or family, but no more than 2 per day to avoid 'video call exhaustion'.
• I watch TV until 10:30 watching a show I enjoy.
• I go to bed by 10:30, to read a bit while disconnecting and falling asleep by 11.

Weekends are my times to do all else: tidying up the house, laundry, etc. It is also time now to socialise a bit more, walk more... what doesn't change is my workout routine: minimum one hour each day.

Results and metrics

I'm passionate about technology and how much data we can know thanks to the modern devices and technology we have available. I have taken some metrics of my lifestyle and compared the before and after between January and July. I think data is essential to understand the real, unambiguous progress, and stress where you are doing well, but also where you could be doing better.

During the last six months, these have been my physical changes:

• Weight: 101.3kg to 74.9kg (-26.4kg - Effectively lost 26% of my weight)
• BMI: 34.6 to 25.7 (-8.9 - From Obese class 2 to slightly overweighted)
• Body fat: 40.2% to 21.7% (-18.5%)
• Muscle mass: 56.7% to 74.3% (+17.6%)
• Bone mass: 3.1% to 3.9% (+0.8%)
• Body water: 46.9% to 54.8% (+7.9%)
• Blood pressure: 124/84 to 117/77 (Normal levels to Optimal)
• VO2 Max: 32.9ml to 38.1ml (+5.2ml - From poor to normal)

Average nutrition and workout metrics per day:

• Calorie intake: 2.151kcal
• Carbs intake: 33%
• Protein intake: 19%
• Fat intake: 48%
• Water intake: 3 litre
• Minutes of activity: 83 min
• Active energy: 977kcal
• Average steps: 16.189

Next steps

I've reached reach a consistent weight of 75kg. Now, a new battle begins, which is maintaining this weight and, hopefully, continue with a healthy diet. I intend to achieve this by eating more and exercising a bit less, but keeping my routines and healthy eating.

I also took a blood test to make sure I am not doing anything reckless, or check whether there was anything wrong as a result of my lifestyle changes. It is always good to check with a doctor or find more evidence from an actual expert. And... surprise! Everything is great: HbA1c (Diabetes) is in optimal levels, and my Thyroid profile, Cholesterol and Liver function are in normal levels. I have, however, some slightly high ferritin levels that, after consulting with my GP, is no reason to be concerned.

Conclusions

As I said at the beginning, losing weight and having a healthier lifestyle has served several purposes, but mainly my mental health. I have used this as my main source of motivation and happiness in weeks that have personally been really tough on a personal level. It has also served the purpose to have better body defences in case I contracted the virus.

This, indeed, is just another chapter in my journey to a healthier lifestyle. My next battle is, once I reach my "ideal weight", to maintain it consistently. I am really, truly motivated and I do know for a fact my eating habits are here to stay.

For me, the best diet is the one that doesn't feel like a diet. The change in mindset about what I love to eat not only because it's healthy but because I like it makes a great difference on how I perceive the very concept of eating.

I also look forward to telling the next chapter, maybe in a year. But if I fail, I will rise again. That's what we all do.

Thanks for reading this, and hope it serves as a source of inspiration. As I said, I'm just another regular guy.