The Top 5 Healthy Habits You Should Maintain During This Stabilisation Phase

Going back to socialising and eating-out can quickly undo all those healthy routines you built up during the course of the lockdown period! But don’t worry, you can still establish a healthy routine during this time.

Here are some ways to maintain your health during this Stabilisation Phase of Transition to Covid-19 Resilience to ensure all your healthy habits aren’t lost when returning to normal.

Eating healthy!

Of course, the temptation to eat take-out food and going to plenty of restaurants will likely be too much to handle - and that’s ok!

The key to maintaining a healthy diet during this stabilisation phase is balance. A balanced diet consists of eating a wide variety of foods including wholegrains, fruit & vegetables, and protein-rich foods. Healthy eating doesn’t mean you should quit the take-out or skip desserts altogether! Rather, it means you should enjoy the foods you love to eat, but to do so in moderation.

The value of eating healthy will always be significant. Some tips to eating healthy at home or out at a restaurant include:

• Swapping out unhealthy foods with healthy alternatives wherever possible. For example, instead of ordering fried food, order stir fried or steamed instead!
• Go meat-free. Even if it’s just one day a week! Try a meat-free meal by using meat-free products like the super popular ones that Quorn has.
• Limit fat, salt and sugar where possible. Get creative by using healthy seasonings such as cinnamon on your pancakes instead of sugar, and turmeric or cayenne pepper on your meat/protein in place of salt, and garlic to flavour your potatoes instead of butter.
• Load up on fruits and veggies! Fruits and vegetables contain loads of vitamins and minerals as well as fiber to maintain a healthy diet. Stock up on minimally processed frozen or canned vegetables to save trips to the supermarket, and order a fresh salad with your meal whenever you eat out.

Minding your mental health

We all had to build a strong capacity for mental health during lockdown. Now more than ever, it’s incredibly important to stay on top of this and ensure you solidify and continue good mental health habits.

Some tips to stay on top of this include:

• Regular exercise. Physical activity plays a key role in our mental health, physical health, self-esteem and memory and cognitive function. Whether you run, practice yoga, ride or go to the gym - moving your body improves mood and protects you from disease.
• Journaling your thoughts, emotions and goals. Tracking your mood each day helps you to manage your lifestyle choices and prevent negative emotions from spiralling out of control.
• Practicing mindfulness. Whether through meditation or deep breathing, being mindful helps you to manage stress and anxiety. It’s also a great way to be more present - allowing you to cherish precious moments during this path to a new normal.

Appreciate nature

Now that you can venture out, there’s no better time to stop and marvel at the world outside the four walls you’ve been so accustomed to seeing! While you may have been going for nice walks during our social restrictions, don’t stop this healthy routine now that they have ended! Walking outside is a great way to clear your mind and connect with nature.

Connecting with nature is one of the key things you can do to maintain your mental health. If you’ve returned to the workplace, why not go for a walk around the park during your lunch break? You can also arrange to meet with a co-worker or friend for coffee at a park bench instead of inside your office.

Other ways to connect with nature include:

• Tend to a veggie patch or garden
• Find a spot in a park or beach to watch the world go by
• Meditate or exercise outside
• Plan a picnic with friends/family
• Watch a sunset
• Go for a beach walk
• Cycle through the parks

Re-evaluate your habits

Habits will be broken - and that’s ok - it’s important to remember what healthy habits you want to keep and how this can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle. It’s important now that you have a lot more freedom to consider what you’d like to keep doing and why. Look back on the healthy habits you established during the pandemic and ask yourself - is it possible to hang onto these habits?

For example, you may have found you had more home cooked meals during lockdown, or, kept up a daily at-home workout that fit more easily into your busy schedule. Identify which habits made you feel good and re-introduce them into your present routine. It helps to keep a proactive mindset to stop you from falling back into old, unhealthy habits such as eating microwave-ready meals or skipping the workout session.

A final tip: Stay flexible and adaptable

Even though the restrictions have eased - don’t forget it can sadly get out of control again! So stay flexible and adaptable in your habits. And if there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us - it is how to be flexible!

Take that adaptable approach into this new normal by preparing for any slip-ups or detours along the way. You can think about weekly meal planning to keep up your healthy diet, researching lunchtime gym workouts to fit into your work day and maintaining an evening meditation routine to keep your mental health in check.

It’s often when we’re unprepared or don’t have a plan that we tend to make unhealthy choices. Taking the time to plan ahead and penciling in your new healthy routines will help you to continue these habits as life returns to normal.

Maintain your healthy habits with Quorn!

It’s exciting to be coming out of lockdown and returning to a sense of normality! Now that restrictions are finally lifting in the wake of the pandemic, it’s time to keep up those healthy habits you worked hard to establish. And if you’re looking for a great place to start, look no further than Quorn’s own food service partners in Singapore.

Quorn is well-equipped to help you maintain and elevate your well-established healthy habits! From a range of meat-free recipes to tasty food products to help you kickstart your healthy eating goals, you can count on Quorn to help you feel good from the inside-out.