Daily diet and exercise routine during lockdown

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a complete lockdown. This step has been called for in order to curb down the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed at least 4167 and infected at least 145K people in India. Our team has been sharing the day-wise quarantine plan which includes both diet and exercise tips that you can follow. They are simple and easy-to-follow and can be helpful in maintaining your health and weight as you self-isolate at home.

Let see what we can do to maintain our physique: -

1. You can begin your day with squats and lunges at home. Skipping rope, jumping jacks, push-ups, pull-ups, planks, side planks etc are other exercises that you can do. Else, you can even plan a fun play session like Hide&seek with the rest of your family members and the kids in the house.

2. On rising, have a handful of unsalted pistas (or any other nuts of your choice) or some khareek with some ghee.

3. For breakfast, you can have a homemade ragi dosa with gun powder, or have plain dosa if you have a leftover batter. Ragi is a gluten-free whole grain which is rich in fibre and can help with weight loss and diabetes management.

4. After your breakfast, you can have dry coconut with jaggery and 1-2 coriander seeds. Now isn't this an interesting snacking option?

5. For lunch, have the good old rajma chawal. Legumes like rajma are rich in protein. When combined with the complex carbs in rice, it makes for a dish with a complete amino acid profile. You can also have dal rice or khichdi.

6. After your lunch, you can opt having homemade mathri or some nuts. You can also involve your kids in making mathri at home.

7. Have early dinner. This is actually the time when you can make the effort of having dinners early. On the day you have the aforementioned meals, you can opt for a light dinner like some khichdi and papad, or have teekha poori with achar as Diwekar suggests.

8. Keep a gap of at least two hours between your dinner and bedtime. Before going to bed, either have a cup of turmeric milk or a cup of milk with gulkand and sabja (basil) seeds.

9. Stay well-hydrated throughout the day.

10. Make sure that you are physically active and do not skip exercising.

In this lockdown, try to get good quality sleep. Work towards sleeping and waking up at the same every day. This extended quarantine period can be used to restore good health and even your dream weight. Stay indoors, stay safe everyone!

This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information.