You’re Not Alone! We’ve All Got The Same Worries! 

Having suffered myself, and having spoken to 32 LEP members over the last few weeks, it seems that we’re all struggling and worried about similar things! 

If you’re struggling, please don’t dispair…you can take comfort knowing that you’re not alone!

That said, while knowing others are in the same boat does give us some sort of comfort, it doesn’t solve our problems!

In this article, I wanted to not only share the seven common problems we’re all facing right now, BUT I also want to give you some tips on how to overcome them and ease your situation.

I want you to be able to sleep more peacefully at night and start to feel better because you deserve to be happy! 

Let’s dive in…

#1 Weight Gain – Piling On The Pounds! 

Are you starting to look a little fluffier around the waist and hips? 

Have you been snacking more throughout the day? 

How about eating an extra biscuit or two (or who knows…maybe even the entire packet!?!? We’ve all been there so don’t worry!)

What about drinking more wine or having a beer in the week? 

Boredom eating?

Well, if you said YES, don’t frickin worry! LOL…. Because we all have! It just makes you normal, so don’t fret or beat yourself up!

That said, I bet you are now starting to feel tired, sluggish, and aren’t a big fan of that tummy role that you always notice, especially when sitting down to watch TV? It just niggles at you and makes you feel guilty! So what do you do? Reach for another chocolate biscuit. It’s a viscous circle and the pounds pile on faster than you can say “Bob’s Your Uncle and Fanny’s’ Your Aunt!”

Solution:

So you’ve had your treats, and blown of some steam? What next? 

How about going on a diet? 

ABSOLUTELY NOT. 

I don’t want to deprive you of any luxuries!

BUT what I would recommend doing is being more mindful when you eat.

Take your time between mouthfuls and be fully present while eating your food. Chew your food properly, and taste it to the fullest. 

Rather than eating emotionally and on autopilot, take your time. This will inevitably lead to eating less food, and you’ll regain better portion control. 

Also, to help you, I’m happy to send you an LEP Recipe book for FREE (over 30 recipes!). If you’d like a copy, just fill out the form below, and ill send it straight to your inbox! 

#2 Relationship Troubles

Yes, being cooped up all day is not ideal. Even if you’re fortunate enough to have a BIG house, with a garden, swimming pool, and a home cinema room…There’s only so much you can get from being indoors all day! 

It’s especially tricky if you live in a small house, or flat! 

Tensions will likely be running higher than usual. Everybody in your household, whether it’s your husband, wife, children, or siblings, has had alterations to their life, and it’s leading to family fallouts!

Think about it for your children, who can’t go to school and see their mates. 

For you, who can’t go to the gym! Or see your friends at the weekend. 

The list goes on.

Solution: 

I know it’s hard, BUT here’s one thing that’s going to help….

Sit down and talk. Yes, I said it… it’s so simple… TALK. 

Sit down with your wife, husband, partner…whoever it may be and ask them how they are feeling. Find out what they are struggling with and what they are missing the most. Then find ways to fulfill the needs of each member of your household. 

For example, if you have kids, give your other half a break for 1-2 hours each day. 

If your son wants to play video games with you, make sure you allocate 30 minutes each day to satisfy his needs. 

If your wife’s back is sore, then give her a rub in front of the TV. 

While your other half works, make them a tea or coffee and go and cuddle them every few hours. 

We need to look after ourselves, BUT we also need to look after the needs of others in our household. Communicate, talk, and find out what each person values the most, then create a plan to make sure each person’s needs are being met. 

#3 Missing Loved Ones 

I want to see my Mum, Dad, and Sister right now…BUT I can’t! 

It sucks. 

Some days I miss them terribly, and other days, I fill my days with tasks to distract myself from the pain of not knowing when I’ll next see them!

It’s hard, BUT it’s for the greater good, and we need to protect one another…by not seeing each other!

Sound/feels strange, doesn’t it?

That said, we can still be there for each other. 

Solution: 

We can Facetime our family members, call up our grandparents, send cards, and gifts, and show our love in lots of ways. 

Aim to factor in time each day to call the ones you love the most. 

Set up Whatsapp groups with your friends, and do small deeds – such as sending small gifts out, or even just a card from Moonpig! You’ll feel amazing when you do this, and it will give you and your loved ones a well-needed boost. 

Connection is KEY. We just need to rethink how we do it! 

The time will come when this all feels like a distant memory ( I know this is hard to comprehend right now – but it will pass…everything does!) so hold onto HOPE … this will get you through…soon you’ll be able to give those you love a great BIG hug and kiss, and it will feel incredible!

#4 Financial Worries 

Are you worried about your finances? 

Maybe you’ve lost your job or been furloughed with reduced pay? 

Has your business been affected?

If you’re worried about finances, then you have a couple of options:

1) You can blame and complain and fail to accept your situation! You can pray to win the lottery and hope the government bails you out! It’s very easy to do this…however it won’t make you happy! 

2) Pull back on your finances, reducing non-essential items, clothes, magazine subscriptions, Netflix, etc. 

3) Flip the situation on its head and look for new opportunities out there! A change in career, or a new part job? 

I can guarantee that if you had to find a job in the next week, otherwise you’d lose a loved one (a bit extreme I know!) you’d be able to find a job no problem! 

Where there’s a will…there’s a way!

You could take the extra time you have to find a new career, one that makes you more fulfilled and inspires you, rather than the old job that left you drained and miserable (the only thing it gave you was money to pay the bills!). 

#5 Sleep Troubles

What’s keeping you up at 3 am? Is it any of the above, or something I’ve not mentioned? 

Even before COVID-19, maybe you struggled to sleep? But now it’s even worse!

Do thoughts buzz around your head, and do you find it hard to switch off? 

When you’re stressed, you don’t sleep well, and then when you don’t sleep well, you get extra stressed! You also eat more junk food – which makes you gain even more weight and therefore makes you feel even worse?

Give me a break! LOL

It’s a vicious cycle that can quickly spiral out of control and cause you to be up and down like an erratic emotional rollercoaster! 

Solution:

Here are my eight ultimate sleep tips to help you drift off like a baby.

1. Don’t watch the news before bed! 

2. Switch off your phone and disconnect from social media for the last 2 hours of the day. 

3. Watch a bit of Netflix and relax, but try not to watch anything miserable!

4. Take a nice relaxing bath 30 minutes before you go to bed. A hot bath will help your tensed muscles relax, your frustrations will ease, and you’ll be far more likely to drift off to sleep once you get into bed. 

5. If you don’t feel tired after your bath, why not read a book? Something light-hearted, or perhaps inspirational? A fiction book or autobiography could be a great choice. I’m reading Nelson Mandela’s book – A Long Walk To Freedom At The Moment. Mandela spent 27 years in prison! So far, we’ve spent 18 days in lockdown – it puts things in perspective! No more complaining, please!  

6. Make your house and bedroom as dark as possible – the darker, the better. You want to do this at least 1 hour before bed. Turn off all the lights, switch on low lighting like lamps, or use candles (just make sure to blow them out!). 

7. I’d recommend buying a sleeping mask to block out an extra light that has a sneaky way of entering the room. You can pick a good quality sleep mask up from Amazon for less than £10. 

8. If you do wake up at 3 am (or whatever time!) and are worried, try and calm yourself with breathing exercises. Take a deep breath in and then slowly exhale. When you exhale, your body relaxes, so spend 3s breathing in and 8s breathing out, 10 of these will help you gain inner clarity, and you’ll hopefully drift off back to sleep.

If you do wake up and can’t get back to bed…don’t fret too much! Don’t beat yourself up because you can’t sleep. Just get up, take a walk around your house or garden, and accept that you’re awake. It’s not the end of the world, after all! 

#6 Kids Driving You Bonkers!

Have you got kids? Whether you’ve got young kids, or older children living at home, these can be extremely tough times for a parent.  

I can talk with experience – me and my wife (Sally) have got two children (Noah who’s 3 and Darcey who’s just 4 months old!) it’s tough not being able to go out of the house and take Noah to his regular playgroup. He’s also sad that he can’t see his friends and grandad(s), grandma(s), etc.! He’s not old enough to understand, BUT it’s hard seeing your kids in pain isn’t it? 

And then there are US…the parents! It’s tough on us, isn’t it? 

We’ve got our own stuff to deal with, and nobody looking after us! 

We need to focus on finances, keeping a roof over our heads, paying bills, washing up, cleaning, cooking….I could go on! 

That said, while it’s not ideal to be cooped up with children all day, there are lots of things you can do.

Solution

1. Exercise – why not do the Joe Wicks PE class each morning at 9 am. Exercise will make you feel good, your children will like it and blow off some steam, and it will also help you the parent! 

2. Go out each day (unless instructed otherwise). As of writing this article, you can go out each day to exercise and pick up vital supplies, that’s unless you are in the high-risk category (please check). 

Make sure you get out with your kids. Whether that’s playing in the garden – football, cricket, badminton, hide and seek, gardening…whatever…get out in a safe environment. 

You could also find open spaces or take a walk around the block for some fresh air. For example, each day, myself (Nick) and Sally take Noah out on his bike for 10-20 minutes, it helps him… and it helps us! LOL

#7 Highly Stressed

There are two types of stress:

Distress – when somethings happening that you don’t want to happen! Distress causes you to live in a constant state of anxiety, fear, and worry! Not good! 

Eustress – which is positive stress, for example, if you love computer games BUT are struggling to complete a certain level, you’ll keep going because you thrive in the challenge. This is positive motivational stress. 

Many of us, at the moment, are experiencing distress! 

When this happens, our brains are always in fight, flight, or freeze mode…we easily get overwhelmed, and it doesn’t take much for us to lose our sh*t (pardon the French!) 

Solution:

I’m not claiming to have a magic wand or to be able to wave away all of your worries! I’m sorry, I wish I could! 

That said there are highly effective ways to manage stress, which I find useful and I hope they can help you too:

Walk – take a walk each day. Leave your phone at home and try to switch off.

Meditate – I rave about meditating so much! I only do 10 minutes a day, BUT it helps me stay calmer and allows me to process my thoughts, emotions, and feelings more easily. I recommend downloading Calm or Headspace. You can trial both apps for FREE…What have you got to lose? 

Bath – I’ve already mentioned this! Taking a bath before bed will help you relax. 

Talk – let it out, speak to your friend, or somebody you trust. Don’t suffer in silence. If you’re down, let yourself express your feelings! Feelings buried alive stay alive! So let them go, and then you can move on! 

Exercise – any form of movement will make you feel better. Whether you do a virtual personal training session from home, or whether you do a home workout at a time that suits you, just do something each day. 

Here are some home workouts you can try:

Resistance Band Workout – 16 different exercises

6 Minute Ab Workout

Thanks for reading, keep going and stay positive!

Nick Screeton (Founder of LEP Fitness)