The Holidays Obliterated Your Diet. Bounce Back With These At-Home Exercises

Food is key to merrymaking, so you'd be forgiven for packing on a few pounds after the holidays. But if you want to get back to your pre-holiday weight or are looking to make some healthier lifestyle changes, now is as good a time as ever to start.

And because gyms and public places are not exactly the safest places to work out right now, many of us have to make do with exercise at home. Luckily, you don’t have to use fancy machines or equipment to get back into shape—all you need is a reliable workout routine with a good mix of bodyweight exercises and cardio.

Naturally, it's important to pair these exercises with a healthy diet of truly good food. And by "truly good food," we mean food that's both nutritious and tasty—food that both supports an active lifestyle and rewards it.

But before that, the workouts. Try these yourself at home:

Upper body

For your upper body workout, start with push ups and chair dips. If you’re new to working out, you can start with knee push ups and switch to the regular version when you’re ready. When you’ve gotten the hang of this routine, you can introduce variations such as crawl-out-to-push-up or burpees. The important thing is to start slow, with one or two sets of 10 to 15 repetitions per exercise, and gradually increase as you become stronger.

Core

Core exercises can improve your overall health by making it easier to do most physical activities. This is because it strengthens the muscles in your pelvis, lower back, hips, and abdomen. A strong core leads to better balance and stability, more endurance, less instances of fatigue, and decreased chances of lower back injuries. There are many core exercises you can do, but among the most effective ones are bicycle crunches, front planks, side planks, and glute bridges. When you’ve become more accustomed to these core exercises, you can add variations such as front planks with alternating shoulder taps and side planks with twists. Like with upper body workouts, start with one or two sets of about 20 seconds each per exercise, and slowly increase the amount of time and sets.

Lower body

For a balanced leg workout, go for exercises like squats, walking lunges, side lunges, and wall sits. When your leg muscles are stronger, you can upgrade your workouts to include sumo squats and jump lunges. Start with one or two sets of 10 to 15 repetitions per exercise, and slowly increase the intensity.

But as mentioned, these exercises are best paired with good, delicious food. Cut back on refined sugars and carbs like white rice and bread, and on oily junk food and fast food. Instead, one might opt for food that can be equally tasty and satisfying: food like brown rice and whole grains, fiber-rich whole wheat breads, and fresh fruits and vegetables.

And because it's just as important to reward yourself with a tasty meal after every workout, fill your fridge with Veega, a lean, meat-free, plant-based protein made from locally sourced ingredients. Veega tastes meaty, but without the meat, so it's perfect for prepping meals that really reinvigorate you, and keep you motivated to sustain your workout regimen.

Veega comes in different forms, such as burger patties, nuggets, balls, giniling, and sausages—all made with protein-rich ingredients that provide the gains you need, and then some. With Veega, you can pair your workouts with a rewarding, hearty meal—plus, you can wipe cheat days off of your calendar. Instead, sustain a holistic diet of truly good food. 

If you want healthy sources of protein in your diet, you can purchase Veega on San Miguel’s official online store or at any major supermarket near you. For clean-eating recipe ideas, follow Veega on Facebook.