| Maybe it is time for us all to re-think what's important to us and set yourself some new goals to keep motivation high.

Ask yourself, what are you training for. Late season race ambitions? To stop yourself going up a cycling jersey size or two? Sanity? All valid reasons, whatever they are.

Whether that is working on cycling technique, TT position or even the dreaded core (but do us all a favour and don’t post this on social media) there are many things you can do to keep the fire burning and being competitive even, if it’s just with yourself or within your own household, it is a worthwhile thing to do.

ACCOUNTABILITY IS KEY

At the end of the day most of us only ever do two things in life, things we enjoy and things that can be measured. If you enjoy eating and can measure your daily intake then you are halfway there to a balanced diet.

Keep in the forefront of your mind that personal health and well-being is number one priority at this time and make this your number one goal with any meal plan. Eat lots of fruit and veg and keep your diet as varied as possible, this includes the odd daily treat!

Don't cut back too much as you need good carbs to help maintain a healthy immune system.

Most crash/detox diets are a waste of time, they normally involve a lot of effort over a short period and are usually some form of exclusion type diet which invariably can lead to losing weight fairly rapidly. However this comes at a cost which means that rapid weight loss is normally not associated with improved training, this in turn means your performance will suffer - a vicious circle. It is much better to try to develop good habits that involve eating well over a longer period of time.

Personally I find using technology to help track my metrics is a huge help as it is all too easy to graze constantly when based from home as the fridge or biscuit tin will come a calling sooner or later. Calories In vs Calories Out is plain and simply what you need to keep an eye on.

Training Peaks and Myfitnesspal working alongside each other is a great combo to make sure that your daily calorie intake is not too big or small whilst still being able to hit key sessions (when fuelled accordingly) for me a 500 calorie deficit on anything but hard days is a great way to lose some timber.

No matter what funky diet you might choose to try and follow to keep your weight on track is comes down to a calorie balance. To lose weight you must create a deficit and to maintain you must be calorie neutral.

Also worth looking into a Whoop band, brilliant for tracking sleep and daily strain. Sleep and stress can hugely affect your energy levels which then determines how much you eat a lot of the time. Sugar cravings when sleep deprived are a big issue.

If you find you have extra time on your hands then perhaps you can learn some new kitchen skills and whenever possible get the kids involved. Food and cooking can be pretty much anything you want to be; science, food technology, art, nutrition but most importantly an essential life skill. What better home-schooling activity?

If you have the ‘pleasure’ of sharing your house with small people or feral teenagers, try to get them excited about being in the kitchen.

Reading up on cooking is a great way of broadening your culinary horizons. Three of my favourite cook book authors are:

• Jack Monroe has some really clever books that are aimed at using frugal/simpler ingredients.
• Richard Bertinett is one of the very best bakers in the world. Check out Dough, Crust & Crumb - both are amazing books
• Tom Kerridge is quite simply a brilliant cook whose books just make you want to get stuck in.

Many top chefs are currently sat at home bored posting truly excellent content on Instagram, enjoy these free cookery lessons before the chefs are back in their kitchens. Whilst we are on the topic of books, there’s some excellent head space stuff with a performance angle, from experts in their respective fields.

• How to Support a Champion by Steve Ingham
• The Cycling Mind by Dr Ruth Anderson
• Performing under Pressure by Dr Josie Perry
• Orthorexiaby Renee McGregor

Having been working from home for over five years now with frequent trips to warm climates under the guise of work, I am fairly expert at being more effective at getting things done in the home environment. Having a daily plan and structure to the day is key. I like a good list and try to make sure that the obligatory coffee breaks are in there too.

A lot of athletes who are now mainly training indoors are doing shorter training sessions and more than likely under a lot of stress. Use these training session as a release not an additional source of stress, find fun online “group” rides or races, involve the family, set yourself a challenge. Have a plan for your day much the same as you would have had when everything was ‘normal’ you have a much better chance of maintaining a balanced lifestyle

• Plan your day best you can
• Plan your training based on your amended goals
• Plan your food around your training…. Simples

Here is a cracking breakfast, lunch, dinner and a sneaky treat to get you started. All using ingredients that are easy to find.

Most crash/detox diets are a waste of time, they normally involve a lot of effort over a short period and are usually some form of exclusion type diet which invariably can lead to losing weight fairly rapidly. However this comes at a cost which means that rapid weight loss is normally not associated with improved training, this in turn means your performance will suffer - a vicious circle. It is much better to try to develop good habits that involve eating well over a longer period of time.

Personally I find using technology to help track my metrics is a huge help as it is all too easy to graze constantly when based from home as the fridge or biscuit tin will come a calling sooner or later. Calories In vs Calories Out is plain and simply what you need to keep an eye on.

Training Peaks and Myfitnesspal working alongside each other is a great combo to make sure that your daily calorie intake is not too big or small whilst still being able to hit key sessions (when fuelled accordingly) for me a 500 calorie deficit on anything but hard days is a great way to lose some timber.

No matter what funky diet you might choose to try and follow to keep your weight on track is comes down to a calorie balance. To lose weight you must create a deficit and to maintain you must be calorie neutral.

Also worth looking into a Whoop band, brilliant for tracking sleep and daily strain. Sleep and stress can hugely affect your energy levels which then determines how much you eat a lot of the time. Sugar cravings when sleep deprived are a big issue.

If you find you have extra time on your hands then perhaps you can learn some new kitchen skills and whenever possible get the kids involved. Food and cooking can be pretty much anything you want to be; science, food technology, art, nutrition but most importantly an essential life skill. What better home-schooling activity?

If you have the ‘pleasure’ of sharing your house with small people or feral teenagers, try to get them excited about being in the kitchen.

Reading up on cooking is a great way of broadening your culinary horizons. Three of my favourite cook book authors are:

• Jack Monroe has some really clever books that are aimed at using frugal/simpler ingredients.
• Richard Bertinett is one of the very best bakers in the world. Check out Dough, Crust & Crumb - both are amazing books
• Tom Kerridge is quite simply a brilliant cook whose books just make you want to get stuck in.

Many top chefs are currently sat at home bored posting truly excellent content on Instagram, enjoy these free cookery lessons before the chefs are back in their kitchens. Whilst we are on the topic of books, there’s some excellent head space stuff with a performance angle, from experts in their respective fields.

• How to Support a Champion by Steve Ingham
• The Cycling Mind by Dr Ruth Anderson
• Performing under Pressure by Dr Josie Perry
• Orthorexiaby Renee McGregor

Having been working from home for over five years now with frequent trips to warm climates under the guise of work, I am fairly expert at being more effective at getting things done in the home environment. Having a daily plan and structure to the day is key. I like a good list and try to make sure that the obligatory coffee breaks are in there too.

A lot of athletes who are now mainly training indoors are doing shorter training sessions and more than likely under a lot of stress. Use these training session as a release not an additional source of stress, find fun online “group” rides or races, involve the family, set yourself a challenge. Have a plan for your day much the same as you would have had when everything was ‘normal’ you have a much better chance of maintaining a balanced lifestyle

• Plan your day best you can
• Plan your training based on your amended goals
• Plan your food around your training…. Simples

Here is a cracking breakfast, lunch, dinner and a sneaky treat to get you started. All using ingredients that are easy to find.

BAKED BANANA BREAD OATS

Baking oats… Surely this is just porridge with fancy pants on? This breakfast is perfect ahead of a hard ride as not too strong in flavour and easy to digest. The flavours of a good banana bread, but for breakfast.

Ingredients

• 100g rolled oats
• 300ml boiling water
• 200ml oat milk
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 tablespoon raisins
• 1 tablespoon flaked almonds (or nuts of choice)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C
2. Put the oats in an ovenproof dish, pour on the boiling water, leave for 10 minutes. Not a second more.
3. Stir in the milk, vanilla, raisins, mashed banana & and half the maple syrup
4. Make a fancy pants arrangement of sliced banana, nuts on the top & rest of the maple syrup
5. Into the oven for 20-25 minutes
6. If feeling ‘cheffy’ glaze under a hot grill to give you a crispy topping
7. Leave to sit for 10 minutes before eating so that you don’t melt your tongue

BUTTER BEAN BROWNIES

Ideal snack - quite rich so you don’t need to eat too big a portion, can also be chopped into chunks and eaten with some natural yogurt. Snacking with protein thrown in, good for them vegan types as no coconuts were harmed in the development of this recipe. They will even pass off to the kids as “treats”.

Ingredients (makes a fair few 30g bars)

These are the essential bits to make the base…

• 400g tin of cooked butter beans, strained comes out at approx 235g
• 250g dates
• 120g nut butter
• 90g coconut oil, melted
• 50g cocoa powder

Optional bits… freestyle flavours best you can.

• 1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract
• Pinch of sea salt
• 2 teaspoons good quality instant coffee for a mocha vibe
• 30g cocoa nibs (optional)
• 60g walnuts (optional)

Method

1. Add into a food mixer with a paddle attachment, the butter beans, dates, nut butter, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract and salt. Beat until fairly smooth.
2. Gradually add the cocoa powder, coffee & cocoa nibs until your mix forms a paste
3. At the last minute add the walnuts and mix for 20 seconds max to make sure you still have the texture of the nuts
4. Into a lined tray & in the fridge to set for 60 minutes, then cut into 50g pieces. Store in the fridge for up to two weeks but highly unlikely they will last that long

'JUST LIKE HOME' LENTIL SOUP

This is the sort of soup that would always be on the go at home as I was growing up. Loads of veg and wee bit of meat stretched out. The key to not having it turn into a big pan of mush is to be careful with the cooking, simmer for 30 minutes then allow it to sit a while. Re-heats really well and best made day in advance if you are organised enough

Ingredients (for six in big ol’ portions)

• 1kg diced veg, I used carrot, sweet potato, celery & onion
• 60g butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 180g diced smoked bacon
• 250g red lentils
• 2L chicken stock (I like using a few Knorr stock pots)

Method

1. In your trusty soup pan add the veg with the butter and olive oil, cook over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes
2. Add the bacon and cook for a further 5 minutes
3. Next add the lentils and stock
4. Simmer for 30 minutes then turn off the heat and allow it to sit for a while with the lid on
5. Correct seasoning and enjoy

COTTAGE TYPE PIE

Thought to myself that cottage pie/Lancashire hot pot/boulangere potatoes would make a wicked dish all in one. Winged this together with what I had in the fridge and some Bisto gravy granules... outrageous scenes, but mostly banging.

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

• 400g 5% beef mince
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 30g mixed diced veg, carrot/onion/parsnip
• 350ml thick beef gravy
• 2 large onions, one diced (add to veg mix) and rest sliced evenly
• 4 large white potatoes, peeled & evenly sliced
• 30g butter, melted

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven to 190C
2. Brown your mince in the olive oil for 4-6 minutes until nicely coloured
3. Add the diced veg and cook for a further 5 minutes
4. Add the beef gravy and simmer for 5 minutes, correct seasoning
5. Pour your sticky mince mix into a ovenproof dish
6. Evenly spread out the sliced onions & season well
7. Top with the sliced potato, making a pretty pattern for the gram
8. Brush with the melted butter and season well
9. Into the oven for approximately 60 minutes until potatoes cooked and a wee bit brown
10. Serve with green veg

Footnotes Text by Martin Steele, photos by @nabileh_

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