In a new series of blog posts, Packet sports reporter Matt Friday documents his attempts to keep fit and lose weight during the coronavirus lockdown.

Perhaps appropriately for a sports reporter, the values of sport, health and fitness have always been high on my list.

But by my own admission I've probably been a bit lax on the diet side of things in recent weeks and months, perhaps ordering Domino's one or two too many times and overindulging on the chocolate at Easter.

On the flip side, I've been a regular at the Penryn Campus Fitness Centre for the last three-and-a-half years, and kept that going right up until they were forced to close as the UK went into lockdown on March 23.

But with that key source of physical and mental fitness disappearing in an instant, and coupled with the mental strain that the impact of the coronavirus was having on both my work and personal life, it only intensified the negative effect my diet was having on my physical and mental wellbeing.

But then my partner, who is one of more than 6.3 million British workers to have been furloughed from their jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic, decided to sign up to fitness trainer Joe Wicks' 90 Day Plan – a three-month nutrition and exercise regime.

Thinking that this would be an excellent way to get myself back on the right track and support her in achieving something positive during lockdown, I decided to do the plan alongside her.

Without wishing it to sound too much like free advertising, the plan consists of three cycles: shifting the fat, increasing muscle mass and sustaining, with each cycle lasting roughly four weeks.

A sizeable list of meal and snack recipes are provided alongside a set of five progressive bodyweight workouts, which include all varieties of planks, squats and burpees.

At the time of writing, my partner and I have just finished the third week in the first cycle, and the difference is already beginning to show.

The first few days were grim, with reduced – but certainly adequate – meal portions leaving my stomach rumbling, while the jump from zero exercise to five high-intensity workouts a week left me in bits.

But after a while my body has begun to get used to its new lifestyle and things are beginning to look up.

The punishing workouts are feeling a little less punishing and it feels good to be exercising regularly again.

When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins, which trigger a positive feeling in the body and can extend to a more positive and energetic outlook on life.

With workouts scheduled for certain days of the week, it's also a nice way of establishing a routine at a time when the days can sometimes seem to blend into one another.

You're told not to weigh yourself until the end of each cycle, but for the purposes of this blog I have broken that rule.

It's worth it though, as I have lost seven pounds (or half a stone, or 3.17kg) in the first 21 days. I have also lost about three per cent of the body fat I had at the start of the programme, while my BMI (body mass index) has dropped by one number.

Sticking to the plan during lockdown certainly has its challenges, with some meal ingredients like eggs, flour and baking powder not always available in the supermarket at the moment, while our small front room and lack of garden can make some of the more active exercises even more demanding.

But the rewards are great, and while there is no obvious change in front of the mirror just yet, it is certainly helping me gain a more positive outlook on life at a time when that is being tested in everyone.