Staying Fit Through Simple Ways

Health and Happiness | January 12, 2012 | Share

The old adage “Health is Wealth” has always held true. There have always existed different dangers to the healthy well-being of human beings. However, in recent times, changing lifestyles and the diseases that they bring along have emerged as a major threat. One can see that obesity is on the rise, which is putting even youngsters at an increased risk of major ailments related to vital organs like the heart etc.

Due to our fast paced lives and the stress that it induces, it has become all the more important today to live a healthy life. Many people view body weight as a parameter of being healthy. However, it is important to note that being healthy doesn’t mean losing weight. To be healthy means to be disease free and be fit. Weight loss is just one of its components but an important requirement to be disease free.

Paucity of time has hooked us to fast food and in our fast moving lives, we don’t have the time to pause and think how this junk food is the biggest obstacle to living healthy. Healthy living is not any rocket science and can easily be incorporated in our lives through simple tips; the first of them being to avoid excessive junk. Junk consumed once in a while in small quantities is not harmful but to survive on it is excessively harmful. Food items like pizzas, burgers, soft drinks etc. may provide enough calories but do not satisfy our nutritional requirements.

This brings us to the next point. Our body just doesn’t need calories; it needs a balanced diet. A balanced diet as the name suggests never has excess of anything. It instead has a little bit of everything. Small ways by which one could consume balanced diet could be by having fruit snacks during the day and having salads prior to heavy meals. While our everyday diets are generally rich in proteins and carbohydrates, we tend to ignore the consumption of vitamins and minerals along with roughage. Having fruits and salads takes care of these requirements.

Yet another important factor in determining our health is our water consumption. One should consume as much water as possible in a day as it never has any demerits. From regulating body temperature to detoxifying our body, drinking water has more benefits than one can possibly count.

It is also very important to do some exercise. While some prefer to do yoga and meditation, others may choose to take a brisk walk or even do aerobics. It doesn’t matter as to what form of exercise is being done as long as the muscles are getting trained to be flexible. For those who can’t take out the time to hit the gym or go for a morning walk, they could do some simple stretching exercises for five-ten minutes even if one is at work.

Good Sleep is also a crucial factor in killing stress and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It is said that six to eight hours of sleep a day is a must.

Moving towards a healthy lifestyle does not mean starving oneself. It involves making small changes in one’s lifestyle, like, taking the stairs instead of the lift. It’s about trying to find healthier alternatives. Eg, if one is craving for potato chips, then baked chips would be better than fried ones. Similarly if one wants to have a cold drink, fruit juices or lemonade would be better than carbonated drinks. For those who consume tea or coffee excessively, green tea – a brilliant anti-oxidant- would be a good alternative. Or for those who are non-vegetarians, white meat would be healthier than red meat.

As can be seen, staying healthy includes a number of factors. And none of these are very hard practices. One just has to be motivated to bring about change.

It is true that old habits die hard and change is always resisted. But then, change is the only constant.

Sarah Zia

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