Yesterday I happened to meet a pretty young girl who had a mindset that it is difficult for Indian women to lose weight and look lean. Even though I did not agree with her, I did make her realise that it is a difficult task for any person to lose weight if they do not get into an exercise regime sooner rather than later.
This question made me to think as to how many women might have this mindset and do not even make an attempt to get fit. I deeply believe that all women deserve a stress free and healthy lifestyle. Due to multitasking, somewhere down the line, they tend to ignore the fact that they also need to take care of themselves in midst of juggling a full time career, raising kids, hormonal imbalances and running a full fledged house . This made me sit with my laptop and do this article today, a bright sunny summer day in Bangalore.
Some of the simple and long lasting changes Women can do to be healthy are:
Watching what you eat:
It is critical and important that what you eat is what you will eventually become and it is no less true with women. Since most of the women are in charge of the kitchen, it is imperative that they make sure that the food is healthy and fresh. Make it a point that most of the meals should include fresh vegetables and fruits. It is also important to start your day with a hearty breakfast and ensure that you eat something within 2 hours of waking up. Ideally if you wake up by 6Am then ensure that you have breakfast or at least some wheat bread and coffee to kick-start your metabolism within 8Am. What this does is that it will make sure that your digestive system does not work on an empty stomach. Another important fact is to eat small meals for every 2-3 hours rather than 3 big meals a day. For working women you need to be creative and fit in some fruits, nuts or even some all grain biscuits at the workplace. By eating every 2-3 hours small quantity your metabolism is always high and you end up burning more calories. Last but not the least is to ensure that you have your last meal of the day at least 2 hours before you sleep and this meal has to be the smallest in comparison to all other meals.
Drink lots of water:
Ensure that at the very least, you drink 2-3 Its of water everyday. This will remove all the toxins from your body and also make the glow on your face more prominent.The thumb rule for the working women is to keep sipping water from the bottle or their sipper every half an hour,better to walk up to the cooler and in the process move around.This will make sure the office Air conditioner does not dehydrate you.
Keep walking:
The secret in managing weight is in not staying grounded in one place for more time.The idea is to keep walking every 60 to 90 minutes.I generally take a break every 90 minutes when i am working and walk around. I always come back to my desk with more vigour and energy. The key point here is to fit in a healthy walking habit within the kind of work each one is doing. Try and make it to about Ten thousand steps a day. It’s not as difficult as it sounds as one can manage this in about 60-80 minutes of brisk walking. If you space this within in a 8-10 hour work day, it then becomes very doable.
Having a regular sleep pattern:
Sleeping for 7-8 hours is essential for women and this irrespective of the kind of lifestyle one leads. Ensure that at the very least, 7 hours of good sleep is logged in after hitting the snooze button. The body also burns calories while in the sleep mode and do make sure that all the smart phones and ipads are kept well away from the bed.
These are some of the simple things that a women can do irrespective of whether she has time to hit the gym or wear her running shoes. By incorporating these small habits in their everyday life, I do not see any reason as to why women who do not have any time for themselves cannot manage to incorporate a good amount of physical activity in their day to day life and become healthier.
The idea behind this article is to ensure that every woman can manage their health with simple changes in their daily activities, be it in office or home; one does not need sophisticated gyms to become healthy.
I do hope that this article has made all the women readers realise that being healthy is your fundamental right and nothing should stop you from leading an active lifestyle irrespective of the environment or the circumstances you are in. For all the guys reading, share this with the women in your life who matters the most to you and do so much for us. It is equally important for them to be healthy as much as it is to you.
Would love to hear how this article has impacted you and especially the women readers. Will you promise yourself to change your lifestyle with these simple doable strategies and eventually bring in a positive change in your family. Let me know!
Ultimately it is not whether you are driving the biggest car or staying in the biggest house that matters. What really matters is how healthy and content you are in your life. At the end of the day, It’s all about feeling good about yourself.