Our lifestyle around us is changing so rapidly that it has become a major concern. We are compromising on our health, upkeep of which is not such a struggle as so many people do put across. Ask me how? Well I was living the life of self destruction just a few years ago.
When I was going through a research paper recently published, the one thing which caught my eye was that the major reasons behind Non-Communicable diseases were smoking, diet, exercise, alcohol and stress. It is definitely not a surprise for me because I see that most of the people around are compromise in these areas. In simple steps I will try and address as to how each one of you can begin to focus on the problem in hand and work on a quick turnaround towards the Wellness highway. I believe that looking at a problem through a different angle will always make one come out with some wonderful solutions.
Stop smoking:This is one of the most important factors to be considered if you are one or worse exposed to secondary & tertiary smoking. I can detect someone smoking from a mile away and make all the effort to be away from them. Well are you surprised that an Ex smoker is saying this? Yes smoking does play havoc with our system. it numbs the mind which leads to other problems on the one way street.
Lose weight: This is becoming more and more prominent across every genre and age group. When I see young adults or children overweight I feel sorry for them for not having been guided and mentored properly in the crucial growing up years. According to me being overweight is just below smoking as the worst risk factor for many diseases. I am sure you will agree that our infatuation towards technology is not helping the cause.
Exercise: Lack of exercise is the number one reason for explosion in life threatening diseases in our society and it is a no brainer that even twenty minutes of exercise will go a long way in reversing this trend. It does not take much – even a ten to fifteen minute walk in the morning or in the lunch break is good enough to begin with.
Drink in moderation: I have noticed that with high income and exposure to western culture, drinking has to a large extent becoming a socially accepted behavior The major concern is when people go overboard, then heavy drinking becomes one of the worst risk factors for many diseases. I have noticed many healthy lives succumbing to Alcohol and what’s worse is that not much effort has been put in this area. Moderation is the key here.
Cut red and processed meat: There is more and more research pointing towards this one factor in terms of increase in diseases; I was at one time omnivorous (eat anything which moves) but I worked on this gradually and became a fishetarian, then a eggetarian and now am a vegetarian. Work towards being vegetarian or at the least make the majority of your food intake includes fresh fruits and vegetables to overcome the negative effect of meat eating.
Remove excess Salt & Trans fat: With junk food being the norm I see that the over consumption of both has become a daily affair for most people who are hard pressed for time. What this does is, over a period of time, makes one binge on these foods for emotional Anchoring. Cook your own healthy meals instead of eating out or as much as possible, carry your own food. Sometimes even a fruit is better than salt heavy processed food.
Work on your stress: This is one factor which is affecting a lot of people. The only way to working on this is to be aware as to when stress is overcoming you and do whatever is possible, to turn things around. A regular sleep of 7-8 hours will play a big role in negating stress.Another important aspect I would love to include here is meditation which plays a cruicial role in working on your stress.
Healthy living isn’t impossible or even especially difficult. It’s just slower to come by than most people care for. What I have done over the years, is to address each of the above points in my own life and overcome it. This has made me control my own life and impacted me in a very positive manner. I challenge you to work on this to see the amazing transformation I have seen in my own life. Would love to hear from each one of you on my Face Book Fan Page or on my mail id coach@satishrao.in