Our
lifestyle is instrumental in deciding our health status. Unfortunately most of
us live an unhealthy life, rooting for various bad choices around us.
Howsoever
cliché’ it might sound by adopting and practicing certain very simple and
convenient day to day lifestyle changes, we can lead a much better and
healthier life.
Few are listed below:
Cut Salt
Those innocent looking white granules are actually not so
harmless. A large quantity of salt (sodium)intake is one of the main reasons behind high blood pressure.
Recommended
daily requirement is approximately six grams (a level teaspoon). But none of us
are able to stick to this standard, thanks to bags of chips, processed or junk
food, and other fried snacks in addition to our normal intake of regular
meals-all generously topped with salt and ajinomoto.
Try to
stay away from condiments such as pickles, sauces, and papads. Even their
smaller portions are loaded with salt to preserve and balance the other strong
flavors in them.
Escalators
save time and effort. Agreed. But opting for stairs can protect you from deadly
ailments in the long run.
Climbing
stairs is actually a workout in itself. It is a high intensity exercise
promoting cardio- respiratory benefits, which is free of cost and easily
accessible, anytime, everywhere.
Stair
climbing does not actually mean you have to reach your office on the seventh
floor in one go. Don’t over exert yourself. Rest for a minute on each floor.
Then proceed again.
With a steady pace, climbing stairs for five minutes can
make you burn a whooping 140 calories.
Easy On Sugar
Personally I have nothing against sweets but there is
actually no need for refined sugar in our diet. Refined sugar is basically a
form of carbohydrate and our daily requirement of carbohydrate (which is
approx. 130 gm/day) is generally met by all other sources of food items.
If we
cannot resist all those sweetened desserts, try those that use a healthier
option, honey.
Technically speaking, one table spoon of honey has more
calories than table sugar but since it is much sweeter than table
sugar, we eventually end up consuming lesser calories. Also, wherein, table
sugar is all “empty calories”, honey is full of minerals and vitamins.
Exercise, Unintentionally
Most of us don’t exercise because we have to go out of our comfort zone. It seems too much of an effort to
get all geared up in the gym accessories and work out in a monotonous manner.
Apart
from the regular gym, there are many other ways to put your body at work, that
too without even realizing it. For instance cycling, walking, taking your pet
for a walk, or playing with kids are all such activities.
Make it
interesting by listening to music or taking your friend along.
Develop a Hobby
Another
option to sweat without cribbing is putting all that effort into something you
enjoy doing.
Fast
paced dancing, swimming, and playing an outdoor game will all burn hundreds of
calories in an hour. Trust me you will not even realize how the time passed
while you were enjoying (actually exercising) your favorite hobby.
Interesting Food Swaps
Without
compromising much on taste, you can actually savour the healthier version of
that particular food item.
Swap mayonnaise dip with flavored hung curd, french fries & chips with baked potato wedges, ice cream with fruit salads, full cream milk with skimmed milk, and so on.
The list is endless and all you have to do is use your imagination and be a
little creative.
Early Dinner
Eat an early and light dinner. Almost two hours before the bed
time. Since we hardly have any physical activity towards the latter part of the
day, the calorie burning goes down steeply.
So, in
order to give ample time to our stomach for proper digestion of food, it is
advisable to eat by the end of the evening.
Easier
said than done, but taking even a small step towards a healthier way of living
can make a huge difference. Try practicing at least one of the above mentioned
variation in the
whole day, and in no time you will start reaping the results—a
fitter and trimmer You!
But don't forget smiling!!
Linda Gomes
