“Fit is not a destination, it’s a way of life”, truly being fit and healthy is not a final destination, it is a journey. And to nurture this journey we need to incorporate some new things in our life.
- EAT More! I have heard that not eating much doesn’t keep one fit but in fact eating more keeps a person fit and healthy. The researches that I came across surely told me that eating does help in increasing our metabolism. All the right nutrients should be there in our food. When you eat less than your basic biological function requires, your body starts reacting against it. That means if you think eating less is going to help you then you are wrong. It may cause a harmful effect. The body doesn’t remain in the habit of having food! And then even when you eat up a small quantity of food, you won’t be able to digest it. Eat only as much as necessary. Eat in small amounts for a start. But remember to eat healthy. No matter what we do, we should have lesser frequency of fatty food and more frequency of healthy food. A best snack for such a habit is fruits! Summer time is near and nearly every delicious fruit is available out there. Fruits are healthy and are easy snacks. After every 2-3 hours we need to have something to keep our body going, especially in the summer days. So it’s good to keep away from wafers, chips and fatty items and go towards a healthier choice.
- Drink lots of water! By many studies it has been concluded that drinking at least 6-7 glasses of water in a day in considered essential. I wonder if we actually do drink so much water. We many-a-times even forget drinking water after a meal! In fact a person must always drink at least this much water. For improvement in health and digestion, doctors actually advice people to drink more than 7-12 glasses of water during the day. It serves many purposes, firstly it keeps the body hydrated, secondly it keeps the digestive system functioning properly, and thirdly it helps in better purification of the body wastes. Never even wondered what wonders water can do, did we!
- Keep stress levels low: It’s obvious that when you are stressed all your day-to-day activities get affected. You are not able to perform well and are not able to give the adequate output you are capable of. This is also true for the metabolism, the inner processes of our body. We need to sustain and tackle the stressful situations in order to keep the body and mind fit. The best way would be to watch some really nice comedy show or comedy movie for a while. It may be something you have already seen earlier but just to avoid stress watch it for a little while and relax the mind. Stress should not be contained inside the head for too long, either we should “spit it out” or distract our minds away from it.
- Get a good night’s sleep: When we were young our parents used to tell us to sleep for eight hours. Eight hours of sleep is really good for heath, but let’s face it, we just cannot afford it. With so much work load and difficult time schedules, it’s not possible to sleep for eight hours. The best answer to this dilemma is to sleep for at least six hours. Six hours of night’s sleep is well enough for a person to be active the next morning. But the point to remember here is to sleep at Night! A good night’s sleep can never be compensated at any other time of the day. Cortisol is a steroid released from the adrenal glands during the fight-or-flight response (stress response). It is accountable for controlling the body’s blood sugar levels and thus regulating metabolism, acting as an “anti-inflammatory, influence memory formation, controlling salt and water balance” and what not. Too less or too much of Cortisol levels can harm the metabolism of our body. According to a research done by Dr. Harding staying up past 10pm causes harmful effects on our Cortisol levels and thus our metabolism. So it’s better to sleep on time and for ample period, because Cortisol is responsible to maintain metabolic activity in the body.
- Exercise! No matter what we do or say but nothing can replace what exercise does to our body. Exercise not only energizes the body, it helps us keep our body moving and going. I know the busy to-do list of our life doesn’t end anywhere and taking time out for work out is pretty difficult. But the simplest way to introduce exercise in daily routine is to have small brisk walks in mornings or evenings or both. I have seen people go thinner only by following a strict routine of a morning walk. We need to prioritize what’s important to us and manage all the work giving our health some priority too. You don’t have to join a gym for bringing in exercise and some movement in the body. Yoga and regular stretching in the morning can also be some ways.
- Add on some Green Tea: Although originated in China, Green Tea has become a rage in today’s times. Green tea is very good for health. It has anti-oxidants which purify the body from the inside. According to an interesting website of Authority Nutrition, Green Tea helps in burning fat and improves the performance of the body’s metabolism. Although it says that the effect of the tea can be different for different individuals but in any case, Green tea cannot cause any harmful effect as it is purely natural and refreshing for the body.
Good metabolism unleashes a world full of different experiences. Don’t measure your fitness with someone else; start with why you like to uphold it and remember it daily.
Mellifluous Murmurings 