Do you always try to find a parking space closest to the entrance of a mall? Do you watch more than one hour of television every day? Do you have a lot of junk-food and beer, especially while you are watching your favorite TV show or exploring the Internet?
Standing up and looking down, can you see your feet? Do you have a fat pet? Is exercising usually in the top three new year resolution for you year after year? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you need to balance your life with some physical activity in your life. Our body is the temple for our soul to flourish, and we must take good care of it. An average person's lifestyle today is more lop-sided towards long hours sitting in the office-chair, car and couch. The diet full of pizzas, samosas, chocolate chip cookies, gulab jamuns and other fatty foods make the matter worse for us. The percentage of kids between the ages of 6 and 17 in the U.S. who are severely overweight has more than doubled since the 1960 's We hear of friends and acquaintances having heart-attacks in the 30 's and 40 's. Worse, obese people have a low opinion of themselves, and are more likely to be temperamental, suffer from depression, high blood pressure and diabetes. Do you want to be one of them?
Is it too late for you? It is never too late if you implement a program on a sliding scale basis. The very first step is to recognize your problem, accept it and have a willingness to do something about it. A few small steps in improving your diet and inserting physical activity in your daily routine should be a great beginning. Gradually increase your focus and time over a twelve to eighteen month period. Six axioms which should guide you in your program are:
When it comes to exercise-
Anything is better than nothing.
More is better than less.
Faster is better than slower.
When it comes to diet-
Nothing is better than anything.
Less is better than more.
Slower is better than faster.
Exercise
The three basic types of exercise are: Aerobic, weight training, stretching. Aerobic exercise is any physical activity, which makes you breathe hard. If you run, walk, swim or cycle then you are engaging in an aerobic exercise.
These exercises are great for your heart and lungs. When you are engaging in such an exercise then your heart and lungs become so efficient at getting oxygen to your muscles that they do not have to work (and you do not have to breathe) nearly as hard. Weight training makes you fitter. In weight training you pit your muscles against the force of gravity. Sit-ups, push-ups, and chin-ups are examples of this kind of exercise. When you do weight training in conjunction with cutting back on calories, you burn up more fat and less muscle tissue. You increase your metabolism. After a warm-up, stretch yourself literally. Stretching prepares your joints and muscles for the exercise, sparing you of injuries. It helps you remain flexible. Performing some yoga exercises every day for 15-20 minutes would provide a great start to your day.
Diet
Exercise alone is not enough. Improve your diet. The basic rules for a proper diet are:
Get the non-vegetarian food out of your diet. Eat less fat. For Indians, this means no fried food, less oil and ghee in your subjis. Eat less grains. Eat fresh produce (preferable organic.) Eat more beans. Introduce fasting in your life, e.g. Skip a meal once a week. Drink at least 9 glasses of water everyday, more in the summer.
Lastly, keep these rules in mind while you do the above: Do not compete against others. Do compete against yourself. Do keep records. Do what you like. Do not overdo anything. Do not set unreasonable goals. Do set reasonable goals.
The above are some basic rules to help you motivate yourself get to a better lifestyle. Have a long, healthy and holy life!!
