Ever resolved to follow a healthy lifestyle and gave in after a few days?
Many people have fallen for hacks that promise weight loss in 1 week (or a maximum of 30 days)and all they are left with is agitation and more anxiety.
And probably you have been lured into the same trap too. This brings you to the internet, haphazardly looking for practical health tips that actually work and show results.
The health advice that’s practical is the one that people can follow without having to spend a pretty penny and also a lot of time knowing the nitty-gritty of fancy diets.
Before learning how to adapt to a healthy lifestyle, ask yourself these simple questions.
Why do you want to adapt to a healthy lifestyle? What is the reason behind you trying to lose weight? Is it because you are unhappy with people fat-shaming you? Is it because you want to look attractive to your partner?
Or is it because you want to look attractive in your friend circle?
There could be numerous answers to the above questions.
However, the only way you can lose unnecessary fat is by not focusing on losing weight to show others but rather adopting a healthy mindset.
“Don’t lose those pounds because you want to show it to others, lose them because it will keep you mentally healthy to not care about their opinions.”
Today, I’ll be pretending as though I’m not the one who scrolls through Instagram reels, drooling over the best street food videos but the one who religiously follows a healthy lifestyle.
What to do to make this lifestyle a reality?
To follow a healthy lifestyle, you need to do three things efficiently.
follow a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and take the required amount of sleep every day.
In this article, I will share tips to follow these three rules and inculcate them in your daily regime to achieve the ultimate health goal you desire.
Health Rule 1: A traditional diet to the rescue
A healthy diet is a diet which keeps you healthy. It is food that you and your community enjoy. It could be the food of your parents, something you can afford and is easily available. Most importantly, you can enjoy it every day without getting bored.
— Dr. Sonal Kolte
Eating easily available, homemade food is something that keeps you in association with a healthy lifestyle. I’m thrilled to divulge that you would never have to buy expensive fruits or packaged chemicals that promise a healthy body. All you need is to learn to eat what our ancestors enjoyed when processed food items weren’t as easily accessible as they are today.
“According to well known nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar, the food that keeps us closer to farm, family, and heritage is the one that keeps us healthy.”
Eat what your mom makes at home and avoid overstuffing. Your mother makes you the traditional food recipes which she learned from her mother aka your grandmother.
This food that you are reluctant to eat is something that made our ancestors healthy and fit throughout their lives.
Most importantly, this food is easily available and you do not have to toil hard to get it in the market.
Along with this, ensure that you chew your food properly to help in better digestion.
Lastly, don’t forget to keep yourself hydrated.
Health rule 2: Exercise
“What you do for 23 hours of your day will always have a greater bearing than what you do for 1 hour in the day.”
— Rujuta Diwekar
Make sure to exercise regularly and especially between your dinner and sleep time. According to Ayurveda, our body’s metabolic tendency is low after sunset and hence, some sort of activity at night (for example, a brisk walk) can help aid digestion.
Health Rule 3: A good night’s sleep
Many factors like stress, caffeine, or overthinking can hinder your sleep cycle.
The demon which is a major sleep enemy is our device. Switch off your devices at least one hour prior to sleep and avoid screen time as much as you can. Further, some kind of movement like a walk in the park right after your dinner can help in good sleep.
What do dieticians and experienced people advice when talking about a healthy lifestyle and diet?
“A sustainable diet is adding more green leafy vegetables and pulses as the source of protein. Red meat is harmful to heart health”
-Dr. Hiren Dholakia, a cardiovascular anesthesiologist.
Tips by celebrity nutritionist, Rujuta Diwekar
- Don't have tea or coffee first thing in the morning.
- Exercise or gym at least thrice a week.
- Have more local seasonal fruits and vegetables.
- Have some curd or buttermilk with lunch.
- Add flavor to your lunch with chutney or pickle.
- Have traditional snacks like puffed rice Bhel and roasted peanuts instead of munching on wafers.
- Include salad in lunch along with cereals and pulses to avoid overstuffing.
- Befriend Dal Khichdi and Dal Chawal when it comes to dinner choices.
- Say no to processed sugar and replace it with a healthier choice i.e jaggery.
3 tips for a healthy lifestyle by Indian Yoga Guru and proponent of spirituality, Sadhguru.
- Make sure to have a well-defined gap of 5-6 hours between each meal.
- Consume honey water every day.
- Make sure to perform some physical activity between dinner and sleep.
Bonus tip: Learn to keep your guilty pleasures in control
We all have guilty pleasures, something we won’t be opening up about. For some of us, it’s gulping a whole box full of sweets in one day and for others, it could be devouring Maggi almost every day.
Well, my friend, your guilty pleasure is your enemy and it’s the bump on the road that you are unable to overcome.
It's not only hindering your metabolism but also making you unhealthy from within.
Conclusion
In this article, I explained how to follow a healthy lifestyle by regulating your diet, exercise, and sleep routine. Moreover, I also shared what health experts recommend for a healthy lifestyle. I hope you found this article helpful. If you have any questions do let me know in the comments.
Cheers.
