Celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Divekar shares simple habits that will boost your fitness levels
I recently saw an advertisement for a “health” drink targeted at women warning them that running on the roads, picking things off a shelf and cooking meals would put them at a risk of developing poor bone health. Now it's common sense but no, activity doesn’t put you at a risk of developing any non-communicable disease, be it weak bones, obesity or diabetes. If anything, it prevents them. So here’s a must do list for you beautiful working women out there; and every working woman, whether or not there’s a salary slip at the end of the month.
Move every 30 minutes: If you sit in one place for more than 30 minutess, make peace with a bulging stomach, weak back and pain in the neck. Don’t like that? Move, or atleast stand at the end of every 30 mins. If even that is not possible, assume the cross-legged posture; this will ensure good blood circulation to the legs which sitting in chairs disrupts, leading to all those aches and pains.
Sip on water throughout the day: This will prevent headaches, acidity and bloating. It may seem too simple to bother about, but dehydration can cause you a lot of trouble including body odour, stinking breath and flatulence. Hydration can save you from all these too. While we're on the subject of hydration, we must reiterate that drinking tea/coffee (including decaf versions) with biscuits, cause dehydration; so does that red wine. Thirsty? Drink water!
Workout NOW: Don’t wait for a cousin to get married or until next Monday to commit to exercise. It only takes 150 mins of exercise per week to keep your hormones happy, so just do it! And no, chocolate pastry doesn’t make them happy, it just sends them on a roller coaster ride from feeling thrilled to feeling messed up, in less than a minute.
Be a Yogi: Yoga is not about doing 100 Suryanamaskars, nor is it about kapalbhati and pranayama. It's about discipline–the discipline to learn the right technique of performing an asana, practicing with patience and not being swayed by the promise of weight loss.
Do not diet: Cereal and milk for breakfast, sandwich for lunch and grilled chicken breast for dinner is not ‘dieting’. It's being silly and it doesn’t just lead to weight loss but loss of sanity too—when everything you lose seems to pile back creepily over the sides of your hips, under your bra and over your arms. Eat food that you grew up eating and don't let the gaps between meals get too long—other than this, there is no shortcut to losing weight.
Avoid delegating to machines: Pick up atleast one activity that you have currently delegated to a machine–be it washing clothes or doing the dishes or simply heating up your own food. Climb stairs instead of letting electricity lift your weight for you.
Eating right, working out and sleeping on time are things you owe yourself. Fitness makes you efficient and will bring you closer to achieving your potential. This is not a path for the weak. The notion that women should be thin or of a certain weight for a certain height is a regressive idea. Fitness is the opposite of compliance, it is freedom. Freedom from the weighing scale, boredom and dullness. Don't you think you deserve to free?
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}