It is a new decade to be healthy

2020 has dawned, and it is a perfect new decade to reach our health goals as a family! Well, believe me when I say (with research backup) that exercise is the best medicine. Prevention is always better than cure! Exercise is how we take care of our body, so it stays healthy and disease-free. Our body is our vehicle, our home, our closest companion in the journey called life. Wouldn’t you want your home to be beautiful, wouldn’t you want your vehicle to give you the best mileage and wouldn’t you want your companion of life to be with you in every step of the way?

Exercise provides multiple benefits; we all have heard and read about them. But in reality how many of us spend time daily (or on a regular basis) to work out and keep ourselves fit physically and mentally? Here is a reminder about the importance of exercise- decrease risk of disease, feel great physically, look better, sleep better, live longer—up to five years according to the American Journal of Preventative Medicine!, keep in shape so you can enjoy leisure activities, avoid injury and safely perform work and home chores, and increase mental health and social well-being.

According to WHO (World Health Organization), we need to realize that health is an investment in the future. We see that people are becoming more health-conscious- concerned about how healthy one’s diet and lifestyle are. But we are still far away from making this a top priority in our life.

According to Harvard studies, we can slow down our aging process by as little as 15 minutes a day of moderate activity. The more commonly known benefits include reducing the odds of developing heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and helping lower your blood pressure and preventing depression.

According to the American Psychological Association evidence is mounting for the benefits of exercise, yet psychologists don’t often use exercise as part of their treatment. Hmm, surprising isn’t it? Do you know that the link between exercise and mood is very strong? Research points out that exercise can alleviate even long-term depression! Exercise can be a tool for treating or preventing anxiety. Many mental health professionals think that exercise may be a good complement to other therapies. I am fascinated and excited about these findings, and strongly believe that this news should be shared worldwide!

In a study done at the University of British Columbia, researchers found that regular aerobic exercise, the kind that gets your heart and your sweat glands pumping, appears to boost the size of the hippocampus, the brain area involved in verbal memory and learning. Resistance training, balance and muscle toning exercises did not have the same results. Wow!

When we exercise our body releases dopamine and serotonin (neurotransmitters) as well as endorphins and nor-epinephrine (hormones). All of these chemicals play an important part in regulating our mood. So in addition to physical wellness by reducing our chances of getting an infection and boosting our immune system, exercise also helps in our mental well-being.

I would personally consider myself a health/fitness enthusiast. I was like most people my entire life; knowing that exercise is good but who never has the time to work out! As a Science person, I knew and understood that genes, as well as the environment, play a vital role in a person’s well-being. From my mom’s side, we have a family history of spondylosis (shoulder or spine pains), high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart attack (lost my mom as well as my maternal grandfather, her dad, to myocardial infarction). As expected my cholesterol and blood pressure were always towards the higher side. Although I was proactive with my yearly check-ups and got my blood tests done regularly, what was I doing with the info? I guess I was checking to make sure my numbers do not go up too high. Once I was prescribed high blood pressure medicines after an Emergency Room visit, which shocked and scared me and my family. My BP has always been towards the high side since I remember, but my physician always said it was not high enough for me to be put on medicines. So I just dealt with it.

It has only been recently, summer 2019, that I actually started working out on a daily basis. I exercise daily for 10- 30 minutes. Now I have started to involve my family; all 4 of us try to do some physical activity together. Now it has become 1 of my passions to feel good about myself. I am not perfect and do end up missing some times during weekends or when we are traveling, but overall I am proud and excited to say that exercise has become a part and parcel of my healthy lifestyle. My blood numbers (sugar, cholesterol) have dwindled and that gives me the motivation to keep going; for the 1st time in years my BP has been recorded below a 120/80 and I am so pumped up about it, literally!

So here I want to share what worked for me, which I totally believe will work for you.

1. Start small. You can just try to put a little time aside in your (busy) routine; even 5 minutes daily is a good beginning. Remember anything is better than nothing.
2. The key is consistency. This means you can’t give up or stop. It has to be done, however small, on a daily basis. Doing at the same time, and at the same place, works as we get into the routine.
3. You can choose your work out. 1 size doesn’t fit all; there is no 1 perfect work out. Do what is comfortable for you. If you can take out time to go to the gym to work out, do it! But it doesn’t have to be that fancy. You can walk/run/jog on the treadmill in your garage (I did that for few months but then gave up), or just simple work out moves in your living room (this is what I have been doing consistently for over 7 months now, woo-hoo), or you can be outdoors doing anything that helps move your body. There are hundreds of thousands of work out ideas; start simple and chose something that will work long term for you.
4. Involve somebody if that motivates you. It can be a family member, a friend, a neighbor, or a colleague. I work out with my 16 and 12-year-old on the living room rug in front of my 65″ TV. It works for me! The bonus is we get little extra family time as the girls keep on chatting non-stop:)
5. Exercise when you have time in the day. It doesn’t have to be early in the morning or the 1st thing to do when you get up. I tried that, but I am not motivated enough to get up early to exercise, and I can not squeeze-in time in the morning as I love my sleep! So I work out in the evening after coming back from work. I have tried different timings- as soon as I reach home, just before bedtime, and the timing that works for me is in between the 2. We work out before dinner time, a couple of hours after reaching home. So you find out what time works best for you.
6. Gradually increase your time as well as intensity. Research says that 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week works best. So if you are working 5 times a week, 30 minutes or less is fine. Aerobic exercise is any work out that increases your breathing and heart rate. I exercise 10-30 minutes 5-7 days of the week.
7. Don’t give up. To form a habit, it takes time. Some say 21 days is the magic number, others say 60 days, but don’t give up even if after 2 months you have to drag yourself to work-out. There is also a 21/90 rule, where you continue the goal for 90 days after the initial 21 days of habit formation. If you have continued this long, I can guarantee you that it will last a lifetime…
8. Find what motivates you & stick to it. Some people can do the same work out every day and love it. I for one, can’t repeat the same set. So I have 10-15 of my moves and I change it periodically; there are a couple of favorite moves which I may do every day but for me, it is the variety that keeps me motivated. Find your niche and stick to it!
9. Diet or what you eat is an important factor to your exercise regime. That does not mean you can’t pamper or cheat yourself. In fact, to tell you a secret, I am able to eat a little more unhealthy (ice-creams and cookies, every couple of weeks) since I started working out 7 months ago. Since I do rigorous exercise and increase my metabolism, it helps me digest and metabolize faster throughout the day even when I am not exercising! But there is always a balance- I eat vegetarian meals, lots of fruits and vegetables, and whole grains as a staple diet.
10. Enjoy it. I mean it! For me, just knowing the benefits I am getting from working-out keeps me going. I agree it takes time to get into that mind-set; but if I can do it, I am sure you can too!

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I follow Lucy Wyndham-Read’s workouts. They are short, simple, doable workouts which have given me overall fitness as well as a motivation to keep going. You can follow her on youtube for her free workouts!

If you would like to get more information about her famous 7-minute workouts that make a tremendous difference in people’s lives, please check her book 7-Minute Body Plan: Quick workouts & simple recipes for real results in 7 days to Become Your Best You

If you are not a work out person and would like to start with just walking, something you do and are comfortable with; you may check her book Walk Off The Weight

If you do not prefer going to gym (like me, really, who has the time?) check this book to follow short bursts of regular exercise, which research has shown to be more effective than long sessions at the gym, where you will speed up your metabolism, boost your energy levels, and improve your fitness The No-gym Workout

If you are more advanced in your health journey and love doing HIIT ( High-Intensity Interval Training ), check less than 15 minutes a day work outs HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training: Get Strong & Sexy In Less Than 15 Minutes A Day

I would love to hear your success stories about how you keep your body and mind healthy! Please comment below or send me an email, so I can include your stories in my writing!