The Best Life is the Healthy Life
It used to be that the air we breathe was much cleaner, when riding elevators didn't pose the threat of a viral disease or when I would survive a week of four hours of sleep each night and not collapse in fatigue by the weekend. It used to be that people have higher mortality rates and die much older {hello, I can be an insurance geek =P}
True enough, there are many factors as to why sicknesses are more prevalent these days:
OA pollution, drastic change in lifestyles, demanding jobs, technology, processed food, skyrocketing stress levels, people like me who wouldn't sleep if need be.
Recently, I've mandated myself to start becoming more conscious with my health because of the alarming health problems that have arisen in the country and even in my circle, too. In fact, I have taken this too much to heart that in packed elevators, I refuse to breathe for fear of catching someone's illness. {Now, ain't that ridiculous?}
Now, on to more practical steps I've taken to becoming healthier, to serve as a reminder to myself and maybe inspire readers to take the healthier route, too {LOL, I kid myself, look who's talking!} These are really normal but reminders can be good, too! :)
1. Stop smoking, if you're a smoker. And yes, I'm talking to myself. I used to smoke a considerable number of cigarettes a day until I realized that I can do so much more if I didn't and that it is going to make me look older than I really am. I've been on the e-cigarette for months now and while it's not exactly the same {no nicotine, just air/vapor, really}, my cravings has lessened and I can run longer periods. Yay!
2. Adapt some form of exercise, no matter how mild or small. My reason for exercise was never because of weight loss. While I'm not exactly lean and toned, I didn't care much about my weight. Instead, I was keen on the exercise because I want to keep moving, and to make sure I don't live a sedentary life, which I believe is the root of all illnesses. I started with running for 30 minutes whenever I can before coming to work and this year, I made like a crazy woman trying out all the exercise / dance / classes that I could. Now, I practice yoga whenever I can and when I'm trying to hone my feminine athlete, I grab my running shoes when I want to awaken my masculine side.
I wanna be able to do the crow pose when I'm 80 and crinkly.
3. Minimize eating processed / fast / junk food. I used to be a fast food junkie. I also consumed Lay's and Pringles on a daily basis and every single time, after eating, I would feel bloated and dry and uneasy because of too much salt and sodium. In the beginning of this year, I have consciously made an effort to choose the healthier options especially when eating out {fish vs. meat, most of the time} and I always eat a salad before a meal because I rarely eat vegetables at home. Since then, I feel better every after meal, I feel that I didn't eat too much oil and I have better digestion, too!
4. Get some sleep. I am not one to miss sleep, really, but I know too many people who has sleep as the first thing to suffer when things get hustlin'. I used to want to imbibe the motto "I'll sleep when I'm dead" when I was around 20 but judging the way things go for people who don't get enough sleep, err, I'd rather get the prerequisite eight hours of snooze time.
5. De-stress. When my grandmother had a brain stroke some years ago, our family physician {who's really a surgeon and he looks like king of comedy, Dolphy} said, "Everything is a manifestation of stress." I stress myself a lot. I like to think about things that hasn't happened yet and things I have no control over. Many times, I wake up to find out that the problem was solved without me doing anything and did my stress help? Not at all. Most of the time, a little stress can do us good but most of the time, it leads to illnesses. To de-stress, I treat myself to The Spa, indulge in a meditation session where I practice yoga, go out with my friends and allow myself to laugh out loud.
6. Don't forget them vitamins. Or supplements. Or medicines when needed. I used to not religiously take my multivitamins until paranoia got the best of me. For years now, I'm taking orange multivitamins my mother sends me every time {see, I don't even know where they're from}, Vitamin C tablets and lately, A Life supplements. Since I don't get to eat a lot of vegetables and I have a bit of movement problem, too, I recently added them to the fruit salad of pills I take every night.
I'm taking the Energy and Restore variants because I need energy to fulfill my job duties, as well as have the time of my life doing fun and fab things with friends. Since I've done some health-damaging things to myself, too, the hyaluronic acid in the Restore variant should help me rejuvenate my health. As for the Energy variant, I just read the word Malunggay and that should be beneficial to the body, whatever that means.
7. Regular check ups, anyone? So many illnesses have morphed into asymptomatic illnesses, never showing through until it's in a grave stage. As it is with living or non-living things, it's best that we have our annual physical check up {comes for free for most employees, through group health care}. If I had never gone through that, I wouldn't have known that I already needed to wear glasses.
8. Stay happy. I personally believe that a happy heart prolongs life and health.
What do you do to stay healthy?
xx