Take Care of Your Body.
It’s the only place you have to live.
Since Health and Fitness are such an integral part of our existence today, we are starting a new series for our readers. This is an introductory article by Amit Baraskar-AVP & Head Treasury, on the importance of taking care of our bodies and minds and how we should go about it.
In each issue Amit will deal with a different topic– super foods, exercise and dealing with various diseases. We hope it will motivate each one to pay attention to their health. If you would like us to deal with any particular topic concerning health, feel free to write in to Amit.Baraskar@in.thomascook.com, and he will do his best to feature it here. Do give us a feedback, and watch this space for more!
Fitness and Disease prevention
One of the great advantages of fitness is that many of its benefits are measurable and visible. The brawn, the veins, the slim waistline are all visible and widely appreciated the world over.
However, there are benefits which are not so clearly evident but are priceless. One can neither measure these with nicety nor can one put a value to them. Disease prevention is one of the greatest benefits. We all know that most diseases related to blood sugar, obesity, heart problems, etc. can be controlled by leading a healthy lifestyle. The looks, the brio, the muscle power – all are second to this. Ignoring fitness in general has not only proven to be breakneck but also fatal in several cases, and statistics reveal this crude and bitter truth. This makes fitness focus desideratum. It is no longer considered optional to work upon improving your fitness levels. Disease prevention devoid fitness can only happen by chance. This fact has been known for centuries. The million dollar question is – Do you want to be the one who wants to take that chance?
“Ignorance leads to sin, disease and death,” said Swami Vivekananda.
The four aspects without which a fitness program is fragmentary are mentioned below:
- A holistic nutrition plan. Plans solely focussed on weight reduction which make you starve and deprive the body of essential nutrients are bound to be a fiasco. The sad story is that most people do not realise this. The plan should ensure that the body gets all its nutrients in the right proportion while trying to achieve one’s fitness goal. Also, the plan should be sensitive to timing and the body’s reactions to certain categories of foods which differ from person to person. The diet plan should also consider the gender difference.
- Exercise: The right combination of cardio-vascular exercises, resistance training (typically done with weights or in the gym) or other forms like yoga, cross-training sports, etc. done consistently is of paramount importance. Consistency is the key. The human heart is not designed to relax for prolonged periods. Loading it suddenly and excessively, once a week or so, can even be dangerous.
- Relaxation/ stress busting: Imperative in today’s generation where stress levels have probably reached a peak. This aspect in many cases could turn out to be ‘make or break’ for today’s executive.
- Monitoring fitness: Monitoring through key fitness parameters like blood sugar, cholesterol, bone density, body fat, BMI, etc. instead of just watching one’s weight. Focussing only on weight reduction could have disastrous consequences and the effects are known after a fairly long time in most cases. (e.g..BMI below 18.5 makes you prone to malnutrition and diseases like osteoporosis). A more complete and well-informed approach certainly helps.
- More insights and information on fitness
- Which foods are good and which ones are bad for you – an ABC categorization?
- What are super-foods and why you need to know about them?
- Amazing and germane facts about foods, exercises, key health indicators and warning signals