To be able to experience optimum health in body and mind, you need to follow the E3 rule, which is: Eat well, eat right and exercise regularly.
Eat well, eat right
- Eat six meals a day. Your first meal [breakfast] should ideally be the heaviest meal of the day. It should be packed with calcium and protein.
- Your second meal should be an hour before lunch and an hour and a half after breakfast.
- Your lunch should be wholesome comprising all nutrients. Your evening snack should be just enough to satisfy your hunger pang. Usually, this is where people go wrong and binge.
- Your dinner is the second most important meal of the day; dinner should be light, but never skipped.
- Listen to the signals your stomach gives. By this I mean, if you are hungry go ahead and eat, but healthy and sensibly.
- If you’re not hungry, don’t force yourself to eat something just for the heck of it. Eating when you aren’t hungry not only is bad for your immunity levels and your physical health, but it also leads to mood swings and irritation.
- Avoid emotional eating. People who are happy with their body tend to be more in tune with their hunger, making them less prone to eating in stressful time. Try and distinguish for yourself if you’re really hungry or emotionally hungry.
- Make sure you are having a balanced diet. Never completely cut on any foods. Eat in moderation, but eat everything.
Tip: A trick to remember while eating right is to never get up from the table feeling stuffed. The best way to fight the bulge is to get up feeling that you could eat just a little more.
Exercise regularly
To stay physically fit and retain youthful vigour you should exercise regularly. Unfortunately now-a-days, people are either leading an increasingly sedentary existence or over-doing their workout. About 30 minutes of brisk walking or any other form of cardio [jogging, cycling, aerobics, and dance] and 30-minute muscle strengthening workout at least five times a week is ideal.
In order to work out, you need not join a gym or buy fancy fitness equipment. It is possible to make your workout fun and efficient, yet simple and cheap. Experiment with sports like swimming, tennis or squash.
If you aren’t fond of weights, buy thera-bands, which is a great way of toning muscles and you can also try different kinds of exercise with them. Aerobics is a great workout too. New-age regimes like kick-boxing, t’ai- chi, and spinning are fun and worth trying as well.
There two important things to remember while working out: One, your exercise should never get monotonous or tedious; Second, you should keep experimenting with new exercise formats as it keeps your metabolism ticking and your interest intact.
So, follow these basic rules to lead a healthy, happy and long life.