Everybody likes to look good -- a flat stomach and a trim, no-flab athletic body are something many people aspire for. Our eating, work and sleeping habits, however, do not help in becoming the lean and mean fighting machines of our dreams. So some people diet, some jog, some go to treatment centres. The last, too, put you on a strict diet. Everything requires sustained effort. The minute you lift your guard, all the good work is undone.
In addition, weight impacts on health as one grows older. The more excess weight I carry around, the more likely I am to develop health problems.
Motivated by the desire to have a ‘sound mind in a sound body’, I have been following a self-driven exercise for the last 10-12 months. I make sure that I do not skip any part of my regimen. I wake up at 5 a.m., and go for a 5 to 6 kilometre walk, which takes me about an hour. Back at home, it is time for more exercise -- 800 turns with a skipping rope, 500 steps on-the-spot-jogging, touching toes, stretching and five exercises of pranayam. This is followed by one glass of warm nimbu paani (or fresh lime water) mixed with 1 teaspoon of honey. I drink one bottle of water before breakfast, which I eat around 8.30 a.m. A bowl of cornflakes, or three or four idlis, or two chappatis with vegetable curry, or eggs and toast -- breakfast is a light meal.
I don’t eat anything till lunchtime, which is again a light meal. It could be two or three chappatis with a vegetable curry or a non-vegetarian curry. No snacks till dinner. Between the two meals, I drink about two more bottles of water. Dinner is early, at about 7.30 p.m. The last thing I do is eat one raw garlic before I go to bed -- it is good for the heart as it helps control cholesterol and makes the blood more vital. After brushing my teeth, it is lights out by 10 or 10.30 p.m.
Except for no milk or sugar with my tea or coffee, I have no diet restrictions. I love eating sweets, and would rather get my quota of sugar by eating something sweet! I don’t say no to any food; I eat what I like. The key, however, is that I eat at the same time daily, and I eat moderate quantities of food.
By following this regimen, I have lost 10 kilograms in 10 months.
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