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Effective ways to healthy living
I get really inspired and pumped after reading hours worth of health-related articles, especially, the ones that carry the before-after transformations. While I plan/contemplate how I must get my act together, I realise that I have to spend a few hours sitting in front of a computer/phone, which is not THAT healthy, especially, if I am doing this every 10 days.
The 4 step "Get healthy" plan that doesn't require any motivation, equipment or time
I get really inspired and pumped after reading hours worth of health-related articles, especially, the ones that carry the before-after transformations. While I plan/contemplate how I must get my act together, I realise that I have to spend a few hours sitting in front of a computer/phone, which is not THAT healthy, especially, if I am doing this every 10 days.
Deja-vu haan! Several of us have done this, a thousand times only to find out (after a few days) that our plan was too good to followthrough. Don't worry; it is not you, it is your plan that sucks. In this particular case, a plan that can be easily weighted down by a lack of motivation is not a great plan.
Do not go after every health-hack online; if you are a regular smoker/drinker/binge-eater for the last 5-10 years, then going cold-turkey on that obsession is really not a full-proof plan. For the most of us, the motivation lasts for a few days and then we get back to our usual (unhealthy) way of life. Here's what I believe is the most effective plan in your journey to healthy living...
1 When your body is not asking for any food, don't give it any: Eat only and only when you are absolutely hungry. Surprisingly, a simple statement that seems like common sense, but it is so damn uncommon. Let me break it to you, most of our bodies are on auto-pilot, we don't feel hungry most of the times but we simply put food in our body because we (falsely) feel that 1 pm is the right time for having a sumptuous lunch.
Most of you readers have a control over when you can eat your meal/snacks. The meal timing, that is. So, just eat when you are hungry, not when it's time for breakfast/lunch/dinner. There is no reason why you need to eat at 8 am (Breakfast), 11 am (Snack), 1 pm (Lunch), 4 pm (Snacks), and 9 pm (Dinner). Simply put, the body releases acids in your stomach, which is used to digest the food that you put in. Also, if you have the same routine every day, you'll notice your body automatically triggers hunger at the same time every day.
2 Chew it, taste it, and only then gulp it: Everything you put in your stomach must be mixed with a good amount of saliva before it reaches your stomach.
We all feel bad when one guy in the team does not do his job and pushes unfinished work onto others in the team. Don't we? If you gulp food without making it a paste, you are giving more work to your stomach for no reason; your teeth is simply under-utilised.
So yeah, chew your food well and mix a lot of saliva in it before you gulp it. This applies to not just solid foods, even liquids. When you drink juices, taste it and in the due course, your saliva gets mixed in it. Also, understand that when you gulp your food, you eat faster and more volumes in a short period of time; however, when you chew properly before gulping, you eat an appropriate amount of food that your body needs and your body gets ample time to intimate when your stomach is full.
There are stories that you should apply saliva on wounds to de-germ or heal the wounds; the better use of your saliva is to apply it to your food that you are eating.
3 See and taste the food that you are eating: When you eat your food, make sure you are well aware of what you are eating and how it is tasting. We all eat our food while watching TV, talking to our friends, browsing our phones; and eating has simply become a job that we have to get over with.
Make and eat tasty food, and give it all your attention while eating it. I am not asking to fantasise about or thank your food while eating, that would be weird for sure. What I am saying is that when you think about the food you are giving it a good amount of your attention, which is found to be a great habit.
4 Don't drink water/soda/liquids 30 minutes before and after your meal: Remember the acids we just discussed earlier, when you put some 500 ml of water before having lunch, those acids become really, really sad and lose their purpose in life. LOL! A little sense of humour never hurt anyone!
Point blank, drinking water before or after a meal delays digestion that is not good for your health.
The point is not that you must not have any liquids, it is just that don't overdo the liquids before and after the meals. If you have to take a medicine just before your meal, you could do it with a sip of water. If you have some food item stuck in your food-pipe, you could take a few sips of water to clear it. No need for 500 ML of water at any point. By the way, if you chew it well enough (as discussed earlier), nothing will get stuck in your food-pipe.
Happy eating and staying healthy! No restrictions and no complex techniques. Simply, listening to your body is the key to good health. Note that these are not some scientifically proven things, these are completely logical things that I've found to have worked for several people. I have to mention this, these are the best FIRST steps to healthy living.
