The world today is more health-conscious than ever before.
More and more people want to get fit.
The sale of gym memberships, online classes, fitness equipment, and health supplements is soaring.
Fitness is now an industry and it is booming.
The scale is unprecedented.
That’s great, isn’t it?
Far from it.
There is a difference between wanting to ‘get’ fit and wanting to ‘stay’ fit.
It is easy to confuse one for the other.
Getting fit is short-term, a goal.
Staying fit is long-term, a lifestyle.
Getting fit is about achieving a certain state of fitness.
In some ways, it speaks of a misplaced sense of priority in the past and the unfavorable state you are in right now.
Staying fit is about maintaining a certain state of fitness for a lifetime.
It speaks of the dedication and consistency that went into it.
Here are 5 things for you to get fit and stay fit, without going on a diet ever:
Sip and Shut Up
We know Yoga (Yog).
We know ‘how’ to breathe.
Practicing yoga, or any rigorous physical activity improves our breathing for maximum efficiency.
But most of us do not know ‘why’ to breathe (except for being alive).
One of the reasons to breathe efficiently is how it improves stamina.
Breathing needs to be ‘practiced’.
Try to do something rigorous for a minute while holding your breath.
I guarantee you will come out with a newfound respect for the power of breathing.
You should breathe in through the nose and not the mouth.
It helps in regulating the temperature and moisture in the nasal pathways.
It also builds stamina.
The next time you are doing your exercise, drink a sip of water and shut your mouth.
Hold the water in your mouth throughout any given set.
This will force you to breathe in and out through your nose.
I promise you it will feel odd tomorrow.
But I also promise you crazy stamina within a few weeks.
Be a Cow
Cows chew a lot.
Almost all the time.
Sure, they ruminate, and we can’t.
At least, we can chew more.
Chewing well is an important first step in digestion.
The saliva contains enzymes that start digesting carbs.
The more you chew, more the time for the enzymes to do their work.
Better digestion, lesser the food you need as a result.
Sleep Hungry
Hundreds of research have proven how fasting benefits health in so many ways.
The same is the case with sleeping hungry.
It allows the organs time to rest and replenish their digestive resources.
It also allows us to have longer fasts and fewer calories as a result.
But those are not the only reasons to sleep hungry.
While most of us have big fat meals near sleep, there are millions around the world, still, who can’t afford that.
They go to bed hungry.
To that end, take it up as a resilience-building challenge.
More P.F.W.
The first three things were about how to train, drink, sleep and eat.
The next two are simple formulae to decide what to eat.
P.F.W. stands for Protein, Fibre, Water.
Protein and Fibre keep you full and require more water.
More water makes you full.
So if a food is high on protein, fiber, and water (combination can vary), have more of it, worry less.
Note that most natural sources of fiber are carbs, but that isn’t as much of a concern as the following.
Less F.S.S.
F.S.S. stands for Fat, Salt, and Sugar.
Fat is the densest of all macros in terms of calories, with over twice as many calories as Protein and Carbs.
Salt causes you to retain water.
Sugar raises glucose levels in your blood, and retains water four times its weight.
Individually, they aren’t big problems.
Together, they make the food addictively tasty.
That…is a deadly combination for obesity (the reason why fast foods are rich in F.S.S.)
So if a food is high in fat, salt, and sugar, avoid it, and have less of it.
So now you know the five things.
Stick to them for life and stay in shape without a diet, forever.