Comment: Living well

How to adjust to a healthy lifestyle.

We often hear about the lack of ‘healthy’ options when it comes to food or exercise, but there are ways one can make small changes to adjust to a ‘healthier’ lifestyle.

We love our curries, red meat and white-flour naans but if you ask a qualified nutritionist, they would tell you that nothing is remotely healthy in that meal. There is too much fat and oil and white flour, which is a total no no. When we look into our households, the concept of having good portions of fresh fruits and salads is hardly there. For an agri-based nation, the access to fresh produce is scarce — and yes, no one really cares about the ‘whole grain’ tag. We are happy with our white breads. There are plenty of  fast food options out there to satisfy our appetites.

However, while the food situation is not very optimistic from a health perspective, the lack of physical exercise is just a cherry on top. Most of us follow a sedentary lifestyle where physical movement is restricted to the walk towards the conveyance and back, whether it is a car or a public transport. The lack of parks and recreation (there is a great show by that name), adds to our physical miseries. So what is it that we do in order to counter that? There are a number of changes we can make to move towards a healthier lifestyle. However, these days, fitness has a bill that many may not be able to foot.

The fitness centres or gyms that have sprung up recently are a testimony to the fact that people are getting inclined to try healthier options. Some of the top-rated ones include Structures and Shapes — both in Lahore and Karachi while Islamabad has its own share. Not everyone is able to afford either, some for the cost while others for the convenience. Generally, people don’t like to work hard for working out. Although, fitness should be a part and parcel of your routine life and something that you should be able to do on your own without much fuss, in the beginning, it is advisable to have a personal trainer who works with you every day on a set target.

However, the concept of fitness centres is rather new, so thinking about a personal trainer is even further removed from our regimen. We don’t want to invest in a trainer but it does make a lot of difference, at the same time, it does mean that you pay more. I think it is totally worth it. If you go abroad, physical fitness training is a profession, it is integrated into their lifestyles and a good trainer means that your fitness needs are taken care of.

While it is expensive here to subscribe a membership to a good gym and get personal fitness training, it is totally worth it. We spend a lot of money of a number of things but when it comes to our own body, we pull back thinking it is either unnecessary or just fluff. Besides there are plenty of economical options one can try. Some of the people I know go cycling in the morning while others like to run or jog. We just have to be a little careful of the security situation around us so it is better to walk in your surroundings.

Similarly, when it comes to opting for the right kind of food, we don’t make such a big effort. We are happy with our burgers and niharis — where all this food is good and we can have it once in a while or make healthy options from the same (by putting in less oil, going for chicken variants, add more vegetables etc), we also need to think about bringing a change into our daily food habits. Once you start eating right, you will start enjoying it as well. Good work out and diet not only makes you feel good but look good and adds to your confidence. May be its time we all bring about some changes in our lifestyles, start small and it won’t be long that you get used to living well.

The writer is a former print and broadcast journalist who has worked at The News and Geo TV.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 24^th, 2012.

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