Task 4: Five point plan to improve health and fitness without disturbing other routines

In the last four weeks, I have added about four kilos of additional me to myself. I sprained my back because I tried to lift my 8 year old for a photo. My cravings for sugar have sky rocketed. I am not sure I can sprint for 200 metres without collapsing my lungs! This is not me and it seems my daily routine as it stands, seems to be making me productive and a good dad, but definitely taking a toll on my health.

So, I want to find a solution to this and get back to being my fit self again. I am setting myself a four week target of losing the extra ‘me’ I am lugging around. But that really is the outcome. What I need now are some simple and small changes in lifestyle that can bring about some substantial improvement in my health and fitness level.

Here is daily five point plan to help me reclaim good health and fitness in the next 4 weeks:

1. Move more, walk 10000 steps each day
   • Take stairs to work & home (for me it’s a 10 floors climb to work)
   • Walk while taking calls
   • Brisk walk in the evening to complete the remainder steps
2. Start the day with exercise. Warm up and do 12 Suryanamaskars or Sun Salutations each morning ( takes just 15 min)
3. Stay hydrated
   • Drink 8 glasses of warm water during the day
   • Drink 2 mugs of Green tea in office (replacing milk tea/coffee)
4. Eat right
   • Include a portion of fruits or Salad in the meal
   • Avoid dessert and wheat for dinner
   • Eat only till I am 80% full.
5. Rest well. Catch a good 8 hours sleep at night.

I know for sure that if I attempt doing anything radical like joining a cult fitness club or buy a new bicycle or start playing a new sport, it will not be sustainable. So, I have decided to start with nothing radical and take little steps without disturbing the rest of my routines.

Let’s see how this goes and I will post again on how the results unfold by Christmas!

Update: Its been 2.5 months I ve been conscious of my health, paying attention to it and working on it as discussed in the blog post. Let’s say I followed the 5-point routine well for 75%-80% of the days. Today I weigh 2.2 Kgs less, feel much lighter and better. Planning to shed 2 more more kilos, adding 2 days/wk of lifting weights. Weekly Sleep score target >80.

Update: Jan 21, 2020