Some Simple Tips To Stay Healthy
1140 days ago“I am a small small small small bird. I try to fly but cannot fly very high.” – A mandarin song just waiting to be made fun of.
First of all, I am not a health expert. And secondly I am not some fitness instructor or some extremely muscular guy who everyone envies and tries their best to be like. I am just a skinny fellow who happened to fall very ill a few months back and now I am attempting to nurse myself back to health. I must say it was not easy. Just imagine falling ill with a high fever, cough, cold and all the crap that comes with it and now trying my best to get into some resemblance of health. Yes, I am not fit to begin with but I am not that kind that falls ill easily. In fact, my company even gave me monetary award for not taking a single day of sick leave for 3 straight years. But recently, that has not been the case. I guess that is the problem when we get older – our immune system slows down and we get sick much easier. Plus everyday I spend my time in the comforts of the air-conditioned office and the only time I leave the office is for lunch and when I return home. Basically that’s life me for too. I go to work and then return home, mentally tired and just wanting to relax. Yes, you know the feeling right? Most of us Singaporeans are in the exact same boat as me. Stress, long working hours, our social life and so on, just makes us want to return home and sit on the sofa to watch some TV. We hardly exercise at all. And how about our diet. Just look around Singapore, everywhere is fried oily food and if you think of eating fresh food, we just have to look at our wallet. And sad to say, the quality of food in Singapore is so bad that only fried oily stuff can mask the horrid taste.
Anyway, if you are thinking of some simple and easy ways to stay healthy, I have some tips ready for you. It is not that difficult to follow. I mean if I can follow them, so can you. Most of them just requires barely 15 minutes of your time per day as I understand that most of us are just too busy. So here goes:
- The problem with Singapore is that we can’t easily find healthy food. Sure there are some specialty stores here and there but they do cost a bomb which makes it beyond the means of most Singaporeans. I have a simple suggestion for you. Eat different variety of food! You don’t have to eat fried rice everyday right (even though Singapore is supposed to be fried rice paradise)? How about eating more green vegetables with your economic rice today? How about tofu? How about eating fish ball noodle & soup? How about Bian Mian? They may not be that tasty but eating a big variety of foodstuff provides you with the different nutrients your body needs to stay healthy. You don’t need expensive organic milk just to stay healthy just a good moderate diet.
- Eat fresh foods is better than eating processed foods. Well fresh fruits and vegetables are not that expensive. In fact if you look around the markets you can find them pretty easily and cheaply. Fruits can keep for days in the fridge, so buy in bulk to save money and store in your home.
- Exercise. When I reach home, all I want to do is to rest or sleep. Seriously, most of us are so stressed and overworked that we just don’t have the energy to exercise. Well, try my method. Stop a bus stop before your actual stop and walk the rest of the way. Hey, it is just one stop and the little exercise you get is good for you, especially before a meal. If you are trying to exercise, try to get a friend or a family member to go along with you. That way, you guys can motivate each other as we tend to give up exercising even before we begin. Even a slow stroll around your block is better than sitting in your living room eating potato chips.
- Sleep early. No kidding. Sleeping early really helps. Of course, this is not always possible due to work or family commitments. The best is to try. You feel refresh when you have enough sleep and you are ready for the day’s work when you awaken. If you have problems sleeping, try to relax by reading a book or listening to nice smoothing music before sleeping. I used to have problems sleeping at night but I solved that by relaxing myself at night. That means no more computer games before I sleep.Try to find a rhythm for your body to relax and stick to it.
- Learn to relax. Singapore is a very stressful and unforgiving place. It has gotten much worse in the past few years. But there is nothing we can do about it, so why worry? Relax and enjoy your life. Read a book, watch a movie, go out with your friends and visit the zoo. Or just get a hobby. Do you like stamps? Well, you can collect stamps and become a nerd. Or if you are like me, you can make yogurt. I enjoy making yogurt and I of course like yogurt. It makes me happy to see yogurt being made my yours truly.
- Breathing Exercises. They are simple, fast and effective. Just breathe deeply in through your nose, hold for about 5-6 seconds and exhale through your mouth. Do this about 4 times in succession. You will find your body more relax and energetic after that. I normally do this about 2-3 times per day.
Well, these are some of my tips to stay healthy. Yes, they are pretty general but I guess they have helped me a lot. Hopefully they will help you too.
