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TEN LIFESTYLE CHANGES FOR 2011

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The New Year is a good time to make resolutions, and with life-style diseases having emerged as the major threat to our lives, it is time we usher in changes that would ensure health and happiness in the times ahead.
1.    Weight watch. Once the new year partying gets over, check your weight and calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI). You can find a calculator on the website http://www.gastroindia.net/. Make sure you keep your BMI between 20 and 23.5.
2.     Exercise. Regular exercise of atleast 30 minutes a day has emerged as a key factor to good health. Draw up a routine that lets you achieve that through walking, cycling, running, swimming or dancing. Small measures like taking the stairs at the mall or office rather than the escalator, parking a little distance and walking the rest of the way could be simple supplementary measures.
3.     Eat right. Cut down on fast foods to no more than once a week and soft drinks to not more than 3 times a week. Avoid red meat, fried and greasy food, sweets and ice creams. Make sure you have green veggies and fruits atleast 3 times a day (WHO recommends 5 portions of fruits a day!). Add a dash of fibre to your daily diet.
4.     Road safety. Switch off your mobile while driving and make it a habit to wear your helmet or seat belt. Make sure your children wear helmets while riding 2 wheelers. Many precious lives were lost in 2010 due to this oversight.
5.     De-stress your self. Periodic destressing is essential if you wish to forge ahead in life. A car that is not serviced and tuned periodically does not run long. Try meditating for 10 minutes a day this year.
6.     Music. A daily diet of soothing music could do wonders to your mood, attitude, concentration and performance. Make sure you get enough of oit this year. (see related article on the blog)
7.    Hobbies.  Develop atleast 2 hobbies this year. Hobbies protect you from getting obsessed and weighed down with worries of home, children, work and finance.
8.    Family and Friends. Connect with old friends and relatives and spend qulaity time with them. In the daily hustle we often forget those who matter most in our lives and fail to renew our emotional energy from them.
9.    Quit tobacco.. Tobacco causes too many health problems for which you have to pay a heavy price later on. If atleast 5 Bollywood biggies could quit smoking in 2010, why can’t you? If you need help see the related article on the blog.
10.  Overcome negative emotions. They really weigh us down. Like birds let us leave behind what we don’t need to carry – grudges, sadness, pain, fear and regrets. Let us enter the New Year with positive feelings.
For previous articles by the author, visit the blog http://www.healthaddaindia.blogspot.com/.
As published in HT City (Hindustan Times) dated 2 January 2011.
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