Each of us has the most advanced machinery — our bodies. It comes with no guarantee, warranty or replacement options. However, it comes with a disclaimer, if you take care of it, it will flourish and last. If you have been working from home, follow these tips to build your immunity.
Avoid these red flags
Free workouts online: These are not built for your level and don’t increase in complexity over time. It allows us to pick the easiest one we find thereby, only giving us a feel-good factor.
Fad diets: Any diet that doesn’t fit into your normal food or has red flags like avoid rice, carbohydrates, detox, eat one meal, soup only etc., can have an adverse effect on your health and provide short-lived results and long-term issues.
Skip meals or remove carbs: Food is the fuel required for the body to function, just the basic functioning of our organs requires food.
Incorporate these
30 minutes of exercise: Ideally working with a professional is the best option to ensure you can progress over time and don’t get demotivated and discouraged. Given the constraints now, a dedicated regime at home comprising stretches and breathing exercises will be good.
Hydration: Our bodies are made predominantly of water. We often ignore thirst or mistake it for hunger, with the first signs of dehydration showing up as headaches. Ensure you drink 3 litres of water a day.
Nourish your body: We are what we eat, digest and absorb. Every morsel of food is broken down to build our cells, muscles regenerate our skin and hair. We are built by our food. How we function depends on how we eat, what we eat, when we eat and why we eat. Start off with ensuring your diet is predominantly whole grains, vegetables and lean protein.
Simple rule : The closer the food is to its normal form the better it is to eat. Think fresh banana over banana chips, sandwich over a bag of chips, homemade popcorn from scratch over a quick cooking packet.
Mind & body: One can’t be healthy without the other. The right food ensures we get the right amount of nutrients required for us to function at optimum. As we multi-task, fret and stress, we deplete our mind and body of energy. Spend at least 10 minutes a day doing something that consumes the mind but doesn’t involve screens. Be it 10 mins of meditation, journalling, reading, singing or just a warm shower. Take at least 10 minutes a day to relax your mind from the pressures of daily life. Do something you enjoy.
Recovery: Sleep is the best medicine. While we sleep our body works full time, repairing and regenerating. It is like charging your phone through the night. We need at least one hour of sleep for every two hours we are awake. The minimum being six hours of quality sleep a day. While this might seem daunting for few, a little planning goes a long way.
(The author is founder,
Nourish with Sim)