Her smile and energy were infectious. She had an insatiable appetite for life. She could go to great lengths to turn the tide in her favour and always achieved whatever she wanted, anyhow. Such was her charm that one chat with her and she could get an admirer for life! She justified and lived the word ‘cheerful’ in every way. She was my mother.
One would assume that such a positive and happy soul would have a healthy heart too, right? So did us. For someone like her who had battled diabetes for almost 20 long years, eating healthy and staying fit came naturally. She had amazing control over her temptations and never missed her hour-long evening walk.
It hence came as a rude shock to us when following sudden palpitation and restlessness she had to be admitted to the hospital. After a series of tests we were informed that her heart wasn’t doing all that well and only after an angiography could the severity of the matter be ascertained. What followed after that was more tests and more rounds of the hospital. Long story short, she had to undergo an angioplasty and within six months, a bypass surgery.
Up until then, the concept of being heart-healthy had never crossed our minds. It was all about getting to the ideal weight and working hard to maintain the magic figure on the weighing scale. We ate in moderation, avoided high calorie and junk food and never skipped our daily workout regimen. Yet, was there something we had turned a blind eye to?
Looking back at it now, I seem to have the answer. It takes the combined effect of a sedentary lifestyle, a stressed professional or personal life, the not heeding the subtle signs of our body, the baseless belief that ‘nothing can happen to me’ or sometimes, simply taking our health for granted, that can give even the best of us those fancy-sounding but certainly undesirable heart problems.
It is amazing how the simplest changes in our lifestyle can work wonders for our health. Here are my tips for the #ChhoteKadam you can easily take to make living a healthy, fit and happy experience.
- Staying fit
If a free morning walk seems like a deterrent for your sleep, enrol yourself in a gym nearby. Hopefully, the hefty membership fees will be enough motivation! 🙂 Breathing exercises don’t just improve the oxygen supply in your blood; they also help in bringing about positivity in you. They hardly take time and can be done anytime, anywhere. Meditation is good for stress-removal and should be made a practice for heart-health.
- Eating better
You can begin with something simple, but very significant, like choosing the right oil for cooking. Try opting for fresh fruits or juices instead of packaged ones. It will also be helpful if you can identify good and bad carbohydrates and plan your meals accordingly. Medicines or supplements, if any, must be taken only after consulting a certified practitioner.
- Being happy
Work drains the energy out of you while family time infuses it back. Try not to be on call 24*7 for work and spend as much time as possible with your loved ones. Engage in activities that cater to your creative needs. There’s nothing more fun than ditching being matured all the time. Laugh your heart out. Goof up. Be a child. 😀
There isn’t any particular age when we need to start looking after ourselves. Start today. Life can throw any surprises at us, and being prepared for it is the least we can do! Isn’t it?
“I am joining the Saffolalife #ChhoteKadam initiative in association withBlogAdda and follow these small steps for a healthy heart.”