Happy World Health Day 2022! Today I am sharing my personal 14 tips to live a holistic, sustainable diet. Give yourself 1 point of you incorporate these foods and activities everyday.
1. Hydrate
Have a minimum of 10 glasses of water everyday. If you are living in hot and humid climates, you would need more. In addition, if you exercise you will need to hydrate to replenish the lost fluids. The best way to check if you are hydrated is to compare your urine colour with a urine chart. The lighter the colour of the urine, the better is your hydration status.
2. Fruits
Have 2 fruits a day at breakfast or snack time. Choose different fruits throughout the week. A good tip when buying fruits or ordering online focus on different colors of fruits to nourish yourself with a variety of antioxidants.
3. Vegetables
The most basic and smart tip to ensure you are consuming enough vegetables is to first fill 1/2 your plate at every meal with vegetables. The next goal is to ensure you are eating a minimum of 4 – 6 different vegetables in a week.
4. Pulses, Dals and Spouts
When going plant-based, pulses, dals and sprouts are a good source of protein and fibre. Ensuring 1 cup at lunch and dinner will help you work towards meeting your protein requirement.
5. Wholegrains
Choose whole grains at all meals or at least 80% of the time. If you take a conscious decision to try and choose whole grains as often as possible, you will enjoy good gut health and with the right portions you can also achieve weight loss. In addition to all the above benefits, you will enjoy more vitamins and minerals as compared to refined grains.
6. Milk and milk products
You may choose animal milk or plan-based milk depending on your food tolerance and beliefs. 1 – 2 portions per day in the form of milk, curd, cottage cheese or cheese will nourish you and improve the satiety of a meal .
7. Nuts
1 small handful a day of plain, non – salted, non- sweetened, non-caramelized nuts are a great snack or addition to parfaits.
8. Seeds
Seeds are a powerhouse of nutrients and must be eaten in minute quantities. Sprinkle on food or choose a seed mix at snack times. Sprinkle at breakfast or on rotis or idls or dosa or salad and enjoy the crunchy source of minerals.
9. Oil or Ghee or Butter
Consuming the right portions of oil / ghee or butter is essential. the most common question is how much. The guidelines is no more than 1/2 litre per person per month or 3-4 tsp per day. However, if you do consume more meals outside then your oil or visible fat usage at home should be further minimized.
10. Aerobic Exercise
Exercising is the most wonderful activity you can gift yourself everyday with positive happy hormones. You can start with 30 minutes and gradually increase to 60 minutes a day if you are keen to shed some weight along with feeling light and energetic throughout the day.
11. Strength Training
Strength training is either using your own body weight or supplementary weights to help you focus on building muscle. Well everyone needs to build muscle not only body-builders. The higher our muscle mass the better the our metabolism. Focus on 1 muscle group twice a week or a full body workout twice a week under supervision is important to avoid injuries.
12. Yoga
Yoga is a union of body and mind. It helps improve flexibility, better sleep and your stress response. Doing yoga 3-5 times a week or a few stretches daily.
13. Meditation
A daily practice of meditation even with minimum 5 – 10 minutes a day of consistent practice will help you experience living in the present moment, be more mindful, focus on being more responsive rather than reactive, improved awareness of self and thoughts.
14. Journal
Journal your affirmations, gratitude and daily accomplishments or your thoughts for the day! As you begin living in gratitude you experience a changed perspective to situations as they no longer appear to be a problem but instead a small challenge that can definitely be overcome!
Give yourself 1 point of you incorporate these foods and activities everyday.. Let me know your score in the comments below
