The Healthy Calling

Being health conscious has an optional flavor in our country.  In western countries, staying healthy is an integral part of daily living.  My first stint in becoming health conscious started during my MS days in USA. Motivation? Everyone around me looked fit, so I decided to get in shape, look and feel good about myself, and merge with the crowd.  But I let go of the regime when I settled down with a job. Years later, I again became health conscious when I got engaged. This time, the driving force was the urge to look good for my fiancée. Then once I got married and relocated to India, I let it go again!

Soon the sedentary life style kicked in, and before I realized, I had put on 20 pounds! A few years back, I fell very ill and in the tests that followed, I was diagnosed with high cholesterol.  That was a wake-up call for me! What good is any form of success that is not accompanied by a healthy mind and body?  I decided to hit the gym again with a high degree of cardio workout including treadmill and squash coupled with a stringent diet. Within months, I had shed those extra pounds, but I had also lost a lot of muscle weight in the process. So, I started a weight-training regime and took high-protein diet to build back the lost muscles.

Now, exercising and a balanced diet have become an integral part of my lifestyle—just like brushing teeth and bathing. I work out before my breakfast and follow it religiously irrespective of the time I go to bed. They say “happy” chemicals released during exercise are known to have strong effects on a person’s temperament, such as reducing anxiety and depression.  Experts also concur that exercise disciplines the mind and the body and helps let go of the casual “chalta hai” attitude in life when we are up against tough situations. I agree.

I know I am never going to let go of this third spell. Reason?  This time I did it for myself and not for others!  And that, my friends, is the power of our own calling…