It’s a common excuse that most of us give for not working out. Most of the time the excuse is about having too much work in the office and so no time for workouts or exercise. Working women crib about spending time at work, managing the house and children and therefore no time for their exercise. Housewives complain that they have so much work at home that many say that their exercise is all about ‘household work’ that they do as housewives. None of this is really true. Though I agree that housewives have enough work to do at home, it cannot be equated to physical exercise. None of the housewives of our generation really have to sweep or mop the floor! Only when you are doing this, can you be excused from doing any other exercise! Working women certainly have to plan their day well as they have to balance home and work and their own personal space. However, in both cases, it’s more to do about ‘priority’ and ‘mindset’ than really about time. If one gives priority to exercise, no matter how much work you have as a housewife or a working woman, you will certainly burn out those calories. It’s also about mindset! Whether one really wants to give time to exercise?
Along with exercise, it’s also about food that you eat. We all know during festival times there should not be any restriction on what food you eat. One must thoroughly enjoy food that one likes and also enjoy sweets. However, during other times, we as women have to certainly watch what we eat. Women need to ensure a good dose of vitamins and calcium. We also need to be conscious of Vit D which has gained much more important than before. Women, who have lost a lot of Calcium after childbearing and have not replenished it well, certainly need doses of calcium and Vit D to keep their bones and heart strong.
Women also need to ensure good protein intake. With workouts, one has to ensure adequate intake of proteins either through pulses and soya in the case of vegetarians or animal proteins in the case of non-vegetarians. One egg if not every day, at least 3 times a week can be a good substitute.
Drinking a good quantity of water is also essential. Women are prone to urinary tract infections because of the short urethra that they have and therefore 3 litres of water on a normal day is essential. Consumption of an adequate quantity of water also makes the skin look healthy.
Women tend to ignore their nutrition in pursuit of feeding their children and husband. One must understand that a woman is the nucleus of the family and is always at centre stage. She cannot afford to fall ill as when she does, the whole family becomes unstable.
Therefore women of all ages must ensure that they eat a good diet, drink lots of water and regular exercise!
Finally, the guilt of having eaten so many sweetmeats during Diwali also needs to be washed out, isn’t it??