Many of us lead sedentary lifestyles, not by choice, but by default. We are part of the rat race, going through the mill of long working hours plus the slow advance of vehicular traffic on the roads.
To avoid traffic jams, we left home at dawn and discovered that many others have the same thought. At the office we sit hunched over in our chairs staring at the computer screen, attending seemingly endless meetings, grabbing a fast food lunch, and getting back into our routine.
At the end of the day, we stay in the office longer to avoid the reverse jam. If it rains, the trip home takes another two hours. Held captive in our cars, there is nothing we can do but sit back and crawl along with the rest. Once home, we sink gratefully into our comforts.
What’s new? Day after day it is the same and more of the same. This sedentary lifestyle is leading us to a future plagued with serious health problems. We can expect obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and high blood pressure.
We are so pressured for time that engaging in healthy physical activities and healthy eating habits is a distant dream. Now what about the weekends, you may venture to ask. Well, what about that?
Weekends are for doing household chores that have been suspended on weekdays, shopping for groceries, and, if you have children, precious family time to spend with them. Or it could just be sleeping late and watching TV, two more sedentary habits that hurt us when we need to be active.
Is there a way out of this lifestyle trap?
Yes, we need to list the main problems that will soon affect our health. First is the lack of exercise because there is no time to do it. Second is the fast food lunch that we swallow, mainly because it is convenient and fast. Both have made us overweight, if not obese. Third, there will be juggling between housework and family time.
Lack of exercise can be easily addressed. If our office is on the fifth floor, we can go up instead of taking the elevator. In this way, we work our muscles and our heart. This will keep us healthy if we do it daily. It will also strengthen our bones and increase bone density so that we do not develop osteoporosis. We start to lose bone density once we hit thirty. Loss of bone density makes our bones brittle and any falls will result in fractures. Walking and climbing stairs will strengthen our bones and tone our muscles as well. We will also lose weight and become healthier.
Eating calorie-laden fast food and consuming carbonated beverages has resulted in being overweight. Being overweight is not healthy and we need to lose excess weight if we do not want to develop diseases such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. We can avoid unhealthy fast food and lose weight if we prepare our own lunch from home. This would be a healthier alternative to hamburgers and fries. A whole meal sandwich with egg, tomato, and salad plus a fruit for dessert is healthy and won’t clog our arteries or make us overweight and obese. We can vary the sandwiches with different fillings such as tuna, sardines or salmon. Salads can be very filling if you include lots of dark leafy greens. Homemade noodles are healthier, since we can choose healthy ingredients and use less oil when frying or cooking them in another style. Drinking lots of water is also very healthy and can also relieve hunger pangs.
Juggling household chores is not that difficult if we manage time skillfully. A division of labor with our spouse handling some tasks while we do others and if our children can help, fit them together and make it a fun activity for them to enjoy doing. As for food shopping, we can make it a family outing. Have the children suggest what they would like to see on their menu. This is a great opportunity to teach them about healthy food, label reading, etc.
The remaining time can be devoted to family activities such as sports. We can go swimming, bike riding or even dance to music. These are healthy activities that will bring the family together.
There are many ways to overcome lifestyle problems. Brainstorming, asking for suggestions, and good time management will go a long way toward making life more enjoyable and ensuring good health and reducing the risk of developing serious diseases as we age.
