How do I know if I am making progress towards my wellness journey?
Who is your life partner? Hope you realise that it's your “body”. You take care of your body and the body will take care of you. Your “body” is the only thing that will stay with you from birth to death. What’s most important is to know how well you are nourishing your systems for better health and investing for a lifetime.
Having been through the transformation journey - of being extremely obese at 88 kgs and now at 74, what kept me motivated were primarily two factors - the increasing energy levels and the knowledge about how “my” bodily system functions. My energy level was a primary indicator of metabolism for that day. Hence, the drive to workout or run was an after effect of my increased zeal and vitality. The learning about the human body never ends and the research in this domain is totally worth it, because, remember - the only thing that will remain with us till we live is our body, period.
Having interacted with fitness freaks I discovered that each one of them has a high degree of knowledge about our bodily functions, while most other people miss this aspect. Blindly following a checklist without gaining knowledge about food and your body, is not going to be a worthwhile journey for sure.
Read a lot about the human body, because it is the most wonderful and complex system on the planet. If medicos are trying to cure you, self-learning will prevent you from sickness.
Here are few top hacks to know if you are heading in the right direction:-
Waking up fresh is a positive indicator. If you are waking up tired, your gut was probably busy digesting food while you were asleep and your body didn’t receive adequate rest during the night. Try early dinner, by chewing more.
Cravings need to stop. It's not about your willpower, it's about the hormonal imbalance. Food/Sugar cravings, esp in evenings are an indicator of hormone imbalance. A right diet (that suits your body) will balance the two hunger hormones - leptin and grehlin. If these two are imbalanced, cravings are a given. Read more about “hunger hormones” if you want to solve your craving problem.
You cannot have regular bloating & indigestion. This is a key indicator for ill health. The root cause can vary from food allergies, lactose/gluten intolerance, weak digestive system, low stomach acid and more.. Solve this through experiments and you know that you are heading right.
You have the desired energy to workout and need not push yourself. Your drive is directly proportional to your metabolism.
You can do a 30, 60, 90…. seconds plank and your "body core" supports you. Can you try this out and share your feedback?
- Karthik