It was 10:00 pm and I finished reviewing my daily fitness and wellness plan to keep a track of the progress of my health and fitness. I felt elated as I marked the checklist of actions. As I was about to put my phone in silence mode to mark the end of the day, my phone buzzed. Wondering about who called me so late, I picked the phone. On the other side was my dear friend and client Pinky (name changed). She was a bit panic and distressed. She said,” Hey Yukti, I am trying my best, still I feel like giving up. I think I can never achieve my fitness goal and feel healthy and fit ever.”
As I assessed her daily physical activities, I realized that the problem lies in not what she was doing for her physical fitness and health but the unhealthy habits she wasn’t able to get rid of.
As we build healthy habits, it’s equally important to give up unhealthy habits else the benefit of physical activities will be nullified…!
Here I am sharing the Top 7 unhealthy habits to keep a check as you continue to follow your physical fitness and wellness plan. You can certainly reap more health benefits by simply giving up these unhealthy habits.
Top 7 unhealthy habits – QUIT to ensure your overall health & fitness
1. Binge Eating
One of the unhealthiest habits is certainly binge eating. This eating excessive disorder is very difficult to cope up with as it is related to psychology too. People under stress tend to binge eat. It has been found that the increase in cortisol hormones, causes binge eating.
How it harms:
People with binging habits, tend to put on weight as they tend to eat a lot of junk food. This invites a lot of physical and mental ailments and lifestyle-related diseases.
So even if you are working out a lot in gym and burning calories, all your efforts towards your physical fitness will be nullified if you have binge eating habit that you innocently ignore by saying to yourself-, “ Only this time, let me binge.”
How to curb it
If you identify yourself as a binge eater, taking professional help is recommended. Besides you can set up a combination of workout routine ( yoga, meditation, nirvana fitness, breathing techniques, jogging, running, swimming, gym) to start with. Once you increase the level of physical activities, you become conscious of not putting more weight and thus you develop the habit of conscious and mindful eating.
Eating slow and mindfully helps a lot.
Follow the mantra by R. Madhavan, “Drink your food and chew your water.”
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has been found as an effective way of treating excessive eating disorders.
2. Lethargic attitude towards exercise
Are you someone who struggles to stick to the fitness regime?
Are you someone who miss the workout and feel guilty later?
Having a laid back attitude towards exercise, deprive you of the benefits of physical fitness and good health.
An active body breathe workout (such as Nirvana Fitness) in the morning ensures proper blood circulation throughout the body, burn calories, tone and strengthens the muscle, ensures the optimum level of cell oxygenation in the body.
How this lethargic attitude harms:
You tend to lose your muscles and prone to put on weight. You may develop a low immune system, breathing issues, lifestyle disorders, and many more.
How to stick with a health & fitness regime:
Start with a positive intention to follow a fitness routine.
- Join nearby fitness classes.
- Be shameless to ask your fitness instructor to push you.
OR
- Have an accountability partner.
- Take a 30 Days Fitness challenge.
- Create a fitness regime.
- Do give yourself rewards every week after the successful completion of a weekly regime task.
- Assign yourself the consequences, if you are unable to finish the weekly tasks.
In short, YOU ARE YOUR OWN BOSS..
3. High Screen Time
Watching TV, Mobile, gaming for long hours impacts our body and mind hugely. Being in the same position for a long time affects our postures.
How it harms:
we tend to adapt improper body postures, backache issues, weak eyesight, dry eyes, reduced attention span, screen apnoea (tendency to hold the breath or breathe shallow when you work on electronic devices/ screen) and other lifestyle-related diseases.
How to Quit:
- Prioritize your work and fix your screen time.
- Indulge in outdoor activities.
- Avoid carrying mobiles when you go out for a walk.
- Spend some time with yourself completely without any electronic device.
- Do exercises (Eye, neck shoulder, hands, wrist, legs) at regular intervals while engaged on screen.
4. Grabbing any food that sounds healthy
With companies promoting zero calories, low-fat chips, juices, baked products, we usually have this tendency of picking up such items to justify our inner voice to stay healthy.
IT’S TIME TO FACE TRUTH.
How it harms:
Ignorance is harmful. Low fat, low-calorie claims are very much misleading as it is relative and may be applicable to only one or two nutrients. The so-called protein powders /shakes and their compositions can at times be misleading.
How to curb:
There is nothing better than having fresh foods rather than processed food. To overcome this habit requires a lot of self-discipline. As we all are in lockdown now due to COVID19, we can certainly practice and train our mindset to eat freshly cooked food and stay away from processed food.
5. Skimping on Sleep
Are we taking our sleep for granted and pushing ourselves for more wake-up hours?
The reason could be work, watching TV, late-night movies or partying. If it is a regular affair then you seriously need to look in.
How it harms:
When deprived of sleep, our body did not get sufficient time to repair cells and heal. This leads to a lot of physical and mental issues such as headache, body ache, distress, obesity, hunger pangs, reduced focus, and many more.
How to overcome:
Engage in a bedtime routine. You can choose your own bedtime routine (take a shower, read a book, meditate and so on.)
6. Insufficient water intake
Our body is 70% water. Water is essential for the overall functioning of our body. It maintains body temperature, absorbs nutrients, converts food into energy, keeps skin hydrated, ensures blood circulation, and so on.
How insufficient water intake harms:
In absence of adequate water, our body is not able to throw out toxins and causes lifestyle-related diseases such as obesity, digestive problems, tiredness, bad breath, aching joints, headache, and so on.
How to make water intake a habit:
- Keep a water bottle near to your working area.
- Take the help of apps or simply use the alarm as a reminder to drink water at regular intervals.
7. Biting Nails:
Yes, we may not realize, however, nail-biting is one of the most unhealthy habits.
How it harms:
It causes infections and indigestion issues, broken and unkempt nails.
How to Quit:
Exercising, control, or engage mind when you tend to do nail-biting. Put a nail paint with a bitter taste nail paint, try it..!
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-Yukti Raj Kishore
Women Wellnesspreneur
Certified Flow Coach & NIrvana Fitness Ambassador & Instructor
