Why you should focus on these five basic health measures to remain fit

Beyond health trends aimed at women, there’s much value to focusing on the basics

Women always live with the pressure of looking a certain way, and end up trying out with fad diets (present company included) that deplete more than nourish, add more than subtract. Suman Agarwal, one of the OG nutritionists in the city, has always been on the side of nutrition rather than deprivation, and has helped women lose up to 50 kg just by regulating eating habits. Agarwal simplifies it for us: “There are four pillars of nutrition that stand on the bedrock of adequate sleep.”

The obvious
Dessert, ice-cream, cupcakes, fried foods, potatoes—are the obvious foods to avoid and she cautions against our usual “thoda sa toh hai” sentiment. “If you must eat desserts, I would recommend Indian ones since items such as besan and coconut laddu have more nutritional value than, say, a cupcake. A sweet dish made with dates has fibre and antioxidants,” she says.

Exercise
While automobiles might have contributed to the advancement of the human race, Agarwal feels the damage to our daily movement is detrimental. “At least 30 minutes is the bare minimum we should exercise in our sedentary lives,” she insists. The type of exercise should be customised for each person.

Four meals, four hours apart
Though intermittent fasting and deprivation dictate current eating habits, Agarwal is a firm believer in Indian meal times set between sunrise and sunset. “Breakfast between 9 to 10 am, lunch at 1 pm, snack at 4 pm and most Indians eat dinner before 9 pm—this gives us gaps of four hours between meals, which is essential for a healthy metabolism,” she says Agarwal places importance on a 12-hour gap between 9 pm and 9 am—the last meal of the day and first meal of the day after.

REM cycle
Sleep is the foundation for these pillars, because the lack of it would mean no energy to exercise, or even just make it through the day, “If we skip on well-rested sleep, we’re more likely to reach for sugary drinks and snacks, which only make things worse,” she says, adding that a six to seven-hour sleep cycle is mandatory.

Diet
“A balance of protein, fat, carbs and fibre,” says Agarwal, repeating what we all know. Every meal must have all these elements in small quantities as each serves a purpose. Many experience muscle loss when on fad diets. “Carbs in the form of wheat are essential, even though it has been getting flak of late,” she says.

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