By Joel B. Belinan
This is the time of year when again, we hear those resolutions which we hear year in and year out. Undoubtedly, the past three weeks or so were the unhealthiest parts of the year for most of us. Incredible as it is despite the economic crises most of us have been confronting, the past holiday season like in past years was the time when parties and events happened. Almost everyone indulged in too much eating to include those so-called health-conscious and even vegetarians like me. Am sure almost everyone gained weight.
I am not making this up just because of my engagement in fitness programs but it is a reality and needs to be said. Talking of fitness I am surprised that the usual surge of people flocking to the parks and open spaces or running on roads and trails were not visible this time. From my observation, the number of people and even the faces were almost the same as those we usually met in the park and when we were on the roads running. I am not aware though how things were in the gyms. Some might argue that getting into sports and fitness exercises is not a guarantee and may even cite some cases of avid sportsmen dying from stroke or heart attack. Such arguments though are the kind that is not worth giving attention to. As health experts often say, there is no 100% guarantee for health as we cannot control everything in our lives.
Going back to exercising, in the early morning of January 1, (as my usual routine every New Year and Christmas day) I went for a road run despite a very short sleep. Running and getting tired would always help me recover faster as I could later catch a nap during the day. And guess what; running during those two important dates is very leisurely. Not many cars are on the road even as late as 7.30 AM Only a few runners could be seen which was expected. Of course, I didn’t have a training session during those two days. But on the following days we immediately resumed our routine and as I said above, what I had in the training session were the same people.
Here is the thing with our body, what we usually accumulated as extra weight and fats in a very short period like the past holiday season would take much longer to lose in whatever health and fitness program we are in. “We enjoy eating to our stomachs’ content and the consequences are some hardships and effort to regain our ideal fitness and health”. There is no shortcut as a multi-billionaire used to say, if there is a pill that can just solve this type of health and fitness problem I will buy it. But the reality is none. All those who claim to reduce weight, and burn fats without the need to sweat it out are just big talkers who just want to empty our pockets. Hence, while I am not a health expert, to me there is no substitute to real discipline, watching our eating habits, and, yes, attitudes towards life.
And so for those resolutions, we should have the determination to follow them. It may not be that easy. You might fall from time to time but again you should stand up and get back towards your self-appointed goal for your health. Despite many unavoidable circumstances if we focus, we might arrive in New Year 2024 much healthier. And the biggest beneficiary would always be us and not someone else. Remember, Health is Wealth. **
