New Year Resolution — Eat Lightly, Drink Moderately, Exercise Regularly and Make Friends Excessively!
It is the time for ‘new’ resolutions, every New Years Eve, and hope we have the resolute to follow it for more that 24 hours! Since I have spent most of vacation in Goa ‘contemplating’, I do feel like I have come up with a more meaningful resolution this year — Eat Lightly, Drink Moderately, Exercise Regularly and Make Friends Excessively!
Eat Lightly: I have realized over the years my waistline has been a good indicator for the need to eat lightly. Although we can blame evolution as one of the reasons for the weight problems we all have. Humans in the old times, had to store food in their body whenever possible, due to scarce food resources and the need to hunt/gather in order to have a meal. Therefore the ‘instinct’ within us is to store as much food as possible, in preparation for a ‘rainy day’. Now fast forward to 2011, there is easy access to food sources (a bit too much!), and our ‘brains’ have not yet adapted to put a stop to the ‘food instinct’. I have been on vacation this week and have looked at my own food habits; I have wondered did I need to have the extra order of ‘prawn rice’? But our eyes are sometimes bigger than the stomach. If the motivation to eat less is not that good an incentive; then do you want to live longer? There are several articles from well-known sources on the net that show the advantages of limiting our caloric intake. I am not proposing that we should all starve, but this year I want to practice…Eat to Live, NOT Live to Eat! Have to bid goodbye to my big Kodava diet – ‘Pandhi Curry’ and ‘Puttu’!
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=4509263&page=1
Drink Moderately: I do have to look into some research done with respect to Kodavas’s and their ability to ‘metabolize’ alcohol. If there was a record of sorts for most alcohol consumed at a wedding, the Kodava’s will probably be clear winners! Not saying that I am proud of this ability. I never used to consume any alcohol until I was at 25 years old, but over the years I sure have made up for the late start! As a matter of face a good fried had given me a beer mug — ‘Late Bloomer’ from ‘Four Courts’ Irish Pub in Washington DC. I do enjoy my beers and ‘Cuba Libre’, BUT I have realized that over the last couple of years, beer has become the staple drink of choice over water. I don’t think I am going to try anything drastic like stop drinking. However, I think I am going to moderate this. And I am extremely pleased that medical science is here on my side! What is the medical opinion on bhang & thandai? Seems to be deep rooted in festivals related to lord shiva and Holi! http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/InTheNews/MedicalReports/Longevity/1088617919.html : U.S. Government: Moderate Drinking Benefits Health!
Exercise Regularly: Enough said about this… I know exercise is good for you! And I am constantly reminded by my wife (who practices power yogay) of all the bollywood actors over 40 who are ‘chiseled’. I don’t think I am going to strive for the chiseled look… but will definitely go for more exercise this year. My idea of doing ‘bicep curls’ using the beer mug is going to cut it anymore! I am just lazy and make excuses for being very busy and no time to exercise. Therefore 2011, I intend to get off my butt and get into shape! Some good reading for anyone who believes that exercise is not good for the body.
http://www.muschealth.com/healthyaging/exerlonglife.htm: Exercise the Secret to Healthy Aging.
Make Friends Excessively: I was reading an article, ‘Having Friends is Key to a Long Life’. The article was about how multiple studies have shown that more friends you have, the lower the chance of dying. According to the research done in Australia found that older people who have what is defined as a “large circle of friends” are 22 percent less likely to die than those with a smaller number of friends. In 2006, a study of 3,000 women with breast cancer showed that those with more than 10 friends were four times less likely to succumb to the disease as those with no close friends. And, finally, a Swedish study has suggested having an expanding social circle significantly lowers the risk of heart disease. There is a good article in the NY Times –What Are Friends For? A Longer Life, by Tara Parker Pope. ‘http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/health/21well.html?_r=1’
Forget about all the research, I do believe that I am whom I am today because of having a good circle of friends. I always remember my father telling me to choose friends wisely, he used to say ‘Son, tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are’.
Looking forward to 2011, the year when I am going to eat lightly, drink moderately, exercise regularly and make FRIENDS EXCESSIVELY!