tales of Suchita

I am fat so you can imagine that everyone – EVERYONE – has an opinion on my health, fitness, eating habits and what I can / should do or not do. But thanks to my prickly personality, the only person who gets to hear these opinions is my mother and not me.

Since I had a health crisis two years ago though, I have started to take this business of health rather seriously. And since I have spent more than a year under the supervision of a trainer, I feel uniquely qualified to impart this knowledge.

Here are the 7 golden rules of writing – wait wait – that can double up – exactly – for health.

I. Write shorter sentences: Break down your health goal into smaller, doable, everyday tasks – the more specific they are, the better

II.  Practice writing daily: Unless you do it everyday, what’s the point? You won’t reach anywhere and you will only be left with a sense of hopelessness and irritation

III. Avoid distractions: Once my yoga teacher snapped at me for using my phone while I was on the cycle (I hate the cycle – it is so boring) because she said if I was on my phone, I wouldn’t concentrate on the workout. Same thing goes for when you are walking. Don’t catch up with a friend that time. First of all it is annoying for the other walkers, secondly you will be panting your way through the conversation and that ain’t pretty and thirdly, if you get bored, listen to music for Pete’s sake!

IV. Show don’t tell: Telling everyone that you are planning to begin a new regime (unless they are into fitness themselves) is a recipe for disaster! They will either demotivate you with all the negative talk or give you advice which you don’t really need.

V. Kill your darlings: There would be some form of exercise that you abhor – weights, cardio, lunges, squats, shoulder press – it could be anything. Doesn’t matter, you still gotta do them. Even if it kills you.

VI. Take breaks: You don’t want your body to shut down now do you? Just like a phone will heat up and shut down if it is on the whole time, so will your body. Taking a break isn’t a criminal offence.

VII. Don’t do it for the money: You can but you will never be able to sustain it. Do it for you – even if it is something as simple as I want to look good or something as complex as the doctor has given me an ultimatum – do it because you love you.

Bonus Tip: Do what works for you. Like I said everyone has an opinion on health. First they will tell you to not eat rice. Then they will say oh rice is good, wheat is bad. And the list of contradictory advice is endless.

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 Written as a part of #ChatterPrompts