The Sitting Disease

I’m finally back after a short gateway to Dubai, and I have made a huge discovery – even though I was aware of it way before but I had the chance to look at it closely now and see how it truly affects us all. This major discovery is known as “The Sitting Disease” or “Sedentary Lifestyle.”

Think about it, you’re driving 30 minutes to your office job where you spend at least seven hours sitting. You’re back home, on the couch, watching some television. Later, you’d have some lunch or dinner… and you would do that, sitting. Oh and you’re probably sitting in a chair reading this blog post. If this looks a lot like your lifestyle then you’re suffering from “The Sitting Disease.” 

You see, the human body is made to move.  Unfortunately, our modern lifestyle demands us to spend 7+ hours sitting when in fact, our bodies have not evolved to adapt. Studies have shown that when you sit more, you increase your risk of diabetes, obesity and cancer.  It seems to me that the more I sit, the more I feel tired and the more I move, the less I feel tired. It’s a simple equation, move more throughout the day = feel more energetic. During my last trip to Dubai, I was on constant movement and even though I indulged in desserts, fast food and sugary drinks, I still managed to drop one kilo. This was an eye opening experience as it showed me how moving throughout the day makes all the difference in the world. 

To all of you who have a sedentary lifestyle (including me)… Here are some tips to reverse this: 

1. Take a 5 minute walk for every hour you spend at work

2. Walk when you're on the phone

3. The stairs are there for a reason. Use them!

4. Start a fitness routine and be consistent.

5. Stand up and move more... Little things add up.  

 It’s no wonder that ever since I started my office job, I’ve been piling on pounds even though my eating habits have remained the same. Hope this post gives you hope like it did to me!  

 

Giving up Dieting

[Before reading this blog post, I just want to let my readers know that I’m neither a certified nutritionist nor a doctor. Therefore, whatever advice I give is solely based on my experience. If you want to seek medical help this is not the place. I’m only sharing my personal insights.] 

I’m ecstatic; I’m finally back at the gym after one month filled with setbacks. After my endless attempts in Ramadan to control my binge urges, I just gave up because I told myself that it’s okay to binge eat as it is only temporary and will end after this month – I know, terrible excuses I keep giving myself. The most important thing right now is that I truly lost all my excuses and I’ve been working hard for the past two weeks. I already got a few compliments on how radiant I look and guess what? I did all that by NOT starving... Just eating according to my goals and working out.

This got me to a really important issue that I’ve been noticing in young adults and that is; distorted image of what “dieting” and “proper nutrition” truly are. Approximately 3 out of 10 young adults that I come across are on extreme starvation diets, their diets basically consist of one big meal per day or eating too little calories throughout the day. I honestly don’t know how they do it. It’s so hard for me to starve myself and it opens huge binge doors for me. Sure, those of you who are on extreme starvation diets will lose weight but you’ll also experience hunger pangs, decreased energy, hair loss, mood swings and many physical effects related to specific nutrition deficiencies. 

Starving never works simply because of our survival instincts. Our survival instincts are our inherited properties to behave in a way that maximize our chances of survival. They are extremely powerful and respond when one or more of our basic biological needs are not met (such as hunger). Basically, when you’re starving, your survival instincts are activated because it senses a threat to survival. Dieting is against human nature and our brain (survival instincts) will fight back. Then, the body’s metabolism slows down and the body does everything it can to conserve energy. It seems as though our survival instincts aim to aggressively convince us to eat. This is why people who starve eventually give up and gain all the weight back (probably even more). 

As for me, I gave up dieting. It takes so much energy to stress about food and I have a wedding coming up. I’m not dieting; I’m on a healthy eating (and fitness) journey.

Dealing with Setbacks in your Life

So much for “losing the last 5 kilos by the end of Ramadan,” I had vowed not to binge eat during Ramadan as a means of finally achieving my goals of stopping binge eating. If I hadn’t experienced these strong binge urges; I would have never believed that such strong urges for something so irrelevant and irrational actually exist and I wouldn’t have believed that simply saying no to these binge urges and convincing my brain logically does no good, either. 

I’ve been experiencing a lot of setbacks during Ramadan. I had always been a person who made conscious choices about every aspect in my life, but giving in to my binge urges always made me feel like a failure. Because of that, my goals for Ramadan had changed from “losing the last 5 kilos” to maintaining my weight the way it was before Ramadan. This major setback has inspired me to write a new post on how I deal with setbacks and take control over my life again. 

The first thing I would do is take full responsibility of what I’ve done. This means that I should accept the bloated feeling and puffy cheeks (I always get them the day after a strong binge!). I should also accept the temporary weight gain. By acknowledging this, it helps me start my transformation and believe that there’s another face to a setback which is being a stronger person. 

Next, I eliminate all negative self-talk by venting out all the bad energy at the gym and then I remind myself that I need to give my body time to lose the weight and get back on track. Basically, I just need to acknowledge these few steps before I take control over my life again:

1. Take full responsibility

2. Eliminate negative self-talk

3. Patience 

I’m dealing with a challenge right now but this is where I’m at and I choose not to be a victim of this. Nobody’s immune to setbacks. A wise man once said: “Fall seven times. Stand up eight.”

Use Ramadan to Detox

The fasting month is here and that means 15 hours of fasting with endless temptations, right? Not this time!  To me, every Ramadan was a month where I would completely stop working out and take the time to indulge in all the food they prepare at home. Until I read the endless benefits of fasting.

Fasting allows your digestive system to rest, promote mental clarity, and reduce allergies, skin conditions and asthma. Basically, fasting allows your body to go through complete detoxification.  That’s right! Complete detoxification! I don’t know about you but the term “detox” struck my mind; I’ve been thinking a lot about detoxifying my body but I haven’t really figured out how to except when I read about the health benefits of fasting.  

But how do you know if your body is detoxifying the way it should? There are a few signs to look for especially in the first few days of Ramadan

1. Headaches:

The most common symptom that your body is detoxing; this usually means that your body is experiencing caffeine or sugar withdrawal symptoms

2. Fatigue

At this point, your body is working extra hard to get rid of the toxins within (no wonder you feel exhausted!). You might require more sleep which is totally okay. Allow your body to do what it knows.

3. Diarrhea

All that unwanted junk will be coming out. It’s not pretty, but it is necessary. Again, allow your body to do what it knows to do and help to literally release.

4. Skin Acne/Rashes

Some people report breakouts during the first few days of fasting, that is also natural as your body is probably detoxing through your skin.

5. Brain Fog

Sign of insufficient calories, or it could be a sign you’re experiencing sugar withdrawal.

If you’ve experienced these signs then you’re not alone. Your body is trying to tell you that it has been exposed to way too many toxins and it needs to undergo this process. It’s going to be hard at the beginning, but I’m sure it will be worth it. Happy fasting everyone!