Johnny Walker!

Posted on March 9, 2013 by chatwithdrketch

Okay! This is certainly not what you thought when you saw the subject, I assure you! But, hey…don’t leave…at least not just yet. Not until you’ve read what I’ve got to say! So yes, this is not a post extolling the virtues of this prime (I’m sure) drink neither is this meant to even disrespect it. Nope! This is in honour of the time worn, aged, good old fashioned ancient means of transportation called walking!

Don’t roll your eyes! Okay, if I ask how many times you’ve gone to the gym in the past one year? What would be the answer? If I asked how many times you’ve been able to clock up to 150 minutes of exercise in a week? What if I asked, what your daily routine is? Would it sound like…from the house to the car to the office back to the car off to meetings, back to the car and off to the house? Does this sound like you? Well, you are not alone! It took the magical object called a pedometer to bring to my attention how little I was moving around when I stopped going to the gym due to some ‘household operational challenges’ (code for ‘my nanny up and left without notice!’ ;)). The first day I used it, I racked up all of 432 stairs!!! Did you get that? In all of 24 hours…I moved my feet one way or the other a total of 432 times! That is pathetic! And really scary given that a sedentary lifestyle (one in which there is little physical activity), can increase our risks of hypertension, obesity, cancers, diabetes etc.

Even our children are not left out! I usually park a little distance away from the church on Sundays, just so that immediately after the service, we can make a quick escape without having to wait for people to move their cars etc. But my children hate the very idea of that short walk to where the car is parked and they will use any opportunity to whine about it!

Okay what’s the answer to this? Get physical! Go out and play football, table tennis, basket ball, lawn tennis with your spouse, the children, friends etc. This ensures you’re getting the required exercise and also bonding with your family. Visit the gym: do weight trainings, aerobics etc. Did I hear you say ‘oh but I work so hard and I can hardly find time to sleep, how much more exercise?’. Then find other ways of doing this: instead of calling the Accounts Department to find out the status of that invoice, walk across there. Instead of using the elevators, use the stairs. Instead of being driven all the way to your front door, stop at your gate and walk the rest of the way inside. Instead of calling the nanny to get you water, go get it yourself. In all of this, the goal is to rack up 30 minutes of exercise at least 5 days a week and if using the pedometer, at least 10,000 steps per day!

Okay! I heard all the screams of 10,000? Was that a mistake? Did you mean to say 1000? Nope! I meant and still mean 10,000. Now, this is the optimal. However, if you are starting out from the very depths where I started, then aim to increase your steps by at least 500 per week until you get to the promised land. You’ll be amazed at the fun activities that can rack up steps quickly. So if you love your Owambes, enjoy and be sure to dance! Not the stationary ‘hips down, backside swaying’ kinda dance….nope! More like the Nkpokiti/atiolgwu/salsa dance steps (hmmm! writing these three dance steps together raises interesting imagery right here! Beyonce, eat your heart out!). You’ve got to get some motion in there! You know all those stuff your children want you to do…like carry them around, swing them around or just chase after them? They all count!

Every little step counts towards making you healthier and happier! Celebrate every milestone with 5000 being the first major one. This takes you firmly out of the sedentary lifestyle group and on your way to wellness! 5,000-7,499 steps/day is termed “low active.” 7,500-9,999 is considered “somewhat active” and 10,000 steps/day indicates the point at which an individual is classified as “active”. People who take more than 12,500 steps/day are classified as “highly active”.

So start small, keep at it, get those joints to stop creaking and keep those terrible diseases at bay! Keep walking people!

Here’s to….a healthier you!

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This thing called stress!

Posted on March 8, 2013 by chatwithdrketch
I see it in my face in the mornings when I wake up. I see it in my neighbours’ faces, in traffic…even my children are not immune to it! Why are we all stressed? Where are we all rushing to? What’s to win in this rat race? Questions, questions…but no quick answers.
In that tiny corner of my mind, a little voice says ‘ but the holy book says that a little more sleep comes poverty’ and so I’ve got to be busy doing something at all times. But….wait a moment! Am I doing productive stuff? Am I actually staving off poverty with this activity that doesn’t quite appear to be leading me anywhere I want to go? Am I sweating the small stuff? Getting worked up over issues I have no control over? Now, I’ve managed to ask even more questions!
 
Now for the answers…I wish I could say I knew them all. But I do know that we can’t cope when we have bitten off more than we can chew. I will use myself as an example. Busy career woman (kinda sounds cool to describe myself that way ;)) with children and multiple interests in wellness/training and facilitation  that keeps me pretty busy 24 hours of every day. I start everyday with a long list of things that I’ve got to accomplish. Some days, I’m lucky and I get through them all. Some other days…okay, let’s be truthful here…most days, I don’t get to finish that list. But I have learnt to look at my cup as half full as opposed to half empty. At the end of the day, I am thankful to God for how far I have gone and I keep the undone ones in the cooler and start again the next day in as sequential an order as I can manage. In the office, I try to focus on the major issues and leave the rest of the team to handle the clutter (first lesson in how not to micro-manage!). And at home……you will probably wonder at my craziness when you hear my solution to house helps that drive you mad! First, get your children involved in the household chores and cooking…yes, you heard me right: the cooking! I think, from my experience, that this makes the house helps understand that you do have an option in terms of keeping or not keeping them. Then, when we are off to work and school, I lock up the house and she is free to spend her day as she likes…sleeping or anything that takes her fancy. This way I am not upset when I get back about how dirty or clean everywhere looks. The work can start when I get back or over the weekend. Now I know that for those of you who have children, this may not work because you do need someone to be there in the house 24/7 and I get that. So work out a system that works for you and remember that the sooner you can get your children to start cleaning up after themselves, the better. The main focus should be on getting you less aggravated and more relaxed. So eat healthy, walk about 10,000 steps a day (did I hear you say, how? I’ll tell in another post!), catch as much sleep as you can: in the car (when you’re not driving, of course) to work and to and from appointments and try to get to bed early, limit the distractions in your room when it  is bedtime (TV et al) and eat light in the evenings. Most importantly, don’t sweat the small stuff…the report was not done the right way, just show them how; the place was not properly cleaned, tell them to repeat it; the nanny didn’t wash the clothes well, save up for and/or get a washing machine; someone cuts into your lane in traffic…resist the urge to give him some home truths! Who knows….maybe with these, we can actually win the rat race!!!! 
 

Here’s to… a healthier you!

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