An Ideal Day

Tips for healthier living

This is a post with information dumped in sensible buckets by type and time. This information was collected through books, videos, people and experiences of my self. Doing everything in this post is not possible everyday. But it helps to keep a single source of reference to revisit every now and then to see what can be swapped or added in your routine. Just in case…

My purpose here is not to sermon on what you should do. These are just some of the things which helped me in moving towards a healthier lifestyle. After 3 failed attempts at weight loss, I finally succeeded in my fourth attempt. The biggest difference was of perspective. It is not a temporary phase to lose weight and drop to your lifestyle. It is a change in lifestyle towards healthier living which brings your weight, health and mental state in line.

Self Checks:

Food

1. Have smaller plates and bigger bowls. More curry and less rice/roti.
   Mix rice into curry in the bowl, not curry onto the rice in a plate.
2. Log your food. This includes calories, macronutrients, micronutrients, and water. Apps like Healthifyme are particularly suited in India for the locale database of food they have.
3. Smaller frequent meals. Leads to a faster continuous metabolism.
4. Carbs under 200% in healthifyme. More than that would be stored as fat in your body.
5. Vitamin C food. Helps in fat burning.
6. Salad 5–10 mins before the meal.
7. Cut down on spices to improve gut acidity and avoid reflux

Exercise and Work

1. Strength training. Helps avoid muscle loss during weight loss regimes.
2. Short bursts of exercise during the day. Effective in losing belly fat.
   - Plank
   - Pushup
   - Short walks
3. Bath
4. Clean your surroundings
5. Gardening
6. Games — darts, bowling, softball
7. Sunlight
8. Music — instruments, singing, listening.
9. Exercise apps — curefit, 30 days workout apps etc.
10. Dance

Shopping

1. Chewing gum helps while shopping. It avoids the temptations through imagining the taste in your mouth of the unhealthy foods you will see in the aisles.
2. Buy cold-pressed/kachi ghani oil
3. No sugar in the top 3 ingredients in the food label.
   Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight.

Morning

1. Waking up without screens is good for the eyes. Try not to look at the phone screen first thing in the morning. A good rule is to not use it till you brush and freshen-up.
   Freshening will take longer if you take your phone inside. Might look like you are saving your time, but actually, you are just extending that poop-slot with little to no extra productivity.
2. Drink water in the first 15 mins of waking up. Just helpful. Maybe add a pinch of lemon to it. Or honey or amla juice.
3. Weigh yourself straight from the bed. This helps have more consistent daily measurements.
4. Take a pause, maybe? Sit down, close your eyes for 10 mins. You can call it meditation.
5. Eat fibrous fruits to start the day. Avoid acidic and citrus raw fruits.

Afternoon

1. Take a 20–45 mins nap. More than that is not recommended as it will make you go into a deeper sleep and make you feel tired when you wake up abruptly. Take this nap when you feel your alertness is dipping.

2. Heaviest meal of the day.

Evening

1. Snacks. Refer list at the bottom.

Night

1. Lighter meal

Bed-time

1. No Night calories. Food 2–3 hours before sleep will not be digested and cause fat storage.
2. Sleep deprivation → Weight gain: Less digestion, more hunger. Hormones balance changes and instead of burning calories it shifts into storing calories.
3. Sleep on a firm mattress in supine position (or on the side). Avoid prone position.

To be updated:

1. [DONE] Food list
2. Other chores
3. Expansive time slot information

Good Foods List

Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VmrruXW66ZWwpawIk47J-HtR8i6iwb33dBsYXJrkLQg/edit#gid=0

Edit Log:
Nov 2, 2020 : First Published
Sept 18, 2023 : Updated food and sleep hygiene