When the day starts with the early morning meeting, the very busy executive starts the day with eating breakfast during the meeting. What is served looks all too sweet to me. Just looking at muffins, breakfast pastries, at 7 in the morning makes me full. I love to see fruits and of course, yogurt-fruit parfaits but not that early during the day. Now what if the same executive lands up at the lunch meeting. How about pasta recipe loaded with cheese, salad, sandwich with triple layer of veggies and cheese, followed by 4 by 3 inch size of heavy brownies. I can never forget being a part of this reoccurring lunch meeting. This obesogenic lunch is definitely not a good idea. Salad and to some extent half a sandwich is alright but the rest of the items.hmmm…questionable? This executive has attended quite a few meetings during the day and has also consumed snacks at his office. Not only this sample executive has consumed quite a lot of calories by guzzling down sweet stuff, couple of sandwiches and a jugful of coffee.
This is a basic health problem concerning the busy executive of the day. I am sure this executive is knowledgeable about one’s own health. Regrettably when so much knowledge is available on this subject, the person concerned looses sight of the fact that the body needs constant attention. On such occasions the caloric value of the food served are often thrown to the winds. This adds up the so very unwanted inches to one’s midriff and few pounds to ones weight which are later difficult to shed.
I wanted to furnish some of you with some commandments of good health. I am saying some of you because all the rest of you know these already. Whether you are a busy and hardworking executive or not, everyone has a right to respect their body’s biological clock. The names of some ingredients of a simple, healthy life recipe are food, exercise, sleep, eliminate, and add. For example, eliminate stress and fats. Add happiness and color to life. Follow these ingredients in your life recipe throughout your busy life and you will be able to reap some of the good benefits. Try to be friends with natural foods instead of canned foods. Avoid excessive consumption of sugary sweets. People who love non vegetarian diet know by far that the large scale consumption of these tasty foods have got high cholesterol content which if not watched has dire consequences for later. Heart friendly foods are the best option. The top 25 heart healthy foods are salmon, flaxseed, oatmeal, black or kidney beans, almonds, walnuts, tuna, tofu, brown rice, soymilk, blueberries, carrots, spinach, broccoli, sweet potato, red bell pepper, asparagus, oranges, tomatoes, squash, cantaloupe, papaya, dark chocolate, tea and red wine.
In a nutshell, I wish the busy executive should eat all they wish but not overeat. Moderation in all walks of life will apply here. When this executive goes home, the idea of not eating while watching TV, not eating while talking to friends on phone and not eating while reading books is definitely good. Keep time aside for exercise. The guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services indicate “at least 30 minutes of daily physical activity is required to reduce the risk of chronic diseases in adulthood. And for some, that's only the beginning”. While this sounds feasable, the following might not. Over a year ago, in March 2010, The Institute of Medicine released a lengthy report recommending that, as part of a routine regimen to maintain cardiovascular health and ideal body weight and body composition, we should all engage in 60 minutes of daily vigorous physical activity. The authors of this report were scientists and each of their words were backed up with references. I would ask the busy executive to at least start with a 30 min of exercise goal everyday. Also, drinking too much wine should not be the way to relax. I also want to say how much neglected is an item like plain water. People live on soda, coffee or juice and do not feel at par. The rule of the thumb is to drink at least 8 to 12 eight ounce glasses of water daily. The busy executives must avoid stress and learn how to cope with it, control over emotions like anger, anxiety and apprehensions.
The EAT HEALTHY, BE HEALTHY slogan works well!
