Ask anyone for advice and suggestions for bettering our health: they will have a stock-list of to-do things: (1) Eat good food, (2) Exercise regularly, (3) Sleep well, (4) Give-up bad habits, (5) Live a stress free life … blah, blah, blah … as if, we do not know this already …

Ask them back, if they follow all these things, and they will come up with a dozen excuses why they are unable to do those same things to better their health.

Hello boss, saying is easy; following is difficult … humph!

But, unfortunately, the things that they say are indeed must-do things to better our health, but I am not going to repeat those.

Well, I am going to talk about what I did to keep doing all those things …

1. Decide to impress somebody

This strategy is working with me fine. Earlier, I mean, during my failed attempts at healthy living, I never thought of impressing somebody because of my healthy, well-shaped appearance. In a way, there was no motivation that was emotionally connected. But this time, when I decided to impress my child by being an example, a role model, by showing the way towards better health, everything fell in place. No more excuses for skipping exercises, no more second helpings, no junk food, no bad habits, (of course I did not have any, I told you earlier, didn’t I? believe me.) … the BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING !!!

2. Stop being the dumper of your family

Oh yes, stop being the waste basket during every meal. Especially, when you go out as a family for dinner. See, the other day, my family and I went out to dinner. Everybody ordered what they wanted and I order only a bowl of soup. It was during one of my failed attempts, and that day, I was very particular to stop with just the soup. I think you guessed what happened …

My wife gave me a couple spoons of fried rice that she had ordered. “Taste it, it’s good,” she said and I obeyed. Then my mom gave half a piece of her butter naan, because she could not finish it all, and my dad for his part dropped half a plate of whatever fancy biriyani he order. Finally, my ever-eager child ordered extra noodles and dumped all that on me. Well, the rest is all waste – I ended up eating one bowl of soup, fried rice, butter naan, biriyani, noodles, and a cup of ice cream that flavor my child did not want.

3. Eat good food does not mean don’t eat tasty food (it’s all in the quantity)

This is another important thing to keep in mind. Good food can also taste good. It is in the recipes that we follow. Don’t force yourself to eat bland unappetizing things in the name of good food. You should not tolerate your food. You should not lose your love for food. After all that’s our reason for living, is it not? Quantity control is the key. Eat less, and you are all ready to journey towards better health.

I tried out a few recipes myself and they came out well. I will be posting those recipes in upcoming blog posts. Anyways, my first objective in creating those recipes is to avoid carbs, and fats, yet equally important is keeping it tasty.

4. Tell the whole world about your progress

Yes, tell your friends, your wife, and your family, all about your journey towards better health. Even if you have a small amount of progress, a half a kilogram weight loss, a half-an-inch thinner hips, even just that you were able to complete 10000 steps of walking in a day, share it with people who matter to you. Share it with that person whom you wish to impress. Feel happy about your accomplishment. Next time, you will push yourself in doing things.

I did share my journey, and I am going to share my journey with you, here in this blog, and it is working for me. …

5. Listen to music that is emotionally connected to you

Everyone would suggest to listen to workout music – epic-battle kind of music – as if you are going to defeat the whole world with your hulk-like body of a thing after shaping it through exercise … well, work-out music did not work out for me. There was no personal or emotional connect and I was easily bored. When I started listening to some of those lively songs from my personal playlist, it was pure magic, the energy that I got lasted long. Day-in and day-out, I was able to exercise – nonstop elliptical, in fact, I started walking just to listen to my favorite songs.

Remember this too!!! Not all methods work with everyone. What works for me may not work for you. It’s all in trying. These things work for me, and if something else works for you, then continue doing it. But there is every chance that what works for me will work for you as well. You never know until you try.

Happy journey