Eat less, exercise more

A few years ago when I read Ikigai the lesson of "Eat less, exercise more" did not resonate with me. I was in 20s, slim, petite, and underweight. Eating had always been a challenge for me. I would feel full after eating a quantity sufficient enough for a baby. Hence, how eating less would help was a question that bothered me. While I completely liked the idea of exercising more.

Now at the age of 40 I understood this concept better. I still am a petite, slim woman but with age and hormonal changes I am careful with what I eat. Here's how I made changes to ny eating habits:
1. I avoid snacking. I never had been a person who would have snacks frequently. But I used to have a snack sometimes when lunch/dinner would be hours away. Now I avoid that too. If I feel the need to have a snack, I tend to eat something which would be healthy such as chikki (praline) or groundnut which are still snacks but with health benefits.
2. I avoid confectioneries which I loved in my 20s. I keep one or two packets of biscuits and confectioneries, mainly for the guests, but overall my consumption of confectioneries has been significantly and intentionally reduced in last few years.
3. I have increased my consumption of fruits. I made a habit of having fruits for breakfast. Also I do a fruit fast once in a month, where I eat only fruits for 24 hours. It helps a lot for fitness.
4. I added a routine for exercise. Though I always used to exercise, I had no fixed routine. Making exercise a ritual greatly helped me.

New habits only help if we see the results. These habits took time but I was impressed with results. Due to reduction of confectioneries, my sugar consumption reduced and I could see that my skin improved. Acne reduced to a significant extent due to reduced sugar consumption and increased fruit consumption (I still get hormonal acne though).

With fruit consumption, I could feel less fatigue and more energy throughout the day. Especially after the fruit fast, next day I feel light and energetic. The food tastes better too.

Exercise became less of an imposition and more of a ritual. Every step and every move was making me stronger.

Once we see the benefits, we do not want to go back to our old habits. Ikigai worked for me to build a healthier tomorrow. The journey is still going on. Ikigai is not achieved but it is in practice and in progress. Yet I see how it is positively affecting my life and health.

All we need is to take the first step and work slowly. What we do is for ourselves and for our better future. We need to build a mindset that will help us in the long run. And we could build it when we believe that we could do what we had planned.

I hope this lesson helped you to begin your journey ahead.