Eating & Living better

Since birth of Cayson, I've been falling sick almost every month. I even got a serious eye infection. It could be due to lack of sleep or a weakened body post the c-section. The ultimatum came in the form of a week long flu that started on first day of Chinese New Year, simply due to exposure to cold winds in my house on the eve.

In that long dreary week, I basked in self pity - I could not carry baby due to fear of passing the virus. I did not even have energy to break baby for a walk after dinner. I was so sick of being sick. 

Then, I decided that something has to change. I got to take charge of my health because bad health means that one cannot enjoy anything in life, not even the company of your loved ones. And viruses can also spread to your family and kids too. 

As such, I started reading extensively about what I can do to reinvent my diet and lifestyle, and also what I can do to improve the family's immunity using TCM principles overlay with western nutritional facts. As I read, I got more and more inspired and convinced. I will try to share with you more of these insights as I go along. 

In the meanwhile, here's what I did to start changing my lifestyle in the last two weeks . Changes were not that massive but I already feel a lot more alert. A positive spillover effect was that I lost another 1kg just doing the below.

Before: No exercise (unless you count lifting baby) 

After: Signed up for yoga near my workplace. Attended 1 session per week (2 times so far). 

Before: Hates vegetables (eating salads for lunch almost makes me depressed) . When I have no time for lunch, I will just grab some bread/packed rice from the cafeteria. 

After: I packed two sets of salads on standby in the company fridge per week (ate 4 boxes so far). I still continued to lunch normally with friends and only bring the salad out if I have no appointments or in a hurry. Also, to make it less painful, I use Japanese sesame dressing, and pour mixed nuts over it.

Also, I try to eat 2 meals a week where I substitute white rice with brown rice. 

Before: Seldom eat fruits. Drinks occasional juices (from centrifugal machines) 

After: Still haven't eaten a lot of fruits but started to try some cold pressed juice after yoga. But at $12 per pop, it's too expensive. Hence, I decide to buy a slow juicer at home as I can use it to try to infuse more vegetables into Cayen's,  Cayson's and my dad's diet. 

Before: I drink 2-3 glasses of water in office per day. 

After: I try to drink 4-6 glasses in office per day. 

Before: If I don't sleep enough, I will feel like a sore throat is coming on soon. I might take some effervescent vitamin C , lozenges or drink more water. 

After: Now I will take a spoonful of Manuka honey whenever I feel like it's coming (usually in the evening). Usually I will feel alright by morning. 

Anyway, key takeaway is this - you don't need to wait for a perfect auspicious time to start living and eating better. "Just Do It! " and add on a little more every week to kick start the momentum and things will just roll. If I , the great vege hater, can eat salad and actually get used to the taste in 2 weeks , you can too!

Live it up !