Everyone dreams of an ideal, healthy, and easy-to-follow diet. Why is it seemingly impossible for most of us to achieve?
Only in the last century of our evolution have we significantly reduced our activity levels (especially in economically developed countries)! This happened during the dynamic development of our civilization, the consequence and goal of which is the pursuit of expanding the zone of safety and comfort in life. Unfortunately, this comfort is destroying us!
For the sake of convenience, we have amenities for transportation: cars, electric bikes/scooters, elevators, escalators, etc. Pursuing thermal comfort protects our bodies from weather: thermal clothing, heating/air conditioning at work, home, car. Acquiring food no longer requires any effort from us; it is delivered almost to our doorstep, and we have it constantly at hand (refrigerators).
If you have a body, you can move! Exploring human evolution, one can confidently theorize that humans are made for movement, even running.
As early as 2 million years ago, primitive humans (the branch from which we originate) hunted by running after animals until they collapsed from exhaustion. They had to run to catch something to eat (to hunt) while simultaneously avoiding being eaten (escaping from predators).
Our bodies are not adapted to such rapid changes in the conditions in which they are required to function today. As a result, there is rapid development of lifestyle diseases, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and especially mental health issues.
Choose the simplest form of movement that brings you joy (such as walking, swimming, or cycling). The most effective, yet often underrated, form of MOVEMENT is "spontaneous activity" (e.g., taking stairs instead of the elevator, walking to the nearby store instead of driving). Just 15 to 30 minutes a day of moderate-intensity activity or 5 to 10 minutes of intense activity can suffice.
Create your ideal weekly activity schedule, which should include:
- 1x x high-intensity interval training (HIIT) session
(e.g., Tabata),
- 2x strength training sessions of moderate to high intensity,
- Low-intensity activities on the remaining days;
At least once a week, engage in the ideal therapy for our body, mind, and soul, which is activity in nature! This is a Japanese therapeutic technique called Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing), which means immersing oneself in the forest atmosphere using all the senses, which has a beneficial effect on the mind, as well as the body, relaxing, relieving stress, and improving immunity.
At work, we currently spend most of the day, so proper ergonomics of our workstation (position/posture) will have a huge impact on our bodies. The variability of our body's position, active forms of work (e.g., standing), appropriate scheduling of tasks and breaks are something we have direct control over and can utilize to minimize harm to ourselves (e.g., work for 25 minutes/active break for 5 minutes).
