Hit the workout trail
Dolly Sagar

Now that the last chocolate in the red heart-shaped box has been consumed, it is probably safe to mention the R-word again. Resolutions! Very early in the morning last week, I saw a bunch of joggers. Some wore cowboy hats, others, colourful jesters’ caps. But all wore a look of determination as they jogged along Bombay’s Marine Drive. "Wow," I said. "These guys take their fitness programme resolution seriously. They are here straight from a party." My son, whose role in life is to educate me on the obvious, that parents miss, pointed to the numbers pinned to the jackets. "Mom, they are part of a marathon group or something." Be that as it may, it got me thinking of how "get fit." This probably tops the list for most people when it comes to New Year resolutions.

For some reason we seem to need a reason, an identifiable starting point, and a New Year, or a spouse’s birthday seems like a good place to begin. But by the time March rolls around, most of us have given up the pretense and are back to blaming our genes, or lifestyles, or middle age for the extra inches where our waists used to be.

"I fought with my husband and said he made me look fat in photographs," says Nandini Verma. "I even convinced myself that mirrors in gyms were trick mirrors. You know, the kind they have at carnivals and fun fairs that make you look fat. What can I say? I was in denial mode." Verma’s wake-up call came when she began to feel breathless after climbing a few stairs and found it difficult to bend and pick up things. Her doctor told her that it would be a good idea to try and lose weight.

For years she had hoarded clothes she could once fit into, telling herself she would be able to wear them again soon. She donated them to the Salvation Army. She took a long, hard look at what was left in her closet. Baggy track pants and loose sweat shirts. That was all she found she could fit into comfortably. "It is not like I hadn’t tried losing weight before. The south beach diet, the low carb diet, Jane Fonda’s workout tapes, Atkins’ diet, blood group diet and aerobic classes. I had tried them all. I would lose some weight initially and then lose interest," moans Verma. She sat down with her doctor and worked out a plan of sensible eating and moderate exercise. "I’m not looking for dramatic changes any more. I just want to feel better," she says.

Then there are those who are blessed with perfect bodies — women who can have three babies and boast of flat tummies, and 50-year-old men who can fit into the suits they wore at 30. Are they just plain lucky, or is there a magic formula?

The tabloids would have you believe there is. In just one evening I saw these headlines: "Want to lose weight? Want a flat tummy? Miracle cellulite loss."

Too many young people, specially young girls, are motivated by the perceived appeal of emaciated models into starving themselves. This does not apply just to the girl next door — it is for Bollywood actresses too.

Health Today reported that scientists in Germany have found that too much exercise can be bad for you and that doing less could actually lengthen your life. Studies link obesity to cancer. According to a report in Reader’s Digest, while previous studies found links between obesity and cancers of the breast, uterus, colon, rectum, etc, new studies also link cancer of the cervix, pancreas and prostrate, among others.

Exercise in one sustained burst is good for you, you were told. Well, now hear this: breaking it up into several short sessions may be better. Frequent fidgeting may make you lean. Researchers have found that our non-exercise activity thermo genesis (NEAT) may be pre-programmed in our genes. Lean people fidget more and the obese have a biological need to sit more.

Living in the suburbs, says the Heart & Stroke Foundation, may not be as good for you as previously believed. Suburbanites drive more and walk less.

Fad in, fat out. Or so you think. So you would like to believe. But with the all fad diets out there — even the long lasting ones — the new recommended exercise routines and all the new research thrown at us every day, who really knows any more what’s good and what’s not?

One thing that most people who have a good self-image on is the "everything-in-moderation" mantra. Make healthy eating choices. Make exercise a part of your daily routine. There is no miracle cure, but consistency will guarantee success. Make yourself believe that there is no such thing as the one perfect body. — MF