Healthy Body, Healthy Mind: The importance in staying fit

Living in a country like Indonesia that has such delicious food can be a problem, especially if we overeat or fail to take measures to keep our weight under control. In my own case I suppose I have been blessed with good genes from parents who themselves had a fast metabolism and somehow found it hard to put on weight.

Although I do eat a little rice almost everyday, rice is one of the quickest ways to getting a spare tyre around your waist. Noodles tend to o the same thing as does bread, so moderation in these foods is advised. Smaller portions are definitely better and that may take some getting used to, but most of us realize that as we grow older our metabolism slows down and so should our daily intake of food.

I don't really want to talk about the medical problems that can arise from eating certain Indonesian foods but one should know that regularly eating foods where coconut milk is used as a main ingredient in certain sauces can increase the levels of bad cholesterol in the bad and severely increase the chances of heart disease. I have also never been a drinker or smoker, and that is something that helps keep me looking younger.

I am also an avid sports fanatic and sports has become an important part of my life. On most mornings you will find me out walking or cycling or doing stretching exercises in the garden. I also meditate for half an hour every single day as I believe that in order to have a healthy mind one should have a healthy body. I always think that being overweight and unfit can make a person grumpy and that isn't the way I choose to be.

Another way that I manage to keep my weight in check and my body in good form is by taking part in local sports events. For example, this weekend I will be participating in a 10 km marathon run in Surabaya. In the second week of September I will be taking part in the Bali Marathon in Gianyar, and in October I am joining a triathlon event also in Bali.

Of course I will not win any medals and my target is just to compete and also to complete those races, but I have found that by participating in such sports it really does help to clear the mind, to put things into perspective and to give a clearer outlook on everything around me. In other words, it provides me with a healthy mind without any angry thoughts or negative feelings against anyone but a good healthy outlook on life. So as they say, “Healthy Body, Healthy Mind”.

I wonder how other expatriates manage to stay healthy in both mind and body. Many of my expatriate friends here prefer to jog or hang out at a gym or even swim, and most never put on much weight and they all seem to have a great outlook on life.

How about you?