October 13, 2022
“The body achieves what the mind believes.” -Anonymous
As the adage above implies, we can achieve what our body wants if we believe we are capable of doing it, as our body corresponds to what our mind says. Both should work together to achieve what we want. Just like a car, it won't work without an engine. The car is our body, the engine is our mind. And our determination to achieve what we want is what fuels our body and mind to work together.
This week's featured content of Hive Learners is about sharing stories about routines on how to stay fit.
Achieving a fit body is quite tough, especially if the job is toxic and requires a lot of time. Lesser time for self-treat, pampering, and exercise, making our lifestyle unhealthy. I am one of those struggling to maintain a healthy lifestyle, especially since I have some food intolerances and toxic work.
Moreover, when I added online side hustles to my routine, I feel like my lifestyle become even more unhealthy, and my physical health was compromised. I got muscle pain due to prolong usage of my phone when making blogs, plus, the heavy job in the real world. At the end of the day, my body feels too exhausted.
My job requires being fit, both physically and mentally, to execute my duty well. And working abroad is even tougher. Nobody can be relied on, but myself. I can't get sick because I have no family who would take care of me. And even if I get sick, the grinding continues. So as much as possible, I need to be fit the whole time to be able to do all my duty.
But how do I maintain being fit?
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There are things to consider to become fit:
We aren't just talking about physically fit here, it should be fit in general aspects. Because if one will be less valued and comprised, the body will be affected as well.
FOOD
Eating the right food plays an important role in keeping our body fit. We can't just do exercise without eating the right food anyway. That would be pointless. Our bodies need more protein to build muscles. It needs carbohydrates and fats to supply energy. So if we want to get fit, we have to know what right food to take in, and our plate should contain complete food.
And as I mentioned above, I have food intolerances, specifically gluten and lactose, so it's quite tough for me to maintain a gluten/lactose-free diet, especially nowadays, most products are commercialized with a lot of chemicals.
So to limit myself from taking gluten and lactose, I prefer to cook my food at home and only choose fresh ingredients, not processed ones. My diet mostly consists of vegetables and fruits, lesser meat as it takes longer time to process and digest. Besides, fruits and vegetables are healthier than animal products.
However, to build muscles we need protein which can be found in meat. So to maintain my protein intake, I am using alternatives. Tofu or bean curd, for instance, is a great alternative to animal meat and a source of protein at a very friendly price. I drink a lot of water too, more or less 2 liters a day. This will help to release unwanted wastes and fats in my body. I'm currently taking collagen supplements for my muscles and joints, and taking it alone requires 1 liter of water to be digested well. So each morning, I take 6 tablets (as prescribed) on an empty stomach and then drink 1 liter of water. Moreover, fruit and vegetables are definitely good for digestion, and can even help my skin glow.
EXERCISE
Many are struggling to exercise, especially those who have jobs in the real world. For my part, I work from the morning until the end of the day. Oftentimes, I would over time until night when necessary. Additionally, blogging has also consumed some of my resting time, so it's really hard for me to do exercise.
But how do I do that?"
My day starts at 6 in the morning, that's when I do some stretching, just at home, before starting my work. I will start by stretching my head, arms, body, then legs. Once done, I will do planking, then followed by yoga exercises.
For those who have limited time, or do have not enough time to go to the gym, yoga exercises are the best. There are a lot of video tutorials on YT that you can download. This will help our muscles become flexible and fit. My body is tiny and I don't need to build big muscles, so I don't need to go to the gym to stay fit, home exercises fit me. I also consider walking outside every day as part of my daily exercise.
(I have no current photos, so I used these old ones taken last winter)
The last part of my daily exercise is meditation. This is the relaxation part. I'm doing this by sitting (like a buddha) on the floor near the balcony window facing the sunrise. Then it will be followed by deep breathing exercises with my eyes closed.
This is also my way of clearing preoccupied thoughts in my mind so I could add new and positive ones for the day. Sometimes, when they are overwhelming, they triggered my anxiety and I easily get stressed at work. So meditation helps me restore my mind and calm my body after some exercises.
Meditation is also proven to be a good exercise to have a mindful mind and be focused. Just imagine what monks are doing, and how meditation greatly positively impacts them.
For those who aim to have a flat stomach, here's an exercise I learned and have been doing for a long time, that I guess is effective and beneficial. Have you heard about stomach vacuum? This helps strengthen our abdominal muscles. I'm doing this by inhaling deeply in my nose, then slowly exhaling while holding my belly. The longer you hold it, the better. To get the benefits of this, it should be done properly. So if you want to try, you can search for it online. There are videos on YT too about it.
OPTIMISTIC MIND and SELF-DISCIPLINE
Do you know that to maintain a fit body, we need to be mentally fit as well? Well, everything will be pointless if we aren't. Because if we are mentally stressed, our body is affected too. When we feel demotivated and weak, we don't feel like doing exercises or eating the right amount of food. So the best way to stay fit, in general, is to be mentally fit as well.
This is actually the hardest part since there are a lot of anxiety-provoking circumstances around us. This is the main reason why I am doing meditation each morning. I am hoping that this routine would help me achieve the optimistic and peaceful mind I am aiming for.
And above all, everything will be pointless if we don't do it religiously. I'm not talking about religion here, but being consistent. If we really want to achieve something, we have to be consistent because one day or a few weeks isn't enough to build the fit body we desire. It takes a long time, and if we are not consistent and disciplined enough, well, we won't get anything, but an ab, not abs.
I don't have a perfect body and I have a lot of flaws too. But I have something to show off, lol.
So these are my routine that helps my body fit. We all have different preferences. So it's up to you whether to follow the aforementioned exercises or not.
But one thing is certain, if you have a fit mind, you have a fit body as well. Stay fit, and practice a healthy lifestyle!
I'm inviting 
Thanks for reading.
