Who Says You Are Healthy?

Who says you are healthy?

You say that?

Your family doctor says that?

Your gym coach says that?

Or the basic health parameters say that?

Well, let me ask you, How do you measure health?

The answer lies in and depends on who you ask. A physician may measure health in terms of lab values such as cholesterol, blood sugar and so on. A personal trainer might tell you that your body fat percentage is the best indicator of good health. You yourself might base it on what the scale tells you or how your clothes fit and how you look in the mirror.

We are not denying the fact that your health is hidden in all of these, hence, you have to keep a track of all. Seems like a big job, but it only takes a few minutes to do each one, doesn’t involve expensive equipment and doesn’t really have to call for a visit to your physician every time.

Here are the “Super Ten Measures”, if at the right levels, can loudly say “YOU ARE PERFECTLY HEALTHY”

• Weight
• BMI (Body Mass Index)
• Body Composition
• Measurements
• Resting And Target Heart Rates
• Cardio-Respiratory Fitness
• Energy Level
• Blood Pressure
• Glucose & Cholesterol
• Pain

Now you may ask, why keep track of all these things?

We have three strong supports to this theory.

First of all, because there isn’t one single good way to define what makes a person healthy or fit. For instance, just because you are at a healthy weight, does not mean that you don’t have high cholesterol. Also, it can be discouraging to use just one method. You may find yourself in a situation where even though you did not lose any weight in a given week, you may have lost inches. Which means your body cholesterol remains at the same level, but your shape is definitely improving.

Therefore, monitoring these above mentioned indicators of health and fitness helps you to get a well-rounded picture of your entire self.

For a better understanding, We would like to quote an example here. Does the examination system in schools judges the students in just one subject at school? No, it doesn’t. And just because the child does poorly in math does not mean he won’t excel in other subjects. Similarly, just because you have not lost any weight on the scale does not mean that your waist isn’t getting smaller. Your high energy levels do not indicate towards the best body composition.

Secondly, we have all heard the adage, “a problem defined is 95% solved.” Knowing your target ranges for health indicators like weight, body fat and BMI can help you to define what you need to work on. You can avoid unnecessary changes and difficulties by having the up to the mark information. For instance, someone with good cholesterol levels has no need for an ultra-low fat diet. They can very well do with cutting the carbs and adding more fibre to the diet, along with the healthy fat that they are eating.

Third, overall monitoring serves as a point of inspiration to see how far you have come. Since the changes you are making in varied compartments of your health will be small and incremental, it may be discouraging at times not to see overt or visible progress. However, by keeping track of a variety of fitness indicators, it is easier to see, in black and white, all of the progress you are making.  You will be able to gauge the small yet spread-across changes that occur in the various health parameters and they definitely seem rewarding.

Therefore, for a healthy mind and fit body, the entire physical structure has to be worked upon inside-out and not just the outer frame. Let us just make it a usual routine to keep track of all SUPER TEN PARAMETERS and be on the climbing-up side of our health ladder.

Happy health monitoring to you!