Project Redemption

It's official - I've embarked on a healthy lifestyle campaign.

I've been reading up on plenty of health-related articles online and I'm freaked out by the m-a-n-y ways our health can go wrong as a result of seemingly harmless enough habits.

For the past 7 years, I've been working my ass off to get better at what I do at work, as well as to meet all the merciless deadlines. Going without a second's shut-eye for over 30 hours at a stretch was common. Going without food for more than 24 hours (due to stress and lack of energy to get food while stuck in the office over weekends) was common. Add to that the vices of my personal lifestyle over the years, I am really more than a teeny bit worried about what all that had done to my health.

My fave aunt's recent cancer relapse did not help too.

Thus, I have resolved to change my lifestyle and dietary habits from now on.

I used to turn up my nose when some friends talked about healthy living. In those foolish days, healthy living seemed like a completely good waste of life (yes, I was that foolish). I had believed that I was much too young to be concerned with healthy living.

It also never really crossed my mind that I was doing my liver, kidney, bone marrow, and who knows what else, a whole lot of injustice and harm whenever I worked through one stressful night after another. I thought burning the midnight oil to get a job done well was simply a matter of discipline and a mind over body issue. And I thought indulging in long nights out everytime I had a chance to was a good way to relieve stress and to reward myself for hard days' work. Gawd, I can't believe how I could have been so foolish.

So anyway, it's high time to make up to my health for all the wrongs I had done it in the past. I'm very particular about my dietary habits now and I am going to cut out or at least cut down on all the unhealthy (but sadly, delectable) stuff that I used to enjoy, such as fermented bean curd, potato chips, soft drinks etc. I'm not saying that I will deny myself those food for the rest of my life, but I am just going to make sure that they are consumed in moderation, and only occasionally.

I am also making it a point to be asleep by 12am at the latest every night, preferably even earlier.

And I've started my A-Jog-A-Day programme! I felt so good after going on that first 2.4km run of my programme! The run was not only good for health, but it also lifted my mood considerably! As I was cooling down after the run, I took deep gulps of the fresh morning air and also took in my surrounding - the bright early morning sun, the merry chirping of the birds...it was such a lovely experience.

These pictures of a sweaty and stinky me marked the completion of the first run of my A-Jog-A-Day programme:

By the way, I just heard on the news that the latest studies had proven once and for all that cancer is caused by prolonged period of unhealthy lifestyle and habits, and not due to sudden traumas etc. Fresh fruits, veggies and brans are also indeed excellent for fending off cancers. On the other hand, red meat, dairy products and food high in fat content should be taken in moderation.

Apart from the first bits about "prolonged period of unhealthy lifestyle and habits VS sudden traumas", the rest all sound like common sense, I know. But speaking from personal experience, it seems like we all sometimes choose to ignore common sense.

Here's another interesting result the studied yield: Taller people are more prone to cancers.

That would be the second reason to be pleased about my height, then. The first reason is that my height is good for hanging out the laundry, as it is much harder for me to fall over the parapet.

Alright, I am calling it a night now...my bed is beckoning.