Up until today I still laugh at a statement from a random friend one year ago when I started living healthier by eating clean and adopted running into my everyday lifestyle. In the mind of this friend, I take care of myself because of a guy. NO. I take care of myself for myself, not for anyone. You see, when you start to realize how much bad food you have been stuffing down your body and your health deteriorating, you will wake up one day and put up a determination to turn things around before it is too late. You look good for yourself, not for anyone else. Always remember that 😉 . Just as the saying…girls put on makeup for themselves not for a guy. So please, do not lose weight for someone else but do it FOR YOU. Still don’t agree with me? Come, I smack you and give you a long empowering talk on how to love yourself more 😛

For the past few weeks, Nestlé Omega Plus has been doing numerous initiative to get Malaysians to get moving and live healthier. Funny thing is, I have always been told that I am ‘quite healthy’ but I did not realized I am really living quite a “clean” lifestyle until this campaign started a few weeks ago. You know you are healthy when you go out for lunch with friends and they asked “are you on strict clean eating menu now?” just to decide on where to eat and what to eat to accommodate to your clean eating preference 😀

Malaysians tend to settle for fast and cheap food due to their busy lifestyle. Add that with the varieties of oh-so-yummy Malaysian food, you are bound to get into unhealthy eating. Numerous research was done and proven that Malaysians in their thirties are now more likely to have arteries of a person aged seventy years old due to the unhealthy lifestyles that we chose to live. This lifestyle indirectly are pushing young Malaysians to suffer heart disease at a younger age that what we perceived.

Did you know that:

• 1 out of 2 Malaysian adults are suffering from high cholesterol.
• 42% of Malaysians who have high cholesterol are below the ages of 40 years old.
• Individuals as young as in their 20s are diagnosed with heart disease.
• Cardiovascular disease is responsible for one-quarter of all hospital deaths.
• Nearly half of heart attack patients (45%) have three or more risk factors:
  • 77% being obese
  • 65% having high blood pressure
  • 46% having diabetes
  • 38% being smokers
  • 37% having abnormal cholesterol levels

My Personal Take on Taking Care of My Heart Health

(1) Running / Yoga / Plank

Running has always been my number #1 choice when it comes to physical activity. No matter how hard or how many injuries I suffered along the way, I still like to run. I have not adopted to other activities like biking and swimming simply because I love running! It is only for the past six months or so I started yoga and very recently, plank. I used to take ballet classes when I was young so I find myself enjoying all the stretching and soreness from it. When it comes to physical activity, it can be at any form. You do which suits you and your body. Whichever you feel comfortable with. As long as you move around. All you need is a minimum of 30 minutes a day and for five times a week. If you tell me you do not have 30 minutes to spare, come I smack you hard again 😛

(2) Balanced Diet

Clean eating is not for everyone. It is hard for most people due to all the temptations of delicious Malaysian food such as nasi lemak, roti canai, banana leaf rice and many more. As for me, clean eating comes fairly easy as I am not a big eater to begin with. To cut down my food portion is easy but to take on vegetables and more vegetables is hard for me. I am not a fan of the green. After clean eating on and off for a year, I munch on vegetables more than chicken now.

Balanced diet does not mean you have to clean eating like me. Balanced diet as we learnt from school days means having proper food quantities and proportions, for example filling half your plate with vegetables and fruits. It would be even better to add milk to your diet as milk contain added plant sterols to block the absorption of cholesterol into the bloodstream. You may find minimal amounts of plant sterol in grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds. However the amount is very little so you need to consume a large amount in order to meet the daily 1.2g requirement for it to work. Nestlé Omega Plus milk is one of the most convenient and easiest way to input 1.2g of plant sterol into your system. Two servings is all you need.

(3) Regular Medical Check-Up

I believe not many people really do go for their annual medical check-up. Ever since I had Hyperthyroidism, I go for one every three months. Now that I am off the medications, doctor told me to return for a thorough check-up every year, in which I did. You do not need a reason or to suffer from any diseases to go for medical check-up. Always remember that prevention is better than cure. You should know the numbers to the simplest thing such as blood pressure, cholesterol, heart rate, blood glucose and weight. Heart disease do not happen overnight. So if you failed to identify the symptoms, a medical check-up will be able to tell you what you are not aware of.

I Got Rewarded!

Some may ask, why suffer myself through running, soreness, bruises (I get bruises from yoga) and restraining myself from all the good Malaysian food. That is because it is so much rewarding! I am less sick than I was before, I am fitter (and muscular eh eh eh!), I fit into the tinniest clothes size now, and I can eat whatever I want (cheat day) at the right proportion because I know I am so much more healthier now. The best part is that I do not need to justify everything I eat and say no to food I really want. No kidding. That is rewarding to me.

And then, there is this.

Nestlé Omega Plus surprised me one day with a care package. I called it a care package because they include two very important item in my package, and that is Nestlé Omega Plus Milk packs. They also very kindly and generously include a Mi Band Pulse together with my milk packs. Together, it is one heck of a good care package especially for someone who stays active. You can also get rewarded with a similar care package from Nestlé Omega Plus by taking steps towards a healthier heart.

Here’s how.