Several steps you can take to save on medical bills

It was all like it happened yesterday. I was leaning my head and looked up top at the tallest building in my city. I couldn’t believe that I was stepping in as a software developer in my preferred company. Everything around seemed like a vision come true.

I walked inside with pride and happiness. My new boss, my team, my dream office, it felt like I had got it all in my life. Like a little child looking at Disney land, I was viewing my office without even blinking. I sat in my cube and looked around once again.

My boss is very kind-hearted. I don’t know how many people would have that privilege. He knew my strengths and weaknesses. He would appreciate me when I do a good job and tried to motivate when he expected me to do better. I felt motivated to work more just to maintain his sound impression of me. I started working over-time.  Working over-time helped me complete my projects within the deadline and also kept me in my boss’s good books. I also got a promotion and other employee accolades such as best employee, hardworking soldier, sincere techie, and so on.

I climbed the corporate ladder so quickly that I had no time to look after myself or my family. Computers, headphones, projects, deadlines, clients, appraisals, promotions become an integral part of my life. Thankfully, I got a good wife who understood my work schedule and looked after my kids and my parents by herself.

My responsibilities in the office increased day by day. As days passed, I could feel a pressure mounting on my head. Every software engineer would know how much stress it can create.  Client retention is very crucial in the software field. We have to keep ourselves updated and make clients understand the flow of the project. I was glued to my work so much so that I didn’t know what was happening around me in the outside world. I didn’t have enough time to even care about the people around me. All I cared about was the targets and the deadlines.

I didn’t have time to get up and have my lunch during my work hours. Thankfully, junk foods like burgers and pizzas got delivered to my desk. I hardly drank water as the centralized air conditioning in my workspace suppressed my thirst. The junk foods increased my hunger tempting me to eat more. I used to grab a burger and an energy drink when I felt hungry and felt a need to energize myself. I knew its ill effects, but I continued, as I loved its taste and how it kept me active for a long time.

I used to wake up according to my shifts. One pleasant morning, I woke up and looked outside. The sunshine hit my face, but it felt nice. I got up from my bed and went to brush my teeth and looked into the mirror. I realized that something about me had drastically changed.

I had become fat. Not only on my body, but I also witnessed changes in my face too. I found dark circles around my eyes. My cheeks were cranky. I looked ten years older. I felt unusually tired after climbing the staircase in my office and also started feeling sharp pangs of pain on my back. I could sense my body’s clock showing sign after sign to warn me that my health was heading to a dangerous rock bottom.

My body had become weak and so had my immunity. I could not resist even a cold or slight fever and would end up in bed for days. I used to be known for my perfect attendance record at the office, but now I was taking sick leaves regularly because of my bad health.

Hospital appointments had become a part of my weekly schedules. I showed early signs of diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and arthritis. All thanks to my habit of not drinking water, eating junk foods and not having much physical activity.

My doctor advised me to stop eating junk foods and switch to a healthy diet and I’ve pretty much turned things around in a wonderful way.

My diet starts in the morning by drinking a glass of water in my empty stomach.

After drinking water, I eat fruits like apple, avocado, bananas, blueberries, oranges and strawberries as they have high nutritious content that would help with weight loss.

I prefer steamed foods to oily food for my meals as they prevent the loss of the nutrients in the food. Adding vegetables like broccoli, onions, tomatoes, carrots, garlic, cucumber, and greens like lettuce, spinach has helped me feel energetic and refreshed.

I drink more water and it has helped to regulate my body temperature. I feel my body to be cooler, and it has reflected on my mind as well, as I feel more peaceful.

Water reduces dehydration but also gives real energy as compared to the artificial energy boost provided by energy drinks. Drinking water also helps to lubricate the joints and reduces joint pain. It has helped cure my arthritis.

Practicing yoga every day helps me to regain good health, reduce unnecessary fats in the body and also helps to retain mental peace. Yoga has helped me to reduce blood pressure. Practicing Savasana every day has reduced my blood pressure.

Yoga, especially ones that are recommended for people who spend a lot of time sitting such as developers like ourselves, lowers cortisol and adrenaline levels that support weight loss.  Yoga helps to counter the effects of diabetes too by reducing blood sugar levels.

Sitting in front of the computer for a long time may cause issues in eyesight, and cause joint pain. Do take regular breaks from your system and walk around for a while. Do a few eye exercises to increase blood flow to your eye veins.

I realized that health is very important for an individual to survive only after becoming a victim of multiple health issues but I’ve managed to turn it around by following the above steps. You can too, it is only about consistently following the above steps. A healthy body is the abode of peace and contentment. Treat your body in the right way and it will keep your mind at peace and your medical bills within manageable limits.