Taking a chance on Healthy Living?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, I have set upon myself the crucial task of evaluating the pros and cons of taking a chance on healthy living.

Even before I begin, I must admit. The progression from the very ‘serious’ editions of ‘Your Daily News’, to a dossier on your should- be eating habits and fitness routine, will be very difficult for me. I will have to put myself in the shoes of the ‘health -freak elderly aunty’ who keeps on irritating most of us with her constant lectures on healthy eating and regular morning walks. Hence, I must warn you. Please read on only if you either need a break from drafting DAPS or feel that the forwards that hit your mail box these days do not tickle your funny bone any longer!

All of us, auditors in the Department, have one thing in common. That is if you leave aside the basic fundamentals of eating, sleeping and making sure your early morning rituals make you start feeling hungry again! All of you have had the wonderful opportunity to interact with the wise men of the Company. Yes, those same gentlemen who took your interview and decided you are best fit to understand ‘RISK’ and mitigate them!

Well, here is the common link. One of the most important aspects of living a healthy and prosperous life is understanding ‘risk’. Very few of us know how to understand and analyze situations in life that affect health. Being able to accurately weigh benefits and risks when making health decisions (such as when, what and most importantly, where to eat in an outstation audit location, or for that matter, simple decisions on what kind of filtered water you want the Stuart to serve you) is very important! We often tend to base our decisions on incomplete or inaccurate information and this is a huge mistake with significant consequences! I apologize in advance if I might sound like one of your Audit Managers during the Audit induction at Sonar Bangla! But here I go, “Assessing ‘risk’ is nothing more than collecting information, weighing the alternatives and then making appropriate decisions based on the information.”Some risks to our health are more "real" than others. For example, it is common knowledge that obesity is associated with a wide variety of health problems. Over the couple of years that I have been in the Department, I have noticed a common tendency amongst most male colleagues to put on weight. I am myself (or rather used to be till a little while ago) a living example. I appreciate the fact that being a loyal and a hard worker, the Company has decided that you deserve an extra amount of pampering. Your Hotel ‘Travel Expenditure’ claim eligibilities are ample evidence of that. But does it mean you start eating more? Or does it give you the liberty to eat the wrong food, at the wrong place? How many of us care to go for a short walk after that heavy meal? How many of us make sure we are drinking lots of water at regular intervals? Most importantly, do we even know whether the water we are drinking is filtered, is mineral water or just tap water from the wash basin sink of that highly rated restaurant? Have you ever calculated in your mind at what intervals of time are you having your meals-breakfast, lunch and dinner?

By now, this word document must have already started getting a lot of nasty stares with some people also trashing it and commanding it off to the recycle bin, as an utter waste of time! Trust me. I would have done quite the same if I was in the middle of an intense audit review, with the Audit Manager’s heavy voice on the other side of the phone making me go weak in my legs! But if you have still decided that it seems to be a good bed time story, read on.

I can safely claim to know the answers to all of the questions I asked above.

Very few of us actually eat more. However, what we invariably do not have the ‘time’ to do is the pursuit of some kind of a routine physical activity. It need not be in the nature of a regular visit to the gym or to the swimming pool. In any case, in an outstation location, trying to figure out where is the nearest public sanitation facility can itself be a daunting task! But what most of us can surely have the time, will and energy to do is to make sure we walk short distances, do a free arm exercise in the mornings before you hit the washroom, and do not skip breakfast!
With the kind of entitlements we are eligible for; only a moron would like to eat his daily supper at a road side dhaba. So, most of us, I assume, would also not eat at the wrong place.
However, there will still remain a couple of questions, the answers to which will not be very forthcoming. First, do we eat the correct food and supplement our high intakes of oil and cholesterol with adequate doses of fruits and green vegetables? And second, are we very strict with our supper timings and would like to maintain them come what may?

There are some health risks that are so remote we rarely think about them. On a practical level, eating highly processed foods and avoiding a daily dose of fresh fruits and vegetables is rarely considered serious. But, as I have recently discovered, the long range consequences of this practice are real and devastating.

These days, Food Bazaar, Subhiksha, Spenser’s and the likes are opening up stores all over the country, with the same fire and pace with which Mamata Banerjee decides to call her ‘Bengal Bandhs’. It should not be very difficult for any of you to shop for good quality, hygienic and fresh fruits. That too against a proper voucher for the same! Don’t you want to keep Mrs Gita Gupta of Corporate Accounts busy with your TE processing?

Accurately define your present situation and assess your health "risks". Are you eating a healthy diet? Are you getting enough exercise and good quality sleep? What are the consequences if you DON'T change? Weigh the benefits of healthier living vs. the potential risks of a medical ailment such as increased cost, inconvenience and discomfort.
The best method I can suggest you, to reduce your risk is by being smart! So if your ‘highly charged up’ audit team members insist that the only way to get hold of that extra audit point is by giving company to the contracted security staff personnel past midnight, keep those ‘Sunfeast’ packets handy. Make sure you are through with dinner at the correct time (even if it has to be laid out on the office table).

Get involved, be smart about how you play the game, come prepared for a few failures along the way, but don't QUIT. You will reap the benefits for your effort and live a happier and a healthier life.

You might think I am contesting for the post of the Health Minister of India. But for those of you who actually had the time to read the whole article, you must by now have been either convinced, or totally confused! Well, if it is the latter, please do not expect another set of ‘eye openers’ on health. I think I am best fit to continue being serious in my editions of ‘Your Daily News’!

Warm Regards,
Abhishek Gupta.