How I took care of my health during my PhD

When last you measured your weight and calculate your BMI? If not done recently, do it once and see where you stand. Don't judge yourself based on how you look. I have met people who look to be in normal body shape, but their BMI puts them in the obese category; at the same time, I have met people who look to be out of shape, but they can be in the normal weight BMI range just by shading only a kilo or two.

When I joined my PhD in July 2017, I was in the normal weight BMI range. I had an active lifestyle before, but my food habits were not good. In the first month of PhD, I had little time left after the coursework load for the day and understanding my research. But in just one month, I gained 4kgs. My lifestyle became sedentary; I was low on energy by evening. I started taking an auto to commute from the hostel to the department and back. I started sitting for long hours on the chair. I used to sleep on the chair. My sleep cycle was messed up, and I thrived on very little sleep. I was not happy with the person I was becoming.

I tried early morning jogging/running but soon got tired of it. I tried the gym but gave up in a couple of days. I tried to sleep by 10 PM, but I failed most days. I tried eating only the mess food; it was economical and healthy. But the monotony and the lure of junk food played their part in me eating out. I had to do something about my habits and the choices I was making.

It took a couple of days and many rough sheets of ideating to find the trick to a healthy lifestyle. It's simple, be mindful of what you eat and move your body. The following are the things I did to achieve both.

• Stand: Stand up often. I have standing conversations while having tea/coffee with friends. I used to deliberately attempt to talk to someone sitting far away from me so I would have to stand up from my chair.
• Walk: It's the best, cheap and liberating. I started walking when on a call. You can take short breaks with your group. In a group, without realising, you tend to walk more.
• Move your neck: When outside, I deliberately started seeing up on the trees, the sky, the moon, stars, and birds; at the ground, the leaves, the insect, and the mud; left and right for vehicles and cattle (yes, we had cows & dogs inside the campus). The more I did this, I started admiring nature and felt good.
• Take the stairs: If your medical doctor has not recommended to avoid taking stairs, then use stairs. If you are not carrying heavy load, then use stairs.
• Find an activity that you like: Try different sports, zumba, gym, dance or any activity that excites you and customise it into your schedule and style. After much exploration, I found trekking and cycling to be my thing. Almost every alternate weekend I used to go for treks. And the remaining weekends will be long cycle rides. Find a group and make it a group activity, it becomes easy then.
• Yoga: You will find yoga centres almost everywhere and in every academic institute. Go there and do it. If you have physical issue, then talk to the instructor first and do as advised. Yoga helps.
• Mobility drill & stretching: If you can not do anything (on a certain day) then do 5 mins of mobility exercises for all your joints and then do cool down stretching for the entire body.
• Meditation: My definition of meditation is slightly different. Anything that calms me down, and I feel connected to myself is an act of meditation. If sitting quiet with eyes closed and focusing on breathing calms you down then do it. For me, taking a stroll down the blissful lake side of my campus during sunrise was meditative.
• Drink ~4L of water: We don't drink enough water. The way we eat, unless you drink enough water then your body is taking a huge toll. A simple trick I use is to pour water into a cup and keep it in front of me. I refill it as soon as drink from it. My water intake went up.
• Sleep enough: I am not a advocate of 8 hours of sleep. For me, what I found is 5-6.5 hours of deep sleep is enough. It is the amount of deep sleep that matters but not for how long your are lying on bed.
• Food: Often mess food is good, yes monotone but good. Eat more dal, sabji, salad, fruits (if it's on the menu) and limit your carbs (roti and rice). Buy seasonal fruits, it will be economical and flavourful, and eat daily. Buy vegetables and make salads at room and include a bowl full of it in your daily food intake. During PhD do jugad and go for economical but healthy options. I used to eat a fruit before each of my meal: breakfast, lunch, evening snacks, and dinner. It helped my body break the fast and also made me eat less food.

Be mindful of what you eat and move your body a bit. You will be joyful, full of energy and present a good vibe around you.