How to improve your daily routine for better health

As we have been talking about in part 1 and part 2 there are many things that can make you fail in your goal to be fit. In today's article I will explain what a typical Singaporean's daily routine looks like, and what I would do to change it for the better.

Let's take "Jack" as an example for our story. An engineer in a local SME, he works regular hours from 8:30am to 6pm. He is of average health. He is slightly overweight at 80kg and 170cm tall and has slowly gained weight working his way up the ranks to be a senior engineer.

He is 29 per cent fat, most of it stored at his tummy, waist and chest. He exercises by going for a swim at the pool of his condo once a week during the weekend.

This story is typical of many Singapore residents.

Because sleep is so important, lets start from bedtime the day before...

• 12:30am - After surfing the internet for relaxation, Jack tries to fall asleep. He lies down on his bed at about 12:30am but usually takes about an hour to fall asleep. He thinks about work, worries about his latest project and what the boss will think of the presentation he has to give tomorrow.

• 3am - Wake up and stumble to the toilet to urinate

• 5:30am - Jack feels slightly awake, but tries to stay asleep because it's not time to wake up yet

• 7am - Alarm clock rings and jolts Jack upright in bed. Jack slams the snooze button... "I need just 10 more minutes of rest" he thinks...

• 7:15am - Jack finally gets up out of bed, feeling low on energy and un-rested. He brushes his teeth and gets dressed.

• 7:30am (even later if Jack was a lady and had to decide what to wear, and put on make-up) - Jack goes to the kitchen and makes breakfast: two slices of bread with kaya and a cup of Milo.

• 8am - Jack is out of the house and goes to work.

• 8:30am - Jack arrives at work but still doesn't feel fully focused yet, he grabs a coffee from the office pantry and sits down at his desk. He chats with his colleagues and surf's the internet for some of today's news.

• 10am - Jack finally feels focused enough to get down to work. He works for a while but is hungry, so grabs some cookies for a snack -- along with another coffee.

• 12pm - Lunch time, Jack usually eats at the nearest food court, rice with two veggie dishes and a serving of meat is his usual lunch. Sometimes it's noodles or a sandwich.

• 3pm - The afternoon sleepy period kicks in and Jack dozes off. Time for a curry puff and coffee snack.

• 4pm - Jack is in a semi-daze state when he gives his presentation. But the adrenaline kicks in and he survives his boss' tough questions.

• 6pm - Jack leaves office, and thinks about going for a swim at his pool, but his colleagues convince him to eat dinner with them instead.

• 7pm - Jack has pasta with some garlic bread, and washes it down with a beer.

• 9pm - Jack watches TV and eats a bag of potato chips while doing so.

• 11pm - Jack finishes his TV program and goes online to chat with his Facebook and MSN buddies.

• 12:30am - REPEAT

Here is what I would tell him to do...(besides the fact that he is headed for some serious health issues down the road!) Here is Jack Version 2.0...

Starting from before bed...

• Make sure his room is dark, cool and quiet. iIf its not dark enough, get a eye shade, if its noisy, get ear plugs, and turn on the fan or aircon

• All electronics are off except a battery operated alarm clock. No Wifi, no hand phone etc.

• 30 minutes before bed he should use a relaxing nutrient combination like glycine, and magnesium which relax the nervous system, and your muscles for a restful sleep.

• I would also try to get to bed earlier. The sooner the better because your body rests best from 11pm to about 5am.

• Once Jack starts to get a restful sleep, he should wake up without an alarm clock! That is a sudden, stressful start to the day. Already he has a stressful job which causes him to lose sleep due to excess stress hormones.

• Once Jack wakes up, I would ask him to eat a nutritious breakfast of meat (yes meat) and a handful of nuts. Why? Meat and nuts are energizing and boost the brain chemicals which improve concentration, and memory.

• If Jack defrosted his meat the night before, pan frying it in butter or coconut oil would take only 8 minutes. Zinc and an Omega-3 supplement would be a good choice at this time because they help with energy and brain function.

• Jack's current breakfast of bread, kaya and Milo is extremely sugary and will lead to poor morning energy and hunger pangs.

• Meat, nuts and healthy fats will give Jack a great, focused, productive morning. I always tell clients to ask their bosses for a raise because their increased health leads to increased productivity!

• At work, Jack will feel ready to work from 8:30am instead of 10:30am. He gets ahead not by working longer, but by being more efficient.

• At morning snack time, Jack knows that the cookies and coffee were killing his energy. Instead he takes some nuts and some carrot sticks he brought from home. This low GI snack digests slowly, and does not give the energy ups and downs that sugary food does. Jack can still have coffee but without milk and sugar.

• Instead he adds cinnamon powder and heavy cream which make the coffee digest slower (less jitters and energy ups and downs) and actually act as a mild fat burner.

• At lunch Jack eats something that is nutritious and slow to digest. He eats a herbal soup with watercress and pork ribs, as well as a chicken chop from the western food stall. He swaps the fries for an extra serving of cucumbers and tomatoes.

• For an afternoon snack, Jack eats another bunch of nuts and carrot sticks.

• Jack has a great presentation to his boss because he is fully able to focus to answer all the tough questions posed to him

• Jack also finds friends who will not sabotage his fitness plans by getting him to eat fattening food like pasta and bread, instead of exercising.

• Instead he finds friends, family, colleagues, a group exercise class, or a coach who will encourage him to exercise. Ideally 4 times per week.

• "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with" I tell my clients. If all your friends drink beer and eat pizza. You will be fat, and weak for sure.

• Jack goes home, and plays with his kids and spends time with his wife.

• He also writes a short journal entry with three things he is thankful for today. This reduces his mental stress, and makes him a more pleasant, relaxed and fun dad and husband.

• Jack limits his time to 30 mins on Facebook, and takes his relaxing nutrients and gets ready for bed at 10:30pm.

• REPEAT

Is Jack 2.0 a superman training for the Olympics? No. He is a person who is serious about maximising his productivity, happiness and health. He takes good advice and puts it into practice. All people who have exceptional health have habits like this as well. I know you can have them, too.

For the best fitness boot camp program, ExpressFIT program in the CBD, and personal training in Singapore visit www.genesisgym.com.sg or the Genesis Gym facebook page. Or visit Coach Jonathan's homepage and blog at www.coachjon.com