2. A year to reshape your life
The days just seem to be
zipping past. All your
time seems to be focused
on everybody but
yourself.
There are times when you
just want to quit and run
away! You don’t seem to
have any energy. Slowly,
the joy you felt everyday
when you woke up,
seems to be draining
away.
Well, it is time to take a
good, hard look at
yourself and take some
time to reshape your life.
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3. A year to reshape your life
Month 1: Take control
•Take a good look at
your health goals
•Schedule a doctor’s
appointment to have a
baseline health check up
•Outline a plan for good
nutrition
•Give yourself an
attainable weight loss
goal
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4. A year to reshape your life
Month 2: Weight
management - avoid
health problems
•Switch to healthy snacks-
a piece of fruit or a glass
of low fat milk or
buttermilk is healthier than
fried snacks
•Make sure you drink
plenty of water everyday.
Your skin will glow!
•Eat five servings of fruits
and vegetables a day.
Dried fruits count!
•Never go food shopping
on an empty stomach.
Make a low-calorie
shopping list before you
enter the store
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5. A year to reshape your life
Month 3: Physical
activity - improve your
long-term quality of life.
•Involve your entire family
•Burn some of the calories
you take in—use every
opportunity to exercise
Start to exercise gradually
and work your way up
•Walking is the easiest
form of exercise. Make
walking a daily routine
•Use the stairs at home
and at work
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6. A year to reshape your life
Month 4: Stress
busters- be good to
yourself.
•Allot fifteen minutes for
yourself each day (and
guard it passionately!)
•Learn meditation/
pranayama
•Surround yourself with
music
•Get together with friends
and family to cry, laugh,
and support each other
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7. A year to reshape your life
Month 5: Ensure
medical care for the
family
•Find the best health
insurance package for
your entire family
•Check your employee
healthy insurance
package- does it give
good coverage?
•Start a separate savings
account for unexpected
medical expenditures
•Choose a family
physician/hospital for your
family’s health care
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8. A year to reshape your life
Month 6: Your children-
are they safe?
•Make sure that your children
have received the
immunizations they require
•Ensure a healthy diet for
them – habits inculcated as
children carry into adulthood
•Build in some exercise into
their daily routine. Don’t let
them substitute TV for fresh
air
•Always keep communication
lines open with your older
children. Do not turn a blind
eye when there is a drastic
change in their behaviour.
Drugs and sexual abuse are
lurking dangers
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9. A year to reshape your life
Month 7: ‘Feel good
factor’- you are amazing!
•Look at your achievements
in terms of a happiness
quotient
•Make a list of what you have
done that makes you feel
proud of yourself – and then
bask in the glow!
•Remember that what you
have done with your
children is a major
achievement!
•Measure success by how
much health, peace, and joy
you have
•You are a woman with
multiple roles and nobody
can do it better
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10. A year to reshape your life
Month 8: Prevention- it’s
better than a cure
•Eat a well-balanced diet rich
in calcium and vitamin D to
prevent osteoporosis
•Depending on your age,
make sure you have regular
checkups
•Don’t forget to have an eye
checkup, especially after 40
•You need to learn how to do
regular breast self-
examinations
•A mammogram may be
required - check with your
doctor
•Schedule your Pap smear
and pelvic examination
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11. A year to reshape your life
Month 9: Spirituality-
anchor yourself
•Set aside a calm time of the
day to get in touch with your
inner self
•Individually or with the
family, perform “random
acts of kindness, senseless
acts of beauty!”
•Explore avenues of spiritual
experience- stick to the one
that works best for you
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12. A year to reshape your life
Month 10: Spread
happiness- it will come
back to you
•Don’t hold back on praise
or appreciation- even
husbands need to be
verbally told how much they
are appreciated!
•Do not hesitate to tell
somebody how much he or
she means to you – they
might be gone from your life
before you know it. There is
no regret like the regret of
unspoken words
•Smile- it is a great mood
elevator for yourself and
everyone around you
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13. A year to reshape your life
Month 11: Say no to
drugs- kick the “pill for
every ill” habit
•Don’t self-medicate
•Avoid antibiotics for simple
coughs, colds and the
common flu
•Don’t demand pills from
your physician
•If you can’t sleep, use old
fashioned remedies like a
glass of warm milk rather
than reaching for a sleeping
pill
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14. A year to reshape your life
Month 12: Laugh and the
world laughs with you
•Spend time with your family
being silly - the shared
laughter will bind you with
love
•Look at the funny side in
every situation
•If you can’t fight or flee-
flow!
•Don’t let the small stuff get
you down
•Learn to count your
blessings – you always have
something you can be happy
about
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