As a teen I remember feeling tired very easily. I couldn’t take the summer heat at all. Having working parents meant that I got access to their car and driver for drop to the bus stop or school and later to the junior college. The only time I carried my heavy school bag on my shoulders was while inside the school premises. I did love sports, a lot, but I wouldn’t say I ever qualified to make it to the finals.
As I went on to study Bachelors in a different city, the story continued. I would prefer to stay in or hang out with friends at the coffee shop instead of tagging along for treks or hikes or cycling. With the sad state of hostel food, I used to get bad headaches due to infrequent meals. At that time I started getting dependent on hot cups of tea to keep myself energized.
After marriage, I remember the shock and concern on my husband’s face that I could barely lift anything the size of a grocery bag or walk for more than 20 mins.
I think, a part of it got passed on in my genes. My mother does have very slow stamina and immunity levels. Also I do admit that I relied on a lot of processed food during my hostel days. I did little or no strenuous activities and avoided going out in the sun as much as I could. And the hot cups of tea were definitely not good in the long run as it lead to a lot of acidity.
My husband encouraged me to start my day with some brisk walk if not jog. But frankly I hardly got more than 20 mins a day for any form of workout as I was working full time, I had a house to manage and I loved my sleep above all. I did random courses of Zumba and Power Yoga but usually ended up with knee pain and cramps. I cut down on my tea intake but I had to take crocin on really bad headache days. When we were trying to conceive, I went for a complete health checkup and my reports showed really low levels of Calcium and Vitamin D. I was quite worried as I had never thought that these could be the reasons and that I could also develop these deficiencies. I religiously took the prescribed dosage of the Calcium supplements.
Once the kid arrived, I had no option but to carry him around, stay put through the tiring sleepless nights and still look sane. It was somewhere around that time I understood the real importance of building a good stamina. I really wished to stay energetic through the day. So I made a few lifestyle changes. I took up workout as a religion. The more you stretch your muscles, the stronger you become, its scientifically proven. I never really went through the hardships of walking in the sun to the bus-stop and so forth in my growing up days. So my stamina never really got erected. Hence when I had to be in the kitchen heat, rolling chapattis after chapattis, I was completely drained out. Working out regularly for an hour 4-5 days/week in the form of swimming, running, dance, treadmill-cross trainer really helped me build strength. I have always been on a healthy diet but I strengthened it further by correcting the mistakes I was making. I wrote about it sometime back “Why do I struggle to stay fit despite eating healthy food ?”
I also consciously worked towards building strong bones. I try to be out in the morning sun as much as I can, mostly around 8 o clock. I wear light coloured shorter clothes so that much of my skin can benefit from this sun exposure. And then stock up the rest via supplements as prescribed my doctor. I have also almost stopped relying on tea for false boost of energy. Instead, I take Green tea or hot milk flavored with horlicks, bornvita or chocolate occasionally. After almost a year of conscious efforts, I feel much fitter now. I can say I am able to stay energized on most of the days.
An Urban Nomadic 
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