HEALTH

A believer in the seven aspects of a happy life, he taps on to the first and foremost in the list-that of a fit body. Satish Saraf, Founder and CEO – Valueleaf Services and Co-Founder, Whistle and Buddy Loan has gradually built fitness into his life while overcoming the fact that fitness has somehow not been inculcated in our basic DNA from the start-as no one talks about it or nor does enough to ensure it is given the priority it deserves. A large part of Saraf’s motivation began when he stopped blaming other factors for not being able to keep fit. He has incorporated walking, running and yoga in his daily routine while also dabbling into other sports at times

Satish Saraf - Fitting into Fitness

“Whatever you think is what will happen to you. So, ensure you think positive and believe in it 100%. Most of the times people fail because somewhere they are in doubt even before they start and the final outcome is a failed project,” said Satish Saraf, Founder and CEO – Valueleaf Services and Co-Founder of Whistle and Buddy Loan.

While he had the realisation that being fit and getting up early in the morning is one of the most important traits of any successful person, the pandemic gave him much more time to reflect on his high and low days. “One thing which I saw was the days that I spent an hour in the morning doing any sort of physical activity were my best days in terms of both my family life as well as personal life,” said Saraf.

JUGGLING FITNESS

It hasn’t been a smooth journey as he had attempted all sort of fitness activities ranging from sports such as badminton, swimming and even gym workouts. He said that “With most thing, there is a dependency on others and there are multiple external factors due to which you may skip, however, walking/running is something which you can do anywhere and anytime.”

On a philosophical note, he said that the only reason for not sticking to a fitness routine is sheer laziness and as humans, we are born not to blame ourselves for things going wrong with us. “I strongly feel that any form of physical movement is good enough for you to lead a healthy life unless you have aspirations to become a pro in a particular sport,” he said.

A GOOD RUN-UP

Saraf’s day normally begins with basic stretching followed by a one hour walk or run which ends with yoga, and finishing the routine with meditation for 5 to 10 minutes and part of cool down. “I try and follow this routine on an average of just 4-5 days a week,” he said.

During the peak of the pandemic, their community had appointed a yoga teacher. “However, not much is being done other than sharing some pics of me in the park or working out,” he added. So, he has continued with his solo workouts religiously.

Since he is not into any rigorous or extensive workout, he has not faced any injury. “The only injury I face is some muscle tear when I try some new form of stretching, which is self-healing in 48-72 hours. The overall results of my fitness impacts both my personal and professional life that motivates me to keep going,” he said.

But by being physically active, he has become more aware and alert, which also leads him tocontrol his diet. “The active life also inculcates more attentiveness in any conversation or meeting, cutting short the time as you speak to the point only. The outcome has resulted in a lot of free time to spend with my five-year-old son and family as well,” he said.

"We need to have two major meals a day and fast for 16 hours a day, which I realised and falls under what we refer to as ‘intermediate’ fasting"

ENHANCED WELL-BEING

Saraf has gained through his fitness goals by: Staying Alert, attentive and conscious: He is able to engage 100% in any conversation compared to how it was before. He can start and end most meetings on time.

Time management: He is able to do much more now in the same time frame compared to what he could before and still has plenty of me-time.

Relaxation: With the saved time he listens to podcasts or audiobooks, which also gives him a lot of material to think, reflect upon and learn from the experiences of other successful people.

DIET MANTRA

His quest for fitness inspired him to combine fitness with a good diet regime. He tries to finish his last meal of the day by 5 to 6 pm on most days and eat the next meal by 9 to 9:30 am the following day. However, to have complete knowledge on the impact of a good diet on well-being, he also enrolled in a wellness course conducted by ISHA in Coimbatore some 18 months back. He learnt that “We need to have two major meals a day and fast for 16 hours a day, which I realised and falls under what we refer to as ‘intermediate’ fasting,” he said.

FINAL RUN

With the greater goal of completing two half marathons in the current year, there is no room for excuses. “We are anyway doing everything else and I do not see any reason for us not to continue our fitness regime during or post the pandemic. If there is a will there are so many ways,” said Saraf.