Random way to start today’s newsletter: we’ve always thought “long time no see” was a Singlish (Singaporean-English) thing as it’s clearly grammatically incorrect, and it’s almost a direct translation of a Chinese phrase we often use, “好久不见 (hǎo jǐu bú jiàn)”.

Which is why, we’ve always avoided using it, thinking our readers from other parts of the world may not be familiar with this “broken English” saying. But apparently it’s a fairly commonly used English phrase, so that’s interesting. Maybe, in the future we could have a short segment introducing real Singlish terms to our international readers; that’d probably be fun!

Anyway, today we're talking about getting fit and healthy in 2023.

What I Learned From My Mother-In-Law!

(By HL)

Glo’s mom is 63, and has had quite an unfortunate history of health issues. It’s no wonder she’s more health-conscious than the average person, and she’s also a big reason why Glo has taken health more seriously ever since she beat breast cancer about 15 years ago.

Our parents, for the most part, have been great role models for us when it comes to eating healthy — so much so that they inspired a previous video of ours “Asian Secrets to Healthy Eating”:

But Glo’s mom is a particularly peculiar case. Today, she’s healthier, stronger, and more energetic than she was a few years ago — it’s as if she got younger! And from my observation, there are two things she does that has contributed the most.

In Chinese we have a saying “早睡早起身体好“, which means “sleeping and getting up early is good for the body”, and she seems to be taking that very seriously. She likes to go to bed by 9pm, and wakes up at 5:30am (it could be even earlier now, it’s hard to stay updated 😅).

As a result, her eating schedule is pretty out of sync with the rest of us, as she'll have dinner, her last meal of the day, before 5pm (many restaurants are still on their afternoon break). Yet that’s the routine she’s been sticking to, day in and day out. The best way to describe it is that it’s like clockwork, and we are all wise enough to adapt to her schedule and not disrupt her rhythm!

But that’s a prime example of why consistency is key. As part of her clockwork routine, she also goes for a walk/jog for 30+ mins every morning. She doesn’t exert beyond her capabilities — she does a rhythmic slow jog that’s effectively slower than a brisk walk — she just shows up every day.

And all of this, the time she sleeps, the time she eats, the 30 minutes of exercise a day, has become such a natural, habitual part of her day. It’s like brushing her teeth; it’s not about discipline or motivation, she simply feels uneasy if she doesn’t stick to those habits.

We may not all be able to live with such clockwork rhythm, but I think there is much to be learned from her lifestyle. Here's to getting ample quality sleep every night, and finding the consistency we need to live a healthy lifestyle :)

How We Plan To Get (Back) in Shape in 2023

Spoilers ahead if you haven’t watched our latest YouTube video from last week, so now would be a good time to catch up on it before you scroll further:

Basically, we got out of shape in 2022, and we intend to get fit again in 2023. Here's how we plan to achieve our fitness goals, and how you can also do the same.

A quick summary/reminder, plus some extra points that didn’t make it into the final cut of the video:

RE: Don’t overthink

If you’re a long-time follower of Thoughtworthy, you would be familiar with our tagline “eat well, move more, worry less”. We know you’re busy, so don’t overthink it. When it comes to staying active and healthy, the most important thing is to just move more (and move harder).

RE: Do something every day

We mentioned it earlier, and we'll mention it again: consistency is key. Discipline alone isn't always enough, but pairing it with good habits surely will. Do something, however big or small, every single day (if you can) to form healthy habits that will last for life.

RE: Be a generalist

Unless one is striving to be a specialist of a particular sport or discipline, usually the best way to think about our overall well-being is to be more well-rounded in our fitness(strength, endurance, flexibility, coordination, etc.). Trying a bunch of different activities, and learning to enjoy being a beginner can also give us boosts of dopamine and motivation, because improving is fun!

RE: Slowing down

Too many people are impatient with their fitness, which ends up being their biggest downfall as they’re just looking at quicker ways to fail! Heavy lifting and HIIT sessions that make you sweat buckets and feel sore after can be effective, but so can long slow walks that are relaxing and enjoyable. There is beauty in slowing down, both literally and figuratively, so take it slow and focus on one step at a time.

RE: Do things you’re grateful for

Fitness means different things to different people. Ages ago, when we were still doing fitness and nutrition coaching, we had the opportunity to work with all kinds of clients. Forget about heavy overhead presses, there were clients with shoulder mobility issues who couldn’t fully lift their arms over their heads. Forget about setting faster times in a race, there were clients with weight issues who needed time to catch their breath during warm-ups. These are the most impactful coaching we’ve done, because that was when we realized how narrow our understanding of fitness (the athletic side of things) was at the time.

Understand what fitness means to you, and focus on doing things that make you feel good, not miserable! If you treat working out like a chore, it will feel like a chore. But unfortunately, that’s the way many people approach it.

Despite what the fitness industry may want you to think, that their respective workout regimes are the best and most effective, the truth is everything works — they just all work a little differently.

Just move more.

(If you still have not, we highly recommend you watch our video on YouTube for more info!)