Staying healthy is the right lifestyle change

Hishmath "Hishko" Faiz is a master personal trainer at GlowFit, who has dedicated most of her career to improving the wellbeing of people, while helping her clients adopt a healthier outlook. Over the 20 years of her career, she has trained athletes in fitness, women to get in shape postpartum, and the elderly as well as young children. She has spent most of her recent years in educating personal trainers and bringing more individuals into the field through her expertise. 

The Maldives Financial Review sat with Hishko for her views on staying healthy and active. 

Maldives Financial Review: How did you become a fitness instructor?

Hishmath "Hishko" Faiz: Even during my school years, I was very interested in sports and being the Sports Captain of the school, I was involved in many sports activities. It has continued since then into building and promoting an active lifestyle.  I trained as a fitness instructor in 2001, and that is how my career started. More recently, I have been working on training individuals to become personal trainers. 

I consider myself lucky because not many get to pursue their passion as their career. I really enjoy my work, specially because it gives me the satisfaction of knowing that I have helped many people to improve their lives and wellbeing, as well as helped many to recover from prolonged pain and injuries. 

MFR: How has the industry changed over the time?

Hishko: Compared to a few years back, a lot more people are aware today of the importance of staying healthy in general. The number of people with or without a trainer, who come out for exercising and running outdoors has also increased drastically over the years. Despite the increase, a larger majority of people still do not prioritise exercising or staying active. The pool of personal trainers has also increased over time. However, there is still ample room for improvement in terms of people’s lifestyle, eating healthy and including exercising in their daily routine. 

The problem is, most people start exercising often due to advice of their doctors, or to reduce a target weight for a period of time. Once it is achieved, the routine is changed again. Due to this, a lot of harm is caused to the body and the ultimate benefit of being healthy is not achieved. Hence, there is still the need to change people’s perspectives towards staying healthy on a consistent basis. More should focus on educating the right ways of staying healthy. Children should be educated through the school system on prioritising a healthy lifestyle and ways to achieve that. 

MFR: What is most important when it comes to staying healthy and fit?

Hishko: People get motivated to start their fitness journey somewhat by seeing other fitness influencers or because they have a target goal to achieve. The first step is to identify simple and small milestones to initially start. The biggest challenge many face is continuing their journey once started, sometimes due to lagging behind for a few days or not being motivated enough to be consistent. The most important aspect of your fitness journey is staying consistent with your fitness goals. Moving forward even if it means going at a slow pace, and forming the habit. While planning your daily schedule, incorporating specific times for exercising in your routine rather than doing it only when you get free time. 

MFR: What is the best way of maintaining a healthy diet?

Hishko: The way the body works is different for each individual. More recent research suggests that people need to heal inside out, starting from their gut health which is the most important. A lot of people target to improve their appearances, for instance staying slim to fit into certain clothes. Instead, it is important to eat regularly, the input of nutrients required to function. Different personal trainers suggest cutting carbs or to specifically eat certain foods. It may not work for everyone since gut health differs depending on the person. The right way to do that is, understanding your body, what food is rejected when taken, or what kind of foods irritate or bloats your stomach; educating yourself on such ways; or there is always the option of sitting with a dietician or nutritionist to identify various options suitable for your own body. 

Limiting processed food and eating out while opting for fresh and organic produce will give your body more supplements and nutrition to nourish the body. Dieting should not be something that is done for a specific period of time. The word diet is also misleading or misunderstood by many. Hence the right way is to always opt for fruits and vegetables, meats, and fibre rich foods. 

MFR: Are the staples we Maldivians eat unhealthy?

Hishko: The staple food that we Maldivians normally eat such as Roshi, Riha and Garudhiya itself is not considered unhealthy. But rather it is the way we eat such meals that irritate our gut. To improve that, we should limit the portions of rice and roshi, add more meat in riha than the gravy, and along with that add vegetables to the plate. It is not necessarily required to buy expensive fruits and vegetables to eat healthy but we can always reach out to what is available locally such as carrots, moringa leaves, apples, banana etc. For a person on a busy schedule, they can use meal planning, where meals are prepped beforehand and refrigerated for a maximum of four days, so they can pre-heat when needed to eat, saving time. 

MFR: How important is taking care of one's mental health?

Hishko: When we talk about staying healthy, mental health plays a pivotal role. It is as important as physical fitness in regulating the body and its functioning. Even if the person appears fit outside and is eating healthy but their mental state is very stressed and not in the best state, they will not be fit. 

MFR: What advice do you have for beginners trying to stay active and healthy? 

Hishko: The first step is setting small targets initially in forming consistent habits. For example, for someone who does not get enough sleep – starting to sleep sufficiently by going to bed early, for someone who does not drink enough water during the day – start drinking a minimum of eight glasses per day or if you don’t exercise regularly – allot time for exercising every day. Slowly incorporating healthy eating in your meals as well as giving yourself time to adjust into the new routines while staying consistent and motivated throughout is key. Staying dedicated to these small steps is the most important for a beginner trying to stay healthy and active.

Instead of weighing your body on a scale, it is best to measure your body composition in terms of fat percentage, building lean muscles and targeting the BMI specific to your age. Once you start building lean muscle, the body’s metabolism improves while being fully nourished. By exercising daily, eating healthy and getting enough sleep and water, the body starts burning fat even while you are sleeping. Instead of reducing food intake, the proper way is considering such methods and bringing an overall lifestyle change.