Life in an office environment means potluck lunches, pizza, coffee and of course, donuts. For me it was easy to choose the healthier foods at a potluck and absolutely necessary to avoid the pizza & donuts. I knew without a doubt that I would not be able to work if I ate either of them.
Most people who knew me were aware of my issues with food, but one day a co-worker questioned why I wouldn’t eat the donuts that were brought into the office. Besides the fact that I was allergic to MOST of the ingredients, I was avoiding sugar and the donuts were covered in it.
I decided to keep it simple and just say that they were bad for me.
I will never forget his next comment –
“You should eat what you want. You are too young to worry about what you eat. “
Now if this comment were directed to me when I was in my teens or early twenties, I could say – yeah, I guess one donut isn’t going to hurt me. However, I was in my late 50’s – and all I could think about was I WISH I had started worrying about what I ate when I was younger because, just maybe, I would be in better health now.
This simple comment started me thinking. A LOT of people are not concerned about their health until they get older. It is more than just being too busy to think about it – people don’t want to think about it. It can even take a major health issue for people TO think about.
Shouldn’t having {insert illness here!} be a giant slap in the head? Yet, even after being told they have a major health concern, some people don’t pay attention to what their body is telling them. I have even heard people say that diseases are part of aging. (Hmmm…IF this WERE true, then EVERYONE would suffer from the same diseases as they aged – which isn’t how it works)
So…Why do we wait until we are sick to look for solutions for health?
Why do we live day to day without making conscious choices about our health and wellness?
Why do those that KNOW they should make better choices, justify their choices by saying “everything in moderation” - but do not have a realistic definition of moderation?
As a society many people are REACTIVE to sickness, and not PROACTIVE about health or wellness.
I believe that it is NEVER too late to make a positive step towards wellness!
Because if not NOW – WHEN?
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