Well, it’s that time again.
Time for a reality check where I look at where I am heading with my physical health.
Time to decide which road I want to take.
Do I keep heading in the same direction, WISHING things were different, OR do I make the changes necessary to live a happier and productive life.
Part of me says “It is HARD to change” and part of me says “Don’t you want to be healthy to enjoy your life as you age?”
Call me weird (and many people have), but I have never made New Year Resolutions. I always figured that many people just made them “because it is the thing to do”. Hard to believe that resolutions made in the middle of winter and after a sentimental holiday would be very sustainable.
Personally, I feel it is better to change or start something new whenever one decides that change is necessary to change the direction one is heading, which can be on ANY day of ANY month But..the problem is – what happens when you are so caught up in your bad habits that you don’t even realize how bad the situation is? For some this could be years and by then, the problem is out of control and has become so big that It may seem too much of an effort to change.
Like everyone else, I am not perfect and I am learning how to be healthy. For me, it has only been 2 months of not really paying attention, but almost 4 months of “a little bite of this” and a “little bite of that’. It is time to BE REAL with myself, which means taking inventory.
I have excess weight.
I have a lot of inflammation.
I have eczema.
I have brain fog.
I experience waves of apathy.
I cannot focus.
Any of the above list sound familiar?
If yes perhaps you too are STUCK in a loop. Thoughts (lead to) Food Choices (lead to) Body, Mood & Mind issues (lead to) Thoughts (lead to) Food choices (lead to) Body, Mood & Mind issues (lead to) Thoughts.
Thoughts can be dangerous to your health – if you let them. I wish I could say it all started with something horribly fattening but delicious, but I can’t even say that. I WISH I could say that this spiral started because I WASN’T thinking (Absent of thought can be dangerous to your health as well).
For me, I believe that it started with thinking that my back was never going to get better. I still hadn’t been given a correct diagnosis and everything the doctors tried didn’t help. Walking used to be my way to exercise, and it caused more pain than ever. To be honest, I felt sorry for myself, so when someone made food for me that I technically couldn’t eat – I made a bad choice. For most it would have been healthy enough – crackers, cheese, veggies & dip. For many people it would have been healthy enough, but for someone with a wheat & dairy allergy it fueled the fire. I didn’t notice a reaction, so…well I am sure you guessed what happened next, and often during the last few months. I started eating the wrong foods a little too often – totally ignoring the signs that my body wasn’t happy.
My thoughts led me to making choices to eat foods that DO NOT serve me well, which led to having brain fog, apathy, eczema, which led to more thoughts feeling sorry for myself that I can’t eat what others eat, which led to more poor food choices, etc. etc. I didn’t feel like walking anymore, so exercise wasn’t even in the equation.
I couldn’t see the way out of it until I got tired of being tired (and my pants got tighter). I took inventory and was shocked that I had let my thoughts run amuck. Logic started to creep in.
First, HOW could I choose NOT to make changes when the reality is the other option is to be sick or tired (or sick & tired) for the next 20 plus years?
Second, no one had TOLD me that my back would not ever get better. The doctors still had hope, so I should have hope too.
Third, I realized that I should not be envious that other people can eat potato chips, or French fries, or processed or fast foods and I cannot. These foods are not the BEST foods for MOST people – why would I feel deprived that I cannot eat them?
My body just has a great way of telling me that it doesn’t want certain foods - sore hands and feet (similar to arthritis), headaches, bloating, excess weight and brain fog.
So here I am – I have two choices, I can either do nothing and let the situation get worse, or I can work on making my heath a priority and make my life better.
I know that habits are hard to change, but I have the tools to change habits.
Like ALL things, this is will be a process. Baby steps. One day at a time.
If you are ready to choose wellness over sickness, feel free to join me join me in the journey.
After all, there are some things best done alone, but many things are better done with friends.
Yours in health,
Susan
0 Comments