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Making Health a Priority

 It seems like every 10 years of my adult life I go into "overhaul" mode. In my 20's, as a young mom I found myself looking at my time and realizing that I had kind of "lost" myself to motherhood. At that point in life, I started exercising, visiting with friends, journaling, and volunteering to get a little bit of "me" back. These same awakenings happened like clock-work in my thirties and forties, so it should come as no surprise the same feeling of being "lost" hit in my 50's. This time around the focus is more of making health a priority. I have always felt "healthy", but as I looked at the family pictures taken over the summer and grew dismayed as I saw how big and doughy I looked. How had this happened? I thought I was healthy, but in reality I have been pretending. I developed bad habits. I loved carbs. I felt tired and emotional after work. I felt bored and restless at home. Little by little, I turned to food to make like "interesting" and to feel "comforatable" with the boring life I was leading.

Well, that changed January 6th when I began the Optavia fat-loss protocol. Here are a few things I have learned in my first 3 weeks.

*Feeding my body throughout the day with balanced, intentional meals has staved off the insatiable hunger that I usually experienced every afternoon. Who knew?

*I can live on very low calories. Its weird, but I don't feel hungry. I'm guessing my body is using fat stores to live.

*I can lose weight. I have lost 9 pounds since I started 3 weeks ago. 

*I am excited when I think about becoming my self--healthwise. I can move my body, I can lift weights. I can push my body (just a little--not too hard, or too fast). Each time I do this I am making a decision to embrace health. This shift in mindset has helped me so much, because I struggle with exercise. It feels like something I should do and very rarely do I want to. But when I consider the big picture--greater vibrancy, improved cognition, and the potential of a better quality of life as I age, I am driven to get my body moving. This becomes a quest and not a chore.


*Habits and mindset shifts take time to change, but time and repeated action can work magic in change.

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