Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Best Advice I Could Ever Give

A daughter called the other day feeling frustrated and frazzled. The little grandkids were at it again--destroying any possible dings of clean and order my dear daughter had worked on that Saturday morning. As my daughter expressed her frustrations, I immediately jumped into "solving" mode. Perhaps she could install child locks on a few doors, place excess toys out of prying little hands and keep important things out of harm's way. I started to offer suggestions, and then stopped myself.  Instead, I listened and expressed sympathy. I told my daughter I understood her feelings--I had been a mom to toddlers once upon a time. I told her I could give her a lot of advice--which she may or may not use. Instead, I told her the best counsel I could give would be to study the situation out in her mind, turn the matter over to Heavenly Father and listen.  I shared my experience of being at the end of my rope back in the day, praying, and pleading for help. My home was in a state of...
Post a Comment
Read more

Boston!- Part One

When Trevar texted me a few weeks ago that he had booked flights for us to travel to Boston, I felt my anxiety kick up a few notches. I am a homebody and absolutely hate the thought  of travel. There are so many variable when traveling to a new place. Would I be safe? Would the people be rude? Would I feel depressed if the weather was rainy? Would I stress about finding things to eat? Concerns that suck my peace away, but concerns nonetheless. These concerns consumed a big chunk of my energy. It was not until we were on the train to the airport that I found myself relaxing just a teeny, tiny bit. The flight was full and I found myself sandwiched between Trevar and a beautiful blonde, co-ed from BYU. The blonde girl was vivacious and I suspected she was probably in student government and cheerleading before college. When I asked about her plans for Boston she explained that she and a group of friends were running away for the weekend. I asked about where she was staying, "Oh, we ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Screaming How We Feel

Meta communication--the idea that we are communicating volumes through our facial expressions and body language, and voice tone. It is thought by some psychologists that this form of communication is acatually louder and more persuasive taht actual words. The other day, I sat down to watch TV--a rare occurance. I sat and watched a drama. I could watch for very long because the acting was absolutely HORRIBLE! The actors were saying all the right words and trying their best to convey the seriousness and gravity of the situation, thought  their character would respond, but there was a lag and delay in how their body reacted. I could tell that they were not feeling  the depth of the situation, but were merely moving to their next line. The distortion was very subtle, and if you were caught up in the show, you would probably not notice it, because you would be filling in the emotional gaps that the actors had left.  It was maddening to me. I could not stand it and had to t...
Post a Comment
Read more