Shauna asked if I would tell what life style changes I made. As I thought about what I did and how I did it, I decided that once a week I would try to post a step that I have taken or plan on taking in my journey to a healthier me.
The first thing I did was realize that I and I alone was responsible for the shape I was in. Run down, tired, overweight and out of shape. It had nothing to do with the amount of time I was spending at work, at school, being a mom and had everything to do with what I was doing. Or not.
So I did the hard thing, I sat down and took a long look at my life and took inventory. Not enough water, too many trips to the vending machine, not enough moving, blah, blah blah. But I owned it. It was my behavior and therefore my choice for my life to be like it was.
The second thing I did was to start paying attention to my body again. When babies are born, they know how to listen to their bodies. Hungry? Cry till you are fed. Stomach full? Stop eating. Tired? Sleep. And we as grown ups don't try and stop a child from a nap (unless it is two hours till bedtime, then...) Or tell a baby to wait until the clock says time to eat, or try to make them drink one more bottle of formula. No, we trust them to know what they need/want. But when it comes to our own bodies, we quite listening. So I started listening again.
Now, I am going to tell you right now that I am one of those people that espouse the theory that processed foods, sugar, white flour, aspartame, et al are not good for you. But I will not shove it down your throat or preach it to you or try to make you see it my way, because I also believe that we all have our agency and we all have to decide what is right and best for ourselves.
So, in paying attention to my body, I noticed that if I ate certain foods, then the next day (or in some cases hours later) I would have a headache, back pain, stiff and/or swollen joints and I would be crabby and would have to take pain pills. But when I ate more healthy alternatives- I felt well, moved more and got a lot more accomplished.
So I decided to cut out all sugar and processed foods from my diet. But I didn't know how to do it. I had tried in the past and failed.
Next week- how I did it.
3 comments:
Ooh, thank you! It sounds like you have been making these changes for quite a while! I am looking forward to seeing how you did it!
Brilliant, Sandra. That taking inventory and more importantly, taking responsibility, is such an important step.
Responsibility is, I believe, the most important aspect of any life-changing plan. Otherwise, you fail because you believe it's up to others whether or not you succeed. You go, girl!
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