Friday, July 19, 2013

Gotta look at the Big Picture

Good morning Friend. The BIG PICTURE. In business we hear this a lot. In personal lives it's the same. We don't make a budget on just one bill, so how can we look at anything else that way? One single human being is a giant picture. Not only is there are physical health, but our mental health, emotional health, and even our spiritual health. Each of these components are also a Big Picture unto themselves. And, here's the clincher, all these work together. If you are ill (physical health), and feeling bored (mental health), and crying "why me!?" (spiritual health), and then you might feel sad (emotional health) because you had plans for the day that you can't do, your body is going to have a hard time healing. On the other hand, you wake up feeling good, ready to tackle the day, won the lottery, and just overall having a great time with life (it can happen!), your body will be strong and invigorated and HEALTHY. 1. Make a conscious decision to change. Big or little, giant leap or a small baby step, change an unhealthy habit. Maybe you'll stop soda (this would include diet), or that high calorie coffee drink. Switch to mostly water, unsweetened iced tea, and/or unsweetened, unmilked coffee. Maybe it means taking a walk after dinner. How about skipping the mealtime bread? The important thing is to make a CHOICE. That evil little voice in the back of your head is saying "I can't give up XYZ." "Drink black coffee, eww gross." "But BREAD is the cornerstone of the USDA's recommended daily allowance!" Except for the coffee one, I have said the same exact thing. Remember, I am using the words "DECIDE TO CHANGE", not alter your lifestyle, but CHANGE. Change doesn't come easily, and if you are wishy washy about it, it won't come at all. 2. You are responsible for YOUR choices. As much as I would love to blame the USDA and their stupid food pyramid for my being fat, they didn't force any of the processed crap that I ate down my throat, neither did the advertisers for Dunkin' Donuts, McDonalds, or Little Caesars. Nope, my own choices. No matter how many clubs, bars, or parties your friends invite you to, you don't have to drink or eat anything that you don't want to. YOU CHOOSE FOR YOURSELF. 3. Educate yourself about nutrition. There are TONS of books out there, including the Internet, plenty of information to sift through. I personally choose the materials that had nothing to do with the Standard American Diet (SAD). I have done everything the USDA, the doctors, and even common wisdom (CW) said to do, with little/no results, and when I did get results they were short-lived at best, completely unhealthy at worst. Notable reads: Real Food by Nina Planck The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson Primal Mind/Primal Body by Nora Gudgaudas Notable Websites: Paleo Non Paleo (www.paleononpaleo.com) The Clothes Make the Girl (www.theclothesmakethegirl.com) Jen's Gone Paleo (www.jensgonepaleo.blogspot.com) The Primal Parent (www.primalparent.com) Those are just a few. The web is bursting with plenty of info on all diets and types of eating. When you do start your research, keep in mind that you aren't "starting a diet", you are CHANGING your eating habits. Find something that you can live with. You will be eating this way for the rest of your life. A quick fix diet hasn't help so far, so why even bother. Instead, put your energy into something that will last. And remember, the more you learn, the more you will adjust the information to fit your life. It's OK, to wander off the path a bit. There is no one diet fits all. I am going to stop here. This is a lot of info to absorb. You have your homework, Friend. This is your life, your health, be obsessive about it for a while. Until next time...

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

I AM NOT A ROLE MODEL (or am I?)

I have control issues. Those who know me are going, "duh, you just figured that out?" No (smartasses) I did not just figure that out, I have always been this way. Many times being a pseudo-dictator has worked for me. When I worked in security, I had to be in control of any and all situations. As a wife and mother, I have had to tone down my authority. Being 150 lbs. + overweight had me thinking I was in control. I put the tasty food in my mouth, I ate, and ate, and ate. Complete control, right? I had every excuse in the book as to why I was overweight, but it never occurred to me that I had lost all control. I had given my control away. Away to stress, away to sorrow, away to anger, away to boredom. Instead, I allowed food to be in control. My husband has a big mouth (weird segue, right?). In pride, he talks to co-workers, friends, and his clients about my weight loss. When he comes home, he tells me about the people he meets in his daily life, how they are on some crazy new diet. How they have tried everything to lose weight. How much they work out to no avail. He tells me about some of the guys on his forums that are trying new foods, new tricks, new products, to lose those unwanted pounds. Then he tells me how he tells them about me. How I lost the weight. The way I keep it off. How much happier I am. How much better I feel. Turns out that I have a big mouth too. To those who will ask, I tell. The lady at the supermarket who is passing out samples of cereal, or muffins, or peanut butter, listens patiently to me explaining why I don't eat what she is offering, along with a picture of me at around 350 lbs., with a waist measurement of five feet!!!! Then, as I walk away, she will be offering to someone else. That someone who is in a scooter shopping cart, with the cart filled with Weight Watchers entrees, diet soda, and fat free snack cakes. I become so sad. I want to shake them all. I want to pull that man or woman out of the scooter and beg them to stop killing themselves. Please stop killing yourself with a fork. This is a slow death. It is hard to watch. What makes it worse is that the dying individual has every intention of stopping, tomorrow. There seem to be plenty of tomorrows. I know. When I was a teenager, I was immortal, I had all the time in the world to lose weight. Then, as a twenty something, my tomorrows were fulfilled, but only for that short term party, wedding, special vacation. Then the occasion would pass, and tomorrow just wasn't as important. In my 30's I was consumed with work and raising a child. My personal needs had to take a back burner to the needs of my child. I would try the fad of the week diet (it was the New Mayo Clinic diet, kinda like Atkins). Suddenly, I was 40 and 41, with two small children to raise. Then at 44, I learned that my tomorrows were dwindling. I had high blood pressure, and was prescribed medication that I was afraid to take. I had clogged arteries, and was given the Xerox copy of all the (plastic) foods I was to eat. I had sore knees from carting around all that weight. I had strange pains in my chest. My tomorrows were gone. I was actively dying. Every cake, cookie, noodle, rice bowl, candy bar, was just speeding me along to dead. I would be leaving behind my best friend and husband with a huge responsibility, raising two small children and needing to help a grown autistic child. He also has his parents to take care of, they couldn't help with the kids. He would be alone. This recap of what I went through before I lost the weight is for Friend. You know who you are, Friend. Yes you. You, who thought "Wow, that's great! I wish I could drop a hundred pounds, but no diet works." "She's just lucky." "I wish I had that kind of will power." "Whatever, that worked for you, but it won't work for me." Friend, You can lose the weight. You can be healthy. I have no magic, no secret power. The only will I have is to survive. And yes, it's true, what works for me, may not work for you. Together we'll seek out the answers. Together, we will find the right question. Each person has their own question. I don't have all the answers, but I can learn, and if I can learn, so can you, Friend. Will you let me help you, Friend? I am just a person. I am a person who accomplished something great. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't impossible either. I may not be a role model, but I am someone who cares. All I ask is for honesty. We can lie to ourselves, and let our tomorrows run out, or we can be honest and see the dawn of a new day. I will be here, Friend.