In each of the four corner stones which anchor our lives I can say that we behave in a dichotomy. We either let this one slide and hope things get better or “OTC” our way through our illness or injury; or we make unnecessary trips to our family physician seeking a pill to bring finality to our illness or injury. What do you think causes us to fall in one of these two thought processes and behaviors?
My guess is “modeling” from those around us and “fear” which comes from the insecurity of loosing our jobs if we take a “sick day”. There is a much bigger concept here and that is this; What if we kept ourselves healthy through being educated about what makes and keeps us healthy in the first place? It is my experience that many of us think that we already do this with the occasional “stray” for a special occasion when we eat too much, we indulge in cake/dessert, we celebrate with alcohol, we stay out too late and do not get to the gym to exercise, we are tired and we have worked hard and run errands all day and we grab a “fast food or take-out meal”, down it on the way home and fall into bed.
Here’s the rub; we do this 5 or 6 times a week and you are no longer in proactive mode. Just like anything else that we want to improve upon in our lives; we need a plan of action, enough accurate knowledge in order to become educated in order to make a plan, then take a good hard look at what behaviors and things that are in our lives which hinder good health and well-being. Then and only then with the conviction of: “With every good decision that I make, I take one step every hour of my day to being more healthy.”
This sound too simple right? Well, like many things in life, these healthy ways of being and thinking and acting are simple. The hard part is consistently doing them. The mind is strong, but the body is weak. How true this statement is.
I am no different than you are; when I do not stop and eat something with protein in the late afternoon and drink 8 0z. of water, by the time I get to the kitchen to make dinner I am a roaring, hungry tiger ready to eat anything in site! And if I do then I am a victim of my own doing and I “binge eat”. I feel terrible and bloated and over stuffed in a mere 30 minutes and no I do not want to eat that meal I just made. But you know what I do! Oh…come on….you’ve done this same thing admit it! So why do we fall down, again and again and then hate ourselves for doing so?
Is it willpower?
Is it lack of control over our environment?
Is it because we are just plain dumb?
No. It is about the delicate balance of chemistry in our blood system.
I bet if you took a little pad and pen and carried it around in your pocket and just made your number one “to-do” today to keep a little record of when you ate your three main meals and what you actual ate, snacks and every time your tummy said “Feed Me” (note the time, what was I just doing before I noticed that growl, and what did I do about it) and what you ate or did, you just might be surprised at what you read. When I have done this little exercise, I was shocked.
I really wasn’t hungry, I was stressed, or bored or procrastinating about the next thing I needed to do. I found myself ruminating over the issue and like a zombie walking toward the kitchen. It was as if I was sleep walking!
Educating ourselves through the web, books, nutritionists, community programs, and seminars can go a long way to helping each of us become more aware and begin to put a plan into place where our health and well being are concerned.
What was your wake up call?
