I can feel all of scowls and scolds for not blogging in an extremely long time. I KNOW – you don’t have to say it. Some of you even went the extra mile to call and urge me to write a post (you know who you are). Your encouragement has not been entirely in vein. I have lost four pounds! I am going to weigh in again on Wednesday, so I will have to do a “mini” post update.
At first, I was focused on counting calories, eating anything as long as my daily total fell around 1,500. You get creative – fat free, low fat, diet soda, Splenda, sugar free Jell-O, and the list goes on. You begin to look at food not for the nutritional value, but for the calories. For example, five Hershey Kisses have the same amount of calories as an apple. Needless to say, I was hitting my calories, but feeling like crap. I take that back. Not crap, like being hit by a Mack truck. This feeling continued through the day, coupled with sluggishness, mid-afternoon fatigue, difficulty concentrating and trouble getting to sleep. All because of the processed crap I was eating!!! So, over the past month, my main focus has been to eat according to nutritional value, striving to meet my daily intake requirements and eat real food in as natural a state as possible. It is hard! But the change in how I feel has been AMAZING!
Today, however, was a low point. Because of all the intense exercise, work duties, constant go-go-go, and Mother’s Day stress (yes, family is stressful), I woke up with a tweaked back. Have you notice how mean and on edge pain can make you? I know Pasha was silently calling me the b-word and willing me to go to work, or anywhere outside of “her” house. At one point, she went into the guest bedroom and buried herself under the laundry waiting for the laundry fairy to come by and fold it. If you have seen that damn fairy, please send her my way. Anyway, after receiving a wonderful therapeutic massage (at that point I didn’t care about the cost – Eric will see it sooner or later on the bank statement), the masseuse essentially told me that I was the victim of a non-stop hustle and bustle culture that has lost focus on personal physical and mental health. Really? I could have saved some money by sitting in the vibrating chair at the mall, people watching and easily come to the same conclusion. Oh, what you see at the mall…
But in all honesty, she is right. We are often so caught up in our “lives” that we forget to take care of ourselves. It is sad that in order to be reminded to take better care of myself, I had to be “prescribed” a morning, lunch, and afternoon break away from my computer, 30 minutes of listening to a meditation/relaxation CD, stretches and daily salt and ginger baths.
So as I continue in my quest to eat right and be healthy without pills, starving myself, adhering to some crazy diet or denying myself ALL of the yummy things I like, I also commit to focusing on my mental and spiritual wellbeing - as it directly impacts my physical health. Off to listen to my relaxation tape. Namaste.
