My Outlook On Health

My outlook on health. You might ask why should you care what I think about health. Good question. I’m not an expert by any means. However, I have struggled with (and found some solutions) to most of the obstacles common to women, especially moms. Repeating myself once again, these are only the conclusions I’ve come to through my experience and personal study. I won’t share statistics or even numbers, just a bit of advice from one woman to another.

I was raised on cheese curls and Golden Girls. My sweet and sassy grandma was my primary caregiver while my parents worked. I had Oreos and milk for breakfast and Kool-Aid with dinner (and I had the red mustache to prove it). Needless to say, health was not instilled in me as a priority. As a young girl, all the junk food started to take its toll. I decided as a teen to take my health into my own hands. I became very disciplined about my diet. I ate healthy foods regularly (and splurged on fast food every once in a while— I mean I was still a teen). I began to incorporate daily exercise into my schedule. As a teen, I became not only health conscience but very fit. I maintained a healthy eating/exercise lifestyle as I got married and pregnant. Something happened with my first pregnancy. My metabolism flipped. In the first few weeks of being pregnant, I jumped five sizes in my pants almost overnight.

There was nothing I could do about my weight at that point, everything was new to me—pregnancy, marriage, and my changing body. I went on to gain almost 70lbs with my first pregnancy, and the same with each of my next four pregnancies. As much as I enjoyed motherhood, I was miserable in my own body. I gave up and began eating poorly and truly feeling like a foreigner in my own skin. After giving birth to my fifth and final baby I knew something had to change. My last pregnancy included gestational diabetes so I had already stopped eating white flour and sugar. I began to exercise and start a strict calorie diet. Let me just say that one of the hardest things to do when you feel overweight is to start. There is a real wall that you hit when you are doing all the right things but progress doesn’t seem to be happening – keep going. Your consistency will produce results.

I would make myself get on the scale each morning. I did this for two reasons. One, to see if my body was responding to what I was doing. Everyone’s body is different. Weight loss is not one size fits all. I had to realize that my body is unique and I had to be patient with it to figure out what works for me. Trust me, I would get very frustrated watching other people do things, just to try them and realize it didn’t work for me. The scale would literally reveal to me if I was hitting the right strategy for my body. Second, the scale brought not only accountability but also motivation. When I lost even half a pound it inspired me to say no to the junk!

After I had finished having kids, I decided to take my life back. No more excuses or feeling bad for myself. I was going to figure it out, and I asked God to help me figure it out! I began a journey to the most ideal version of me. I had to define the goal of how I wanted to feel and the practicality of living a life with those disciplines. Once I did, weight loss wasn’t a crash diet or a punishment. Health became a lifestyle. Here are some tips that helped me on my journey that may help you.

Get an ideal goal.

*Research what the average health stats are for someone your age/ height.

*Think back to when you felt the best about your health, what did that look and feel like?

*Post pictures of you at that stage of your life (or put your face on someone who is your ideal health goal). Keep the pics somewhere that will motivate you.

Visit a doctor.

*Go for an annual visit and discuss your health goals. Ask for a baseline of your bloodwork to check for anything that would be an obstacle to your goals (hormone irregularities, metabolism, etc.)

*Try a nutritionist if you need added support.

Establish Perimeters

While health isn’t one size fits all there are some basics you can implement to instantly boost your health.

*Appropriate water intake

*The right amount of sleep

*20 minutes of movement

*Nothing to eat after 7pm.

*Added vitamins/supplements to your diet

*Get rid of junk food and replace with fresh fruit and veggies

*Keep a calorie journal ( we always underestimate our caloric intake and overestimate the amount of calories we burn).

Keep it accountable.

*While you are in weight loss mode buy a scale. As scary as it is there has to be some numerical accountability

*Join a gym. When you spend money, you feel more obligated to go, plus you will make friends with similar goals. If you don’t have the budget work out at home! There are tons of free apps for easy at-home exercises!

*Journal your calories (food intake) Look at it as a budget with an allotment of food you get at the beginning of the day. As fun as food is, primarily it is fuel for your body.

*Set an appointment for your movement goals. From a quick walk to a full body workout, you have to predetermine where this will take place in your schedule. As tempting as it will be to replace it with something else that comes up--- keep this appointment with yourself!

Stay simple.

*Eat clean and raw foods as often as you can.

*Make a list of the items you eat and create meals from those items alone. It’s amazing how creative healthy eating can be.

*Eliminate excuses. Just know there will always be a reason to cheat or revert back to old habits. Keep it simple by just deciding not to go back!

Educate yourself.

*Take note of what is working and not working for you. Pay attention to how you feel as you change things for the better.

*Read books on health. If you read a few books a year you will know more than the majority of people about health.

*Be fluid to your needs. As your body changes, make healthy changes with it. Educate yourself on the most natural and effective supplements.

Most importantly, invite God into your health journey! He created you and He knows what you need. Ask Him to help you to help yourself. He will bring the right instruction, people, and resources into your life as well as give you the willpower you need to begin living as the healthiest version of you!

The end goal isn’t a size of pants or affirmation from others, the end goal is to steward your body as well as you can for a long and happy life serving the purposes of God!

If I could right now, I would lift a cup of turmeric juice and say, “Cheers to your health!”