What is my magic word for the best chances for long term health?
Keto diet. Paleo diet. Less cardio. More cardio. More weights. More sleep. More fiber. Less sugar. More sun. Less sun. It is exhausting and a full time job to try and be all of the contradictions we are told we need to be healthy. As a practitioner, each person that comes to see me requires different energy, different recommendations and different ways of supporting them. So how do I find a baseline for them to build from?
Drum roll please… it is by explaining, defining and encouraging CONSISTENCY. Like everyone else, I keep waiting to wake up and feel like things feel easier. I thought eventually eating healthy, staying active and choosing sleep would become such a habit that I would feel less like it required so much of me. Once I woke up and realized it was never going to get easier and the day to day choices toward health is what differentiates me from someone who chooses to take better care of themselves only when they feel bad or have a health scare is the WIN.
Our tendency is to rely on pain to determine when we “take good care of ourselves”. Best analogy I can use is someone usually feels awesome right before they have a heart attack. Does that mean that they are healthy? Obviously, it is an obnoxious example, taking radical accountability for your destiny is the only way. Every bite of food, every moment you feel compelled to get angry or skip ways to take better care of yourself is another opportunity to show yourself self love.
I just finished a conversation with a friend who at 52 ended up with quadruple bypass surgery last year. He said, “I think several times a week about why it happened to me?”. Although an oxymoron, he also talked about how great he was doing post episode and how different his life is. I followed up in my attempt to be supportive and said you would never had stepped into who you currently are if you hadn’t had the abrupt challenge. Nobody is standing with pom poms and fireworks when you make good choices on a regular basis. We rely so much on gratification that “because it is healthy for me” very rarely is enough for us to buy in.
So let me tell you once and for all that the decision to make good choices on a CONSISTENT basis is hard for everyone. Once you start committing to the consistency, it starts to feel less troublesome. You start to harden to the challenge and you start to find other areas of your life growing because you realize how much you are actually capable of doing regardless of how uncomfortable it makes you.
Consistently being uncomfortable leads to massive growth. Massive accountability in your health lends itself to unlimited potential. Please don’t mistake lack of pain for health. Without judging yourself, how many of the following things are you making excuses for rather than taking radical accountability?
- Poor sleep habits
- Overweight
- Poor food choices
- No, little or inconsistent activity
- Poor mental self care
- Hanging around people who aren’t in alignment with you
No judgement, no excuses, radical accountability. Choosing the right path has to be the only motivation and validation you need. Not shiny but the most worthwhile endeavor.
[…] by Growing In Grace Who read Dr. Sara’s blog last week? Amazing, right?! I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what she wrote regarding consistency. I have been thinking this week about my own intentionality and wondering if I am in fact being as consistent as I can be. For me consistency changed when I had children, they now create what my daily schedule looks like and on their own they crave consistency in their life. What Dr. Sara said about “it’s never going to be easy”, really stuck with me. As women we struggle all day every day to make the “right” decisions for ourselves and our families. We work hard to make sure that our families are fed properly, clothed, that the housework is complete, that our work at work is complete and that we have met the emotional and physical needs of everyone in our house. It can be EXHAUSTING! But I love the grace that Dr. Sara extends to us in her post – So let me tell you once and for all that the decision to make good choices on a CONSISTENT basis is hard for everyone. I couldn’t agree with her more, that it is so hard, until we make a conscious effort to make consistent good choices. She also encourages us by saying, once you start committing to the consistency; it starts to feel less troublesome. You start to harden to the challenge and you start to find other areas of your life growing because you realize how much you are actually capable of doing regardless of how uncomfortable it makes you. Change is hard and it takes time. Learning consistent methods of making good choices takes time, extend yourself the grace that you need to acknowledge your growth and your wins, no matter how big or how small. I remember when I had Stephen, I had two babies at home, only sixteen months apart and all I wanted to do was get some exercise back in my day. At this time I was working full time and my husband traveled, what was I thinking? I was setting myself up for failure and then I would mentally beat myself up over it. It took about a year before I realized that all I had to do was take small steps toward this goal. Some mornings (if Mike was home) I would wake up early and head to a quick class at the gym, getting my time in before the house was awake, other times I would take the kids out on a run with me, I found ways in my hectic schedule to prioritize this good choice. I realized that by taking this one step, the other areas of my life that might have been lacking were now falling into place. Rome wasn’t built in a day….extend yourself the grace of time, time to make these changes. Don’t allow one misstep to derail your momentum! You can begin making consistent good choices for your health today! Stay the course! Check out Dr. Sara’s post on Consistency – Part 1! […]