Healthy Lifestyle – Page 5 – Reclaiming My Health

I Am Enough

“You are enough, just as you are. Each emotion you feel, everything in your life, everything you do or do not do… where you are and who you are right now is enough. It is perfect. You are perfect enough.” – Melanie Jade.

“The single most revolutionary thing you can do is recognize that you are enough.” – Carlos Andres Gomez.

This time of year always seems to put so much pressure on us all. Coming out of the holidays, where perhaps we ate and drank more than usual, we can be upset with ourselves for our lack of ability to control ourselves. Couple this with being inundated with commercials and advertisements for the new year and all its promise to change our ways and start anew. Deeply rooted in these promises are the premise that we are imperfect and in need of changing. The new year, new you machine has long been a multimillion dollar business that preys on our deepest insecurities.

Gym memberships, diet pills, meal plans and quick fixes are so successful because we all want to believe that we can change ourselves into a better version. Sadly, come February we likely will confirm what we knew all along, we are incapable of reaching perfection. The gym trips will stop, the diet pills will go in the trash and we will settle in to the acceptance of yet another year of failed promises.

This year, I’d love to see us say no to this idea that we are not perfect. A few years back, my daughter gave me a coin and affirmation to remind me that I Am Enough. I have read it and reread it and really tried to internalize the message. I think I have finally reached a new year in which I am not striving to change myself. Amen!

The best advice I can give is that acceptance of yourself, AS YOU ARE, can and will lead you to a healthier space. There is nothing we need to change, fix or get rid of. Wherever we are in our journey is enough. Remember, I am not on a diet, nor looking to lose weight to be thinner, prettier or happier. I am trying to live a healthier lifestyle to be healthier and hopefully a longer and fuller life.

Reminding ourselves daily that we are enough as we are is important work. The feelings of inadequacy are often deeply rooted in our being and our inner critic has been empowered for years. Taking back our power is the work to engage in during this new year. Reminding yourself daily, especially when self doubt creeps back in is your action plan. Every time you look in the mirror remind yourself that you are enough just as you are. Every time you feel the inner critic rear their ugly voice, remind yourself that you are enough. Put a sign on your mirror, your closet, inside your front door and your refrigerator! Say it, breathe it, chant it and most importantly live it. Find others who will support you on this mission, for free. You are worthy and so am I.

I truly believe in the power of positivity, though I cannot promise it to be the easiest road. It is not a quick fix, but it can be life changing. Let’s make a promise to ourselves this year to stay strong in our belief that we are enough, just as we are right now. We have nothing to change or fix. We are enough just as we are.

Have a healthy and happy New Year. I look forward to sharing your health journey in the coming months.

The Rule of Twos:Eating Habits for Better Health

Last week, we discussed inflammation and the impact it can have on our health. As part of my health certification course, we spent a lot of time learning ways to improve our health, including diving deeply into our eating habits. I personally have struggled with inflammation and the effects it has on my health. I mistakenly assumed I could diet my way to good health for years. The problem with that is the word diet, and believe me I have tried them all and had the same results, weight loss followed by weight gain with little impact on my overall health.

I first learned of inflammation, back in 2010, when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, which is arthritis caused by inflammation. That was the first I learned that certain foods have the power to make us feel better, or worse when we consume them. During this coursework, I went beyond this understanding and added the knowledge that my actual eating habits themselves have an effect on inflammation and overall gut health.

The Rule of Twos and the opening quote shared above, ”Fast eaters are fat eaters, has my name written all over it. Anyone who knows me, knows I am a super fast eater. As kids, we were taught not to talk with our mouths full, so eating was serious business. Eat, then we could talk, laugh and linger. I had no idea that this habit could actually impact my health, especially my gut health. I thought it was more important to focus on what I actually ate. I have heard to slow down my eating, but thought the main reason was to allow the brain to catch on to the fact that it had been fed.

The Rule of Twos, is simple and has absolutely helped improve my eating habits. Further, it can help with inflammation, indigestion and constipation. The rule simply reminds you to:

Eat twice as often.
Eat half as much.
Chew twice as long.
Take twice the time to dine.

Grazing, or eating smaller amounts of food, throughout the day is a new approach to eating for me. On a good day, when working, I ate one big meal and maybe a yogurt at night. This grazing approach can decrease spikes in your blood sugar levels and help stabilize your insulin levels throughout the day. Eating less can also improve your digestion as your body has less food at once to metabolize, or digest. I find it very satisfying to eat this way and enjoy my healthy snacks as well. The trick there is to have things on hand to nibble on during the day, greek yogurt, humus, cut raw vegetables, fruit and nuts make great, easy to grab and go snacks.

Eating half as much will help me eat less, but I think of it now as letting my body tell me what it actually needs, guiding my portions. When I make my plate now, I put half as much as I used to on it. When I finish eating that, I pause before even thinking of taking seconds. Most days I realize I don’t need to eat anymore. As the weeks have passed, I find myself satisfied with this new portion size, even when eating out.

Chewing twice as long is something I am working on as a recovering fast eater. Chewing can definitely slow me down, but there is far more to this than just that fact. Digestion, I’ve learned, starts in your mouth, not your stomach. When you chew your food, it gets broken down into smaller pieces which are easier to digest. When mixed with saliva, chewing allows your body to extract the greatest possible amount of nutrients from the food you eat. This is why it is said you should not drink with, or immediately after eating.

The last part of taking twice as long to dine, allows me to spend some quality time at the table relaxing and reflecting. In the past, once I was done eating, I would get up and immediately start cleaning up. Now, I spend some time at the table, engaged in conversation, if I am not eating alone. If I am alone, I take some time now to jot down thoughts in my daily journal, or just relaxing before cleaning up.

The Rule of Twos is super easy to incorporate into your wellness routine, with nothing to buy or study. The changes are indeed small, but the impact on your health and wellness will be large. Why not give it a try for a few weeks and see how you feel? If you do, please let me know how it went. Have questions about how to get started, shoot me an email, or leave a comment and I’ll get back to you to brainstorm a few ideas.

Small Changes, Big Results

As part of my health coach certification, I learned many science based tools for healthier living. I’d love to share some with you, as I have found these small changes have had a big impact on my journey. I am a mere 18 pounds away from my target weight, a goal that once seemed impossible when I was 60 pounds away. I’m no longer focused on just my weight though, as I realize my health journey transcends more than just that number.

Over the next few weeks, I ‘d like to share a few of the tips I found most helpful on my own personal journey to wellness. This week, I’d like to share information about foods that help reduce inflammation in your body. Inflammation is a natural process by which your body protects itself from outside invaders, such as bacteria and viruses. Inflammation is often seen as bad, but it is the body’s way of protecting itself. The problems arise when we have too little, or too much inflammation in our body.

Many of us are battling chronic inflammation, due to our lifestyles, which isn’t healthy for our body. Diet, weight gain, illness, injury and life stressors can wreak havoc on our bodies, as my story has illustrated. Weight gain and inflammation affect the production of the hormone leptin, which works in your brain to regulate metabolism and control your appetite. Lower levels of leptin will make you feel hungry, adding to your inability to loose weight. In simple language, inflammation leads to weight gain and weight gain leads to inflammation. You are effectively stuck in this loop and seemingly unable to get out.

Your diet, meaning the foods you eat, can be considered an outside invader. Whatever you put into your body, must be processed by it through the digestion process. There are foods we can consume that will increase our inflammation, think an unbalanced diet with lots of processed foods, that contain ingredients that can activate an inflammatory response. These inflammatory foods are mainstays of the standard American diet, such as red meat, white bread, pasta, chips, pastries, soda and fried foods.

One of the most powerful ways to maintain healthy inflammation levels comes from the grocery store. Dr. William Sears, shared a simple way to think about what foods to eat when seeking to reduce inflammation as part of your health journey. It has been called the Six-S “Diet” to reduce inflammation, with the word diet being used to mean the food you eat, not a program.

Seafood – primarily wild pacific salmon
Smoothies – multiple dark colored fruits, berries, ground flaxseed, organic yogurt
Salads – colorful, arugla, kale, spinach, red peppers, tomatoes, legumes
Spices – turmeric, black pepper, ginger, garlic, rosemary, chilis, cinnamon
Satisfying Snacks – grazing
Supplements – ONLY as necessary to fill in gaps. Omega-3, Astaxanthium

For me, I found Dr. Sear’s list so helpful when planning my daily and weekly meals. I was severely lacking in variety in my meal choices, especially with fruits and vegetables. I’m a creature of habit and was eating a consistent diet of grilled chicken and chopped green salad. I’ve found that now my salads are more thoughtfully constructed, as I seek to add in spices and colors I was lacking. Grazing has helped me with my digestive issues and reduced cravings. The one area I still struggle with is seafood. I do not like salmon, no matter how much I tried. So in this case, I have been exploring other foods rich in Omega and have added in supplementation to close the gap.

My main focus is on the top four Ss listed above. When I plan the week, I am looking to ensure that my menu revolves around these choices. Yes, I do still eat meat, especially chicken, but it no longer drives the meal plan as the main event. As a known vegetable struggler, I have found soups, salads and smoothies serve as places I can increase my intake. I made a beautiful lentil soup this week, in which I added kale, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes and pearled farro. It’s not perfect by any means, but this helpful information has given me some much needed guidance. Further, I believe it has helped reduce inflammation in my body, as based on my recent bloodwork and weight loss.

When planning your meals for the week, try to incorporate the six Ss listed above. Let me know how it goes and more importantly how you feel. I’m excited for you and look forward to hearing how it goes.

Keep it Simple

The food we eat,
The air we breathe,
The stress we feel,
Causes us to age faster.

The common denominator in these three items listed above is me. I am blessed to be in control of the food I eat. I have limited control over the air I breathe, but I can ensure I get outside in nature everyday, rather than sitting indoors. Lastly, I can control my stress and how much I allow it to take over. I know life is not always easy, having experienced the ups and downs of it, but I know now that the choices I make are what gives me control over my health.

This is a picture of me at my unhealthiest, as a result of poor food choices, lack of movement and an incredible amount of stress. I was literally stressed out of my mind, unable to sleep and experiencing brain fog.

This is a picture of me two months into my journey to reclaim my health. I had been making better food choices and walking for two months time. I remember I felt somewhat better, but still felt stressed, struggled with sleep and some brain fog. I felt like someone who was detoxing and wasn’t sure I could succeed.

This is a picture of me eight months into my journey. I have been consistently making better food choices and moving every day – walking, doing yoga and playing pickleball. I am sleeping better and not experiencing any brain fog.

The book Primetime Health, discusses the importance many of us place on planning for our future. Dr. Sears asks, How many of you have invested in retirement savings plans and IRAs? Like me, I’m betting many of us have planned in some way for our future finances. He then asks, how many of us have planned for our future health? Do you have an IRHA? Do you know what an IRHA is?

An IRHA, is an Individual Retirement Health Account. It is a plan for our longevity and wellness. I can tell you I never thought about making deposits into an IRHA account. I lived my life as I pleased and addressed any issue as it arose. The shift here is to live more proactively, ensuring that issues are less likely to arise. This shift brings us back to the food we eat, the air we breathe and the stress we feel. If we eat less processed foods, move daily and reduce stress, we can see success on our journey. That doesn’t come in a bottle, it comes from our choices and determination to make deposits into our health accounts.

What I have been doing is hard work for sure, but it doesn’t feel hard. I have kept things very simple. I love to cook and we eat most meals at home, though we do eat out at least once a week. I keep my meals simple, protein, complex carbs and vegetables. I move everyday and enjoy what I do. As I said last week, walking daily is my meditation time. It really helps me clear my mind and process any feelings that come up. Yoga is so good for the mind and body and I take classes three times a week. Pickleball feels like playing outside when you were a young child. We laugh, we play hard and we have so much fun. Enjoying the exercise you do is important to make it happen. Find something you love!

When I first heard about the IRHA account, I began to worry. I knew I made so many bad choices through the years. I also knew it is never too late to start again, one day at a time. My days are not perfect, but my choices are far better. Knowing that I am the one who controls my outcomes gives me pause to make better choices. There are many days I feel like just staying home and not doing anything, especially now that it’s colder. I push through that and remember I must make my daily deposit into my wellness account. There is absolutely nothing more important than that.

Please share what you are doing on your health journey. I’d love to deposit those ideas into my IRHA account. Comment below, send me an email or comment on my Instagram page. Together we are stronger.

Kritajna Hum: I am gratitude

My true self is always grateful. I am connected with everything else in the universe. I am like an ocean -- the deeper I go within, the more I connect with the stillness of my true self.

I have been revisiting mantras, like the one above, that speak of the importance of gratitude on my journey to reclaim my health. My focus on gratitude has been helping to shift my attitude about myself. As I discussed in last week’s blog, I had lost my sense of gratitude due to stress, which took a huge toll on both my emotional and physical health. I talked about my use of a gratitude journal to find my way back to grace, positivity and motivation. This week, I’d like to talk about the essence of the true self, the person we are at our core.

When we are born, we enter the world alone. When we die, we transition alone. In both cases, we are hopefully surrounded by loved ones, but we spend our entire lives with ourselves, 24 hours a day. Nobody knows our true self as well as we do, the good and the bad. Think about it for a moment. Who do you speak to every moment you are awake, all day, every day?, yourself! I wonder though, how often do we show others our true self?

Many strong, high level executive women struggle in their professional lives with something known as the Imposter Syndrome, which refers to their inner fears. The fear of not being good enough, that they will be discovered as not worthy of the position they were given. In my professional career, my colleagues and I used to talk about having to wear masks all the time at work. We needed to portray ourselves as strong confident leaders, at all times, to create safe environments in which students and staff could thrive. When I think back now to our mask conversations, I wonder how many of us had these same types of fears, questioning our worthiness.

When you dive deeply into your true self, what is at the core of your inner thoughts? Do you think you’re not pretty enough, thin enough, popular enough, etc.? Or, do you think you’re strong, beautiful, smart and worthy? If you were asked to remove your mask and introduce your inner self to me right now, what would you say? Would you list your titles of mother, wife, friend, lawyer, doctor? Or, would you list your hopes and wishes for your lifetime?

As part of your health journey, I strongly believe you need to address that inner critic and make peace with your true self. We all need to remove our masks and accept ourselves as we are, not strive to be who others say we should be. For far too long, I have been trying to change my outer self, without addressing my inner self. I think this is why I have failed, time and again with this health journey. Our true self, is the one we must come to accept and love. I have been approaching this journey from a place of weakness, thinking I am not good enough as I am, leading me to a self fulfilling prophecy of failure. Reframing my health journey from a place of acceptance of who I am at my core nudges me back to gratitude. I am grateful for who I am and don’t need to change that, rather I need to use that to help me stand strong on this journey to health. I am enough, you are enough, we are enough just as we are.

In order to stay grounded in gratitude and positive self talk, I use my daily walking time to honor any feelings, either positive or negative, that I may have. Many people use meditation to reflect, but I prefer moving meditations out in nature. I walk without headphones and music and I walk alone. If my husband joins me, he knows we are not having a dialogue walk, just a quiet meditation. It is the best part of my day to just be alone with myself in nature. I walk in the silence and am able to think and meditate on my successes and failures. This sacred time allows me to better process this journey I am on. Pairing this walking time with journaling has been powerful. The journal keeps me grounded in gratitude, which helps frame a more positive inner dialogue. The walking is a clearing time. It is when I can feel whatever emotions I’m feeling, which in the past led to negative talk and quitting, acknowledge them and then let them go. This process provides space for healing and also keeps me grounded in gratitude and positive self talk.

I hope you take some time to reflect on your journey this week in your journal and out on a walk. Please reach out and and share how it is going for you? I learn so much from your journeys as well.

Dhanya Vad: I Feel Gratitude

Today in yoga class, my teacher shared the following mantra:

Dhanya Vad – I feel gratitude. When I’m grateful, I find grace. By looking for the blessings in my life, I open up a space of light in every experience; I open up the path for grace to flow. I make room in the middle of everything for gratitude.

This mantra truly resonated with me, especially as we move into my favorite season. The essence of Thanksgiving serves as a reminder to be grateful, but gratitude is more than a one day event. As an elementary school Principal, the school motto we created included the mantra, “have an attitude of gratitude.” It is something we sought to instill in our students, staff and selves. As much as I engaged in this worked, it was not always easy to truly stay in an attitude of gratitude.

Last year when my husband was very sick, I was struggling to balance work and his illness, which made it very difficult to maintain my focus on gratitude. Being at my unhealthiest definitely didn’t help either; in truth, it felt like whatever could go wrong, did. My attitude of gratitude was slipping away and in its place an attitude of complacency seeped in. I didn’t care what I ate, what I drank, how little I slept or moved. I didn’t care anymore about getting healthy, in fact I decided I hated healthy living. Que sera became my new mantra and I felt I’d just take life as it came, one day at a time.

It’s funny that I didn’t notice at the time, but the more I walked away from my attitude of gratitude, the more negative my life felt. When my trainer told me to create a gratitude journal and write in it each day, I laughed. I mean, really? She needed to tell me that? After all the work I had done around the importance of gratitude, someone needed to remind me of the power of it. Well, yes, I actually needed that reminder.

In the summer, I pulled out an empty journal I had here and decided to begin writing in it each morning. I kept things simple and followed the same pattern each day on a new page. First, I wrote about my why; why I wanted a healthy lifestyle and why I was on this path. I wrote three positive statements about myself each day. Finally, I wrote one power statement – what I hoped I would accomplish as a result of this lifestyle. I wrote these things every single day. It took about two months before I started to feel the power of them seeping into my soul and each week I felt myself growing emotionally stronger.

The truth is, I have so very much to be grateful for. Despite all I went through, I’ve found a way to get some traction again. I need to hold on to that and continue moving forward. I share all this, to remind you of the importance of gratitude. When I look around, as the mantra says, I see the blessings of my life. This has helped me find and give myself some grace. It has opened me up to new possibilities, that I would not have engaged in had I stayed focused on the negativity.

If you are feeling stuck, perhaps you can look at the blessings of your life. Believe me, sometimes I know they are hard to find, but I promise they are there. Perhaps begin with a journal as I did. Keep it simple. Take a breath and give yourself the grace you deserve. I hope this week brings you the will to start again and join me on this quest to reclaim our health.

Systems Approach to Wellness

Most of you know I come from an education background. As a former Elementary School Principal, I spent a considerable amount of time learning about and creating conditions in which children could thrive. My focus was rooted in practices that were effective in building individual insight and well-being, while extending them to include the strengthening of interpersonal relationships. This helped deepen our collective understanding of how the whole system contributes to our outcomes. In simplistic terms, it helps those in the system realize THEY are the system, not some unseen entity.

In thinking about my wellness journey, I’ve sought to incorporate these principles into my approach. This has offered me a more holistic view of my health and forced me to move away from the narrow focus on one goal, ex., weight loss. The possible dangers of focusing on a narrow goal like weight loss, is that once you achieve it you think you are done. I met my goal, so now I can go on and live my life. Further, it will can feel impossible to achieve, or unreachable. This approach can potentially lack plans for lasting change and can be why so many of us end up back at the starting line time and again.

In the above example of a one dimensional goal, the diet industry can be seen as the “system”. The diet industry is a multimillion dollar industry that benefits from our failure as it keeps us engaged and coming back for more. Using a systemic approach, you can realize YOU are the system. You are seeking lasting change and looking for ways to engage in the industry in a healthier manner. Perhaps, you will engage in ways that can build your insight and well-being and strengthen our interpersonal relationships. Sharing the journey and then contributing to the system itself as we create healthier options for all.

One of the ways I have broadened my approach to wellness has been the focus on my lifestyle, not weight loss. If I continued to focus on weight loss, I would make choices that addressed that aspect only, like buying into yet another plan. I would seek quick fixes and the endless stream of ads I see on social media would draw me in every time. Been there, done that!

Focusing on lifestyle has led me down different paths, which I believe have led to healthier attitudes and expectations. For example, I have taken classes on healthy cooking with Chef Cynthia Louise and Divya Alter. These have led me to expanding my cooking repertoire, while increasing the number of healthier meals I consume. I have tried foods I never thought I would like and those who know me know I was a very picky eater. I no longer am asking for someone to “just tell me what to eat and I’ll do it.”

Recently, I have started a year long course with the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute. The coursework is crafted from a systems approach and seeks to build wellness knowledge in individuals, leading to possible change in wellness options for others. I have learned so much in just three short weeks and am excited to expand my understanding of what it means to live a healthy lifestyle. I plan to share this knowledge with my family and anyone who wants to engage, including through this blog.

As I said last week, I’ve been focusing a lot of energy on my attitude. One of the recent changes I’ve made, that is truly helping, is celebrating milestones along the way. My road was long and I had a lot to overcome and work on. As I’ve said, it felt overwhelming and possibly unreachable. It took a lot to start again as the target felt so very far away. As I write this blog, I have 20 pounds to lose to reach my target weight and be at a healthy BMI. Funny how that seems so doable now, eight months into this journey.

I have celebrated losing 40 pounds and a 35 point decrease in my LDL cholesterol. I have celebrated getting more deep and REM sleep and a decrease in anxiety attacks when sleeping. This weekend, I celebrated winning a bronze medal at my second pickleball tournament. The first tournament, I made it to the bronze medal round and lost. This time, we took the bronze medal!

In the past, I’d be happy about all of the above, but always say things like, I still have a long way to go. Or, yes I lost some weight, but I’m still heavy and have a long way to go. I never truly celebrated these small steps along the way. I have learned that attitude matters and keeps you motivated. It is important to take the time to feel and celebrate your successes.

What milestones have you set and how have you celebrated yourself along the way? Feel free to share in the comments below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

There’s No There There

Thinking about this past year, I like to think about how far I’ve come. I’d like to say I have achieved my goal and host a celebration of some sort. But, sadly I’ve been down this road before. I’ve achieved a goal weight or fitness goal, only to regain the weight and lose the fitness strength. It’s not because I am a failure, slacker or loser, though that is how I used to think prior to giving up. Honestly, I bet this has happened to many of us. How many times have you lost and gained the same 20 pounds? I’ve finally realized that creating a sustainable healthy lifestyle is the actual work I need to focus on. Do you know how long it took me to understand this concept? My whole life.

Like me, I bet many of you have focused on losing weight for a specific reason. For example, an upcoming special event is always on the list of reasons. A few years ago, I waited to shop for a dress to wear to my son’s wedding. I was waiting to lose weight before ordering it. I almost waited too long and truly cut it close on getting a dress in time. I never did lose the weight either.

Another time, I worked out for several years to achieve the goal of finishing a full marathon. It took me three years to meet this goal, but over the course of three years of training, I had sustained several serious injuries leaving me wondering why it ever was so important to me to meet this goal. I finished the NYC Marathon, met my goal and then had to give up long distance running as a result of the damage I did to my hips and ankle.

In both of those examples, what was lost on me was that I was focusing on the end result, not the process. What I really wanted, was to be physically fit and healthy. What I focused on was losing weight and finishing a marathon. What I accomplished was losing weight, which I gained back; and finishing a marathon. Both of those were truly wonderful accomplishments, but neither did anything to help me create the sustainable, healthy lifestyle I was seeking.

I thought that by engaging in those two goals, I would become healthy. What I realize now is that living a healthy lifestyle is a process and that meeting one goal along the way doesn’t mean I’ve arrived at my destination. In fact, I’ve learned there really is no there, there. The destination is not something I can reach and be finished with the journey. Rather, I have to commit to creating and maintaining this healthy lifestyle for the rest of my life. It doesn’t just stay in place on it’s own, it takes commitment and work, but it also doesn’t have to be so hard.

These revelations did not come easy and quite honestly can be intimidating. I have tried every diet plan you can think of, had success and then went right back to my “old ways”. In all honesty, I love pizza. As I’m typing this, I am thinking about how hard I tried in the past not to have pizza because it wasn’t “good for me”. Does that sound sustainable? Not in any lifetime, is never eating pizza again sustainable for me.

While reading Prime-Time Health by William Sears, MD, I came across an acronym that has helped me rethink how to achieve a healthy lifestyle, which has been my actual goal all along. He uses the acronym LEAN to outline the four pillars of health.

Lifestyle – How we live
Exercise – How we move
Attitude – How we think
Nutrition – How we eat

I have found that this simple tool has led to my understanding that I did not have a strong system in place to create and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Rather, I was specifically focusing on what I ate, what I could do for exercise and what I looked like. I gave very little attention to my lifestyle choices, or my thoughts about myself. When I was meal planning, I focused on the what of eating. What could I eat that wasn’t full of carbs, fat, calories, etc; not, how I could eat to feel better. When I focused on exercise, I focused on what I could do to burn the most calories; not, how can I move throughout my day. This led to me forcing myself to push through routines, even when I was hurting, which ultimately led to stress fractures.

Attitude is the area I am specifically focused on right now. I take time each day to notice, note and move on. If I notice my weight is up, I take some time to think about the possible reasons why and reflect on any changes I might need to make. I come from a place of learning and inquiry. I no longer beat myself up, get down on myself about it, or worse give up. I choose to write positive affirmations about myself every day in my journal. I also have one word that reminds me of my why, my purpose for doing any of this work. I write this one word in my journal every day as well. I have found that just adding these two things to my morning routine have helped me stay grounded in the process of creating a healthier lifestyle and not getting stuck on just trying to lose weight.

I know that sounds so simple, but I realized that I am the one who has made this all so hard, by focusing on the wrong things. I plan to use the L.E.A.N. pillars to keep myself focused on what matters most – healthy living. How about you? How are you doing with your journey? Please continue to reach out, as I enjoy reading your stories.

Stress

This picture of me was taken just before I decided to retire from my much loved position as Principal of an Elementary School in New York City. It fully illustrates the impact of living under constant, high level stress on my body. Though I loved my position; my community and children, it did not love my body, especially during and after the COVID pandemic. My life was turned upside down during that time, with the loss of my mother, as well as the huge toll of working 24 hours a day to keep my school afloat despite loss of staff, family members, inconsistent messaging, funding and lack of clear guidance from the NYC DOE.

The impact on my physical body is clear to see, as I present as obese, haggard looking and quite honestly old beyond my years. The emotional toll is not as easily visible to the eye, but believe me it was there. By this point in time, it was getting harder and harder for me to find the will to engage in any social functions. Invitations to meet for dinner with friends caused anxiety and led to endless cancellations on my part. I was not able to sleep well and found myself lying awake each night filled with anxiety over all the things I needed to get done. It wasn’t uncommon to get a text, or social media post, from me at 1 AM during those times as I was wide awake.

This photo of me was taken this weekend, 8 months post retirement. These past 8 months have allowed me space and time to heal, both emotionally and physically. I wish I could say the healing was easy, but it wasn’t. During this time, I supported my husband’s healing from medical issues and cared my for aging dad in our home. But, despite those stresses, I still carved out space to focus on my own healing journey.

The impact of stress on our health cannot be underestimated. I hope my photographs serve as a reminder to us all that long term stress can destroy your health. Examining causes of stress and making changes to reduce it must be our driving force in our health journeys. For too long I acknowledged that I was under unrelenting stress, but yet did nothing about it. Rather, I used it as my excuse for being so unhealthy, as if it was expected. Finding the strength to make changes was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, yet I am so grateful I made the move as I am worth it. Living to see my grandson grow and thrive was worth it.

A dear friend said to me when I was struggling, “Laura, if you die tomorrow, there will be an ass in your chair before you’re even buried. We are all replaceable. Your family, however, will be forever changed. Your work family will move on and adjust pretty quickly to your absence. Your family will not.” That conversation really stuck with me and was what gave me the courage to step away.

Focusing first on my nutrition, helped by having to cook healthy for my two men, was pivotal. I worked with a nutritionist for the first few months to really look at what I was eating and gained knowledge of the impact of my choices on my healing. Slowing adding and increasing movement each day and tracking the impact on my body was next. Finally, returning to a yoga studio to connect with other yogis and more importantly, to myself.

I wish I could say I’m completely cured, but that would diminish the actual process of this journey. It’s a process, not a cure. I am most definitely feeling healthy again. I have a vibrant social life and have met and connected to so many great people in our new community. I have found a sport I love to play and engage in – pickleball. I have lost weight and gained better emotional health. My sleep is improving, but still not where it needs to be. I am sleeping well and getting quality REM, but still need to examine my Restoration sleep, which is still impacted by my restlessness during the night. Improved for sure, but not where I want it to be.

My next steps on my journey begin next week. I have been accepted to and registered for a Master Health Coach certification course with Dr. Spears. My specific focus will be on Adults and Aging. I cannot wait to learn more about the role nutrition plays on the body as we age as I continue on my road to Reclaiming My Health. This blog may undergo some updates during the year long coursework, as I look forward to sharing my learning with you all.

Please share your experiences with stress and nutrition. I’d love to hear what you have done to reclaim your health.

Life Reimagined

It’s hard to believe it has been over a year since I’ve sat down to write anything. When I look back at the year itself, I’m in awe at all that we’ve endured. Never in my life did I think I’d be living and leading in a global pandemic. There truly is no course that would have prepared me for this.

My last post was May 2020 and at that time I was deeply grieving the loss of my beautiful mother. She succumbed to COVID in early April at the height of COVID-19 outbreaks. After that, I feel like I was swallowed up into a black hole. Life continued, at a ridiculous pace, in my position as a Principal of an Elementary School. Every day felt like a month, every challenge felt tough, every event unchartered territory with no guidelines or support to be had. Yet, I am one of the fortunate ones as I work in a community that banded together and stood strong. I never would begin to tell anyone how to move through something like this and that may be one of the reasons why I stopped writing.

I decided this summer to begin to process what I’ve experienced this past year and a half, which is something I’ve avoided. To disconnect with any expectations and take the summer to relax, recharge and begin again. I decided to not let the lessons of this pandemic be lost on me. To do that would feel like I’d not been changed by it. I am not the same person who existed on March 12, 2019. I’d like to think I am stronger, wiser and better, but those would be lofty goals. What I am is more aware of the fragility of life, both in length of time and on this planet.

Like many people, during COVID lockdowns, I found myself making poor eating choice healthy and not engaging in exercise. Seriously, it was hard enough to get through the emotional exhaustion of most days without it, so why bother. I didn’t miss any time at work, even during the loss of my mother, as being absent just didn’t seem to be an option. I worked through all holidays and the summer that followed, as did most of my colleagues. We were able to bank the vacation time for use at a later date, which in hindsight was a blessing. This June 2021, I decided that taking time off was essential to my emotional well being.

I spent the summer engaging in deep personal reflection around the events of the past year and their impact on me. I returned to the gym in late June and found that the lack of exercise had taken a huge toll on my health. I was determined, but way out of shape. I dabbled in healthier eating, but still was not motivated to cook, despite building a state of the art kitchen in our renovated home. I lost 20 pounds and am proud of that, but know that I haven’t given it my best effort.

I have wanted to go fully plant based for a long while, but just couldn’t seem to take the plunge. I increased the amount of plant based meals I was eating, but without cooking, I grew tired of endless salad offerings. Rather than give up, I began to drill down. What could I do to make this more doable and motivate myself to cook again.

I found a wonderful woman, Chef Cynthia Louise, who has many cooking and plant based offerings. I had not heard of her, but seemed pulled toward her food offerings. They were realistic – not a ton of ingredients; holistic – organic, plant based foods; easy – not too long from prep to table; and delicious. I joined her 14 day plant based challenge, which comes with shopping lists and recipes. I’ve made two days worth as of this writing and none have taken more than 30 minutes to prepare. All have been delicious, like really delicious. I just made a salad dressing for a salad that truly left me wanting to eat more salad.

I have cooked the past two days and actually enjoyed it. My kitchen has been done since February and I have only cooked one meal a week at best – Sunday sauce. I’m super excited to feel like cooking again and hope this continues now that I am returning to work tomorrow. The ease of these recipes makes me feel like it will. The early morning offerings at the gym make me feel like that is doable as well. Stay tuned for my weekly blog to return.

To learn more about Chef Cynthia Louise visit her website at

http://www.chefcynthialouise.com

I get no compensation for my recommendation to her website, just the knowledge that you are possibly going to engage in a healthier journey. If you do, let me know as I’d love to hear about it.

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