Simply taking a Stand

If consistency is key I keep misplacing it.  I didn't get a lot of sleep last night but decided this morning I had to do something for thirty minutes.  And I could have waited until later tonight but that line of reasoning tends to dawdle throughout the day as the hours dwindle down.  I certainly wasn't up for some Brazilian beats, nor the concentration of Tai Chi so I pulled out my trusty Wii Fit.  For the most part I played the balancing games after a couple of yoga poses.  I realize I wasn't burning a gazillion calories but it was something.  For the most part I was standing with a little leaning.  But I was using my mind to focus on movement vs. food.  We've all heard that expression "If you stand for nothing you will fall for anything."  Oh and temptation knows how to make you fall.  Whether it is food (hello dessert *bats eyelashes*), smoking, gambling, the eye of another.  We say it hits us when we're weak.  Here's the truth it is always clamoring for our attention.  It is when we are tired and weary we invite them back into our lives.  We seek their comfort and want to believe the promises of how things have changed and we can make this relationship work.  But you can't.  Addiction can never be your faithful partner because the relationship is all too consuming and jealous.  Addiction forces you to push away family, friends, activities, and adventure.  It grips you and whispers your dirty secrets.  It knows blackmail better than any political ninja and the biggest secret it knows is that you secretly want to chuck your progress and crawl back into a black hole with your addiction and block out all responsibilities.  It was maybe two seasons ago on "So You Think You Can Dance" that they based a contemporary piece on Addiction.  It was beautiful and haunting.  What a visual of something so many people experience.  Each journey is unique but we shouldn't feel alone as we all have hang-ups.  So when your addiction is pulling you into their arms with sweet whispers of lies, stand up.  Perhaps it is the tv that hypnotizes you into a vegetable and you couldn't possibly pick up a dish.  Get out of the comfy chair and you would be amazed how one action can lead to healthier choices.  If you love to gobble food on your couch all curled up with your DVR.  Food no longer allowed in that one spot of the house.  You aren't really handcuffing yourself but you are taking a stand and changing the rules.  One action will change the relationship of addiction.  If you can't drive by your favorite bakery without getting a doughnut.  New route to work.  Oh what a pain.  But when you figure the trigger that weakens your resolve you can choose to stand up to your bully and show both your addiction and yourself that you are strong enough to take a stand.  So I took a stand against laziness and the snacking monster and stepped onto my Wii Fit.  I burned less than 200 calories but saved myself from consuming an extra 700.  That's a Win - Win in so many ways.  Oh there will be days the whispers will be a little louder and me a little more willing but each stand pushes the bully a little bit farther away.  I'll take an inch to avoid the pinch.

May your journey teach you strength and to not fall for false promises or sweet lies.  'Til we meet again. . .

Phasing out the Bad by Welcoming the Good :)

Have you ever suffered from a bad headache?

How about a week - long headache?

Or a headache where the growing gnawing nauseousness

or where light is painful

or noise beyound obnoxious

or just that fuzzy cloudy feeling?

Any of this sound familiar?

If it does, don't feel alone!!!

I too, can relate to the variety pack of headaches.

I really can't remember my life without headaches playing a part, I usually say I remember them starting when I was seven years old. Not that I know for sure that's when they started. I just remember having a headache that young. I would say it was pretty common to have a headache of some sort at least once a week until I was sixteen. It was at age sixteen that I received a concussion and for many years suffered the gambit of headaches on a pretty steady daily basis. I saw countless doctors about what I could do and ran many, many tests (including a new cat scan). I tried a variety of "cure-alls" from giving up caffeine to increasing caffeine to peppermint oil, keeping hydrated, several different vitamins, etc. Many factors acted as "stressors" and I tried to eliminate them as I went about my routine. I just made sure to keep my friendly tylenol or advil, handy. When we moved out of North Dakota to South Carolina my headaches diminished quite a bit. Though I think the move and change in weather and atmosphere played a part, there were other factors probably contributing to the success of less headaches. Most of the credit goes to the fact that I pretty much had given myself the okay to take 600 mg of advil daily. I would take it in the morning and go headache-free for 85% of the time. I felt this was a preventative action. I never exceeded my daily limit and was always upfront with anyone taking my medical history that I did this on a daily basis. Well from my last post you would know that I have started reading the labels of what I consume. Recently, I informed my husband that I am not suppose to be taking these OTC (Over the counter as it has switched to generic ibuprofen) medications on an ongoing long-term basis. I know this is going to sound ditzy, but I was shocked! I don't even like taking medicine and I realized how long I had been taking this on a daily basis. If I truly wanted to participate in my HealthFULL Journey I felt this was a big step to take. I had to let go of my head-ache free blanket and see what would happen. So I slowly phased out the pills. I was taking three 200 mg pills daily. So each week I dropped a pill from the routine. And I am proud to say that it has been a week without my morning safety net and for the most part have been head-ache free. Though I have tried several cure-alls in the past I think I am remaing head-ache free because of the joint effects of incorporating a healthier lifestyle. Where maybe in the past one cure-all didn't solve all the headache triggers. By combining extra sleep, tons more water, cutting way down on soda, adding excercise and trying to push out junk food and adding in the healthy nutritious food it is possibly fighting off the headaches for good. I of course don't know which combination is directly responsible but I am enjoying the benefits. I think a HealthFull Journey is all about Phasing out the Bad by Welcoming the Good :) May you find out how to Fully Understand Life by Living while welcoming in the good habits and phasing out the bad. Good luck on your HealthFULL Journey!!! See ya next week. . .