On December 8, 2011, my life changed forever. I went from waking up virtually blind with the need to immediately put my contacts in to consistently reaching for my glasses every morning unnecessarily. I got Lasik Vision Correction (I'll call it LVC from now on--not sure if this is official. I might have made it up). This whole thing came to mind because I had my first annual follow up this week.
Here's what happened:
1. The doc dilated my eyes:
After he put 2 drops in each eye he said, "I should have only put 1 drop in each eye. Your pupils are already big." My brain thinks, "Fabulous..." Basically, he made me Puss N Boots in human form. Thanks doc.
He told me everything looked perfect, my eyes are healthy, and my vision is 20/20. That shows a little bit of regression from my 20/15 vision post surgery. Whattttt upppppppp! (Listen, I'll brag because I lived for more than 20 years without being able to see. Now I can see, so I shall brag. Deal with it.)
2. There is no two.
Here's why I think everyone, who needs contacts or glasses in order to survive, should get LVC.
I chose to invest in LVC because, well frankly, I was sick of dealing with glasses and contacts. It was impossible for me to see without correction--impossible. (If I knew how to say 'impossible' in other languages, I would right now just to get my point across.) I started wearing contacts when I was 13-years-old because glasses aren't the best accessory when you are a dancer. Stage lights and reflective surfaces are not friends. Plus when you get sweaty, they start to slide all over the place and it's highly annoying. This presented a problem because I couldn't wear glasses while dancing, and my vision was so bad I couldn't see two elephants if they were standing in front of me without glasses.
My only choice: contact lenses. Luckily, contacts worked well for me for the most part. I never experienced dry eyes or other big problems...for the first 10 years. Then all of a sudden it was like my eyes started rejecting the contacts. It got ridiculous. Eye infections, dryness, overall annoyance...just not a healthy situation.
So the little devil on my left shoulder (I say that because my right side is dominant and I'm dominantly an angel :-D...shut up), kept whispering creepily, "lasik surgery...lasik surgery...LASIK SURGERY!" So naturally, I listened to it and did my research. No time like the present, eh? (That "eh" is for my Canadian friends.)
Honestly, my only real debt are my student loans. There's a lot of them. It's disgusting. So I saw this as an excellent opportunity to not only be able to see like a normal human being, but also to build my credit by financing the surgery.
BEST. DECISION. EVER.
The process was so organized and simple for me. TLC explained everything in detail for me and made sure I understood every step. It was a very personal experience, and I never once felt nervous or afraid. They ran all the necessary tests to make sure I was eligible for the surgery (there are some corneal necessities) and scheduled me. Done and done.
2 Negative things (but don't worry, the pros DEFINITELY outweigh these cons):
1. I had to wait in the waiting room for a LONGGGGGGG time on the day of my procedure. Two hours of just sitting there is a little much. But once they got me prepped, it was so quick. They gave me a happy pill, and I just chilled out and started thinking funny thoughts like how I wasn't feeling the happy pill at all when in reality, I TOTALLY was feeling it (don't judge my run-on sentence...it doesn't judge you.)
The actual procedure was only like 10 minutes. Alright people, I'm not gonna lie to you. It feels really weird. They give you these numbing drops before they do all the strange things to your eyeballs (eyeballs is much more fun to say than eyes). A few times, everything goes black, but they warn you first so it's totally fine. Out of the entire procedure, I would say I felt 'pain' for maybe a total of 30 seconds. It was very quick. I don't know exactly what they were doing; and frankly, I don't want to know. The doc warns you right before the painful part starts. The rest of it just feels like pressure or just all around weirdness.
2. The first night kinda sucks. Basically, your eyes are trying to heal themselves from exposure to the laser so it only feels okay when your eyes are closed. Even with the awesome (lies) sunglasses they give you, you just HAVE to close your eyes. There is no other way to explain it. That's why I suggest opting for an afternoon surgery--then you only have a few hours before you have to go to bed. You have to put different eye drops in your eyes for a couple weeks, but the drops feel good so it's not something you forget. You also experience a little bit of trouble at night (like halos around lights), but that goes away in a month or so.
One day after surgery, I could see perfectly.
One week after surgery, my eyes felt normal for the most part.
One month after surgery, the night vision issues went away some.
Three months after surgery, I felt normal.
The best part...drum roll please.............................
Waking up for the first couple of months and reaching for my glasses every morning to realize, I DIDN'T NEED THEM!
So to all of my friends contemplating LVC...DO IT. It was worth every cent. I recommend TLC because they provide a lifetime guarantee with any TLC in the nation. Pretty awesome.
Awesome.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Stress-@#($*@#%&$#
Stress
Life has a way of throwing curve balls that cause stress at the most inconvenient times. Things always gets busier when it's already busy leading to even more stress. Well played, life. Well played. I've always been a worry-wart (according to Urban Dictionary, a worry wart is 'Someone who is always worrying about everything, whether it is a big deal or unimportant.')--mainly when it comes to people I love. It has taken a lot of work to not worry about things outside of my control.
As many of my Facebook friends know, my family has had a pretty rough string of events over the last 3 or 4 months. Things have been really tough, and the large distance makes things that much more difficult. I'm a helper, a fixer, a nurturer...fulfilling those instinctual tendencies are nearly impossible from a distance. I know many of you are the same way!
This blog isn't going to focus on details of recent events in my family. It's about different things that can cause stress and ways to deal with that stress in a healthy manner.
To start, let's list some common stressors:
1. School - icky
2. Upcoming test - ickier
3. Work - grrrr
4. Upcoming deadline - grrrrer
5. Untrained pet - ugh
6. Parents - ugh again
7. Children - don't know about this one cause my niece is pretty fantastic
8. Bills - whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy me?????
9. Making rent - vomit
10. Injury - ummm ow
11. Sports - ...run the world
12. Relationships - need i say more?
13. Car maintenance - hatred
14. Accident - more hatred
15. Lack of sleep - monster-inducing
16. Sad news - tears
17. Natural disaster - more tears
18. National tragedy - even more tears
19. Illness of a family member, close friend, or pet - insane worry
20. Death of a family member, close friend, or pet - insane sadness
Now, of course, there are a ton more things that can cause stress in a person's life. These are just things that we all have encountered or will encounter at some point in our lives.
If one of these things happens, what do we do?
Well first, we need to realize that the feeling of stress is instinct. The body is designed to have these feelings to compensate for physical reactions to stressors. This instinct is excellent in emergencies. One example of a stress response comes from the Sympathetic Nervous System--Fight or Flight. If something happens, our body experiences different physical reactions like increased heart rate, pupil dilation, blood vessel constriction. However, if we are exposed to extended periods of stress, the effects can be potentially damaging. This is why we all need to have little figurative grenades to fight back with.
One website I found called Family Doctor has a great list of ways to compensate for stress. Here are my favorites
Until next time...Don't worry. Be Happy. Doooooooo do do do do do do do do do do do. Don't worry be happy now.
Okay...I'll shut up.
Life has a way of throwing curve balls that cause stress at the most inconvenient times. Things always gets busier when it's already busy leading to even more stress. Well played, life. Well played. I've always been a worry-wart (according to Urban Dictionary, a worry wart is 'Someone who is always worrying about everything, whether it is a big deal or unimportant.')--mainly when it comes to people I love. It has taken a lot of work to not worry about things outside of my control.
As many of my Facebook friends know, my family has had a pretty rough string of events over the last 3 or 4 months. Things have been really tough, and the large distance makes things that much more difficult. I'm a helper, a fixer, a nurturer...fulfilling those instinctual tendencies are nearly impossible from a distance. I know many of you are the same way!
This blog isn't going to focus on details of recent events in my family. It's about different things that can cause stress and ways to deal with that stress in a healthy manner.
To start, let's list some common stressors:
1. School - icky
2. Upcoming test - ickier
3. Work - grrrr
4. Upcoming deadline - grrrrer
5. Untrained pet - ugh
6. Parents - ugh again
7. Children - don't know about this one cause my niece is pretty fantastic
8. Bills - whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy me?????
9. Making rent - vomit
10. Injury - ummm ow
11. Sports - ...run the world
12. Relationships - need i say more?
13. Car maintenance - hatred
14. Accident - more hatred
15. Lack of sleep - monster-inducing
16. Sad news - tears
17. Natural disaster - more tears
18. National tragedy - even more tears
19. Illness of a family member, close friend, or pet - insane worry
20. Death of a family member, close friend, or pet - insane sadness
Now, of course, there are a ton more things that can cause stress in a person's life. These are just things that we all have encountered or will encounter at some point in our lives.
If one of these things happens, what do we do?
Well first, we need to realize that the feeling of stress is instinct. The body is designed to have these feelings to compensate for physical reactions to stressors. This instinct is excellent in emergencies. One example of a stress response comes from the Sympathetic Nervous System--Fight or Flight. If something happens, our body experiences different physical reactions like increased heart rate, pupil dilation, blood vessel constriction. However, if we are exposed to extended periods of stress, the effects can be potentially damaging. This is why we all need to have little figurative grenades to fight back with.
One website I found called Family Doctor has a great list of ways to compensate for stress. Here are my favorites
- Don't worry about things you can't control. The weather makes up its own mind.
- Solve the little problems and gain control.
- See change as a "positive challenge".
- Talk and confide in someone you trust
- Set realistic goals. Avoid overscheduling.
- Exercise regularly.
- Eat healthy and get enough sleep.
- Do/find a non-stressful hobby. Mine is dancing...
Until next time...Don't worry. Be Happy. Doooooooo do do do do do do do do do do do. Don't worry be happy now.
Okay...I'll shut up.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Challenge accepted
2013 is here.
Congratulations everyone--you survived the Mayan apocalypse and NYE and now you actually have to follow through with whatever resolution you decided on. I'm proud of you for picking something, rational or irrational.
I've talked about resolutions a lot lately because this is the best time of year to get the majority of people to actually make healthy changes. If you didn't wait until the new year to start your healthy change: yay!! good for you!! You must have read my blog a couple of weeks ago. If you did wait for the new year and still haven't started: ...ummmm...your late. Get on it. If you waited and have started: excellente!
Now let's talk about sustaining it.
I was going to write about some ways to sustain resolutions this week and then found another article that was basically saying almost exactly what I was going to say (maybe this place should hire me to be a blog writer...). Of course, it's Livestrong...come on guys, you know me well enough to know that's my first stop usually.
So take a gander at this Livestrong article. It gives you great ideas on how to make your resolution not only work, but last.
Challenge accepted?
Good.
Go.
Congratulations everyone--you survived the Mayan apocalypse and NYE and now you actually have to follow through with whatever resolution you decided on. I'm proud of you for picking something, rational or irrational.
I've talked about resolutions a lot lately because this is the best time of year to get the majority of people to actually make healthy changes. If you didn't wait until the new year to start your healthy change: yay!! good for you!! You must have read my blog a couple of weeks ago. If you did wait for the new year and still haven't started: ...ummmm...your late. Get on it. If you waited and have started: excellente!
Now let's talk about sustaining it.
I was going to write about some ways to sustain resolutions this week and then found another article that was basically saying almost exactly what I was going to say (maybe this place should hire me to be a blog writer...). Of course, it's Livestrong...come on guys, you know me well enough to know that's my first stop usually.
So take a gander at this Livestrong article. It gives you great ideas on how to make your resolution not only work, but last.
Challenge accepted?
Good.
Go.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
It's Resolution Time!
Although I don't necessarily agree with waiting until New Years to make a resolution (see my previous blog Diet Schmiet.) Now is the time to decide on that resolution if you are one to wait until New Years. Now is better than never.
Here are some ideas:
Here are some ideas:
- Lose weight: This is a great resolution...a very common one, as we all know. But the best way to be successful in achieving this resolution is to be realistic! Set a weight loss goal that is reasonable and achievable.
- Increase activity level: This is also an excellent resolution. Start by saying you are going to exercise 60 minutes extra per week. It's a great place to start and completely manageable. But keep in mind, you want to increase your heart rate so it has to be legit exercise...none of this fake exercise that doesn't even cause you to break a sweat.
- Be more patient: This resolution will improve your mental health. Patience is definitely something that I need to work on also. Living in the American culture, we have been conditioned to do things quickly and efficiciently and not waste any time. This has seriously diminished our patience. So make a plan that every time you start to feel your patience hitting its end, take a deep breath and count to 10 (in your head or people might write you off as an arse).
- Save more money: Start small to achieve this resolution. If money is something you stress about, saving a little bit more will definitely help your mental health. Try by saving $25 from each paycheck. That will add up pretty quickly and most people can spare $25 per paycheck. If you can't spare that...I'm sorry? I got nothin...(insensitivity might be something else I should work on :) just messin!)
- Change your patterns and typical activities: Changing things up a bit will have a tremendous impact on your emotional health. This can be achieved by doing very small things or very big things. Find different activities that evoke more emotions more often. Watch movies that make you cry hysterically or laugh so hard you feel like your cheeks might fall right off your face. Go on more rollercoasters or splurge for a skydiving adventure to increase your adrenaline output. There are so many little things and big things you can do to get out of a rut and change things up emotionally. It works. Trust me.
Those are just a few ideas. If none of those sound good to you, brainstorm or google it (I swear google knows everything). Just get to it...whether it's for your physical health, mental health, or emotional health, decide to improve some aspect of your life because there is always something we can do better. We are human after all!
Happy New Year!!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Airports are the devil...
What is it about airports that makes you eat unhealthy? I don't get it...
Oh wait, could it be the fact that it is nearly impossible to get healthy food because the options are so limited? Could it be that when you see a Sbarro sign, you salivate? Or is it the fact that if you are going to pay an absurd amount of money for something, it better damn-well be delicious?
I think it's all of the above.
Silly Cinnabon...smelling like heaven. Good thing I'm allergic to cinnamon and physically can't eat it (yes it sucks. I know. It's a sad subject for me).
So I know it isn't fun to be around all the sensationally-smelling overpriced food and beer, but this is when we have to control ourselves. Go to one of those little random side stores instead of a restaurant or fast food chain. Believe it or not, those little side stores actually have some (not many, but some) healthy options.
AND, stay busy while you are waiting. Boredom leads to shoveling food in the food receptacle of your body (well it does for me). Avoid boredom at all costs even if it means you end up being that awkward person who starts random conversations with people next to you. Do it and then tell me the story!!
Those are my suggestions. They don't always work, but sometimes, you can be successful. Trust me (don't be scared).
Happy holidays and healthy travels!!
Also, lets challenge the airports to make healthier food. How do we make this happen? Ideas? Alright no more questions...
Happy Holidays and healthy travels!!
Oh wait, could it be the fact that it is nearly impossible to get healthy food because the options are so limited? Could it be that when you see a Sbarro sign, you salivate? Or is it the fact that if you are going to pay an absurd amount of money for something, it better damn-well be delicious?
I think it's all of the above.
Silly Cinnabon...smelling like heaven. Good thing I'm allergic to cinnamon and physically can't eat it (yes it sucks. I know. It's a sad subject for me).
So I know it isn't fun to be around all the sensationally-smelling overpriced food and beer, but this is when we have to control ourselves. Go to one of those little random side stores instead of a restaurant or fast food chain. Believe it or not, those little side stores actually have some (not many, but some) healthy options.
AND, stay busy while you are waiting. Boredom leads to shoveling food in the food receptacle of your body (well it does for me). Avoid boredom at all costs even if it means you end up being that awkward person who starts random conversations with people next to you. Do it and then tell me the story!!
Those are my suggestions. They don't always work, but sometimes, you can be successful. Trust me (don't be scared).
Happy holidays and healthy travels!!
Also, lets challenge the airports to make healthier food. How do we make this happen? Ideas? Alright no more questions...
Happy Holidays and healthy travels!!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Cheese de la cottage
Why is it that kids hate cottage cheese and adults love cottage cheese?
Not sure if it's an acquired taste or just the fact that it looks and sounds gross. I HATED it as a child. I loved asparagus and hated cottage cheese. Totally normal. So here's the story of how I was 25 years old before I even tasted cottage cheese (yes, I hated it as a child without even trying it...I was a kid...get off muh back.) Teach (my roommate who teaches me things because she's a teacher and she's smart) introduced me to the glorious snack that is cottage cheese. I had no idea that this substance that resembled a disgusting, smelly, moldy pile of milk could taste like mmmmmm.
Not only does it taste pretty awesome, but there are also several health benefits of cottage cheese. This Livestrong article goes through the components of cottage cheese and some health benefits. Let's take a quick gander at the different components:
1. Fat
Basically, cottage cheese can be made from any type of milk...skim, 1%, 2%, whole, butter (? I don't know about this one...just go with it.) Obviously, the lightest milk creates the cottage cheese with the lowest fat content. So, if you are looking for a snack that is low in fat, get the fat-free cottage cheese. Simple.
2. Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Everyone knows these little buggers are good for you. Well everyone should know that. They make supplements with these guys in them. You can also get them from eating some types of fish. These have been shown to be helpful with brain function (which I definitely need right now...and always.) Pretty cool little helpers! Good news--cottage cheese has them!
3. Vitamin B
This nice little guy helps strengthen the body's immune system and in some cases helps with energy level. It's pretty cool and also a very common supplement. Some people even get B-12 shots! Cottage cheese has B-12 in it! Come on people--it's a no-brainer.
4. Protein
Cottage cheese is high in protein. Protein has a slow digestion rate. A slow digestion rate helps you stay full longer. This makes it a great snack for all my physically active folks out there. Stay full and increase your protein intake. Fabulous! Here's another Livestrong article really diving into why it's good after a workout. (Yes, I have a serious affinity for Livestrong. Get over it.)
5. Minerals
Alright...alright...alright. So cottage cheese has A LOT of salt in it. Living in the 21st century, we all know that salt can lead to some serious health problems, namely concerning the heart. We have some serious issues with it in American diets (because we like french fries...and everything else that we can possibly fit in our mouths.) Drink a lot of water with your cottage cheese to try to help and balance that high salt content. On the bright side though, cottage cheese has a ton of calcium which our Mommas told us helps our bones grow...and stay strong.
The main article I've been talking about references Nutrition Data for specific nutrition facts. Check it out. It's a pretty cool website
I'll leave you with my favorite mini-recipe (attributed to Teach):
1/2 cup of cottage cheese + 1 tbsp of grape jelly. Mix it up. It takes approximately 45 seconds. Okay, maybe 46 seconds.You can also try strawberry jelly or (don't judge) maple syrup. Soooooo delish. You'd be surprised. Use fat-free cottage cheese and sugar-free condiments for an extra healthy version.
If you have other cottage cheese recipes, send them my way and I'll try them.
Now go get cheesy!
(ba dum dum...that's my way of typing the sound of drums when the drummer makes that sound after the person on the microphone makes a joke...come on...you know what I'm talking about.)
Not sure if it's an acquired taste or just the fact that it looks and sounds gross. I HATED it as a child. I loved asparagus and hated cottage cheese. Totally normal. So here's the story of how I was 25 years old before I even tasted cottage cheese (yes, I hated it as a child without even trying it...I was a kid...get off muh back.) Teach (my roommate who teaches me things because she's a teacher and she's smart) introduced me to the glorious snack that is cottage cheese. I had no idea that this substance that resembled a disgusting, smelly, moldy pile of milk could taste like mmmmmm.
Not only does it taste pretty awesome, but there are also several health benefits of cottage cheese. This Livestrong article goes through the components of cottage cheese and some health benefits. Let's take a quick gander at the different components:
1. Fat
Basically, cottage cheese can be made from any type of milk...skim, 1%, 2%, whole, butter (? I don't know about this one...just go with it.) Obviously, the lightest milk creates the cottage cheese with the lowest fat content. So, if you are looking for a snack that is low in fat, get the fat-free cottage cheese. Simple.
2. Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Everyone knows these little buggers are good for you. Well everyone should know that. They make supplements with these guys in them. You can also get them from eating some types of fish. These have been shown to be helpful with brain function (which I definitely need right now...and always.) Pretty cool little helpers! Good news--cottage cheese has them!
3. Vitamin B
This nice little guy helps strengthen the body's immune system and in some cases helps with energy level. It's pretty cool and also a very common supplement. Some people even get B-12 shots! Cottage cheese has B-12 in it! Come on people--it's a no-brainer.
4. Protein
Cottage cheese is high in protein. Protein has a slow digestion rate. A slow digestion rate helps you stay full longer. This makes it a great snack for all my physically active folks out there. Stay full and increase your protein intake. Fabulous! Here's another Livestrong article really diving into why it's good after a workout. (Yes, I have a serious affinity for Livestrong. Get over it.)
5. Minerals
Alright...alright...alright. So cottage cheese has A LOT of salt in it. Living in the 21st century, we all know that salt can lead to some serious health problems, namely concerning the heart. We have some serious issues with it in American diets (because we like french fries...and everything else that we can possibly fit in our mouths.) Drink a lot of water with your cottage cheese to try to help and balance that high salt content. On the bright side though, cottage cheese has a ton of calcium which our Mommas told us helps our bones grow...and stay strong.
The main article I've been talking about references Nutrition Data for specific nutrition facts. Check it out. It's a pretty cool website
I'll leave you with my favorite mini-recipe (attributed to Teach):
1/2 cup of cottage cheese + 1 tbsp of grape jelly. Mix it up. It takes approximately 45 seconds. Okay, maybe 46 seconds.You can also try strawberry jelly or (don't judge) maple syrup. Soooooo delish. You'd be surprised. Use fat-free cottage cheese and sugar-free condiments for an extra healthy version.
If you have other cottage cheese recipes, send them my way and I'll try them.
Now go get cheesy!
(ba dum dum...that's my way of typing the sound of drums when the drummer makes that sound after the person on the microphone makes a joke...come on...you know what I'm talking about.)
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Diet Schmiet
Why is it that we make so many excuses when it comes to food? Well, in life in general too. Human nature? perhaps.
Whenever we start a "diet", it's rare to be good 100% of the time. Let's not lie, it's nearly impossible. We've gotta be more realistic people...
...we are going to slip off the healthy wagon every once in a while....
A holiday sneaks up on us, a birthday party gets out of hand, we have one too many drinks that turns into several too many drinks...I could go on for days. All of those things add up, but it doesn't mean we need to start all over. I don't know about you, but any time I would slip on one of my many diet adventures, I would be so mad at myself and feel this deep sense of guilt. ugh! Talk about exhausting--guilt is probably the most tiring emotion...just sayin.
This is what we need to do instead of guilting (google blogger doesn't like this word, but I do so I'm keeping it) ourselves crazy:
1. Acknowledge that we messed up
2. Take note of how we messed up
3. Forgive ourselves quickly
4. Figure out how to battle the life events/temptations/cravings for next time. (because, there's always gonna be another birthday or holiday or random craving that sneaks up on us when we least expect it...c'est la vie).
**I made this list up so I will not cite it.
It's so standard, at least for almost everyone I've ever met who has been on dieting stints at some point in their lives, to say something like:
"I'll start eating right tomorrow."
Then tomorrow turns into the end of the week. Then the end of the week turns into next month. Then next month turns into one of those infamous New Years resolutions. and it goes onnnn and onnnnn and onnnnn...
Another piece of word vomit that regurgitates itself if we mess up on a diet is:
"Welp! (that's a dramatic way of saying 'well'), I already screwed this week up, I'll just eat whatever I want and start fresh next week."
Fail. If those words make their way out of our food traps, we did not follow the 4 easy steps listed above.
I've done it. I KNOW the majority of you have too. But it's really silly when you think about it...how is continuing a few days of unhealthy eating going to help at all? It's not. Done. Finito.
More food for thought (catch that nugget of a pun there?):
I have the cure for being a swing dieter...
We've GOTTA change our outlook on dieting. The word "diet" has a negative connotation. It really does. Some people are ashamed to say, "I'll pass on that cake--I'm on a diet," because of that negative connotation that comes along with it. Being on a diet immediately makes the receiver of that information develop a new mindset about you.
So just like global warming should have been called global climate change from the beginning in order to correctly convey what it actually means, "diet" should have been given the name "healthy food choices" or something like that. (I'm not good at coming up with names for things; don't judge). Newsflash, you don't have to be overweight to be on a "diet". You can be a very healthy weight and still be on a "diet", but in reality, it's just maintenance of a healthy lifestyle at this point.
Give it some thought. Being on a diet is NOT a bad thing. It's simply a lifestyle that involves making healthy choices.
So start a diet as a lifestyle change. It's really the only way to sustain success. There are several psychological theories associated with behavioral change that I will apply to this subject...at another time.
Until then, happy dieting! ;)
Whenever we start a "diet", it's rare to be good 100% of the time. Let's not lie, it's nearly impossible. We've gotta be more realistic people...
...we are going to slip off the healthy wagon every once in a while....
A holiday sneaks up on us, a birthday party gets out of hand, we have one too many drinks that turns into several too many drinks...I could go on for days. All of those things add up, but it doesn't mean we need to start all over. I don't know about you, but any time I would slip on one of my many diet adventures, I would be so mad at myself and feel this deep sense of guilt. ugh! Talk about exhausting--guilt is probably the most tiring emotion...just sayin.
This is what we need to do instead of guilting (google blogger doesn't like this word, but I do so I'm keeping it) ourselves crazy:
1. Acknowledge that we messed up
2. Take note of how we messed up
3. Forgive ourselves quickly
4. Figure out how to battle the life events/temptations/cravings for next time. (because, there's always gonna be another birthday or holiday or random craving that sneaks up on us when we least expect it...c'est la vie).
**I made this list up so I will not cite it.
It's so standard, at least for almost everyone I've ever met who has been on dieting stints at some point in their lives, to say something like:
"I'll start eating right tomorrow."
Then tomorrow turns into the end of the week. Then the end of the week turns into next month. Then next month turns into one of those infamous New Years resolutions. and it goes onnnn and onnnnn and onnnnn...
Another piece of word vomit that regurgitates itself if we mess up on a diet is:
"Welp! (that's a dramatic way of saying 'well'), I already screwed this week up, I'll just eat whatever I want and start fresh next week."
Fail. If those words make their way out of our food traps, we did not follow the 4 easy steps listed above.
I've done it. I KNOW the majority of you have too. But it's really silly when you think about it...how is continuing a few days of unhealthy eating going to help at all? It's not. Done. Finito.
More food for thought (catch that nugget of a pun there?):
I have the cure for being a swing dieter...
We've GOTTA change our outlook on dieting. The word "diet" has a negative connotation. It really does. Some people are ashamed to say, "I'll pass on that cake--I'm on a diet," because of that negative connotation that comes along with it. Being on a diet immediately makes the receiver of that information develop a new mindset about you.
So just like global warming should have been called global climate change from the beginning in order to correctly convey what it actually means, "diet" should have been given the name "healthy food choices" or something like that. (I'm not good at coming up with names for things; don't judge). Newsflash, you don't have to be overweight to be on a "diet". You can be a very healthy weight and still be on a "diet", but in reality, it's just maintenance of a healthy lifestyle at this point.
Give it some thought. Being on a diet is NOT a bad thing. It's simply a lifestyle that involves making healthy choices.
So start a diet as a lifestyle change. It's really the only way to sustain success. There are several psychological theories associated with behavioral change that I will apply to this subject...at another time.
Until then, happy dieting! ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)