Un-Prosperous Health

I'm probably going to take many posts to talk about health. This is a huge bite of the elephant so I want to make sure I give it its just due.

I am not at a place I'd consider healthy right now. I am overweight and since I've turned 40 the weight is piling on even more. My blood sugar is poorly managed. I work out sporadically at best and get discouraged easily. Each of these things probably deserve their own posts and I will likely break them down more and revisit them often. Because first is documenting the problem - and then working continuously on a solution.

Let's start with the weight.

I like to eat. I like to eat A LOT. I love sweet and salty. I also tend to eat emotionally. And since a full life is replete with ups and downs... yep, eat.

I've had tons of fits and starts on changing my way of eating. Because I am smart enough to realize that short term diets only yield short term results. So I try to research ways of life that are sustainable and don't make me feel like I am being robbed of life. I start and I stop... and start and stop...

Oops! Let me circle back and add an insight in here. I am gifted and have a ton of book sense. I have amazing recall and remember facts years after they even matter to most people. When something sinks in, it sticks. That means that a LOT of things come easy to me, at least intellectually. I was and am a proud nerd, and I grew up with a lot of stress on education and success, but not much talking about healthy lifestyles (this will come up more in later posts).

Being smart is a great thing, right? In most cases, yes. But it has a downside. When some things come easy to me, the things that challenge me seem that much harder. (I started typing this paragraph in the 3rd voice, but this isn't about "you" or "they" - it is about me). So when a person who achieves easily comes against a hard force, what happens? I get frustrated and quit because it isn't easy enough. Because as smart and talented as I am, if it is that hard for me then it must not be for me.

Now, how stupid is saying "Being healthy is not for me?" I'd never consciously say that. But my actions relay that message.

So what is my first step? Typing this "out loud" was my first step! Being honest about it was my first step. My next step will be to acknowledge the common challenges I face and put together a realistic and sustainable action plan to address them.

This is a tough piece of my elephant, but taking the first bite makes it seem so much more conquerable.