Part 2 - Priority #1 - YOU!

February is an interesting month representing so many things amongst which is Black History, Valentine’s Day, National Heart Disease Awareness … and these are just the tip of the iceberg!  This year it’s even a leap year yet still remains the shortest month out of a year at 29 days.  Does it remind you of your life? So many things and feeling like there’s so little time?  I know it does mine (or at least it used to until this year)!

The reality is when my health flat-lined just around Thanksgiving last year, the fast paced life I live came to a screeching halt.  Thankfully if it had to happen, the timing was perfect.  I’m in sales and travel a great deal across the country throughout the year.  Between Thanksgiving and New Year it’s a much slower pace and I actually get to be home for a little over a month without doing any business travel. So what did I do with this time?  I started to plan my upcoming travel season of course!  The realization quickly hit that the current condition of my body would never allow me to do everything I want and need both personally and professionally.  It was in this ah ha moment that I took action to turn things around, making the decision to take control now, thinking in terms of what will happen if I don’t.  What will it cost me (and I’m not talking about just money)? And then what steps I could take immediately to make positive progress. 

Here are those steps (starting the week of Thanksgiving 2011):

1.       Appointments with my chiropractor, Dr. Sean Konrad (http://www.lifeinmotionchiro.com).

2.        Bring on the massage therapist, Chris Speranza (csperanza1@rochester.rr.com)

3.       To hit a home run, nutrition from the inside out with the help of Rosie Bank (www.manifestingvision.com), Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant (who by the way lives 3,000 miles away from me in California and kicks my butt with positive energy/reinforcement!).

December was filled with appointments:  chiropractor, massage therapist and chats with Rosie. Rosie was easing me into nutritional options provided by USANA (www.USANA.com) and by the end of the month I was eagerly awaiting a box with nutritional goodies!

Early January 2012 brought with it decreased chiropractor and massage therapy visits … gone was the feeling that I live with both these people. Then the path to embracing the benefits of gentle yoga at least twice a week (http://www.pranayogarochester.com) and for those that know me this is a HUGE step.    Oh yeah, that box of nutritional goodies?  It arrived! 

Let me guess?  You’re now wondering what was in that box and how I’m feeling at this point, right?  Well, I am still in pain every now and then as opposed to all the time.  I am walking daily, for at least a ½ hour 4-5 times per week, which includes a mix of either walking with my dog or with the ladies at work during lunch.  I also joined a WalkFit program put on by Fleet Feet (http://www.fleetfeetrochester.com/news/walkfit-program-added-to-popular-no-boundaries-learn-to-run-program).   Each time I’m able to push just a bit harder/further.  My energy level is improving daily and carb cravings are under control.  While I haven’t gotten on a scale, my clothes are fitting better/looser and some clothes I haven’t been able to get into now I can (although I’m not ready to wear them in public just yet)!  So this is where I’m going to leave off until next time <smile>.

Yes, in my next blog, I promise to tell you what was in that box from USANA, share some healthy food options (you may even start craving them like I have) plus I’ll tell you about my one little word that’s helping me stay on track.  

Part 1: Priority #1 = YOU!

In late September 2011 the nurse at my doctor’s office called saying that the results of my blood work from my annual physical were in and the doctor wanted to see me. The next morning I was sitting in my doctor’s office.

The conversation went something like this:  Me:  “Hi”.  My doctor:  “Hi, how are you?” Me:  “I don’t know.  You summoned me!”  He then went on to say that my numbers for weight and cholesterol were trending in the wrong direction.  Added to this was the fact that I was quickly approaching being pre-diabetic.    

What immediately registered in my mind was the word “diabetic”.  So after pushing away the mental image of a needle going in to my arm, I stared at my doctor.  The conversation continued:  My doctor:  “Here’s what I want you do to.  Give up pasta, bread, potatoes and rice until February and since you like milk so much take it down to drinking skim milk (I was drinking 1%).  Also, get moving … exercise; lose weight and then go for blood work again in mid-February; here’s the lab slip.”  Me:  “Thanks. Can I have cheese?”  Yes, I said that; I was shocked … how did I let my health get away from me?  BTW ... if you're wondering what my doctor's response was to the question about cheese,  he said “yes” and then got up and walked out of the room.

So what did I do next? Drove to our local health food store and immediately became overwhelmed.    Almost as quickly as I walked in, I walked out.

Over the next month I became best friends with Google.  What ‘s a good substitute for pasta; for bread and lets not forget about those French fries I love so much!  And I started to exercise … working my way up to walking our dog, an 8-year old honey brown colored lab named Ellie (who also needed to lose weight so I was in good company) at least 2 miles per day 5 out 7 days each week.   And when I could get a Jazzercise class in I would do that too.   Oh yeah, I also signed up to learn how to run.

Fast forward to mid-November.  Did I start losing weight?  Was I feeling better?  You would think I would right?  NOT!  My health actually took a turn for the worse with lower back pain that radiated down my right leg and out through the sole of my right foot.  By Thanksgiving I wasn’t walking Ellie any more, forget Jazzercise and learning how to run became a distant memory. 

I’ll stop here since this is where my health flat-lined.  In my next blog, I’ll share what steps I took to dramatically turn things around … steps that you too can take which are manageable and measurable by something other than a scale! For now though, it’s time for that action I’d like you to take … don’t put off taking care of yourself any longer! And you decide the benefit for you … is it more energy? Is it getting the carb cravings under control?  Perhaps it’s being able play with your children without becoming tired in the first 5 minutes (or maybe it’s playing with your significant other <smile>)!

Last but not least, I’ll sign off with something my dear friend Rosie Bank (who is also a Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultants and who I’ll introduce you to in my next blog) says, “To your radiant good health!!”