between body and mind

I'll be honest, I have been the queen of procrastination with writing this week, due to a combination of way too much thinking (and overthinking), the presidential debate (and the resulting political nausea), and the laziness found only in making very poor health choices.

After a week of recovering from a cold, very little exercise and seven days of pity-me-I'm-sick desserts, we drove down to Phoenix for a couple of days with the honey's parents.  Now, there are three things that I have learned about my eating habits.  One, I have no sense of moderation.  With sweets or good bread?  Mmm... I can't stop myself if they're in the house.  Two, while my metabolism-gifted sweetheart can eat anything and still be fit, I... cannot.  That aforementioned lack of moderation comes into play here.  No good comes from my addiction to sweets and delicious carbohydrates.  And, three... my relationship with my body has a direct correlation to what I'm putting in my body.

... And this weekend was proof enough.  An unbalanced diet, high on the processed carbs, multiple trips through the drive thru, and sweets on sweets on sweets... let's just say that I returned home with a high fat hangover - nauseated and exhausted. Five days later, and the mention of greasy food still turns my stomach.  But beyond the physical effects of my poor dietary choices (which cannot be underestimated) were the psychological and emotional effects of a week so deeply in contrast to my normal health habits.

Even more striking than my newfound lack of energy and new friend, nausea, which hung around for several days into a healthy-habits-filled week, was the return of my familiar foes, the ones that I hadn't seen for over a month: disappointment, self-hatred and self-pity (have I mentioned how much they suck?!).

I experienced a deep disappointment in myself and a sickening disgust when I thought about my body.  I felt - warning, I'm about to use the f-word - fat and weak, even though, in reality, it couldn't be farther from the truth.  My psyche felt what my body was experiencing, the churning consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle.

Researchers have discovered (and continue to discover) a distinct relationship between our dietary intake and our mental health.  They have found that a diet filled with unhealthy fats, refined carbohydrates and sugars - staples of both fast food and our favorite sit-down restaurants - is directly connected to an increased rate of depression, anxiety and hyperactivity (see article).  Others have found that these same foods undermine your sleep (could have told you that after last week!).  They have discovered, through research, what we instinctively know when we are in attunement with ourselves: our bodies, our minds, our spirits are deeply connected to how we feed ourselves.  

I cannot tell you how much I wish that I could turn back the hands of time and get my week back (and the days of miserable hangover that followed).  Bouncing back from a week, a month, a lifetime of giving into junk food cravings and poor diet choices takes work, not just physically but mentally -- fighting off the internal demons and carbohydrate cravings.  But the beautiful thing is that its never too late to recommit, to yourself, your body, and your future.

My relationship with my body has a direct correlation to what I'm putting in my body.  My week of unhealthy choices transported me temporarily to a place I have been before -- to the land of harsh self-criticism, deep anxiety and exhaustion.  Frankly, I never want to go there again.  Healthy living means a clean existence -- and bold living, whole living flows swiftly from there.

The truth is that the longer you live in the land of unhealthy choices, the harder it is to break that habit.  It's a new month.  The time is now.

For us, October means a commitment to changing our habits.  Changing the way we eat, changing the way we exercise.  What about you?  Where do you need to recommit?

Need some ideas?  What about adding in an afternoon workout in addition to your morning routine?  What about researching ways to eat in season?!  Autumn is a prime season for healthy, antioxidant rich foods.  Maybe you need to cut down on eating out.  Maybe you need to commit to getting more rest (let's face it, most of us fail to get the recommended zzz's).  What about changing your portion sizes?!

Whatever your health goals, start now.  Make your physical, and mental, well-being a priority.  And, as always, please be kind to yourself.