Self-Reliance
We must find and follow our own path in all aspects of life. When it comes to health, whether that health manifests itself as weight loss, or being more fit, or having more energy or feeling vibrant; these things come from inside. You, and you alone determine these values. No one else can eat for you, exercise for you, and create more energy for you. This comes from you.
I could try to dictate ‘exactly' what you should eat tomorrow for breakfast, lunch and supper. I could tell you what snacks you should and should not have, but that does not mean you will necessarily do what I say. And I may be wrong; physiologically what works for me or another person, may not work for you. Search out ideas from me or others, and be willing to change and adapt and find out what works for you. One example may be fasting. Your body may work well as far as weight loss, by going from supper to breakfast without food; another person may need to extend that from supper to lunch. Another person may do a 24 hour fast two times per week; it has to be comfortable and doable for you and fit into your personal, family, and social life. Possibly just having a good plan of what you are not going to eat will be the best plan for you; this would include most of the simple starches and treats whether salty or sweet.
Exercise is another example. Ideally we would all be doing a minimum of 150 minutes per week, preferably 200 minutes for health and weight maintenance. These ‘minutes' are a general guideline for health and weight, but you will have to define what those minutes comprise of and when you will do them. Possibly 2 weight sessions and 5 walks. Going on the elliptical 3 times per week with bike rides and walks on other days. The only question is "will you do this?” No one is there to force you. Intellectually you know it's good for your health, but emotionally you may feel ‘too tired' or ‘your friend who you walk with is sick'. Make no excuses, this is your health; just get out and do something.
Sleep is another most important aspect toward good health. No one is there to tell you when to go to bed, or what time you should turn out the lights; however, you must set some rules. Knowing it's important for your health (both physical and mental), you must make the decision not to spend time on your laptop late at night, which will simply cut into your necessary sleep. Read a book, listen to music (or in my case, listen to a boring medical lecture), anything that is not too stimulating, to help you fall asleep earlier and lead to a quality sleep.
Stress is such a major factor in our lives; we must learn to control it as best we can. Meditation is practiced by many successful people, and finding some sort of way to calm the ‘buzzing' mind is worthwhile. This could be using breathing techniques when you hear that negative chatter in your brain, or following a good app on your smartphone or tablet to guide you as you learn to meditate, or at least calm that never-ending stream of useless thoughts that impede us from moving forward.
What I want for myself and everyone, is to be self-reliant. Listen to yourself. Keep learning and working on what makes you feel good. Least of all, don't stagnate; move. If you are on a weight plateau, write down everything you are eating and find out if there are some simple strategies you can do to move you off that plateau (some small unassuming snacks you are doing may be just enough to swing the insulin upwards and lead to lack of weight loss). Same with exercise; do not listen to that voice that wants to stay in bed, or feels too tired at the end of the day; just do something.
This is your health, your life, your journey. We all start the day the same way tomorrow. Tomorrow is under our control and it starts with a determination to live it the best way we know how.
You can do it; take each day as it comes. Forget yesterday and don't worry about the day after tomorrow. Make tomorrow a healthy one in whatever aspect you want to work on.
Dr. Doug