Do you ever find yourself happily going about your life, tending to what needs to get done, checking things off of your to do list and than BAM? BAM, something happens that rocks your world. Something pulls your kayak way off course and you find yourself drifting aimlessly or furiously fighting the waves but not getting anywhere.
A few weeks ago, my brother (Number 9) called me to process the fact that a good friend of his had a massive heart attack and was in the hospital. His friend is in his mid 50’s and I’m sure he was not expecting something so big to rock his world. Today I learned about a friend in his early 60’s who just underwent a partial amputation of his foot due to diabetic complications. Undergoing surgery like that will totally knock anyone off course.
I work at a couple of nursing homes and it is not unusual to meet people in their 50’s and 60’s who have experienced a health event that will change the course of their lives. It can change it for the better or it can change it for the worse. But either way, life will be altered in a significant way. An event like this can be a wake up call to make health related changes that should have been made years or even decades ago. Ignoring this type of wake up call will likely lead to ongoing health issues that may appear to be unrelated but that all stem from poor lifestyle choices. I never want to be in that kind of trouble.
I have written about this before in the post, What are you 1 step away from? As we age, we gain knowledge and experience about the world, about others, about what it means to be healthy. But if we aren’t open to these new ideas, we remain stuck in a rut of own making. The world of health and wellness is changing, it is growing, it is evolving; are you? Ignoring new information because it doesn’t fit into our prescribed way of thinking gets us in trouble.
When properly nourished and cared for, our bodies function like a well-oiled machine. Our bodies/minds are not designed to function on a diet of soda, chips, pizza and fried food. They are not built to thrive on beer, bread, cookies and pasta. Low-fat, high carbohydrate, sugary diets cause our bodies to malfunction. Hormone levels and neurotransmitter levels get out of whack and our bodies begin to wear down and age prematurely. Our bodies need fuel in the form of healthy fat, protein and vegetables. They need sleep, down time, meaningful activities and social connections. These are all critical to living a healthy life.
Most of us can only get away with not choosing health with pretty much every decision we make for so long before we get a wake call in the form of a heart attack, a diagnosis of diabetes, a battle with cancer or a stroke. I have spent the better part of the last 5 years trying to make good decisions in terms of my health, and I am happy with the steps I have taken and the results in terms of my health. But there are no guarantees and a health related event could easily be in my future, an event that could alter the course of my life and get me into all sorts of trouble.
With this in mind, I continue to read books and listen to health related podcasts. I educate myself so that I can incorporate new ideas into my diet and lifestyles that will support me to grow old gracefully.
Some recent books I have read include Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis and Grain Brain by Dr. Perlmutter. I am currently reading The Schwarzbein Principle; The Truth about Losing Weight, Being Healthy and Feeling Younger by Diana Schwarzbein, M.D. and Nancy Deville. My current favorite podcast is Revolution Health Radio by Chris Kresser.
This blog helps me to process all of this material, to embrace what makes sense and to discard what does not ring true. I encourage you to do the same. We get in trouble when we discard new ideas because they don’t align with our preconceived notions of what is true. Learning to keep an open mind is critical to getting out of the darn rut!
“What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know. It’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so.”
Attributed to Mark Twain
Is it time to make a change?
Lake Girl
