Month: August 2024

Getting a handle on my injuries

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The good news is that my Achilles heel, which has been a source of great pain for me for over a year, seems to be getting better. According to my podiatrist, it will make a complete recovery, and surgery most likely won’t be necessary!

The bad news is that I have spurs in my heels which, while they aren’t the source of my issues, are an indicator that I haven’t been stretching enough. What? I know; I didn’t know that was a thing. But apparently it is.

From my personal Instagram account.

Now, that just leaves my shoulder. That injury, I fear, will not have a good news. But, I have to wait another week for that outcome, so in the meantime, I’ve been doing a lot of stretching and after my visit to the specialist, I’ll hopefully start back up to my full fitness routine.

Injuries don’t have to stop us, but it is important for us to listen to not only our doctors, but to our bodies. We need to make sure, especially as we’re older, to not make things worse and to let our bodies recover and heal. Recovery is actually where the real growth happens.

Ten Years

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Ten years (to the day) difference in these photos.

I remember when I started my first Whole30. People were only mildly encouraging. Most told me, “You know, most people gain all the weight back and then some after doing fad diets.” I persisted despite the negativity and embraced not a fad diet, but a change in lifestyle. I knew that the key to success long-term was not the mindset of losing weight but of changing my lifestyle to get healthy. I wanted to make changes that were permanent and, most importantly, sustainable forever.

Whole30 led me to Paleo which has been my diet for eight years now. While injuries have led me to not be as active for the past 6 months, I’ve still managed to keep the weight off and to remain healthy.

The key to keeping the weight off is to embrace the lifestyle change and to have the mindset that there is no turning back. There is no being unhealthy. There is no accepting sabotage. There is only success.

I am so much better off today than I was 10 years ago. Heck, if I hadn’t made the changes, I might not even be here today. I had fatty liver disease, Type-2 diabetes, and circulation problems in my legs and feet. Even my vision was declining due to the diabetes. All these things were reversed within the first year of doing my first Whole30 just due to diet change alone.

Set your mind to it. Stop putting it off. Commit to being healthy and do the work to make it happen. Once you embrace the lifestyle, it gets easier.

Small Victories

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I did something on Friday that has been one of the most difficult things for me to do: I stopped eating a meal when I felt full instead of when all the food was gone.

Part of the problem I have with eating healthy is not that I eat the wrong things; I very rarely do. The problem I have is that I derive pleasure from not only how delicious the food is, but also in finishing my meals. This comes from my childhood, as it does from many other peoples’ where our parents admonished us if we didn’t “Clean the plate.”

Change little things where you can. Then keep doing it and change another little thing. This morning, I chose something that wasn’t my first choice, but was a much healthier choice for breakfast than what I actually initially wanted.

Never give up, don’t allow yourself to fall on that slippery slope of, “Just this once.” That “Once” turns into another and another and before you know it, you’re having to start all over again.