Love Hard Laugh Harder

Ludacris was right. Move, bitch! Get out da way! It’s what I want to say to myself right now. Why, as humans, do we get in our own way so much?  We know the things we need to do and yet, we avoid them.

I know what will make me feel my best. Get good sleep, move my body more, eat more whole foods, less fast food, less processed deliciousness. What have I done way too much since May? Eat fast food, eat convenience foods at home, and lay around. 

Today, it was time to face the music as I had my yearly physical. As expected, my cholesterol is up. Again. It’s ‘s something I made a dramatic change to four years ago when I modified my diet, and my numbers all slipped into the normal range or very close to it. However, after two months of too much Wendy’s and McDonald’s, too many orders of nachos, too many chips, etc., I’ve undone it all. Thankfully my doctor is not one to jump to prescribing medications. We had a good discussion about my recent bad habits and will retest in November. 

I am not trying to demonize fast food or snack foods, etc. They have their place in terms of enjoyment and being useful in a pinch. However, all things in moderation. It’s the dose that makes the poison, after all.

I do not buy into the nutrition influencers with their all-or-nothing mentality. I truly believe that food IS fuel but it is so much more. It’s connection, community, culture, enjoyment, and more. The idea of strict diets, depravation, or cutting out of whole food groups is not something I can get on board with, unless medically necessary of course. 

In a world of extremes, I know I need to find balance. I need to establish routines that serve me well. Yet, I struggle to get going. 

In the ideal version of my life, I wake up every morning around six or so. I exercise (which, in this ideal version of life, I enjoy). I meditate, journal, etc. I have a slow start to my day every day, carving out time for my physical, mental, and emotional well-being. By being up early and having a solid foundation to launch into my day, I automatically do better with food choices, keep up with cleaning, and have lots of time to see my loved ones.

In my current reality, I am working on being up earlier, but I’m a sloth on weekends. I’m cleaning more, which makes me feel good, and reading more, which is something I’ve been missing in my life. Still, I struggle with pulling all the pieces of the puzzle together in the way that I want them. 

One day, in the not so distant future, I’ll get out of my own way.