Health conscious people, like you and I, know that drinking enough water is important. According to Wikipedia who uses Guyton's and Jackson's Anatomy and Physiology books for nursing as references, the adult body is made up of an average of 57-60% water. These percentages decrease to as low as 45% as a person ages. There are many technical facts about the water that is within the body like intracellular (within the cell)is 2/3 of the body's water and extracellular (outside the cell) makes up the other 1/3rd.
Electrolyte balance is connected to the amount of water, potassium and sodium that is in our body. Out of balance electrolytes can cause all kinds of horrible side effects. As an ER nurse, I have seen many out of whack heart rhythms from too much or too little potassium as well as muscle cramps from too little K+. Low sodium can cause mental confusion.
Considering all the health benefits of hydrating with water, it is easy to agree that "yeah, I should really drink more water". Then comes the confusing question. How much water is enough? Can you drink too much water? Does it mater when you drink your water? What kind of water should I drink?
The answer to these questions vary wildly depending upon which 'expert' you talk to. What is important to know is that there is generally at least a little truth in every experts opinion. This is why I say it is very important for everyone to find their own answer. Does that mean you should not listen to the 'experts'? No, listen, but know that your answer is somewhere between what each expert says and where you personally are with your body. Does that make sense? In other words, the answer is an individual one. There is a generally true answer but anytime we do not address individuality, we can really miss the mark as far as what is the right answer for you personally.
My opinions on these questions is as follows:
*How much is enough water? A general rule of thumb is half of your body weight in ounces. So, if you weigh 100 pounds, aim for 50 ounces, if you weigh 180 pounds, aim for 90 ounces and so on and so forth. That said, use your "how do I feel when I drink this much water?" answer to guide you. Every body is different.
**Yes, you can drink too much water. This usually only happens to people who have a Psychological disorder (which is the only incidences of water intoxication I have seen in my 20+ years of clinical experience) or in people who are way over zealous in drinking water. Too much intake of water causes an electrolyte imbalance (low sodium levels) which can cause severe neurological symptoms like confusion, convulsions, coma and in severe cases, death.
***Does when you drink water make a difference. I believe drinking 8 to 16 ounces of water upon arising in the morning helps to get things moving. Many people believe that you should drink a cup of water at least 15 minutes before you eat so that your body will have enough fluids for digestive enzymes. I reality, you will have to find a pattern that works for you. My thoughts are, it is more important to drink enough than exactly when you drink it.
****The kind of water is important, but, and this is really more of an opinion, I believe it is most important that you do drink sufficient water. The body does filter out toxins, especially if you are healthy. However, once you get in the habit of drinking sufficient water, and if you have the money, you may want to switch to filtered water. There too there is a huge differing of opinion, and you will have to make up your own mind between spring water, RO water, distilled water or just charcoal filtered tap water. It seems there is an expert who recommends any one of these so you just have to make up your own mind and trust that that is the answer for you.
Taking personal responsibility for my own health is a commitment and.... well, a responsibility. If I take that responsibility seriously, I will not begrudge the time it takes to read what the experts have to say and then examine my own lifestyle and my body's response to the added intake of more water, etc.
One of the more radical books on water is "Your Body's many cries for Water" by F. Batmanghelidj,MD. I am not sure you can cure all things with water but I think his is a good read to see just how important hydration is in all health issues.
As health conscious individuals, most of you have already determined how much and what kind of water you choose to drink. Nothing I am saying here is new to you. I applaud you and encourage you to keep on doing that which you know to do to keep healthy! My main goal with this blog is to encourage and empower anyone who wants to take charge of their own health.
Till next time,
Healthbug
Sites I used as reference.
1. http://www.europeanhydrationinstitute.org/pdin-en/ehi3/dehydration?gclid=COL-m_eKq7sCFbBAMgodyVAAlQ
2. http://web.pdx.edu/~sujata/FruitEze/education/laxative/water_chart.html
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Motivation to Eat more Veggies
In contemplating my own health and health habits, I am looking for those things that motivate me to eat, exercise, and other wise take better care of myself. I have been a long time believer in the fact that people can make the most difference in their own health. Meaning, I, with my choices, can have the most effect on whether I am healthy or not. Sounds too simplistic, I know but in my 20 plus years of nursing, and 40 years of being a health conscious Mom, I do see that this is a truism.
How and what we think and believe about our health has a great effect on our health. If I think that my health is something that I either have or do not have,something that only the Doctor can help you maintain, then essentially you believe that nothing you do effects your health and with those beliefs, I am not motivated at all to do anything that would help prevent disease or make me healthier. However, if I believe that my life choices have a great affect on how I feel and what kind of health I have, then I am much more likely to make choices that have a positive affect my health.
Motivation is one of the great game changers. How motivated we are to do those things that will promote health will determine how vested we get in healthy living. Sometimes I find it helpful to use extremes to motivate myself. Say I am struggling to eat more vegetables (which I am at this present time) and I really don't like many vegetables, or at least not enough to be able to eat 2 cups of cooked veggies 3 times a day, which is what I am experimenting with at the present time. So I ask myself if I would be more enthusiastic about the process, if I knew that I had cancer, or some other life threatening disease that I know would benefit greatly from addition of this amount of veggies, would my motivation improve. Hmmm maybe not. But if I had research in front of me that indicated that those who ate that amount of veggies had a much higher chance of recovery, or that health issues were greatly improved, then I would be much more motivated. So the key is to keep those facts in mind and then figure out a way to make the veggies more to my liking.
So sauces it is. Sauces, sour cream dip, yogurt dip, seasonings and what ever I have to do to make Veggies my most favorite food.I'm on it.
Remembering that any 'diet' must be composed of food I enjoy eating, foods that I love eating and foods that agree with my body is the only way that I will be able to eat healthy for a lifetime.
Till next time,
Healthbug
How and what we think and believe about our health has a great effect on our health. If I think that my health is something that I either have or do not have,something that only the Doctor can help you maintain, then essentially you believe that nothing you do effects your health and with those beliefs, I am not motivated at all to do anything that would help prevent disease or make me healthier. However, if I believe that my life choices have a great affect on how I feel and what kind of health I have, then I am much more likely to make choices that have a positive affect my health.
Motivation is one of the great game changers. How motivated we are to do those things that will promote health will determine how vested we get in healthy living. Sometimes I find it helpful to use extremes to motivate myself. Say I am struggling to eat more vegetables (which I am at this present time) and I really don't like many vegetables, or at least not enough to be able to eat 2 cups of cooked veggies 3 times a day, which is what I am experimenting with at the present time. So I ask myself if I would be more enthusiastic about the process, if I knew that I had cancer, or some other life threatening disease that I know would benefit greatly from addition of this amount of veggies, would my motivation improve. Hmmm maybe not. But if I had research in front of me that indicated that those who ate that amount of veggies had a much higher chance of recovery, or that health issues were greatly improved, then I would be much more motivated. So the key is to keep those facts in mind and then figure out a way to make the veggies more to my liking.
So sauces it is. Sauces, sour cream dip, yogurt dip, seasonings and what ever I have to do to make Veggies my most favorite food.I'm on it.
Remembering that any 'diet' must be composed of food I enjoy eating, foods that I love eating and foods that agree with my body is the only way that I will be able to eat healthy for a lifetime.
Till next time,
Healthbug
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Time keeps flying by and I keep loosing track of this blog. Each and every day I study, research, experience new ways of healing and yet I forget to post. I forget that I have made a commitment to this blog. Not so much for others, but for myself. In getting to where I want to go, I have to go through what I need to go through. Sounds trite, I know, but the living of this is not trite.
I use to try to go around painful areas of my life that I did not want to deal with. I somehow thought that if I did not confront my feelings, thoughts, doubts, fears, and perceived short comings, they would magically not be there. I mistakenly thought that bringing up hard issues, emotions, unpleasant thoughts would somehow make things worse. I have long since learned a better way. It is about time I used it to get busy and attend to this blog as I really want to. I know that the only way to get to where I want to go is to go through those things I need to go through. By saying that I mean acknowledge the disappointment, fear, self sabotage, and bad habits that have kept me from being diligent with this blog as I want to be. If I don't give myself permission to have a new start, yes, yet again, than who will.
The only place I know to start is where I am in the moment. This moment I have begun reading a book by Louise DeSalvo entitled "Writing as a way of Healing, How telling our stories transforms our Lives"! I have only begun to read this book and it has taken me back to my roots. Back to my love of writing and my hope of "being a writer". This is a very profound book. One that I can see has already changed my life.
In a brief nutshell, by writing about our emotions and the traumas we have experienced,we can not only heal our minds and psychi but also heal our bodies. The two must be connected. It appears that connecting the trauma with our feelings, both then and now, have a healing effect beyond what researchers expected! Wow, that is powerful!
This means that if I allow myself to write about and express the pain, dis-empowerment and self disappointment of failure to my own self imposed commitment, I can strengthen myself? I am game for this.
My passion is empowering myself and others to do all that we can do to be as healthy physically, emotionally and spiritually as possible. Connected to this passion is finding ways that anyone and everyone can afford if they wish. Writing fits this bill. Got pen, got paper and you can write. The brain supplies the rest! The adventure begins with you first words. Anything and everything is open to discuss. No one ever needs to read what you write and you never need to read what you have written. It appears that the effort to be organized, specific, and connected to your traumas and the feelings that are attached to them and writing all this down, is the catalyst for healing.
I make no attempt here to a complete review of this book. If this mode of healing attracts you, you can go to the library and check it out. If they don't have it, chances are they can order it. Or if you are like me want to own an inspiring book you can most likely find it cheaply on the internet. I love Amazon.com for used books. I am a book hound! I love to read and learn. It is about time I start healing deeper wounds with my writing.
A while back I promised some information on water. I WILL get to that. We are 75% water. So how important do you think it could be? LOL.
Till next time and hopefully I will be more regular at posting. No, not hopefully, I will be!
Happy Thanksgiving to all,
Healthbug
I use to try to go around painful areas of my life that I did not want to deal with. I somehow thought that if I did not confront my feelings, thoughts, doubts, fears, and perceived short comings, they would magically not be there. I mistakenly thought that bringing up hard issues, emotions, unpleasant thoughts would somehow make things worse. I have long since learned a better way. It is about time I used it to get busy and attend to this blog as I really want to. I know that the only way to get to where I want to go is to go through those things I need to go through. By saying that I mean acknowledge the disappointment, fear, self sabotage, and bad habits that have kept me from being diligent with this blog as I want to be. If I don't give myself permission to have a new start, yes, yet again, than who will.
The only place I know to start is where I am in the moment. This moment I have begun reading a book by Louise DeSalvo entitled "Writing as a way of Healing, How telling our stories transforms our Lives"! I have only begun to read this book and it has taken me back to my roots. Back to my love of writing and my hope of "being a writer". This is a very profound book. One that I can see has already changed my life.
In a brief nutshell, by writing about our emotions and the traumas we have experienced,we can not only heal our minds and psychi but also heal our bodies. The two must be connected. It appears that connecting the trauma with our feelings, both then and now, have a healing effect beyond what researchers expected! Wow, that is powerful!
This means that if I allow myself to write about and express the pain, dis-empowerment and self disappointment of failure to my own self imposed commitment, I can strengthen myself? I am game for this.
My passion is empowering myself and others to do all that we can do to be as healthy physically, emotionally and spiritually as possible. Connected to this passion is finding ways that anyone and everyone can afford if they wish. Writing fits this bill. Got pen, got paper and you can write. The brain supplies the rest! The adventure begins with you first words. Anything and everything is open to discuss. No one ever needs to read what you write and you never need to read what you have written. It appears that the effort to be organized, specific, and connected to your traumas and the feelings that are attached to them and writing all this down, is the catalyst for healing.
I make no attempt here to a complete review of this book. If this mode of healing attracts you, you can go to the library and check it out. If they don't have it, chances are they can order it. Or if you are like me want to own an inspiring book you can most likely find it cheaply on the internet. I love Amazon.com for used books. I am a book hound! I love to read and learn. It is about time I start healing deeper wounds with my writing.
A while back I promised some information on water. I WILL get to that. We are 75% water. So how important do you think it could be? LOL.
Till next time and hopefully I will be more regular at posting. No, not hopefully, I will be!
Happy Thanksgiving to all,
Healthbug
Friday, July 12, 2013
The Value of Mom
Just what is Self Care Health Care? It sounds just like a tongue twister to me.Self care speaks of taking responsibility for your health and well being. Self directed Healthcare might be a better way of putting it. Because of my history, Mom of 5 children with limited monetary funds, I felt I constantly had to think about how to keep my family safe and healthy. Accidents do happen. Minor ones can be taken care of at home (If you know how),slightly more acute injuries might need an expert hand and should be taken to your DR/Healthcare Provider and of course acute injuries should be taken to the Emergency Room.
I think I was very fortunate to have a Mom who taught me how to assess the everyday ouies and boo boos that come along. She taught me not only to assess these but how to treat them at home to decrease the possibility of infection and then how to treat infection if it did develop. As an ER Nurse I have often said that "We all need a Mommy hotline". It is amazing how many things can be prevented but then also treated very effectively at home.
Outside of injuries, which you have only a modicum of control, general health is the piece of health that you can have enormous affect on, not only for yourself but also for others in your household like spouse/partner, children and/or other family members. Yep, Mom helped me out there too. She was very aware of how important a healthy diet was. At one point she sold vitamins "Nutrilite". This was one of the first vitamin companies around. So as a kid I learned that what I ate was very important to keeping me healthy. I have continued to build on that knowledge by reading almost everything I can get my hands on and have the time to read that talks about health,healing and dealing with chronic diseases.
Bottom line, taking responsibility for you and your family's health, takes a commitment, motivation, a few skills and knowledge. Why bother? You might say "All this sounds really great but it is so out of reach. I mean, taking care of the house,laundry as well as the outside job is a tremendous drain on my time. Add a family in there if you have one and it all seems very overwhelming! I don't have time for all that learning!" You might also say "You'd have to be a nurse to know all that. I don't want to be a nurse. I just want to be healthy and help those around me be healthy."
Gosh, I just realized I am talking to those people who don't "get it". If you are reading this blog, you "get it". You already take responsibility for you health and it's care. You "get" that knowledge is power and you "get" that you can do so many base level things to get and stay healthy. You also already know how to take care of the minor stuff yourself at home. When you get the fact that you are responsible for your health whether or not you recognize it, the next step is to decide to not be passive about it, you then search for answers.
Mom's for centuries have been the nurse. They had no formal training. They learned from their Mom. Much of that knowledge has been lost since Mom's went to work outside the home. They became stressed and more limited with their time. Now we have one or two generations who have not had the advantage of learning simple self care.
Mostly this post is about getting back to that basic. Moms and Dads teach. I encourage all the readers of this silly little blog to know your value! Your desire to keep healthy and your search for the knowledge with which to do this is the stone in the pond that can cause a ripple effect. It's all about one step at a time, one small change at a time. That's why I love my moto "Small changes BIG results".
Next post is going to be about water. You can't get more simple than that.
Until then Hope you keep coming back. Drop a comment if you would like to know something specific. I really am a real person and am eager to share my knowledge. I don't know it all, but love to do research.
Later,
Healthbug
I think I was very fortunate to have a Mom who taught me how to assess the everyday ouies and boo boos that come along. She taught me not only to assess these but how to treat them at home to decrease the possibility of infection and then how to treat infection if it did develop. As an ER Nurse I have often said that "We all need a Mommy hotline". It is amazing how many things can be prevented but then also treated very effectively at home.
Outside of injuries, which you have only a modicum of control, general health is the piece of health that you can have enormous affect on, not only for yourself but also for others in your household like spouse/partner, children and/or other family members. Yep, Mom helped me out there too. She was very aware of how important a healthy diet was. At one point she sold vitamins "Nutrilite". This was one of the first vitamin companies around. So as a kid I learned that what I ate was very important to keeping me healthy. I have continued to build on that knowledge by reading almost everything I can get my hands on and have the time to read that talks about health,healing and dealing with chronic diseases.
Bottom line, taking responsibility for you and your family's health, takes a commitment, motivation, a few skills and knowledge. Why bother? You might say "All this sounds really great but it is so out of reach. I mean, taking care of the house,laundry as well as the outside job is a tremendous drain on my time. Add a family in there if you have one and it all seems very overwhelming! I don't have time for all that learning!" You might also say "You'd have to be a nurse to know all that. I don't want to be a nurse. I just want to be healthy and help those around me be healthy."
Gosh, I just realized I am talking to those people who don't "get it". If you are reading this blog, you "get it". You already take responsibility for you health and it's care. You "get" that knowledge is power and you "get" that you can do so many base level things to get and stay healthy. You also already know how to take care of the minor stuff yourself at home. When you get the fact that you are responsible for your health whether or not you recognize it, the next step is to decide to not be passive about it, you then search for answers.
Mom's for centuries have been the nurse. They had no formal training. They learned from their Mom. Much of that knowledge has been lost since Mom's went to work outside the home. They became stressed and more limited with their time. Now we have one or two generations who have not had the advantage of learning simple self care.
Mostly this post is about getting back to that basic. Moms and Dads teach. I encourage all the readers of this silly little blog to know your value! Your desire to keep healthy and your search for the knowledge with which to do this is the stone in the pond that can cause a ripple effect. It's all about one step at a time, one small change at a time. That's why I love my moto "Small changes BIG results".
Next post is going to be about water. You can't get more simple than that.
Until then Hope you keep coming back. Drop a comment if you would like to know something specific. I really am a real person and am eager to share my knowledge. I don't know it all, but love to do research.
Later,
Healthbug
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Weight Loss
I know this is a worn out topic but I just have to go here yet again, one more time. I know when I was looking for a way to loose weight, I was always looking for that "something new" that would help me be successful. The "magic bullet" to end all my misery just had to be out there somewhere? Where oh where to find what I needed to loose the weight in a successful way.
My long history of dieting, trying to loose weight led me to be very skeptical of ever getting a handle on my weight. I felt I had a lot going against me being successful. Family history of being obese, I was older and my metabolism was slower, family history of low thyroid all helped to discourage me from even trying to, yet again, one more time, to loose the weight.
Thankfully, 3 years ago I found a way of eating that I was able to follow and loose not only all the weight I wanted to plus more. I just spent some time this morning talking with my beautiful daughter-in-law about the various ways to loose weight. I lost weight using "Let's Do Lunch". This program teaches you how to eat not only for weight loss but also for health. Since I am such a health nut this really spoke to me. I have kept the weight off and am still excited about this way of eating.
So for me the LDL way of eating worked great and I know it works for others. However the discussion went like this, not everyone has the same metabolism and not everyone has the same mindset. When it comes to loosing weight it is a combination of mindset, determination and metabolism. I think the most important is mindset being attitude. Everyone has their jump off point and what they can and can not tolerate. I use a "how healthy is this way of eating" format to determine if the diet is a good one. The next most important criteria is that you have to love the foods that you are eating.
The more you get away from processed foods the better your food tastes to you. But you still have to start with foods you love even with numbed out taste buds. So fill up on those "good for you" foods before you even think of adding anything else to your plate. Hint: one week without processed foods will make those taste buds come alive. Then it seems like everything takes on a new dimension of flavor! Its like adding color to a black and white picture. When those healthful foods taste great, you are not even tempted to eat junk!
I have talked to many who have used the HCG protocol and diet to reset their metabolism and thus loose weight and keep it off. If you use this to help you get a handle on a healthy diet while loosing weight, I think this is a great way to go. It is fast and, if done correctly, not too painful. If I had not been so successful with LDL I would give it a shot.
I am now reviewing a book on aging and metabolism! Boy am I excited to get to the meat of this book. Even though it is 10 years old, it has some great info on little known research. The big issue is even though I have lost the weight and keep it off I seem to be loosing muscle strength as I age. Not too cool. Supposedly there is a way to increase your muscle mass as well as loose the fat thus becoming healthier as you age. Hey, that is for me! So look for my review of this book in the next few weeks.
Until then, to your best health possible,
Heathbug
My long history of dieting, trying to loose weight led me to be very skeptical of ever getting a handle on my weight. I felt I had a lot going against me being successful. Family history of being obese, I was older and my metabolism was slower, family history of low thyroid all helped to discourage me from even trying to, yet again, one more time, to loose the weight.
Thankfully, 3 years ago I found a way of eating that I was able to follow and loose not only all the weight I wanted to plus more. I just spent some time this morning talking with my beautiful daughter-in-law about the various ways to loose weight. I lost weight using "Let's Do Lunch". This program teaches you how to eat not only for weight loss but also for health. Since I am such a health nut this really spoke to me. I have kept the weight off and am still excited about this way of eating.
So for me the LDL way of eating worked great and I know it works for others. However the discussion went like this, not everyone has the same metabolism and not everyone has the same mindset. When it comes to loosing weight it is a combination of mindset, determination and metabolism. I think the most important is mindset being attitude. Everyone has their jump off point and what they can and can not tolerate. I use a "how healthy is this way of eating" format to determine if the diet is a good one. The next most important criteria is that you have to love the foods that you are eating.
The more you get away from processed foods the better your food tastes to you. But you still have to start with foods you love even with numbed out taste buds. So fill up on those "good for you" foods before you even think of adding anything else to your plate. Hint: one week without processed foods will make those taste buds come alive. Then it seems like everything takes on a new dimension of flavor! Its like adding color to a black and white picture. When those healthful foods taste great, you are not even tempted to eat junk!
I have talked to many who have used the HCG protocol and diet to reset their metabolism and thus loose weight and keep it off. If you use this to help you get a handle on a healthy diet while loosing weight, I think this is a great way to go. It is fast and, if done correctly, not too painful. If I had not been so successful with LDL I would give it a shot.
I am now reviewing a book on aging and metabolism! Boy am I excited to get to the meat of this book. Even though it is 10 years old, it has some great info on little known research. The big issue is even though I have lost the weight and keep it off I seem to be loosing muscle strength as I age. Not too cool. Supposedly there is a way to increase your muscle mass as well as loose the fat thus becoming healthier as you age. Hey, that is for me! So look for my review of this book in the next few weeks.
Until then, to your best health possible,
Heathbug
Thursday, June 13, 2013
15 minutes with your HCP!
If you only have 15 minutes to pass on vital information to your Healthcare Provider what is the most vital information for you to pass on? What do they need to know? What information will help them know what tests are needed? What will give the information that they need to determine what the root cause of your symptoms?
Let me assure you that you as patient, can make a huge difference by passing on the most important information. If you answer the following questions before you go to the DR then pass that information on, you will be amazed at how effective your HCP will be at helping you.
What are your symptoms? Headache, can't sleep, depressed, leg pain, foot pain.
Be descriptive! describe the pain. sharp, dull, throbbing, use as many descriptive words as you can think of to pinpoint just what the pain, discomfort, problem feels like. Feeling sad, depressed, cry all the time, feeling a sense of doom?
How long have you had these symptoms?
When did it start? so many days/weeks/months/years ago?
How did it start? Suddenly or gradual? Are the symptoms getting worse? or staying the same but just not going away?
Is there anything that was happening in your life that correlates to the symptoms? new job, new food item, new medication, new supplement,new activity? This piece of information is very important!
What has been the pattern of the symptoms? Constant or does it come and go? Does the pain radiate anywhere? Which means does the pain start in one spot and move to another spot? Does the pain move around from spot to spot or is it constant? In the same spot/area?
Is the main symptom associated with another symptom? How?
Be as specific as you can about everything. Your HCP will love you for this specific information!
Share any information that you think might be even remotely connect even if you think the connection sounds silly. Let your HCP decide. If you feel sure the connection is there and your HCP doesn't see it. Trust yourself. After all you are the one who lives with you.
The more specific you are the better healthcare you will receive! You are more in control of your health care than you think! Take it and run with it.Be empowered to demand the best healthcare possible then do everything within your power to assist with what you can.
Till next time,
Healthbug
Let me assure you that you as patient, can make a huge difference by passing on the most important information. If you answer the following questions before you go to the DR then pass that information on, you will be amazed at how effective your HCP will be at helping you.
What are your symptoms? Headache, can't sleep, depressed, leg pain, foot pain.
Be descriptive! describe the pain. sharp, dull, throbbing, use as many descriptive words as you can think of to pinpoint just what the pain, discomfort, problem feels like. Feeling sad, depressed, cry all the time, feeling a sense of doom?
How long have you had these symptoms?
When did it start? so many days/weeks/months/years ago?
How did it start? Suddenly or gradual? Are the symptoms getting worse? or staying the same but just not going away?
Is there anything that was happening in your life that correlates to the symptoms? new job, new food item, new medication, new supplement,new activity? This piece of information is very important!
What has been the pattern of the symptoms? Constant or does it come and go? Does the pain radiate anywhere? Which means does the pain start in one spot and move to another spot? Does the pain move around from spot to spot or is it constant? In the same spot/area?
Is the main symptom associated with another symptom? How?
Be as specific as you can about everything. Your HCP will love you for this specific information!
Share any information that you think might be even remotely connect even if you think the connection sounds silly. Let your HCP decide. If you feel sure the connection is there and your HCP doesn't see it. Trust yourself. After all you are the one who lives with you.
The more specific you are the better healthcare you will receive! You are more in control of your health care than you think! Take it and run with it.Be empowered to demand the best healthcare possible then do everything within your power to assist with what you can.
Till next time,
Healthbug
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Gut-Brain Connection
Just a few weeks ago I attended a day long educational seminar taught by Merrily Kuhn RN,CCRN(r) PHD, ND,PHD. It was a very informative event. I learned a lot and had much of what I already know validated.
We all kind of sort of know that our gut health is very important! After all, when we have a stomach ache or some other abdominal pain, we just feel miserable. We know that diarrhea and constipation are related to our gut health, but did you know that the gut is the source of 90% of our immune system and that the gut and the brain are intricately related to our mental health?
Well known neurotransmitters are made in the gut. Check out Dopamine. 50% of this important neurotransmitter is made in the gut and 50% made in the brain. 95% of Serotonin is produced in the gut. GABA, Glutamate and Norepinephrne are also found in the gut. Now the light comes on and it makes so much sense. When you are nervous, you can get a stomach ache, diarrhea and more. This is personal validation that the gut is definitely influenced by the emotions, so it makes perfect sense that the brain would be influenced by the gut.
At birth, our gut is populated by the needed bacteria while coming through the birth canal. Breast milk contains a substance that the baby cannot process. Why is that? Research has verified that this substance is need by the bacteria to make it healthy. When our gut bacteria is healthy then we are happy and healthy. It is a symbiotic relationship which means that the bacteria and our bodies help each other out.
Many things in our diet and lives is detrimental to our gut bacteria and thus to our health. This is being recognized more and more by healthcare workers all over the country. Environmental toxins, antibiotics and nutrient depleted diets are part of the reasons why our gut bacteria can become unhealthy and candida, which is not so good for our health, can become a big time health problem.
Making sure that you take a probiotic when taking an antibiotic is very important. Just make sure you don't take the antibiotic and probiotic at the same time of day. Wait at least 2 hours between to make sure that the antibiotic does not destroy the probiotics. Eliminate sugar completely from your diet and limit the processed foods as much as possible.
The subject of healthy gut and it's connection with a healthy brain is vast. If this subject interests you I would suggest that you do additional research on the subject as the vast amount of information out there is just too big for the scope of this blog.
To your health and happy research.
Until next time,
Healthbug
We all kind of sort of know that our gut health is very important! After all, when we have a stomach ache or some other abdominal pain, we just feel miserable. We know that diarrhea and constipation are related to our gut health, but did you know that the gut is the source of 90% of our immune system and that the gut and the brain are intricately related to our mental health?
Well known neurotransmitters are made in the gut. Check out Dopamine. 50% of this important neurotransmitter is made in the gut and 50% made in the brain. 95% of Serotonin is produced in the gut. GABA, Glutamate and Norepinephrne are also found in the gut. Now the light comes on and it makes so much sense. When you are nervous, you can get a stomach ache, diarrhea and more. This is personal validation that the gut is definitely influenced by the emotions, so it makes perfect sense that the brain would be influenced by the gut.
At birth, our gut is populated by the needed bacteria while coming through the birth canal. Breast milk contains a substance that the baby cannot process. Why is that? Research has verified that this substance is need by the bacteria to make it healthy. When our gut bacteria is healthy then we are happy and healthy. It is a symbiotic relationship which means that the bacteria and our bodies help each other out.
Many things in our diet and lives is detrimental to our gut bacteria and thus to our health. This is being recognized more and more by healthcare workers all over the country. Environmental toxins, antibiotics and nutrient depleted diets are part of the reasons why our gut bacteria can become unhealthy and candida, which is not so good for our health, can become a big time health problem.
Making sure that you take a probiotic when taking an antibiotic is very important. Just make sure you don't take the antibiotic and probiotic at the same time of day. Wait at least 2 hours between to make sure that the antibiotic does not destroy the probiotics. Eliminate sugar completely from your diet and limit the processed foods as much as possible.
The subject of healthy gut and it's connection with a healthy brain is vast. If this subject interests you I would suggest that you do additional research on the subject as the vast amount of information out there is just too big for the scope of this blog.
To your health and happy research.
Until next time,
Healthbug
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
How to talk to your Doctor?
If you have decided you want to be more a part of your healthcare decisions. You have figured out that your full participation in your health is the only way to achieve the best possible health for yourself. You may just have come to this realization or you may be years down the road in taking responsibility for your own health. You may even be a Mom who, as the main cook for the household is the holder of the keys to good health for you and your children. In any case, if you want to feel empowered to work with your Healthcare Provider (HCP) but just are not so sure about how to talk to them in an empowering way, I have a few suggestions for you.
My first suggestion is to pay attention to your own body. Trust your knowledge about how you feel. If this is a foreign thought to you then begin right now to pay close attention to how you feel when you wake up. Check in with yourself several times throughout the day. Make yourself think frequently about how your body is feeling. Eventually it will get to be second nature and when you go see your HCP you will have some really concise information to give them. You will be able to describe more clearly why you are coming to see them. Don't let them skip over all the details you have to give them. They need the whole picture of how you feel physically as well as emotionally. You can not separate the mind from the body. Give them your idea of why you think such and such is happening. They may dismiss it, but quite frankly I have found that when people tune into themselves,body and mind, they can make connections that a HCP would never think of making and not always, but many times the "Patient" guides them in the right direction. So trust yourself, and be prepared to share your thoughts on your health issue.
Actually, did you realize that a HCP gets their "diagnosis" from you, the patient? Yep, that's right, you tell them what is wrong with you and they just have a receipt that they follow. When you participate, you help them individualize that generic receipt. In this way they work in partnership with you.
Second, educate yourself about any and all medications you are taking. Know why you are taking them and know their most common side effects. If you are taking more than one medication, know if they may interact with each other. Yikes, you say! How do I do all that? Use the internet. drugs.com, mayoclinic.com, webmd.com to name a few. The more knowledgeable you are about your medications the better you can communicate with your Care Provider. This is the point at which you will have to watch that the HCP does not intimidate you into thinking your knowledge is less than theirs. You have one person to study in depth, they only have a general picture of many people. Be polite but persistent that you know what you know and that it is worthy of their consideration.
My third suggestion, if you are really serious about your health you will have the goal of being on as few medications as possible. Always ask if there is a lifestyle/herbal/vitamin alternative to taking any suggested drug. If you are an avid health nut like I am, you will have already researched these avenues,picked out something you want to try and will be ready to ask your Care Provider what they think about your research and what you would like to try. Here too, be persistent. If your HCP is negative, ask them to clarify their reasons for their attitude. Again be polite but don't take a simple unqualified reason such as "I just don't think that's a good idea." What that usually means is that they know little to nothing about what you are suggesting and they feel more comfortable prescribing a drug. It does help to go in armed with research about your chosen coarse of action. This is a good time to ask them to read your research and in the meantime, sans any qualified reason to the contrary, you are going to embark on your chosen therapy while they do their due diligence to read your research.
For those people that are afraid they will anger their care provider by letting them know just how much they know about their body, medication and even to suggest an herb,vitamin,lifestyle change, alternative care modality instead of a drug, I'd like to share some valuable insight. As a nurse for 20 years, I have heard the behind closed doors conversations of many a Doctor. Most complain that their patients are so passive. They make statements like "I wish people would care more about their own health", "I don't even suggest a lifestyle/diet remedy because I know they won't do any of that!" "I wish my patients knew just how important they were in their own health care!"
A good caring Care Provider will love the fact that you know you are responsible for your own health. The fact that you ask more questions and even make some suggestions shows them that you will take an active part in your health and healing. This should be good news for any HCP! If it isn't, get an new Care Provider! You must have someone who wants to work with you, not someone who just wants to dictate to you. A knowledgeable patient working in partnership with a caring knowledgeable Care Provider equals a winning team!
To your good health!
Till next time,
Health Nut
My first suggestion is to pay attention to your own body. Trust your knowledge about how you feel. If this is a foreign thought to you then begin right now to pay close attention to how you feel when you wake up. Check in with yourself several times throughout the day. Make yourself think frequently about how your body is feeling. Eventually it will get to be second nature and when you go see your HCP you will have some really concise information to give them. You will be able to describe more clearly why you are coming to see them. Don't let them skip over all the details you have to give them. They need the whole picture of how you feel physically as well as emotionally. You can not separate the mind from the body. Give them your idea of why you think such and such is happening. They may dismiss it, but quite frankly I have found that when people tune into themselves,body and mind, they can make connections that a HCP would never think of making and not always, but many times the "Patient" guides them in the right direction. So trust yourself, and be prepared to share your thoughts on your health issue.
Actually, did you realize that a HCP gets their "diagnosis" from you, the patient? Yep, that's right, you tell them what is wrong with you and they just have a receipt that they follow. When you participate, you help them individualize that generic receipt. In this way they work in partnership with you.
Second, educate yourself about any and all medications you are taking. Know why you are taking them and know their most common side effects. If you are taking more than one medication, know if they may interact with each other. Yikes, you say! How do I do all that? Use the internet. drugs.com, mayoclinic.com, webmd.com to name a few. The more knowledgeable you are about your medications the better you can communicate with your Care Provider. This is the point at which you will have to watch that the HCP does not intimidate you into thinking your knowledge is less than theirs. You have one person to study in depth, they only have a general picture of many people. Be polite but persistent that you know what you know and that it is worthy of their consideration.
My third suggestion, if you are really serious about your health you will have the goal of being on as few medications as possible. Always ask if there is a lifestyle/herbal/vitamin alternative to taking any suggested drug. If you are an avid health nut like I am, you will have already researched these avenues,picked out something you want to try and will be ready to ask your Care Provider what they think about your research and what you would like to try. Here too, be persistent. If your HCP is negative, ask them to clarify their reasons for their attitude. Again be polite but don't take a simple unqualified reason such as "I just don't think that's a good idea." What that usually means is that they know little to nothing about what you are suggesting and they feel more comfortable prescribing a drug. It does help to go in armed with research about your chosen coarse of action. This is a good time to ask them to read your research and in the meantime, sans any qualified reason to the contrary, you are going to embark on your chosen therapy while they do their due diligence to read your research.
For those people that are afraid they will anger their care provider by letting them know just how much they know about their body, medication and even to suggest an herb,vitamin,lifestyle change, alternative care modality instead of a drug, I'd like to share some valuable insight. As a nurse for 20 years, I have heard the behind closed doors conversations of many a Doctor. Most complain that their patients are so passive. They make statements like "I wish people would care more about their own health", "I don't even suggest a lifestyle/diet remedy because I know they won't do any of that!" "I wish my patients knew just how important they were in their own health care!"
A good caring Care Provider will love the fact that you know you are responsible for your own health. The fact that you ask more questions and even make some suggestions shows them that you will take an active part in your health and healing. This should be good news for any HCP! If it isn't, get an new Care Provider! You must have someone who wants to work with you, not someone who just wants to dictate to you. A knowledgeable patient working in partnership with a caring knowledgeable Care Provider equals a winning team!
To your good health!
Till next time,
Health Nut
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Laughter, a self experiment
Have you ever thought about the health benefits of simple laughter? Really it makes sense that laughter would improve your health. Think about it. Humor reduces tension, stress and anxiety. All of those negative emotions have been linked to chronic illness. OK you say, show me the research. I'd like to challenge you to take the laughter test yourself. You should believe what you experience in your own life even if it goes counter to some supposed research.
One of my pet peeves is Doctors ignoring a patient's correlation of the commencement of a negative health issue to just after they started taking some medication, a new job, or some other simple change in the patients life. The patient knows better but the Doctor just refuses to accept the correlation. Either the patient gets another Doctor or they begin to doubt themselves and they quite paying serious attention to their body's warning signals. I'll address this more fully in a future post. I'll give you some suggestions as to how to get your Doctor/primary care person to listen to you and how to be your own best patient advocate.
If you are having a bad day it may seem impossible to laugh. Norman Cousins claimed to use humorous movies and jokes to help him laugh when he didn't feel like it. There are a ton of websites and articles on the internet that gives reasons for why we should strive to laugh more.
So having said that, believe your own observations. Try adding a committed period of laughter to your day, say 5 to 15 minutes all at one time or just scattered throughout the day. Do whatever you resonate with. If you decide to commit to this, it would be great if you could make a comment about just what you observed about yourself. Did your days seem to flow better, worse, or was there no change? Did it change the way you handled stressful situations? Was there any affect on your pain/stiffness/blood sugar/blood pressure or any other health issues? There is research out there that does confirm that those that laugh and use humor to get through their day seem to have fewer health problem.
Would this be considered a scientific experiment? Probably not, but if you pay attention to details, how your feel both emotionally and physically, you might gain some very useful personal insightful information for yourself that you can use day in and day out but can also pass onto others.First hand experience is invaluable! Give it a try. Besides, it won't cost you even a penny. At most it will take a little commitment and time. Journal your experience and you will get more out of it. Sometimes things change in such subtle ways that we don't really see the change unless we have logged where we have been. This happens very often with EFT.(See my earlier post on this very effective form of self help)
Laugh a lot and love abundantly,
Till next time,
Healthbug
One of my pet peeves is Doctors ignoring a patient's correlation of the commencement of a negative health issue to just after they started taking some medication, a new job, or some other simple change in the patients life. The patient knows better but the Doctor just refuses to accept the correlation. Either the patient gets another Doctor or they begin to doubt themselves and they quite paying serious attention to their body's warning signals. I'll address this more fully in a future post. I'll give you some suggestions as to how to get your Doctor/primary care person to listen to you and how to be your own best patient advocate.
If you are having a bad day it may seem impossible to laugh. Norman Cousins claimed to use humorous movies and jokes to help him laugh when he didn't feel like it. There are a ton of websites and articles on the internet that gives reasons for why we should strive to laugh more.
So having said that, believe your own observations. Try adding a committed period of laughter to your day, say 5 to 15 minutes all at one time or just scattered throughout the day. Do whatever you resonate with. If you decide to commit to this, it would be great if you could make a comment about just what you observed about yourself. Did your days seem to flow better, worse, or was there no change? Did it change the way you handled stressful situations? Was there any affect on your pain/stiffness/blood sugar/blood pressure or any other health issues? There is research out there that does confirm that those that laugh and use humor to get through their day seem to have fewer health problem.
Would this be considered a scientific experiment? Probably not, but if you pay attention to details, how your feel both emotionally and physically, you might gain some very useful personal insightful information for yourself that you can use day in and day out but can also pass onto others.First hand experience is invaluable! Give it a try. Besides, it won't cost you even a penny. At most it will take a little commitment and time. Journal your experience and you will get more out of it. Sometimes things change in such subtle ways that we don't really see the change unless we have logged where we have been. This happens very often with EFT.(See my earlier post on this very effective form of self help)
Laugh a lot and love abundantly,
Till next time,
Healthbug
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Chronic disease
The word "chronic" refers to something that is ongoing over an extended period of time. The top three causes of death in America are 1) Cancer, 2) Heart Disease, 3) Stroke. These 3 are primarily caused by lifestyle choices! That means that grasping the power to control our lifestyle is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves where Health is concerned.
The following was taken from the www.cdc.gov website
Heart disease and stroke are the first and third leading causes of death, accounting for more than 30% of all U.S. deaths each year.
Cancer, the second leading cause of death, claims more than half a million lives each year.
Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, nontraumatic lower extremity amputations, and new cases of blindness each year among U.S. adults aged 20–74 years.
Arthritis, the most common cause of disability, limits activity for 19 million U.S. adults.
Obesity has become a major health concern for people of all ages. 1 in every 3 adults and nearly 1 in every 5 young people aged 6–19 are obese.
After these statements the site boldly makes the statement that Chronic Diseases Are Preventable!The CDC's goal is to "Prevent, delay, detect, and control chronic diseases".
Lifestyle choices account for a large portion of the risk of developing any one of these diseases. Now if that was statistics on a pill, we would all shout, "Where can I purchase that!". Fortunately you don't have to purchase a thing. Cultivating an attitude of self responsibility will go a long ways toward being able to not only see the changes you need and want to make but also being able to follow through with those changes.
I acknowledge that changing our lifestyle is not so easy. It takes planning, effort, diligence, persistance, and sometimes just some good old teeth gritting determination. If a person doesn't really see the value in the proposed change, why would you put yourself through all that? Of course knowledge is not enough. Plenty of professional people like Nurses, Doctors, Dietitians,etc have the knowledge of what makes for better health yet they still eat junk food, don't exercise, smoke, drink alcohol to excess and don't get enough sleep.
So what does motivate some people to change? Very, very good question. I think this is the substance of many a person's dilemmas with themselves. How do we motivate ourselves to do what we really believe we want/need to do to get healthy and stay healthy? I don't have all your answers but I can share with you what some of my answers have been.
First and foremost, I must continue to remind myself that what I eat and what I do has a profound affect on my health. I read lots of health and healing books,newsletters and websites. You might not enjoy that kind of reading so much and it might be better to find the statistics about how helpful lifestyle, diet and exercise is and just put them up where you can read them everyday.
Second, when I determine a change I want to make, I know that I must start with small steps. When I jump into something with both feel and try to make more than 3 small changes at a time, I tend to go hoguns for a short time but wear out quickly. It just seems too hard. In my life I have found that small steps equal huge changes in your health. Some people have found that just eliminating all sugar and artificial sugar from their diets, they are able to loose a lot of weight. For me the key with sugar is to to stay away from it at least a week. It is an addictive substance to most people. Read Sugar Blues to get motivated. Of course there are other books out there but that still one of the best.
Third, whatever I decide to do exercise wise, I know I must approach it gradually. Far better to start at a lower level than I think I can do than to push to excess at first and end up getting hurt or burned out. Like the time I decided to do Yoga again. I pushed my self till I over stretched a muscle and have felt the results of that every since, even though that was over 8 years ago.
To start with, realizing that motivation must come from within! That means that everyone must figure out what will motivate them. Sometimes I use silly things that are so simple they make me laugh. Like sometimes I tell myself if I accomplish my goal I will allow myself to watch a movie I want to watch. I don't watch many movies, so this is a real treat to me. Give yourself little gifts for each accomplishment. Take a short walk in the sun. Allow yourself to sit for 10 minutes and enjoy some favorite music. Whatever it takes to stay committed to your goal. It will be worth it in the end.
In order to motivate yourself, you have to get to know yourself. Listen to your body and listen to your self talk. Both of these are also helpful in determining just what you might need to provide your body with for it to begin to stay well or heal.
If you are really committed to developing a healthier diet and lifestyle and just can't seem to get there on your own, consider hiring a Health Coach. Make sure you resonate with how the coach teaches and make sure that they put you in the drivers seat of that change. If you don't own it, it will never work for you in the long run.
To your great health and healing,
Healthbug
The following was taken from the www.cdc.gov website
Heart disease and stroke are the first and third leading causes of death, accounting for more than 30% of all U.S. deaths each year.
Cancer, the second leading cause of death, claims more than half a million lives each year.
Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, nontraumatic lower extremity amputations, and new cases of blindness each year among U.S. adults aged 20–74 years.
Arthritis, the most common cause of disability, limits activity for 19 million U.S. adults.
Obesity has become a major health concern for people of all ages. 1 in every 3 adults and nearly 1 in every 5 young people aged 6–19 are obese.
After these statements the site boldly makes the statement that Chronic Diseases Are Preventable!The CDC's goal is to "Prevent, delay, detect, and control chronic diseases".
Lifestyle choices account for a large portion of the risk of developing any one of these diseases. Now if that was statistics on a pill, we would all shout, "Where can I purchase that!". Fortunately you don't have to purchase a thing. Cultivating an attitude of self responsibility will go a long ways toward being able to not only see the changes you need and want to make but also being able to follow through with those changes.
I acknowledge that changing our lifestyle is not so easy. It takes planning, effort, diligence, persistance, and sometimes just some good old teeth gritting determination. If a person doesn't really see the value in the proposed change, why would you put yourself through all that? Of course knowledge is not enough. Plenty of professional people like Nurses, Doctors, Dietitians,etc have the knowledge of what makes for better health yet they still eat junk food, don't exercise, smoke, drink alcohol to excess and don't get enough sleep.
So what does motivate some people to change? Very, very good question. I think this is the substance of many a person's dilemmas with themselves. How do we motivate ourselves to do what we really believe we want/need to do to get healthy and stay healthy? I don't have all your answers but I can share with you what some of my answers have been.
First and foremost, I must continue to remind myself that what I eat and what I do has a profound affect on my health. I read lots of health and healing books,newsletters and websites. You might not enjoy that kind of reading so much and it might be better to find the statistics about how helpful lifestyle, diet and exercise is and just put them up where you can read them everyday.
Second, when I determine a change I want to make, I know that I must start with small steps. When I jump into something with both feel and try to make more than 3 small changes at a time, I tend to go hoguns for a short time but wear out quickly. It just seems too hard. In my life I have found that small steps equal huge changes in your health. Some people have found that just eliminating all sugar and artificial sugar from their diets, they are able to loose a lot of weight. For me the key with sugar is to to stay away from it at least a week. It is an addictive substance to most people. Read Sugar Blues to get motivated. Of course there are other books out there but that still one of the best.
Third, whatever I decide to do exercise wise, I know I must approach it gradually. Far better to start at a lower level than I think I can do than to push to excess at first and end up getting hurt or burned out. Like the time I decided to do Yoga again. I pushed my self till I over stretched a muscle and have felt the results of that every since, even though that was over 8 years ago.
To start with, realizing that motivation must come from within! That means that everyone must figure out what will motivate them. Sometimes I use silly things that are so simple they make me laugh. Like sometimes I tell myself if I accomplish my goal I will allow myself to watch a movie I want to watch. I don't watch many movies, so this is a real treat to me. Give yourself little gifts for each accomplishment. Take a short walk in the sun. Allow yourself to sit for 10 minutes and enjoy some favorite music. Whatever it takes to stay committed to your goal. It will be worth it in the end.
In order to motivate yourself, you have to get to know yourself. Listen to your body and listen to your self talk. Both of these are also helpful in determining just what you might need to provide your body with for it to begin to stay well or heal.
If you are really committed to developing a healthier diet and lifestyle and just can't seem to get there on your own, consider hiring a Health Coach. Make sure you resonate with how the coach teaches and make sure that they put you in the drivers seat of that change. If you don't own it, it will never work for you in the long run.
To your great health and healing,
Healthbug
Friday, April 19, 2013
New Beginnings!
I am sitting here contemplating how to get back into the swing of things. To be honest, I am actually contemplating how to establish a new habit. It is April 19, 2013 and I think it is time for a "New Years Resolution"!
I really don't believe in "New Year Resolutions" but I do believe in allowing myself the right to start each day anew. Which means I don't beat myself up for not doing what I have wanted or needed to do. Each action or non-action on my part is simply a learning experience. How do I motivate myself to do what I think I "want"/"need" to do? What is not working? What do I need to do to quite procrastinating? Is it really procrastination that is standing in my way or is it some other mental block?
The new habit I want to establish is writing consistently in my blog. As I contemplate this, I realize what is needed to accomplish my goal is similar to what I need to do to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Yes, even though I preach it and teach it, I sometimes have motivational issues with doing the things I need to do to heal and stay healthy. I realize it is not about the knowledge base so much as it is about the motivation to do what I already know I want/need to do.
Motivation is all about emotions and attitude. Dis-empowering emotions and attitudes arise from negative self talk. "Why should I _____________ I'll only fail and then I'll feel like a failure and I have failed so many times before. I will never be able to succeed." Fill in the blank with anything that seems to be whipping your butt at the moment.
Other negative self-talk that comes up is "I'm too busy.I don't have time." I'll quit in the middle and thus feel like a failure AGAIN!" "Oh well, so many other people have the same difficulty following through. Why should I bother being different?" These and many more negative statements fill my conscious and unconscious mind while I "think" I am "trying" to accomplish my goal. It is easy to see how I am working against myself. Just realizing this is very powerful?
By putting all that out there, it becomes much clearer what I can do to help empower myself to accomplish that which I want/need to do.It makes sense that a change of attitude starts with a change of self talk. A change of self talk will bring about a change of attitude which hopefully will empower me to accomplish my goals!
Viewing "not accomplishing my goal" as a failure, changes to "Failure is simply another step toward success. Each time I do not accomplish my goal is a stepping stone to the success I so desperately desire." As I say this to myself the "failure" becomes a learning experience instead of a "failure". The important part here is to not ignore the non success but to analyze it as you would a learning experience. Why didn't I reach my goal? "I didn't have the healthy foods in the house. I let myself get too hungry before eating. I went shopping hungry. I've been eating just a little sugar every day and now I crave it. I didn't plan ahead for healthy meals." Some of the harder excuses are "I guess I was too lazy to do what I new I wanted/needed to do." I got to get over it and grow up.
Keeping my eyes on the goal is also very helpful!
Visualize what it will feel like to reach my goal can also be very helpful. Visualization is a huge subject in and of itself and best left for another post.
Thanks for reading this.
Be kind and love yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to if you persist!
Until next time.
Healthbug
I really don't believe in "New Year Resolutions" but I do believe in allowing myself the right to start each day anew. Which means I don't beat myself up for not doing what I have wanted or needed to do. Each action or non-action on my part is simply a learning experience. How do I motivate myself to do what I think I "want"/"need" to do? What is not working? What do I need to do to quite procrastinating? Is it really procrastination that is standing in my way or is it some other mental block?
The new habit I want to establish is writing consistently in my blog. As I contemplate this, I realize what is needed to accomplish my goal is similar to what I need to do to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Yes, even though I preach it and teach it, I sometimes have motivational issues with doing the things I need to do to heal and stay healthy. I realize it is not about the knowledge base so much as it is about the motivation to do what I already know I want/need to do.
Motivation is all about emotions and attitude. Dis-empowering emotions and attitudes arise from negative self talk. "Why should I _____________ I'll only fail and then I'll feel like a failure and I have failed so many times before. I will never be able to succeed." Fill in the blank with anything that seems to be whipping your butt at the moment.
Other negative self-talk that comes up is "I'm too busy.I don't have time." I'll quit in the middle and thus feel like a failure AGAIN!" "Oh well, so many other people have the same difficulty following through. Why should I bother being different?" These and many more negative statements fill my conscious and unconscious mind while I "think" I am "trying" to accomplish my goal. It is easy to see how I am working against myself. Just realizing this is very powerful?
By putting all that out there, it becomes much clearer what I can do to help empower myself to accomplish that which I want/need to do.It makes sense that a change of attitude starts with a change of self talk. A change of self talk will bring about a change of attitude which hopefully will empower me to accomplish my goals!
Viewing "not accomplishing my goal" as a failure, changes to "Failure is simply another step toward success. Each time I do not accomplish my goal is a stepping stone to the success I so desperately desire." As I say this to myself the "failure" becomes a learning experience instead of a "failure". The important part here is to not ignore the non success but to analyze it as you would a learning experience. Why didn't I reach my goal? "I didn't have the healthy foods in the house. I let myself get too hungry before eating. I went shopping hungry. I've been eating just a little sugar every day and now I crave it. I didn't plan ahead for healthy meals." Some of the harder excuses are "I guess I was too lazy to do what I new I wanted/needed to do." I got to get over it and grow up.
Keeping my eyes on the goal is also very helpful!
Visualize what it will feel like to reach my goal can also be very helpful. Visualization is a huge subject in and of itself and best left for another post.
Thanks for reading this.
Be kind and love yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to if you persist!
Until next time.
Healthbug
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