My weight loss this year has not been going so well. I weighed in this morning at 246. That's been holding pretty steady despite my master cleanse done earlier this year and some liquid drops I bought late last year. It also stayed constant despite the fact that I had pneumonia- (looked an awful lot like COVID-19 symptoms right before the quarantine). Despite being sicker than I ever remember being, I maintained a healthy appetite and didn't lose any weight.
This past week was Passover and Easter and I came up with every excuse not to work out and eat more fruits and vegetables. Food was bringing me comfort and in a time of anxiety and uncertainty. Emotional eating was defintely something that brought comfort. But this time of year is about sacrifice and sacrifice for a greater good is always worth it. So I am bunkering down and focusing on the healthy habits that I want to make a part of my life long-term.
Having a high ACE score makes poor outcomes like Diabetes and High Blood Pressure more likely, so in order to counter these negative outcomes, one must work harder to incorporate good habits. This is what I'm writing my dissertation about: the likelihood that having a high ACE score will make you more or less likely to graduate from High School or College. The irony in knowing that having a high ACE score makes it more important to exercise, or eat right, it makes it harder (I believe), to incorporate these positive behaviors because we are wired in some way to be predisposed to behaviors that while feeling good in the short run, are harmful in the long run.
So now, instead of focusing on my weight, I'm focusing on the end game. One of my mentees asked me to help hold her accountable for losing weight and getting in shape. That was a turning point. I cannot give what I do not have. So in mentoring her, I was mentoring the stubborn part of myself. And we wrote down our goals, and we have a plan, and now I have to be accountable because no Mentor wants to let her Mentee down.
Exercise- it's a must. Besides being one of the things that reduces the risk of you having a heart attack and stroke, it also reduces the likelihood that you will develop high blood pressure and diabetes. I just got my blood pressure back to normal and I intend to keep it there! Exercise is also a powerful anti-depressant. Find something you like to do and do it- and add music. My playlist this morning, along with reading Essence magazine, made my workout very enjoyable (surprise- I'd been putting it off and dreading it for weeks!). I put exercise on my schedule like it's a meeting. And to make myself do it this week- I cannot watch Love and Hip Hop Atlanta unless I workout 5 times this week. How's that for motivation??
Water- If you are not getting enough water, you body cannot run the way it was intended to run. I've been also struggling with water intake (bonus- exercising will make you thirsty which will make you drink more water!!!). I added strawberries and lemon to my water this morning and I have put my water on my schedule- 20 ounces by 10am, 20 ounces by 12;30pm and 20 ounces by 5pm. If you must drink anything other than water, challenge yourself to only drink it with meals and drink water at all other times. I'm just drinking water and tea.
Sleep- Make sure you are getting 8 hours of sleep a night. If you sleep less than that you are more likely to overeat. I set my alarm to remind me when I should go to bed and then I do my meditation before I go to sleep.
Prayer/Mindfulness/Meditation- One of the blessings of the pandemic that has hit our society is that we have had to slow down. Even those of us who are working don't have the hustle and bustle of getting out the door and getting through traffic everyday. In those quiet moments that we have exchanged, we can add a prayer, moment of mindfulness and/or meditation. Just being grateful for the moments we have because we don't know what tomorrow will bring is a moment of mindfulness. A prayer of thanksgiving for our breath and our life. I do a formal meditation with Oprah and Deepak (my peeps) on their app every evening. Let me know if you need the information, I will post.
Journaling- This one is BONUS- what I'm doing now counts for journaling, but I also have a paper journal that I wrote in last night that set me up for success today. I have another blog I'll be writing in as well about the issues that have arisen since this pandemic because I want to memorialize all that is going on. If writing is not your thing, I encourage you to try it. Just put pen to paper and start writing (I had no idea what I was going to write about in this space- I just started writing!).
We are all in this together. This pandemic has been the great equalizer. If you have always wanted to start something- now is the change. Google. I'm even taking a class at Harvard right now because I always wanted to. The sky is the limit. Let's seize this opportunity. Carpe Diem.
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