Wonderful things happen in July. Like this collection of flowers I snap shot on a beautiful sunny morning while taking my regular walk. I hope you’ve made wonderful things happen this July.
July is the beginning of the second half of the year and a good time for reflection. A good time to review the first 6 months of the year. That’s what I normally do in July. It’s my birth month so in a sense it’s like the beginning of another year.
I’m one year older, and wiser I hope. With less time available, absolutely. The clock’s constant tick-tock reminds me of personal goals, intentions and projects that were either met halfway or unmet altogether. There is less time left in the vault of life for sure. I cannot reach back and grab the time that has past. But I can reach forward to the time I have remaining. The phrase “time wasted and time invested” reminds me that I can decide every day to use the time I’ve got left wisely. Investing it profitably.
How interesting that we reach a certain age, and time takes on different flavors, a more pungent or bland taste. Or an exciting, tangy, even spicy savoring, depending on whether we’ve invested or wasted this valuable commodity.
Being with friends this weekend, everyone of them so much younger than I, was a reminder of where time takes us all. I learned SO much while eating, tasting, and savoring food together.
Everywhere I go, I’m reminded of my love and passion for health and nutrition, especially when faced with food choices at restaurants with friends. My body’s performance and reactions is a constant reminder of how the quality of our nutritional choices helps our bodies work wonders, keeping us healthy and fighting diseases, performing intelligently its amazing tasks of preventing, reversing, restoring, and healing in a continuous repair cycle. But the fact still remains that eating out is a challenge.
To borrow a word from English-language grammar, and the Spelling B contests I loved so much as a kid, it all spells out, Lifestyle Choices. Yes, Lifestyle Choices is the correct spelling (or the positive outcome) of our food and life’s daily intake. Two mathematical terms I could also use are “equal to” and “sum of”. Our food and life’s intake is equal to our Lifestyle Choices. What and how we choose to eat will equal the "sum of” who we will become . . . in time!
As I sat there listening to the conversations, watching what everyone put on their plates (including mine), I realized that we have it all wrong when it comes to (1) food intake, (2) diet and exercise, and (3) weight-loss itself. We are using the wrong currency, so to speak.
So often I hear people express their health situations from a bankruptcy state of mind by using the very popular two-word phrase, “I can’t”, when relating to food consumption, gaining weight, and their overall state of health. And that’s when, all of a sudden, it hit me . . . BOOM!!
The solution is NOT . . .
“I want to lose weight”.
“I need to go on a diet” or
“I need to buy clothes that fit me better”.
The solution is NOT . . .
“I need to see a doctor for the pain on my leg when I walk”.
“I need to see a doctor for my stomach problems”.
The solution is NOT . . .
“I’m having a lap band procedure done to shrink my stomach”.
“I’m going for gastric bypass to not be obese anymore”.
However . . .
The solution IS . . .
Changing old thought patterns and their accompanying language; then designing a new and improved YOU! The solution is replacing negative words with positive ones, healthy ones. Here are a few examples. Try these on for size, and look in the mirror while engaging with your Inner Self.
“I eat to . . . NOT gain weight”.
“I want to . . . NOT have to go on a diet again”, so I eat and drink differently.
“I want to . . . NOT spend money in buying a new dress size every few months”.
“I want to . . . NOT spend more money than is necessary on unhealthy foods”.
“I CAN . . . exercise SELF-CONTROL and choose the foods I eat”.
“I AM . . . already feeling strong and healthy”.
“EVERYDAY . . . I move my body better - naturally, and with ease”.
“I AM . . . giving up the roller coaster ride of losing and gaining weight every time I
choose clean, healthier options”.
“I ENJOY . . . stealing time from my busy schedule to MOVE MY BODY”.
“I CHOOSE . . . to BE and feel healthy by changing my thinking”.
“My bones are . . . strong and my muscles firm because I drink healthy water and move my body”.
“My skin is . . . clear and my breath is clean every day I eat and drink to live”.
“ I eat to . . .BE healthy and happy, not eat junk and become putrified and sick”.
Your Inner Health Currency Revealed
What is your inner health currency? No, it’s not cash. No, it’s not investing. And, No, it’s not a game!
TO BE CONTINUED. . .