Healthtober! An update

Healthober was my own tiny mission to kickstart myself into action. I'd been stalling and stalling for months with all the health changes I wanted to make. I had chosen to tackle some of my goals on a smaller scale for one month to see how I felt. It's a great idea, isn't it? Because you can do anything for a month. Right? 

Not exactly. But here is what I have learned:

Planning is key

Things didn't work out as planned. Or more to the point, I didn't plan anything at all. I came up with some very doable goals, but I didn't follow on those ideas with actionable steps. (I come across this advice in so many places, but have promptly ignored it every chance I get.) Take my goal to give up gluten, for example. I started the month with a kitchen filled with gluten-filled foods and didn't make any preparations in advance to ensure alternatives. I had assumed that I would "wing it" and, shockingly, this plan didn't work out. 

The first few days were good, with me getting by on what we had, but at the first sign of needing to rush out of the house I reached for the only convenient food on hand: gluten. The lure of convenience got me every time. I realize now that I need to spend time preparing the kitchen for how I want to eat. This means brainstorming ideas for quick gluten-free breakfast, snacks, and lunches (dinner always feels easier to me, since it feels normal for me to cook veggies and meat). I know now that I need plenty of sliced up cheese, nuts, washed fruits and veggies, and granola bars available to me before I begin. I also need to sharpen my gluten-free baking skills so that I can have muffins and breads available when I crave (which I always do because they are so delicious).

Goals need to be specific

If I'm devoted to eating less sugar, then I need to come up with a game plan for what "less sugar" actually means. Does it mean taking two days instead of one to eat a bag of wine gums? Probably not. Does it mean sweetening my oatmeal with a little maple syrup instead of heaps of brown sugar? Probably. For me to decrease my sugar intake I need to think about all the places it sneaks into my diet, some obvious (chocolate covered almonds), some hidden (processed food). I've always been terrible at maintaining boundaries, but if I'm going to successfully reduce my sugar load I need to grow a backbone.

I should probably make a plan for this (see above lesson learned).

Make your goals a priority

One of my goals was to practice being gentle with myself physically. I am happy to report that I made some progress (hooray for progress!) on that front. At the beginning of the month I was confronted with a flare-up of my fibromyalgia that through me for a bit of a loop. But I parked myself on the couch for two days, took some advil, and relaxed--in other words, I did exactly what I needed to do to get through the week and it worked. It wasn't the easiest choice at the time because I had to let go of some commitments those days, but it was important to me that I didn't let one flare-up turn into a month of pain (as I have done many times in the past).

Sometimes I'm all talk when it comes to self-care, but I really tried this month. After months of pushing through the pain and straining my sore body, I decided to make getting better a priority. Let us all try to be so gentle on ourselves.

Healthober, as ridiculous as it sounds, was a big deal for me and I'm a little sad that I didn't follow through with it as I'd imagined. But you know what? I had other successes, like FINALLY getting some much needed exercise. Also: not smoking! I've quit again, and I've decided that this is it. I'm as eager as ever!

My birthday is around the corner, which means: new goals! Coming soon.

What lessons have you learned about making changes? Are you good at planning for your goals? If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to see them in the comments. 

Be well.
xo


P.S. You might also be interested in these posts!

Goals in a messy life

On gaining momentum

Start where you are

Start where you are. I love this. As someone who likes to set goals and think about the big picture, I needed this reminder today. It's easy to get lost in all the things we want to be, but the only way to get started is to accept what you are now. Ask yourself what can you do today, just today, to accomplish your goals one step at a time. I am lucky enough to have a fridge filled with vegetables, so today I am going to cook some healthy food that includes heaps of vegetables. I am run down with a cold and need the nourishment. What a great place to start.

What can you do today?

Be well!
xo


Image Via And Then We Saved

Healthtober! Because you can do anything for a month

So I do this every time.

I did it during school and I am doing it again while on my 'break.' I am working too hard and pushing my body beyond its limits. For a month I have worked too many overnight doula shifts, too many for me, a person whose body is in need of some care. An accumulation of very little sleep + not looking after myself physically or emotionally means that I'm currently a heap of mess on the couch. Everything hurts. 

No more, I declare. Or Matty declared, last night as I was crying to him about how much it hurt to walk shuffle across the room. He looked at me with those encouraging "when are you going to make some good changes?" eyes and suggested that maybe we need a new approach. "It's time for healthy October!" he proclaimed, or more appropriately, Healthtober (trademark pending). 

Whatever you'd like to call it, join me in making October a month filled with good healthy choices, whatever that means to you. For Matty it means working to lose a few pounds and getting outside for some exercise. Let's cheer him on! For me it means getting some good sleep, eating some good food that involves a whole hell of a lot more vegetables, and cutting back my sugar intake about one billion percent, which still leaves me with a little sugar. I need a little sugar because how else am I supposed cope with not smoking, because you guys! I'm not smoking!

My Healthtober goals include:

• No gluten! As per the suggestion of my ever-patient naturopath. It's only taken me two years to actually give up gluten. Two years, guys. I'm hoping that giving up gluten might help with some of my fibromyalgia symptoms.

• Significantly less sugar. I know I might have better results with an actual limit, but I can't do it all at once. My goal is to be mindful of not reaching for sugar at every opportunity. Speaking of reducing sugar, did you see this? High fives.

• Resting when my body needs it. That means not too many overnight shifts, not going to crazy with projects at home. Gentle is the word of the month. Since I'm not great with being gentle on myself, I'll need a lot of reminders.  

• To enjoy as much of the beautiful fall weather as humanly possible. Walks, even short ones, will do me well.

 I can do this! I can do anything for a month. There are, however, two important exceptions, and by exceptions I really just mean there are two days during which I will eat gluten with abandon. Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away and it is hands down my favourite holiday, and I will be eating any and all of my mum's cooking. And at the end of the month is my birthday and there will cake--gluten and sugar-filled cake. I think that's only fair. You only turn 38 once.

So who is going to join me for Healthtober? What healthier choices would you like to make? Share your goals in the comments, or at the very least, please share your most encouraging thoughts. I'll need all the help I can get.

Be well!

xo

P.S. Do you follow me on Instagram? I'll be posting updates there as I go.