Introspection

The current circumstances leave us anxious for ways to strengthen our defenses in order to remain healthy through circulating viruses, flus, illness’. Is it inevitable? At the beginning of this month I found myself in a state of illness. A place that was uncomfortable to be in for a number of reasons. First- because I was literally uncomfortable with body aches, an excruciating headache, and a mid-grade fever. But mostly, because I pride myself in being healthier than the average person…I am attentive to my body and very mindful about the foods that I consume. All that to say, I tested positive for covid. I was desperate with despair. How could this have happened to me if I ate healthy a *majority* of the time? The answer is not clear cut, there are a million reasons how or why my body could have surrendered to such a disease. It happened, and instead of weeping through reality, I chose to emphasize an area of my life that I knew always delivered. Nourishment.

After a deeper introspection, I realized that in the past year my lifestyle and diet have been a reflection of the day or week before. That means, if I had too many sweets one day, I would entirely cut myself off from any “bad” foods the next day. Or if I went out, had a few drinks, and went to bed super late one day, I would bash myself for the entire following week! Way unhealthy mentality which led to completely unsustainable habits. Sure I was eating healthy a majority of the time, but my mindset was in constant freak mode about staying on “track”. 

I’m somewhat of a health geek so anything that is deemed “healthy” I try to abide by, but there is sooOOoOoOo much more to our general health and well being aside from the food that you consume. Imagine having someone in your ear telling you what to do and not do all the time! No, a bag of chips isn’t going to cause your immune system to shut down. Just be intentional about what, when, and why you’re eating. What do they call it? Intuitive eating? Whatever dude, just eat the delicious hand crafted bagel with cream cheese that you don’t have everyday. I was a big fan of YOLO back then. We only live once, that is reason enough to have dessert twice in one day. In my opinion anyway.

All of that to say… what you eat IS REALLY important, but that is not the only contributing factor. Know what’s good for you and know what’s not the best for you and know how to balance those things in your life in a way that works best for you.

Anyway, so here I am post-covid, creating meals with more vegetables, snacking on fruit, incorporating herbs, etc. and just being more intentional about when to enjoy certain foods. When it hit me that this is the problem with the greater population…we wait until illness, disease, ailment hits us to realize that we have to change our habits for the better. Instead, why not always choose habits that will positively influence our human health? The best piece of advice I am choosing to live by this year—

Choose the things that will bring about the best version of yourself.