I haven’t had much time to blog lately. This fall I have had more than my fair share of illness resulting in me stepping back from almost everything.
Yes, that means my crochet too.
It hasn’t been fun, but it is getting better now. I finally received more definitive information on why I have been so sick lately. While I don’t want to go into all the details, it comes down to me not doing a good job taking care of myself.
Imagine that.
Busy working mother with two teenage daughters and a 5th grade son who commutes 32 miles one way, tries to keep up with her freelance writing and find time to crochet for pleasure and business – what about that makes you think that I wouldn’t be devoting more attention to my personal health.
The first step I took about a month ago – I eliminated all carbonated drinks and caffeine from my diet. I knew that step would be the hardest. I confess to being a horrible Diet Coke junkie.
I’ve seen all the studies, helped with the school-related experiments about how bad sodas are for you – nothing helped. There was nothing, I thought, that would convince me to give up my addiction.
Until I sat down the day before my gastroenterology appointment and realized that there wasn’t a single day in the last three to four months when I could remember not feeling nauseous. I took stock of everything I was eating, drinking or taking as a medication. I knew if there was one thing I could do to take some control of my health, the Diet Coke was going to have to go.
Going cold turkey from just the taste of Diet Coke was harder than the caffeine crash I experienced for the next three days. I felt so bad. I flooded my body with water and the occasional sports drink to see if I could get the feeling to pass. The end result: I rehydrated my body and helped flush out all of the junk that carbonation, sugars and who knows what else is in those drinks completely out of my system.
I haven’t had indigestion since then. I haven’t felt nauseous. I can actually sit down and enjoy a meal instead of analyzing it to see what may or may not make me sick if I were to eat it. More importantly, I managed to take myself off of my reflux medication.
I think you can tell why I named this Next Steps.
It’s time to make another change. I have a fairly decent diet. Or at least I know the types of food that I should and should not eat. That part is so much easier for me than it is for most people. It seems that once I gave up my worst addiction, it is much easier to choose a healthier option or eat less at a meal.
Nope. Diet is easy. It’s the exercise I’m not looking forward to.
I absolutely DESPISE sweating! Ugh! The thought of it isn’t even appealing to me. I don’t think I can jump right into any type of exercise routine. My knees still hurt quite a bit since they haven’t been moving around too much in the last year or so. I’m not a fan of aerobics or anything like that.
I’m going to have to just walk. I know I can do it. When my oldest daughter was an infant, I used to walk 5-6 miles/day. I lost a ton of weight and felt so good about myself.
I’m going to work myself up to the first half mile. I am the world’s worst at finding reasons to procrastinate and not get the exercise into my routine. Yet, the “writing on the wall” from my doctor is pretty clear. My health and quality of life depends on it.
I know that in the beginning it’s going to take some time for me adjust and if I were to take up any type of serious crochet project, it would only be a distraction. So I’m planning to work on smaller projects or limit myself to crocheting after specific times of day. I’m still working out that detail – but I’m not going to let it derail me.
And stay tuned – every year I pray for a specific verse(s) from the Bible that the Lord wants to use in my life to help me continue my transformation from who I am now to who Jesus wants me to be. I feel like my prayer time is giving me direction toward a type of verse, yet I’m not convinced God has pointed out something in particular. So I’m still studying the Word and waiting for His perfect timing. And as soon as I find it, I’ll be posting it here.
In the meantime – Happy Crocheting – and Stay Healthy!
Sandras Crochet Crafts 