Eat Well. Sleep Well. Think Well.
There are basic things that you inherently know you need to do in order to improve your health, like eating well. But what does that mean? My idea of eating healthy got me to where I was searching for help.
Enter my functional and integrated health practitioner and coach. (Which I pay for out of my own pocket.)
I needed help and I needed someone who was going to listen to my issues, understand my restrictions, and give me a plan - something easy that I can follow.
My journey with my doctor and coach over the past 11 months has lead me on completely different path than I expected. Being used to the standard American health system, I was expecting more of a focus on my labs and supplements I should take; I was not expecting as much of a mind body focus as I was given. What I have realized is some of my "standard American Habits" have created so much trouble for me. My first issue, that has frankly been an issue since my first day on this planet, is sleep.
Sleep - the elusive necessity that, depending upon which guru you listen to, only needs to be 3-5 hours a night. Yeah, that is total bullshit. I don't know how any one survives on so little shuteye. Through Parsley and my own research, I've learned why sleep is so important for your health, longevity, and weight loss. My body has been in fight or flight mode because of my chronic lack of good sleep sessions and it has been so hard breaking this habit.
As a mom, staying up past the kiddo's bedtime means time to myself. I get to read alone. Watch TV alone. Catch up with friends alone. It is the only time I just have a cat or dog on me and not a child too. I relish the me time but it also comes at the expense of not getting enough sleep. With my health coach we put together a plan on how I will still get the me time, but also the shut eye that my body craves, I really need 8-9 hours to feel great.
My nutrition has pretty much been on point, outside of the natural and expected treat days. The keto diet just works for more a majority of the time. My headaches are less frequent and I am not binging on carbs as often as I had been in the past. My coach, doctor, and labs confirmed I was doing exactly what I needed to be doing. It was so nice to not only have the trained professionals looking at my food diaries, but having the labs confirm what I was saying.
What I thought I needed for my health, pure nutrition coaching, ended up being the exact opposite of what I really needed. Had I not reached out for help to someone for help, I would be exactly where I was nearly a year ago today.
Now, I'm eating well, sleeping so much better, and performing at my best. Who would have thought that I could have lifted 200 pounds a year ago?