Listen To Your Body
Ever feel like your body is trying to talk to you, but you ignore it?
That is, until it screams out to you in pain, “What the heck are you doing to me?!!”
I have to be real here on this blog. I have been ignoring my body, and giving in to the things I know hurt it. When I got injured 5 months ago, my very active lifestyle and love for things of hiking, dancing, walking, and the active activities with my family, all went away. And as a result, I started turning to bad habits to “bring me a satisfaction to fill that void…junk food. Food I would enjoy occasionally, but never regularly. Tons of fast food, pizza, burgers, fries, and even juice. I hardly ever drink juice.
If you looked at me, you would say I’m being crazy because I don’t look big, but it’s not about how I look. It’s about I you feel.
And I feel junk!
And just about a week ago, it hit me just how bad I feel. Discomfort every day and throughout the day that I was forced to listen to my body.
About a month ago, I really tried ignoring the signs and forcing myself into the jeans I knew were getting too tight but didn’t want to buy a new wardrobe. It began with the top button literally popping off multiple times and having to sew the button back on. Now, it’s honestly so tight that I can’t always zip my jeans up all the way anymore so instead, I just untuck my shirt and cover the unbuttoned top. Maybe TMI, but I hope this blog helps someone else struggling.
Then in January, I started having new pain and discomfort in all different areas of my body. The heels in my feet, my stomach, chest pains, headaches, and old familiar feelings I used to have many many years ago and suffered with.
I knew this was my own doing and knew what was not good for me, but just kept sliding down the slippery slope of trying to find something to make me feel better since I was feeling junk for myself. And though I did find some new great hobbies, a shift from an active lifestyle to one of sitting, really shifted my eating habits too. And any time I felt junk, I started emotionally eating again (which I struggled with in my past) and punished myself by eating more junk food. I know this may sound ridiculous, but it’s a real struggle and I share this with authentic transparency in case anyone else is struggling. I want you to know that you’re not alone.
I’m actually in pain as I write this. I look fine, but I don’t feel fine.
My son asked me if I was having another baby since he said my “stomach got so big.” He even started talking to my belly saying “Hello there baby” and when I told him, I do not have another baby inside he replied, “You never know! Looks like it.” My daughter said I am “turning into a pusheen cat because I am fat and squishy like those cats.” Honestly, these comments don’t bug me as much as the fact that I can’t physically keep up with them. I am tired. In discomfort. And I don’t even want to do the things we used to do together every single weekend like hike, bike, and swim.
But no more!
This is going to be rough, but I need to start making some changes back to the old me.
You with me?
I asked the question, “What have you been struggling with since the start of the new year?” My answer was, “My pants.” But it’s really not the pants fault. It’s me feeling junk because I made junk choices.
This may not be the most encouraging post, but I am documenting the start of the journey back and just how junk I feel so I don’t forget. This is part of the process. We all fall off, but we can all get back on. We have the choice to find peace with ourselves and work at finding solutions to our struggles or continue to just feel junk.
Let’s listen to our bodies. I’ll share more here in the coming weeks about how I will reset my good habits, get active again, get back to my food prep and enjoying in moderation, and will simply start by cutting out fast food of burger and fries every single week. :)
erin’s tip
This is going to be hard. I honestly don’t know how long this will take and where exactly to start, but I know we need to just start. Start small. Stay consistent. We won’t feel results for a while, but we have to stop blaming and making excuses and start working at it. Will you do it with me? I’m going to need some accountability and support. :p
