Making Your Life Style Make a Difference in Your Life

I have been inspired by the comments of a recent reader to get myself centered on my program again. Tricia and I have been sharing back and forth on the blog post just previous to this one and I must say that it really is nice to feel the power of partnership with her. It just seems so much richer to know that she is there, in the same boat that I am in, and we are not alone in our struggles. I desire for both of us to be successful. We share life-long weight problems, pre-diabetes, and the desire to make the kind of lifestyle changes that will help us rid ourselves of the diagnosis of "pre-diabetes." If you need to get back in the swing, please join us in stepping out on a ten-day getting started commitment.

My last official post was dated the day before Thanksgiving in November and I had plans to stay on track for Christmas and New Year's, too... but somewhere things got foggy for me. Even my daily record has a few "missing days." But the past, is the past. I now must face forward and decide what my next step is.

The advice that I shared is the advice that I need. Here are the summary guidelines that I had come up with to get re-motivated and make a simple ten-day step in the right direction:

1. Read your book again for motivation.
2. Set a date to begin your change.
3. Prepare by removing what you don't need from your house
4. Prepare by providing what you do need for healthy eating
5. Do your plan for ten days
6. Then see where you are and decide what you will do for the next ten days.

1. Read your book again for motivation.

Many of us have been inspired by some book or program or idea that has helped us do the right stuff in the past, but we are no longer in that space right now. One way of getting back into that space of inspiration is to read the same book again. I did that a while back with the "Carbohydrate Addicts Lifespan Program." I was also very inspired by the "30 Day Diabetes Cure" with which I started this blog. I also have been inspired by and gleaned a lot of good information from the vegan culture that is very active on the internet (I've shared about all this before.) 

If you know of a program that you were successful on, then go back, read it again, and begin to get your mind focused on the right stuff for you. Rekindle your passion. Get reacquainted with the guidelines you already know work for you. Allow yourself to be inspired.

2. Set a date to begin your change.

At some point, often while you are getting re-acquainted with the details, you will feel inspired to begin doing your program again. At that moment, set your date to begin doing the program. It is all well and good to read it... but you will only get results by doing it. Pick a date that is not too far away, but is far enough away that you can make the kinds of preparations that you need to make.

I know that when I've been off my program for any length of time (be it weeks or be it years) it can seem overwhelming to even consider going back and doing it all again. It is "so much easier" to simply lolly-gag and continue stuffing all the standard stuff into my mouth while pretending that it does not make a difference what I eat. The point is, we begin to lie to ourselves. It is hard to admit that, but the addiction takes over and lulls me into "never-never land" -- you know -- the place where things never change?

Nothing can knock the block off the addiction lies like setting a date to begin. A starting date is concrete. It is a day on a calendar and no matter what your addiction says, that day will show up in your life. It is marching down the daily track in your direction. Your own personal day of reckoning will definitely arrive. If you can see it coming, that, all by itself, will motivate you to begin taking preparatory actions.

3. Prepare by removing what you don't need from your house

The most obvious first step is to get rid of all the stuff that you know you should not be eating, before your start date gets here. You will only make yourself sick if your method of getting rid of it is to eat it -- but this is your life and your choice. The better method of getting rid of stuff is to recognize it for what it is (toxic) and throw it into the trash. Do not leave even one spoonful of ice cream in your freezer. Simply wash it down the sink and toss the box out. You will be making space for the next step in the plan.

4. Prepare by providing what you do need for healthy eating

Using your program as a guideline, purchase the kinds of foods that you know will give your body health. Stock up on good healthy food. Some things will need to be divided into individual healthy meal portions and stored either in the freezer or the refrigerator. These will be your new "convenience" foods.

In my case, that means that I need to purchase fresh raw vegetables and salad fixings. I also need to get good protein in the form of eggs, beef, pork, and chicken. Since I also have gout I need to be careful with animal protein (especially fish) but not extremely so. I've been reading the book "Beating Gout" by Victor Konshin and have discovered that limiting animal proteins will only drop uric acid levels by two points at best, the rest must be done with medication. I've been on the medication (Allopurinol) for about six months now and have not had a "flare" in quite some time. To me, this means that the guidelines Victor has given are working for me. I'm going on Medicare on the first of March and when I get my new doctor (my old one does not take Medicare patients) and my new insurance, I will be having my uric acid levels checked to make sure I'm on track.

I am going to be eating my food in the form that God gave it to me with my focus on raw vegetables and cooked meat. I'm also toying with the idea of trying the "seventh-day cheat meal" as a standard procedure. I may use my next post, to describe that program in more detail. I have it written out for myself and may simply post it so others can see or use it also. It may be that I am not able to do that. I will find out, once and for all, if I can really do it. More on that another day.

5. Do your plan for ten days

I chose ten days because that is the time increment that was used in the "30 Day Diabetes Cure" and it really worked great for me. What I saw happening was that a ten-day span appeared to me to be a short do-able not-overwhelming time span. It was easy to think of doing something for only 10 days. The first challenge was to stop eating sugar of any kind, no sweets, and no sugar substitutes for 10 days. Then, once I accomplished that task, and saw how easy it really was, and how much better I felt, I simply continued.

Three days would not have been long enough to see the good results you would want. Three days is almost exactly the amount of time it takes to go through sugar withdrawals, so they are the hardest days to accomplish -- but since you have made a commitment, the first three days are done by having made the decision to do it. By day four, things begin to lighten up and you no longer even crave sugary items. From day four on, things get easier -- and they happen almost on their own. No will power is needed after day 4 because your body will no longer be pushing you. So... if you had only chosen to do the plan for three days, you would have shot yourself in the foot and not allowed the change to actually take affect in your body.  You would never have gotten to "easy street." After you've lived the results for ten days, it would be insanity to go back -- but the choice is still yours.

6. Then see where you are and decide what you will do for the next ten days.

By the time you finish the first 10 days the second 10 days will look really easy to accomplish. The hard part is over and the only thing you need to do is keep doing what you are already doing. But you have the option.  That option lets you be in charge of your own life. You decide what you will be doing next. And there it is: commitment -- and your "self" is fully engaged in the battle once again.

If you look at what has happened in your own life and you see a need to tweak something, now is your opportunity -- but do not let that interfere with your next step. Make any adjustments and then make your new commitment to continue on to bigger and better results.

Don't forget the "see where you are" part. On day 11 take stock and ask yourself some questions. Did your blood sugar numbers get better? (This also means that for the 10 days you did this, you kept track of your numbers.)  Did you lose any weight? How do you feel? Where are your pain levels? I have found in the past that my pain levels seem to greatly diminish on day 6. I don't know if other people experience the same thing, but if you do, you need to make a note of your pain levels before and after that initial ten-day accomplishment.

When you answer the above questions, and any others that are pertinent to you and your situation, you will be looking at concrete evidence of your own success. Nothing motivates like success!! Use your success to continue moving you along in the right direction.

Here's to DOING!! Let me know how you are doing!!

Be back soon,

Marcia