Health

Ok, there are people who are curious about my "diet". Here’s how I account for my appearance.

•   Genetics
•   Food heritage
•   Routine

Genetics is something you can’t share with me, sorry, so I won’t say much about it. Except that it is important to know how this affects your body.

Food heritage is the habits our caregivers modeled for us. In my case my mother was a very strong influence in what was around to eat. Fortunately my father was willing to go along with her earthy health conscious vision; as a consequence I have no fear of vegetables and actually prefer a plant based diet. Food was never used to fill emotional holes. It was strictly about fueling up to get through the day. Sugar was deemphasized.

Routine is the practical part that you can steal from me:

•  I drink a lot of water. In fact the first thing I ingest every day is water. Here’s why, I’ve gone eight-ish hours without drinking anything. If our bodies are 75% water and would fail faster without it, it just makes sense to take care of that issue first.
•  Breakfast is routine, I eat the same basic thing every morning. The last thing I want to do before breakfast is figure out some complicated thing.
•   My go to breakfast is oatmeal, yogurt, and nuts. I do add things like spices or dried fruit; often I will include a little honey. This is a high protein meal that also takes care of a calcium serving. Protein is important because it’s what your muscles are made of and provides a steady long term source of energy.
•  Physical activity, the adult way of saying play. Runaround or dance or climb things our bodies are meant to move. Think about it, for the longest time humans traveled by foot everywhere. Until quite recently most people worked at something involving physicality. There were no gyms because they were unnecessary.
•  Ok on this point I’m a little crazy. I don’t keep a lot of furniture. If there’s nowhere to sit then I’ll use the floor which means I’m less likely to sit for long periods of time.
• Another thing that goes along with playing is playing outside. Yeah, get out of the house or building at least once a day. Walking to and from a car does not count.
•  I don’t eat my food all at once. Meaning I take my time at meals and I have lots of meals evenly spaced through the day about every 3 hours. If you only eat one meal a day your body stresses out. You can survive on one meal a day but you aren’t likely to thrive on one meal a day.
•  Learn how your body handles stress. In my case stressfulness attacks my digestive system. For you, you may find that it gives you clausal headaches. However this happens learn how to manage stress so that you aren’t making the situation worse. If you need help figuring this out ask for it don’t waste time googleing it on your own.
• Have social interaction on a regular basis. Being around good people regularly will help enormously. I’ve never struggled with body image issues but I have struggled with identity my entire life. I find that having supportive people in my life not only encourages me to get out of the house but also lessens the burdens of life by getting me to focus on something other than myself.

The other great thing about having good people in your life is that they will help motivate you into health. Someone to play with is much better than playing alone. (Take that however you will, *wink*.)

A special note to the ladies:

Be kind to each other. If you’re wacked out on hormones, or whatever, don’t use that as an excuse to be bitchy. In fact take it as a challenge to be extra sensitive to those around you. Exercising self-control in this area will win you friends. Not only will they find you pleasant it will show your strength of character. People do prefer those who can control their tempers.