Health and Outcomes

I have mentioned before in various posts about my focus on being a healthier person. Contrary to what the media tells us, I am not eating better and exercising so I can fit into a certain size dress or hit a goal weight so my life will be complete, whatever that means.

After my many decades on this earth, I know what makes me feel like rubbish and what makes me feel good. And I enjoy the feeling good part, you know?

Beside feeling good for myself both mentally and physically, I am on this health and wellness path for my children. I want to do what I can and what is in the realm of my own control, to be here as long as possible with my children. I want to see them grow up, become adults, start to raise their own families. I want to be there for their weddings and births of their own children. I want to spend time with my future grandchildren and be the best grandma I can, like my own grandmother.

My goal: To. Be. Here.

There is an article that comes to mind that was written by the duo known as The Minimalists. Their blog post, What Is My Outcome? brought to mind my health journey and what I want my outcomes to be. It is a series of four questions to ask when there is something you want to accomplish:

1. What is my outcome?
2. Why do I want this outcome?
3. What actions must I take?
4. Is this working?

For me and this path of health and wellness that I am on, these are my answers:

1. I want to be the healthiest version of myself that I can possibly be.
2. I want this outcome so I can be active and involved in my children’s lives from childhood through adulthood and beyond.
3. My action list is simple: exercise most days of the week and eat as nutritiously as possible. Drink more water. Eat more vegetables. More whole foods and less processed ingredients. Make sure I stay up to date on all doctor appointments like mammograms, etc… Find ways to limit my stress and/or anxiety and to find ways to deal with these things in a more mindful way.
4. Yes, it is working although there is always room for improvement. For example, last week I did not eat as many vegetables as I had in previous weeks, and I noticed how I felt physically. So this week, I am trying to incorporate more veg into my lunches and dinners.

I truly started getting on this journey last year in 2021 after the dumpster fire that was 2020. I was tired of feeling tired and my usual coping mechanisms were just not working. To be fair some of them were super unhealthy so in one sense, that is a good thing. Also, I know how important it is for children to see healthy behaviors. Especially with daughters, they really need to see their moms love who they are and love the body they are in and take care of it. Food is not our enemy. Neither is the number on the scale. My daughters need to see a healthy role model and I am doing just that.

My girls are the most important people in my life and everything I do is for them. I want to enjoy every moment possible with them and I am truly thankful for the internal wake-up call that I had last year to make my health a priority. The proverbial adage “Life is short” gets bandied about constantly but it is true. Time is finite and every day is a day to make a better decision than yesterday.

Life is a gift and I intend to make the most of it.