Linda Stoll: I'm So Done With Making Excuses About My Body

A bit of a preface.

This post is one of those monthly what-I-learned / what-I'm-into offerings.

Please know that I am keenly aware that any conversation concerning those ominous numbers on our bathroom scales involves a very sensitive, delicate subject. The following personal observations and calls to action are about my own specific health concerns, and are in no way a commentary on where you may or may not be.

We offer each other grace ...

and maybe a nutritious smoothie.

In recent years, tending to the needs of my body has taken a bit of a back seat behind other seemingly more pressing concerns. A string of major life-altering decisions, a huge relocation from New York to New England immediately followed by the deaths of my dad and my grandson, and a seemingly endless period of transition have crowded out thoughts of much else.

Yes, life happens.

I'm been the master of excuses as to why a low level neglect has become my reality, but recent days have found me done with my endless rationalizations and feeble half-baked efforts. After too many months, I've begun to make more positive choices to take better care of the skin I'm in. I don't want to look back and regret that I refused to follow the healthier direction that God had been nudging me toward.

Bottom line? I want to be the healthiest woman I can be in this season. I want to live a pro-active, no-regrets lifestyle. I want to honor God with all that defines who I am ... soul, mind, and body.

3 REALIZATIONS & ACTION PLANS

Food shouldn't call the shots.

I need to own what I put on my plate.

The past few years have seen my weight slowly creep up. Up. Up. I ate what I pleased, all the while inwardly making lame excuses and vowing that some day I'd get back to where I knew I needed to be.

I'm so done with that. I'm back on Weight Watchers after a long season of emotional dining, aimless grazing, and mindless noshing. I'm relearning to pay attention to my body's genuine feed-me signals, thoughtfully working on choosing to eat something decent just before hunger pangs arrive full force.

I'm loving that the program is all online ... no more driving 40 minutes each way to weigh in. Easy tracking, more flexibility {and points!} and heaps of videos, recipes, and all kinds of online support make embracing a long-term healthy relationship with food possible.

Lounging around is overrated.

Soon after I wake, I need to grab my sneakers and head out the door.

I've never had an athletic bone in my body. Growing up, I was usually the 2nd to last person chosen for any kind of team in gym. I'm a born and bred curled up on the sofa / sitting at my laptop kinda woman. Blogging hasn't done me any favors in this area.

But recently, I'm up and out more days than not, hitting the pavement before heat and humidity lend more excuses for why I shouldn't be walking. Every jaunt offers a different path, another bend around the road, a bit of a different vista. I breathe gratefulness that my body still works ... and these minutes are when I have some of my most meaningful conversations with God. And where future blog posts birth and morph into being.

I'm at a bit of a higher risk for some medical concerns.

Neglecting checkups and followup is not a brilliant idea.

One of the big challenges of moving to a new area is that you have to find new caregivers. So far, I like my dentist {even though I've seen her probably 13 times since last fall}, primary care doctor, gynecologist, and massage therapist. I'm lining up the tests that need to be taken care of. I'd much rather be anywhere else than in some strange examining room, but there's relief and gratitude when each visit is completed, knowing I've done what I needed to do.

And there's a sweet peace in knowing that absolutely every part of me rests in His capable hands.

let's talk about self-care

what mid-summer challenges are you facing?

what's working for you ... and not so much?