Raw, Green, Fit and at Peace

This will be the first post in a very, very long time.  Much has happened since the last one.  My daughter has been busy growing up, and she's headed to high school this fall.

I'm no longer in solar, and now I'm exploring my options for the next stage of my career trajectory.

I have continued on my raw journey, many stops, stumbles and starts, but it's still a huge part of my life.

I have been working on myself in terms of loving me.  I used to think that having a primary focus of self love was somehow narcissistic or self conceited.  But no more.  Having a primary focus of self love helps us really take care of that person that needs us to be there for us. Yourself.

Ourselves.  

Believe me, taking great, great care of yourself is the best thing in the world you can do.  If you have kids, or a spouse with health challenges, obviously that needs to be a top priority as well.  But even so, if you don't take excellent care of yourself through a good nutrition, plenty of exercise and rest, and finding soul sustenance, nobody is going to do it for you.  And you can't be as much help to those that need you most. 

Let's make sure that we are all doing our best to love ourselves and each other.  Let's take great care of ourselves. 

If you feel lonely on your raw food journey, if you feel that socially, you are misunderstood or being rejected somehow, don't worry.  They will come around.   If you hear about a friend's or neighbor's BBQ, and aren't sure if you want to go because you don't want to get tempted by the ribs or chicken on the grill, you are not alone.  Load up on some healthy food before you get there, that way you won't be so tempted by the meat on the grill.  Then fill your plate with melon, and go engage in some lively conversation with someone who seems to have good energy.  That meat won't hold any sway over you.

If you always feel like you need to cook 2 dinners, because you want a great big salad for dinner but the rest of the family insists on steak and potatoes, or chicken and rice, you are not alone.  If it's your turn to make dinner, make sure they get a chance for the salad first.... then provide somewhat smaller portions of those things that they seem to really enjoy.  At least they've gotten some green leafy herbs and some vegetables. 

If you feel like you want to exercise after work when you could be helping your kids with their homework or sitting and watching TV with your spouse, and you are torn, and in conflict, don't worry, you are not alone.

Being raw, fit, green and at peace requires some compromises.  Maybe we should call it deal-making.

First, make a deal with yourself.  It could go something like this:

You can say, self:  "If you promise to eat whole, fresh foods, as grown, as the mainstay of your diet, I promise you will start to lose weight and begin fitting into those clothes sizes from your younger years again."

"If you promise to squeeze in an hour or two of exercise a day, however you break it up, I promise you will have plenty more energy."  This can be something simple like parking far away from the store's entrance in the parking lot, always taking the stairs instead of the elevator, gardening for half an hour Saturday morning, going outside and playing with the kids for 25 minutes, whatever.  It all adds up.  And by the end of the day, you can say that you were active...and it will be so.

"If you promise to break up your day, so that things don't get too monotonous, then I promise the day will magically take on that quality of adventure that I know that you  love."

Just to reiterate, making deals with yourself is a great way to negotiate your way to radiant health.

Make some deals with your spouse or kids.  "If you help Johnny with his homework now while I take my walk, I'll take over in 45 minutes when I get back."   Deal making can make sure that everything that needs to get done does get done.  And you still have time for you.

Speaking of walking, sometimes, going for a walk is the very best thing you can do.  It's convenient, the walk begins at your door.  A good pair of shoes is all the equipment that's required.  You'll see neighbors, and maybe strengthen some neighborhood ties.  You can swing your arms and get an upper body workout as well as some cardio.  You can increase your speed and up the cardiovascular benefits.  Or you can slow things down and do a walking meditation.  You can take in the greenery, if you live in the burbs or the country.  Or if you are in the city, you can head towards the park and find out what the rest of the community is up to you.  The benefits and the ease are right there.

  If you are hungry when you get back, grab some grapes,  slice a banana, chop up an apple and mix them up and munch them down.  Then, do some breathing and stretching exercises, do some yoga.  Maybe a few pushups.  Get reacquainted with your body.  All of these types of things help to re-establish your relationship to yourself.  Begin to re-establish a loving, interactive relationship with yourself, and things just seem to get better.  You just had a great workout.  And no gym required.

Having a good, strong, lean, flexible body doesn't happen in a vacuum.  Ok, maybe for some of us, it did seem to happen in a vacuum when we were young.  But most of us are not 13 and we are never going to be 13 again.  It is going to take some intentionality.  We are going to need to say "No thanks" to a lot of the generous food offerings of others, the temptations that surround us, the convenience of junk food, the prevailing cultural norms that would have us eating TV dinners while sedentary rather than a giant salad (with minimal dressing), and then a few laps walking around the block instead of an ice cream dessert.

We are going to have to stop watching mindless You Tube videos and cultivate a sense of creativity, by picking up that guitar or flute, re-engaing with a favorite hobby, rediscovering great literature, or sitting down for a heart to heart with our spouse.

Remembering our spouse for a moment, do you remember that yours can be your biggest source of inspiration, and you can be theirs?  Simply by doing something that you love, your spouse will notice and it quite often happens that your enthusiasm is contagious; your spouse will soon be doing something that they love too, as they witness first hand the benefits that you are getting.   And guess what?  It sets up a positive feedback loop so that now you get to witness your spouse being fulfilled, and that will inspire you as well. 

Being a positive influence for each other keeps everybody winning, and peaceful.  So go for it.  Dream your dream, then begin to live it.  Measure your small wins, and take pride in them.  Love yourself in this way, and a sense of excitement about the future and the present will reappear.  Life can be fun and fulfilling, even if you haven't reached your goals yet.  

As a matter of fact, as you reach your goals, you will probably already have set new ones.  That's how it works for most of us.  The satisfaction, excitement and adventure of taking the journey towards vitality is  so much fun that new goals constantly appear, new ideas and new possibilities.   That's why radiant health is much more a journey than a destination.

Climbing Out of the Hole

It happened on July 9, 2009. That was the fateful day. The day of The Accident.

I remember the morning well, because I had gone on Sparkpeople.com, a great health and fitness website, and had been reading a few posts from members. One in particular really caught my eye.

It was from a woman who was having a very hard time. She'd been battling the pounds - most of us who have been working on weight loss have gone through this a hundred times - the emotional eating, the self deprecation, the helplessness and hopelessness. The weight gain which seems like a crushing blow, the self loathing that comes with it.

What had I said back to her that morning, the morning of The Accident? I'd said something to the effect of: "Never. Ever. Give up. Never ever ever give up. No matter how hard it gets, no matter how far down you get slapped. Pick yourself up and never give up." You can do this!
I had felt good to offer encouragement. I have no idea if she saw my post or if it meant anything to her. But little did I know that it would be advice that I myself had better be taking in very short order.

Sometimes it's tough to take your own advice.

Later that same morning I was at work. There was a particularly steep roof that I had no intention of climbing. But I somehow let the client talk me into trying to follow him up there. As I stood 10 feet above the ground at the top of the ladder, trying unsuccessfully to find the right footing to step from the ladder to roof, the ladder suddenly slid out from under me.

I came crashing down and sprained my ankle and lower back. Massive pain for about a week - pain killers came in handy, but they can only do so much. Then - less pain, but incredible difficulty walking - used crutches at first, but the Doc said lose them after about two weeks, she wanted me to strengthen the muscles in the ankle, not coddle them.

My mood had been seriously impacted. For some reason, if I don't get enough exercise, I'm prone to feeling down. As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks have now turned into about a month, the swelling hasn't subsided, and it's still painful to walk, to stand, to stretch the ankle. I feel in my heart that I will eventually have a total recovery, but there are days when I wonder.

I've had a few problems with this ankle before, many minor twists and sprains - as a runner and power walker, these things have simply happened. I started to feel this week that I was never going to really get better, I started to feel like giving up.

Yesterday, I hit bottom. The insomnia had returned with a vengeance, and sleep deprivation can really wreak havoc with your sense of well being. Combined with no real exercise for a month, and I was getting pale, washed out and nerves were getting jangly. The raw diet had been maintained for the most part - and that was good, although the percentage was down from before the accident.

Work had been stressing me out. My personal sales volume dried up to a trickle, and not going out on new site visits has been making it only worse. I've been working part time and trying to make sales happen, but it's been a rough go.

Today woke up and said to myself, something has got to change. It can't go on like this. Even if my sales are down, even if my ankle is still swollen and painful, I need to get out somehow to do some cardio. I need to climb up out of this hole.

So I went over to the gym, climbed on an exercise bike, and started pedaling. I pedaled for a half hour, not too much pressure on the ankle. Lifted some weights, did some crunches and leg lifts.

After 45 minutes I was tired. But I felt good. It was my first real exercise (other than walking on crutches for longer distances) for a month. As I limped through the parking lot back to the car, I had a sense of well being that I had not felt in weeks. Maybe endorphins, who knows?

I started to think, maybe I can crawl out of this hole. Maybe just maybe I don't have to give up.
Maybe I can take my own advice.

I sit here, ankle aching, feeling a bit sorry for myself. But truth told, there's no interruption in my goal. I still want to look and feel my best ever. It may take me a while to get back to where I was. But I won't give up - the stakes are too high - nothing less than my physical, mental and emotional well being - and by extension, all of the others who are looking for inspiration and
guidance on the Journey To Vitality. A raw diet, fresh clean water, plenty of exercise, relaxation and fun - these are my goals. I wont' give up - no matter what. I'll never give up. I'm going to Climb Out of the Hole.