Last week was hopefully one of the most important wake up calls in my life. I had to read my weight out loud. It was a number that I neared earlier in 2021. Almost getting back to where I started this journey in 2021 was one of the hardest things I had to acknowledge. What I also had to acknowledge was the fact that I can no longer keep climbing up and focus more on losing.
It is said that after losing what was once a significant amount of weight that I nearly put it all back on. It gave me yet another wake up call that I cannot just squeak by and get away with things. Losing weight requires effort by doing the right things like eating sensibly and increasing activity. It isn’t always easy to do both, but you actually have to put forth the effort and try your best and not willingly self-sabotage yourself by eating foods or drink beverages that will not help in the process. What it comes down to is wanting to improve your health. You have to want to invest yourself in working on yourself. This I feel has to come from any form of wanting to improve your wellness. It isn’t easy and there’s times that you are going to want to go back to the old ways that you once went to. But if you are seeing improvement, why do you want to go back to that state of mind?
That is one of the questions I had to ask myself recently. Why would you want to go back to being miserable? Being unable to walk through the entire footprint of a store? Being unable to keep a positive frame of mind? All these things once they are improved should be continued to be maintained if they work for you. Food and drink wise, I know what works for me when I want it to work for me. Sometimes, I get bull-headed and want to be lazy and not care about my health and eat foolishly. I have to remember that I can get better in both realms and to do so requires investment on my behalf. No one is going to do the work for me. Nor is it going to be easy to do sometimes or be pleasant to do. I know when I do it, I feel alot better about myself.
In fact, in the course of that time since I had to read that weight last week, I have lost approximately seven pounds. What comes into play is that I did my research and worked on what I needed to do to ensure that I am back on the right path by setting me up with the proper tools for my physical health to succeed. Just as much as the needs for my mental health to be well, so does my physical health too. Both dimensions work in tandem to ensure that I am well overall.
Because I have many mental health challenges, I am aware that there’s many correlations between my mental and physical health. This makes me understand the need to take care of myself on both forefronts. Being autistic doesn’t help the situation because of sensory challenges I face with many foods that can be healthy, especially many fruits and vegetables. That is why I truly hang around the weight loss support group that I do. It is because there are suggested foods, but no forbidden food. No food is excluded, however it is all foods in moderation to best support the needs of the person. There is also no discouraged activity. It is what you are able to do.
I know I need to get serious about getting this weight off. I cannot let it continue to creep higher and higher. It has creeped all my life. It needs to come down. I have the goal where I need to be that has been agreed upon between me and my doctor. It is at a weight that because of my medications isn;t intended to harm me, but also make me be able to be happy with a somewhat healthier lifestyle. I know it isn’t going to be what the true American guidelines are. But I know that I have to continue to invest in my body so I can continue to live a longer and healthier life because I am worthy of that. I am a good person and can be a valuable asset to the world around me, therefore I deserve to take care of myself so I can show others that not only can it be done, but that it is important to be well in all dimensions, mental, physical and spiritual.
Dustin's Dynasty 