I've been thinking a lot about health recently. Well, not just recently, but the past year or so. I think it generally started last Christmas when I got (thanks to Jack and Marsha's generosity!) a fitbit - something I had been eyeing because I noticed I had gained a few pounds in the preceding months. Nothing huge, but instead of the 5-pound range that I was typically in pre-baby, I was instead hovering about 5 pounds higher. And since I despise tracking what I eat, I figured that monitoring my exercise would be a better place to start.
At first I just got used to wearing the darn thing. But a month or two later the trend was pretty clear: I was only averaging about 5000 steps a day, and that was with me trying to get a little extra movement each day - like taking the long way around to the copy machine at work. Yikes!! (Research suggests that <5000 is "sedentary," 5k-7500 is "low active," 7500-10k is "somewhat active," and >10k is "active").
So by about March of 2014 I started trying to deliberately increase my steps each day. I actually really enjoy walking, but the issue was more about time. My job was sucking the life out of me, which I was eventually able to see with the help of my psychologist. As you all know, in May I started looking, in June I accepted my new job, and in July I started handing off more responsibilities in preparation for my August departure. I think knowing that timeline is a fascinating backdrop to this graph of my steps for 2014:
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| The step-crazy week in March was when I was in NYC for a conference and I took advantage of walking all over Manhattan. |
So finally in October I managed to average 10k steps per day!!! I attribute this to (a) walking more at work, just due to the size of the hospital vs. my old clinics, (b) now waking almost every weekday morning by 5am to walk on the treadmill while watching a TV show on netflix, and (c) walking outside most weekend days. That is, until (wah waaaahhhh...) my steps promptly dropped off again when the weather got cold in November and I holed up inside on the weekends. But, as much as I hate the dreadmill, I'm proud that I've kept up my weekday routine (except when sick) and my steps didn't drop back off to early-2014 levels again!
So now I've been thinking about what's next. I gained an additional 5# over the summer (on top of the 5# heavier I already was, which I attributed to my misery for having to remain at TEP for as long as I did, and thus drinking a glass of wine after work most nights, instead of just once or twice per week). Thankfully my new weekday routine has gotten me back to my post-baby weight range again, and now I just need to work on increasing my weekend activity levels again.
But I also want to commit to better overall health, and there are a million different ways I could do that, beyond my 2014 goal (and accomplishment!) of being more active. Healthy in body, mind, and spirit. Healthy to be a better person, wife, mother, and friend. Healthy as in fully self-actualized, per Maslow:
Here are a few potential goals I've identified to help me on that path toward self-actualization:
1. Sleep. I've been sleeping much worse the past month or so, and it took me until a fews days ago to realize why, because I've been just as militant about getting 8 hours (most nights) as I always have been. The probable culprit? Television. Yep, the darn boob tube. My mom turned me on to The Good Wife when I was sick on New Year's, and I've watched two full seasons in the past month. In other words, usually one episode every night between the time Rose goes to sleep and the time I go to bed, and several every weekend day. Which means I haven't read a book in a month either. Ugh. So I'm going now employing the ABA research design to test my theory. I'm pretty sure my sleep will get back to normal once I limit my TV watching to weekday mornings on the treadmill and the occasional weekend afternoon/evening TV show.
2. Water. I'm pretty good about drinking water in the summer, but definitely not so good at this in the winter (or spring, or fall). I'm just so cold all the time, basically from October until May, that water isn't very appealing. But I know I need to drink more of it, because I know I eat more food when I'm not well-hydrated. So I'm trying to make a commitment to filling my water bottle at least twice each day at work: 750ml each morning, and another each afternoon, and a third if I'm really ambitious. Some days it's a struggle, but I'm making some progress...
3. Sugar. OMG, I love it. Crave it. Revel in it. Offer me sugar, or any sugar-like or sugar-derived substance, and I will accept. This is such a HUGE problem for me, given the recently emerging research on the dangers of sugar, that I think it would be reasonable to break it down into several (hopefully more manageable) sub-parts:
a. sweet beverages. Since I have a sweet tooth, I've traditionally put a fair amount of sugar or honey into my tea (iced or hot). I've tried to cut back before, to no avail. But I happened to get a stomach flu over New Year's a couple weeks ago, and it threw my taste buds and my typical morning routine all off. And thus I went cold turkey. Interestingly, now about four weeks later I don't really miss having honey in my morning tea! I haven't had any iced tea yet, but I'm optimistic that this might be a change that is starting to stick already.
b. Diet Coke. And speaking of changes, I can also thank my New Year's stomach flu for me getting off Diet Coke. Again. You see, I have this totally co-dependent, on-again-off-again relationship with this drink. Seriously, it's like a drug to me. (And some researchers would say the aspartame really is a drug!) I always, always feel better when I'm not drinking the stuff, but inevitably I'll have one "just this one time" and then it will eventually turn into 1-3 cans a day again. Ugh. But I haven't had one since before New Year's, and I'm now trying to think of myself as "someone who doesn't drink soda." As much as I might crave it (and sometimes I do, so much that it hurts!), I'm someone who doesn't drink soda (or so I'm trying to convince myself). I decided to grant myself an exception for the occasional "natural" soda, such as a homemade root beer if I'm at a brewery with Mike, but that's it. And in the spirit of full disclosure, I will admit that I did have one sip of Rose's Sprite when we were at DQ last Friday, but honestly it didn't even taste that good to me. So let's see where this one is at in another month or two!
c. desserts. Oh, dessert, how I love thee. I love cakes, I love cookies, I love ice cream, I love pie, I love pastries, I love pure chocolate...I could go on and on. (I hate to blame my parents for my own faults and shortcomings, but I've got to think that my history of severely rationed desserts may be playing some sort of role here!) Sometimes I think it's a little crazy that I will wake up at 4:45am to walk on the dreadmill every day, but I find it impossible to say no to a second cookie, or a third, or a fourth. So in this area my goals are really two-fold: (a) to limit myself to one portion of dessert per day (I can feel the judgment from all of you even as I type that!), (b) eliminating processed desserts (see part D below) in favor of only home-made desserts (thanks for the ice cream maker, mom and dad!!), and (c) being more creative about what "dessert" means (more fruits for dessert, or a single piece of chocolate, etc.).
d. processed foods. I've been more influenced by Michael Pollan recently, and bloggers like the woman who writes "100 days of real food." As I read more, I'm struck by the fact that there's sugar in EVERYTHING. And not just the obvious culprit like Oreos (mmmm...oreos, how I covet thee), but also crackers, salad dressing, salsa, etc. Hardly any processed food is "safe," and of course I would like to make everything from scratch all the tiem, but being a full-time working mom means I have to draw the line somewhere. So now my struggle is trying to figure out exactly where. I haven't bought Oreos since before Christmas, but I certainly have used store-bought salad dressing. A good first step, but further improvement is certainly needed in this area.
4. Mindfulness. I KNOW I need to slow down and eat only when I'm hungry, but some days that's certainly hard as I'm eating lunch at my desk between patients (d'oh!) or scarfing down my dinner before the bedtime battle begins with Rose (ugh!). This is definitely easier said than done.
5. Fruits/Veggies. I know I need more, not only at every meals, but also more variety throughout the seasons. Will this take care of itself if I address the above issues (e.g., cutting out processed foods), or is it better to tackle this one up front??
6. Relationships. Last but not least, I'm making a commitment to health via relationships. I know I'm much happier when I reconnect with friends on a regular basis (although it's also a fine line with being over-committed and not honoring my relationship with myself as well...). I'm trying to focus more on the friendships and gatherings that feed my soul, and less on the commitments that I think I "should" be doing, while also balancing plenty of time with Mike/Rose and also "Steph time." It's hard for my people-pleasing personality, but I know it's yet another way that I can healthier as a person. As a result, I'm trying to attend more happy hours/brunches/bookclubs with close friends, ensuring that I'm always reading a good book each night before bed, scheduling "family time" with Mike and Rose, debating whether I want to continue with the Library Friends or not, and gradually stepping back from Facebook. I don't have any final answers in this area, but I definitely know I need to work on making these changes.
So, there you have it. If 2014 was about becoming active again (and starting a new job so I could have a chance of not being depressed any more), 2015 is about a broader sense of health. Per Maslow, my basic needs are now being met, so now I am able to take steps toward self-actualization. Thus, this is my public commitment to starting to take better care of myself, so I can be a happier and more fulfilled person. I'll check back in on all of these areas at the end of the year! Here goes the grand adventure of 2015: the pursuit of well-rounded HEALTH.
