Managing Physical Health
My dream is to live a long independent life, grow fabulously grey and be an asset to my family as our sons raise children of their own. Pretty much I want to be an Urban Nana. A super fit and active Nana who enjoys her grandkids. I also want to accomplish financial independence and abundance through work that satisfies my heart's calling. To reach my goal I follow a health plan affectionately called, The “Family First, Business Second, But Really, Me First!” Plan.
But really, “Me First Plan” because even though having a loving family is my main goal in life and having a successful career is second, I won’t be any good for anyone or anything if I’m in poor health or dead! This requires me to manage my physical, emotional and social health as my top priority!
Successfully managing my physical health requires me to maintain a healthy weight. I am motivated to maintain my weight by a desire to look great in my clothes, and the desire to keep up with my children and grandchildren. I am also motivated by the link between obesity and disease. According to “African American Women and the Obesity Epidemic: A Systematic Review” by F. Knox-Kazimierczuk & M. Shockly-Smith (2015), “research indicates a correlation between weight, diabetes, and heart disease, with greater than 80% of overweight individuals suffering from type 2 diabetes.” Also, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention the leading cause of death for all Americans is heart disease (CDC, 2018).
The best way for me to decrease my chances of premature death due to a preventable illness such as heart disease and diabetes is to maintain a healthy weight. The American Heart Association lists physical activity, healthy eating plan and reduced stress as ways to prevent heart disease in their article, “How to Prevent Heart Disease at Any Age” (2018). In “Simple Steps for Preventing Diabetes” (2018) on the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health website, maintaining a healthy weight, making healthier food choices, not smoking and limiting alcohol consumption are listed as ways to prevent diabetes. Taking all these tips into consideration, managing my weight is the best and easiest way to manage my physical health. Why? Because maintaining a healthy weight requires all the same things. I’ll just be killing two birds with one stone!
“The American Heart Association's Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations” (2018) suggests making changes to a person's diet such as reducing red meat, having two to three servings of fruits and vegetables daily and reduced fast food outings as a way to a healthier life. Taking their advice and based on my previous experiences with dieting I have created a diet that works for my busy lifestyle, but allows me to have the things I like in moderation.
Eating more of the right stuff is easier for me than completely omitting the bad stuff so as a habit I make smoothies every day for either breakfast or lunch which contains more than two full servings of fruit and vegetables plus flax seeds. I don’t cook red meat at home opting instead for fish and boneless, skinless poultry. But I do allow myself a great steak or a burger when out for a date night. Even though I love my wine, I have cut back drastically since taking this class and committing to my health. Learning that it was causing weight gain made it even easier to give up. I now limit myself to one, 5oz glass per incidence and have limited my incidences to one to two times per week. I am now working to increase my water intake.
Adding exercise into my lifestyle is key to maintaining my weight and following all the tips to preventing heart disease and diabetes as well. With just one child, I was able to get to the gym every day for two hours. Now, with two children, I just don’t have the time. To make exercise realistic in this season of my life I have incorporated it in a way that involves my children and or works around their schedules. I do things like take my boys to the track with me so they can run around or kick the ball while I do laps. I go for long walks early in the morning while they’re still asleep or in the evenings after dinner.
I also strength train once a week using equipment we have in the garage while they’re otherwise occupied. We make exercise a family affair on weekends by going to the park together, playing soccer, racing each other and just kidding around. Becoming more serious about these changes while working on this paper has already resulted in the loss of two pounds, my skin looks amazing and I am much less bloated. Seeing results so soon is motivating me to keep pushing!
Next Step Managing Emotional Health
References
American Heart Association. (2018). The American Heart Association's Diet and Lifestyle
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015) Leading Causes of Death in Females
Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/women/lcod/2015/all-females/index.htm
Deweerdt, S. (2013). The dark night: the causal relationships between lack of sleep and mood
disorders remain murky. But one thing is clear as day: better sleep can have
psychological benefits. Nature, (7450), 14.
Goldschmied, Jennifer R., Deldin, Patricia J., (2015) Sleep Hygiene. Salem Press Encyclopedia
of Health
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (2018). Simple Steps for Preventing Diabetes
Knox-Kazimierczuk, F., & Shockly-Smith, M. (2017). African American women and the obesity
epidemic: a systematic review. Journal Of Pan African Studies, (1), 76.
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