TGIF! It was a short work week, and wow, it went by quickly! I wish all of my work weeks were like that!
I feel like I probably give my readers whiplash sometimes with my posts describing diets, exercise, lifestyle changes - I'm always changing things up! It's probably hard for people to keep up with what I'm doing.
I used to feel really frustrated with myself when I couldn't stick with a plan or when I would give up on a challenge or goal. I would feel embarrassed when I'd have to post about how something wasn't working out for me. However, I've learned that nothing I do for my health is short-term, and it's all about figuring out what is sustainable for me long-term. Most importantly, I'm learning that as my body ages, I have to switch things up in order to stay healthy. Life is all about being flexible and being willing to grow and evolve. It's about making mistakes, taking notes, and doing better next time.
With all of that being said, I'm using September as a clean slate and an experiment in changing up things to see how I feel. Last weekend, David and I watched Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones on Netflix and it was amazing and inspiring. So much so that David, my husband who has shown no interest in eating healthy over the last several years, has decided that he would like to improve his health through diet. He actually googled, "What foods help with bone healing?" and the Mediterranean diet popped up. This diet is pretty similar to what people in the Blue Zones eat. If you're not familiar with the Blue Zones, these are areas of the world where people not only live to be 100 years old, but they are thriving.
The Mediterranean diet is made up of healthy plant-based food, along with small portions of lean meat, especially fish. Fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, and grains are stables of the diet. The diet doesn't include any processed foods, but does include wine (praise the Mediterranean gods!)
There are other things besides diet that are important: managing stress, lots of movement throughout the day, and finding joy and purpose in your life. Connecting with loved ones is also extremely important.
For me, I really want to focus on cutting out the junk snacks and processed fake meats. I want to get back to when I was feeling my healthiest by eating plant-based, with lots of vegetables and plant-based protein, like tofu and tempeh, and beans. I'll still eat fish and eggs, but I want to make the majority of my diet plant-based. I want to be able to eat things like nuts, beans, pasta, bread, rice, and oatmeal without obsessing about macros.
David and I would also like to stop eating out as much. We eat at restaurants or get takeout at least once or twice a week and it's just really hard to make healthy choices when you do that. There are just too many temptations! We won't completely stop eating at restaurants, but we definitely want to cut back.
One of the habits that David and I have developed since he's been off of work due to his illness and injury is walking. We walk most evenings after I'm done with work, and we've been taking walks at local trails or parks on Sunday mornings. It's been really beneficial for both of us. It's helping David to rehabilitate, and it's been helping me with stress. We've both enjoyed it greatly and would like to keep the habit going.
I've spent too much time recently using the excuses that I'm too tired, I'm too stressed, and it's too hard to be healthy when I'm the only one doing it, blah, blah, blah. I have free will and am able to make my own choices. I want to live a long time, I want to thrive and enjoy my life. But only I can make the choices that will allow me to do that and even though it might feel hard or challenging, it's worth it to have good health.
I'm rooting for David in this journey, but I also told him that I'm not going to tell him what to eat or get on him about making unhealthy choices. I can't do it for him, and I certainly can't make him eat healthy, so like me, he has to decide that he is going to choose good health and longevity. And if he decides that he can't stick to it, I'll be sad and disappointed, but I'm not going to let it affect the choices that I make for myself.
So stay tuned as we embark on this new journey of Mediterranean living! We're both excited and I'm feeling extremely hopeful and happy for David.
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