Saturday, November 21, 2009

Giving Thanks: Day 5

I am thankful for my health.

This is a big one. I think that sometimes we start to think we are invincible and we forget that our bodies are a gift from God and should be treated very well. I try to remember to be good to my body now because I know I will thank my 20-something self when I am 60+ if I treat myself well now!

Luckily I have been blessed with some pretty darn good genetics. We do have a history of blood pressure and cholesterol issues on my dad's side, but I seem to have gotten the genes from my mom's side which means I kind of have freakishly low blood pressure. I mean, I have been rejected from donating blood because my blood pressure and pulse are too low. Thank you, McDougall side, for these fantastic genes.

But having good genes isn't enough, and I know that. I wasn't all that great about treating my body right when I was in grad school, but I have really turned things around in the last year. I've made 2 adjustments that have made such a huge difference in my life:

  • I said adios to gluten. I can't tell you how much better I feel - it's amazing. Even my parents have commented on how I am different now that I am living gluten free. I don't have the tummy issues I used to have, I no longer have daily headaches, and I don't need ridiculous amounts of sleep! It's fantastic. And yes, it is a tough adjustment and I've had to stop eating alot of things I love - but foregoing those foods is worth it now that I feel oh so much better.
  • I have gotten back into running and consistently run about 20-25 miles per week. I am now 4 pounds away from my weight loss goal and practically back to my pre-grad school weight. I feel so much better and have more energy - I just wish I would have incorporated running back into my schedule a lot sooner. But as they say, better late than never!!
I hope your weekend is off to a start! I'll be starting my Saturday off with a nice long run outdoors. Mother nature has come through with some great weather this month so I plan to take advantage of that today & get in a 7 miler hopefully!!

7 comments:

Amber said...

I was JUST thinking about this last night when I was watching My Sister's Keeper. I'm so thankful for my health and when I wake up in the morning and don't want to run or workout I try to remind myself that I'm SO LUCKY I CAN!!!

Way to go being only four pounds away from your goal weight, lady! That is AWESOME!!

Emily Jane said...

I've contemplated going gluten-free. I have a pretty chronic condition that's been getting progressively worse for several years and I've done all sorts of reading up on it and there've been lots of suggestions on diet modification maybe helping with it - cutting gluten and dairy being big ones. I don't eat horribly, but I have such a tough time sticking to diets and things and have absolutely no willpower at all!!

Congrats on being so close to your goal! :)

J said...

Can you provide websites that helped you go gluten free? I've been contemplating this but haven't the first clue where to start.

Congrats to you for getting close to your goal weight! I started running too about a month ago and was doing really well and actually kind of enjoying it (I hate running). I was gonna do a 5K today but I hurt my knee a week ago and the Dr. said to rest to get it back to normal. So I'm taking it easy. Hopefully I'll get to do it again soon though because I'm restless!

Mandy said...

Having our health is such an important thing to be thankful for. What made you decide to go gluten-free?

Marlys said...

Way to go, daughter! I never did any form of running except to chase you kids when you were little! The extent of my exercise is my beloved Wii! And I actually do some running with it, but only for about 3 minutes max which is about all I can muster!

Anonymous said...

congrats to almost hitting your weight loss goal! that's great =)

Anais said...

4 lbs away!!!!!!!!!!! That is so awesome!!!!!!! I'm 8 lbs away from my original goal, but for my new goal... i'm still like 18 lbs away :(