Ugh, moderation! What a bore! I want excitement and adventure, love and travel! I want to live in a movie and be beautiful and rarely have to eat or use the bathroom (anyone else ever notice that in movies?).
When people ask me what I’ve been up to I want to have an answer! I’m tired of saying, “eh, not much.”
Oh, shoot, I forgot the laws of physics. What did Newton say? For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction? Does that apply to life, too?
Yup. Well, at the very least to the effects on your body.
No, I’m not saying having an amazing day means you must have a terrible day to balance it out in the universe. Or that if you have a terrible day the universe owes you a fantastic one.
I am saying for all of the highs we experience in life that stick out in our memories, there were thousands of little moments that make up the whole. When we think the whole of our existence is supposed to be made out of those big things, we burn ourselves out.
If you want adventure then go out and get you some adventure. Please also make sure you eat things your body likes, get enough sleep, take it easy on the intake of toxins (cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, you know the stuff), and stay hydrated.
4 Realms of Balance
There’s a pretty easy list of things to keep moderate in your life so you don’t go too far in one direction or the other. Keep these things in line and you’ll have the resources to do all wild the wild exciting stuff you’re looking forward to in life.
Food
Remember the food pyramid from school? (Do they still teach that?). Harvard School of Nutrition has this to say:
“Consumers can think of the Healthy Eating Pyramid as a grocery list: Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy oils, and healthy proteins like nuts, beans, fish, and chicken should make it into the shopping cart every week, along with a little yogurt or other dairy foods if desired.”
Much to my chagrin, I don’t think Taco Bell fits into this description.
Look, I know you’re going to have a giant piece of chocolate cake or whatever your yummy go-to is now and then. Please do! Enjoy! Do not deny yourself or else you’ll go out of balance the other way.
Slow down, take a deep breath and ask yourself the purpose of the eating choice you’re about to make. Be honest and you’ll catch yourself a few times, then decide to have the apple instead of the cake.
Sleep
According to The Sleep Foundation “Healthy sleep patterns improve learning, memory, creativity and mood. Healthy sleep also strengthens the immune system and makes it easier to maintain a healthy diet.”
Great, we’re all in agreement sleep is a good thing. But what is healthy sleep? The clinical description is too complex of a math equation for me to get into. Let’s just say it involves sleeping long enough for your body to go through three stages of sleep multiple times.
I do not care if you are a morning person or a night owl. You need to get enough sleep for your body. If you feel at your peak of clarity and energy when you consistently get 6 hours of sleep keep doing that. If getting 6 hours of sleep multiple nights in a row leaves you feeling like a zombie, you’re going to have to make a change.
If you do best with 8 hours of sleep and you regularly go to bed at 2am, knowing you will have to get up at 6am, you lost the right to complain about your exhaustion. Sorry, rules are rules.
Take control. Make a commitment to yourself. Go to sleep when you need to so you can get the right number of hours for your body and get up when you need to.
And stop thinking there’s any such thing as catching up. Those lost nights of sleep are already gone, the damage is done.
Exercise
“The evidence is clear—physical activity can make you feel better, function better, and sleep better. Even one session of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity reduces anxiety, and even short bouts of physical activity are beneficial. Being physically active also fosters normal growth and development, improves overall health, can reduce the risk of various chronic diseases.”
That’s the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) with whom we’ve all become very familiar this past year.
And here’s the American Heart Association:
“Get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity…preferably spread throughout the week. Add moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity…at least 2 days per week.”
And here’s what I say:
Get your ass moving. I do not care how. I don’t care if you sit right where you are and literally wiggle your ass for the next 20 minutes. It’ll be a great core workout.
You know what movement is. Some is more than none. Do what you enjoy so you’ll actually keep doing it. Mix it up if you need to. Get creative when the weather changes. Stop with the excuses.
You see, I’m the person who lived across the street from The University of Michigan Rec Center for 2 whole years without stepping foot inside. I am perfectly capable of being all about the excuses myself. And, I like this body that gets movement in, on purpose, multiple days a week more at 46 than the one I had at 20 in college. I want you to get to feel that, too.
Okay, commence ass wiggling.
Drugs and Alcohol
I’m not going to give you stats or quotations here. I’ll keep it simple:
We all know drugs and alcohol are toxins. If logic were the only thing that we required to moderate something or stop using something no one would ever pick up a cigarette.
If you are capable of moderation with alcohol please use it. If you aren’t capable of moderation with alcohol please don’t drink and/or talk to someone to figure out what’s going on.
Drugs? Again, if logic were all we needed drugs like cocaine, crack, heroine, etc., wouldn’t even be an issue. I’m not getting into a debate about those or any others.
This is an article about moderation. Figure it out. Love your body. Take care of it. If there are choices you are making that aren’t, please find a way to create change. You are too precious not to take care of.
Are You Still with Me?
See, it’s so simple!
No, seriously, I know it doesn’t feel simple when you apply all of your feelings. Try to use logic as often as you can. Make intentional choices that are meant to create moderation and balance for your body.
In fact, I want you to write down those 3 words: Intentional, Moderation, Balance. Put them somewhere you will see them every day. Decide how to use them.
I’m here for coaching to find balance. When you need a nice, non-judgmental place to go to address your imbalances, I’ll be here to coach you through it all.
kate