Holiday Madness!!!

The Holidays are coming!

Fall is here!  I don’t know about you, but once October gets here, the days and weeks fly by and the holidays are here.  Which means that pretty soon, we’re going to start seeing holiday health advice.  Most of it centered on what not to do or doing things we don’t want to think about doing during the holidays.  Things like watching what we eat.  Ugh--no mac & cheese, no sweet potato pie, no cake, and preparing healthier versions of our favorite dishes.  Things like working out.  Who has time to work out when there are parties and events to attend? On top of the extra hours you work to make extra money for holidays, finish projects, or meet your year-end objectives. 

The holiday season is the time to relax and enjoy life, not the time to restrict or stress yourself out—at least that’s how I see it.  So my advice is to start now.  Start adopting healthy habits now and when the holidays get here, you’ll be less likely to abandon them completely.  You’ll be able to relax and enjoy the holidays without guilt.  And if you start practicing healthy habits now, a funny thing is going to happen.  You will naturally change how you enjoy the holidays without giving it a second thought.  You’ll find that eating less and maintaining your exercise schedule or level of activity will not be as much of a challenge.  By the way, when it comes to eating less it might feel weird at first and you might even force yourself to overeat because it’s what you’re used to doing.  I know because that’s what I did!  But after a while, that feeling will pass and you’ll sail through the holiday season with ease. 

That’s my advice to holiday health--start now! When the holiday season arrives, you’ll keep doing what you’re used to doing.  And hopefully, you’ll enjoy those new healthy habits because it’s so much easier to do what you enjoy versus imposing restrictions on yourself because it’s what you think you should do.  

Shirley

What are you Thankful for???

November is the time of year when we are supposed to take a moment to be thankful for what we have.  Don't you think it is kind of funny that this implies that we only take time to give thanks in November during the holiday.  

Lately it seems that everyday at work is very stressful. My every thought is centered around when can I retire. You know how it is. On Monday you start thinking about the weekend and then on Sunday you start dreading the new week. We complain that we don't have enough money for all the things we want. It seems that everything is a hassle, from bad traffic to high prices. So we just complain and complain. Somewhere in all of life's craziness we have forgotten to be thankful for what we have. 

Maybe we should be thankful for having that job that makes us crazy and looking forward to retirement. Thankful for the car that requires that high priced gas. Thankful for our home, family and friends. Maybe we should take a moment to remember what being thankful means.

As hard as your life seems, there is always someone who's life is worse. So take a moment to be thankful for the things we take for granted everyday.

Shirley 

Embrace the Day!

Sometimes we need to think of ourselves first. What is it that you need to do to get to your happy place? As women we tend to focus on everyone else's needs and just let our own fall by the side. We need to learn that it's ok to not only think about what you want but to actively pursue what you want. Now is the time to finally take what you need.

I was divorced when my kids were very young.  So, they became my first priority. In everything I did, they were always first and foremost in my mind.  Now that my girls are adults I can look back and see that I planned very little me time.  My life has been truly blessed.  My daughters have grown into beautiful confident women, we are friends and do things together. I have also learned to do things just for me. Whether that is a manicure, pedicure or taking trips with friends.  I realized now that I did not have to wait for my kids to grow up, I could have been enjoying me time all along.

So remember take what you need now and be a happier healthier you. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us so make plans to enjoy your life's journey.

Shirley

WHAT HAPPENED, I AM LOSING MY HAIR!!!

Some twenty five years ago I decided to wear my hair in it's natural state. No more relaxers or any kind of chemicals. So after years of "Jerri curls & relaxers" I was free.  Now we know as we get older they tell us certain things are just going to happen because we're getting older. For example: at forty your eye sight changes. All of a sudden your eye doctor is mentioning "bifocals ".  Extra weight seems to have a permanent place on your hips no matter what you do to lose it. So I thought, " at least I will have my hair." Well after wearing extensions for several years, I noticed my hair was thinning at the top of my head. I thought it was the braids, so I stop wearing them.  However the area just seemed to get bigger and wearing wigs seemed to make it worst. I just figured it was another sign of getting older and I prepared myself for the bald look.

About a year ago my daughter attended a presentation by a dermatologist and said I see her. Of course I didn't because I figured what could she do for me. Basically I had given up. Fortunately for me my daughter signed me up for a consultation visit. Well it seems that it wasn't old age taking my hair but Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia (CCCA). CCCA is a hair disorder that leads to the destruction of hair follicles, scarring and permanent hair loss (alopecia). This condition is seen most frequently in African-American women. It can progress very slowly with gradual hair loss with no symptoms or rapidly with tingling, burning, pain or itching of the scalp.  So it turns out that this it treatable if you catch it in time. So now,  a year later , my hair is growing back.  It's still a little thin on top but there's enough that I can put off shaving my head for a while and wearing wigs all the time. 

What I have learned is that sometimes we have to go back to the beginning and start over.  My advice from this experience is that if your hair is thinning at the top or sides go see a dermatologist. Your hair dresser, wigs or meaningful friends will not be able to help. Be proactive and you may end up keeping all your hair well into old age.  Don't be like me and wake up one day confused thinking "WHAT HAPPENED, I AM LOSING MY HAIR!!!

Shirley 

Stop the Madness!!

We live in a society that has become obsessed with weight loss.  There is a pill, drink or exercise that will let you achieve your goals in the blink of an eye. No one wants to wait, we want it now. What society has failed to let you know is that being thin does not necessarily mean being healthy. We need to take a step back from all the magic solutions and look at what you personally want your life to be. 

I know I want to be around a long time to enjoy family and friends.  I want to be able to travel and not be limited because of health issues.  Sometimes a quick fix can cause more damage to your body than the weight you are trying to lose. You can become stressed because you met the quick goal but did not substain it. Now the cycle starts all over again. 

So I say "Stop the madness". Find something that works for you. Make you own plan and stick to it. Focus on one day at a time and before you now it months have gone by and you are that closer to achieving your goal.

Shirley 

What's Next???

Sometimes taking the next step is the hardest thing to do. What is the next step in our ongoing quest for good health?  We start with the weight loss, then the gym membership, and finally we have reached our goal.  We settle into the new routine, but we also have a safety net. In our closet are clothes of every size.  Just in case we stumble, we are good to go. If we fall off eating right or stop the gym membership we will still look good in what we wear.

Well, the next step is cleaning out that closet.  Getting rid off all the clothes that no longer fit or look good on you.  When you think about it, why would you need clothes in every size?  How much of a challenge would it be to just have clothes in the size that you want to maintain? Would it mean that you believe in yourself? That you believe in the changes you have made in your life. 

I say think positive, believe in yourself and clean out that closet.  Take the next step.

Shirley

It's all about Me!!

Do you ever think, "who loves me?" I think we spend a great deal of time worrying about what others think of us. We go so far as to order our lives around what others think we should be or do. The clothes we wear, our hair style, what we eat is somehow influenced by what someone else thinks.

Well, what do you think??? How do you feel about you? Are you on a quest to lose weight because of how someone thinks you should look?  There is a saying that goes something like "charity starts at home". So I am saying start with how you feel about you.  Do you love you?  So what if you are over weight, so what if you have short hair and not long, so what if you are short and not tall. What matters is that when you look in the mirror you love the person you see. 

Once you acknowledge how you feel about yourself, everything else will fall into place. Remember it is not about what others think, but how you feel about you. When you look in the mirror your first thought should be "It's all about me".

Shirley