Unhealthy Is Hard

August 25, 2014 / ktbuchs87

About a month ago, I wrote about how it was hard to be healthy. It takes a lot of willpower, motivation, and just plain old work sometimes to be healthier. This post is about the being unhealthy and how it can be just as hard to be unhealthy as it is to be healthy. Stick with me on this one, I promise it will be alright in the end!

The first thought that might cross your mind when you read that unhealthy is hard is, “Yeah, right”. When you glance at the surface of being unhealthy, it looks pretty easy. You eat whatever you want without caring about the effect it will have on your body. You don’t exercise and spend your free time sitting on the couch or computer. You don’t have to sit there and plan our meals and do prep work so you can eat well the whole week. In fact, it seems really nice and carefree to be unhealthy. But like I said, that is just the surface. When you really look at an unhealthy life, you see the challenges and the struggles.

For me, one of the hardest things about being unhealthy was my confidence and self image. I had zero confidence and my self image was fairly low. My goal in life was to blend in and in a large crowd, I was good at that. Sure, with my friends and family I was outgoing and personable, but put me in a room with a bunch of people I don’t know and I tend to blend right into the woodwork. I knew that I was overweight and didn’t look good and wasn’t eating healthy. Because of that, I also thought that everyone else thought the exact same thing about me. I figured that they took one look at me and knew how unhealthy I was and judged me as a lazy person. I realize now that probably wasn’t true, but at the time that is how I felt. Due to my natural inclination to fade into the background of most situations, it was really hard for me to finally break out of my shell and take steps to be healthier. Working out in front of other people terrified me because of course they were all watching me sweat and struggle. Making healthier food choices was worrisome because they might take notice that I was eating better and then start talking to me about it and I would have no idea what to say. These may sound like silly struggles to you, but for some of us this is really difficult. It seems easier to just stay in our shell and live with being unhealthy than try to take on the monumental task of taking steps to be healthier.

Which leads to another challenge of being unhealthy, the whole aspect of, well, being unhealthy. It is hard to deal with all the consequences of unhealthy choices. There are the medical consequences, things like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and a myriad of other ailments. There are the physical consequences, such as not fitting into clothes, aching joints, and weak muscles. There are the mental consequences, being made fun of or put down because of your weight, not feeling or looking like you want to, and being judged by others around you. Those are a lot of struggles for one person to take on and some people have been doing it for years. That is a lot of stress.

Why don’t they just change? If you’re unhealthy, just do something about it. Sure, it might be hard to live with all of those challenges, but it’s within their power to turn their lives around. To a degree, yes. Many of us do have the capacity to “fix” all these problems ourselves and start being healthier. But it takes a lot to get to that point. No amount of other people telling you to get healthy can actually make you get healthy until you reach the point where YOU yourself want to get healthy. The other side is that sometimes when you’re on the outside looking in, you can be made to feel like you don’t belong. How many times have you seen someone who is clearly struggling at the gym? You’re running along at your solid pace and the person next to you is sweating to maintain a brisk walk. You’re flying through your reps while the guy on the next machine can barely do one. I’m not saying that healthy people shouldn’t work out in public, but they need to remember that they started at the bottom too. Don’t forget what it was like your first time working out and show a little compassion to others who are just starting.

The same goes for eating. You didn’t just instantly start eating kale salads with homemade dressing one day, you built yourself up to that point. Slowly making changes and evolving the way you eat. Don’t judge the person eating a huge cheeseburger with the tiny side salad. That might be the first time they decided to get a salad instead of fries and that is a big deal to them.

Life is hard, whether you live it in a healthy or unhealthy way. There are challenges that each lifestyle has to face and neither one should feel diminished because of those challenges. It takes courage to stand up and decide to change your habits and start being healthier. It takes strength and motivation to keep going on a better path when there are temptations all along the way. I want you to realize that each choice you make, good or bad, is unique in it’s own way. It will present it’s own set of struggles, but you can meet those struggles head on. If you are still on the unhealthy side of the tracks, believe in your potential and don’t be afraid to take that first step. For those of you on the other side of the tracks, you’ve come so far and you can keep going. It may be tough, but you are tougher.

Staying Power

August 18, 2014 / ktbuchs87

There are many steps when it comes to leading a healthier lifestyle. First, you have to actually want to make that choice. No matter how many people tell you that you need to change, if you are not willing to change then nothing will happen. Then you have to figure out how you want to change, what you are going to do, and then actually put it into practice. Along the way there will be a million other little steps and choices that will make up your healthy journey. At many points during this process, it is very likely that you will be met with challenges and possibly even failure. I’ve talked about failure before and it doesn’t have to be your undoing. I’ve also talked about the desire as well as the motivation to change. Today, I want to talk about maintaining your choices for the long haul. What happens once you have done everything else and want to keep living healthy for the long haul?

It’s very common, and helpful, to have goals when you decide to start being healthy. Whether that is to exercise more, eat better, lose weight, or even just relax more, it is good to have something to work towards. Not many people plan for what they’re going to do once they reach that goal. For the longest time, I just wanted to lose weight. That was my ultimate goal. Some days I had a set amount that I wanted to lose, other times I just wanted to lose something. I never really thought about what would happen once I reached that goal, in part because I never seemed to reach that goal. I would lose a little, then gain it back. Start eating better, then quickly fall off the wagon. Get on an exercise schedule for a few weeks, then start making excuses to skip. The whole see saw of good and bad that a lot of people go through when they decide to be healthier. After years of the teeter-tottering back and forth, I finally got my act together and made the commitment, not to just lose weight, but to be healthier and feel good. After a good amount of dedication (and my fair share of sweat and tears), I reached that goal. I felt awesome and proud and… what do I do now?

I had focused for so long on the end prize that I never really thought about what to do after that. I knew that I couldn’t just go back to what I did before, a mistake that many people make. They think that once they get what they want they can just go back to living their “regular” lives. The problem with that logic is that often, their “regular” lives are what got them to unhealthy place that they were. Knowing that I couldn’t go back, I slowly began to realize that my lifestyle was forever, and that scared me. I began to panic and worry that I couldn’t keep this up for the rest of my life. Could I really keep myself healthy for the next month let alone the next 50 years? When you are working towards small goals, it doesn’t seem as daunting. That’s why it’s good to make small and manageable goals. You won’t feel overwhelmed by having to completely overhaul the way you eat if you just work to change a few meals a day. It doesn’t seem as scary to just lose 5 pounds in two weeks compared to losing 100 pounds total. But now that I had reached my goal, I had the seemingly big and scary goal of maintaining this for the rest of my life.

Maybe you have reached that point in your journey. You have managed all the little goals that have added up to your ultimate goal and you’re now faced with the unknown. What do you do now? Take a deep breath and don’t worry. Once I got over my initial panic, I started to think of how I could handle this new challenge. I thought of all that I had accomplished, and realized it was a lot. I could handle a lot of things, challenging things, and come out on top. I had just proven that to myself. I didn’t get healthier overnight, in fact it took a few years to get to a good place. If I could do that, surely I could handle the rest of my life. Building on that confidence, I also realized that I could still set small goals to work towards and not look at this new part of my journey as a huge chunk aka the rest of my life. I could still break it down into small and manageable pieces. My new goals would just look different than my other goals. Try new healthy meals, train for a longer race, buy one new workout DVD a month, there were still plenty of things to work for.

The truth is, if you want to be healthier and feel good, you’re going to have to be in it for the long haul. You can’t just decide to be healthy for a month and then expect to reap the benefits forever, that’s ridiculous. But you don’t have to be intimidated by forever. Continue to set goals for yourself. While the goal might not be to lose weight or start making healthier choices, there are still things for you to accomplish. Be empowered by the fact that you have reached a major goal and use that feeling to keep going. Journeys aren’t short things. They’re long and they’re lasting. Your health is a journey, one that I know you can excel and thrive at. Meet your challenges head on like you have from the beginning and you will do just fine.

Are You Projecting?

August 11, 2014 / ktbuchs87

My husband, Adam, and I went to Indianapolis this weekend to watch the DCI world championships. We’re both big band nerds and watching drum and bugle corps perform is something that we both love to do. We had about a five to six hour trip back home and long road trips are always a great time to talk about any and everything. One of the topics that came up was health, go figure. I tend to eat very differently from the way that most people eat. It can make it a bit tricky to go out with a big group of people, especially for someone like me who doesn’t like a spotlight shone on me.

I tried to explain to Adam why I get a little stressed out when I have to deal with a group outing that involves food. I don’t like to be an inconvenience to others and I always feel like the way I eat is a major inconvenience to the general public. Whenever someone asks, “Where should we eat?” I inwardly cringe. I know that the real question behind that is, “Where can Katie eat?”. As I got to think about this a little more though, is that really the question or is that just how I am perceiving others to feel? Am I projecting my own feelings onto them? The short answer, probably.

Do you find yourself doing this? You feel that how you choose to eat or workout or live your life is a little bit outside the general norm and that in turn puts the people you come into contact with off. It tends to bother me when people demand things be a certain way just to make their life easier. I totally understand that in some cases, people need to demand the way they eat for the sake of their health. Those who have Celiac’s disease HAVE to avoid gluten in every way possible or else there can be major medical complications. They deserve to have their food prepared in a way that is safe to them. Other people though have abused things like Celiac’s or lactose intolerance or other eating issues just as a way to lose a few pounds or because it is the fad of the moment. I am not here to debate whether this is right or not, I just know that I don’t want to contribute to the difficulties some face by having to eat a certain way for medical reasons. Because of my desire to avoid that issue, I realized that I am projecting my own feelings onto those around me without ever really knowing if that is how they truly feel.

When I think about it more, I am pretty positive that most people do not care that I eat differently. They probably do not feel overly burdened with trying to accommodate me. When they ask me what can or will I eat, they genuinely care about my answer and don’t think that I am being demanding or a spoiled brat. That is all in my head. As I told this to Adam on our ride home, his response was to just relax. Try not to worry so much about what other people are thinking. Because I am not a person who demands that things need to be a certain way or else I won’t participate, most people are happy and willing to help me out. I would imagine if you feel this way too, you might be overthinking the situation exactly like I did. Making the choice to be healthier and to eat in the way that makes you feel good and allows you to be happy is something that I fully support. Much to your surprise, your friends and family will feel that way too. As long as you aren’t throwing a temper tantrum if something isn’t exactly the way you need it or demanding that they do it your way or the highway, the people around you will be more than happy to work with you. And if you want some tips on how to help them accommodate you, check out this post.

Don’t project your own feelings and insecurities onto others, because like in my case, you’re probably wrong. Try to relax, enjoy time with your loved ones, and don’t worry about what people think. You will have a much better time, I promise!

How To Travel Healthy

August 6, 2014 / ktbuchs87

Summer is the season of trips. Day trips, road trips, long trips, short trips. We like to travel during these three months out of the year and who could blame us? The weather is great, people have more leisure time, and there are so many fun things to do! There is a downside to all this travel though. People don’t tend to eat their best on their vacations. Between loading up on all the snack foods at gas station stops and the decadent meals out, you might find it hard to stay healthy. It can be frustrating to be doing so well and then all of the sudden feel like you’ve taken five steps backwards after a two week vacation. It doesn’t have to end up like that though, and I thought that I would share some of my traveling tips with you to help you stay on target with eating well.

Plan Ahead. This is my best tip when it comes to traveling healthy. It seems like kind of a no brainer, like you shouldn’t even consider it a tip. But you would be surprised how so many people plan every single detail of their trip and totally forget to plan anything food wise. Not having even a basic eating plan for your vacation can have you grabbing whatever food you can find, more often than not something void of any nutrition. By just taking a few minutes to plan out where you can eat, what you might eat, and snacks here and there, you can save yourself (and your health) a lot of frustration. You don’t have to be super specific, just make a basic plan of where you can get your meals or what food will be available to you.

Pack Snacks. What good is a road trip without any snacks? While I know the typical car fare is candy, chips, and soda, try packing your own healthy snacks. Make your own trail mix, or granola bars, roast some chickpeas, cut up some fruit or vegetables, air pop some popcorn, or make your own tortilla chips. Portion out these snacks so that you have some for the trip there and the trip back. Snacks are also good to bring on day trips to help tide you over between meals. Another bonus, you won’t waste a ton of money at the gas station by loading up on junk food!

Pre-check Restaurants. The internet is a wonderful thing when it comes to trying to eat well while out and about. Most restaurants put their menu online so you can go check it out before you even get there. If you go out to eat while on your vacation, check the menu first and pick what you are going to have before hand. That way when you get there you don’t have to be tempted by any of their less than healthy meals and can order right away. If there doesn’t seem to be anything you feel comfortable eating, try making your own meal out of sides or call the restaurant and see if they would be willing to help accommodate one of their meals to your needs. Many times restaurants are happy to help their patrons, especially if you take care of it in advance. Never be afraid to ask!

Prepare Your Own Meals. If you’re really good at planning ahead and are going on a short trip, you can even make your own meals. Try dishes that will hold up with travel and won’t spoil easily like salads with beans or whole grains. Invest in a cooler and you can load it up with portioned meals for your trip. Or you can check the area where you will be staying and see if there are any extended stay hotels. These hotels generally have a small kitchen area where you can make your own meals. Then when you get there you can find the local grocery store and make your own meals. This is also a good way to save some money because buying and making your own food, even for just a few of your meals on vacation, is cheaper than eating out the whole time.

Pick Up Some Water. This is another tip that seems pretty simple, but make sure you stay hydrated. Travel tends to dehydrate the body, especially if you’re flying, and with all your vacation activities it’s easy to forget to drink some water. Invest in a good water bottle and make sure that you’re drinking and refilling it throughout the day.

In the end, try not to stress out too much about food on your trip. Yes, it is important to try and plan ahead and do what you can to make sure that you’re eating well. But it isn’t the end of the world if a few things slip through the cracks. Do the best that you can with what you have and make sure that instead of stressing over food you’re enjoying your time off! With a little bit of preparation, you can make your next trip both fun and healthy!

Craving Conundrum

August 5, 2014 / ktbuchs87

The word craving can take on a positive or negative meaning. It all depends on your view. Many times it takes on a negative connotation. It’s something that needs to be controlled, fought, and denied every minute of every day. You have to have willpower to deal with cravings and you have to be strong to fight them off when they arise. This is how I used to view cravings.

I have had a complicated relationship with food. I have had many food “demons” to deal with along the way and I have had to have an incredible amount of willpower when it came to changing my eating habits. Because of my past experience with this, cravings were always something that were bad. I felt that a craving was a moment of weakness that had to be fought and avoided at any cost. To cave would mean I was weak and I would beat myself up. It was a vicious cycle of feeling out of control and not feeling strong enough to deny my food urges. Clearly it wasn’t working out for me.

I know many of you might feel that way too. Maybe you have had a rough time with food and you have come to view a craving as a bad thing. While I don’t like to place the blame on too many outside sources, the media does have a part in the way we view cravings. So many fitness and health websites or magazines put out articles with tips and tricks to fight your worst craving. They tell you if you have enough willpower you can fight off the evil craving and stick to your healthy ways. I gobbled those articles up and tried all their tricks like counting to a hundred and waiting for the craving to pass or drinking a glass of water when I got a craving. Sometimes they worked and sometimes they didn’t. Everytime they didn’t I felt like there was something wrong with me. Why could I not control myself? What was wrong with me?

Nothing was wrong with me. I’m human. It isn’t weak to have a craving for ice cream or pizza, that doesn’t somehow make me a failure. Once I realized this, I started to work on changing my idea of craving. I read more scientific articles and journals about cravings rather than relying on the grocery stand magazines. Turns out that researchers are finding that craving certain foods might be your bodies way of telling you that you are deficient in a certain nutrient. Nobody goes around saying, “Man, I’m really craving a big bowl of brussels sprouts!” They do say that they could really go for some chocolate or potato chips or pizza. Well, a craving for chocolate might mean that you are low on magnesium and should eat some nuts. A craving for potato chips could be a sign that you need some calcium and should fill up on dark, leafy greens. Our bodies are amazingly complex and for the most part are able to tell us exactly what they need. Our job is to learn how to listen and interpret those signals properly, then act accordingly. Cravings are one of the bodies signals that it needs something. The problem occurs when we misinterpret that signal and think that because we crave chocolate ice cream we need to eat that chocolate ice cream. In reality, we need to learn what our body is really saying when it craves chocolate ice cream.

You are not less of a person because you crave “bad” things. You are not a failure if you resolve your craving for a cookie by eating a cookie and you are not doomed to be a slave to your cravings forever. Start to look past the initial craving and see what it is that you really need. If you are constantly craving one certain thing, meet with your doctor or other health professional to see if you are nutrient deficient. Then find the healthier alternative to your craving. Once you start learning what you really need and making the right choices, it will be easier to interpret your cravings and get the things that your body really needs. It will be tough at first to not eat the potato chip and do the work to find out what you’re actually craving. But the more and more you do it, the easier it becomes. If you slip up, don’t beat yourself up. Remember you are a human being and no one is expecting you to be perfect. Being healthier is all a learning process, one that lasts a lifetime. It’s ok to make mistakes and fall. How you react and what you do to change after those mistakes says more about you than the actual mistake. Pick yourself back up and get right back to it!