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Health Span Vs Life Span

I recently had one of those aha moments when I read something that perfectly summarized a message that I’d been fumbling around with for years.

HEALTH SPAN vs LIFE SPAN

My dad was saddled with a slew of degenerative diseases; he survived a stroke, a heart attack and suffered from chronic pain.

In pop’s case, his life span was not great, he passed away at 71, but his health span was the real sad part.

The final fifteen years of his life were spent mostly bed-ridden in his home, being cared for by our mom, until he was finally moved to long term care, where he lived for several more years.

I’ve tidied this up into one sentence but the reality of it all was a hot mess.

He was alive… but the quality of his life was pretty dismal.

I got into holistic nutrition and I do all of the stuff because I’ve got my eye on health span.

We never have any guarantees in life but you don’t have to dig very far to get solid proof that putting a little bit of energy into prevention pays big dividends in your health bank

What changes need to happen in order to stack your odds on healthy and thriving versus just surviving?

We can fret all we want about what life has in store for us, but at the end of the day, all we control are our own actions. I say make them count.

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Are You Creating Your Own Eating Frenzy?

I was walking around in our pasture the other day and the wild apple trees are dropping their fruit, the blackberries are juicy and sweet.

Mother Nature has everything set up to create an eating frenzy.

For the critters that need to survive winter and live off of their reserves, this scenario is perfect.

Once that sweet fruit gets gobbled up, it drives up the amount of sugar in the blood.

High blood sugar triggers the release of insulin.

Insulin’s job is to shuttle sugar from the blood into the cells where it can be stored for energy later on.

High blood sugar = high insulin.

A side effect of high insulin is increased cravings.

 

Again, this is great for the deer, racoons and bunnies.

It means that their hunger and cravings will get ramped up so that they’ll feed and feed and build up essential reserves.

Aka, get fat.

Mother Nature is brilliant.

Now, change lanes.

Picture yourself standing in line at a convenience or grocery store. What are you seeing?

Likely, lots and lots of highly processed, sweet treats and transformed, starchy foods that have the same effect on your insulin levels and cravings.

 

If you feel like your body is betraying you because you just can’t lose the weight or because your cravings are running the show. I would like to propose a reframe:

Perhaps it’s because you’re building your plate to look like its fall time all year long?

Are you creating your own eating frenzy? It doesn’t have to be that way.

Kim

P.S. Share this with that person, that you care about, that just popped into your head 💜

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Booze For Stress Relief

A few Fridays ago my guts were tied up in knots. It had been a busy week and I had company landing in for the weekend.

My stomach and chest felt painfully tight. It was similar to how you’d feel before going for a big job interview or before a public speaking gig.

I tried going for a short walk and doing some conscious breathing but nothing seemed to be working.

 

I know these feelings well (as do most people, I suspect) and it always happens when I drop the stress ball.

Since I felt pressed for time, I was really tempted to use booze as my de-stressor (not one of my prouder moments).

Brandy or bourbon both work well at loosening the knot for me, and they work fast!

Don’t get me wrong, I love wine and an occasional glass of brandy after a delicious meal when it’s part of a healthy, social context.

But turning to alcohol to relieve my stress is a slippery slope. Alcoholism doesn’t just run in my family, it gallops.

 

I decided to practice what I preach.

I excused myself, closed the living room door, stuck in my earbuds and sat down with a guided meditation.

It took a full 25 minutes to completely dissolve the knot, but it worked. And I don’t think my guests even noticed I was gone.

My takeaway: don’t let the stress build up to the point where my guts feels like they’re about to split.

I know that when I manage my stress incrementally, in small chunks throughout the day and week, it doesn’t get to the point where I’m desperate for relief.

For me this means:
regular short meditations,
pausing between tasks,
less multi-tasking,
walking, yoga or running,
hanging out in nature,
staying off social median (post and ghost),
getting to bed early,
mindful anything (eating mindfully, brushing my teeth mindfully, showering mindfully, walking mindfully…)
basically, anything that allows me to slow the hamster wheel and be a bit more present.

I never manage all of the things, but remembering to do some of them, helps.

It’s a work in progress.

Here’s the meditation that helped me unwind my guts on that particular Friday.

If you don’t like it, find one that works for you. Here is a great free resource

Where do you feel stress in your body?

If you’re serious about losing weight and your pattern is to turn to food when the tension gets high, learning to manage your stress is going to be foundational.

Share this with someone you love.

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