What I ENVISION For Myself in 2022
I am back HOME after a few weeks spent on Nantucket with my family for the holidays and it was a beautiful, happy, healthy, healing, and learning trip. The island has its magical powers over me and it was everything that I needed to close out 2022.
I have never liked setting GOALS for the New Year as I feel that it always puts pressure on me to get them done and if they don’t get done there is always a little bit of disappointment. PLUS, I always feel that as the year progresses, we are constantly changing. It is not just our bodies, but our jobs, relationships, physical and nutritional needs, and even travel plans. What works for me as always is just keeping it simple, achievable, and “things” that I can change with as the year progresses. Does that make sense?
POSITIVE ENERGY
It is way too easy these days to be sucked into a negative mindset and TRUST ME I am guilty of it and had been for a good portion of 2021. Being negative day in and day out is toxic. And I think in today’s society it is taking over our lives. There was one day I was on the treadmill at the gym in Nantucket and all three TVs for 45 minutes straight were talking about COVID, the price of food skyrocketing, crime, and it just went on and on. I was not only disgusted, but literally becoming depressed just watching it and I wasn’t even listening. The news and even social media can do a lot of harm to our brains if we let it.
For me, I snapped out of it once I had my surgery. I feel like I was given a second chance and I KNEW after it was time to change the narrative and PIVOT. After being negative and cranky for a decent amount of time, it was hard to PIVOT, but I was ready and I knew that I had to do it for the sake of my health, overall well-being, and relationships. Being happy, more positive on a daily basis, more loving, more social, more OPEN is the way to live! And when you start to do this, so many amazing things happen internally and externally. I felt that shift and it was a powerful one. It feels FREAKING AMAZING!
Do I have moments of being cranky and negative? You bet your ass I do…ummm hello PMS! But since I am on social media and my computer a good portion of the day it is easy to get sucked in REAL FAST. I noticed that while on Nantucket when this would happen, I would disconnect no matter what and just WALK. I bundled up and no matter what the weather I would just walk and walk and walk. It was healing and became my “happy therapy”. Can you imagine if more people did this on a regular basis? Nature heals…Fresh air heals…MOVEMENT heals. We just need to keep it simple, disconnect, move our bodies, and soak up nature. It’s the best cure for everything and anything.
Positive Patty is here to stay, but don’t worry, I will be real with y’all when it isn’t, because I’m not perfect…I have my moments…And sometimes we need to just be a bitch.
SMART MOVEMENT
Back to BASICS and it feels so GOOD! I needed that surgery to slow me down. It was probably one of the BEST blessings in disguise. I have a whole new appreciation for movement and fitness and I realize now that I just have to do what works for me. I have to REALLY listen to my body. I have to REALLY not get sucked into GOING GOING GOING! My body was so happy for this and it was also exciting though as I eased back into doing all the things.
I walked…
I then started to spin…
I then started to yoga…
I then started to run…
I then started to lift…
It was baby steps, but I have to say that being able to start moving again on Nantucket with just walking again was a blessing and the best way for me to heal. And being able to walk daily over Christmas was also healing and a blessing. Yes, I am going to still have moments when I want to GO GO GO, but I really want to do movements that are going to keep me healthy, strong, flexible, and help with my daily activities…like being the best plumber’s assistant EVER!
HEALTHY GUT
This will ALWAYS been on my list, because when I don’t have a healthy gut it messes everything up. It is amazing to me for how LONG I was functioning with a unhealthy gut during my ED. The constipation, the limited amount of nutrients, the over-exercising. Some days I really don’t know how I was functioning. But once I took my POWER and my HEALTH back, it all came together.
And I will ALWAYS swear by probiotics being one of the first things to help me get to where I am today with a healthy body! I have been now taking them for two years every single day. I take them wherever I go and I swear by them 100%. As y’all know, I LOVE Ameo Life probiotics and all of their products! (PS - Shameless plug…don’t forget to use katieuhran25 to get 25% off your order)!
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Longest Survivability Rate
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Probiotics have been shown to support a healthy immune system.
Supports normal digestion of your food, and in some cases, the probiotic bacteria themselves actually produce vitamins & neurotransmitters.
The use of probiotics may help to provide support for a healthy urinary tract in women.
Probiotics have been shown to positively support the skin.
Supports normal digestion of your food, which can promote a healthy weight.
The use of probiotics can help with cognitive function and support a positive mood.
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FINDING JOY IN FOOD “AGAIN”
Being on Nantucket was a great way to start this for me as I roll into 2022. My healing journey with my ED is not linear. It flares up, tries to show itself, tries to make me miserable, but each time that it does, I become stronger with learning to cope with it and handle it. (PS - My friends are my ROCKS when it comes to supporting. Y’all know who you are and I appreciate being able to lean on you.) I had a few times while on the island that this happened. These moments are hard, frustrating, exhausting, and literally can become an energy vampire. For me, the ED always flares up when I feel like I can’t control the things around me. Food is ALWAYS the one thing that I can control, so it is easy to kind of go down that dark hole.
But being with my Mom, for almost three weeks really allowed me to focus on the REAL things and it helped me put the ED at a distance and just enjoy life! I didn’t have ANY protein bars. I made ZIP ZERO protein shakes. I STOPPED drinking almond milk and just drank skim milk. (I had ZERO bloating the entire trip). Some days I ate peanut butter…some days I ate delicious crunchy salads…some days I ate cake…and some days we ordered take-out..and some days dinner just looked like cheese platters and copious amounts of wine. I just listened to my body and my body felt amazing. It welcomed the change and the variety of foods. It really helped to be around my Mom on a regular basis, because she doesn’t think about this stuff. She just eats. And at 75 she is in good health, slender, and enjoying it all. I can’t believe how many sweets she eats and I love it!
For 2022, I don’t necessarily like the words “intuitive eating” and “food freedom”. They are controversial these days and can be extreme just like everything else in the health and fitness world, so for me, it is just about finding JOY again in food. Being flexible with eating out more, which also will help me be more social and connect with people instead of being a hermit staring at my computer all day long. Enjoying sweets on a weekly basis, or just when I want them…For so many years, I stopped eating sweets, because of my ED, and I forgot how to enjoy them. When I was on Nantucket, it was so nice to have cake, cookies, and scones when I WANTED to and not because I NEEDED to. And for the first time in a while, I enjoyed them tremendously without all the guilt. EAT THE DAMN CAKE and move on!
I am still not fully healed. I still have moments. I still can restrict, but I am in no way in HELL where I used to be and that is what matters. I have made tremendous strides in the right direction to just live life, eat the damn good food, and be surrounded by people who are always there for me to love and support me no matter what.
Tell me ONE thing that you envision in 2022 for YOU!
xoxo
