Our health is a very personal matter that we often don’t take into our own hands or if we do, we have NO idea what to do with it. We overcomplicate it and listen to cues from everywhere but where we should. We end up tricking our bodies instead of treating them and in my opinion end up sabotaging our own health. Let’s take matters into our own hands and stop this sabotage and start treating our bodies with respect! If there are certain medications out there that are needed to help keep bodies ticking over and doing the best they can, then that needs to be made available to people. There are websites such as https://www.blinkhealth.com/cialis that can be accessed for certain meds from sexual health to physical health, it all adds up and can provide that much-needed support.
Happy Halloween!
Whether you’re one to celebrate or not you have to admit it’s fun to watch the mania go down in real life and/or in person. I mean some people (read: kids & puppies) are super adorable while others are funny, some scary, and the rest downright crazy/weird/embarrassing. I mean I once saw a guy in a light switch costume do the walk of shame as I was on my way to swim practice in the AM, you do you, man.
I applaud you no matter what because we are embarking into #NoShameNovember (more on that tomorrow.) It’s okay to be yourself and to do your own thing, what’s not okay is sabotaging yourself at the risk of hurting your health and well-being. So for today, we’re going to focus on how we may be sabotaging our own health, trick or treat style.
Yes, I said it, we sabotage our own health and it’s about time we recognize it and stop it in its tracks. I’m not pointing any fingers at you but I want you to be aware that we do in fact set ourselves up for failure in so many ways without realizing it (aka self-sabotage).
Sabotaging our Health
While I may have been thinking this for a while it wasn’t until I was on multiple podcasts where I realized it was a common theme that I was focusing on. I’m once again not trying to point fingers but oh man do we make our health complicated and let others dictate our well-being when really, we need to simplify and get comfortable in our own skin.
How do we sabotage our health you’re wondering?! Easy, we constantly jump from one thing to the next without ever sticking to our plans. We also try and blame the plan when the plan isn’t working. Here’s the thing, the plan may not SEEM like it’s working at the time, but with consistency and the right help, plans will work just so long as you do. We are too quick to jump from one Instagram post to the next without looking at ourselves in the mirror and recognizing what is and what isn’t working for us.
It doesn’t matter what the before and after photos are showing online. THEY’RE NOT YOU. If they are you, good on ya! If they’re not, stop looking at them because they are most likely sabotaging your progress. The only way you will have your before and after picture is by listening to your body and putting in the work. At the same time, we may also need a new picture in our heads of what healthy is for us. Sorry, but sometimes that last 5-10lbs is not ACTUALLY what you need to be healthy, it’s what you THINK you need to be happy, and the truth is you get to decide today if you are happy or not, end of story.
How We Trick aka Sabotage Ourselves
Ok, so without further ado, here are some mays that we are “Tricking” ourselves and self-sabotaging our own health.
- Listening to others & ignoring ourselves. We want so badly for someone to give us the magic pill to health and success that sometimes if we just listened to our bodies, we’d find success. (Help of a professional is definitely still encouraged)
- Bringing certain food into the home. We know that ice cream spirals us out of control and yet we still bring it into the home. You don’t have to stop eating ice cream but stop sabotaging yourself and bringing that 2-for-1 1/2 gallon ice cream special home with you.
- Falling into a Negative Comparison Trap. Following people on social media or in real life who make you feel BAD about yourself or LESS of an awesome human being is SO not worth it. Unfollow them or spend time away from them. After all, you are the 5 people you spend the most time with, make them awesome and people who build you up not tear you down.
- If it works for them, it will work for me. I wrote a whole post on this but by falling into this trick/trap that because this person got a 6 pack by avoiding dairy that it will work for you is absurd, listen to your body and work with a qualified professional.
- Eating on the go. We spend so much time on the go and forget that eating should be enjoyable. I double dog dare you to SIT while eating, to put your fork down between bites and to CHEW YOUR FOOD.
- Negative self-talk. We love to put ourselves down and that needs to stop. This negative self-talk is not good for our health and definitely not good for our stress levels, cortisol, and/or waistlines.
How we Can Treat aka Stop Sabotaging Ourselves
Alright, so now that we know some of the ways we are tricking aka sabotaging ourselves?! How can we stop and instead treat ourselves?!
- Listen to your body. You are your best advocate, so listen to your body and figure out what works for you. Need a rest day? Great, take it. Don’t feel good eating dairy? Okay cool, don’t eat it. If you struggle with this hire a professional.
- Know your triggers. Know when something doesn’t serve you. Let’s go back to the ice cream, maybe bringing the ice cream into the house throws you into a spiral of ice cream eating to no avail. Ok, instead of bringing it into the house, go out to get ice cream with friends and family, you can have your cake (ice cream) and eat it too without feeling bad or sick.
- Unfollow, unfollow, unfollow! Stop following people that make you feel bad about yourself, end of story. Do it now.
- Hire a professional. It will be worth your while.
- Sit down and chew your food. Slow down and enjoy your food, no need to rush it.
- Positive self-talk DAILY. Let’s start saying something good about and to ourselves daily, okay?!
[…] said. I’m happy if you’re happy. However, what I’m not happy about is when we self-sabotage ourselves around holidays. We go into holiday parties thinking we are under control. Then our aunt […]