Good Intentions for Our Wellness

Each day starts out with good intentions when it comes to our health. We promise ourselves and say, “I’m going to watch what I eat today, run three miles and drink eight glasses of water”. So many good intentions but guess what, we stumble and fall by not bypassing that donut with the strawberry whipped cream topping that kept calling our name. We ate it. All of it and it was good. Maybe tomorrow will be the day.

Our greatest fear is that one day we will wake up and find ourselves grossly overweight with high blood pressure along with becoming a diabetic and yet with all the machinery of exercise equipment hidden away and out of sight in a middle bedroom just waiting to be touched and used. We keep promising ourselves to start the regimen and make it a lifestyle to be done daily. We plan a time and day that we are to start but something gets in the way, and we forfeit even setting a schedule. We finally go to the doctor for an annual physical because now we start to worry that something might be wrong because we don’t feel so good. The doctor tells us the same thing he said before. Plan better meals with plenty of vegetables and fruits. Drink plenty of water and get some exercise. All these things we have heard from our doctor already. Yes, we start again, begin to lose a little weight and even start to feel better and then guess what…..instead of staying on track because someone told you that you look real good and that you don’t need to try so hard, you think that it is a roadway for you to start doing what you were doing before which was slowly crawling to your death……The cycle tries to start again but there is a part of you that knows you need to continue on the road to good eating habits and good workouts daily.

Your friend, Jessie, sees you and remarks how good you look. You have a big smile on your face, and you are glad that you started exercising. You share with her how you started exercising and how good you are feeling these days. You are so glad that you started and now an incentive to continue has come your way to help you stay on track. Someone noticed and this gave you a great feeling. However, one must be committed to being healthy and stable because they know and understand the importance of good eating habits and exercise.

Good eating habits and exercise are not that easy to make your lifestyle when you have been eating and doing things your own way for quite a while. But it can be done when you have a made-up mind that you want to feel better, sleep better and look good in your clothes.

I met a friend at the gym, and we became exercise partners which helped us become accountable to one another. It was good because I needed someone to remind me of the commitment, I made to myself and that was to not only become healthy but stay healthy. We helped each other by not condemning one another when we failed at something but becoming a source of good in reminding each other of the importance of good health and good eating habits along with exercise. I am so glad I found a way with a friend.

I started walking three miles a day and it felt so good to deviate from my usual way of getting some exercise. Being outside and enjoying the nice weather made such a difference in my attitude. I loved the outside wind that was blowing through my hair and just felt so refreshed. You see, I am such a person of habit and just did my workouts in the gym, but I am getting so well-rounded now that I love my new me.

There are times when we do have serious setbacks, but we can’t allow those setbacks to keep us from getting back on track. A family member dies, a child becomes addicted to drugs, our spouses decide they want a new partner and yes even our mind can tell us that we can stop for a while and before we know it we have stopped completely. Prayer is so vital to our everyday lives. It helps us to believe in a power that is bigger than us. It helps us to get back on track and realize that we do have help in times of need