Are you doing the
things that allow your body to run its best?
Are your actions in
the moment that over time create your habits leading to the healthy,
VIBRANT body you want? Yes or no. They either are, or they aren’t.
I take this extreme,
either/or position regarding health to make a point about individual
decisions in each moment. The truth is, whether we like it or not, each
decision in each moment influences health. Whether I wake up and drink a
full glass of water with lemon to start the day or not; whether I
periodically take breaks to look away from my computer, sit up straight
and take a few deep breaths to let the “chi” energy radiate or not;
whether I take the dog for a walk at the end of the day rather than sit
on the couch to transition from work. The condition of my health is the
sum of these individual choices made throughout the day.
Seeing Where You Stand
A physical exam is
simple way to see whether you’re creating the VIBRANT body you want;
blood test results combined with blood pressure, weight, and pulse
measures provide a reflection of where you stand.
These measures allow
you to see where you sit on the continuum from VIBRANT body to
unhealthy body. Decisions being made either lead to a condition of health
or not.
I take this extreme
perspective for a reason. It causes me to be mindful in the moment and
ask, “Will what I’m about to do either help or harm my health?” It’s the
question I ask before I put anything into my mouth, when I consider
whether to take the dog for a walk, or when I think about my morning
routine before going to sleep the night before.
The Catalyst for A VIBRANT Body Philosophy
My VIBRANT body
philosophy has been learned over the past eighteen years while trying to
live the best possible life with a chronic auto-immune disease (MS)—an
illness that wants to stop me in my tracks and nearly did. I’m still
walking and am working with a trainer to run again. I figured something
out.
Ten years ago, I
learned that taking greater responsibility for my health was the most
important factor that determined the condition of my health. Before I
took greater responsibility, I didn’t believe I could influence my
health. I believed the state of my health was a big ambiguous unknown,
and my decisions in the moment didn’t matter because I was gradually
moving toward paralysis regardless of what I did. That’s what it meant to
live with MS and that was my fate. I figured I might as well just do what
I want, eat the things that tasted the best, not sweet the details and accept
the inevitable.
The problem with
that mindset is that it led to decisions that didn’t support my health. I
allowed fear of the unknown to guide my decision making in the moment. I
believed my health was fundamentally broken so my individual choices didn’t
matter. Before I took greater responsibility my body was spiraling toward
paralysis.
The 6 Lifestyle Keys that Nurture a VIBRANT body
Since taking greater
responsibility for my health, I have learned that there are six Lifestyle
keys that guide my decision making in the moment. They are as follows.
Sunshine
Water
Rest
Air
Exercise
Diet
I could give my take
on why each of these are critical, but this blog post already does it and
gives insight into the origin of the philosophy. These are from the
memoir of Wayne Fields titled What
the River Knows.
In addition to
minding the 6 Lifestyle Keys, I mind Jordan Rubin’s three I’s (Infection,
Inflammation and insulin.) Here’s more detail on this philosophy.
Results of My Latest Physical
Does this philosophy
work? Two weeks ago I had a physical. It had been four years since I had
one, and I was curious to know whether my VIBRANT body philosophy led to
the result I wanted.
My
total cholesterol was 149. My LDL was 81 and HDL was 58 and the ratio
was 2.57.
My
blood pressure was 108 over 70 and my resting pulse was 70.
All
the other 60 tests that measure the composition of my blood and are
a reflection of how my body is running were at the low end of normal
with the exception of Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D. My Vitamin B12 was
low and my D was high. The low B12 measure is the result of my vegan
diet and the fact that I stopped taking a supplement six months ago.
My high Vitamin D measure is the result of taking a high dose of
Vitamin D3 because Vitamin D is essential to nerve growth and
function which is compromised living with MS. I am going to take B12
again and reduce my Vitamin D to bring these two measures back with
in more normal ranges.
Yes, I have MS, so
there is a rouge process running in my body that impacts my nervous
system. It leads to muscle spasms, fatigue, and decreased muscle function
throughout my left leg, but that doesn’t mean that the question of my
health is out of my control.
Is your
body as VIBRANT as you want? Let me know if you want to discuss where you
stand and how to improve things.
