Why is it that we ALL know the answers to our problems, but yet we struggle to live by them. I have noticed that so many individuals WANT the attention of having a syndrome or diagnosis. When someone comes to me about questions with their health, I often find that they want to find something wrong with them. They don't want to hear my answer that they need to exercise and move their body. They don't want to hear my answer that due to the heart disease running in their family, they need to lower their LDL's, take in less sodium, avoid trans fats, etc.
So what about mental disorders? They are real of course, but I promise you, if you exercise, get enough sleep, drink enough water, stay close to the Lord, and eat healthy, your mental capacity to deal with things will change drastically. Have I ever dealth with depression, no, do I understand entirely what people go through with depression no, but I have studied the human body. I have learned about the effects of exercise, and folks, it's a POWERFUL thing! So many people want to jump right into taking medicine to fix their problems..... but a lot of the time medicine has side effects. Of course, in some situations, medication should be used, but before thinking there is no other way, take care of yourself first! Love yourself, and do the basics that you know your body needs!
So why is it soooo hard for us to abide by these basic principles? Why is it that we all know we should exercise and eat healthy, but yet we struggle doing it each day? Some of my excuses have been, "Levi is still asleep, I should just sleep in until he wakes up rather than wake up to exercise." "I don't want to go to sleep, I need time to just relax and play candy crush." Or my personal favorite, "Vegetables don't taste like donuts!" It's incredibly easy for me to come up with an excuse, but for some reason it's so difficult to live this balanced lifestyle sometimes. Believe me, I am the first person to admit I am not the best at exemplifying this balanced life style. I will go through phases where I do really well, and then I will falter. Or I can usually do well in certain areas in my life, but then really struggle in other areas. In the scriptures, we read about the importance of diet, sleep, and staying close to our Heavenly Father. I hope that we can each practice these healthy living styles. Try to tell those lame excuses to get out of your head, and take care of your body. Our bodies are beautiful blessings, and it is our responsibility to take care of them. Something that I know helps motivate me is how much better I feel after. I have so much more energy, and I can deal with my stresses in life. Here are some tips that help me: find a type of exercise that you enjoy. Certain types of exercises are a drag for me. But I LOVE exercise when it's fun. I love to dance, do abs or any type of core work, inner thigh work, Zumba, Pilates, hiking, biking, kickboxing, or playing any type of sport. It really doesn't matter what you do, but it's so important to get up and move! When I have healthy foods in my house, I snack on healthy food throughout the day. I try not to wait until I'm desperate and overly hungry. This helps with my munchies. Set time aside each day for scripture time and quiet time. I like to write in my journal and get my thoughts clear. It helps me to handle my stresses and then I can get back to being a wife and mom. If I wait to read scripture when I'm overly tired at night, I don't get much out of it, but if I set time aside to read during the day, I get a lot more out of it. Scriptures are so uplifting, and I notice a distinct difference in my day. If you have kids, it really makes exercise more difficult sometimes, but if you involve them, it makes it fun! Stay active with your kids, they'll keep ya young! Something that helps me immensely is thinking of my family first! I want my family to be healthy, so I need to set an example to them. What I make for dinner goes in their bellies, so it's important for me to eat healthy. I hope that I can do better, and I hope that someday I can teach exercise and help educate others on taking care of their bodies and staying healthy. I thank my Heavenly Father each day for my healthy body! It is a beautiful gift!
I agree with you in all of this. It isn't always the easiest, or the cheapest way to live, but just the difference in the way you feel when living healthy and doing the things you suggested makes it all worth it. And as a little side note on depression, I've been through ppd. It was one of the hardest things I've ever struggled with in my entire life, but rather than become depressant on an antidepressant for the rest of my life I decided to try to overcome it with healthy habits and lots of prayer. It took weeks of exercise and eating healthy before I started noticing anything positive, but I overcame it and became stronger because of it. I also came to realize how incredible our bodies are when we take care of them; they are capable of more than we know.
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