A doer of all-things mental, but never quite physical. As a lover of carbs and sugar, I wasn’t any better than the person who’d drank himself out of a home. I may not have lost anything tangible at the expense of those two vices, but I sure did lose* what was physical.
Change is a scary concept, and when it relates to our health and well-being, it can become even more intimidating. It feels as though a mountain needs to be climbed without a rope. We see the climb, but we don’t know how to get started.
And in December of 2017, I’d assessed the things about me that needed changing, and it needed to happen from head to toe. I needed to let go of asinine fear, better my skin, work out, and take care of my internal well-being.
While the brain houses our thinking, if you’re not taking care of yourself, you’re asking for nothing but anxiety. You’ll feel like a failure, worry about ageing without grace, and be burdened by guilt knowing that you could be treating yourself better. This was me. I could be treating myself better.
BEFORE THE NEW YEAR
As a full-time author, I didn’t want to look like someone who worked behind a computer all day. I wanted someone to look at me and say, “Wow! She takes care of herself even when no one is looking.” Because that’s the way we need to live in life. It shows that we have basic respect and regard for ourselves.
We’ll feel better about ourselves when we ask things of ourselves that the doctor hasn’t. So, what did I do and how?
Again, it started in December. With an uneven skin tone and a few sudden pimples, I knew I had to get back on my skin grind. At times, I find I easily take it for granted since my skin is low maintenance. However now, I was getting pimples around the time of my cycle, in the prior months as well. Why? I wasn’t a teenager. This pattern was new to me; at 37, I was too old to get used to something unfavorably new. So, I decided to start a few routines that went a long way. The first step included the use of Indian Healing Clay. Implementing that about three times a week really helped.
My skin would instantly look revitalized, fresh with a matted appearance. Then I started to apply lemon to the darker parts of my skin, which was just mainly on the outside of my eyes, almost down to the cheeks. Whenever I would get a pimple, I’d apply a piece of raw potato or garlic to it and it’d help. I jettisoned the potato method, because the raw garlic application was more effective.
Also, I was digesting a liquid probiotic, because we should all know by now, that the intestines need help with the good and bad bacteria.
And because I love to cook, I became obsessed with nailing the best garlic-infused rice. The taste is unbelievable! So, my new herbal obsession began to go into all of my dishes. When I decided to research the benefits of garlic, I knew I was on the right path and decided to digest it directly with water. Typically, the raw digestion of it includes one clove a day, or at least three to four times a week.
That wasn’t enough for me. I’d never been a fan of turmeric, because I never gave it a chance, but when I was fooling around with the recipe of plov, a Russian dish—and I’d advise everyone to look that up and give it a shot—something made me add turmeric to the meal. The aroma was to die for! The taste was just as good. So, it feels like to me, that rice saved my life.
I’d also read up on the benefits of turmeric and found out that it was lauded as the most powerful spice in the world, and garlic was second to it.I researched the benefits of turmeric on the skin and decided to do a honey and turmeric mask. The first time I applied the mask, fear began to creep in like a thief in someone’s back door. How orange would my face be after the mask was removed? I mean, my kitchen counter always needed bleach once after attack of the burnt orange powder.
Instead of leaving it on for the recommended time of 20 minutes, fear won, and my hands worked quickly to rid the sticky paste. Yup. My face was orange, but not hideous. After using my washcloth, I ran through about five cotton balls which turned out to be the color of the sun after the removal. But, did I like the results despite the stubborn substance? Absolutely. As intended, my skin was bright, and pimple blemishes had lost some hyperpigmentation.
AFTER THE NEW YEAR
Wanting to up the ante for the new year, I decided to revisit a low-carb diet, since I had success with it in 2007. It was important for me to start fresh on a new calendar year versus thinking of it as a New Year resolution, which implies it as a one-day special since New Years is marked as only one day.
Therefore, when we label life-changing endeavors as New Year resolutions, I believe that’s when people fail. Because once that new day and adrenaline passes, so does the motivation.After New Years, my best friend from middle school posted a 30-day squat challenge on the second day of January. Thinking I would reject it, something told me to do it, to be more of a ‘yes’ lady this year. Besides, what’s a diet without movement? So, today, like never before, I have a food journal, no experience of pimples in 2018, and muscular legs that took me up four flights of stairs with ease after squatting for just four days!
Yes, in bed today, a careless hand stroked my outer leg and felt a hardness like a rock. Wow. I did that in nineteen days!
Can change be scary? Absolutely. But when we grab it by the horns before it’s thrusted into us like a tornado of destruction, we can help turn it into a walk on the beach.
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