Wellness
My Wellness, A Work In-Progress.
Holistic View of Exercise, Diet and Thinking.
Genesis.
There is a great deal information on diet, exercise, health and supplements in Illumination’s publications. I find these very useful to fine-tune how I manage my own wellness.
Started thinking, how exactly do I manage my own wellness? If I don’t eat enough food, I get light-headed and my concentration span goes down. Eat too much, put on weight and my knees ache. Don’t do my exercise and muscles slowly loose tone, increasing my insulin resistance. Everything interacts, sending confusing signals to my head! Somewhere there’s got to be a balance.
Wake-Up Call.
Diagnosed in 1998, Type 2 Diabetes, Did Doctor rounds, Tick box tests, Specialist consultations, Big word mumbles, Indecipherable prescriptions, Clearly stated bills.
Father died hard way, Diabetes complications, Considered alternatives, None really, Decision made, Self-manage wellness.
Body Baseline, The First Step.
Decided to treat my poor ol’ bod as an engineering problem, no plumbing jokes please. My first step was baselining, that is, establishing a starting point for comparisons in terms that I could understand as I experimented with diet and exercise.
The Baseline was a compromise. I monitored blood pressure to get some idea of stress and body/age condition. I tracked blood glucose for diabetes knowing the desirable ranges to avoid organ degeneration. My diabetes stemmed more from my body not taking up the insulin I was producing, so adding muscle mass and improving muscle tone became an important consideration.
Reading gave me knowledge and insights. If you’re overweight, sedentary, eat rubbish, watch TV as a couch potato and your name is John then diabetes is heading your way. It doesn’t help if there’s a family history of diabetes. So I knew I had to change my life.
It became obvious that I needed medical input. After talking with my family doctor, I started regular full blood and body function testing. My doctor is very patient with me and realised the sort of detail I needed to satisfy my insatiable dogged curiosity.
Human bodies are complex. We can measure and predict, but the very act of measuring sets in motion changes that may have far reaching unpredictable consequences. I rely on “how I feel”. For example, my weight training includes elements that help develop muscles responsible for maintaining balance. I have noted that I no longer fear steps or rocky forest paths, so I must be doing something right!
The Balancing Act.
Balancing for 20 years, Diabetes controlled, Lost weight, Weight training, Maintains muscle tone.
Enjoy walking, Rather than, Tottering and, Worrying about, Falls and stairs.
Everything, Worthwhile takes, Diligence, Time and, Patience.
Exploring Relationships.
This story’s diagram is based on talks I give to research students to help them realise the importance of exercise and diet in achieving their study outcomes.
Knowledge feeds, Our mind to, Better manage, Our Body.
Nutrition maintains, Our body, Our mind, Encourages creativity, Improves understanding, Gives insights to, Better manage, Food and exercise, Broadening knowledge.
Healthy body, Healthy mind, Strengthens ability, Undertake activities, Achieve working goals.
Balancing, Inputs and outputs, Improves wellness, Reduces, Stress and anxiety, Improves, Peace of mind, Enables us to, Help others.
Remarks
This is a never-ending story. You can “drill-down” to the tiniest detail and still not get to the bottom of things. The scope of wellness is wide, it includes your lived-in environment and in our connected age disparate world events.
I hope I have given you food for thought.
Blessed be.
