Poll: Symptoms of a healthy lifestyle

 So we are all familiar with the concept of symptoms vs. causes. Usually the cause of something creates symptoms which are clues to discerning the causes.

For me, sometimes I don’t know something is “going on" with me until the symptoms start piling up. The symptoms are more day-to-day and easier to see than the overall thing itself.

This got me to thinking on my walk the other day about the symptoms of when I am treating myself well versus treating myself poorly. When I am treating myself well I relish in those symptoms but a bigger triumph for me is recognizing the symptoms of not treating myself well and owning up to them.

So I thought I'd put the question to you. What are the symptoms that you are on the right track vs. the wrong track (aside from the scale which can, for some of us, be a wild card).

For instance when I am treating myself well, I:

-Find less cardboard and plastic in my garbage and more stuff that’d be fit for a compile post.

-Have to return many voicemail messages at night because I’ve turned off my phone and either went to the gym or went walking.

 -Find myself having to get “caught up" on Facebook because I’ve unplugged and made some personal time!

 

When I am not treating myself well:

-I notice that my food log has not been filled in for days at a time (an indicator that I don’t want to see what I’ve eaten written on paper)

 -My workout clothing drawer gets stuffed because I am not taking clothing OUT to wear to the gym.

 -I have to use my laptop cord more than usual because I am bolted to the computer.

So do you recognize any symptoms of when you are being good to yourself versus not?

I treat myself with a skinny latte (100 cals)...so if I have coffee, it's a sign I've been good...if I don't...expect me to be grumpy!

When I walk...I take the dogs...they really behave better when they go for a long walk (too tired to cause trouble)...so you can tell by my dogs behaviors if I've been good!:-)

When I am treating myself well:

I go to bed at night pleasantly tired rather than exhausted.
I have a feeling of accomplishment rather than dread about all the tasks I've left undone.
I am willing to tell ANYONE my weight (regardless of the number) and show them my food log because I have been following the rules and making nutrition a priority (and not relying on the scale for validation)

When I am treating myself poorly:

I am cranky and feel pressure about not showing my concern for my body by eating what I need to for optimal health.
I am stiff and sore from too much butt sitting and not enough movement.
I feel overwhelmed by what I need to do and haven't done.
I rely on the scale to tell me if I should have a good or bad day.

Symptoms of good self-care:

- My hair looks nice. (this seems silly, but really, when I start falling into periods of self neglect, hair-washing is the first thing to go. I still shower of course, but shampooing my hair, conditioning, styling, etc all seems like way too much effort)

- I have more recycling than usual. My water choice is Metromint, and when I'm well hydrated, the bottles pile up. When I'm not doing so well, I drink too much iced tea, from a reusuable plastic cup, so no bottles in the recycling. My good health is terrible for the environment. ;)

- My patience is a good yardstick for measuring my overall condition. When I've eaten ell, slept well, and am up on all my vitamins, I am sunny and cheerful and patience. When I'm not, I tend to get rather irritable and short tempered. If I start feeling snappish or easily annoyed, I know something's off.

- Appetite. When I'm doing well, I'm frequently hungry. I eat often and enjoy my meals. When I'm doing a poor job of keeping on plan, though, my appetite vanishes, and then when I DO eat, I kind of trudge through it and it becomes a bit of a chore.

When I am treating myself well, I:

-Am dressed better and have jewelry on because I have taken the time out the night prior to make sure I had things to wear the next day and they were ready.

-Feel strong because I am working out like I should

-Can tell you what I am eating for the next 2 days because I have planned out and probably made some things ahead of time.

When I am not treating myself well:

-I haven't sent an email or text to my sister for a few days because I don't feel I have anything positive to say or anything important to contribute.

-I am up at all hours of the night because I haven't been exercising or finding any quality "me" time so I am tired but not relaxed.

-I actually do treat other people better when I have been taking care of myself.

I just thought of another one.

When I treat myself well I spend half my life in the bathroom peeing cuz I drink enough water!!!

When I treat myself well:

-Bipolar symptoms lessen. When I'm eating right and exercising enough, the medication seems to be more effective. I'm sure the boost of endorphins and lack of processed crap is a big reason why that is.

-There are more containers in the freezer, because I am diligently preparing healthy meals to eat throughout the week.

-My muscles feel good because they are strong and healthy!

When I'm on the wrong track:

-My body feels swollen and sore. I am intensely sensitive to sodium so when I'm eating processed food instead of making things fresh, I puff up like a balloon.

-I'm exhausted and feel like I just want to nap.

-I'm not productive at work and I procrastinate. It is hard to focus.

-Bipolar is more difficult to keep in check. It gets hard to be able to take that deep breath and step back from a situation that is making me feel out of control.

This is a great question. One that I will reflect on. When I make a list I will tape it to my bathroom mirror as a barometer of what i am doing to/for myself. Thanx for giving me food for thought.

When I'm respecting myself:

- I know what I'm doing every day of the week for fitness activities and I'm doing it and not feeling overwhelmed because I got me a schedule!

- I've got prepared and planned meals just waiting in my fridge for me at anytime, so I don't panic with the thought of trying to scramble to find something to eat.

- My laundry is more of a pain in the ass to fold because it consists of so many more sports bras, workout gear, sweaty socks, etc. Knit-noid stuff to fold and put away, but conversely, my hamper holds a lot more of the small stinky stuff than formerly large clothing.

- I don't even have to check out my protein grams in myfitnesspal for the day, cause I know I got them way, way covered.

- and as much as I hate to say it, when I'm respecting myself, I have worse leg/foot/toe cramps because, for whatever reasons, my electrolites are wonky because I've exercised and sweat so much.

- I become the center of my own universe and my gravitational force is awesome!

When I'm not respecting myself:

- I can rationalize the hell out of my choices and make anything sound like I'm doing good (and I'm smart enough to not buy into my own line of crap -- most of the time!)

- I have way too many bread products in my freezer and not enough veggies/meats

- my choices are not superior and I tend to eat foods that are quick to make and don't satiate the hungry beast in me

- I let my road rage rants (it's a "PMS alone in my car" kind of thing) become way to frequent and it spoils my optimism for life

But overall I'm respecting myself these days pretty much 90% of the time, heck maybe in 95% of the time.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what that means to me....

*taping mouth shut*