Past, Present & Future

At my last physical, my doctor told me that I have low iron. What a relief. No wonder I have felt so tired. It’s certainly easier to find the solution once the problem has been identified. Getting my iron back up has proven to be no easy task though, especially since I am a vegetarian. I did find a good list of foods that are high in iron and acceptable as a vegetarian. Who knew that kale has more iron than beef? I also received a tip from a good friend who suggested that I cook everything in a cast iron skillet (I welcome any other natural tips as well, please message me or leave them in the comments section).

Fall came upon us around the same time. I have accepted that I don’t transition well from summer to fall. I try to do everything I can to embrace fall, but quite frankly, I suck at it. One of my defense mechanism for SAD, is to just keep moving. Which is hard enough during a normal year and even harder when battling an iron deficiency. A couple of weeks ago, I allowed myself to skip Body Pump at the gym and grab my blankie and curl up on the couch instead (unheard of in my world). I felt wonderful and guilty and scared all at the same time.

It’s wonderful to be surrounded by the right people. I am lucky to have had a massage appointment shortly after the blankie incident. My masseuse happens to be a very wise woman. I am fortunate to have her as one of my caregivers. When she asked me what was, “going on”. I filled her in on all of the above. I told her that I just wanted to hibernate. She responded by telling me (gently) that I should honor that feeling, observe it and allow myself the renewal of this season. It was music to my ears, said in such a way and with so much care that my body dropped the guilt and the fear right then and there.

Life has been better since. Her words caused me to slow down - not in a daily kind of way but in a moment kind of way. My days are still busy, but my moments are more thoughtful and decisive.They take less energy and sometimes they even feel like a blankie.

Since then, I have been planning my goals for next year. I have two main goals picked out. My favorite part about next year’s goals is that I have an accountability partner. I am so psyched about this. My accountability partner is one of my dearest friends. AND, my goals are set up in such a way that we will be plotting and having adventures together, the entire year, guaranteed. I will be declaring these goals in a future blog so check back if you’re interested.

In the meantime, I have decided to do a detox for myself. I am on the quest to leave the Halloween candy behind and get back to the basics of eating. I am starting a five day program on Sunday and then going into a maintenance phase with the help of my chiropractic clinic. This is a lifestyle re-adjustment, not a diet. I have done it in the past. For those of you who know me well, you are aware that I don’t do rules well.  I don’t like boundaries set for me; and that will be the toughest part of the first five days for me. I have a plan to remind myself that this detox is a choice, not a rule (pray for me anyway). I am happy to live in the 80/20 eating rule after that.

I am looking forward to remaining active in the next couple of months while honoring the part of me that wants to rest and renew.  I plan to stay mindful and thoughtful in my movements and decisions. I hope that you are honoring the spirit in you that comes out during this season as well.