You know...as I read the original post about this book launch and the Active Rain contest to help promote the book, I knew that I wanted to participate because I have had the opportunity to hear the Ferry brothers speak in San Diego over the years and thoroughly enjoy their manner of teaching / coaching. That said, I really thought I would write on the professional aspect of being a Real Estate Virtual Assistant pertaining to what Chapter 4 was dealing with...but that didn't feel true to myself...it might suit me better on a professional level, but just this once, it wasn't what was calling out to me. The health and well being areas were what were calling my name.
You see, I was always a skinny gal, living a fairly healthy lifestyle...up until the last 9 years or so when I started to put on weight and my Rheumatoid arthritis started to bug me...I refused to go on the horrible drugs for this disease and just tried to manage it with over the counter meds. Finally, in September of 2009, I had a picture taken of me and a good friend at a wedding on the beach. I wasn't huge, but I wasn't anywhere near myself either...I hated that picture and I hated myself because I knew that will-power and a desire to change...were all that I needed to fix myself to the point where I at least recognized myself and could be happy and healthy again. I literally knew that I was "bad" so I hadn't gone to the doctor for any yearly checkups for probably 7 years. I had to change, I had to take care of myself for myself as well as for my family...and I really wanted to show my kids that there was a different way, as an adult, to manage your life rather than taking drugs for whatever condition he says you have. I wanted to show my kids that with healthful eating and mindful exercise (not over the top, just moderate) you could keep your body going and be proud of yourself. I new it could work because I had done a fruit and vegetable juice fast for 13 days the year prior and lost 13lbs, and improved my Rheumatoid pain dramatically for that next year. The pain was just starting to worsen again...
I joined Weight Watchers that month - at first the weight flew off...the first 15lbs were gone in just a couple of months. Then things slowed way down...my body hit a plateau that seemed like it took forever to get off of...just now the scale is slowly starting to budge again in the right direction. I really do feel so much better, my mood has improved, I feel more capable in my family life and personal life (I always was really confident about the professional side of things...even when I didn't feel good about myself...but even that has improved). I have lost about 25lbs total since I started now, and yes, I still have a bit more to go, but I am going. I am making the journey. My kids have started to talk to me about choices in their foods. My tween daughter has just started taking daily multivitamins so she can be healthy like me...we take them together in the morning to remind each other. I finally felt confident enough to make that dreaded doctor's appointment a couple of weeks ago. I ordered full blood screens, had the lovely yearly type exams, etc... Everything was great - EXCEPT, my blood glucose was high - borderline she said, and my thyroid number was low. This was not good news to me, since both my grandparents had Type 2 Diabetes, and I REALLY don't want to have to take insulin injections! I had known about my low thyroid, since I was a kid actually taking physicals to play basketball was the first time they told me that. I had thought I was anemic, and apparently at certain times, I am...because I have been turned away from donating blood due to low iron before, but it turns out what was most likely causing all my tiredness and of course moodiness, was most likely my glucose levels :-(
So, while I thought I was getting to the "end" or maintenance phase of my quest for better health, it appears that I am really about to take a detour towards lifelong diet maintenance for the glucose issue to try to go as long as possible without drugs for this. I am doing tons of research and Googling on the subject, so if anyone has any favorite resources, I would appreciate you sharing them with me. It's all a little scary. The first week after I found out, I was scared to death to eat sugar thinking it would put me over the edge and I would need insulin, but of course I am learning that that isn't necessarily the case and that it's all about balance and moderation. My doctor says that in my case, due to the family history, it is most likely not a case of "if" but rather "when" I will become diabetic and have to deal with insulin maintenance...but I am going to make that journey as long as possible. I am going to live "My LIFE! By DESIGN"...and deal with it my way. Thanks for this opportunity to preview this book!
This post is to help promote Tom Ferry's upcoming book, LIFE! By DESIGN. The contents of my post are the result of some self reflection the preview chapter of the book asks us to do about ourselves.
You can Pre-Order the book now by visiting TomFerryBook.com. You can also participate in the promotion being done by ActiveRain for a chance to win some great prizes and 2500 points by visiting the promotional post here.
Everyone that orders a copy of the book between now and April 23rd, 2010 will also receive one ticket to attend Tom's Success Summit, August 24-26th and the MP3 audio role play program: Objection Handling for Buyers, Sellers and Short Sales.
In exchange for writing this post, I could win an iPad or other cool prizes, and this is to let you know so the FTC doesn't fine me.
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