As a PCOS woman, sometimes I find it hard to keep my promises to myself. Usually it has to do with wanting that easy button. Less cooking, less dishes, more time with family and doing things I am passionate about.
While I love to cook, I am not always inspired to do it.
This is where, for me, food becomes not bad or good, but just frustrating.
I know I have food sensitivities. I have a balance of indulging and eating to feel good that is necessary to keeping my sanity and my hormones balanced. Eating to feel good is not always easy for me. I feel like most PCOS women can relate to this.
I really do love salads...they are quick and easy. Though I also really love pizza. While I have discovered the art of the pizza bowl, I do not always want to make the pizza bowl (with goat, buffalo, or sheep cheese because cow dairy and I are not friends).
So naturally moving our family and developing a business has led to further frustration with food. I have gotten myself all out of whack.
What is funny is that I teach people to do what has helped me, but of course I am in a season of getting myself back on track. Putting my promises to myself before the convenience in life has never been more challenging. I have never had to learn this lesson before and it is hard.
I do not resent nor am I mad at how off balance I got myself...I really enjoyed that food and savored it. However I am frustrated with the lack of ease this has been for me this time around to get back on track. It has been more work than I would like for it to be.
Though it is important for me to show up and work through this phase. Not just for others, but for myself.
Building integrity is important. What does integrity have to do with this? Integrity is more than something you are characterized by others. This video will fill this in for you.
As you can see, keeping our promises to ourselves is so much more than we give it credit for. It is easy for us to put the needs of others or in my case, the ease above doing the more challenging things.
Can you relate with this? Does food frustrate you because you wish there was an easy button?
I cannot promise that addressing your food balance will be easy, but I sure can tell you that there is a place where you can find support, encouragement, and tools to help you pivot to develop a healthier relationship with food. So if you like or relate with what you just read, come join the journey in the Thriving with PCOS community.
Finding ways to enjoy your relationship with food while also addressing what our bodies are telling us is so important. You are allowed to enjoy food while also respecting what your symptoms are telling you. It is possible to have both.
Wishing you food enjoyment and nourishment,
Terra
No I am not talking about how a counselor or psychiatrist would handle life...so get that out of your head. What I am talking about is how a Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, or an Athletic Trainer would handle an injury.
It is similar to life in a way. Trust me as a practicing Athletic Trainer for almost 20 years, injuries are a lot like life. I have always wondered why more of the medical community does not seem to take the time to function more like this model.
For every ACL (a ligament in the knee) that is torn, it is like running a specific play in football. You make sure the team is executing all the pieces together to make sure the play works and to have a positive outcome. For an ACL surgery that is anywhere between 6 to 12 months.
Though it is not as easy as just saying you are all better in 6 to 12 months. There is work involved. That work comes in stages. Each stage has specific steps of action to take.
Maybe you are following this and maybe you are not, so I will just let the elephant out...goal setting!
As I progress a patient (athlete or non-athlete) through rehab, there are certain things I need to help the patient work towards. Our action steps are based on our goals. Also our goals are based on where we are at in the process of things. I cannot have someone running at two-weeks post surgery because of tissue healing. That would be like asking someone who just started eating better for two weeks to lose 20 pounds….though I believe many of us would love it if we could reduce our weight that quickly.
So what does goal setting look like?
Here is a video to help you out with that:
While we set our goals a bit differently when it comes to the game of life versus injuries, sometimes we look for the quick fix. That magic that will jump us ahead of the game.
I hate to pull this out on you, slow and steady wins the race. Or if you need a sports reference, the long game wins out.
Sometimes I think we would like to forget this. It is easy to do so in this day in age. Everything is at our fingertips. Life with instant access. Our food is fast, our TV now on demand, quick text messages, seeing friends from the comfort of our phone screens.
Though if you are really choosing to make a massive impact in your life and the lives of others, goal setting, action steps...they get you there. The journey is not instant or even 5 star/instaperfect. Though the destination is worth it all!
If this message resonated with you on some level and you need help figuring out where in life you need to address some changes and goal setting, go take this quiz. It will help you figure out what areas of your life where you feel the most out of whack.
Looking forward to seeing you reach your destination!
Terra
“I get it, I know it is hard. I have kids too,” says a coach I used to work with. While I feel like he meant well, he clearly does not get it. We are not the same.
I am the wife and he has a wife. Who is picking up the kids...usually her. Who has to make dinner...most likely her. Who is making sure the kids get to where they need to go (with his help or with other help is possible)...her.
To that I wish I would have said, really, do you? When you change a schedule, do you relate with my struggle to figure out what to do with your kids...nope. When you change the schedule, do you have to go pick up your kids, feed them, and entertain them while you are at work...nope.
The landscape has been changing for a while. The more families require two incomes to survive, the more responsibility that goes on the wife.
Society still puts out the expectation that we cook, clean, and care for the kids/home.
So we get the privilege to provide an income and care for the household. Two full time jobs. No wonder more and more women are struggling and becoming burnt out.
Not just burnout on our day jobs, but in being the wife and mother as well.
Wishing we could be that mom that stays at home, but knowing deep down inside we enjoy being more than just a mom.
What is a career-mom to do?
For me, the place that I started was decluttering my time.
What does that look like? This video dives deeper into the subject of what decluttering your time:
You will have to determine what the best way to declutter your time is.
While what I do is imperfect, it does help. Some days flow better than others. Though for the most part, it allows me a bit of freedom to enjoy a movie with the family...I mean actually watching the movie not multitasking, there is a difference.
So how will you declutter your time?
If you like what you are reading, I have a guide for you to introduce you to a framework that has helped me in reassessing what had me upset with so many areas of my life. It just may be of a benefit to you too!
Looking forward to seeing you live your life by your design!
Terra
I talk about living a life of balance, when in fact, my life was not in this place either. I believed in this so much that I even went through great links to become a certified coach to help others.
I finally did it and I did it scared. I ripped off the security blanket that was keeping me safe but unbalanced nonetheless. No wonder my hormones were always unbalanced in a major way. Which is not good for someone working so hard to balance them.
I really thought if I worked on balancing all but one area, I would be alright. Though it was bringing on resentment and frustration for me.
What I did not realize is that to change my life (and my health) I really needed to change my life. If my goal was to inspire others to live a life that fulfilled them, I needed to do the same thing. Inspire by living what you teach.
So how was this done? By dreaming again. Breaking down my dreams into goals. Creating action that makes my goals happen and gets me closer to making that dream a reality.
Does that sound like a fairytale?
I am sure it does, but it does not have to be!
One place to start is to look at it from the view of priorities. We have so many of them. I talk more about priorities and how to simplify them here in this video:
For me, this was the part I was getting conflicted on. I had so many priorities, and I was showing up poorly.
I was resenting my day job because the schedule was ever changing. I resented being a mom (which I wanted to be all of my life) because I needed to make sure he was cared for while I was at work. I never felt like I was doing anything well.
When life gave us a new opportunity, I began doing the normal job search in the traditional setting for my profession.
It was a video that talked about giving up good for great that helped me realize that it was time. Time to work through my fear of losing security.
I came up with the action steps to see if we could live a secure life without throwing life back off balance. We discussed it as a family, it appeared to look like we could pull this off.
I made the steps so clear and created accountability around them, that when I was presented with an opportunity in a non-traditional setting for my profession, I cried. I felt conflicted again.
Luckily, my accountability sources reminded me we would be okay and gave me the blessing I needed from an outside source to create the life of balance I always dreamt of.
If I would have had goals with no clear actions, I would have been on a random road. Nothing to aim for. I would have taken that job. I would have returned to the resentment, it just would have looked different.
So I encourage you, if you are unhappy with where you are at, take a moment to dream. See where that leads you.
It is time to dream again and start living life by your design!
When you are ready to turn those dreams into action, there is a framework out there to help you get there. It comes with an amazing community and support from me and many others.
Looking forward to seeing live by your design,
Terra
Many of us agree that 2020 was a rough year. Back in January we had no idea, we just thought it was the never ending month...or at least that is how I remember it. Then came March and that is when it really began to change for many of us.
What I got out of 2020 was a lot of opportunity. I hope you are able to reflect and view it the same way.
It was an opportunity to explore and play around with so much information that I was taking in on PCOS. So much so that I began a new journey to help PCOS women like me!
I was seeing so many friends and other women fall into the same pitfall...I could not stand it and I felt the tap during 2020 to do something about it...or go down trying at least.
There are so many other dietitians and life coaches out there on the same platform. So with the endeavor to be able to serve my people, I followed so many of them myself.
I learned a lot, which made me second guess what had worked for me so far. So like the person I am, I began to follow some of their ideals.
Here is a video on what I tried and failed at in 2020:
What I found out was that their ideals were not a good fit for my PCOS!
While I talk about this often in my group...PCOS care is not one size fits all or even most...I fell into that trap.
What I have learned is while I need to make sure that I am clear about what works for me may need to be adjusted for the next person, I need to stay in my lane of PCOS.
How I serve other women with PCOS is through what I have learned and what has worked for me. Just because what has worked for me does not fall in line with someone with a different set of credentials than mine, does not mean my approach is wrong.
I care so much for how I help others that I got caught up in the “right and wrong” that
I was perceiving. I focused so much on the possibility of harming others in some way versus the help I could potentially provide.
2020 for me was a year of exploration. A year of growth. A year of doing things and failing so that I would get back on my path. A year of believing what has worked for me has value.
I have also come to realize that in 2020 I need to step up my stress management game! Good Lord!
So if you can relate to the fact that there is so much information out there on PCOS and you honestly do not know where to start, I have a great place in Facebook land to come learn, grow, and pivot in your PCOS care.
Looking forward to seeing your growth in 2021,
Terra
