On My Health

I've always been a very unhealthy person-- emotionally, physically, habitually... and I really think the issue needs to be addressed. Even though I've gotten my mental illnesses under control (minus my supposed OCD) and I'm still a skinny-mini, I'm beginning to see the effects of malnourishment & lack of exercise on my body.

9 times out of 10, I pretty much force myself to eat; if I didn't I wouldn't eat more than one small meal a day. I'm hypoglycemic, which means I have low blood sugar. If I don't eat, my blood sugar will get lower, I'll start to feel sick, and eventually pass out. I've had doctors recommend to me that I use a blood glucose meter, but I know my body fairly well since this problem has been ongoing for a number of years now, and can tell when my blood sugar is low. I really need to be eating more than 3 meals a day and having snacks in-between. At this point I'm lucky if I have 2 meals and maybe a snack. I don't eat as much as I should because:

• I have a busy schedule; I forego eating because it's just easier to not go through the time to make something.
• I forget to eat a lot of the time; most people know to eat when their tummy starts to rumble or they begin to feel hungry and it's very rare that either of those things happen with me
• I find myself restricted to a limited budget; because of the irregular payment schedule of my job, I often find myself without money to buy food

The main reason why I'm writing this is because of a pair of pants I put on this morning. My mom and I had gone shopping about two months ago, and I tried on this pair of corduroy black pants. They were a snug fit, and I HAD to get them. It's so rare for me to find tight pants (they're what I prefer) and so my mom offered to buy me them for Christmas. Well, this morning I wore them for the first time after having received them as a gift, and it seems I've lost 2-3 inches off my waist... and I'm bloated from my period. It seems as if my meager eating habits are impacting my weight. The sad part is that isn't even where it ends. My once beautifully long nails are cracking, splintering, and peeling. My right thumb nail even almost came off the other day. My period is also very very light, which is unusual for me.

Now, the next area of concern may come as a surprise: I need to exercise more! As a web designer I spend almost all my time sitting down in front of a computer screen. I find myself getting winded going down stairs (skinny little me!) and I get light headed a lot of the time when I get up from sitting down for a long time.

In conclusion, I really just need to adopt a healthier lifestyle. I'm going to add to my Joe's Goals chart:

• Exercise (more checks & more points the more activity I do!)
• Eat Breakfast (extra points for a healthy choice)
• Eat Lunch (extra points for a healthy choice)
• Eat Dinner (extra points for a healthy choice)
• Eat a Snack (extra points for more snacks or healthier snacks!)

I was also thinking about getting a pedometer and making myself get to x steps a day! But that will come (maybe) once I get paid.

I read a blog entry last night about taking care of yourself and how important it really is. It brought to my attention that I'm really lacking in the area of self care (as most women are) and while it is important for me to be accomplishing all these goals, it's important to sit back and take some time to tend to myself.