All change! (part one)

2020 already or how I spent last year getting to grips with my life

Reflecting back over my 2019 ~ what a year and not all for the right reasons. Doesn't matter how young or old you are it pays to review where you're at every now and then. Are you on the right track? How well do you feel? What needs to change? Have to say I kicked to the curb the toxicity in my life and have never felt better.

Ditch the dye!

In April I 'ditched the dye' after decades of drenching my hair with chemicals. Brown, pinks, various shades of red and blonde, I loved mixing it up. I'd been playing with the idea of not dyeing my hair for a long while and see what my real hair was like. Could I really tolerate being grey, silver or white ~ whatever it would turn out to be?

I stumbled across my 'silver sisters' on Instagram (where else) and was totally inspired. Women from all around the world, all ages, happily embracing who they are ~ sharing their transitional journey. How inspiring! I thought, "Yes you can do this!" So I did. Nearly nine months in, I feel like my authentic self and I think it's because I'm no longer playing a game set by other people's standards. It's liberating! Mind you, the process is teaching me patience as it'll be another 6 - 8 months, longer maybe, before my new look is completed.

Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor and so a proviso would be for you to seek appropriate medical attention in the first instance if you want to make any dietary lifestyle changes.

Sugar is poison!

This should come as no surprise to anyone, but sugar is in fact a poison. 2019 was the year I finally took on this little devil, triggered by ill health. My joints were inflamed ~ a shock since in my head I was still in my early thirties! Arthritis had reared its ugly head. I went from pirouetting  at home and dancing around the furniture; running 5k three or four times a week to not being able to weight bear. Coupled with the fact that my skeleton was out of kilter I needed to take drastic action. Initially I'd found a wonderful Chiropractor who was also qualified to undertake Acupuncture, and she worked her magic ~ albeit it took 6 months to see a big difference.

What's sugar got to do with all this? Sugar is a 'food' source that inflames joints, so if you have arthritis refined sugar is not going to help the matter. This is what helped me. In July I decided enough was enough and I would stop eating refined sugar and processed foods (as processed foods hide a lot of sugar in their products). Along the way, I also ditched acidic foods and I had to do my homework here. Shout out to Suzie Grant and her book, 'Alternative Ageing,' as well as the Arthritis Society for sensible, research based information. I also started taking Tumeric and Black Pepper capsules twice a day. Tumeric is a well known anti-inflammatory and there is research to support the health giving benefits of taking these capsules (my Chiropractor approves too).

Giving up sugar was really, really difficult for the first three weeks and then amazing things happened:

1) I'm pain-free ~ the greatest incentive to maintain being refined sugar free.      

2) I don't mind having to give up drinking Prosecco. No not one bit. No not really.

3) My sugar levels are on an even keel. I no longer get the drastic high and lows that eating sugar brings. No afternoon slump. No cravings.

4) I feel so much better! I have my energy back and more importantly, since November have been totally pain free ~ no twinges or aches and pains ~ I'm back to exercising (my daily morning walk). As of New Year I've started doing Pilates to keep me limber. 

5) Am losing weight ~ I needed to ~ and this has been the icing on the cake (pun intended).

Watch this space!