Addicted To The Way Things Used To Be

I've never been to an AA meeting, but I know many friends and family who have.  In fact, maybe some of you reading this blog attend AA meetings.  Addictions, no matter what they are, all have something in common. Whether it's addiction to drugs, alcohol, food, exercise, or anything else, you can't just wish it away.  It doesn't just disappear. It takes work.  It takes painful, tough choices. It takes dedication. It takes willpower to overcome.  It takes time.

I'm writing this blog post, having just received Paige's final blood test results depicting her blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.    You can read about Paige's labwork results on her blog.    I am not surprised by the results one bit.  The reason why I'm not surprised? Well, over the past 3 months, Paige has been so terribly resistant to changing her old habits, that she almost defiantly ignored all that she had learned on our journey.   She fell back into her old addictions that got her there in the first place.

Using the holidays and travel as an excuse, Paige skipped many of her workouts, and more importantly for a diabetic, ate whatever the hell she wanted to (even though she is now consciously making better decisions about her food choices, which is a step in the right direction).  The body is science. The body responds to what we do to it.  If we treat it right, feed it right, it responds accordingly with good health (as seen in the 3 month labwork).  If we treat it badly, feed it badly, it quickly responds with poor health.  

Paige was on a high after the 3 month assessment.  Her 3 month labwork was showed some hugely positive transformations back toward normal, and her fitness levels were increasing. (And, let's not forget back to the first three months where Paige also didn't do her exercise, fell off track a whole lot, etc.  Go back and review some of those older posts, like this one, about the struggles she went through at the beginning).  But, she at least was making more of the food choices she needed to.   

I will reference this quote from the my dear friend and diabetes expert, Lauren Korshak's blog post about Paige's journey: "I think it's important to remember that she's technically a lifestyle controlled diabetic, and that the diet and the exercise are the forms of "medication" that she's using to control her condition. If she starts to slack off, it's the same as not taking medications as directed, resulting in blood glucose levels starting to climb and increasing the chances that she'll need to start oral medications - most likely metformin, sometimes combined with a second oral or insulin depending on blood glucose trends."

Did Paige not read this post?  It's been written out right here for Paige to read for the past 3+ months. 

Maybe Paige thought she was out of the woods and in the clear after 3 months, and could go back to how things used to be.  Well, if you're an alcoholic, and you make it three months sober, and think you can go back to the old behaviors because you're "healed" well, think again.  It's not how it works.  It takes time.

There is a lifetime of work that Paige needs to continue, in order to overcome her addiction to food, to unhealthy behavior, to lack of movement.   

We all have relapses in our healthy eating habits and our exercise.  I know I do all the time!  The key is now, for Paige, to understand what she needs to do, in order to get things back under control.  She can get back under control. She's done it before, and I have complete confidence that IF SHE WANTS TO, she can get those bloodwork results back to where they need to be very quickly.    No matter how much I want to see her succeed, she's got to make the decisions herself.  It's not just one decision, it's hundreds of decisions every day that will make up her success. It's choosing to not put sugar or cream in the coffee.  It's choosing to have tea instead.  It's choosing to walk the dogs before work instead of just opening the door for them to go outside. It's choosing to pack a healthy lunch ahead of time to bring to work. It's choosing to sign up for a 5k.  It's choosing to train for a 5k.  It's choosing to do a Trainer In Your back Pocket workout after work.  It's choosing to have one glass of wine instead of one bottle.  You get the point.  The sum of all these decisions is what really makes the difference.   Each choice she makes can either bring her closer to a healthier life, or closer to the way things used to be.  

Paige needs to understand her addiction, and she needs to realize how serious they are, and how her decisions are sabotaging her success.  Don't give an alcoholic alcohol.  Don't give a diabetic a cake (or cookie, or baked good, or cheesy casserole, etc.)    No one else can make the decisions Paige now needs to make for herself.  

I hope her bloodwork sets off this lightbulb that she's not in the clear.  That there will be a lifetime of work that needs to be done.    Paige needs to take her health seriously, and begin making the decisions that will make her healthy, not sick.  I want Paige to live for a long time.  I want her to want that for herself with every decision she makes, every day.

On a lighter note, coming soon will be her fitness assessment results which show huge improvements!

The Final Workout

Paige and I met for our final workout of the 6 month journey last week.  There was no way I was going to go easy on her.  It was an endurance challenge, full of many of the different exercises we worked on for 6 months.  I knew Paige hadn't done much (if any) exercise over the past few weeks (which kills me inside).  But I knew she could push herself to complete the challenging workout I had created.  I'll list it below, so that she will never forge it either!  (And I'll probably make it into a future Trainer In Your Back Pocket workout too ;)

The workout was titled: "20-13." (since it was our last workout of 2013, even though we did it in 2014 due to our both being out of town over New Years Week).  Here's the workout:

20 Medicine Ball Squat & Presses
13 Rolldowns

Paige showing off her guns!

20 Bosu Pushups
13 Side Plank Hip Dips

20 Walking Lunges
13 Single Leg Glute Bridges

20 Bosu Side Squats
13 Straight Arm Pullbacks with Tubing

20 Bosu Moguls
13 Pullovers

20 Bosu Side Obliques
13 Chest Flys

20 Step Ups
13 Curl & Press

20 Upright Rows
13 Overhead Press

20 Squat Jumps
13 Pushup Negatives