MO' HEN . . . LESS HEN

We've all heard that saying, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." I'm really feeling it today. I'm going to start something that really scares me. It could also build a whole new future for me and my family.

Never in my life have I been one to go on a diet, or exercise too much. Thus the "fluffy-ness" that I've dutifully maintained for the past 20+ years or so has become very comfortable (not in a good way). It has just been where I seem to land with the amount of food and exercise I'm getting. Mind you the quality of food and balance of foods that I'm getting have improved dramatically as well as the level of regular exercise since I started paying attention with Chickin Feed. But I have to face the fact that I'm not truly practicing what I preach. I tend to wander off the board too much and not move my "activity magnets" over enough.

Let's face it, if I was following the Nutrition Tracking Board regularly then I would be in really good shape. AND the perfect testimonial for my company. Recently I thought about starting a "Chickin Feed Challenge" that would encourage families to see who can follow the board most closely and to see how their overall health improves. "Sounds like a great idea, Leslie. Why haven't you done it?" Hmmm . . . I think it's the fear that if I challenge others, I'd need to do it myself and that I might fail. And who would visit all my old habits and keep them company anyway? OR...what if I succeed, god forbid!

Several things have happened that have nudged, pushed and now made me understand that I don't need to wait anymore. One began about seven years ago . . .

THING ONE - MISSING MY MOM.
My daughter was two and a half and the light in my mother's eye. My mom was the perfect doting grandmother. All she wanted was to spend time with Lucy. She didn't need to buy her stuff or take her places or even to have me be a part of her interactions with Lucy. Some days I felt like she loved Lu more than I did! She just wanted to hold and love my baby girl and it made me happy to finally have done something to please my mother so. It was really a magical time for me as it brought out so many great characteristics in my mom that had been covered up for many years. It ended all too suddenly when my mother died in Feb 2002 from what we assumed was an aneurysm (my maternal grandmother's cause of death.) We came to find out that the cause of death was in fact an aortic dissection and that my mother had been taking Fen Phen, a dangerous weight loss drug combination that was very popular. A possible side effect to taking Fen Phen, as listed in the class action lawsuit paperwork we found at her home (my mother must have sent off for them days before she died) was Aortic dissection.

Other than being honest about my history and somewhat cathartic, the reason I bring this up is to make a point about my mother's approach to "getting healthy" – which is not dissimilar to many people in our society – was to search for "The Magic Pill." What is the thing that you can do that will "fix" the problem quickly. Well, I'm grateful that I have learned the lesson that no matter how good the magic pill seems to work, it just doesn't. And sometimes it can have very tragic consequences. My deep sadness, at not having my mother around to love and watch my children grow, combined with a desire to make sure that my children grow up with well informed ideas about what it takes to be healthy, it what inspired me to start Chickin Feed.

THING TWO - MISSING ME?
A year ago, I ended up in the hospital myself with a very rapid heartbeat that would not quit. Given my health history and the look on my kids faces, I was quite fearful that my chances for being around to enjoy my grandchildren might not be as certain as I think. Intellectually, I understand that I need to be as healthy as I can to combat my history of poor food choices, lack of consistent exercise and love of sugar. Practically, my habits improved a little more after this scare, but not enough to make the change I need to. As my hubby likes to point out, I have a very hard head.

THING THREE - HOPE AND FEAR.
Last October, I was set up in a booth at the Candler Park Festival. A guy came by the booth and he seemed very intrigued by the boards. He said he was a Registered Dietitian and he immediately "got" what our product was all about. I'd hear from him occasionally but he emailed recently to see if we could talk. He had joined a practice earlier this year in Decatur, GA that was all about Prevention. It's called Ponce Preventive Care and they are conducting a Healthy Weight Program that he said he'd be interested in using the Chickin Feed boards for. We talked for a bit and I began to think that this just might be the last time I was going to have this bell rung. So I said, "David, what if I took the class?" As soon as it got out of my mouth I regretted it since I might actually have to act on it. I talked at length with both David and Dr. Chad today and am convinced that this is the way to go for me. They seem committed to helping people that want help but not promising them lot's of shiny pretty promises that lead nowhere.

You might think, "What's the big deal? Mom goes on a diet. Happens every day." But I really really don't want this to be about me "going on" something but rather a commitment to changing some fundamental well-ingrained habits. And that is very scary to me.

So I'm going to do this and I'll let you know how it goes. I'll blog here under the title of "MO' HEN . . . LESS HEN" Right now, I'm hopeful but apprehensive(fear has given way to apprehension, I guess that is good). If you see me noshing out at the Krispy Kreme, tell me to keep it to a minimum and go fetch my jog bra!