Recently, I have been thinking about what it means to be fit. I tend to focus on physical fitness. I enjoy exercising and eating healthy. The exercise is great stress relief, allows me to get out of the house on my own, and helps me feel better about myself in addition to helping me stay physically fit. I work hard and am fairly content with my body, although I would love to look like a swimsuit model (who wouldn't), despite the minor evidence/damage left behind from having 2 kids and aging. I think I have gotten less concerned about physical "perfection" as I have "aged" which is great -- one day I hope to find that perfect balance of being totally content with my body without sacrificing my health (aka becoming overweight).
What else is required to maintain a fit life? Healthy eating is important of course but what about emotional fitness? spiritual fitness? medical fitness/health?
Lainey has had a lot of ear infections recently. After three courses of antibiotics in the past two months I have been trying to figure out how to help her stay healthy/fit. I altered her diet by cutting out all dairy/eggs/nuts from my diet (she is nursing). It seemed to make a huge difference. Then she caught a cold which led to another ear infection. She is already on Prevacid and her reflux seems well controlled so I don't that is leading to the ear infections. So, I took her to a chiropractor. I have never been to one myself and frankly, as a PA who used to work in the GI clinic, feel somewhat skeptical about chiropractic medicine for non-musculoskeletal issues. But, I don't think it can hurt anything so we tried it. So far she has been adjusted twice. She did have a bad cold/borderline ear infection when I took her the first time and was able to fight it off without antibiotics. Was that due to the adjustments or just coincidence? I don't know. She goes back for another adjustment next week. I am going to get adjusted too -- hopefully the Dr. can get the kink out of my neck so I can look over both of my shoulders.
So, that is another area of "fitness/health" that I have been exploring recently. I think I will touch on spiritual/emotional health next week as those areas of health are likely just as important as physical health.
How do you stay fit?
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2 comments:
I hope the chiropractic helps Ann! Sorry to hear about another ear infection. I hope everybody is healthy for your trip!
interesting! you know how i feel about chiros, as a PT. :D honestly, i think there are some good ones out there, and research has shown that there IS a tiny (<2%) portion of the population who needs that high-velocity end-range manipulation that chiros do. i wonder what an osteopath or a naturopath would think of lainey's ear infections? i love how you are always open to things "outside the box"...not all moms are and i'm sure your kids benefit! :) liz
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