My 49th birthday is creeping up quickly, and as the days advance on my Digestacure healing journey, I get closer to another revolution around the sun.
To help myself stay on track (and actually take my vitamins & supplements), I put them into pillboxes for each day of the week. The good thing about this is that I notice when I forget to take them. I also see how often I forget to take them!
There are days when I end up taking 6 of the eight pills of the day right before bed, which isn’t ideal.
That said – I am not noticing any of the side effects that I might have expected from being consistently on eight pills a day. For this, I am grateful.
Changing supplements
I sometimes feeling like an “old lady” taking all this swag of daily pills! Knowing that this is only short term lightens my mood.
Whatever doubts I might have – my body is doing better. I am no longer taking all the anti-inflammatory supplements daily:
- Ashwagandha
- Boswellia (Frankincense)
- L-Tryptophan
- GABA
- Turmeric with Ginger & Black Pepper
The very fact that I can miss multiple days of taking the anti-inflammatories and still feel great tells me that my gut is doing a whole lot better!
All of this despite keeping up with monthly exercise challenges.
What’s in store for August?
Last month we worked on legs for my friend Ekaterina who is running a half marathon this month! August, however, is my birthday – so I’m making it about me! I took a look in the mirror and asked myself what I wanted to work on this month.
What do I want?
In May, we started off with an ab challenge. And since we hit quite a bit of cardio with the boot camp challenge and then the focus on legs, I’ve lost a bit of weight around the middle.
So, how do I show my love handles greater love?
I’m the first to say:
Where attention goes, energy flows.
I’m changing my perspective and paying attention to what I might previously have called my “problem areas”. These are the parts of me that really just cry out for a little more love.
They are most certainly overlooked.
Ignored.
And so in August, I’m looking with love.
I’m talking to the parts of me that I’ve been ignoring – my love handles on my hips and that little bit of extra tummy that women have!
Did you know that neuropeptides are lipid soluble?
What are neuropeptides?
You probably are possibly more familiar with oxytocin or vasopressin. Neuropeptides are commonly referred to as “the molecules of emotion” – at least, by Candace Pert. These are directly associated with increased trust, generosity, empathy, cooperation, the memory of social stimuli (e.g., faces), and brain activity tied to social and emotional processes.
So, what does it matter that they are lipid-soluble?
- This means that they can be stored in the fat cells.
Potentially, all my love handles are me storing away energy AND emotions (good or bad) for another day.
What are all these emotions coming up for me?
So, as I take off the weight, I’m paying close attention to my emotional state. Possibly, the emotions that I am experiencing have nothing to do with my current circumstances. In fact, they could be decades old.
Who knows, right?
But having a support network around you when implementing any kind of change is vital. I am so grateful for my village!
I’m talking to my love handles.
I stand in front of the mirror, as I would with any mirror work, and place my hands gently on my love handles and let them know it’s okay to go. Whatever it is that they have been holding for me, I can handle it now. And I simply invite them to release what they’ve been storing until I was ready.
Is this what’s causing the drop in their size?
Could be.
It might also be the workouts I’m doing.
While I might not yet be my ideal size and weight (which I actually have no idea what that is… but I guess I’ll know when I get there), my biggest cheerleader is a 7-year-old mini-me that said:
You’re looking stronger, mum, and you haven’t had a nap this week.
If you want to join the challenge, I publish the daily challenge on my Instagram: Beth Gray
As Within 