Body Image and Gratitude

For many people, November begins the season of gratitude. Starting with Thanksgiving - whcih literally has THANKS in the name, it's important to ask yourself how often do you thank your body?

Learning to quiet the body bashing and negative body thoughts is not easy. The mental picture you have of your body is constantly compared to an image of what you think you should look like. This is due to the social impact of body image. Seeing images over and over again is linked to poor body image and feelings that your own body is not normal. As a result, you may shame, criticize and hate certain parts of your body. 

Body image refers to how you see your body. What you believe about your appearance, how you feel about your body and how you move, nourish and use your body. 

Gratitude is the expression of appreciation for what one has. It involves being thankful. 

The human body is incredible. Just think about all your body can do and has done for you - crossing finishing lines, bringing another human into this world, traveling, overcoming obstacles. And now think about what your body does on its own, without you even asking it to - overcoming illnesses, giving you another year of life, thinking, remembering, moving, breathing. 

The simple act of body gratitude can shift how you view your body. Because body shaming has become a social norm, it's important to take a conscious effort to love, appreciate and thank your body. 

It's very hard to take care of your body and hate your body. 

Start showing your "As It Is" body love by offering it gratitude for all that it does for you. 

Why are you grateful for your body? 

Thanksgiving Everyday

 

Thanksgiving. An American Holiday traditionally spent with family, friends and loved ones. 

For the outsider, Thanksgiving is seen as a day of sharing a meal together and togetherness. 

Thanksgiving is a special holiday in that it is celebrated by ~98% of Americans. It doesn't matter what religion, gender, culture, skin color, financial situation or political views - anyone can enjoy this day of national observance. 

But Thanksgiving Day is gone all too soon. This is why we should make every day Thanksgiving. 

1. Celebrate life - Look for ways to celebrate every day. 
2. Enjoy nature - Get outside and notice the miracles and beauty around you.
3. Show appreciation - Let others know how much you appreciate them. 
4. Be friendly - Get to know people who help make your life what it is. 
5. Be grateful - Recognize what's right, not what's wrong. Create a conscious habit to be thankful.
6. Share abundance - From material things to food and expertise, if you have enough, share it with others. 
7. Take nothing for granted - Take time to pause and appreciate all that you have, all you've worked for and all you've been given. 
8. Bring people together - We are all interconnected. How can you help, how can you contribute? 
9. Acts of kindness - Show compassion for others and find selfless ways to make someone smile. 
10. Create memories - Collect good moments, no matter how small. 

The (Best) Worst Timing

 

We got sick and our PCR test results came back COVID-19 positive. 

Karel had his worst symptoms (flu-like body aches, night sweats, fatigue, no energy, but no fever) from August 27th-30th. I had my worst symptoms (flu-like body aches, sinus congestion, running nose, wet cough, fatigue, low energy, but no fever) from September 1st-3rd. It took us both another 3-4 days until we started to feel more like our normal self. I am still without taste or smell and my sinuses are still very congested. After waiting three days for an appointment, we both tested positive on September 3rd. 

Thankfully, we were not in close contact with many people over the past two weeks. We don't eat out, we don't go indoors without a mask (grocery and post office are the only two places we go indoors) and Karel only had three bike fits in the two weeks before he was tested positive. We have two training partners (Alvi and Kristen) so we notified them and they both tested negative. I told my mom and her boyfriend and three other people who stopped by to see Asher (our newest kitten). No one has reported any positive tests since interacting with us. 

With the Ironman 70.3 World Championship just eight days away, we are happy to report that thankfully, we are both out of our quarantine/isolation period and we will be safe to travel (and race) race week. 

There's never a good time to get sick but this COVID experience has been the (best) worst timing. If we would have gotten sick this week, we wouldn't be traveling or racing at the IM 70.3 World Championship. Certainly we would have preferred to not have gone through this but at this point, we are just so thankful that we were fully vaccinated when we were exposed and thanks to the vaccine doing what it was designed to do, our symptoms were not severe. Although I have had to drastically change our expectations for our race day performance since I am still struggling with heavy legs while running, sinus pressure and overall, I still don't feel 100%, I am just so thankful that I was able to race so much this year without having to overcome any major obstacles. 

A younger version of myself would have felt as if my Ironman 70.3 World Championship experience was ruined due to a sickness 2.5 weeks out from the race. But over the years, I've learned not to associate my self-worth to one race. The truth is that happiness is not the absence of problems but the ability to deal with them. Struggling doesn't mean you are failing. 

Although I am disappointed in the timing of this sickness, it's still the best worst timing in that we will still be able to travel to and participate in the race. Sure, this virus took away some of my strength, my taste and smell and time away from structured training but what counts is what you do with what you have left - not wasting energy on what is taken away from you. Worrying and complaining changes nothing. 

Life's best lessons are often learned at the worst times. Sometimes you have to go through the worst, to arrive at your best. 

Thanksgiving feels different - it's ok.

This picture means so much to me. It's a picture of my dad cutting the Thanksgiving Turkey in my parents house in New Port Richey, Florida and Campy waiting for pieces of Turkey to "accidentally" drop from the sky. It was my last Thanksgiving with my dad. 

My dad was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic cancer to his spine in June 2013. He had major spinal surgery a few weeks later and was not given a good diagnosis if he would ever walk again and the survival rate of this type of aggressive cancer was not good. My dad was fit, otherwise healthy and active. He was also very stubborn and positive. 

My dad worked extremely hard to learn how to walk again. After 3 months with a spine brace, wound vac and walker (and assistance with all daily activities) and loads of medications, radiation and chemo.....my dad continued improving his strength and was able to move around the house by Thanksgiving (November 2013) with his walker - all by himself. My dad passed away 3 days before my 32nd birthday in May 2014. My dad had a very tough 10-month fight with cancer. 

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I realize that my 28-year vegetarian diet isn't best well suited for this annual meat-centered holiday but for me, it's not about the food. It's about family, gratitude, kindness and traditions, memories and stories. 

My dad prepared the Turkey but he would always make me an out-of-the-bird "vegetarian" stuffing. Ever since Campy came into our life (October 2008), my dad made sure that Campy always had a full belly of Turkey when it was time to eat the Thanksgiving meal. My dad had a special strategy of preparing the Turkey - cut of a piece for the plate, eat a small piece and toss a piece to Campy. As you can imagine, Campy loved this strategy. 

For me, every Thanksgiving has felt a little different since my dad passed away. 
I understand if you feel like Thanksgiving feels a little different this year. A day that we all associate with genuine feelings of gratitude will not include the typical deep-rooted camaraderie of gathering in person with loved ones and chosen family. Although eight months have passed since we were first hit with the devastating changes, stressors and adjustments that resulted from the deadly and highly contagious pandemic, nothing could have prepared us for the emotional toll of not being able to celebrate the holidays with our close friends and family.

Although restrictions on gatherings should be followed to protect you, your family and your community, there's something to be learned from this that can help us moving forward.

When we can once again hug, gather and enjoy the simple joy of traveling, don't take the special people in your life for granted. 

We are all energy. Be sure to surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you. 
The people you surround yourself with, you become. No matter your level of confidence or self-esteem, you are not immune to negative energy, destructive behaviors or bad influences.

This pandemic has taught us a lot. One of the many lessons we have learned is that our lives are not abundant without close connections to friends and family.

The world is not a random puzzle. There is meaning and purpose to every circumstance. 

Your mindset plays a very important role in life. The way you think about things and see the world determines how you live your life. If your mind is drawn toward the negative, you will feel hopeless. I encourage you to have an optimistic mind, full of gratitude, on this Thanksgiving holiday. This pandemic is forcing us to take a more holistic view of our personal choices. It may be incredibly hard to not think about ourselves as the US culture is known for individualism - our needs, our goals, our personal wants. My dad didn't pass away due to COVID but over 260,000 American lives have been taken due to this pandemic. On this Thanksgiving, we must all put our own wants and needs to the side in order to protect others - not just the vulnerable but all of the essential workers who are sacrificing so much to serve for others. 

I hope that you have plenty to be grateful for this year. I hope that you still have your health and have not caught this highly contagious virus. Our normally joyous holiday season is dominated by mandates, losses, uncertainty and social distancing. It's a bummer. It sucks. I encourage you to take some time to recognize what's good in your life. Even in the face of suffering and disappointment, find gratitude. 

With so many restrictions and mandates, don't forget why we are all instructed to do what we need to do. Serve a portion of gratitude - not COVID - this Thanksgiving.