Don’t look back

Start making healthier decisions today without the guilt of what happened over the holidays

Well done. You survived another holiday onslaught. If you are like a majority of people, you probably went a bit overboard on eating and drinking.

If you are one of the few that didn’t, you are ahead of the game.

For the rest who got uber festive, don’t worry about it. Don’t feel guilty. That is your past. Don’t look back, you aren’t going that way. Today is what counts. You can start to make healthier choices starting right now. Here are some things to think about as you approach 2018.

Basics

Make sure you are drinking enough water, getting enough sleep and have as little stress in your life as possible. The first two are a little easier. Even if you think you eat well, you may not be absorbing all the good nutrients if you aren’t hydrated enough or getting enough rest. I know this seems so simple, but most people don’t do it. A lot of people get out of routines on the weekends. They drink less water, more alcohol. Be conscious of water consumption. We are water. We need to make everything in our bodies run efficiently. Get regular sleep. You can’t catch up on sleep. You may feel better after getting more sleep than normal, but imagine how good you would feel if you got a little extra every night.

Mindset

When I talk about mindset, I mean changing the way you think about fitness and eating. Most people dread exercise. When did this start to happen? Kids love to be active. They love to hang off of things. They love to jump, dance, roll, spin, etc. Find something you like to do – dance, walk, skate, bike – but just move. We were designed to move. We definitely weren’t built to sit in chairs for long periods of time. If you lunge down to get something and struggle to get back up, that is not normal. Getting up off of the couch should not be difficult. If you mess up, so be it. Fall down seven times, stand up eight, as they say. Know that it is OK to mess up. Your fitness journey won’t be perfect. You’ll eat a few Timbits, have a few wines and maybe even a poutine or two. You don’t have to start on Mondays, firsts of the month, full moons or whatever.

Nutrition

Food is information for your body. It gives your body the permission to do certain things. If you give your body bad information, it is going to have a bad result. You spend a lot of money on your car. You don’t put the wrong oil in the engine. That would ruin your engine. Luckily the body is more resilient than your car, but it is also more precious. You may have many cars in your life, but you will only have one body. A common question I get is: what should I be eating? The answer is eat as much real food as possible. Eat whole foods that have as little packaging as possible. Eat meat and vegetables. Make your plate as colourful as possible. Dark leafy green and bright coloured vegetables are best. Eat lean cuts of meat. Avoid highly processed meats. Aim for whole grains. Supplements can have their place but aim for the real stuff first. Another question I get is: how much should I eat? At first I would write down what I eat for one week. See if you can make healthier choices to those meals. I would then add in exercise. If you don’t have any

the Clinical OT Journal, OT Now in Nov. 2014 entitled ‘Executive function and occupational therapy: Lessons drawn from the literature and lived experience with 22q.11.2 deletion syndrome’.

As she wraps up her career, she has many reflections about her time as an occupational therapist.

These include having the opportunity to have input on program development over the years and having contributed to systemic change.

“The thing that really has inspired me is always exploring where else can OT contribute to helping people help themselves.”

However most of all, she says she has enjoyed working with her clients who demonstrated determination and courage as well as the family and community organizations who rallied behind their loved ones.

“The beauty is seeing them go from the struggle, and it is a struggle… to their family and their supports seeing them thrive, and that is the true joy.”

Driscoll says she plans to spend retirement learning Spanish, travelling and dancing.