It has been a long break from writing my blog. The longer I leave it the more anxious I get about NOT writing. I have a tonne of ideas swirling around in my very busy brain and ultimately I know typing them out and sharing them somehow makes it all better. So here we go. A myriad of topics to share as it has been awhile. 

I am in a very self disciplined phase at the moment in my life. Not sure how this all came about, but I think I just got annoyed at myself for all the things I know I SHOULD have been doing. I finally just went, “Right, start doing all the things you know will make you feel good, and keep doing them every day”. And that also means stopping doing some of the things you know do NOT make you feel good. That is quite the necessary distinction to make. 

We really can be our own worse enemy. Inside our brains is good and naughty. And depending on so many random factors we listen to either side, whoever speaks the loudest right? The ‘fuck it’ mindset can settle in at times, and we indulge, do the thing we know we shouldn’t, or even reach out to that ex boyfriend we know is really not going anywhere. Trust me I have done all those things. It’s called being human. But there just comes a time when you are tired of these self defeating and self sabotaging behaviours and know it’s time to be kind to yourself and look after yourself as best as you can. Love yourself first. So many people put so much pressure on themselves. Really looking after yourself should be our first priority.

I am in a manic state of clearing. I am obsessed with creating a fresh space for myself and creating a calmer environment. Previously I have had artwork and photos all over my walls. It was really a sensory overload. I had to remove all of the things on the walls to get some painting done recently, and wow the difference a fresh painted wall makes is just amazing. I am next having the rest of the house painted and freshened up. I am scrambling through shelves and cupboards doing my best to get rid of things, offload to op shops, and even finding a few things to sell. I know that when I am in this mindset change is coming. I am making space for something new to arrive. Energetically. YES! 

I have been very focused on my health and fitness over the past few months. Firstly my hormones have been in state of flux, I have hit peri-menopause, at the age of 44 it seems a bit young. According to the internet, it’s about right. People don’t talk about it enough. I always thought “the change” would happen around 50, but it’s like a dirty secret. Or secret women’s business. I say screw that. Men need to know what is happening too! The best thing is the sudden stopping of periods. The worse thing is the hot flushes. Daily I have around 6 to 12 hot flushes where I break into a hot sweaty mess. I am constantly taking jumpers on and off, and have got quite used to being cold one minute to then dripping in sweat like I have been running for 20 mins. It is quite bizarre. The worse is waking in the middle of the night, multiple times all sweaty. 

There is also a sense of disappointment that I was not able to have a baby. There is some built in disposition to pass on our genetic code. Sorry to my ancestors who battled so hard to be alive. I was never super passionate about having children, otherwise I would have. I think I was also VERY good at contraception. Always paranoid. And now the best thing about dating in your 40’s? Most men have had vasectomies!! Winning! 

The best message I have to share with you today though, is about intermittent fasting. I have reached the next level in fitness and health, and fasting has been the number one key to making me feel good and has helped me shed about 7kg. I did not start fasting to lose weight to be honest, I was not really overweight before, I did it more for health and wellness and discipline. To teach myself I can do hard things. When you do hard things, it is a flow on affect. You then can do OTHER hard things. Then before you know it, you have done all the things you have been wanting to do for ages, and it’s easy. Intermittent fasting is easy. It takes some getting used to but the easiest way to start is to stop eating dinner by 7pm, and start eating lunch the next day by 12pm. Only have black coffee or black tea in the morning and lots of water. Aim for only 2 meals a day and no snacks. Eat healthy and unprocessed foods. Hunger pangs will reduce. You will be amazed that you will be able to survive eating less, yes it is possible. Next step is try OMAD, one meal a day. Now this is harder to achieve but very possible. I have not quite mastered it as I want to keep exercising. And then for the ultimate in fasting supremacy is a 3 or 5 day fast. This really triggers auto-phagy, which basically is when your body processes all the defunct proteins in your body that can cause cancer, dementia and alzheimers. This is my ultimate goal, to get up to some longer fasts to really experience those health benefits. 

I have eliminated a few things from my lifestyle recently. Caffeine is one of them. I said goodbye to diet coke and wait for it… COFFEE. I know, what a psychopath! I had the worst withdrawals eliminating coffee at first. It took me 3 days to get over the headaches. But then, I felt so much better. My energy levels are far more even, I do not get the spikes and dips that coffee gave me. I would like to say I am less anxious, I am. But removing coffee has lifted the mask on ADHD symptoms that I think was hiding behind the coffee. But that is for another blog! 

So there you have it. Some of what is happening in my brain. In a nutshell, try intermittent fasting if you want to see some amazing health and wellbeing changes, think about decluttering to create mental and physical space in your life, and perhaps re-think your caffeine intake. The world is obsessed with coffee, it’s a bit weird. Or maybe I am the weird one! If you want to feel more even keel with your energy and less addicted to a drink, then give it a go. 

Thanks for reading, feel free to comment, I always love to hear from my readers, near and far. Have you tried fasting? How do you find it? 

Anita xxx