The Order of Things *

Dive in? All in? Wade?

Take on all aspects at once? Exercise, nutrition, and all else? Or stagger the starts?

I’m trying to figure out how to do this major, life-altering Thing, and I’m not confident in where to start what, or how. It’s like smokers trying to decide whether to gradually cut back, or go “cold turkey”. Do I kick up the exercise at the same time as I cut out sugar? Do I cut out ALL sugar at once, or gradually reduce it? Do I cut out carbs at the same rate I do sugar?

I have a month or so to get a head start on this; I just finished full time school, and cannot get a full time job until I pass my board exams in a few weeks. I’m told it takes a person 90 days to set a habit, so I feel some serious pressure to get things underway. Exercise is the least intimidating at the moment, because I am in the enviable position of working for a Pilates studio; in the last week I have worked out five times. Whether I’ll be able to maintain this exercise routine longterm -?- but I can start.

However, working on the nutrition part is…worrisome.

I’ve done some (admittedly erratic) research on dietary habits.

Nutritionally, I’m building a model of eating that blends the overlapping and dovetailing bits of Anti-inflammatory, Low Glycemic, and Keto. (I can’t just follow a trend, it’s not Me.) What’s wonderful is that I’ve friends on Keto, diabetic, or Anti-inflammatory, diets that are being supervised by doctors; it helps me vet my sources. It has also given me some insight as to the order of things. There are conflicting ideas regarding whether to go cold turkey or not, but one piece of advice is solid: “Don’t start at all until you’re prepared.” I thought at first this meant knowing the rules of my diet and being prepared for the side effects of changing it.

I was wrong. My people explained to me that it means being prepared throughout your house, your day, and your night. It is making sure you have at least a 2-week meal plan laid out before you start. It is having your “safe” snacks, and/or coping mechanisms in place, and having temptation out of reach. As one friend put it: “if you get too hungry and have to eat, you must have food on you, because almost anything you can buy that is quick and cheap will be bad for you. You have to PLAN.”

The advice is good. It has structure. It is a concrete Plan….I find it intimidating as hell.

It means shopping out of my own pocket, because no one in my household is going to go in on this with me. It means using the kitchen – which I avoid because I live with a perfectionist who feels compelled to “help” with everything, and to notice even the tiniest scratch on a pan or utensil. It means holding on by my fingernails, because I can’t get temptation out of the way – the household is carbohydrate-driven, there will always be bread and chocolate around.

I’ll have to get my courage up. I’ll have to tighten my budget up. Wish me luck?

*The Order of Things is also a book title by Kifper – an amazing compendium of lists! The order of planets, the order of military ranks, just about anything you can wonder about. (I’m a Book Nerd)