It Doesn't Have To Be YOUR Story

The other day I was sitting in the Mc Donalds parking lot. Not a typical place I would hang out, but it happens to be located near a running trail. It was a beautiful fall day and, I will be honest, I did not feel like running. I was having a bit of a pity party sitting there in my car. My hamstring was really tight, I had a blister in my left foot and I had a lot of work to catch up on that day. As I sat there, I began to watch the various patrons that came and went. We all know the stigma McDonalds has in the health world and I wondered what was motivating each person to make the choice to eat there.

I watched a couple in their 70s (my parents age) exit their car. The wife stepped out of the passenger side to quickly light up her cigarette and take a number of draggs as her husband slowly exited the drivers side to join her at the rear of the car. They slowly walked accross the parking lot to the enterance and she was using all of her time to get as much from the cigarette as she could. She extinguished the cigarette just before her husband opened the door to escort her in to grab some lunch. They weren't considered over weight in appearence, but I could only imagine what consequences they would face in their health, if not already, as a result of some of their habits.

One man was sitting in a small bus with a name of an assisted living home on the side. He must have been waiting for his passengers to come back from their outing. He had a large bag sitting on his lap and was enjoying what looked like a burger, fries and a large drink from the restaurant. He momentarily stepped out of the bus to throw away the emptied bag. He had a large belly, which pushed his shorts down, so naturally he had to adjust and pull them up, so not to loose them. He appeared to be in his 60s. I wondered about his health habits and if he had ever known or experienced health with regard to nutrition and physical energy. For this moment in observing, this seemed to be his normal. I have read articles about men's and women's health and the dangers of belly fat in conjuction with their heart health. He grunted (as I do sometimes) to get himself back into the bus and shimmied his bay back on his drivers seat.

While I sat there, still trying to get motivated to get out of my car and run, I thought of my dad. He would have been 77 on 10/30/2019. I watched first hand as he lied to himself about his health, made poor choices with his diet and relied on his doctors to give him pills to numb and correct every bad choice he made with his body. We can learn a lot from our parents and what I learned from my dad was that it is not a great strategy to rely solely on what your doctor tells you in your 15 minute visit before he writes another prescription and shuffles you out the door so he can fit 3 more patients in for that hour. I know doctors want to help their patients, but I also believe we are in a crisis. The dependance on the big pharma band aid as a result of exposure to bad food and bad habits has created an epidemic for people of my parent's generation. If we are not careful, we can fall into the same fate as my dad.

In 2010, my dad had been retired for 8 years. He started his retirement with a hip replacement and he said he felt like a new man! My dad had faced health issues throughout his life. Be was an overweight kid and my Grandmother was a heavy woman who believed in feeding everyone who walked in the door. Food was her comfort and my dad had adopted that mindset. After returning home from Vietnam, my dad worked in banking management and it proved to be a high stress job with long hours. He suffered a mild heart attack in his early 40s and had bouts of digestive issues for as long as I could remember. I believe my dad and men of my dad's generation have not been encouraged to be in tuned with their bodies. They encounter a health issue and either ignore it or depend on fixing it with medication, but not getting to the core of the cause.

Fast forward, in 2010, my dad had gained about 70 pounds and was suffering from knee pain. The more his knee would hurt, the less he would move and the more pain meds he would take. My dad was determined to have surgery to replace his knee, so he could start exercises to lose weight. His doctors were hesitant to schedule surgery because of his weight and his diagnosis as a diabetic (he didn't tell me that part). I later learned he was on 9 different medications! My dad finally had his surgery on 12/13/2010 and he passed away on 1/13/2011. He suffered four ulcers in his stomach from numerous pain medications, which leaked into his gut and he became toxic. They rushed him into emergency surgery to repair his ulcers and clean out his body cavity. My dad was now facing recovery from 2 major surgeries and his body was not strong enough to recover. He didn't make it home and he died from heart failure at the age of 68.

As I watch people come and go from Mc Donalds, my heart breaks. I was worried that the tone of this blog may come across as though I were judging them. Please know that it goes so much deeper than this. I want to help people reclaim and take back their life. I want to help those who are ready to reduce the amount of medications they are taking, by approaching their health in a preventative manner; addressing what is holding them back from making the best choices for their health and quality of life. I want to help people navigate the pitfalls that come with poor quality food that is addictive and available via drive thru, Door Dashes, and Uber Eats. I couldn't help my dad, but I have dedicated my life to helping whoever else I can, live the life they were CREATED for, full of purpose; not the life they are settling for because their bodies won't let them........YET!

Dream big! Live big! Impact the world in the way YOU were created to do so! Start your journey today; one step at a time, one habit at a time, one triumph at a time!

Here's to your health, from the inside out!

-Nikki