Midlife - the right time to prioritise YOU

Congratulations you made it to midlife!  Perhaps for you, the primary school years are nearly over, your children can get themselves to school or maybe they’re already away at uni.  Life should be a lot easier now, shouldn’t it?  With the kids being more independent, you’ll have more time for yourself. That’s what you had envisaged anyway… 

However now you’re finding your children need you more than ever, as they navigate new territory on their own.  And then there are your elderly parents, who may need more of your attention and time as they age.  Add to the mixing pot perimenopause symptoms, and all of a sudden life has got worse not better!  There are even more demands on you, you’re rushing around and feeling exhausted.  Is there no end in sight?

---

If this sounds familiar, how are you coping?

Maybe you’re relying on caffeine and sugar to get you through the day, using alcohol to help you de-stress in the evenings and to sleep, or you’re relying on ultra processed, convenience foods and can’t find the energy to cook nutritious meals.  I can relate to all of these!

The result?

You’re not finding the time to look after yourself and health problems of your own are starting to show.  You might be gaining weight around your middle, have high blood pressure or high cholesterol, aches and pains, be prediabetic or on the verge of numerous other lifestyle diseases.  You’re feeling pretty rubbish on a daily basis and you’re, what the doctors call ‘TATT’ - Tired. All. The. Time!

But, this is just normal today, isn’t it?

Everyone is exhausted, on the treadmill of ‘modern life’. 

There’s nothing we can DO about it...

---

SPOILER ALERT!

·         You don’t have to feel tired all day long

·         It’s not normal to put on weight in midlife

·         You can find time for YOU

You don’t have to accept that this is what it is like when we get older. It’s just not true.  Despite what you’re led to believe/ see all around, you have a large amount of power over your future health outcomes.

I understand that doing something about all of this seems like just another thing to add to our never ending ‘to-do’ lists and I’m not here to make you feel bad or add to your lists of ‘shoulds’.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  I don’t want you to wait for a health scare for you to start prioritising yourself. 

This is what happened to me and I don’t recommend it at all.

---

If you’ve already read 'my story', you’ll know that I had a cardiac arrest at the age of 38.  As I lay in a coma in ICU, my loved ones were prepared for the worst and best scenario – as I had been ‘down’ for so long, if I did survive, I was likely to be severely brain damaged.  Not news any family member wants to hear, but especially a partner with their 1 year old daughter, just days away from their wedding day (yes, my timing was impeccable...).

To say I’m extremely lucky to have survived, is an understatement.  After 3 weeks in hospital, I was back at home.  I was tested thoroughly by the cardiologists to see if there was a particular cause for my cardiac arrest and in the end, they believe it was caused by a heart attack.  I did remember feeling nauseous and having bad indigestion, during the day it happened, but who knew women could have heart attacks, especially one so young?  It didn’t even cross my mind.  They told me my arteries were furred up like a 50 year old woman’s, and that was a shock, being in my late 30s.  What made it even harder for me to believe was that I thought I had been looking after myself! 

BUT what they did tell me was, it was very likely I had a positive outcome because I was a healthier person to start with.  It took a while for that to sink in, but once I had got over the ‘why me’ and ‘it’s so unfair, I hardly ever have takeaways’ stage, I knew I had to up my game and build on this.  My daughter very nearly lost her mummy. I was going to do all I could to look after myself, to ‘future proof’ myself and my family.  I wanted to see her grow up and maybe even have children of her own.

I’m not going to say that recovering from this traumatic event was easy.  Anyone who is in recovery from any type of trauma, knows that it is a rollercoaster of a ride, as well as a never-ending journey.  I’m also not going to go into detail about how I got to where I am today, but this hopefully demonstrates to you why I’m so passionate about supporting people to take their health and wellbeing seriously – not to put themselves at the bottom of the ‘to-do’ list. 

---

I know how hard it is to change but it’s worthwhile, believe me. I also know there are always plenty of reasons to delay making improvements to your health and wellbeing:

‘I’ll start eating healthily/ exercising/ finding time to relax (insert your own change) when I’ve finished these biscuits / after my holiday / in the new year (insert your own excuse).'

Who’s not used at least one of these?  I know I have. But what if, a good time for you to make changes never comes along? I’m lucky that I got a second chance at life, most of us only get one.

So, what would you like for your future? Spending the last 20 years of your life in ill health and not being able to truly appreciate it?  Or being active with your grandchildren and enjoying every minute of the retirement you’ve worked so hard for?  I know what I’m opting for and I want the same for YOU too.

A ‘good’ time to change will always be hard to find, but the ‘right’ time to change is always NOW.

---

If you’re struggling with where to start, book a FREE, no obligation ‘Health and energy review’ with me and I’ll gladly help you on your way.  Otherwise let me know in the comments what small change you’re going to try to incorporate into your life today, for your future life - tomorrow and beyond.