One-Year Celebration Today! Pursuing Healthy Living!

One year ago, I began a new part of my healing journey. It has to do with saying no to alcohol and yes to optimal health. Interested in knowing a little bit of me pursuing healthy living? Then keep reading.

Interest in Healthy Living

I haven’t talked much about my healing journey lately, but I’ve been on a specific journey for about three years. For me, something about growing older sparked more interest in being healthy. Truth is, my interest in living a healthy life began as a child, probably around the age of 10 because that’s when my mom took a deep interest in nutrition because my dad had MS. 

Throughout the decades, I’ve learned a lot about being healthy. This interest hasn’t waned at all over the years. In fact, I’ve learned several things about what it takes to be healthy. 

One important lesson I’ve learned is sometimes no matter what we do, we get hit by things that make us unhealthy. I guess because we live in a fallen world. On the other side of that coin lies another truth: sometimes we make unhealthy decisions and that causes our bodies to become unhealthy.

One-Year Celebration Today! Pursuing Healthy Living

One year ago, I decided to stop doing something that was unhealthy for my body: drinking alcohol. Not because I had a drinking problem, but because my body didn’t react well to it. It was making my body unhealthy.

Another truth, I learned in my forties to enjoy red wine. Unfortunately, sulfites don’t treat my body well, and alcohol was working against my gut and brain health goals. So, I made the decision to just stop for a while. 

One day at a time, I did not drink alcohol. Then the days turned into months. Occasionally friends and family would ask me how long I was going to not drink. My response was always, “I don’t know.” 

Now, here I am one year later, and I don’t know if I will ever drink alcohol again. I may, but I may not. I still have not reached my optimal health goals, and I believe alcohol hinders my ability to achieve this goal. 

Why do I want optimal health?

First, as a Christian, our body is the temple of God, and we are to treat it as such. We each are responsible to not destroy it. Our body, God’s temple, is sacred (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

Second, I want to be as healthy as I can be so that I can serve God to the best of my abilities (1 Peter 4:10).

Finally, I like being healthy. It feels good to be healthy, am I right? Pursuing healthy living can be hard sometimes, but the results are worth it. 

Self-Control is a Must for Making Changes

Changing takes self-control. There were days during this past year that I was tempted to drink a glass of red wine. Many times, for various reasons. Sometimes because I wanted to join in a social experience with family and friends. Sometimes because I wanted to relax at the end of a hard day or week. Other times because it just sounded good. But I resisted. Why? Because my goal of becoming healthier meant more to me than a moment of swallowing a few ounces of red wine. Saying no to red wine meant saying yes to my health.

One-Year Milestone

I share this because it’s a milestone I never ever would have thought I would ever celebrate. When I was under 40, I basically didn’t drink alcohol. Since my early 40’s though, I began to drink red wine for my health and because I liked the taste of red wine. 

Funny, huh? For my health? Yes, I was told by a medical professional that drinking a glass of red wine a few times each week would help me through the change of life. Guess what? It didn’t. But that was another lesson I had to learn.

Now, here I am not drinking alcohol for my health, and something tells me I have made the right decision. Maybe my lab work has something to do with that. As my doctor says, “Labs don’t lie.”

So, today, February 13, 2024, I celebrate one year of not drinking alcohol. I just wanted to share a little about my health journey with you. Keeping things open and honest. 

In this world we will be tempted and ridiculed for our decisions. But once we reach our goals, we can lift our glasses and say “Cheers to me! I did it!” 

Keep on going, friend. Even when you are tempted. Grab self-control. Be brave to say no to the things that hinder you. Say yes to things that help you reach your optimal health and goals.

Cheers!

Michelle