Give it Everything You've Got

Another day gone in a flash. Back at the doctor for more blood tests this morning, monitoring this pre-diabetes issue. Every time I go there I leave behind at least four vials of my blood, it’s not a good pattern. It’s amazing I don’t run out! One of the tests we did was for magnesium level. Did you know that magnesium deficiency can contribute to insulin resistance? If you are having problems with the regulation of your blood sugar it is worth checking in to.

At 6:30 after running around all day, speaking to clients, stuffing lunch down my face and getting some much needed work done, working out was not at the top of my list. But I took the day off yesterday so there was no arguing with the gym as it called to me. I am hyper-sensitive to exercise. If I let a couple of days go by without getting it things cease working properly. Including my brain. Exercise is crucial to regulating blood sugar. So there you have it. I went to the gym.

Once I got there, as always, it felt good to be working out. I felt strong! But even feeling as good as it did to sweat, as I ran, I thought “I’ll cut it short so I don’t use up too much energy and I can still get a really tough workout in tomorrow morning.” What? That just doesn’t make sense. Do you ever do this? Why save energy for the next workout when you could just give everything to one you’re doing right then and there? Because it’s easier to procrastinate? It’s not like I have a race tomorrow. I’ll just give it everything I have now and I’ll give it everything I have tomorrow and if I am dead tired and just can’t move another minute, I can stop. I actually think I would have stopped tonight if I hadn’t thought of a book I recently read. It’s about writing, but the message translates to just about anything:

Anne Dillard has said that day by day you have to give the work before you all the best stuff you have, not saving up for later projects. If you give freely, there will always be more. This is a radical proposition that runs so contrary to human nature, that I personally keep trying to find loopholes in it. But it is only when I go ahead and decide to shoot my literary, creative wad on a daily basis that I get any sense of full presence, of being Zorba the Greek at the keyboard. Otherwise I am a wired little rodent squirreling things away, hoarding and worrying about supply. Arthritis forms in my hands and in the hands my mind is using to shape things…

You are going to have to give and give and give, or there’s no reason for you to be writing. You have to give from the deepest part of yourself, and you are going to have to go on giving, and the giving is going to have to be its own reward. There is no cosmic importance to your getting something published, but there is in learning to be a giver.

from bird by bird by Anne Lamott

And so on I went for an additional 15 minutes. Good heart-pumping music on my iPod didn’t hurt, either. And yes I really did have this deep thought on the treadmill. I come up with some of my best ideas when running! Like continuing to run, for one. On this particular evening, I actually took it a little farther. I started thinking about what Matt Frazier writes on his No Meat Athlete website about moderation. This time the message is about veganism but, again, the message translates to so many other things. (You can read the inspiring posts here and here, and you should.) He’s so right. Why settle for moderation? You can accomplish so much more when you don’t.

Getting home at 8:30 I quickly threw together something surprisingly delicious! It’s so easy when you have the right things handy.

I boiled some whole grain buckwheat in one pot. Meanwhile I chopped up Brussels sprouts and onions and stuck them in a pan with some coconut oil and then, just at the end, added a little bit of balsamic. Threw it all together and added a few walnuts. Done in minutes! So simple.

Side note: I went to a screening of Forks over Knives the other night. It was great! I highly recommend seeing it when it comes out. The movie is about the prevalence of “diseases of affluence” that are taking over our society, how diabetes rates are soaring and are affecting people younger and younger and how such a large number of people are on drugs for things that could be reversed (and could have been prevented in the first place) through a diet of whole foods. It emphasizes a diet of plant-based foods and the importance of getting away from processed foods. The film largely covers the work of Dr. Colin Campbell (of China Study fame) and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. I am so glad I saw it.

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