It is a brand new world and things I wrote about in the last two posts have happened or almost happened. By that, I mean that our new President is Joseph Biden and history was made by electing Kamala Harris, the first women of African American and Asian descent, as our Vice President. Great historic news! Also, the biggest fear happened, a group of white nationalist, anti-Semitic, racists, literally stormed and almost took over the Capital building in Washington DC, on January 6th, 2021. These people created an insurrection that will be taught in high school and college history classes forever. It was scary to watch in real time on television and Past President Donald J. Trump verbally led the charge. He had a rally earlier in the day and suggested that he would be "by their side as they go and take back their country" and the rally attendees did exactly as was asked. Congress conducted a formal "Second Impeachment Trial", to prevent the former president from ever attempting to run for office again. The vote was cast to acquit Past President Donald Trump after the Second Impeachment Trial. There remains strong supporters of citizens and members of our American Congress support Mr. Trump. This is a scary moment in our history. The state of Georgia "turned blue" and after the 2020 national election, the Georgia state legislature voted to meaningfully suppress the rights of voters. Where in that state more people and people of color voted in two Democratic Senators in Congress.
If you want more information, I encourage you to do your own research on the subject. I just couldn't continue without adding a historical update. What does this have to do with nutrition and spirituality you may ask? Well, as we still are in the midst of a Covid Pandemic and while in some areas of the country Covid 19 vaccines have become more available, people are still putting on weight. People are still getting Covid 19 and still dying from it. Praying might be helpful right now if that is helpful to you. Meditation is another form of prayer, if you do not affiliate with a particular deity, and taking a few deep breaths when you are feeling out of control may help too.
My focus today is how to get "Back on the Path" or finding your way back to normal or what will be the new normal once mask restrictions are lifted. I believe the first thing to focus on is your personal health. Go to a physician and get a check up to see what is your current health situation for your age group. Is your blood pressure normal, 120/80 mmHg, how about your HgbA1C, (Hemoglobin A1C) which is the three month check of your blood sugar average. The range for normal is below 5.7%, Prediabetes is 5.7-6.4% and Diabetes is 6.5% and above. Most people don't know these values but as we get older or maybe because of the Pandemic, these numbers take on a greater importance. Finally, go step on a scale. I know I hate it too! But unless you know where your starting point is, you can't make a healthy diet plan to get where you need to be. Most people have put on at least 10-20 pounds during the Pandemic. We are all so scared and food has that lovely side effect of making us feel better.
Obviously, this is my blog and my opinion and you as the reader can disagree. The Covid-19 Pandemic we are still going through has created levels of anxiety that many have not experienced before and those who have some issues with mental stress have seen their levels rise. We are strong and can benefit from what we learned about ourselves and family and friends. If we try, we can use this new information to change our behavior and perhaps feel even better when we come out on the other side. Let's hope so anyway.
