How can I be feeling this way? I’m still in college!
During my high school years, my mom cooked mainly from scratch, we ate many salads and soups, and I was not one to be sick too often. Fast forward to college, and I was shocked to learn from my friends who worked in the kitchen that all the “food” we were served was pre-cooked. Pizza came frozen AND pre-sliced, and even the ice cream came in individual packages. There was no chopping salads; they came in a bag.
This huge change in eating was difficult for my body which was used to eating many whole foods. One hour after I finished eating a big meal, I would be so hungry. I gained an embarrassing amount of weight my freshman year because of all the empty calories I was eating. Being a size 4/6 was history for me!
That’s not the worst of it!
By my junior year in college, I had to set three alarms to wake up on time because I never heard the first two alarms go off. My Saturday schedule consisted of leaving the dorm at 7:15 am, attending a combination of church meetings, visiting the children we brought to church on Sundays.
Right after the visiting, I had ensemble practice, which I left early to fill my responsibility in the college cafeteria. By 6:45 pm when I made it back to the dorm, I was thoroughly exhausted and would get ready for bed right away. I had no strength to do anything else Saturday evenings. And I was only 21 years old!
The weekday schedule was no better. A normal day had me up by 5:15 am ; by 6 pm I was back at the dorm most days. I remember my sophomore year having so many reports that I was up till 11:30 pm (curfew) and back up at 5 am to finish the reports.
My health definitely suffered, but that was not the worst part. The worst part was that if I had to be in ill and miss responsibilities, I was inconveniencing others, the dorm mom or an upperclassman who had to stay with me. That fact was made very clear to me. Worse than that, all that ill people were given to eat was canned chicken noodle soup. In spite of all the inconveniences, being ill was a luxury because at least I could sleep as much as I needed to sleep.
I just pushed through some illness with pain killers, which “helped” me through, and if I was not ill enough, I just kept pushing myself. It was a miserable existence!
By my senior year, my responsibilities as a work study student increased, and my working hours increased. My fatigue level was high, my efficiency was low. While I do not remember exactly how many alarms I set, I was doing well to wake up five minutes before devotions and not receive demerits for being late. When I arrived at the college campus in the morning for classes, I was so exhausted that I did not remember how I got there usually, and I drove myself.
Does any of this resonate with you?
If your health is suffering due to a crazy schedule or over-commitment of yourself, I know exactly how you feel. When your calendar is rather full, it is the most important time to take excellent care of your health. Otherwise, your productivity suffers, your outlook on life becomes rather negative, and important relationships in your life suffer. Having support when you have much going on is extremely helpful because of the outside perspective that a coach has can offer will accelerate your healing.
Before you suffer much more or end up with very serious health issues, let’s schedule a call to get clear what is working for your health right now, what is not, and you want your health to be. God is giving you this opportunity to change your life for the better by providing support from someone who has been where you are, learned so many lessons, and can support you on your journey.
I have three calls open with me in the next two weeks, and they are available at a first-come, first-served basis. There is no charge for this powerful connection to begin to change your health around. Click here to email me right away, and we will begin the scheduling process.
Sending you many blessings,
Luba
Edit: You can go here to read part 2 of my story.
