Taking Care of Myself - Guest Blogger TRISTI PINKSTON & a Great Giveaway


Several months ago, I got a nice review of Gifted from a fellow writer/blogger. We were both going to be attending the LDStorymakers Conference, and I looked forward to meeting her. But both days of the conference came and went and I hadn't had a chance to say hello. Then as some of us got ready for the Whitney Awards in the restroom, there was Tristi. We had a short conversation and she turned out to be as nice as I expected she would be. Tristi has just finished a cookbook, so I invited her to do a guest post on the blog. Read what she has to say and then enter to win a copy of her cookbook.

To enter, leave a comment about a healthy change you've made in your life. For more entries, facebook this posting, twitter this posting or post it to your own blog and leave another comment. Be sure to leave a comment for each entry.

We'll end this contest and pick a winner on Friday at midnight. (Sorry, this giveaway is just open to US residents.)
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I’m a wife and mother, a Cubmaster, an author, editor, virtual book tour coordinator, a homeschooler, a blogger, a media reviewer, a daughter . . . the list goes on, and I’m sure that when you sit down to make your list, it looks something like this.  We all wear many hats, and we get so busy scrambling from thing to thing that we push our non-priorities to the side to make room for the most important things in our lives.  All too often, we push self-care to the side, thinking that someone else’s needs are more important than our own.

I’ve heard “fill the well” so many times, I’m practically drowning in it, but it never clicked with me. I was raised to be the peacemaker, the selfless one, the serving and giving one, and any time I would stop to do something for myself, I felt guilty, like I should be still out there serving and giving. 

Recently, though, my body has been shutting down.  It’s giving me signals that it can’t keep going at this pace, and you know what, it makes me mad.  I want to keep pushing and pushing, but now my body is pushing back, and I’ve had to embark on a journey of healing and recovery.  My doctor has been repeatedly emphasizing that my kids need their mother—and what a great way to turn Mommy guilt to a better advantage, right?

I wrote my new cookbook, “Bless Your Heart,” to help those who are interested in heart health to learn how they can prevent future heart problems by lowering the sodium in their daily diets.  It’s not just for those who already have heart conditions—isn’t it better to prevent a heart attack than to recover from one?  Heart disease is the #1 killer in our country right now, even beating out cancer for the top spot, and sodium contributes to heart disease.  I wanted to give others some delicious, quick, easy meals they can serve their families and to help them put their heart health front and center on their priority list.

Am I now taking 100% better care of myself?  No, but I will tell you this—when I look at where I was three months ago, and where I am today, I’m a rock star.  Rock. Star.  And every day, as I continue on this journey and choose to get enough rest and choose to exercise and choose to eat a nice salad with my lunch, I get closer to understanding what it really means to love myself, because at the end of the day, if you don’t love yourself, you’ll be miserable, and I don’t choose to be miserable. 

Comments

Torrie said…
Cool giveaway! I'm obsessed with cookbooks (esp healthy cookbooks), so I would be ecstatic if I won!

A recent healthy change I've made is to start keeping my promises to myself. For so long I would tell myself I would do something and then not do it, which is a sure recipe for low self-confidence. I'd promised myself I'd lose my mission weight, and now I'm finally doing it: I've been keeping a food and exercise log for almost a month now and have lost 8 pounds. Here's to people everywhere making healthy changes!
Awesome job Tristi!
A healthy choice I made? Hmmmm, I guess to drink more water and less soda ...
JoAnn Arnold said…
Very inviting giveaway. Hope to be chosen.
Lisa And Randy said…
A very nice giveaway. One healthy change I've made is to exercise everyday, or at least try to. Whether it is do 3-5 miles of Walk Away the Pounds, work in the yard, or take my dog for a walk. Still working on it, but it is getting better.
Hope to be chosen.
Lisa And Randy said…
A very nice giveaway. One healthy change I've made is to exercise everyday, or at least try to. Whether it is do 3-5 miles of Walk Away the Pounds, work in the yard, or take my dog for a walk. Still working on it, but it is getting better.
Hope to be chosen.
ninjabunnyz said…
Thanks for the Giveaway! One healthy change I have recently made was probably cutting back on almost all junk and fast food. This meas no more McDonalds, Doritos, Burger King, Oreos, etc. It's been hard but I feel better about what I eat now.

ninjabunnyz@hotmail.com
ninjabunnyz said…
Shared on FB


https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=211399515575979&id=100000363109928


ninjabunnyz@hotmail.com
ninjabunnyz said…
tWEETED


http://twitter.com/#!/ninjabunyz1/status/98749071803686912


ninjabunnyz@hotmail.com
lisa said…
We have gotten away from drinking pop, and have switched to frozen fruit (homemade) bars instead of icecream!
lisa said…
https://twitter.com/#!/MONKEYMOM8105/status/98848345358991360
Anonymous said…
I have taken to daily walks after dinner, and healthy snacks between meals =)
uk7ss@yahoo.com
Candyce said…
What a lovely giveaway! This morning, I clipped on a pedometer in an effort to track my steps and movement for the day. I've taken 2794 steps today so far, but know I must make it to 7000.
ceevegnashville [at] gmail [dot] com
Anonymous said…
Looks like a very nice cookbook. I would love to win. My changes in health habits are more walking and using the elyptical machine. LMH
Anonymous said…
I shared on facebook. LMH
Anonymous said…
water water everywhere and i am really drinking a lot. Hope to win. LMH
Anonymous said…
Thanks for sharing Tristi. I have cut back on my portion sizes and have been including more fruits and veggies in my diet. What a difference! TAH
cucciolo25 said…
I counted calories for a short time just to see how much I was eating. WOW! You don't realize how much you're cramming down the old pie hole! Since then I have been able to reduce my portion sizes and selections to a more reasonable level. I feel great!
Anonymous said…
when my mom was diagnosed with cancer they told her over and over....go for a walk every day. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables and protein and your chances of surviving will be ridiculously higher than if you don't eat healthy and exercise. Doesn't that seem so simple?!!!! Shouldn't we just be eating right in the first place? It really does help prevent cancer and any disease. So simple......yet so hard. Thanks for the post.
Jacqueline said…
ive added yogurt to my diet! It's so good for you. It's made me lose some weight around my middle too!
jmmccarr@gmail.com
katja9_10 said…
I have been drinking more water during the day.
Unknown said…
My healthy change is that I am trying to cut down on Diet Pepsi. I haven't cut it out completely yet, but I'm working on it.
Unknown said…
I shared this on my blog http://primarymary.blogspot.com
John + Bethany said…
We have cut down portions in our little household of 2 by scaling back recipes I make. Growing up in a big family, I always learned to cook many servings of each dish, which I continued to do, thinking we would just save the leftovers but really we just ended up eating more than 1 serving each. So now I make just enough for 2 and this has really helped us both.
Rebecca Adams said…
I would love to win this cookbook! Sounds really nice! I've made lots of changes toward being healthier. The transition has been hard, but I'm trying to manage it all. 1, eat better! I've been trying to eat more fruits and veggies and more protein and less carbs and fats. I could use more healthy recipes. :) 2, trying to get more exercise! My husband and I got p90x. Let's just say it will take longer than 90 days for us to get through it. We've missed quite a few days, but I'm hoping we can get into a more regular schedule with the exercise. 3, drinking more water. 4, trying to get plenty of sleep every night.

Sorry, just couldn't name one. I'm pretty much turning my whole life around just from these 4 changes! I'm hoping in the long run to lose 30-40 pounds to be at a healthy weight.
Rebecca Adams said…
I posted on my blog. :)
John + Bethany said…
Shared this on Facebook
John + Bethany said…
I posted this on my blog as well!
Courtney said…
A healthy change I have made in my life recently is working out on my elliptical machine 4 times a week!

courtney.ivana1981@gmail.com
Lisa said…
so i am a rock star because i get out of bed to face another day.
Anonymous said…
I have been taking walks daily and also cutting calories. I have also quit drinking soda.
Scott / Lori said…
I am trying to go to bed earlier and get more sleep!
I loved that post and I needed it too.