Writing this isn't the easiest...and honestly I've been putting it off for over a week now, because if I wrote it, that meant that I would have to admit that I had a problem.
But as the week went on, and I got out of the house and out with friends, I noticed, I wasn't the only one with this problem. I even sat down to a nice dinner one night and saw a family (dad, mom and daughter) all sitting at a fancy restaurant with their noses in their phones...no one said a word to each other their entire meal...
I never really thought of myself as having a problem with my cell phone/social media...I mean, I am a single mother, chasing a two year old boy around all day, while I work from home and take 3 online college courses for Holistic Health as well. My time seemed so limited...when would I have time to get on my phone? I mean, sure...I pick it up here and there, and chat throughout the day as messages come in, and take a break here and there to sit and scroll mindlessly through facebook...but I didn't have a problem...that wasn't THAT much time....or so I thought.
Exactly 1 month and 2 weeks ago, I took a vacation of sorts back to my second home in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. I spent a month there, reconnecting with friends and family and deciding whether I was ready to move back yet or not.
However, on this trip, my recent "american" phone did not have an international plan, so unless I was somewhere with great wifi signal (rare) my phone was completely worthless, except for taking pictures with it.
For the next month, I barely used my phone at all, except for in the evening a few minutes before bed, or a quick check in on random days...where that random wifi was found.
In that month, I noticed how much more active I became...and I thought I was active before! If I sat down, I got bored...didn't have anything to keep my attention, so I'd get right back up and keep moving around. My diet didn't change much...however I did eat more breads and pastas than I normally eat and everything else seemed so normal. My increase in activity didn't seem like a ton. I wasn't exhausted at the end of the day or sore from none stop movement...in fact I hardly even noticed the increase in activity being all that much until the moment I got home. The first friend I saw, immediately mentioned how good I looked and that I looked like I had lost weight. I was flattered but didn't think too much on it...until I went out to my local kava bar one night and got a handful of the same compliments. Finally I decided to pull out the dreaded scale that I had buried deep under the bathroom sink and weigh myself.....more than 10lbs down!!! I had lost nearly 13 lbs in the month of not using my phone!
I had eaten fattier foods (breads and pastas) and didn't think I had even changed that much else...if anything I figured I would have gained weight...but looking back, I was able to see that...ya! I really put my phone down and got my ass up! I couldn't believe the difference! Not only that, but the month I was there, I made more REAL connections and friendships with people than in the year and a half of being back in the states!
Since I've been home, Ive been making a conscious choice to stay off my phone as much as possible, though I catch myself already 10 -20 minutes into staring blankly at it while sitting on the couch. As soon as I catch myself, I throw on some music and start dancing...getting up and moving again! I haven't felt this great in a long time!!!
If anything, I hope this encourages you to PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN, and GET YOUR ASS UP! We don't even realise how drawn in we are, until we get away from it for a little bit. I was shocked with my weight results! Imagine how much you could lose...or what other changes could happen in your life...with a little less social media?!