New Year, New Start

My Dearest Readers:

I’m sure that you’ve given up on me by now. If you have, I don’t blame you. I’ve been attending to personal issues and have not been regularly pursuing my goals. My 282 weigh-in was a fluke in October, and I have been maintaining my weight through the holidays between 289 and 290.

The highlights from my life of late have included the news that my husband has reached the maximum of his unemployment benefits and my nearly 80 year old mother taking a spill on black ice two days before Christmas. My mom hit her head, severely bruised her elbow, and has had some general soreness for the past week but thankfully, that was the extent of it, but it did slow her down a bit over the past few days. I was grateful to be home so that I could help her during her recovery.

I am running the range of emotions about my life situation but what I feel most is fear. Fear of what lies ahead, the unknown, the inability to sustain, etc. I did have some health wins over the course of the past several weeks. In about mid-late November I started to experience some pretty violent reactions to acid reflux issues that I have had for many years. It caused me to be vigilant in making choices that would not send my body into “rejection mode” and make me sick. As a result, I was able to survive the holidays, particularly Christmas Eve, without getting ill for the first time in years. You see, my extended family has a tradition of eating foods that would typically flare up my acid reflux syndrome and I historically made an effort to eat those foods without regard for how I would be affected. I was very motivated this year to take care of myself, so I made a plan for the evening to ensure that I would not be sick. I was so proud that I dealt with my food issues with a plan and a goal in mind.

In addition, I did not turn to bad, nasty eating habits in dealing with my stress. I have not had a regular exercise plan; however, I have been seeing a physical therapist for the past 3 weeks for a problem that I have been experiencing with neuropathy in my toes and I have had “mini workouts" with her 3 days per week. As a result of the reduction in our family income, I have been thinking of all different ways to try to save money. I have been paying $29/month for a fitness plan through my insurance company for the past 6 months or so but I have not been using it the way that I should. I refuse to give it up though because it would mean the sure demise of my efforts. Instead, my plan is to join the ranks of the many as the new year starts and renew my program to get healthy. There are so very few things that I can control these days - but this, I CAN CONTROL!

Here is my plan for the coming week:

1. Write this blog entry by the end of the day on Sunday, January 2.
2. Sit in on my first Overeaters Anonymous meeting or teleconference by Sunday, January 9th.
3. Exercise on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday of this week. (probably Curves)
4. Drink at least 48 oz. water per day, starting on January 1.

So, I’m off again to regain health. I started out the year right as I weighed in at
the start of the year at less than 300 pounds for the first time in over a decade. It’s a good start!