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Ten Pounds in Five Months
August 7th marks five months of staying at home. Beyond trips to the grocery, doctor appointments, and Zoom meetings, every day looks pretty much the same. Toodles has never been happier. The biggest change has been a dramatic decline in my activity level. I can’t go to the gym and haven’t been motivated to use…
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90 Days My Ass
Ads promise anyone can have a killer body in ninety days. All it takes is thirty minutes of exercise, three or four times a week. Results are guaranteed, or your money back. In the eloquent words of my father, may he rest in peace: horse shit. A perfect body has never been my goal. Not that I’d mind,…
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Losing My Addictions
My weight has varied by less than three pounds for going on two years now. Not gaining is great, but I really want to shed the oldest fat in my body — fat that settled around my waist decades ago and is now firmly entrenched. The weight is less the issue than a desire to end the jiggling. If…
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Hello New Me!
The year I turned fifty, my health went down the toilet. My colonoscopy turned up a precancerous lesion that required surgery, but fortunately, needed no chemotherapy or radiation. The retina specialist diagnosed my advanced macular degeneration, and I was in and out of the dermatologist’s office with numerous skin problems. The last straw was finding…
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The Longest Night
Winter is my least favorite time of year. I hate cold weather, and the shorter days trigger my Seasonal Affective Disorder. Throw in all the holidays that revolve around food and a tendency to carb-load, and the biggest gift I get every year is an extra twenty pounds–or more–that I spend the next twelve months…
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I Gotta New Attitude
When I joined the gym last fall, I really didn’t think I’d stick with it. Nothing about my track record gave me reason to think otherwise. After a few weeks of sporadic and half-hearted use, any home exercise equipment I ever purchased went unused. I don’t know what made me think I’d go to the…
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Stressed!
Okay. I admit it. I’m stressed out. My upbeat, positive attitude has helped me to cope. But the quantity of major life events I’ve experienced this year has just about depleted the sunshine I’ve managed to set aside for dark and cloudy days. In graduate school I remember reading studies about a stress scale that…
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Success!
In early 2011, I got within spitting distance of 250 pounds. That’s about sixty pounds more than I should weigh. My Body Mass Index fell solidly in the obese range. To tell you the truth, I’d given up. For exercise, I rode my bike–weather permitting, which ended up being a pretty subjective decision. Too hot.…
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Seriously, Venting is Not Whining
The pace sure has picked up for me here in the last month. Seems like there just isn’t enough time for everything I need to do. Even after a week off from my day job, I’m feeling stressed. Don’t get me wrong–I’m not complaining. I’m grateful for each and every item on my over-full plate.…