As I writer of multiple blogs, I’ve neglected this one. As a writer of blogs, a wife, and full-time teacher, I’ve neglected my healthy habits. Good habits seem to slip away so easily, I hardly notice they have slipped.
I’m not at the highest weight I’ve ever been, but I’m not yet close to my ideal. I could talk about “ideal” in terms of pounds but, in my older age, I think of ideal differently. Ideal is
- fitting into all the clothes in my closet,
- flying long-haul without getting cankels,
- choosing healthy foods because they look better than the junkie stuff, and
- feeling energetic.
Current Reality
I’m in Australia, wearing summer clothes. They fit, but are tighter than I’d like. The weather is colder than usual in this land of summer Christmas. But, under the assumption that I will eventually sit poolside, I had to find a swimsuit. Few things in life jolt me into reality like buying swimwear.
My legs feel heavy. They haven’t moved much lately. I didn’t bring athletic shoes or clothes – I should go to the mall and take advantage of clearance sale items. I could walk to the mall to get them.
Most of my Christmas holiday is spent on the outside deck. Wine and beer are offered an hour or so after noon.
Chocolate has been placed all over the house. While I told myself I wouldn’t break into it this year, I’ve been mindlessly grabbing a small piece or two. I have no idea how many I eat per day.
Huge bowls of fruit are displayed throughout the kitchen. The peaches and apricots smell fabulous. Why don’t I grab those instead?
Starting Small
I suspect the best thing for me would be a detox when I return from holiday. My detox of choice is a nutritional cleanse called Clean. Last year I did two weeks of the three before family tragedy struck. After the first week, I began getting compliments about my complexion. I didn’t feel particularly hungry – and I had new spurts of energy. I’d like to take the detox into the third week
But I don’t want to start that right away. I have to gear myself up for that kind of huge, albeit temporary, change. Also, I need to make some small changes now so that the detox doesn’t throw my body into a complete shock.
Starting today, I will eat fruit instead of chocolate. If I’m gonna have a sugar-rush, it might as well have some vitamins. I will drink at least eight glasses of water. That will partially limit my alcohol intake. And, I will walk to the mall to look at shoes and sweats to wear on walks. I can keep those at this house so that I have them for future Christmases.
Because I choose to start again today, it is possible for me to reach my initial goals.
