January 2022 - Thoughts on Alcohol

I see my bi-line is “Making Healthy Decisions for my Best Life.”  

I chose that. I should be committed to that. I thought I was. I exercise, eat healthy, don’t smoke or do drugs and drink alcohol in moderation. Pretty squeaky for a woman of retirement age. 

And then I got an eBook, which I had recommended to a friend, and started reading it myself.  Quit Like A Woman by Holly Whitaker.   

Wow! What a wake up! Alcohol is poison! And we voluntarily put it into our bodies. This book outlines the history, the media manipulation, the social pressure, the right of passage, the health effects (more negative than you know!), and the stigma around being an alcoholic or a non-drinker. Today a colleague told me her mother called her “rude” for not drinking wine at a Christmas gathering. We can declare we don’t want to drink milk, but heaven forbid we not want to drink alcohol. One drink takes two days to ease up affecting your body - brain, liver, kidneys, stomach … and more. Imagine more drinks, or daily drinks?  

I just have to talk about this, and as I am, two friends tell me they heard a CBC radio show this morning on that very topic. Maybe this one?  Alcohol: Tonic or Toxin?  This is not new information, but we have been immersed into the routine of it - celebrations, parties, holidays, and more. That doesn’t even include the not so happy reasons - depression, loss, Covid …

My parents drank, and it was normal. My relatives drank, and it was normal. But when my father died and my mother drank more and more, it became scary. It took her three years to drink and smoke her life away. She died at 62. She was poisoning herself on every level.  I wish I could have helped save her. 

At Christmas I received a lovely bottle. The tag said to photograph it and post it on social media with their hashtag. I set it by the tree and took a lovely photo and posted it to Instagram. Now I realize I am contributing free advertising for this product AND I’m endorsing it. I’m endorsing poison!  Wow!  The blinders are off and I will be removing it. This is how it starts. If I’m truly serious about living my best, and healthiest life, I need to take alcohol off my food planner. It’s not about calories; it’s about poisoning my body, my precious temple. 

I often go a very long time without alcohol, and it is usually a social visit that pops the cork. I live in wine country in B.C. and everywhere I look, the orchards are being ripped out and burned to make way for vineyards. I cry when I see another orchard flattened. I would rather have fruit than wine. I am now fully conscious. Knowledge is power. Just as I don’t consume added sugar (white death), it is time to remove alcohol (liquid death) as well. It won’t be hard, but my friends will wonder what got to me. I hope my healthy glow says it all. 

October 2021

How to test your willpower … buy Hallowe’en candy early. I was good … and then I wasn’t.  ☹️

I hit my one-year weight loss maintenance anniversary, but have slipped on ten pounds.  I sure feel it.  Funny how your brain mocks you when looking in the mirror. At my lowest weight I looked hollow, with saggy, wrinkled skin on my upper arms and thighs.  It wasn’t a good look.  I felt old.  I have filled in those saggy bits and feel healthier now.  Amazingly, I still fit into my new sized-medium clothes.  I do still want to lose those ten pounds, but at a slower, healthier rate, without the saggy bits.  

I am finally playing in my studio. I say play, because I don’t mass produce, sell or preconceive what I’m going to make. Here is my October inspiration. The process is called raku. This clay can withstand going from hot to cold, and the glaze is “reduced” (starved of oxygen) to create a brilliant copper finish. Raku is not food-safe and remains porous. It is usually done in a propane kiln, but my little electric works just fine, and is very quiet in comparison. It is unplugged before I reach in with metal tongs, for those of you wondering. Safety first!  

Happy Hallowe’en!  

 

Routine!

 I dropped the ball!  When a lost my 99-day streak of 10,000 steps, and when SparkPeople stopped existing, I lost my momentum and routine.  

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I had come so far, reached my goal, and felt so good.  And then . . . I stopped walking, I stopped tracking my food, I stopped exercising, and ... you know what comes next, ... I gained weight!  My resting heart rate also went up.  

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I met a new health-conscious person in a seminar and gave her my spiel about how my success happened. As I was encouraging her, I was really encouraging myself.  After our conversation, I went outside and got my steps done.  I pulled out my tracking binder and realized I hadn't recorded anything since the middle of July!  I also called up my walking buddy.  We are back on track!  

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ROUTINE!  ROUTINE!  ROUTINE!

So, I have updated my charts, all the way back to July.  I have got my tracking of food, steps, and exercise back into my daily routine.  Posting on MFP and blogging are also my way to being honest with myself.  I also appreciate the encouragement of total strangers.  Weird, eh?  Whatever works!  If I declare it, it shall be!   

This is my late bloomer!  Birds don't actually like it as the seeds are too big!  

These are human loving sunflower seeds.  This one grew from a dropped seed from last year.  

  

A Weekly Challenge … and why it works for me.

During my Spark days, the “5%, 8-Week Challenge” was a motivator!  Am I competitive?  Sometimes, yes!  And yes, I was successful by actually losing 10% in 8-weeks. Nice!  Track everything!  

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I also did the “8 Glasses of Water per Day Challenge.”  I surprised myself.  I do drink enough. This is one area I don’t need to track.  

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I did my own personal weekly challenge of adding jumping jacks to my exercise routine.  Let me tell you, that first day was embarrassing, feeble, and alarming.  It was bad!  But … day by day, I improved.  It got easier to do and I could do more almost everyday, adding 5 at a time. Just start! 

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This week I am doing the “Freggie Challenge”. Fruits and veggies … it is easy to fall short.  If I wouldn’t be doing the Challenge, I would have failed, most days.  I have better nutrition because I am doing this.

Small changes lead to big changes, over time. One day at a time. 

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Changes I have made: less processed food, more fresh food, no snacking after dinner, 10,000 steps, 25 flights of stairs, reduced carbs (30-40%), and intermittent fasting (16/8).  I sleep well, have reduced stress, planted a garden, watch less TV (and news!) and connect with others by phone, Zoom, Messenger, etc. Life is about choices. Make some good ones for your health and future. 

2021 September …

After the end of my SparkPeople run, I wasn’t sure I wanted to blog again. I had been there since 2009, on and off, but didn’t really get it until 2020 and into 2021. And boy, did I figure it out!  Sixty-five pounds down and looking so much healthier. 

I became inspired by successful Spark members, involved with Spark teams, signed up for 5% challenges, and slowly started to blog. What I also did was track all food, intermittent fast (16/8), and walk 10,000 steps per day. You can see the evidence in my chart - I lost weight, and it came off easily, as long as I stuck with my routine. 

The maintenance piece has been a little more challenging, but at least I only have to lose 15 pounds this time. I started over on September 1st. after a terrible summer of poor air quality from wildfires and an abandonment of a tracking routine (that’s on me!).  I am now tracking food with Cronometer, tracking fasts with Sunrise, and socializing on MyFitnessPal and on the GoogleGroup https://groups.google.com/g/maintaining-weight.  So far, so good. 

The year of my success was blogged about weekly, and I started getting followers and supportive comments, … and friends. It was win-win. With that, I will try again, to encourage others and to document my journey for self-motivation.  Are you along for the journey? Remember to act; don’t just watch. MY story can be YOUR story. Let’s all have a happy ending.