Several years ago I lost about 40 pounds....effortlessly. We bought a plant nursery and I left from a "behind a desk" job to the nursery. It was a really small nursery with only 2 active greenhouses...but the daily walking, watering, planting, unloading pine straw....the normal activity of such a place....the weight literally fell off of me without trying. Even after we closed the nursery and I went back to health care, I kept it off for the most part. I became an avid walker. I walked about 4 miles/day and usually about 13 minutes per mile. That's pretty good for an old woman! I really was addicted to it. I found I couldn't rest at night until I walked so sometimes I walked at 10pm! I know...sounds crazy, but not only is my neighborhood very safe, but also secluded from the outside world. My fears were never of people but of "critters"! We've been known to have a stray Bobcat in the "hood"...not a fan of being surprised!
Anyway, I had a hysterectomy in 2005. At 1 week post-op, I decided I would try a mile walk...after all, I was use to such. Big Mistake! After about 1/2 mile...I thought I was gonna die! I almost crawled back to my house! Needless to say...that was a major no-no. So, the Doctor did not clear me to walk until after 8 weeks! By then the damage was done. Walking was no longer an addiction. The magic was broken. For the life of me, I can't get back into the routine. So my weight begun it's gradual slide UP the scale.
See, when I was working at the nursery, I never changed my eating habits. Hardee's Egg Biscuits and Cinnamon Biscuits for breakfast. Lunch was hot dogs, pizza or subway. Supper was a meal but I was usually so tired, I ate very little. So with the lack of exercise/walking, the weight started to climb. Every so slowly. Now, 5 years post-op...I have gained 16 lbs from my then norm. And actually, I lost an additional 7-lbs immediately post operatively. I'm not counting those b/c I wouldn't be able to live with myself mentally!
Weight loss is never fun. I am convinced that since I no longer have ovaries, and take HRT, that that is a big part in the numbers on the scales. Also, I have developed high blood pressure to boot! Literally, I'm falling apart after 50 years old!
I am the Queen of dieting. I know how to diet, when to diet, what kind of diet...what I lack is the stick-to-it-tiveness of dieting! Trust me, I've been on all of them.....Diet Center, Atkins', WW, Richard Simmons, Michael Thurmond's, Slim Fast, books on nutrition, diet pills....I could write a book...seriously. They all worked as long as I followed them. But the key for me in watching what I eat, writing it down and walking. Simple, basic common sense.
Last October, my 2 sisters and I went to Hilton Head Island for a week. We promised that we would go again this year and that we would all have lost weight by then...significantly so. Well, I haven't...but I'm going to. The reservations have been made. I've got 4 1/2 months until our week there. Let the battle begin
Ephesians 2 : 10
10 For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
