Wednesday, November 2, 2016

It Starts Today!

It starts today.

If you've been a reader of my previous blog, Adirondack Baker, this may come as no surprise to you. After decades of baking, those essential ingredients of butter and flour and sugar have caught up with me.  

This morning my employer offered health testing at our annual Benefits Fair, and that's where I had the wake-up call that’s been lying dormant in my brain until solid numbers confirmed my nagging suspicion: I am unhealthy. Not just a little bit unhealthy, but really on-the-way to potentially serious illness.

I’ve had nudges before, but not enough to open my eyes wide to what I’ve been doing to myself for years, probably more than 20 years: a serious carb addiction, too few fresh fruits and vegetables, and sporadic exercise at best.  In my case, sporadic exercise means six months of committed, daily workouts followed by three years of nothing.

There have been other nagging forces on hold, especially my family's health history. While my parents and siblings were/are not overweight as I am, we have had our share of cardio-vascular disease in the form of heart disease and strokes. I've been walking this high wire of being "otherwise healthy" with borderline levels of all things that should be closely monitored. Instead, I have looked the other way feeling ignorantly secure while those numbers have been slowly making their way toward the danger zone.

And then there have been those physical clues - my eyes are not as bright, my skin tone has changed, and I FEEL like I am aging at a more rapid pace. Something in my gut (probably everything in my gut!) is telling me it's time to take much better care of myself. 

Today’s nudge was more of a pushing me toward the edge of a cliff. Not one to be overly dramatic, the numbers tell me it is time to get it, that this is dramatic. It’s about the quality of life I have in front of me, the time I have to spend with my kids and the people I love, and the absolute craving to be present for as long as possible for those three precious grandchildren. 


Please stay with me as I answer this wake up call. I'll need all the support I can muster!

I’m 62 and a half, and it’s time.

And it started with lunch today - instead of the drive-thru, I hit the salad bar.
No croutons, no Thousand Island Dressing. I can do this!


4 comments:

  1. I'm right there with you, girl, and I shall look forward to your words of wisdom, and big doses of inspiration! Nothing compares to the support of our friends, or the necessary nudges we'll need along the way so that we can answer our life changing wake up calls daily! I've been in a funk since having to quit Zumba earlier in the year because of the scary results of an MRI on my back, but I MUST find a way to walk more often, and to try Yoga &/or Pilates as the Dr suggested! Your announcement could not have better timing for me, and I hope you won't mind that I'm joining you for the ride of our lives! ❤

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh Weezie, we don't realize how much support is out there until we put a voice to our own concerns. So many people who read this commented on my fb page about similar/parallel, different-but-the-same dynamics in their lives. I love that my personal wake-up call is inspiring you and maybe others to come along for the ride. I need some form of accountability, and putting this on social media has me feeling somewhat vulnerable, but more, strong and willing to do what I know has to be done. I will probably post every day because it's therapeutic and positive, so keep your eyes (and veggies!) peeled for more and more! Love you my friend!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. More fruits and veggies!! I'm onboard!

    ReplyDelete