Tag Archives: Diet

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Routine and Surprise

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This morning I officially restarted Noom. So I weighed in (I hate that part), I’m logging my food, I did my ten minute lesson, and I started walking. Since I am retired, I can sustain the routine pretty easily. But I’ve got to tell you, I only walked for ten minutes, and it totally kicked my butt! (See the red, sweaty face in today’s photo.) The weight that I’ve regained in the last eight months is mostly in my belly and butt. Yugh! Moving around is so exhausting! That fat used to be more evenly distributed; now it’s concentrated in my mid-section. I’m not discouraged; however, I realize that I have  a long road ahead of me. I am not at all defeated, defeat for me is defined by quitting. I will not quit!

In 21 months we hope to vacation at Disneyland Paris. As Disney Vacation Club members, we can trade our points for five nights at Disney’s Sequoia Lodge in Marne-la-Vallee, France. We’d like to go Paris rather than Orlando next time so Emi (my daughter who lives in England) and her family don’t have the expensive flights for one vacation. So we’ll spend five nights there, visit the parks for two or three days, and head into Paris for a day or two.

This trip is my long term motivation for sticking to better food choices and for keeping more movement/walking in my daily life. I have 21 months to do this, and I want to focus every day of those 21 months on a healthier, more mobile lifestyle.

Now for the surprise: we had a short, but very sweet, drop-in visit from our dear friends Wayne and Caleb. They swung in for a cup of coffee on their way to a conference. What a delightful treat! It was a slice of Yooper heaven. Mike and I grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, so we are Yoopers born and bred. This visit was such an unexpected blessing!

Thank you for you faithfulness, Dear Readers! Meet me at the Kingdom!

Donna

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Starting down the Road Toward Disneyland Paris

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Hello Dear Readers,

Well, I finally decided to face the music. Ever since our trip to Walt Disney World in October of 2018, I have been completely off the rails.  Eating every sugary thing in sight, and sitting all day long. I’ve packed on over 30 pounds, and I feel pretty lousy.  Low energy, cranky most of the time, isolating myself. And frankly, I’ve been a bit depressed.  Wow! First world problems, right??

I restarted Noom, an online weight management program, today. It worked well for me before, so I re-upped. Tomorrow I start my daily walks again. And I will choose less dense foods, foods with more water content. For example I’ll choose a cup of grapes over a 1/4 cup of raisins. I’ll pick 1/4 pound of salad over 1/4 pounder from McDonalds, a hard-boiled egg over a fried egg, lettuce rather than a tortilla for a wrap, and a baked potato over fries.

I’m also going to start some self talk when I walk. “Heart, this walk is for you, to make you stronger. Legs, this walk is for you, to build more muscle. Brain, this walk is for you, to get more oxygen to you.” Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

My ultimate goal is looking toward March 2021, when we hope to meet up with the kids and grandkids at Disneyland Paris for 6 days/5 nights. Lord willing and the creek don’t rise…  We make plans and God smiles, right? But this goal will help to keep me on track. They do not have ECVs there, only wheel chairs, so I want to be able to get myself around the parks. I want to enjoy every minute of our time together there.

So here we go again, dear friends. One foot in front of the other, one healthy meal at a time. Will I sustain it forever? I believe I can. Mostly I believe I can do it today. And tomorrow is a new opportunity to do it again.

Join me on this road to Paris. The possibilities are so exciting. The road is mine, with the help of God, to create and choose.

Meet me at the Kingdom.

Donna

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Once in Awhile Life Just Feels Right

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Only thirteen days now until my Walt Disney World vacation. Whoop, whoop!

I have now lost all the weight I had put back on and am down to my lowest weight in years. Since my stroke in 2017, I have lost sixty-five+ pounds. I notice it everyday. I notice it when I get in the car and buckle up my seat belt. I notice it when I slide into a booth at a restaurant, and I don’t have to move the table out. I notice it when I go to bed at night, because I can turn over much easier, and I am sleeping better. I notice more energy when I take my daily walk. And I notice it when I put on my clothes in the morning, because I’m two sizes down.

So my thanks to Diabetic Living Magazine for great tips on managing my blood sugar and for the delicious, nutritious recipes that are expanding my horizons. And I am thankful for Southmead Hospital in Bristol, England, and to Advocate Condell in Libertyville, IL, USA, for education about managing life with my limitations, and for encouraging me to reach beyond my limitations. I am thankful for Noom for helping to get my metabolism kick-started and for providing such helpful coaching and behavior modification methods. (Thanks to Emi, my beautiful daughter, for getting me excited about Noom.)

I’m happy to be in my saggy, lumpy, sixty-two year old body. This is the best that I can be for now, and I am very pleased to be here. Here’s to tomorrow and the next long walk and the next healthy meal and to staying the course.

Meet me at the Kingdom.

Donna

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Noom Report

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Twenty-three days until we travel to Lake Buena Vista and Walt Disney World.

I have been on Noom now for eleven days, and so far I am eight pounds down. That is phenomenal, because I’ve been kind of stuck for months now. I like the program, but I’m still in the Honeymoon Phase.

The nice thing about being only a little over three weeks until our trip to Florida is that I am making sure to walk every day to be in a bit better shape for the extra walking that I’ll do on vacation. I like the way I feel after my daily walk. Yes, I’m pooped and red-faced and sweaty and panting, but I feel invigorated, too. So bring it on!

Meet me at the Kingdom.

Donna