Tag Archives: Disney

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Survival of the Less Than Fittest?

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Day 195 in my fight to stay alive to meet up with Mickey

Survival of the fittest.  It’s a reality in the wild, right?  Those in the best shape survive; those less fit are devoured or meet their demise in some fashion.  As an aging, obese woman, with some health issues, I come down on the losing side of the battle.  I’m NOT the fittest.  So my plan for today is to survive.  We are in the throes of the coldest February 19 in recorded history here in the Chicago area.  Our high temperature today is expected to be 4 degrees, our overnight low was 8 degrees below zero.  Both of those figures are record breaking for February 19th in this area.  Wind chills brought it into the 20’s below last night.  That’s why my plan for today is to survive to fight to become a healthier me another day.

I can just hear my Yooper friends and family saying, “Cry me a river.  It’s in the 40’s below here.”  And they’re right.  I know it’s worse north of here.  I know it’s even colder than that in Canada.  But I’m still shivering, and I won’t stop until the temps start to climb.  (BTW: shivering is exercise, right?)

So am I dreaming about Walt Disney World today?  You betcha!  Even though it’s only in the 50’s there, it still sounds like paradise to me.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Slogging Onward

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Day 194 in my trudging toward Mickey

My plan for today is again…taking care of business.  Three days later, I am still getting my taxes together.  Two days later, I am still fighting a dodgy stomach.  And I still have more laundry to do.  Yesterday I spent most of the day sleeping, (or in the bathroom), between watching The Discovery Channel’s Disney programming.  If I am struggling to get anything done when I’m on a “stay-cation,” then how do I get things done during a work week?  Argh!

So I’m a little frustrated today, and I am hoping tomorrow is more productive.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Tasks and Chilling

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Day 192 in my ambling toward the Magic Kingdom to meet up with Mickey (7 months and 27 days to go)

There is nothing quite as delightful as sleeping in on a Monday morning of vacation.  I had that pleasure this morning.

Today’s plan is to take care of business and to thoroughly enjoy NOT going out into the cold day.

Shower…check.  Breakfast…check.  Write bills for the month…check.  Relax and watch a Disney movie with  a sugar-free pumpkin flavored coffee…check.  (I watched Bears on one of the movie channels.  So  good!)  What a blissful day!  Still to come: get our 2014 taxes together, do some laundry, and prepare a delicious, nutritious dinner for my man and me.  Oh, yeah, and one more cup of piping-hot coffee in front of the TV with my feet up.  (Take that , sore toe!)

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Shining Light into the Darkness

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Day 191 in my seeking to be a healthier me when I meet Mickey (7 months and 28 days to go)

As an obese overeater, I have learned some very self-destructive behaviors.  I learned early on to isolate myself, so that I could hide my poor eating habits.  Alone, I could binge on my sugary treats to my heart’s content.  Only my heart was never content, and I was always filled with self-loathing after I binged.

Now looking back I can see how strange that must sound.  When your drug of choice is food (sugar and salty carbs in particular), it should be pretty obvious that you are going to gain weight and people who see you will pretty much be aware of your drug of choice.  But at the time I felt I had to hide my poor eating habits from the public at large.  (Excuse the pun.)

So part of my strategy, to break out of old patterns, is to become more sociable, to bring what I have hidden in darkness, out into the light.  It’s a terrifying process, but it is a healthy process.

So today I got up and went to church.  I worshipped the God that loves me and sees the beauty in me that I cannot truly yet see myself, and I visited with some other church family members.  It was wonderful to share and to listen to these dear ladies share with me.  There was First Communion today, and 12 fourth and fifth graders took their First Communion with their families.  Beautiful!  They used chalices that they had painted themselves and shared their cup with their family.  (My favorite chalice was the one with the Cubs symbol on one side and a cross on the other side. LOL)  BTW: I passed up the amazing looking cake that was there to celebrate with the kids today.  Victory!

Then rather than going home and holing up for the rest of the day, I went and visited with my dear sister-friend, Joan.  She is a bit homebound because of health issues and winter-itis.  I had a wonderful, long visit Jo.  We chatted about everything.  She is my barefoot friend.  The kind of friend that you can share anything with.  Nothing is off limits.  We’ve been through Curves together.  We’ve been to Overeaters Anonymous together.  We have seen so much together.  She has seen me at my best and at my worst, and she loves me just the same.  She is a living, breathing example of the love of God in my life.  I came home feeling very blessed.

That’s it for today, dear readers.  I pray that all is well with you and yours, and that you are able to spend time with the living God who loves you today.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Walking the Walk

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Day 188 in my walk towards my main mouse Mickey  (8 months and 1 day to go!)

If you been following my blog lately, then you know what a tough time I’ve had walking.  My toe is definitely on the mend, but it is happening slowly.  My plan for today was to research a reasonable walking plan, so I can get started again.  I am on vacation next week, (Woo Hoo!) which I think is a great time to get started.  I can go to the Lake Bluff Health and Fitness Club, or I can just walk out my front door and take a brisk walk.

My thanks go to the Mayo Clinic again for this do-able plan:

Week     Walking Schedule (time, # of days a week)      Weekly Total

1                15 minutes, 2 days                                                         30 minutes

2                15 minutes, 3 days                                                         45 minutes

3                20 minutes, 3 days                                                         60 minutes

4                 25 minutes, 3 days                                                        75 minutes

5 & 6        30 minutes, 3 days                                                        90 minutes

7 & 8        30 minutes, 4 days                                                      120 minutes

9 & 10     30 minutes, 5 days                                                      150 minutes

Looks pretty good, right?  So on Monday I will begin.  Although I may take my toe on a brief pre-walk this weekend to see how it does.

Wish me luck, my peeps.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

 

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February Payday

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Day 187 in my journey to meet up with Mickey

Six months ago I began this pilgrimage to better health so I can enjoy our Walt Disney World vacation in October of this year.  (8 months and 2 days to go!)  Today was once again payday; it was time to step on the scale.  I am only weighing myself once a month, because although I do want to lose weight, I mostly want to live a healthier lifestyle period.  Things have slowed way down this month.  I chalk it up to:

  1. winter (I’ve been told that from Stone-Age times we are programmed to hold on to our fat in the winter months, which means I’m hoping for more progress in spring/summer/autumn months)
  2. 59 years of age
  3. my body adjusting to a completely different lifestyle
  4. my difficulty walking because of my sore toe

Even with all of that working against me, I lost another pound this month.  (I took a pound of butter out of the refrigerator to see what that feels like, and frankly, I’m glad this month’s pound is gone.)  So now I’m down 38 pounds.  I’ll take it.  I do feel a lot better than I did 6 months ago.  Even if I am making SLOW progress, it’s still progress, right?

Meet you at the Kingdom!

 

 

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Investigating Mayo Clinic Diabetes Diet

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Day 185 in my researching my way to a healthier me for meeting Mickey in the Magic Kingdom (8 months and 4 days to go!)

My plan for today was to start reading Mayo Clinic Diabetes Diet.  (OK, nobody panic.  I am not diabetic; however, I am pre-diabetic, so the time for action is NOW.)  The book was delivered to my work place yesterday.  I began reading it as I ate my lunch.  I made it through two chapters while I ate.  In my Day 182 blog, I listed the 5 habits this diet wants you to add:

  1. Eat a healthy breakfast.
  2. Eat vegetables and fruits.
  3. Eat whole grains.
  4. Eat healthy fats.
  5. Move!  30 minutes or more every day.

It sounds so sensible.  And what I like about it, so far, is that it doesn’t claim to be a quick fix.  It promises to be a lifestyle change, a way to live the rest of your life in a healthier manner.

I dig it because I want to be well on my way to a healthier me when I shake Mickey’s hand at the Magic Kingdom in October.  Maybe he’ll even give me a hug!  Gosh, I LOVE Walt Disney World!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: I do not have unrealistic expectations.  I just want to be moving in a direction that I can be happy about when I get to Florida.  Then after the trip, I’ll pick another goal and continue this journey.  AND more about this diet to come.  🙂

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Making a Menu of Meals

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Day 184 in my planning for my meeting with Mickey at the Magic Kingdom in October (8 months and 5 days to go!)

Today my plan is to write out my menu for the week and prepare my shopping list.  I’m going to do it a little differently this time.  In order to add more steps into my daily routine, I am going to organize my list by days and stop off every day after work to pick up the ingredients for that evening’s meal.

I found a cookbook on my shelf with quick and easy meals for diabetics.  I am pre-diabetic, but I am trying to avoid full blown diabetes so I will pick some recipes from this cookbook this week.

That’s the plan, man.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Blew It!

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Yesterday was day 181 and I am losing my mind on my way to meet Mickey

I completely forgot to post yesterday.  And BTW I did not have a great day.  I have had a tendency in the past to comfort myself with food when I’m feeling sorry for myself.  And that is exactly what I did yesterday.  I stopped at Walgreen’s after work to pick up some gauze pads and paper tape (I’m allergic to latex/tape on my skin) for my bloody, throbbing  toe.  I also picked up some Skinny Pop.  It’s really great popcorn with no additives, and a low calorie count.  Jake (my son) wrote an article for Forest and Bluff Magazine.  The man who came up with Skinny Pop did so because his own child has allergies and also cannot eat gluten, so he wanted to create snacks that his child could eat with no negative consequences.  Quite brilliant, really.

Anyway, on my way back to the checkout counter I walked through the Valentine’s Day goodies aisle, and there they were…Russell Stover Strawberry Cream Hearts.  My palms got sweaty, and all I could think about was my next fix.  I succumbed.  Four hearts later I was on a sugar high.  The first in a long time.  I hate that I love it so much  🙂

So there you have it: confessions of a full blown sugar addict.  Fear not, for I am back on the wagon and ready to leave sugar behind once again.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Back to the Doc

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Day 179 in my limping toward seeing Mickey at the Magic Kingdom in October

Today’s plan is is to see my podiatrist.  I have a very sore toe.  I think it may be an ingrown nail, but I am not a doctor, so in I go.  It’s the sort of thing that’s been bothering me for a few weeks and then by the time I was able to get an appointment, another week had gone by.  I’m sure I will leave the doctor’s office with an even more sore toe, but then hopefully it will finally start to heal.  This toe has made walking very uncomfortable for awhile now.  I want to get this taken care of so I can up my walking game.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: My cell phone died today.  If you need to call me, please use my work or home phone number.  I’ll answer; I promise. 🙂