Where It Began

Well, I guess there's no other way to do it except to jump in with both feet.  This is for Alice - she knows who she is.

A funny thing happened on the way to growing old, well  two things actually -  things don't work the same and things don't look the same.  I've been fairly fit and healthy for most of my adult life and I admit I took it for granted.   My mother taught me to be almost obsessively preoccupied with my weight and shape and so I gained and lost the same ten pounds over and over again.  Things started to change when I hit my late 40's.  I had developed a little insulin resistance and polycystic ovarian syndrome.  Then I quit smoking and went through menopause.  That ten pound gain became impossible to lose.

I tried to tell myself that ten pounds over a two year period was not bad considering my age.  Could I give myself permission to "let myself go" (as mother would say) just a little bit?  Then I did the math - five pounds a year for the next ten years adds up to a fifty pound weight gain and if I thought it was hard to lose ten pounds, well I couldn't imagine losing fifty.  I  considered what effect that would have on my health and mobility.

I have a morbid fear of death and the desire to live forever (so far so good!).   I no longer take good health for granted.   These days I'm not only concerned with how I look but in how I feel and living healthier has become my passion.  Living healthy doesn't come easy and it doesn't happen overnight - it's a learning process and even small changes make a difference.  I'm not an expert nor medically qualified in any way but I want to encourage everyone to change their diets and lifestyle so that they may enjoy the whole of their life.

We fail to take care of ourselves and then we go to our doctors and expect them to reverse the damage we've done and we want a quick fix (fad diets, surgeries, a pill).   More now than ever we need to take responsibility for our own health and not rely so heavily on an overburdened healthcare system.  Today with the abundance of information available through the internet  we can arm ourselves with what we need to know to make changes.  Here on this blog I'm going to share some of the information I've found interesting and helpful, and also my own experiences, opinions, tips, recipes and suggestions.   I hope that people will comment and share their findings etc. as well.