During the last week of February 2021, I decided I needed to dedicate getting my health back on track. I had done fairly well in 2020, despite the Covid-19 pandemic. I began by going to the YMCA and re-learning how to eat again. I also incorporated intermittent fasting and cutting out most of the bad carbs, including sugar. When Covid hit, the gym had to close temporarily, so my routine had abruptly stopped.
Towards the end of the year, I stopped altogether. I told myself I was just taking a break for a week, but that week turned into two, then three, etc. I never went back to my routine. I couldn’t find myself back to it and said, well, it’s been a crappy fall/holiday season, so might as well just not bother. However, in the back of my mind, I knew I was sabotaging myself, yet did nothing about it.
As we rang in 2021, many were celebrating the hope of finally getting out of the pandemic. I didn’t make any New Year’s Resolutions. In fact, I usually don’t make them because I feel I set myself for failure when I do. I know that sounds a bit negative and I suppose it could be interpreted that way, but I’d rather set goals than resolutions. For some reason, I didn’t use this as an opportunity to change. I continued on my path of complacency.
Practically 2 months passed and during that time, I was walking on occassion and doing my favorite activity of watching the sunrise whenever I could. Something sparked my mind towards the end of February to want to get back into my wellness routine. I cannot pinpoint it, but I will say that feeling aches and pains while walking probably had something to do with it. I also suffer from a bad hip, which is something I will need to take care of with surgery eventually.
A cousin of mine has been a coach for Herbalife tm and started her own club a little over a year ago. She has been very successful and has also become an inspiration. The intermittent fasting was working for me last year, but I couldn’t get my mind to go back to it, therefore, I decided to give the protein shakes with healthy meals a try. In addition, incorporating workouts more consistently has made a difference in my mindset.
I am in my early 50’s and I realize this NEEDS to be it. I cannot keep the yo-yo effect going and I am reinventing myself. To make myself truly accountable, I decided to make my journey public, for all to see and read about. I have not done that before. I usually have kept my healthy aspirations and progresses to myself, with maybe a few knowing what I was doing. This time, I said, I MUST make myself a bit more vulnerable. I am going to make this public! It is the fire I need to keep me from faltering because now the world is watching (well, at least my few followers on Instagram and this blog.)
Making my health and wellness journey public is one of the scariest things I’ve done in quite a while. I am an open book and what you see is ME. I am actively changing the dialogue in my mind, as well. I am using a journal, posting on Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok. I am not doing this as a means of attention. I am doing this because I needed a new form of motivation to keep my journey fresh in front of me. If I gain more from it, perhaps it will be some people who will cheer me on as I document my progress.
Observing the World Around Me 