word wrecker

Recently I started looking back over my posts covering the beginning of my journey making better health choices. One thing stood out right away: they are difficult to navigate, y'all! To help with this, I'm arranging them in chronological order here. If you're at all interested in how I went from 40lbs overweight and (if family medical history is an indicator) pre-diabetic, to my current state feeling healthier and happier in my skin - here are fourteen posts chronicling the process. Buildup Beginning Burnout Body Composition Calories, again Complexity Drinks and Digestion Dancing Exercise Excitement Eating Adjustments Flow Flower Grandchildren Gently Yes, I intentionally did an alphabet thing. Not sure why now, but it gave me a place to start when coming up with titles so I'm standing by that decision. There is one thing I would change about these posts if I could. Before starting two and a half years ago I would visit a doctor to give me more t...

Side Post #4 In another post , I mention how children literally suck all of the energy out of grownups leaving very little left for self-care. I also speculate that maybe my health deteriorated during the year and a half I worked teaching 2 ½ - 3 year olds because of the toxic work environment. This might not have helped but, turns out, children really are that all-consuming. My sister and her twin 29 month-old humans visited our house Wednesday-Saturday a few weeks ago. I was exhausted in less than 24 hours. There are only two of them, so for most of the time they were vastly outnumbered by grownups. But. But. But. We were all slayed except my superhero sister who has adapted to survive on minimal rest. Of course the twins took naps and went to bed before 9pm, but that left barely enough time to hang out and catch up without constant interruption and distraction. Having them here to visit was the most fun ever. We missed them immediately. It was also a good reminder at how qui...

Side Post #3 Our dog is sick. We found out a few weeks ago, started treatment, paused, then re-started treatment again. It's not going very well. The medicine is making him feel worse than his disease - he went from getting tired walking a mile to struggling to walk from our back door to the living room. First you need to know more about this little pumpkin. We met on a mild and windy weekend in early November 2007. At the time he was living in a crate on a porch in north-central Kentucky and I was in College Hill, Cincinnati, Ohio. That weekend at the farm was all about my ex-husband's family. His uncle was dying and wanted one last weekend with everyone hanging out around a fire, fishing, and shooting skeet. One of the aunts provided a location and and we had a lovely time: the cousins camped out on the front lawn, played touch football, and spent time with the beloved uncle. While this was going on, an annoying little dachshund, beagle, jack russel mix was running aro...

Goal Post #19 Follow up This one was a hard fail. Turns out giving myself a deadline didn't help very much. Or at all, really. Still planning on getting something scheduled latter this summer or early fall. We'll see. 

Goal Post #19 intention: schedule visit to a doctor It isn't obvious, but if you track certain details about my life scattered through these posts you might have figured something out. Working a dizzying variety of crappy and not so crappy jobs means I didn't have any health or dental insurance at all in my twenties or the first part of my thirties. When the affordable care act passed, I was in graduate school happily utilizing the on-campus health services. For those three years, my lady bits and brain were taken care of beautifully. Before that, my reproductive health had been wonderfully cared for by Planned Parenthood and I am endlessly grateful to that organization. Access to affordable health care and birth control means I've never needed an abortion. But, for almost twenty years I didn't go to the dentist at all. Not one single visit or cleaning. At first, this was simply because it wasn't affordable. Then, after about ten years, it had been so long I g...

Goal Post #18 follow up At the beginning of this month, I thought finding a primary suspect for extra salt intake was going to be easy. Potatoes are one of my favorite things and potato chips are almost the best form potatoes can take, besides french fries, tater tots, home fried, roasted or mashed potatoes. Did I mention I like potatoes? Just like trying to reduce sugar, instead of a blanket ban I started by focusing on limiting problem foods. In February this meant dessert, so this month it meant chips and other salty goodness. Ten days in and I was at a loss. Even without my beloved spuds, my sodium intake stayed above average seven out of nine days. My approach clearly wasn't working. Attempting a more blanket approach limiting all foods that tend to be high in sodium  was intimidating because that list gets looong , but it was worth a shot. By the end of the month, I had tried, believe me, but I exceeded sodium intake fifteen out of thirty days. On the positive side, the...

Side Post #2  Phantom fat and the magic number The Magic Number  Saturday, November 10, 2018 I went below my secret goal weight and kind of freaked out. Let me explain. Starting this process, I told myself the goal was to lose thirty-three pounds and at least 10% body fat. The ideal weight for my height is between thirty and forty pounds less than I weighed two years ago, so these were reasonable goals. But, when I finally hit those marks it was fine. Like, I was glad, but didn't feel a sense of real accomplishment like when I finished writing Gently or even the rush of excitement I'd felt when I saw I'd lost twenty pounds. Loosing those thirty-three pounds was a good thing, a goal achieved, and I was happy with my success. Just a little sad I'd somehow missed the endorphin high. Then without warning, my weight fell below the number I'd hidden in my head. My secret goal weight, if you will. When I saw I'd lost thirty-five pounds reflected on the scale it...