Anyone with seemingly insurmountable goals will tell you who is trying to achieve them.
It’s not easy to do
Over 2 years ago I set my goals for the future (see my blog, How life can get in the way, starting July 2019!) and managed to stick to them for a few months. THEN Covid hit the world and our government moved fast and hard to fight the damn bug here. (Which worked until Delta arrived, but that’s another story). Luckily, I lived so close to the supermarket at the time that I didn’t have to worry about leaving the city limits set for my small town.
But, and a big but here, my favorite hikes were now banned.
Oh we could still go for a walk but only around the local streets. That was good because living alone I was in a straight one bubble so on my daily walks I could still sometimes see friends across the street and chat with them quite loudly. But bad, because only having contact on my walks (and phone) got old pretty quickly, so gradually I stopped walking as much and started eating more. This resulted in weight gain close to the amount I had lost in the previous months.
Then, just over a year ago, I unexpectedly moved across the country, which brought me closer to my children. Back then! Another lockdown but this time I knew NOBODY, nor any of the local walks. BUT – As the saying goes, when you’ve hit rock bottom, the only way is up!
Thanks to the Lord (and my daughter) I now had the incentive to take the first step back up the ladder of life. I’ve discovered new trails, not around the local roads, but through bush, streams, the estuary near my home and on a newly constructed boardwalk through the mangroves. PLEASURE.
After all the research I’ve done over the past few months, today I have a more realistic goal and as I go, I focus on eating the foods that support my efforts. I eat a lot of vegetables
what I enjoy VERY much anyway is cut back on starchy foods, potatoes (my favorite), bread, rice and pasta. Less meat which I don’t miss at all with all the great recipes I’ve discovered.
BUT – I know that meat is an excellent source of absorbable iron, so I eat a small amount of meat most days.
I also drink a lot more water. Usually 3 half pint glasses a day, although I drink more when it’s hot and we’re only here in the first month of Spring.
As a result, in the last six months I’ve lost weight again, 80% of the weight I had previously lost and regained has now formed new, healthier habits. I wake up most mornings ready to go, even through this recent lockdown (Delta has a lot to answer for). I’m writing again and have made some real friends since I got here. Now that we’re going back down the restriction levels, I’m really looking forward to getting to the beach this summer. Luckily my daughter and her husband live within walking distance of their local beach so this will be an option for me this year.
I truly believe that although I’ve wavered there for a while, like many people in a similar situation, I am determined to give up this time, with the help of my own refusal AND the encouragement I receive every day from my daughter, I definitely will –
“Stick to my guns”
Thanks to Hilary Green
