As anyone who has what seem to be insurmountable goals will tell you who tries to do this.
It Ain’t Easy To Do
Over 2 years ago, I laid out my goals for the future (See My blog, How life can get in the way, from July 2019!) and managed to stick with it for some months. THEN, Covid hit the world and our government went fast and hard to beat the darn bug here. (Which worked till Delta arrived, but that’s another story). Fortunately, back then I lived close enough to the supermarket not to need to worry about having to leave the town boundaries set for my small town.
But, and a big but here, my favourite walks were now out of bounds.
Oh, we could still go for walks, but only around the local streets. This was good because as I live alone I was in a bubble of one, so my daily walks meant I could still sometimes see friends on the other side of the street and could hold fairly loud chats with them. But bad, because having contact only on my walks (and phone) got old pretty quickly, so I gradually stopped walking as much and began eating more. Resulting in a weight gain near the amount I had lost during the previous months.
Then, just over a year ago, I unexpectedly moved house, across country, which brought me closer to my children Then! Another lockdown, but this time I knew NO ONE, nor any of the local walks. BUT – As they say, when you reach rock bottom, the only way to go is UP!
And so, thanks to the Lord, (and my daughter), I now had the incentive to take that first step back up the ladder of life. I have discovered new walks and not all round the local streets, but walking through bush, streams, the Estuary close to my home, and on a newly constructed boardwalk through the Mangroves. JOY.
Now, from all the research I have done in the past months, today I have a more realistic goal, and with my walking, I focus on eating the foods that aid my efforts. I eat plenty of vegetables,
which I REALLY enjoy anyway, minimize the starchy foods, potatoes, (my favourite), Bread, rice, and pasta. Less meat which, with all the great recipes I’ve discovered, I don’t miss much at all.
BUT – I know that meat is an excellent source of absorbable iron, so I do eat a small amount of meat most days.
I am also drinking far more water. Usually 3 half pint glasses each day, though I drink more when it’s hot and we’re only in the first month of Spring, here.
As a result, over the past six months, I have lost weight again, 80% of the weight I lost previously and had regained, have now formed new, healthier habits. I wake most mornings raring to go, even through this last lockdown, (Delta has a lot to answer for). I am writing again, and have made some real friends since arriving here. Now that we are once more heading down the restriction levels, I am very much looking forward to getting to the beach this summer. Thankfully my daughter and her husband live within walking distance of their local beach so this will be an option for me this year.
So, I truly believe, that although I wavered there for a while, as do many people in a similar situation, I am determined that this time, with help from my own refusal to give up, AND the encouragement I receive every day from my daughter, I will definitely-
‘Stick to my Guns’