I have gone through a divorce and survived. I have worked three jobs at the same time for seven days a week and survived. I have raised two teenagers and survived. I have flown over the ocean (a fear I used to have) and survived. I have done the online dating and survived. I have bought my own home, lost friends, found some amazing friends and I have transitioned to a new job. All of this, I have survived. At this point, I feel like a picture of Linda Carter should be inserted.

I can do all these things, but what I have the most difficult time with is self care. And I don’t just mean going out and doing the things I want to do. I get out with family and friends plenty. I struggle to get my health under control. After a doctor’s appoiment this week I realized, I am just not taking care of myself. When I am home alone I don’t cook for myself. I don’t even sit down to eat. I can’t stand sitting at my kitchen table eating alone. That’s supposed to be a family place. I sit there when the kids are home. My little, cluttered kitchen table feels so big and empty when I eat there alone. So, I usually make something quick and easy. Maybe a bowl of cereal. But then I get hungry and snack.

Anyway, after my trip to the doctor and many times going and seeing how high my A1C is and my triglycerides, I realized, what am I waiting for? Why can I not be disciplined enough to eat healthy and get myself to the gym or out for a walk. Would I like to lose some weight…absolutely! But, honestly, I’m comfortable in my own skin. But what I do want, is to be healthy. I would like to bring all my numbers down (well, except my good cholesterol, that’s the only one that’s low – too low) and hopefully make a huge lifestyle change that I am happy with.

What am I doing to change? Right now, I am cutting milk. Ugh! I love milk. I think I could drink a gallon a day. When I’m thirsty, I don’t go for water, I want milk. Not good. So, it’s been removed from the house. I can’t even resist it. Grains, gone! No more bread, rice, or pasta. From now on, it’s cauliflower rice and lettuce for bread. I can live with that. Aside from the milk, I am missing crunch. Chips. I don’t eat them often, but they are great to get that crunchy craving gone. Thank goodness I have zucchini in my garden. Homemade zucchini chips are amazing. I have been doing this since early this week, after my appointment. I have to say, I feel better. I don’t feel bloated. When I check my sugars, they are getting lower. Still not good, but I know it won’t happen overnight.

Now to introduce exercise. I have some classes at my gym that I love. I go occasionally, but I am the best at making up excuses to not go. They are all good excuses, but they certainly are not good enough to compromise my health. So this week, I am going to try to go to 3 classes. I will add them to my calendar so I cannot fill the time in with anything else.

Doing this alone, can be tough. But I find having a group of people to whom I can be accountable is amazing. People who may go to classes with me at the gym. I go to Ida Lee. I would love to meet people there. It’s always more fun to go to a class and know people, and to know people will miss you if you aren’t there. I really enjoy Pound and Zumba. However, there’s a Bang class that looks amazing! I would love to check that out also. And Yoga. I miss yoga so much. I used to do a fun Flow Yoga class at my old gym and miss it very much. It might have been the massages you get after. I am not near as flexible as I used to be, but that will come with time. I can remember my first yoga class ever, I could barely do anything. I even had to modify child’s pose. I will get back to it. Anyway, if anyone is interested in taking a journey with me, let me know. I would love to have company with this. After all, look at what I have survived already. If I cannot get my health self care under control, I just won’t survive.