Getting Healthy at 40

Ain't that the truth? But I'm gonna try!

Well it happened. It finally happened. I turned 40 on Friday as I mentioned last week. I had a truly wonderful day thanks to my husband planning a treasure hunt to my gift, a fantastic dinner at a nice local restaurant that had terrific live jazz and then drinks (only 1 glass of wine for me due to my meds) at The Hyatt (fan-cy!).

Aside from that I received dozens of happy birthday wishes on Facebook and Twitter from friends and family which was really nice and just added to the lovely day. Things like that put a smile on my face and remind me that I have great friends and family, so thank you for that.

Since it was a milestone birthday, I allowed myself the weekend to sort of splurge. I had chocolate cake after dinner on Friday for example. I figured that 40 was a great time to really take charge of my life and start caring about myself more than I had been. I didn't realize that I disliked myself as much as I did until I did some soul searching this weekend. I mean, I have qualities that I like such as a good sense of humor, caring for others and a talent for writing and singing. But I also thought to myself too many times that I am wrinkled and ugly and fat. What a shitty way to perceive yourself right?

Not THAT bad for 40 am I? 

I can't do much about the wrinkles, but I'll apply as much cream as I can to help minimize those damn lines. Ugly? Probably not. I think I associate my being overweight with my being ugly. That's not fair is it? There are lots of people that are overweight that I don't think are unattractive, so why am I so hard on myself? It's ridiculous and I need to work on my perception of myself when I look in the mirror. Fat? Well, that's what I'm here for! Now that I'm 40, no more excuses! I've got to get serious about losing weight. Not because I want to fit in a size 6 or be more beautiful on the outside, but because I want to be healthy.

So I need your help, folks. Help me keep on track by reminding me of this post. Use my own words against me if need be! See, I have a terrible fear of dying ever since a health scare (one of many), so I want to make sure that I am doing everything I can to be healthy. I can't fix my CRPS, carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, migraines or blood disorder, but I can fix my blood pressure by losing weight can't I? Maybe one day I'll be able to stop taking blood pressure medications even.

One day that will be me smiling at the number on the scale!

The point of this rambling post is that I want and need to be the healthiest me I can be. I don't want to die before my time, so it's up to me to turn some things around. I'm fortunate to have the gift of writing for this blog and that means I'm held responsible by all of you. I don't want to disappoint you and more than that I don't want to disappoint myself.

Hi! I'm Mrs. One Day and I'm a Food-o-holic!

I'm gonna be 40 in May. 40! Geez, I can't believe I'm already at that point in my life. I mean, it really seems like I was just a 20-something woman with a size 8 body and the world in the palm of my hand. Now I look at that size 14 or 16 label in my jeans and get teary eyed. I've been disabled since 2008 and I see no world in my palm. That saying makes me smirk at the irony actually. You see it's my left hand/arm that have the problem. 

God I hope that's true.

                             

​I have Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), sometimes referred to as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD). Quite a mouthful isn't it? If you aren't familiar with CRPS, check out this excellent information on the oh-so-helpful bandbacktogether.com, http://bandbacktogether.com/complex-regional-pain-syndrome-resources/ . Because of this, and several other, medical issues, I have a hard time with exercise. My pain is excruciating at worst and annoying as hell, at best. I have a grocery list of medical problems that I won't bore you with now, but suffice it to say, I'm a sickly chicky. It sucks and I've written about it in my personal blog, onedayimgonna.blogspot.com, which is weird because it's a humor blog. Every now and then I get a little bit intimate over there, but mostly it's about the laughs.

​So, I guess you get the general picture here. I developed CRPS in 2008 and have since gained about 40 extra pounds that I hate. I'm thinking of naming each one so that when I lose them, I can shout, "Fuck you, Ira! Off you go!" Doesn't Ira totally work as a "pound" name? Maybe I'll make a list of their names and post it. Maybe not. It's weird right? Let me get this train back on the track now. Alrighty, so I am trying my best to get rid of Ira and his fatty friends. How, you ask? Portion control and dancing which masquerades as exercise. Yay! I find that I'm having so much fun I sometimes forget that I'm working out and the next day my butt, legs, arms and back are sore as hell. That's how I know I actually did something productive for my body. Woohoo! 

We've all been here, no?

​​Bottom line is this. I have very little will power...very little. I'm a caver. I'm a rationalizaton-er. I'm a word maker upper apparently too. My tendency is to eat several things that seem "not-so-bad" throughout the day, not thinking of how they add up. I rationalize it by saying, "But it's only 50 calories!", which would be okay if it were just the one 50 calorie item. It usually isn't. I'm pretty good about the working out because, like I said before, it's fun dancing around the house!

At least THAT'S not us right?

I need this blog for support from my fellow contributers (who I adore by the way), and from readers like you. I promise to do my best and share all of my ups (and downs), if you promise to do it with me. Kick me in the ass if I need it (and I will). Give me a high five when I deserve one and dammit let's get rid of Ira and all the rest of them!

​