I started a weight loss support group. It seemed like I was doing well at the start, with the weight loss. After the holidays, I gained more weight. I was very disappointed, but, I could only blame myself.
Things changed in my life around the same time. I changed jobs. I was a bundle of nerves, and I did it. After working at the same job for seven years, I took a chance. You can probably imagine how surprised I was to be unemployed three months later. Consequently, I am still adjusting. I am choosing to see this as an opportunity to write full time.
Control
What I do have control over is what I eat. I have been unemployed for almost two weeks, and in that time I lost 10 pounds. I gained one back this week. My eating habits and my sleeping patterns need to be scheduled again. With a schedule, I will have more control.
I had an appointment with my doctor. She was expressing concern about my sugars. They were creeping back up again. One positive thing to note was my blood pressure was good we have been working to improve it. I was overwhelmed that day, and I told her I had nowhere to put the emotions I was fighting to hide.
I was having a hard time. There is no easy way to say it. I was struggling in many areas of my life, and I didn’t know how badly I needed help.
The doctor asked me if she could set up some appointments. With tears rolling down my face, I agreed. At the time, I was concerned about my work schedule. It is no longer an issue. I have had two of the appointments, and am working on the others. One is with the Diabetes Clinic. One is with a social worker. I did not know what to think about it.
The social worker was really nice. She explained that she meets with people to help them find the help they need, by connecting them with resources. If there is one thing I am learning, is that if you can use resources which are available to you. Use them to the fullest advantage.
We talked about the loss of my income. She recommended a community food program for fruits and vegetables. I am looking into it this week. She wants me to go to the career counselling center I had gone to about a year ago. In a few weeks, I will meet with her again.
An appointment with the health coach I had been working with back in the fall will be rescheduled. I had every intention to reschedule. Now I will make time. One would think that becoming unemployed unexpectedly would have left me with a lot of free time.
Why am I busier now?
I am working towards a freelance writing career. I am staying up too late and sleeping in. There is a need to make time for exercise. It will come. I need to catch up on chores. I am starting to work on them. We are eating more meals at home, as we have to be careful with our budget. Healthy eating will be a challenge on a tighter budget. I need to fight my way out of this to be able to take the next steps to managing my health, and my life.
I am making my own schedule. Today I went outside to shovel the snow. It was an attempt at a little fresh air and exercise. There had been a little snowfall today. I wanted to feel like I accomplished something.
Winter is hard on my mental health. I am susceptible to seasonal depression. I am adding vitamin D into my daily routine, to see if it helps. Today was a really hard day. I made myself get up, get dressed, and go outside. I didn’t want to get out of bed. Things will be easier in the spring. For now, I keep fighting.
This week, I accomplished a lot
I relaunched my website and I had some appointments. Today, I fought the winter blues and made my way outside. Tomorrow I am going to cook 2 healthy meal options for myself. I can keep working on my own goals, and stop being a victim of circumstances. I will. It might take some time to get things going in the right direction again. Once I make up my mind, things start happening. It is good to be blogging again. I think I need this part of my life to be active to help me to be accountable. Hopefully, this helps a reader one day too.
It’s hard to start over. How do you get things under control again? Let me know, maybe you can help me as I try to help you.
Trust Your Gut is a series of stories about real people with weight issues, and complications arising from those issues. It will explain what the person is facing, what their options are, what they have decided to do to take action, and why they chose the path they are on. Each person’s story will be based on truth, so it won’t all be happy, but it will be real. The goal of this series is to get people talking about options that are available for people who have weight issues, on either end of the scale. If you would like to contribute to this series, there is a contact form linked on my Home page for this blog. I know there are people out there that want to help people like them; as I do.
The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name. If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story. The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors. I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.
This week I am pleased to share Carla’s Story, written in her own words.
Here is Trust Your Gut: Carla’s Story
Discover Why the Bulge is Harder to Battle for Women Over 50
Have you ever looked in the mirror and quickly looked away in disgust? Don’t feel bad, I know just how you feel; I’ve done that more times than I can count … my entire life. Why is it that women over 50 have this ongoing bulge to battle, especially between our armpits and our thighs?
It would take a book to share my entire story; but, it has been a journey, one that I’m still on. You can read about one of my “diets” and the yo-yo effect it had on my belly fat here. Have you ever noticed that when we set our minds to lose weight we do it? But, what happens when we “transition” back to real life and the diet is finished? If you are like me you gradually put back on the weight you lost plus 25 – 50 pounds. Gosh, what a struggle, right?
After many years of trying this diet and that one; losing and gaining weight I gave up. I resigned myself to be the squishy grandma as one of my grandsons called me. Hey, what’s wrong with being squishy, there’s more to love and love is what it is all about, right? We can play all the games in our heads that we want to; but, the bottom line is this – we want our youthful body back. Secretly we want our spouse to look at us and see and feel the firm muscles our bodies were meant to be. Today, hubby looks at me and we laugh at the mature figure we each have. Are we really laughing or secretly crying for something better?
Over the past ten years, age has entered the race for the fat factor. I’m finding bulges everywhere and some places you wouldn’t expect! We’ve had many changes in our lives, too. Stress, business, and life have a way of taking the bulge to a whole new battle and to a whole new level. So, January 2017 I decided it was time to stop the battle and wage war on my fat and these hideous bulges. I threw the word diet out of my vocabulary. I measured every inch of my body, where I couldn’t reach I had the hubby measure. I weighed for the sake of a starting number and put it in my journal. Then, I started sipping my way slim. I’m starting my final journey to battle the bulge after 50 and taking along those who want to do the same. They say there is power in numbers, I believe it. Together we can do anything we can conceive.
You can wish me success or join me on the journey, your choice. I’ll be posting my results, my accomplishments, and failures on my blog. I’m not sure anyone else can relate to a grandma, a woman over 50 who has failed in the weight loss arena her entire life or not. All I know is I will win this battle of the bulge and help others to do the same come h-e-double toothpicks or high water!
Me (Carla) at my heaviest (not a proud moment) in 2009 with youngest grandson in Hawaii at the time of photo 5′ 4″ 235#s.
Carla, thanks so much for accepting my invitation to be a guest blogger here. If Carla’s story resonates with you, or if you would just like to connect with her to learn more, you can check out her Facebook page Coffee with Carla and just pop over to say hi when you are having your coffee some day. I have had the chance to meet her in the process of setting this story up, and she is a wonderful person, who is easy to chat with. I wish her success in her journey and am happy to share her story with you here. I am certain if you take the time to learn more about her, she will be happy to share more of her story with you and join you on your own journey. Two heads are better than one.
Trust Your Gut is a series of stories about real people with weight issues, and complications arising from those issues. It will explain what the person is facing, what their options are, what they have decided to do to take action, and why they chose the path they are on. Each person’s story will be based on truth, so it won’t all be happy, but it will be real. The goal of this series is to get people talking about options that are available for people who have weight issues, on either end of the scale. If you would like to contribute to this series, there is a contact form linked on my Home page for this blog. I know there are people out there that want to help people like them; as I do.
The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name. If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story. The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors. I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.
This week I am pleased to share another of my own stories.
Here is Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 25
I had a rough week last week. It was one of those “hard on my head” kind of weeks. I am struggling to dig out from under the stuff that was dragging me down. It is hard to focus on living a healthier lifestyle when the world is crashing all around you, and pulling the rug out from under your feet. This week was not much better, but I am turning things around. I have made some decisions.
Sometimes there are too many things to deal with and I get overwhelmed. Or frustrated. Or angry. I did some thinking this week, and I made some decisions. My anger may have got the best of me in the last two weeks, and I am still finding ways to deal with it. Eating is not one of them. I have struggled to make healthier choices when it comes to food. I went to Zumba. In Zumba, I realized my abs were not going to be happy with me the next day. I decided that was OK, because I am really not too pleased with my abs, either.
Instead of spiralling out of control, I spent some time dealing with my feelings. They are not all resolved, but I decided that I was not able to control some things. I also realized that there are some things that I can control. I did some cooking. Tonight I made Bangin Ranch Drums. THM is a source of healthy recipes and food. I have been making some of the recipes over and over, and I need to get back to it.
Tonight was a good start. A week from tonight, I will meet my new doctor. I finally made an appointment. It will be good to get it over, and I am hoping that it will be a good experience. If not, I will ask for a different doctor in the clinic I go to. I am really hoping that it works out.
I do not have a lot of information or inspiration this week. So I will just encourage anyone that is reading this to keep going. Keep fighting for yourself. Keep working to let your inner beauty shine so bright that the monster doesn’t stand a chance. Because it is a never ending struggle, and no matter what your issues are, we can only tackle the ones we have a chance at winning. That doesn’t mean that you should throw in the towel and give up. What it does mean, is that sometimes you have to choose your battles. This week I took my time about it, but in the end, I picked me. And that is the best choice I can make.
