Hello fellow eaters! I would like to start off this blog by thanking everyone for the helps tips and advice that were sent to me after my last post. I appreciate it and the love that is behind each comment.
So here we are in February, the middle of winter. The groundhog saw his shadow, which means 4 more weeks of winter. I never really did understand this tradition. Everyone knows that winter usually lasts through the month of February and most of March. I've always wondered what would happen if the groundhog didn't see his shadow? Would winter magically disappear?
Ok, I digress. So with winter comes the blahs. That feeling like you're in a rut and the weather is grey and it's dark and what is the point of going through the motions one more day. Sound familiar? Well, I've got the blahs. I know what you're thinking (especially what some of my northern friends are thinking), she lives in Florida, the sunshine state, they don't have cold and crappy weather there, how can she have the winter blahs? Well, the weather here in Sarasota has not been the best. It's been rainy and damp and chilly and, lately, I've found myself in the dumps and in a rut. I'll be honest, since mid-January, I've been gaining weight. A pound here, a pound there until finally, when I went for my Jenny Craig appointment on February 1st, I was right back where I started when I first started this blog. Now, when I took some time for myself and thought about how I ended up at my starting point, I had to admit that I wasn't paying attention to what I was eating. Somehow I had lost focus and ended up putting the weight back on. I also realized that I have not been as active as I normally was. I had been feeling tired and run down and I just stopped taking care of myself like I should. At that point, I just wanted to crawl into my bed and hibernate through the rest of winter (Lord knows I have enough weight piled on to carry me through winter). Since I'm not a bear and I have responsibilities that I need to attend to, hibernation is not an option. Also, hibernation is like hiding and, as I have found out through experience, you can't hide from your problems. They always come back to bite you. So, time for a new course of action.
So I started paying attention again. I realized that I am in a rut and changes need to happen. First change, opening my heart and mind to my goals. I know that probably sounds a little strange, but I either heard or read one time (I don't remember which) that, if you want something from life, you need to be open to it. If you open yourself up and say that you are ready for change and ready for what life has in store for you, it will happen. Well, I am ready to be a 180 pound person. I am ready to be the person I know I can be. I am ready to be confident and to take on whatever challenge life has in store. So, I guess what I'm saying is, ok life, whatever the plan is, I'm ready and open for it.
Wow, that's a freeing and scary statement because I truly have to let go of all my bad habits and all of the things I've been clinging to for comfort (i.e. food), and I have to rely on myself and know that I have the strength to do this. Somehow I kind of sound like a broken record, but my hope is that if I continue to tell myself that I'm strong and that it's ok to let go and open up to all the wonderful opportunities life has for me, that I will truly believe it. Knowing that I have family and friends that offer a lot of love and support also helps.
So there it is. I will be open and I am ready for the next round of changes that are in store. Oh, and before I forget, I lost 2.2 pounds this week. So moving past the blahs was a good thing! Happy winter and don't worry, spring will be here before we know it. :)
