Diet: Something's Gotta Give

After watching my sweet hubby go through his health issues this last year, it has made me realize I. DO. NOT. WANT. TO. GO. DOWN. THAT. ROAD. PERIOD.

Peer-eee-od.

'Cause it ain't been pretty. And I have decided that if I don't do everything within my power to age healthily then, well...shame on me. What a fool I will be.

Now just so any of you high minded, know-it-all, sassy, young 'uns who might be reading this and going through that lovely "I'm invincible and will never die" time of life are thinkin' "who are you trying to fool? You won't live forever, so why not live it up? Enjooooooy life!" Well, I know I won't live forever (but I do plan to live to at least 144 :D ) And if I'm going to live that long, I want to be as healthy and vital as possible. I don't wish to be a burden on my family, live in some sort of home while dying a slow death or have someone wipe my butt. And I figure that if I don't do what I believe I should be doing for my health and I end up in one of those fashions, shame on me. However, I do understand that we can do everything possible, be healthy as a (healthy) horse, and still have a devastating, traumatic health catastrophe happen to us. But still, NOT to try and treat our bodies as the temple it is would just be wrong.

I've said before that I have major food issues. Food addiction if you will. If it's fattening, creamy, decadent, down home, junky, sweet, salty, crunchy, crispy, ooey, gooey, Paula Deen-ized, super sized, chewy, chocolatey, fried, drizzled upon, iced, frosted, candy/candylike, cake/cakelike, cookie/cookielike...(well, shall I go on?), I LOVE it. And to add to the food addiction, I have a condition: I have a large amount of lead in my butt. And that makes it very difficult for me to move. At. All. 

No...really.

And since I've tried (no, I haven't "tried them all") enough diets to know I'm OVER them, I have given it a lot of thought and come up with this: I need to do something. And I need to do something that 1) works for me; 2) I could conceivably do the rest of my life and not feel that it's an imposition; 3) allow me to eat anything I choose and not forbid any food and...(drumroll) 4) (MOST IMPORTANTLY TO ME) be healthy. Because I've already been diagnosed with high blood pressure and mildly high cholesterol so we know where that can lead if not kept in check. And honestly, I would love to reverse those conditions and not have to take those meds and then I could be med free. (Not a bad thing for a fiddy year old.)

What does all this mean TO ME (not wanting to come off as an expert or pretend I have all the answers for others since food and "dieting" is such a personal issue)? What I've concluded is this: I feel I need to 1) eat more veggies and fruits; 2) implement some semblance of portion control (ugh) and 3) move my oh-so-sedentary body. For now, that's it. Sounds simple enough. But can I carry it out? Do it meal after meal, day after day?

So, here's a what I'm a gonna do. I'm gonna keep track of my meals, snacks & what not on here as a journal of sorts, since this is really intended to be a journal for me anyway in general. And yes, I've started record keeping before and life got in the way (I MUST quit allowing that to happen!). So, tomorrow, I will weigh in (won't be sharing that number with the general population however), and begin posting and sharing the journey.

I can begin by saying this:

• As of this moment, I'm 5'5"
• a size *semi-tight* 16 (but I refuse to buy any bigger sizes. Just wont do it.).
• My blood pressure remains in a good normal range with meds.

Here's to great, fantastic, super, excellent health!~TJ