July 23, 2010

art supply tornadoes and attitude shifts...

You're probably wondering where the arts and crafts went, aren't you?? well, there are tons of unfinished projects, along with plenty of ideas simmering in my head, and they're somewhere in the pit of a spare room I call a studio... I've been avoiding the clean-out that I know needs to be done. I will start on it this weekend: there, I've said it!! What I will NOT do, though, is show you a "before" picture! Just visualize a tornado tossing around books, magazines, all manner of paper scraps, rubber stamps, paintbrushes and paint tubes, then plopping it all down in the middle of the floor, and you get the picture. (I won't even let our new kitten go in there, for fear of her getting lost.)

Instead of art and cleaning, I've been focusing on the "getting healthy and losing weight thing" the last couple weeks. I started Weight Watchers on 7/12, and I have almost 2 weeks of eating healthy under my belt now (literally- haha!!...okay, bad joke...) I've tried it before, so many times, and actually was a WW lifetimer briefly about 6 1/2 years ago, so I know the WW program works: "it works if you do it!" It's just the "doing it" part that I had a problem with after reaching my goal. This time, I'm approaching it with a different mindset: it truly IS something that "just has to be done" if I want to be thinner, healthy, and to get rid of the health issues that I currently have.

It's difficult, because I don't have immediate negative effects from eating something unhealthy (like someone who has allergies would, for example), but the outcome is the same- a health disaster. My issues took longer to appear, and are less visible than an immediate allergic reaction, but having high cholesterol and a minor stroke (at the age of 40) really isn't a small thing. Even though I "feel fine" physically, I know it's still there, sort of like a ticking time bomb; I just have to remember that.

It's taken me quite a while to come around to this mindset and I wish I could say it's automatic for me, but it's not yet. I just have to remember that I was given a second chance, and to not throw it away.

Eating healthy takes planning, time, and a lot of plastic storage containers (to tote my breakfast and lunch to work with me), but it's going okay so far. I'd forgotten how much better I feel when I don't overload myself with carbs and sugary stuff! It does help that I do love vegetables and fruits, too... (Thank goodness for Splenda, though, because I'm not to the point where I can eat unsweetened hot oatmeal.) :D

1 comment:

walk2write said...

You have a wonderful sense of humor about life. Does the dry air there help? Seriously! I've noticed that summer is a bummer here for keeping my funny bone tuned.