Stick to Your Guns

Anyone who attempts to do this will tell you that they have goals that appear to be insurmountable.

It Ain’t Easy To Do

I outlined my future objectives more than two years ago (see My blog, How life can get in the way, starting in July 2019!) and managed to stick with it for some months. THEN, Covid spread throughout the world, and our government worked quickly and diligently to eradicate the annoying bug here. (Which worked up until Delta arrived, but that’s a different story). Fortunately, at the time I didn’t have to worry about straying outside the limits of my small town because I lived close enough to the grocery store.

But, and this is a big but, my favorite walks were no longer permitted.

Oh, we could still go for walks, but only on the nearby streets. The fact that I was able to occasionally see friends on the other side of the street and have fairly loud conversations with them was beneficial because I live alone and am essentially in a bubble of one. But that was a bad thing because I quickly grew tired of contacting people only through my phone and walks, so I gradually cut back on my walking and started eating more. causing me to gain weight that was almost equal to what I had lost in the previous months.

Then, a little over a year ago, I unexpectedly relocated across the country, which brought me nearer to my kids. Another lockdown, but this time neither I nor any of the neighborhood walkers knew anyone. The only way out, however, is up, as the saying goes, once you hit your lowest point.

I had the motivation to make the first move to climb back up the ladder of success because of the Lord (and my daughter). I’ve found new places to walk, and not just around the neighborhood’s streets. I’ve gone through the woods, along streams, in the estuary near my house, and on a recently built boardwalk through the mangroves. JOY.

I now have a more achievable goal thanks to all the research I’ve done in recent months, and in addition to walking, I concentrate on consuming foods that support my efforts. I eat plenty of vegetables,

which Reduce your intake of starchy foods like bread, rice, pasta, potatoes (my favorite), and so on. Less meat, which, thanks to all the fantastic recipes I’ve found, I don’t miss at all.

However, I do eat a small amount of meat on a daily basis because I am aware that it is a fantastic source of absorbable iron.

Moreover, I am consuming a lot more water. Even though we are only in the first month of spring, I typically drink three half-pint glasses per day, though I do drink more when it’s hot.

I have now developed new, healthier habits as a result, and over the past six months, I have lost weight once more—80% of the weight I had previously lost and regained. Even during the most recent lockdown, I woke up eager to start my day because Delta has a lot to answer for. Since coming here, I’ve made some true friends, which is why I’m writing once more. I am eager to visit the beach this summer now that we are once again descending the restriction levels. I will have this option this year thanks to the fact that my daughter and her husband live close to their neighborhood beach.

So, I truly believe, that although I wavered there for a while, as do many people in a similar situation, I am determined that this time, with help from my own refusal to give up, AND the encouragement I receive every day from my daughter, I will definitely-

‘Stick to my Guns’