A New Year for the Fatfighters!

Well, see, I didn't drop off the side of the universe. :)

Nah. I've been sick a couple weeks. Some sort of frustratingly stubborn low-level inflammatory thing--not a cold, not the flu, probably an allergic or autoimmune flare-up like I've had in the past--so it put a big crimp on my holiday and my Pilates. For the first time in 6 months, I missed a whole week of sessions. Well, week and a half. This bums me out like you wouldn't believe (yes, I have become accustomed to my thrice-weekly workouts with my trainer and the noticeable increase in strength).

I have to count my blessings, though, even though there's a 40 pound invisible cat sitting on my chest making it hard to breathe, not to mention what seems to be cotton wadding down my nose and throat. Why? Cause I normally used to have anywhere from 2 to 6 bouts of acute bronchitis per year (due to my crappy respiratory and messy immune system). This year, I didn't get bronchitis ONCE. I'm crediting this to eating better (most of the time, including lots of produce, clean foods, oganic products) and exercising regularly and vigorously.

Maybe sliding back into old crap food habits after my organic delivery service went on hiatus contributed to my feeling poorly. Dunno. Maybe it's just the usual stuff I get during this time of year--which has always been problematic. I am used to Christmas wheezing. I've missed many a family party over the decades due to Christmas sickies.

In any case, I'm just praying I can shake this off and get back to business--exercise, eating well, writing creatively, and decluttering my house and spirit--in the coming first full week of 2009.

Aren't fresh starts wonderful?

I want to feel well enough Friday to hit Whole Foods or Fresh Market. I want to visit the local organic juicer and get fresh squeezed green juices in quarts to get me some yummy enzymes. I want to begin the Beck Diet for Life book and see if I can get my psychological groove going. I want to breathe well enough to get back to Pilates. I want to stop ordering too much take-away.

Simple steps, but they seem so complicated in one-lump paragraph. (I recommend folks visit Lyn and get her habit-a-week posts and try that.)

I indulged in a bit too much cake and chocolate and mousse this holiday, so I just ordered up some low-carb goodies from Netrition.com to kick-start January with less sugar and more protein. But man, I really need my fruits and veggies. I haven't been able to shop in TWO WEEKS, and hubby is just afraid of produce. He really is (funny) helpless in the face of choosing fruits and veggies. So, the fruit bowls are empty. Literally EMPTY. No oranges, bananas, apples, pears, lemons, avocados, limes, tomatoes in the bowls. No grapes, cherries, berries...just some papaya that I asked him to get to aid in decongesting and some pineapple juice leftover from a take-away dinner from Pasha's Mediterranean.

Ah, man, I hate being sick. Makes me feel so helpless and useless. I breathe best when I'm very still. Any exertion makes me gasp. So, I can feel the fat creeping back and the muscles devolving. I want to keep my hard-earned (expensively-acquired) muscles!

I know. I know. Keep it positive. Start 2009 with great hope.

Hope was the word God gave me for 2008. I even bought a piece of fairy art from the delightful Sara Butcher to showcase that work:



(If you go to the link above to her site, Sara has another very charming HOPE fairy in the upper left of her blog layout, and it's in color and very cute.)

I look forward to hear what word the Lord will give me for 2009. Sometimes, I don't get it until two or three months in, but it always seems to address a need for that year. For instance, in 2008, after 20 years with his employer, my hubby got laid off. You can guess that hope came into play big time. God came through with a really good job for him, and he kept me bronchitis-and-pneumonia free. He made it possible for me to do Pilates (with the severance money from lay-off).

I will commemorate my 2009 word with another piece of small art, if I can afford it. I "hope" so. :) Ah, yes. I think HOPE is a word that's good for all seasons of all years. Especially for those of us struggling with obesity and health problems. I'm glad I have my little fairy to remind me.

I ask God to bless you all in your fight, in your struggles, in trying times, and to bring health and joy and great friendships and much love in 2009.

See you soon. (And if you're the praying sort, prayers for my breathing to normalize would so much be appreciated.)

OH...and if you want a challenge, Fitcetera's gorgeous blogger Katschi has one going. The Six Week "As If Jillian Were Riding Your Butt" Challenge. I signed up.

Oh, lawdy, lawdy. I really need to get my respiratory system back in line to do it, but here's to...er..HOPING.

Onward in 2009...and downward!

~

The Princess Lives and is Back on the Weight Loss Wagon after a Side Trip to Valley Gorge

No, I was not abducted by aliens.

I just had a combination of busyness, blogging sloth, and Bad Princess Off Eating Plan syndrome.

Time flies. Even when aliens aren't involved.

So, a recap:

*Drifted off plan in the weekdays prior to Thanksgiving. (Hubby off work; We ate. Or rather, I took it as an excuse to overeat.)

*Ate like a piggy Thanksgiving, which was so good that it was hard to regret. Until I stepped on the scale the Friday after and it was 280.2. My lowest being the Saturday prior at 274.4. I did say the week went badly, yes?

*Didn't really put a brake on things the week AFTER Thanksgiving, so the scale started to scare me daily, without mercy.

*Had a cake orgy (cheesecake; chocolate layer cake) at my niece's birthday party on Sunday. On the plus side, got some exercise playing with the kids, which showed me how utterly dreadfully out of shape I am, cardiovascularly-speaking, cause I was soooooooo gaspy.

*Tried to rein self in without using the usual, tried-and-true tools (measuring, planning, journaling religiously, blogging, getting support, etc.) That didn't work so well.

*Got busier.

*Decided the sloth and gluttony was getting out of control when lackluster, undisciplined efforts yielded no results. So, began retracing steps to sanity over last two days.

*Am back on track as of yesterday.

Yesterday: I finally, FINALLY, sat down and began the Beck Diet Method. I did my first exercise: My Advantages Response Card. I have 41 advantages on there, and I had to make up THREE cards to fit them all. But, the exercise said to think of as many reasons as possible, and I did. If I think of more, I'll just add them.

Today: Day Two--I need to complete my Day One stuff (I fell asleep before I could) and place copies of my ARCs around the house and begin to get in the habit of reading them twice daily. I also will do the day two exercise of the therapy says I am to pick two reasonable diets.

I'll be posting regularly again (barring another whoopsie with BellSouth, which had our internet access down nearly the whole day Monday). I'm sure I'll have another post today, too. To catch up and to do my Tales from the Scales challenge weigh-in.

I want to thanks the lovely ladies who posted and prodded and checked up on me--you know who you are--for your encouragement. God bless you with many things for your kindness and concern, including with a major loss this week. :)

Smoochies from The Princess...