One more day to my birthday! Whoop whoop! I made it through another year and I am so grateful this past year. Not only did I make it but I grew. No, I did not grow wider physically for once (Yipee!). I grew as a person. I didn’t really have much of a choice but hey such is life. The important part is that it is all just part of the journey and I am enjoying the ride. Even the scary parts. I usually treat my birthday as a second new year and start “implementing” any changes I want to make then. This year I actually started on New Years day.
After much assessment of where I am and where I want to be, I came to realise that I don’t really live a very intentional life. I have a tendency to say I want to do certain things and even have a “why” as motivation yet, I never intentionally act on those desires. I just fall into things and never actually question if the action I find myself taking is really getting me any closer to my end goal. I tell myself it is but, hello, I haven’t exactly come anywhere close to achieving them so clearly my actions are not. I react and I definitely don’t act intentionally.
Clearly this needs to change. So I made the decision to start acting intentionally and it blows my mind how quickly the universe comes to the party. On New Years day I suddenly found myself with alone time on my hands so I started working in a new journal that I had purchased. I wrote down my goals, my words for the year (“intentional” being one of them) and I started looking for images for my vision board. I have been attempting to put one together for the past two years. I created one for my phone about a month a go but I still felt like I needed a proper board up in my room so finally it is done.
The next day I go to the doctor as my prescription needs a refill and I walk away with the distinct feeling that I must lose the weight that the doctor has been nagging me about now. I had the sense that it has to be now or I will live to regret it. As per my last blog post, I was not happy about the idea of losing weight as it is a lifestyle change that I didn’t want to make but I knew it had to be done. So what did God do, He sends me an angel in the form of Kerry, to direct me to a book and offer to go on the journey with me. I buy the book the same day and read it. While I am reading it, everything just clicks into place and I know, I just know, that this time I will succeed. Thank you God and Thank you Kerry!
You probably think I am talking a load of bull but I have experienced that “click” every time I have made a major decision in my life, especially when it is one that I have been avoiding accepting because I am scared of the new reality it will bring. In my early 20’s, I had a 5 year on again/off again relationship with a guy that I adored. We were in 2 different places in our lives and, quite frankly, we were just very immature at the time. We knew we couldn’t give each other what the other wanted but we were not prepared to let go. Then one day, he did something that made me realise that it was time to let go. It was very minor but that “click” kicked in and that was that I walked away. I did start questioning my decision after a few months but God quickly gave me a reality check and made sure that thought didn’t enter my head again. I cried for days but once I stopped I was good to go again and never looked back. When I gave up smoking, I dragged my feet about it until one day, while watching the budget speech, I just decided this was it. I was not wasting another blue dime on cigarettes, I picked up the book on giving up smoking from my book shelf (I had purchased it about a month earlier) and while I was reading it, click, click and click happened, and that was that. I haven’t picked up a cigarette in 6 years and 11 months. When I am done, I am done.
There are a few other examples I can think of but I’m sure you get the point. I heard and felt that click while reading that book so I am done with this weight and this diabetes that tried to take up residence in my body. Not today bugger. Not today! So it’s day 2 of this new journey and new reality. There are three obstacles that I need to overcome to make this work.
- Drinking black coffee. It’s never quite being my thing
- Giving up snacking. I do it when I am bored or need to think.
- Cut down on my carbs
Black coffee has been overcome! I had my first cup yesterday and actually enjoyed it. This evening I reached for the milk in the fridge and felt nauseous at the thought of adding it to my coffee. Mental switch officially done and dusted. Giving up snacking will be done. If i think back to my thin days, I didn’t snack as a general rule. I at when I was hungry and that was that. I ate to live and i did not live to eat and I was happy so it will not kill me not to snack. I will still be happy. My wallet will be happy with a lower grocery bill and my body will be happy because it won’t constantly have to work on digesting food.
I am still working on the mental trick to cut down on carbs but I am not too stressed about it. One way or the other, the comfort carbs days have come to an end. Cheerio comfort carbs. Thank you for the comfort but it’s time to move on now. Do note that if you see me in the next few days and I appear a bit crabby, please bear with me, I am just adjusting to the lack of comfort carbs.
The book, for those who are interested, is about Intermittent fasting. I had researched the topic to death last year when my doctor first recommended it but there were no clicks. While reading the book, everything that I researched about banting and intermittent fasting came together in a nice little package that went …you guessed it…click. The right book at the right time. The book is called Delay, Don’t Deny by Gin Stephens if you would like to read it.
The effect is slow apparently so don’t expect a new me strolling down the street in the next few weeks but definitely in the next few months.
Welcome 47 and my New Reality! I am ready for you.
Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed this post. Don’t forget to like and share if did. I would love to hear your tips and tricks with Intermittent fasting . Bye for now.
Grounded African 