In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a bit of a chunky gal. I survived breast cancer and developed some pretty good health habits that I continue to use. But age has a way of slowing things down, and the addition of myasthenia gravis made things worse. I take a handful of pills over the course of the day, and the side effects have wreaked havoc on my waistline.
Once COVID hit and we went into lockdown, the gym became a no-go for me. On a good day, I lost count of the number of people who walked away from equipment without wiping it down. My weakend immune system wasn’t about to take that on with the added risk of ‘Rona. Motivation, however strong, is easily lost when your routine is pulled out from under you.
We’re in the process of setting up a home gym and purchased a nice treadmill that I use regularly. More free weights and a cable weight machine are on the horizon, along with a trainer stand for my mountain/trail bike.
In the meantime, neither of us were getting any thinner or healthier. I decided it was time to make some changes, and signed us up for WW (Weight Watchers). I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well it’s going and the ease with which we have adapted to it. At the risk of sounding cliché, it really is shifting your mindset from what you can’t have to what you can have. And there really isn’t anything you can’t have, as long as you allow for the point value. My husband spent a few minutes at Publix scanning his favorite beers to find one that was “points-worthy.”
In a two-week span, I’m down 7.3 lbs and my husband is down 4.1 lbs. Not too shabby for a couple of former couch potatoes. We’re also stepping up our activity, weather permitting. Summer in the south is a violatile shift between blazing heat and torrential late afternoon thunderstorms. Yesterday we took part in a running meet-up at our local sports complex. It was nice when we started but by the time we left for home, we were dodging a downpour.
My goal is to post my progress weekly, and include some of our favorite healthy meals and snacks. Join me, won’t you?
englishmuffinruns.com 