• Medical tests…

    In the past I have not taken very good care of myself and ignored my medical issues (and I have a LOT). Now that I am in my mid-40s, I can’t ignore things anymore. Good thing I smartened up, too, because my blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides were all bad (being almost 100 pounds overweight

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  • When today’s writing prompt came up, I kind of went blank. I mean, there are SO many things I could, and should, do more of. More exercise, more healthy eating, more organization, and so on. So, as I thought a little more, I realized that all of the things previously listed that I could do

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  • The year was 1996. I was a junior in high school. Our world history teacher, Mr. Fred Bartek, was going over rules and expectations for the course as it was an AP History course. He was telling us that there would never be a valid excuse for not getting the homework done. He then uttered

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  • What, no music?!?!?!?!!

    I wasn’t really fond of today’s writing prompt, so I shuffled through some previous ones and this one just about reached out of the monitor and grabbed my heart! It was: “can you imagine a life with no music?” No music! I can’t even! I grew up listening to all kinds of music between my

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  • 2PM slump

    As I sit at my desk at work and find myself falling asleep again, I check the clock. Yep, sure enough, it is just past 2 p.m. Every day, this is an issue. I wonder why it happens. I’ve been told it is what I eat. I changed that and don’t overeat and eat healthy

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  • Food is life

    My favorite food is definitely red meat of pretty much any kind. Prime rib, medium rare is my favorite. However, with high cholesterol and high blood pressure I have to limit my red meat intake. Prime rib is reserved to maybe twice a year – my birthday and Christmas. There is just something about the

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  • Is it just me, or are there way more people living with a sense of entitlement these days? I encounter far too many people who think they are owed everything they want without ever having to work for it. I think it stems from too many parents giving kids everything they want growing up without

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  • Ponyboy

    I found this book in a country store on my last visit to NH. I was so excited! I haven’t read this book since 7th grade over 30 years ago! I am about 40 pages in and loving it as much as I did in my early teenage years. In my earlier childhood I lived

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  • Can’t…

    When I first saw today’s writing prompt, I didn’t think there was a word I would give up. I cuss a lot and don’t care that I do – it is part of who I am. There aren’t too many words that I say repetitively that I mind either. Then a word popped into my

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  • Grudges are like chains around our hearts and souls. Yet we cannot help but hold onto them sometimes. Some pain is too hard to ignore, even if you can forgive those who cause you pain. Life is too short to be surrounded with negativity. That being said, my grudge is against my mother. Without going

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Growing up, I was skinny and tall like a beanpole. It wasn’t until I turned 17 or so and went on the depo provera shot that made me gain about 50 pounds – and fast! Since then, I have struggled with yoyo weight loss.

At 17 I was 105, then 155 after the shot. For the next 4 years I would go up and down about 25-30 pounds, give or take a few. I got pregnant at 22 and I was 177 (Damn, wish I was that now!! LOL). I gained 57 pounds with the pregnancy, but lost all but 10 pounds fairly quickly. Until I turned 30, I fluctuated between 185-220 pounds. At that time, I went through a rough divorce and lost 25 pounds and hovered around 160-170.

I gained all that back and then some, clear up to 250. I again had a rough life situation, lost 20 pounds down to 230 and got a job working at Wendy’s. In the 3 years I worked there I lost almost 80 pounds from my 10-12 hour active days and not eating enough during the course of the day. As a GM at Wendy’s you have no time to eat!

Then, I hurt my back. I ended up leaving the job because I couldn’t handle it physically anymore. I moved in with my now-fiancée and her two boys and you know what they say about love making you fat and happy? Yeah that happened LOL. Also, as I aged, the weight was harder to come off and I started going through perimenopause. I ballooned up to 280 pounds. I couldn’t stand looking at myself in mirrors and in pictures.

In January of this year, I got my shit together and went to see a doctor for the first time in, oh, about 12 years. Needless to say, I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high triglycerides. Talk about wake up call. My doctor told me if I didn’t change my habits I was headed straight for a heart attack and/or a stroke. This is the beginning of my current weight loss journey, so please come along and we can all support each other!

Books, Balance, & Beyond

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