Monday, July 21, 2008

Healthy Me: The Courage to Try Again

Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the little voice
at the end of the day that says
I'll try again tomorrow.
~ Mary Anne Radmacher


It’s been a long time since I posted as part of the Healthy You Challenge. I’ve done lots of good things to keep my mind and spirit healthy and active, but not so much having to do with my body.

Until two weeks ago.

You may remember a post I wrote called I Need Help. It was written on a Monday, when I hit the wall but felt so cynical about trying to lose weight. But the next day, I found the courage to once again put my feet back on the path to respecting and loving myself enough to take care of health.

Today, I am completing two weeks of what I refer to as clean, healthy eating. For me, that means writing down every single morsel that goes into my mouth. It means staying within my allotted Weight Watcher Points.

But it also means working hard to eat a combination of five fruits and/or vegetables every day, to get some amount of a healthy protein at every meal, to make sure I give my body the calcium it needs, and drinking lots and lots of water.

So I’m giving myself a Healthy You Badge (thanks Diana, for creating these!)

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

I’ll have my official weigh in Tuesday night, and am curious to see what feedback the scale will give me (it wasn’t pretty the last time I weighed.) But the reality is that whatever it says, it’s just a number. I know how much better I feel today than fourteen days ago. I know I haven’t taken a Tums since the day I posted my cry for help. I know that I feel so much calmer now that I’ve taken control of my eating again (can anyone relate to that feeling?)

Yes, I’m hoping for good results Tuesday night, but no reading on the scale can match how positive I’m feeling about my choices again. It's surely one day at a time, and I’m on my way!


Until next time…

22 comments:

Susie said...

So happy for you Patti! I'm glad that you haven't had to take those Tums and be bothered by the heartburn, etc..
xo

Brightcetera said...

Good to hear you've pulled yourself up by the bootstraps & that you are continuing on your successful way.
It's so bloody difficult to pull ourselves together that I wonder why we let ourselves go off kilter so often. It takes so much energy to constantly go off course & have to find the path again. Why, Pattie, why???? do we do this?
Bottle up whatever energy it is you're running on right now & send me some! :)

Kathy said...

I'm so happy for you! And I do know what that feeling of being in control does for your spirit...something I need to grab on to again myself!

You always have the neatest visuals and quotes! Well done. And good luck with the weigh-in!

Manuela said...

That's wonderful! I think we sometimes need a break from watching the scale and then commenting on it. I'm glad that you got to work on some inner peace apart from the HYC :)

Cammy@TippyToeDiet said...

I love that you refer to the scale as 'feedback', because 'feedback' is just one view of a situation. It doesn't tell the whole story. Thank goodness you, the author of this story, know the whole picture. :) Fingers crossed!

Lora said...

Good for you! I have a hard time writing down my food. I do it for 3 or 4 days and then get sidetracked...story of my life!

Irish Mom said...

I am so glad you have taken control!! Awesome job!! You are always so positive and a great source of support!! Have a great week!!

Anonymous said...

Eating clean feels good. Real food is so much better for you. A study showed that eating real food decreased your likelihood of getting diabetes.

Deborah said...

Congrats on the two weeks of healthy eating. I definitely know the better feeling of putting healthy stuff in your body.

And recently I also know the feeling of putting all that effort into it and the scales not showing a difference. But like you said it's just a number. And you know you've "done good" in the healthy eating department.

Felicia said...

This is just wonderful!! I am so happy for you! Really sounds like you are on your way!!

Keep up the inspiring work!!

Hope you have a WONDERFUL day!
*huggles*
=0)

RunningNan said...

You've already attained your great results of your 2 week change. You feel better! That's all that matters!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the two weeks of healthy eating! Good Luck with your weigh-in. It is only a number. You are definately on your way!

Unknown said...

I'm so proud of you, I knew you can do it! Remember count it as a vegetable and move on!
Love you!

Becky said...

Woo-hoo, way to go Pattie!! She's back - yippee :)

Big Girl said...

Even though you are right, I hope the scale relects your postive attitude.

I'm glad you're feeling much better about things.

jovaliquilts said...

Wonderful!! There's nothing like taking charge of your life and feeling better for it. Congratulations!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Congrats on sticking to writing your food down. And good luck on your weigh in!

tas said...

yea! yea! and yea! i knew you could do it! i've been thinking about you a lot and keeping you in my prayers. people like you inspire me to keep after it. thanks!

Carole Burant said...

You have every reason to be proud of yourself and I really admire you for stepping up to the challenge and making a difference in your eating habits. I need some of your willpower!!!! I bet the scale will be smiling at you:-) xoxo

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

Good for you. I know you can do it.

new*me said...

keeping my fingers crossed for you tonight! Glad you found your way back and are feeling better. Thanks for the sweet comment on my blog :)

Donna Gotlib said...

Hi Pattie,
I've added you to my "list of blogs you should visit"

Wishing you a great day.

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