As many know, I had a good start to losing weight in 2022, however it came with a setback this past week into this current week. I am hoping to get back on track as I have a saving grace that will pave the way forward towards me getting to my goals for 2022.
Last week I had a revisit with my Primary Care Physician who ordered routine labs and as I am occasionally concerned, asked for a check of my A1C level. Little to my surprise the PCP of mine and my parents is in a new healthcare system and as a result we had to go to a new place for the lab draws. So, my parents made a choice to go after our visits. It was a family moment to remember.
Regardless, the lab results came back all good within short order. It made me reluctant that while I was blessed with this news, I was also reluctant that I have an excessive sugary beverage problem. This was realized over the past week when I stated that I was limiting my beverages that in fact in the span of less than 48 hours I had consumed a gallon of sweet tea, 3 liters of soda, a pound of bologna, and ½ gallon of ice cream within that period, plus additional food items that my mother didn’t recognize me replacing in the last trip to the store ahead of the big storm that hit over the past weekend. As she tries her best to make me cognizant by giving me tough love by making me face reality because she pointed out to me something I should know by how I act routinely. I was in need of sugar more than I ever have been.
While I realize that I may never totally get totally off the sugary foods, however I knew that a storm was coming over the weekend that would likely keep me from getting out of the store for several days and as such I had to realize the hard truth of when those sugary beverages were gone, it would be likely that they could not be easily replaced. That was proven well over the past few days when, during the storm, businesses eliminated their delivery services, and the weather was just too miserable to go anywhere as I had predicted would happen, especially given the situation of the world today.
Therefore, I would have to learn the need to savor my beverages so I could enjoy them, I had to learn that I really didn’t need to have all that drink at one time and when I was trying my darnedest to eliminate the amount of sugary beverages I am consuming. I have combated this effort by trying to keep busy the best that I can and only focusing on having drinks when I am absolutely parched and learning a new way to savor them and enjoy them instead of dousing my thirst in a few settings. I know it is unhealthy and my mind is best used keeping busy on things that do not involve food, although I did fix a three-ingredient crock-pot soup on my day off to pass the time and fill some of the void of the meals in the upcoming week. It is making me realize that I need to plan for the blank time by filling the void with useful activities and taking advantage of the opportunities I have presented to me.
I am proud to say that I hadn’t been out of the house for over 50 hours before writing this house other than to clear the sidewalk in front of my house a handful of times. If we were looking at the situation in comparison to the period before we would say in my humble opinion that I am making small improvements as I go along. Is it where I want to be? No, but I remember those days where I lived with my parents, especially the day after I was awarded the Leader In Recovery award and was literally acting like a spoiled little brat because she wouldn’t take me to the convenience store to get my “fix”. Part of it was the immaturity that i sometimes let out when I am with her, but part of it is a prime example of how I am maturing that realizing that I cannot get everything I want, no matter how much I beg or try or attempt to, sometimes you are taught what you need to learn for a reason. Sometimes I need to hear those hard truths I don’t want to hear because they are real and I need to hear them because I know that once my supply is gone, until the weather improves or another method is feasible, it is going to be difficult to get my needs met in this arena.
I have learned to savor because I have needed to. Not just because someone tells me. Not because I can’t get to it as often. It is because I know it will make me a healthier person in the end. I can’t say that it is easy to do, but I know that I have to start somewhere and that is where I have to start. One day at at time.
Dustin's Dynasty 