Thursday, January 29, 2009

What makes me a healthy housewife?

Here are a list of reasons why I'd like to call myself a healthy housewife:

1. I've kept off 20 lbs. of weight loss for over 2 1/2 years.

2. I just recently made a commitment to only buy nutritious foods. I'm doing it for me. I'm doing it for my family.

3. My dieting and exercise efforts don't always result in weight loss. But they do improve my health. I can't control the number on the scale -- only what I put in my mouth and how I move my body.

4. I'm learning to dream simple. My family is my career. My faith is my foundation.

5. At-home moms won't get the respect they deserve until they start respecting themselves. I'm happy with who I am and what I do. If sharing myself helps other women, I'm all for it!

6. Housewife carries cool conotations of cheery, 50s era women with a family-friendly vibe. I'm working on being cheery a bit more.

7. When I'm healthy, I'm happy.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

A Cold, Clear Day of Skiing

Every direction I looked it was beautiful. Cold, but beautiful. Yesterday my friends Nancy, Leigh and I skied the Beav. When we pulled into the parking lot just before 10 AM Leigh's car said it was -10 degress outside. It was a little hard to belive that a landscape so glistening and picture-perfect could be so cold.

We donned all our gear and headed out for a day on the slopes. Nancy is in yellow (Big Bird), Leigh is in green (Oscar), and I'm in pink (Zoe). Right off we ran into my cousin Tiffany, in blue (Grover). Our Sesame Street gang spent the first half of the morning together before Tiffany had to check back in with the ski school -- she's an instructor with them.




Because of the cold temperatures, we'd ski down a ways, take a breather to let our faces defrost and the "ice cream" headaches wear off a bit before completeing the run. Usually when I go skiing I'm coldest on the lift going up, and skiing down the mountain warms me up, but not yesterday. Riding the lift was balmy compared to the wind factor temps we experienced while skiing down. Leigh said, "It's a good thing my kids aren't up here today. They'd be bawling, it's so cold!" On one of the afternoon runs when the wind kicked up a bit, I even tried skiing backwards to keep the wind from sending biting pieces of ice into my face. But skiing backwards involves snowplowing backwards, and parrallel skiing with legs close together actually proved warmer than skiing backwards.

Here's Leigh, Nancy, and Tiffany on Sunshine. Sunshine was a favorite run as it didn't entail going too fast and was always in the sun. (Shadowy runs were especially chilling.)









I have perfected the skill of taking self-photos! This is Big Bird, Oscar and me on Marge's Triple. This was one of the times that we provided comic relief to anyone who happened to be watching as we got off the chair lift. Nancy about turfed it, but we all managed to stay upright. On another run Leigh was in the middle and, again, we provided a laugh for a couple of watching ski patrollers. They also recognized us when they came into the lodge for lunch. When it came time to head home (a little early) we informed them that they could go home too, as the mountain was now safe with us gone.



All in all, it was an awesome day. A cold day skiing beats a cold day spent anywhere else!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

I've got a new doctor . . .

I don't know about you, but most of the time when I see a doctor I know that when I leave the office I'm going to be out of sight and out of mind. I'm hoping that will be a thing of the past with my new doc.

When I had that heart scare in early December the folks at the ER wanted to know who my doctor was. I gave them the name of my OB/GYN. They said he wouldn't know what to do with the results from the Holter monitor, so I gave them the name of the family physician that the rest of my family sees. He's been a friend of our family for years. In fact, he and my brother married sisters. So he's my brother's brother-in-law. Which makes him my what? Yeah. Doctor.

Yes, it will be a bit weird for yearly physicals. (Don't want to even think about that now.) But I can already tell things are going to be different. He called this morning with the results from the labs they took at my office visit on Wednesday. His nurse didn't call. He called.

When I went in to see him, I'd made yearly charts from four years of records from the medical files I have from my OB/GYN's office. I graphed my weight over time and circled each office visit in a pen color that coordinated with the key of symptoms I usually complain of. Below the graph I listed the office visit date and any medications, weight, blood pressure, lab results and/or changes in treatment. (Note: If you're a computer programmer and want to make a program to do this, my doctor said you'd become rich.) I found it interesting to note that I never seem to go to the doctor during the spring and summer. Only during the fall and winter. I'm hoping that the light therapy I've started this year makes my fall/winter visits less frequent. (Either that, or I've been telling my husband that maybe we ought to think about moving South. Somewhere nice and warm and sunny.)

Anyway, when my doctor called this morning he said that my thyroid has flip-flopped from being over-active to under-active. Way underactive. (TSH of 12 -- I've never seen my TSH results that high.) He thinks that's part of the reason why my weight hasn't dropped despite dieting and exercise.

I appreciate how my new doctor takes the time to listen to me. After Wednesday's visit I'm optimistic that he'll find the right approach to helping me feel better. Weight loss would be nice, but right now I'd just like to feel healthy, feel strong.

No News is the Best Kind of News . . .

Warning, this may be a ho-hum post. 'Cause nothing big has been happening lately. But in light of last month's heart scare and holiday headaches, nothing is a good thing.

The kids are being kids. Bug is interested in yet another pair of basketball shoes. He doesn't need them. (He just bought a new pair last month.) But he's determined to buy them. If I go insane in the next few weeks, you'll know that my son's basketball show fettish finally overcame my sanity. (Note: As parents we've expressed our disappointment in his shoe plans, but he does have his own money to spend. We did say that transportation to and from the shoe store will be $5.)

Both Bug and Loula Belle are playing on local basketball teams. Both teams are undefeated after four weeks. Last week we also got a call inviting Lou to play on a girl's competitive soccer team for this spring. They needed a goalie. Lou jumped at the chance.

Beans, our mild child, is loving winter. Mostly because there aren't any grasshoppers around. She's got a serious aversion to grasshoppers and other creepy, crawly critters. Summer garden work is the ultimate in agony for our 10-year-old.

I've called the man who is over all the Especially For Youth (EFY) faculty and left a message expressing my interest in becoming an instructor. I learned from a neighbor who teaches with EFY that I'll need to have four 45-minute talks. Here's my possible title list:

1. Charity: Seeing the world through Son-glasses
2. Lessons on individuality from the occupants of Noah's Ark.
3. Working in the garden of the gospel.
4. Whose marching orders will you follow?

In the last couple of weeks the Church has initiated a hiring freeze. I'm not sure if that will apply to EFY instructors or not, but either way, I'm having fun pursuing this dream.

In publishing news, I heard from the features editor at the Herald Journal that he's been swamped and hasn't had time to read my first hiking article yet. Earlier he's said that they're experiencing budget cuts and isn't sure that they'll want to make an on-going committment to a correspondent. At least he didn't say no. Yet.

In all sorts of ways, no news really is the best kind of news.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Living, breathing, and never giving up

I quit Weight Watchers because it was too devastating to follow the program, pay my money, and gain weight. But that doensn't mean that I'm throwing in the towel.

Nope. I'm still tracking WW points and focusing on core/filling foods (i.e. lowfat dairy, fruits and veggies, lean proteins and healthy fats). I'm getting my exercise and light therapy all in one. In fact, I've upped the time to 45 minutes and increased the resistance on the Nordic Track just a tad.

I made a breakthrough yesterday. In the past I've been a little discouraged by my family's desire to have carbilicious foods around. Well, yesterday I decided that I will no longer buy foods that aren't good for me. They can want them. They can even buy them. But I won't.

At family night I told them of my resolution. They weren't happy. I also explained that we'd still have a treat every Monday evening as a part of family night, but that it would be a single serving treat. Meaning we'd go to the store and have everyone select a treat of their choice, but the days of ice cream tubs and a dozen donuts are over. I told my kids that they could put their sweets/treats requests in with their dad, and he'd be the one to buy them. They weren't too optimistic that he'd be bringing their booty home either.

Taking a stand to not buy unhealthy things may seem like a little thing, but already I feel more in control of my life. More free. It's a good feeling!

Our New President . . .

I have just a few things to say about our new President, Barack Obama. First, I didn't vote for him, but after I saw how overcome other African Americans were when they heard he'd been elected, I became profoundly grateful that he would be our next president.

Second, I don't agree with all of President Obama's past policy decisions, but I'm behind him 100%. Meaning, I pray for him. I believe that he'll try his utmost to make decisions that will be best for America, but he can't do it alone. America doesn't rise and fall because of the influence of just one man. It's the many that make us mighty, and I intend to take personal action that will build and strengthen our nation.

In his inaugral address President Obama said, "What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility, a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task."

I know that many people are happy to see George W. Bush leaving office. I have mixed feelings. I don't believe that he alone brought our nation to where it is today. Again, I think that the individual decisions of millions of Americans will alter economic stability and our country's moral fiber more than the political decisions of the President of the United States. George W. Bush isn't the bad guy, just the fall guy. I take him at his word when he says that he did what he thought would be best for our country.

What would happen if the rest of America did what they thought would be best for our country instead of doing what they think would be best only for themselves? What if more of our politicians did this as well? Where could we be in four years? Only time will tell.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Waste Not, Want Not

It's been a while since I've done a farm-themed post. So here's one. When was the last time you thought about where your food comes from? I had a little refresher just this afternoon.

We've had four leghorn hens out in our chicken coop. But I've noticed that one of them is an inconsistent layer. We named her Quasimodo because of her misshapen feet back when we weren't sure if she was male or female. It's those same feet that probably keep her from proper scratching, which likely affects her laying. Long story short, I got tired of feeding a chicken that's not producing.

We've eaten old layers in the past, and even though this one wasn't that old, we opted to donate her to a local Chinese restaurant. I called them up to see if they'd like her. (Our neighbors have donated their old layers there, which is how we found out about them.) I explained that it would be a lot easier for me to wring her neck here and bring her in freshly dead. That was fine with them, they just asked that I bring her in a box.

All went well. I have to say that it felt good knowing that she wouldn't be wasted and that someone was going to get a nice bit of tiny spicy chicken from her. But every time I have to "harvest" a chicken it makes me think a bit more about those boneless, skinless ones I buy from the store. My convenience is someone else's gore.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Overweight Housewife Hiking to Health

I sent the following write-up to the features editor of my local paper. I'll let you know of they print it. (Keep your fingers crossed.)
---------------

Everyone has a claim to fame. Mine is that I’m Google’s number one overweight housewife. Meaning, if you type the terms “overweight housewife” in a Google search, my blog will be the first result listed. I should be embarrassed about that, but I’m not. Something in my personality makes me perfectly willing to look bad if it will help someone else feel better. For example, when I end up at the grocery store without my hair done or make-up on, I put a big smile on my face and tell myself that I’m making someone’s day. When other women see me, I just know they’re going to feel a whole lot better about themselves.

I’m bringing my strange sense of altruism to the pages of this newspaper. This year I’m planning to go on two showshoe/hiking outings each month in training to climb the Wellsville Mountains in early September. Basically I’ve subscribed to the idea that things which don’t kill you will make you stronger. Or at the very least, they’ll help you drop a few pounds.

My journey to the top of the Wellsville Mountain range started with a little hike up Green Canyon. I chose this hike first for two reasons. One, I’m familiar with it. I’ve done it before. And two, it’s fairly easy. I didn’t want to keel over from a heart attack on my first outing.

As I pulled into the parking lot at the mouth of Green Canyon, I could see three women just starting to snowshoe up the hillside trail. A couple cars up from my parking spot another woman seemed to be converting a bike trailer into a ski trailer. I’ve never seen anyone pull their child behind them up the canyon while they cross-country skied. Just the thought of it made me break out in a cold sweat.

While my sister and I waited for my friend Tina to arrive, I checked the contents of my fanny pack: two bottles of water, three plastic bags for collecting doggy doo, a hat, gloves, wallet and small emergency mirror to be used for flashing sunlight into the eyes of search pilots sent to rescue our party of hikers should we somehow lose our bearings and become lost. All appeared to be in order. Moments later Tina arrived, and before long our all-female group of three hikers and three dogs headed up the trail.

We left the snowshoes in the truck and trudged cheerfully up the packed, icy slope. The dogs alternated between racing ahead and charging straight back at us. Every time they ran at me I’d stop for a second and brace myself for impact. Four knee surgeries are enough for me, thank you very much. I wasn’t about to let an exuberant dog disable me at the beginning of my hiking career.

From time to time we’d stop for a breather and a little water. My dog, Annie, continued trying to get her new found friends to engage in a little dog-wrestling in the snow, but had no takers. Tina told us the story of how Senator Bob Bennett’s office came to her rescue when she kept getting the run around from the U.S. passport application people. Time flew by, and after almost an hour my knees spoke up and told us it was time to head back down the canyon. They continued to complain as we made our way back to our vehicles.

It was just one hike, but already I’m feeling stronger. Not physically, per se, but mentally. I’m proving to myself one hike at a time that being an overweight housewife with a bum knee can’t stop me from living a healthy life.

Overweight Housewife Hiking to Health

I sent the following write-up to the features editor of my local paper. I'll let you know of they print it. (Keep your fingers crossed.)
---------------

Everyone has a claim to fame. Mine is that I’m Google’s number one overweight housewife. Meaning, if you type the terms “overweight housewife” in a Google search, my blog will be the first result listed. I should be embarrassed about that, but I’m not. Something in my personality makes me perfectly willing to look bad if it will help someone else feel better. For example, when I end up at the grocery store without my hair done or make-up on, I put a big smile on my face and tell myself that I’m making someone’s day. When other women see me, I just know they’re going to feel a whole lot better about themselves.

I’m bringing my strange sense of altruism to the pages of this newspaper. This year I’m planning to go on two showshoe/hiking outings each month in training to climb the Wellsville Mountains in early September. Basically I’ve subscribed to the idea that things which don’t kill you will make you stronger. Or at the very least, they’ll help you drop a few pounds.

My journey to the top of the Wellsville Mountain range started with a little hike up Green Canyon. I chose this hike first for two reasons. One, I’m familiar with it. I’ve done it before. And two, it’s fairly easy. I didn’t want to keel over from a heart attack on my first outing.

As I pulled into the parking lot at the mouth of Green Canyon, I could see three women just starting to snowshoe up the hillside trail. A couple cars up from my parking spot another woman seemed to be converting a bike trailer into a ski trailer. I’ve never seen anyone pull their child behind them up the canyon while they cross-country skied. Just the thought of it made me break out in a cold sweat.

While my sister and I waited for my friend Tina to arrive, I checked the contents of my fanny pack: two bottles of water, three plastic bags for collecting doggy doo, a hat, gloves, wallet and small emergency mirror to be used for flashing sunlight into the eyes of search pilots sent to rescue our party of hikers should we somehow lose our bearings and become lost. All appeared to be in order. Moments later Tina arrived, and before long our all-female group of three hikers and three dogs headed up the trail.

We left the snowshoes in the truck and trudged cheerfully up the packed, icy slope. The dogs alternated between racing ahead and charging straight back at us. Every time they ran at me I’d stop for a second and brace myself for impact. Four knee surgeries are enough for me, thank you very much. I wasn’t about to let an exuberant dog disable me at the beginning of my hiking career.

From time to time we’d stop for a breather and a little water. My dog, Annie, continued trying to get her new found friends to engage in a little dog-wrestling in the snow, but had no takers. Tina told us the story of how Senator Bob Bennett’s office came to her rescue when she kept getting the run around from the U.S. passport application people. Time flew by, and after almost an hour my knees spoke up and told us it was time to head back down the canyon. They continued to complain as we made our way back to our vehicles.

It was just one hike, but already I’m feeling stronger. Not physically, per se, but mentally. I’m proving to myself one hike at a time that being an overweight housewife with a bum knee can’t stop me from living a healthy life.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Finding Joy in Raising Children

For today's entry I'd like to share the informational blurb (read, disclaimer) that I turned into our Stake Relief Soceity counselor for the talk Linda and I are giving on February 28th. (Come if you can!)

Finding Joy in Raising Young Children
If you’re a mom who last found Joy looking under the sink for the liquid dish detergent, then this class is for you! With eight kids between them, these two moms have made over 35,000 meals and changed over 27,000 diapers. They’ll share their best tips for enjoying the journey that is motherhood.

To make yourself feel good today calculate how many meals you've prepared. Or how many diapers you've changed in your lifetime (I used 6/day the first year and 5/day during a child's second year. Deduct 100 for hubby helping a bit.) If you have any other ideas on what might be fun to figure, let me know!

Happy Mothering!

Workin' With What I've Got

I'm moving on.

This is me on my Nordic Track getting exercise and full-spectrum light therapy all in one. (Can you see the lamp that's shining right into my face?) After my last discouraging entry I figured out that I'd been missing light therapy time in the mornings. Of the four days that Hubby and I went to the gym early, our two oldest kids slept through their alarms two mornings. Instead of getting my 40 minutes under the light I'd drive them to school and miss out on a key ingredient in keeping me happy. Situation solved.

Saturday morning was the first time for my all-in-one workout. Since then I've done it every morning for 40 minutes. (Sunday included, but more subdued.)

I get good and sweaty 'cause I use my Timex Ironman watch to do interval training. It's like an electronic personal trainer. If you look carefully, you can see the watch strapped to the grab bars of the Nordic Track. I set the timer for 40 minutes, warm up for 5 minutes and then start the interval timer. I run for 3 minutes, it beeps, and I ski at a moderate pace for 1 minute. It beeps again and I'm back to another 3 minutes. I do 8 sets of 3 min. run / 1 min. recover. I spend the last 3 minutes of the workout cooling down. Then I spend a little time doing ab crunches and stretching out on the floor. (On Mon/Wed/Fri I plan to do some light weight training afterwards.)

Music makes this workout! In fact, that's why I put my exercise tunes back on this blog. I've added "Live your life" by T.I. My son introduced it to me. It really hits home in light of my sluggish metabolism. It starts out with these lyrics:

What you need ta do is be thankful for the life you've got
Stop lookin' at what you ain't got and start bein' thankful for what you do got.

So live your life!


Note: It's supposed to appear in the playlist to the left, but it's only there off and on. Go figure. If it's not there, check it out on itunes and get it on your player.

One of my favorite motivational quotes is from the Old Farmer's Almanac. It goes like this:
"You can't lose weight by talking about it. You have to keep your mouth shut."

Well, I'm combining that quote with the lyrics from today's motivational song to create my motto for the month:

Shut your mouth and live your life!

P.S. A little dog therapy/play time is a great lift.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

The Great Hiking Plan

Here's the general plan for upcoming snowshoe/hiking outings. I've got dates assigned for each outing and will be happy to e-mail you the detailed plan if you'd like to join me for any/all of the hikes. My e-mail is: hansenchristie@yahoo.com.

January
Mouth of Green Canyon / Bunchgrass to White Pine Creek Trail

February
Blind Hollow Trail / Jardine Juniper

March
The Wind Caves / climb to the reflectors on the East mountains

April
The Crimson Trail / Preston Valley to Beirdneau trail

May
Green Canyon to Mt. Elmer trail / Willow Creek to Little Cottonwood Creek loop

June
Richards Hollow trail / High Creek trail

July
Bloomington Lake / Tony Grove to Wood Camp Hollow

August
Mt. Naomi / Cherry Creek Canyon trail

September 12th
The Wellsville Cone via Deep Canyon trail

And here's the pitch I e-mailed to the Herald Journal this morning. Think they'll go for it? (I'll let you know.)

--------------------

Dear Editor (personalized, of course)

This year I’m planning to go on two showshoe/hiking outings each month in training to climb the Wellsville Mountains in early September. I’ll be blogging about this experience but also thought that your readers might enjoy reading about the hiking exploits of a fairly average overweight homemaker.

I’m using my 2004 edition of Cache Trails as a starting point but also plan to utilize the folks at the Cache Ranger District and USGS maps.

Last year you featured the fitness stories of three men who were trying to lose weight. As a HJ reader, I found it personally motivating. Maybe my quest to conquer the Wellsvilles could serve a similar function for other readers. I’m referring to the Wellsville hike as my personal Everest, and the great thing about making them a part of a fitness goal is that I can look out my window and see them every day. Believe it or not, I’m even open to tracking my weight and fitness stats in the pages of the Herald Journal. (If Oprah can share her weight on national television, I can share mine in my local paper.)

This may be a good fit for your Health page or Thursday’s Outdoor section. I’m open to either option and would be happy to provide you with twice-a-month articles and photos. Of course I also realize that reduced frequency may be an easier fit for your editorial plans.

Let me know if you’re interested.

Friday, January 09, 2009

Frustration Central . . .

I've been in tears twice this morning.

I started back to the gym a week ago today. I figured that I could go to my favorite step aerobics class on Mondays and Fridays and hit the strength training one at the same time on Wednesday mornings. My body, however, hasn't agreed to my plan.

It was great seeing all my workout friends, but after each step class I feel terrible. Honestly, this morning I didn't wake up quite as puffy as usual, but during step that changed. My hands got tight. My feet and ankles felt awful. Tight. Stiff. And when I looked at myself in the mirror as I worked out, I could see that my ankles and feet were puffy. Gross!

As the morning progressed it only got worse. After I ran the kids to school this morning, I could tell that even my eyelids were puffy -- and I hadn't even cried yet.

I've taken a dieuretic this morning, but it hasn't really helped. I've got an appointment with the doctor who has been looking at my heart test results (family physician), but I'm not very optimistic. I'm really tired of getting my hopes up that something will help only to have them dashed yet again.

I feel trapped in a body that doesn't fit me. I want to be out there doing. Soaring. Flying. Instead I'm stuck in this body that is slow and sluggish. I've wondered if it's all in my head. Thought that maybe if I just start doing and moving, I can work through it. But that's not happening. Today's step class drove home the point that my body needs TLC. As much as I enjoy flying across the aerobic room in perfect sync with my fellow steppers, it super-stresses my body. Crap!

I'm sure that eventually I'll get back to my optimistic, can-do self, but today I'm venting my frustrations. Thanks for bearing with me.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

What to do with the scale . . .


What I would really like to do with my scale:

Run over it with the car.

Recycle it. Let the recyclers crush it into a million pieces and turn it into something actually useful.

Drop it into the flowing lava of Mordor. (One scale to rule them all. One scale to bind them. One scale to rule their world, and with it's numbers, blind them.)

Put out in the snow and let the next hulking snow plow fling it into oblivion.

Take Allie's advice and give it to Deseret Industries. (Come to think of it, I've never seen a bathroom scale at my favorite thrift store. Is it because they sell like hotcakes or because no one ever has the nerve to give them away?)

Pack it in my carry-on the next time I go to the airport and let TSA dispose of it.

Feed it to Godzilla.

What I've decided to do with my bathroom scale:

Hide it under the bed. The plan is to weigh in once a month. On fast Sunday -- the first Sunday of the month.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

The resolutions that almost made it into Chicken Soup for the Soul

Up until a couple months ago I thought that the newest Chicken Soup for the Soul book would contain one of my past "From the Trenches" columns. Alas, they pulled it at the last minute. Who knows why. But I figured that this is a good spot to give it one more run. (It appeared in January 2000 -- nine years ago.)


---------------

Realistic New Year's Resolutions

Year after year I set New Year’s resolutions that go something like -- “Exercise at least four times every week. Limit sweets and eat more fruits and vegetables. Lose three pounds each month or at least 25 pounds this year.” For fun I occasionally throw in -- “Go on a date once a week with spouse.”

So far my success rate stinks. I’m beginning to think I should label my list of goals “wishful thinking.”

Instead of setting lofty goals, this year I’m trying something different. I’m going to be realistic when making my resolutions. This is the year I will succeed!

I resolve to:

Take my morning shower each day by at least bed time.

Keep the house clutter free for a minimum of 8 hours each day. While this may seem daunting, I figure that if I tidy up before going to bed, the house will be clean through the night–maybe even longer.

Allow my three-year-old to wear mis-matched clothes. Tempting as it may be to insist that she not wear her purple socks with her red and black dress, I’ll refrain and bite my tongue. (Ouch.)

Let my kindergartener wear the same shirt to school for up to a week at a time – as long as it’s still clean.

Not worry about my children’s uncombed hair until it’s time to go out in public.

Not fret if Beans stays in her sleeper until lunch.

Breathe in and out – slowly, if need be.


Drink six glasses of water each day. (And savor the resulting time alone in the bathroom.)

Exercise. . . my patience, that is.

Prepare meals that offer good nutrition and let my kids worry about how much they eat.

Resist eating what’s left on their plates. Better yet, eliminate the temptation to eat their leftovers by immediately running them under cold water.

Wear a smile with my sweats.

Pamper myself a little: paint my toenails at least once this year, buy something impractical to add to my wardrobe, go out with friends at least every other month.

Play Chutes and Ladders with my kids and let them bend the rules a bit.

Let my daughter do my hair (she typically uses 20 barrettes) and leave it in. Hold my head high as I walk down the store aisles.

Willingly sing “Jingle bells” whenever it’s requested.

Find excuses to spend more time together as a family.

Laugh more, grump less.

Wishful Thinking vs. Patience

“Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days.” – Doctrine and Covenants 24:8

I came across this scripture in today’s morning reading. At the time I read it I was enjoying the glow of peace that seems to envelope me when I’m immersed in reading scripture. I felt warm and capable of enduring during those minutes this morning on the couch. But now it’s almost noon, and I’m back in the land of daily doings struggling to be patient. Struggling to endure my dose of afflictions.

Specifically, I’m discouraged with my health and my lack of success in losing weight. I re-joined Weight Watchers the Monday before Christmas and have been following the program guidelines for two weeks. The result? A weight gain of 1.6 pounds.

I’ll be honest. I re-joined Weight Watchers because of the heart scare I had on December 8th. When the Holiter monitor results came back showing that my heart rate was over 100 bpm for 42% of the 48 hours that I wore the instrument, I became rattled. Having my doctor advise me to discontinue strenuous exercise until I could have a stress echocardiogram also unnerved me. The stress echo didn’t take place until December 29th, and until then I contemplated my mortality as I’ve never done before. (It made for a really crummy Christmas season.)

The heart testing all came back normal. My heart is in fine working order. But my metabolism is another matter. This fall my doctor told me that my genetics have combined to give me a body that is very good at gaining and maintaining weight. I guess my recent experience at Weight Watchers is just another confirmation of that diagnosis.

It’s possible that Weight Watchers may not be the best way for me to approach weight loss. Its methods and teachings are sound, but given my metabolically conservative body, paying money to maintain my weight contributes to my frustration and impatience. I want to get a good weight loss bang for my buck, and that’s not happening.

I’m beginning to see that I can’t chart out a nice quick timetable for weight loss. Like so many other things in life, it’s going to happen slowly, maybe even sporadically. It might stall. It might stagnate. It might even slip into reverse. A sluggish metabolism is one of my afflictions. How can I endure it patiently?

First of all, I can choose what I focus on. When I become fixated on the number on the scale, it has a tendency to rule my life. I’m happy when it’s down. Discouraged when it’s up. That’s not a good way to live. And if I learned anything during the holidays, it’s that I want to live! And I want that living to be quality living.

I may not be able to control my metabolism, but I can control what goes into my mouth. If I’m not hungry, nothing should be going in. During these two weeks at Weight Watchers I’ve been graphing my hunger. I’m amazed at how seldom I feel hungry. A small handful of almonds and a cup of herbal tea will often keep me satisfied through the morning. I’ve also noticed that eating sweets begets eating more sweets. They’re a trigger food for me, and I know that they’re low on nutrition. I can do a better job of feeding my body high quality foods when it’s hungry and finding something else to do when the hunger is all in my head. And when I slip up, I can repent and recommit to healthier eating patterns.

Moving more is a proven way to give a sluggish metabolism a boost. Here, again, I’m a bit afflicted. I’ve had four knee surgeries on my left knee and experience swelling and joint pain in my other knee, hips and ankles. But, hey, I can walk. I can ride a bike (indoor stationary bike in the winter). I can snowshoe and hike – I just have to take it easy. Go slowly. If I start to compare myself with others who are running half marathons and using double risers during step aerobics, I can make myself miserable. They’re not living in my body, I am. This is what I’ve got. Any time spent wishing I had some other body is a waste and an emotional drain as well. Now is the time for me to use the body I’ve been given to do what I can do. Hike. Walk. Dance. Laugh. Sing. Pray.

Wishful thinking is the enemy of patience. It’s my prayer that with the help of the Lord and the support of those around me I’ll be able to exercise patience and do what’s right for me and for my body. As I endure and live the life God intends for me, I pray that I’ll be better able to serve Him and bless and help those who cross my path.