Beyond 40-something-Planning for the Fabulous Fifties

I am facing the fact that in three short months the tag line under this blog must change. And what a big change it is. Getting my head around no longer being 40-something is huge. Add to that the fact that I'm hoping to replace suburban with urban and you can imagine that there is a lot going on right now.

I'm curious about the psychology of change, and why it often ends up being connected to a milestone, such as a major birthday. Food for thought and likely the topic of a future post....

Today, I feel like crap and it is finally time to change that. Every time I undertake some grand exercise endeavour and "diet", it ends up failing. It is taking me years to figure out why, no matter what I do, I still end up overweight, unhealthy and as a result unhappy with my inability to get it together and stick with something. Living with chronic illness is no excuse. If anything, having Lupus means it is even more important to eat and live healthy. Of course, I have also come to realize that my inactivity due to the motorcycle accident back in April is now becoming a crutch - an excuse.  Even thought the injuries which I am still working on healing will limit my activity for a little longer, it doesn't mean that I can't do anything! Pity party over!

Inspired by my friend of quite a few years Janice Farmer (who is the hottest 40-someting I've ever met), I am going to begin effecting changes, one at a time, slowly, in order to begin a new life of health and wellness. I was following on Facebook how Janice gave up chocolate, as part of a larger goal to begin living a sugar free lifestyle. I was curious because that 3pm craving for a coffee and something sweet on the side has become a habit, and one that doesn't end up making me feel good. I'm tired of feeling bloated and weighed down.  I'm tired of carrying my weight in the middle and looking at those body type charts and being compared to an apple. I don't even like apples!

Now, this is not something I woke up and decided frivolously today. Over the past few weeks I have been reading about vegan, raw, sugar, gluten, caffeine and all kinds of things. Gluten free is a given since my diagnosis of celiac disease a few years back. But all of the other changes are overwhelming, and I also realized that trying to take on everything at once ensures that failure is all but certain.

In attempting to make one change at a time, I am also reading about how long it takes to enforce a new habit, or be rid of an old one.  I found a cool blog which I think will be helpful. So change number one is sugar. No chocolate bars for me. I'll start with that and see how it goes. I'll also start reading labels for all of the other foods I purchase. As I slowly begin to eliminate sugar from my diet it will be interesting to see how I feel. I am hoping it will be positive and that this one small improvement will inspire me to find another habit to change.

This blog will not only become the narration of my journey to health, it will also act as an accountability mechanism and enlist the help of some cheerleader. If you were sent this link by e-mail, it means that I hope you will be one of my cheerleaders. If you stumbled upon it, you are welcome to join in too.

Of course, my other random rantings about politics and life will not disappear, but  I hope you will follow this journey with me. You can encourage me, and maybe I can encourage you too!

Onward!

Prime Minister Mom

Oh my....my daugher is becoming a little me. Tonight she watched me responding to a post by one of my newer Liberal friends Dr. Sean Godfrey, and she wanted to know why I am not running for the leadership of the Liberal Party. Laughing, I explained to her that there were a number of reasons why that just wasn't possible, and she looked up at me with those quasi-innocent blue eyes and said "well, I kind of like Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff but I think you are nicer than they are, and we all know you could take on that loser Stephen Harper any day of the week".

My goodness, I had no idea that my highly partisan rantings, albeit not necessarily the most sophisticated in the political universe, were rubbing off on my kids. But apparently I demonstrate reactions of pure vitriol every time the current PM appears on my TV screen.

So, while I was writing this I paused and asked Lauren "Why do you dislike Stephen Harper so much?" Perhaps, and much to my delight, she actually pays attention to the news herself because her answer does not reflect anything I've ever said directly to her. Lauren's response was "I can't stand Stephen Harper because he spends 20 million dollars on businesses and he only cares about rich people. He doesn't care about the environment and he doesn't even believe in global warming and because of him the planet will be in danger and it will suck for my kids." Not bad for a 12 year old.

For now, while my opinion actually means something to my kids, they're all Liberal (with the possible exception of the middle guy, who keeps tossing around the Rhinos or the Marijuan party to just to try and get me riled up). I wonder how I'll feel when they get older, become educated, and form their own researched and thought out political beliefs? I should ask my dad - he's the father of a Liberal, a Green and a Conservative (who used to be an anarchist just for the heck of it and to tick Dad off).