Winter is finally here. You can’t call it winter without snow.
I’m going to share this joke with you, if my boss will allow it. If he censors me, I guess you’ll never know. He’ll highlight and delete. Oh the power of technology. It was there and then, it’s gone. Here goes:
When it snows and my dog goes outside to pee. I always think “beware yellow snow.” Then, I laugh. I think it every time. Never fails. I always laugh. It’s too funny.
Speaking of technology, we’re putting it to good use in 2017.
I, my daughter, my niece and her daughter are group messaging each other. Ever tried it? It allows everyone to message as a group. We’re using it to discuss healthy eating and exercise, encourage each other and make recommendations on what works and what doesn’t. We can keep in contact on a daily basis on the subject.
It was my niece’s idea. She wanted to start eating healthy and exercising so she sent a message to the rest of us encouraging us to challenge ourselves and each other throughout January to eat healthier and exercise. In February, we could have a girls’ night to celebrate our success.
I thought it was awesome. I took up that challenge and leveled a couple challenges of my own: 1) everyone that does some form of exercise every day in January is invited to dinner as my treat; 2) everyone that eats one healthy meal, or healthy snacks as an alternative to an unhealthy snacks, is invited to girls’ movie night. Again, my treat.
After about three years of healthier eating and exercise, I feel great. My journey hasn’t been perfect. There have been ups and downs, literally, in my weight. It’s not a perfect science. Yes, it is calories taken in verses calories burned. While it sounds simple, I think everyone knows it isn’t. There are a lot of factors that play into it – mood being the biggest factor. Who wants to exercise and eat healthy when you aren’t in a happy place?
Before I started my journey, I made a conscious decision to do it alone. I was afraid of negatively. Anytime anyone starts attempting to get healthy, there are always people that must give their 2 cents about what you’re doing. Those comments, even those well-meaning, can have damaging effects. I didn’t want that.
Sure enough, when people started noticing my weight loss, here came the comments and suggestions. However, by that time, I had seen the positive changes and nothing was going to sway my efforts.
Some people need the support. Using this group message will, hopefully, offer it. It’s been good for me, too. I like sharing what I’ve done that day, reading what they are up to, and offering each other advice on what’s healthy and what’s not. There are a lot of misconceptions out there. It’s quite an education.
I’ll keep you posted.
Standard reporter Lisa Hobbs can be reached at 473-2191.