At Goal & Successfully Maintaining. So Why Am I Doing This All Over Again?

Good morning! Having slept since I wrote, my note above, I woke up realizing what important stuff I'd omitted.

To your point, Spring, a kitchen scale is everything! It's our truest friend on this journey, speaking the truth we need to hear that only it can tell us. Logging calories in - yes, that's good - but ACCURATELY logging those calories in is where the magic happens.

As for calories out: well, all we know is that those numbers are mostly likely on the high side. So I pay most attention to steps, and minutes of exercise. Those are metrics unique to me, and ones I can track and compare.

That said, because I have never sought or enjoyed exercise, I've had to get creative.

I walk my dog along a what is normally a very crowded (visitors as well as locals) street of about 20 blocks of boutiques,pubs, bistros, cafes, pizza joints, bakeries, hand made ice cream, French pastries, bagels etc BUT we do this in the early morning hours before anything is open...it's an interesting peek at another side of all this activity with deliveries, sidewalk washing, window displays changing, etc). Then, if I need more steps in the evening to hit my goal, I'll take another walk at dusk when the lights are just twinkling on.

I've taken an introductory pickleball class and joined a community center ($11 a month) where I can play it on a drop-in basis, And I walk the 1.5 miles to get there and back. This game has a tradition of being welcoming to newcomers and inclusive for varying abilities.

I walk to the grocery store (3 within walking distance), and more frequently. Saturday mornings I take the streetcar to the farmer's market early, so I can chat with the vendors, sample things I won't buy

But the most important one, for me, has been to find a gym and trainer to help me learn what I can do independently, either at the gym or at home, to build functional fitness and improve my (terrible) balance and flexibility. These sessions, along with my shoes, is where I spend the money. It has added another layer of both weekly structure and accountability. And I've avoided what I dread: classes, groups, mirrors.

I've asked to have those "wrinkly but ropey" arms, hah! What I really want is to be able to give my son a wedding gift of knowing that his old mom is still in the game, improving and not declining - stronger, healthier, and more fit than ever!

Last, I wanted to add some context for anyone reading this who thinks I'm sailing through an easy time of it.

My right knee has had no cartilege/miniscus for 50 years, bone-on-bone since I was 18. Painful, stiff, squawky when provoked, swelling alleviated somewhat by alternating icing/heat at night. But mostly aches throughout the night.

A car accident 49 years ago left me with neck issues; stiff on a good day.

I've had "frozen shoulder" twice, almost 2 years each time. If you you don't know what this is, pray you never do.

My arthritis has progressed to the point where I've had to put down my knitting needles recently. Although, really, I should be using that time to move anyway.

My metabolism is sloth-like, since menopause. I have a very small frame at 5'5" and after three difference sustained periods of intense stress and trauma, I carry my weight in my abdomen, and not well. It's embarrassing to walk in to the gym.

I have no close friends nearby to join me in this project of mine, but that also means I am free of any drag effect from others who lack my focus and goals.

I'll leave you with one more "Spring" truism, because I experienced it for the first time this morning: swoops happen! Hoping for a 1-pound loss for my mid-week weigh-in, and instead saw a 3.8 loss. So, you just never know when all your effort will pay off on the scale. Or in life, really.