I will write ten posts on this 5th Retirement Anniversary addressing each category or "Label." I can also see the stats and which posts have had the most public views. At this time, my blog had 22,400 views. That's about 100 views per week in 18 different countries around the world! It is very rewarding to know that there is interest in what I have to say. By helping myself I must be helping others with similar interests. It is an incentive to continue.
Here are my brief summaries of the first five years of retirement and goal adjustments I want to make at this time. If you want more information on a subject, please scroll down on the right side of the main page and click on the first months in 2011 where you will see where I'm coming from.
My journey continues....
Food
Not much change in the subject of food. It still remains a challenge for me and I won't repeat what I covered very thoroughly in the first post August 2011. Please go back and read that post if you want to understand more about this issue. It has been a rocky road (ummm...rocky road!) but I can say that today I am in a very good place. My most recent diabetes medication, Trulicity, seems to be working well with very positive blood sugar numbers. It does decrease appetite. I need to stimulate all my senses to work up an appetite and make the right food choices every time. It is a lot of work and sometimes wears me down. When it does and I make the wrong choices, I suffer. Again, keeping things simple works best most of the time. Eating out where there are mostly wrong choices tempting me is still a challenge. I have to weigh whether or not it is worth the extra work I must do to counter the not-so-good choices available. It is hard to resist sweets and baked goods when they are readily available and look so good! It does take a toll on my socializing when food is the main reason to get together.
I am grateful that diabetes medications have improved so that once a week injection is available. I'm on my third brand and hoping it will be the one to stay a long time. With a chronic progressive disease that has no cure, one can only do the best you can and hope for as many wonderful, active years ahead to enjoy life. My biggest challenge is not letting food rule my whole life but find a happy place where I can be properly nourished and maybe enjoy the choices I make. I have had to learn to not spend as much time considering what other people want to eat when I have to be the one who cooks or attend a social meal. My self-discipline is weak at times. It is easier to let people fix their own meals or pay for my own when socializing so I am not tempted to having what others are having and make better choices for myself. Food is more complicated than fun.
I will continue to post some of the recipes I find pleasure in fixing and eating. I will continue to enjoy food shows on TV where I can see pleasures in preparing and eating foods but is not available to me. I did get a beautiful new stove this year and am inspired to try cooking more. I did have fun cooking a big Thanksgiving Dinner just for me and Keith with all our favorite fixings! It is six days later as I write this and all the leftovers are finally gone. I did limit my portions and the meds did their job. So maybe I am progressing to the point of knowing what to eat and how much on special occasions. Time will tell as will my next checkup. I am hopeful that in the next five years, I will stay motivated to stay on track and make the right food choices enough of the time to stay in a healthy range. I would love to find and share recipes that are good for everybody!
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