Maybe it's just me, but does the Universe sometimes conspire to talk to you?
Yet another sign came to me this morning in the form of Jill and Doug Quick, two 70-going on 50 year olds I met today while working my Thanksgiving half-day at the YMCA. Why the YMCA? Well because frankly I didn't want to waste time commuting to the office and back to sit all by myself while everyone else was "working from home," and I can't WFH with three precious little faces plastered to my office door windows asking why I can't come out to play. So I was at the YMCA actually being very productive in a quiet little sitting area, when the next thing I knew, I was surrounded by half a dozen senior citizens, socializing over coffee while I tapped away on my laptop. They completely ignored me, which is perfectly fine with introverted little me trying to get some work done (and succeeding).
As I'm wrapping up my to-dos for the day, I can't help but eavesdrop and try to keep a straight face while the two ladies sitting across the table from me compare notes on the young men they were watching in the pool this morning and their Speedos. Apparently they were right and the men inside were good looking. Hard.to.keep.straight.face!!!! The old men were egging the ladies on, it was a riot.
One lady bid her farewells and happy Thanksgiving to the other, leaving me with just Jill sitting across from me. I half close my laptop and remark to her that I hope I'm as awesome as they are when I'm a little older. I cannot remember the segue into the next part of the conversation, but we get to talking about food, exercise, and general health, and we end up in an in-depth discussion about sugar, gluten, turmeric, and a host of food related topics. Meanwhile, Doug has come to join us and he jumps right into the discussion. It's striking, their uncanny physical resemblance to my grandparents (20 yr their senior, but regardless...) both physically and in they way they engage a perfect stranger in conversation. When I mention an article I read in July on Sugar, in perfect harmony, they both say "Poison!" Yikes. Jill's been fighting weight and sugar since two gestational diabetes pregnancies 50 yr ago, and Doug's been clean since he retired in 2007 and decided he wanted to outlast his peers and didn't need several packs a day or to hit the bars every night. He just decided. 40 pounds later he looks and feels great. Jill days she had boundless energy and feels like she can leap over this building. Wow. Even though it's only a two story building, I don't feel that way...
So back to the signs... I feel the universe keeps whistling a repetitive thread.
• March: Brie's food allergies start emerging. I start reading labels routinely. Wonder to myself, "what in earth at these things, and what am I putting in to my children's bodies, let alone my own?"
• April: Request and receive a Fitbit for my birthday. Realize I need to get more/better sleep. Start setting a daly alarm to start getting ready for bed. Seems to do some good. Start tracking weight daily. Notice that regardless how much I have, wine *always* translates to an increase on the scale the bit morning. Without fail. 100%. Doesn't drop down the following day. Damn.
• July: read an article on the flight from Grampo's funeral in MIT Tech Review, discussing how specific organs respond to sugar exactly the same as they do alcohol. Sugar is addictive.
• August: find a whole foods recipe group on Facebook, engage with the community. While it isn't my interest to go vegan, I learn a lot about healthy eating and coping techniques for a world where healthy eating isn't the norm.
• August: Hear about Whole30, probably from the Whole Foods FB group. Look up the website, sounds intriguing I can't figure out what's wrong with beans and legumes (aren't they supposed to be super healthy??), but I guess it's about eliminating all things that typically screw with digestion, then deliberately reintroducing them in a controlled isolation to observe their effect on my own body. It's a personal science experiment. Ask my FB friends if anyone's done it - one person says she has and shares her experiences. Helps me understand this isn't a life diet, but rather an isolation one to figure out what works for me. Makes sense.
• September: reconnect with a dear friend who's trying to reclam her health and her fabulous figure. We meet up for a girls day at the gym and share health thoughts on the treadmill.
• October: Fabulous friend loans me the book Thinner This Year. Hate the title but start reading the book cover to cover. It totally hits a symphony of chords, motivating me to start getting active. Move or Die.
• November: Sit working in the cafeteria at work looking for a change of scenery. Spend a while IMing with a guy who's trying to get started on a project within the program I run. Take a break, hit the restroom, pick up a piece of cake on my way back to my seat (company's 20th anniversary celebration), reconvene my work. Next thing I know, the guy is standing right there and wants to talk face to face instead if IM since he happened to see me. I offer him the cake and he declines, saying it will send him off the deep end (sugar-wise) because he's coming off of a Whole 30. We talk for nearly an hour, and he cannot say enough about how GOOD he feels... As does his wife who was doing it right there with him. Boundless energy, sleeping well, feeling amazing, and oh by the way, lighter on the scale. Told me the hard parts, but has no regrets.
• November: Mention to Rich that I'm thinking about trying this Whole30 for a month, and that he certainly isn't expected to, but that I'll need his support and that I won't likely be able to make two totally different meals every night. He can eat what I do or fend for himself. He's surprisingly open to it.
• November (today): Meet Jill and Doug, yet another sign. Jill offers to give me her sugar books, since she's long past needing them. They ask to see me again, perhaps we can meet up at the YMCA another time.
I think there have been more, but these are the ones that come to mind as I blog from the stationary bike at the YMCA. Do I wait to get past the temptations of the holidays (and our cruise planned for January), or do I not wait another second to get closer to feeling and looking amazing? This is what I think about now. How important is food to me, psychologically, that I would postpone this new me to enjoy specific dining experiences? Do I go piece by piece? Make it easier later? I'm pretty much off caffeine - can I cut out dairy then grains then sugar? Or does that just prolong the pain? I'm not sure yet.
What I have figured out loud and clear is that I need to do something different to change my life.
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