Fall in Ohio

Today, Hubs and I walked at a local park that we like to call "Our Park" because it is so close to home.  It is actually part of the Franklin County park system - Inniswood MetroPark.  This park has a large group of very dedicated volunteers who lovingly tend every little bud and leaf.  In October, they decorate for Halloween, and we happened to arrive this morning just as the decorating was being finished.  I hope you enjoy my photos of our stroll through an Ohio October.  I don't think we are at the peak of color here yet - at least not everywhere.

Thanks for joining us on this lovely walk!

I'll see you again soonly!

:)Amy

The Odyssey Continues - Mid-Fall Report

Hello Friends,

Since it has been awhile, I decided it was time to give an Odyssey update. I have made some changes recently, and I also did some analysis today.

Let’s start with news for October:

• On October 1, I saw the first new number on the scale in 4 months.  I started my day with 212 # on the scale.  The previous Nakey Morning Low was 214 # on May 29.  That is over 4 months with no numbers showing up on the scale.  EEK!
• Today, I saw 211 # for the first time in this journey.  That puts me at a new low of -49 total loss since September 2015.  WHEE!

Here are some stats for those of you who are interested in that sort of thing:

• From Sept 1 to March 20, I lost 40#.  
• Sept = 10, Oct = 10, Nov/Dec = 10, Jan/Feb/Mar = 10
• From March 20 to May 29, I lost 6#
• June/July/Aug/Sept, I lost nothing - bounced around in the same 5 pound range.
• Oct loss is 3#, so far.

The patterns shown here are very interesting to me.  The trend - that it takes longer and longer to lose - presents interesting challenges.  I wasn’t really surprised that I didn’t lose over the summer because I was really off plan during vacations.  For the month of June when I had two vacations where I was eating in restaurants almost every day, I had a net gain of about 3-4 pounds, then I spent most of July losing that.  I really expected to gain more and to take longer losing it, so overall, I was pleased with the summer.  Once I went back to school, the routine helped a lot, and it was easy to be back on plan.  However, I expected to start losing again.  The fact that I didn’t scared me a bit, so it was a huge relief to finally start seeing new numbers.  

The frustration with my slow loss the last 2 months has led me to some soul searching.   As I was starting this journey, a big part of it for me was about understanding that this is not a diet, it is a lifestyle change.  Over the months of using the WW plan, I’ve learned how to make healthier choices for myself.  This is about food intake, certainly, but it is also about activity level, sleep, stress - in other words, the WHOLE me.  The fact that I’ve lost 49 pounds, is a huge accomplishment that I am proud of.  I am now about where I was in college - 35 years ago.  I have totally overhauled my wardrobe and am now in mostly all new clothes.  YAY!  My proud docs have reduced all of my meds.  YAY!  And Hey!  I can cross my legs again!  YAY!  I can now actually take pride in my appearance instead of always trying to hide myself.  Maybe I need to relax and enjoy what I’ve accomplished and not stress-out over the slow progress?  What if this is my body’s new normal, and it is happy here!  I think I can live with that!

Certainly, I want to keep going.  My big goal is to get below 200.  At this rate, it may take another year to get there.  I have no reason to believe I will regain what I have lost.  My new lifestyle is now part of how I define who I am.  

So, that’s the news for now.  I will keep you posted as things change…. Or not, as the case may be.

Thanks for your continued support!  My cheerleaders have been a huge help along the way!

Come back again soonly!

:) Amy

A Weird Dream

It is a joke in my house that I have a lot of weird dreams. Hubs calls them “AmyDreams” and notes that they often deal with things that frustrate or scare me. Last night I had the strangest dream I’ve had in a long time, and I really can't connect it to any personal frustrations or fears.

The setting was the bedroom of the house I lived in when I was growing up in Lima from age 7 to 16.  In this dream however, I was my adult self. As I awoke one sunny morning, I noticed a huge praying mantis on the inside of the window to the side of my bed. By “huge” I mean a body of maybe 2’ long. I reached out and touched it, and it waved a leg at me. This mantis was new to me, but I wasn't afraid of it. I was more curious than anything else.

As I watched this insect, it started walking slowly clockwise away from me. It moved across the drapes that hung beside the window to the wall and eventually it walked across my tall hutch where it stopped for a break.

With one eye on the large visitor, I started getting dressed. I also talked to it. I said, “I don't know if you have a name, so I’m going to call you George even though I don't even know if you are male or female.” Again, it waved a leg at me as if it could understand me.

Continuing its counter-clockwise movement, it crossed another set of drapes and the front window and headed toward the closet which I had left open. As I watched, it went to the shelf above the hanger rack and got in between some items about in the center. George then looked like he was settling in for a nap, so I left the room.

When I came back later, I looked into the closet, and in the place of the mantis was a small man sitting on the shelf. He was dressed in a little beige suit the same color as the mantis had been.  As I stood looking at him, he said, “My name is Christopher.”  About this time my husband entered the room and joined me to look at the miniature man.

Christopher told us that he appreciated our hospitality. He explained that he has been traveling the country staying with various relatives until they grow tired of him, and then he moves on. He said he didn't have long to live, and he was trying to see everyone one last time.

We left the room and then Hubs said to me that since Christopher was homeless, maybe we could let him live in our downtown apartment. (What?) I told him I didn't think that was a good idea. The next time we went into the room, we looked for Christopher on the shelf, but he was gone.  We looked all around the room and found no trace of our new little friend.

The End!

How totally weird is that?! At least it was entertaining and not upsetting! Maybe my muse was just getting me to write something creative in my blog to entertain my readers?  I hope you were entertained!

Thanks for visiting! Stay tuned for more, coming soon!

:) Amy