Jumpstart July

Just outside Durango, Colorado

June 4, 2011

I'd love to report that for the first six months of 2011,  my life has been the picture of tranquility reflected in today's picture taken very early one morning as we were leaving Durango, Colorado for the last time.  The morning was still, the winds were calm and the sun was just beginning to peek over the edge of the mountains.  The solitary hot air balloon seemed to exude confidence that it had found it's way and would tolerate no interference along the path it and its pilot would navigate.   

But that would not be a fair report because my life has felt much more like this........................

 

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park - Colorado

May, 2011

.....................jagged edges, rocks, opportunities to fall (or fail!), a seemingly never-ending maze of decisions  trying to find rest either on the smooth surfaces of the top or the peaceful waters of the bottom.  

I have fought to desperately for a path that looked like this:

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park - Colorado

May, 2011

But most of the time it has looked like this:

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park - Colorado

May, 2011

Someone, I believe it was my friend Lori, reminded me last week when I was lamenting my post-Colorado travel weight gain, that I had been through a lot physically the first half of this year.  Believe it or not, I had forgotten that along with one important piece of information that I never mentioned in the blog because I was so darn tired of talking about how bad I felt.  

One month before we left for Colorado, I paid yet another visit to my ENT in total desparation.  Even though the eye infection had cleared and I supposedly had no more infection in my sinuses, I just did not feel well and was determined to be better by the time we left.  He looked at me and said, "prednisone."  I am embarrassed to say that I literally fell apart.  It was the culmination of four months of feeling like crap, fighting it the whole time and knowing I didn't feel all that much better.  I felt stuck with no GOOD choice, so I gave in.  He prescribed 20 days of a continuously high dose (not the tapering dose-pack I had taken in March) of Prednisone.  The prednisone made a huge difference in the way I felt as I knew it would, but the consequence I knew I might as well resign myself to was a gain of 13 pounds over the course of the 20 days.  I never gave up and I never changed my healthy eating habits (except for a couple of REALLY depressing days), but for me, 20 days of prednisone WILL result in a weight gain and there is absolutely NOTHING I can do about it except cry and I did plenty of that!!  

I did feel better and although I knew the weight would not fall off as it does with some medications that cause weight gain, I also knew I could hike/bike it off while in Colorado.  So here's the bottom line for my mid-year report.  During the second quarter (April), I gained 13 pounds, but lost 7 1/2 of them in late May/June for a net second quarter gain of 5 1/2 pounds.

Fortunately, I am not discouraged.  In fact, I am highly motivated and doing well with healthy eating by choice.  When I reach my goal somewhere down the road, my path will be littered with scars like these:

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park - Colorado

May, 2011

But I know that there is a point to be reached after which the path will never be completely smooth but perhaps, the edges will be a little less jagged and even though there will still be cloudy and dark times, maybe, just maybe, they'll look a little more like this:

View from the end of Black Canyon - Colorado

May, 2011

I am looking forward to the remainder of 2011 in the hopes of finding some peace and tranquility!   I hope you are!

Thanks for your friendship and support in the good times as well as the tough days!