Focus On The Pluses & Not The Minuses.

"If you dig it don’t do it
And if you like it better leave it alone
And if it’s too much fun that outta clue you hon'
That you’re probably doing something that wrong
And if it’s too good to you well don’t let it fool you
Cause you’re playin in the danger zone
And I kept waitin and waitin for the man to finish,
but the sucker just went on and on….. on and on…. and on…..and on….. and on."

-The Uppity Blues Women , song about going to the doctor and getting advice that you need to stop everything that feels good because it's bad for you.

I finally made an appointment with my doctor last week for a check up.   (If you haven't seen your doctor for a while, make an appointment asap- regular check ups are good self care!)

My recent walking endeavor has been fairly fruitless.    Although I walk up to 6 miles a day I have only been able to lose about 2 lbs.  Losing weight is important to me, because I want to get off of my high blood pressure pills.   The conundrum I face is that I also have hypothyroidism which impacts my metabolism and makes it difficult to lose weight.  

Recently, I was reading an article about Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and found that I have a majority of the symptoms - which include hypothyroidism and high blood pressure and difficulty shedding excess weight. This is a fairly common disorder affecting about 1 in 10 women and it is a major cause of obesity and infertility.   While it is manageable, it is not curable.  The best way to manage is through a low sugar, low carb diet.     This is exactly what my doctor prescribed.    (And this is exactly what I feared.)

So I am going to be making some changes....

I was thinking yesterday that the best way to approach any necessary lifestyle change is to focus on what you are adding and not on what you are taking away.   The absence of artisan bread and cake from my diet will be very difficult to swallow (pun intended).  But I can still have yogurt and almonds and avocados, lovely virginia ham from Central Market, cheese and those wonderful summer tomatoes.    A good lean steak is also allowed and salmon and chicken and raspberries.  I think I need to make a list of these favorite flavors and make sure we are well-stocked.  

I will let you know soon how this is working for me.   Please let me know if you have anything to add on this subject.