Get Out and Enjoy Life!

I had been considering taking down this page because I started it to document my weight loss journey.  Lately that journey has slowed down.  In 2016, I lost 60 pounds.  In 2017, I lost 15 pounds.  So I really didn’t know if it was serving it’s purpose anymore.  However I have seen that yes indeed it is serving a purpose and so I continue writing.  

At my last Rheumatologist visit, my doctor really kind of highly encouraged me to not stay so fixated on the “weight loss.”  But instead get out and “Enjoy Life.”   She had just given me clearance to hike Mt. Garfield and she said to utilize the spring and summer to get outside and enjoy hiking, etc.

Of course, I came home from that visit and immediately wrote my trainer and said, “I don’t get this.  I’m still 200 pounds.  What doctor would say that to me?”  But he agreed with the doctor.  He understood what she was saying when she said “Get out and enjoy life.”

You see they both have been with me the entire journey.  They have seen how OCD I can get with it all.  The first year I barely traveled anywhere for fear of messing up my progress.  The second year my thyroid was a mess, I got severe tendinitis, and I experienced a mild RA flareup.

Finally at this JAN 2018 appointment everything was on the mend. I was excited with the prospect of hiking Mt. Garfield, but not so excited about toning down the OCD TOWARDS weight loss.

Well last Friday my husband, son, and I hiked the 2 mile 2000 foot (vertical ascent) Mt. Garfield.  What I saw after hiking Mt. Garfield was that getting out and enjoying life is “moving,” it is burning calories, it is enjoying my husband and family, it is enjoying nature and photography and it is contributing to my well being!

The hike was difficult.  I’m not going to lie.  But I did it!  I still can’t believe I did it.  And my knees are ok and my ankles didn’t swell and my wrists are ok.  It’s amazing.  I have done a lot of swimming this past year (started because of the injuries and continued because I love swimming.)  All that swimming helped rehab my injuries and contributed to me being able to hike up AND hike down.

So I will continue to share with you my victories.  I am positive I will continue to lose weight, but that is not going to be something I “fret” about all the time.  (Well at least I hope not.  I hope I can get better at that.)  I am taking my doctor’s and my trainer’s advice and I am getting out and enjoying life!  Today we planned our next hike.  Life is great!