I changed my diet about three weeks ago to a healthier one.

 

The results have been amazing.

 

I feel better, think more clearly, have more energy, and find myself having to remind myself to eat, instead of being driven by cravings.

 

Best of all, when I do feel hungry, my mind now seeks salad, homemade soup or salmon instead of frozen dinners, prepackaged carbs, and other less-than-optimal options.

 

I still enjoy some carbs and sugar but, for the most part, I get my sugars from fruit and honey. I don’t add salt or sugar to anything and have given up sodas altogether. Instead, I’m drinking water, teas, and near beers (non-alcolhol O’Doul’s) instead.  My bowels and stools (TMI, I know) are much better (no diarrhea anymore) and I’m regular.  No worries there at all.

 

T’wasn’t a New Year Resolution

 

I didn’t start this new “diet” (it’s not a weight loss diet, just a healthier diet) until about the third week of January.  NewYear’s resolutions have never worked for me before.

 

I just decided one day to start treating my body with respect and honor, now that my chest has been masculinized (three years ago) and the apron of loose skin was removed from my abdomen (a couple years ago).  I’ve begun to feel like I’m in the right body now (except for a couple of missing parts!) and this has helped me “own” (rather than disown) it and treat it better. YAY!  I don’t just like my mind these days: I like my body, too!

 

Exercise

 

For the past three years or more, I have also been on a respectable exercise binge, walking, riding bikes, playing pickleball, and doing other pleasureable body-movement routines.  As long as exercise is FUN, I keep at it.

 

The weather keeps me home more days than I’d like, but that’s only temporary during the coldest/wettest winter months, so I get out and about at least three days a week even during wintertime for a 10,000 step walk, or I work in the yard or in the goat shed so I get in the steps and the aerobic-type and weight-lifting type exercise that are recommended for someone my age.  I’ll be 72 on March 5th.  Unbelievable to me, but true!  I don’t feel 72. I feel younger than I have in decades.  My mind is about 14, I think. It never ages; it just gets more jammed with information and knowledge, which is good. My mind keeps me excited and eager to keep on keepin’ on.

 

Never have been one for “diets” per se.  Have been on dozens of weight loss diets, which never resulted in an eternally normal-looking girth. On this diet, I’m shape shifting and losing weight at about a pound a week, which is perfect.

 

GOAL

 

My ultimate goal is robust, radiant health.  Thankfully, I’ve always been healthy, so this regimen will only help me be optimally healthy!

 

I’d like to lose about 20 to 25 pounds, but if I don’t, that’s okay, too.  I weigh 192 and feel fabulous.  I need to keep my pants belted because I have no butt and, following the panniculectomy (removal of the  apron of skin), there is nothing above my trunk to hold my pants up without help, even when I buy the right size.

 

Now I understand why so many men show their crack in back. It ain’t easy to keep one’s pants up when the lower half of you resembles an upside down triangle rather than an apple or orange!  It’s women’s upper hips that help keep their pants up. We men apparently don’t have that advantage…

 

Anyway, I’m very happy about how much better I feel now that I’m eating properly.  Plain yogurt smoothies (with honey and berries added in) have become one of my most anticipated daily beverages.  Yummy!