By Cottage Cheese
Okay. I went for my check up. I stepped on the scales and almost got vertigo watching the digital readout soar upwards. My doctor blurted out in a very indignant tone, “Are you OK with this?”.
I love my doctor. She’s a wonderful person with whom to talk about things. I guess at some point we crossed the sharing boundary. I had gotten used to talking about life, family and current events and hearing, “Keep doing what you’re doing because you’re in good shape,” during my appointments. You know. Polite small chat. I did not get the memo that if I gained a few pounds (meaning 10 or 15 pounds) that I would be in danger of a good old medicinal beat down.
She proceeded to issue my free pass to the clue bus without hesitation. Increased weight added to a more sedentary lifestyle equals increased risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and on into what eventually became Charlie Brown’s teacher, “Blah, Blah, Blah…blah blah blah blah…blah…blah…blah… The words kept coming, “Now, you have a choice. Get a handle on this yourself or I can put you on a diet, new medication and refer you to a gym. Do you get what I’m saying?”.
Just as when my mom or dad used to shame me with words of reason, I had just as soon go outside, pick out a switch, bend over and prepare for the impact than to get a stern talking to. I’ve been served!
For me, the key to increasing my activity and decreasing my food intake is to find a way to make it interesting. Luckily, Tybee Island has lots of wonderful trails for walking and adventure and the beauty of our pristine island is intoxicating. For a list of exciting walking and biking trails go to Explore Tybee. I’ve come to love watching the wading birds feed and herons are my favorites, so I always hit the Heron Hiking Trail.
Now, when I need extra motivation I also love to stroll along the back river and take in the lovely flora that populates the yards of our vintage cottage homes. One favorite on my walks is the yard at Blue Heron Cottage. It’s one of those cottages that’s just right and the lush lawn and confederate jasmine always ups my heart rate!
So, there you have it. My plan to get a pat on my head for getting my weight back down instead of a one-two knock out punch from my doctor. Just in case, I might even work in a little bobbing and weaving on my walks. Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Gotta do the work to see the results.
It’s about being the best Cottage Cheese I can be so I can keep tossing up curds and doing it my whey!
