Getting and Staying Healthy After Fifty

I’ve been on quite a journey in my life. I’ve gone through things that the experts say a lesser person couldn’t have made it through. During most of that time, I was a skinny little size 7, size 8 at best. In fact, I was that size until I was 48 years old.

So what happened when I was 48? First, of course, I got older. The older we get, the slower our metabolism gets. But that wasn’t the worst thing that happened to me that year. That year, I fell in love. Unfortunately, the man I fell in love with was a terminally lazy couch potato. He worked hard at his job, but once he was off work, his butt sat on the couch and didn’t move unless absolutely necessary.

We bought a couch with dual recliners, and every night, we sat on that couch with some kind of junk food on the little foldout table between us. It was nothing for us to go through a bag of chips in a night. We tried for awhile to eat healthy, even made a few veggie trays, but it didn’t last. Soon we were back to eating pints of ice cream, chips, and drinking soda by the gallon.

Over the four years I was with him, I packed on 15 pounds and went from a size 8 to a size 12.

When we split, I went into a depression that lasted for almost two years. I finally met someone else, then someone else, then someone else. Three someone’s in less than a year, and then I decided no more men. I threw myself into my job, which was at a grocery store. Every week, some sort of junk food was on sale BOGO. My worst weakness was anything salty. I ate box after box of snack crackers, cookies, chips, all washed won with 5/$10 sodas, all the while praising myself for not putting on anymore weight.

Then I hurt my arm. I tore my rotator cuff, and had to have surgery. After the surgery, I went into another depression, and finally ended up quitting my job. Sitting at home day after day, working writing online for a living, not getting any exercise, and I packed on another 10 pounds.

12 years ago, when I moved to Florida, I was 117. Now I’m 150. I want to lose 30 lbs., to get back down to a size 8. I’d be satisfied to lose 20 and get back to my size 9’s. I’m motivated and determined. Wish me luck!

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