It’s day 43 and the final day of YEAR THREE of my health & fitness journey. At this point, it is more of an established health and wellness lifestyle. ☺️
At this point, I am still consciously focussed on finding how far I can go and watching for anything that might be tripping me up along the way.
Year One was a gradual awareness of how much work I had to do, the benefits of doing it, and a glimpse of the potential that I possessed. The year ended with two setbacks – a severe flu that caused my asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis to flare up and take me down. AND… A broken left arm thank, to a collision with our Molly dog, who was an awkward hundred pounds of unbridled enthusiasm at the time.

Year Two was an ongoing battle to maintain the progress I had made and to claw my way to a few gains. First… My arm did heal, surprisingly well, and in a shorter time than my ambulatory care doctor had anticipated. I give full credit to the level of activity I had reached in year one, and the fact that I could keep active enough during my recovery to keep my circulation going strong. Second…I realized that the severe digestive issues that I had been dealing with for years were due to an allergy or intolerance to yeast. Cutting yeast out of my diet has been a game changer! Third.. Respiratory issues triggered from the flu I had at the end of year one, continued on and on, lingering cough punctuated by serious relapse. Throughout the year, I went through SIX rounds of antibiotics and prednisone. Near the end of Year Two, I figured out that my ongoing coughing and flare up of infections was not due to my chronic lung conditions but by then a well established case of sinusitis. 🙄🤦
Year Three… was a good year for recovery and steady progress. My health improved and I upped my strength training to three times a week, going from 5 pound weights to 10 pound weights by early fall. Then, I suffered my first setback. I struggled with all of the digestive issues that I had while consuming yeast, I tried and failed to shed ANY weight, I felt sluggish and off physically, mentally, and emotionally. My strength training started to slide. Finally, I took a realistic look at my diet and realized that I had been consuming a ridiculous amount of processed sugar. Getting that under control did wonders for me until I suffered my second setback. The umbilical hernia repair that I had had three years earlier became a major issue. There had been ongoing issues from day one, but they could be easily resolved. Now that was no longer the case. I have had an ultrasound and I have an appointment to see a surgeon in a few days. In the meantime, I have had to ease off on my strength training but I did start this Daily Food Diary to get a better handle on my diet issues.
Year Four.. will no doubt bring unexpected benefits and unanticipated setbacks. Such is life, and I am ready to embrace whatever life brings my way.

Food Diary – Day 43
(1) c coffee (2)
(3) Eggo waffles with butter & syrup (411)
(24) oz water
(1) c tea (1)
(1/2) c Mini Ritz crackers (150)
(1) c raw broccoli, cauliflower, & radishes with 2 tbsp. Dilly Dip (185)
(12) oz carbonated water
(1/3) tray of nachos with lean ground beef, shredded cheese, peppers, onions, and black olives (1200)
(1) c tea (1)
Total calories: 1950
*** More calories than I would have liked, but despite starting my day with sugar, I did fight off the sweets cravings for the rest of the day. For me, that was a BIG win.
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞

Wow, you are a real fighter, Anne! Never give up! 💪🏻 I admire your dedication to fitness. ❤️ And, thank you so much for being one of my regular visitors to my humble photoblog, I so appreciate you! 😊🙏🏻
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Thank you, John. 💪
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You are very welcome my friend. 😊
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Congratulations! Keep going, and we will all continue to be inspired by your commitment and progress!
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You’re truly an inspiration, Annemarie!
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Thank you, Treacy! I continue to be motivated by the support and encouragement I receive here on WordPress. 💞🌞
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Thank you, Terry! 💞🌞 I appreciate your kind and encouraging comments.
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You are truly inspiring Anne! I always look forward to your updates and I hope you have many benefits this year and pray for little to no setbacks. I hope you don’t have to wait too long for the surgery needed. ❤️🙏❤️
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Thank you, Diana. It is odd but it is during the setbacks that I reap the most benefits. 💕🌞
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i notice in your posts that you don’t break up what you count via meals ? Do you only eat one meal a day or does it vary ? Your blog is inspirational all the same. I might start doing this to stay accountable for what I eat.
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It varies. I will usually eat a significant breakfast and supper (with tea and snack in between) or have a small breakfast (cereal or fruit) and lunch and supper. It does help me be a lot more mindful of what I am eating – especially posting it! Being retired it is really easy to just snack mindlessly all day and those snacks add up – especially if they consist of processed sugar or salt.
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Thanks. I am about 12 yrs away from retirement but I really dih your blog.
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Thank you! You will love it – especially if you have or adopt a healthy lifestyle sooner than later. (Unlike me who waited until later. 🤦) There are endless opportunities in retirement but the good ones take a strong and healthy body, mind, and spirit. 😉
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😁👍
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Beautiful inside and out! 😊
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Thank you, Jackie! 💞🌞
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