National Quit Day?

I learned a new thing today as I was catching up on some keto-related YouTube content (I believe it was on 2 Krazy Ketos) January 10th is National Quitters Day here is the U.S. It's a day to recognize (?) celebrate (?) those who have quit their New Year's Resolutions. Change is hard. I get it. For me, I stick to things way better when there is a challenge involved, a prize or recognition perhaps. It's why I thought the Bingo idea would work but honestly, I am not a person who loves to track stuff, so it just ended up feeling like more work or more tasks on my already too long to-do list. I have found, however, that simply writing these goals down is making me think of them more frequently, and I'm doing some of them more often, but just not tracking it. The Bingo made it feel like I was obligated to cram a bunch of things in to each day instead of making me feel like I was challenging myself to create new habits. So, even though I have decided to let it go, I have benefited from creating it. I have stayed the course with both food and exercise. I haven't missed a day of exercise since Dec 30th. I am very much not athletic or coordinated in any way so that's a big deal. My bum knee still gets crabby sometimes with the extra exertion but I can tell the muscles around my knee are supporting it so much better since I've been more active. My hips feel better too. I am happy that the scale is finally moving in the right direction. On Jan 1 I was 171 and today I am 167. Not earth shattering, but when you watch your weight creep up the scale it feels like it's slipping out of your grip, so seeing that I can still make positive changes is very rewarding. With me being so close to menopause, and on anxiety medicine that can lead to slower metabolism and weight gain, I was starting to get that insurmountable feeling again. I can already tell a difference in how my clothes fit and I really lived that non-scale victory. After all, warmer weather will be here in a blink of an eye, and I don't want to feel like I want to hide myself. One of the art projects I am doing for next summer is in a very affluent tourist town and they are really promoting it, so they asked me to send photos of myself. They wanted just me in the photo, and not necessarily a close up selfie but a photo of me doing something I enjoy. I sifted through years of photos on my phone and Facebook and I was shocked when I saw some of them. I mean, I knew I was morbidly obese, but some old photos of me in my swimsuit really made my jaw drop. I always wore loose fitting things, long skirts and flowing shirts and I guess that disguised things somewhat. I felt great that day, in one of my favorite places, a little island in Lake Michigan. Obviously, my husband is gorgeous and I was having a great day with family. I think my son wanted to take a photo with my phone because it was new at the time (2019). I even gained about 10 extra pounds after these photos before I got fed up in 2021 and in blind faith, decided to give keto one year to prove itself to me. I'm so glad I did! Here are the two photos from 2019

I also found this one, I believe it was from 2018. My husband and I went hiking on an island and it was in the high 80 degrees Fahrenheit with 100% humidity. I had never seen 100% humidity without rain. It translated as sheets of steam that we could see. To make matters worse, my husband wanted to make it around a 3 mile loop that was hilly and uneven, and we were rushing against the clock because we had dinner reservations on another island and had to catch the ferry at the right time. At the time, I was so very self conscious about my body, especially my upper arms, and I let myself get so uncomfortable before deciding to go sleeveless. I got so hot I felt ill so my arms got their day in the sun. We got sandwiches from a local shop and they were pretty much not edible so that face I'm making is not pensive but more one of pondering where I could dump that sandwich.

My husband took that photo without me knowing. I was quite horrified when I saw my body in it. For my art project requirements, I finally settled on the photo my husband took of me last spring, next to the bass I painted. I realized that I am wearing the same pants in the sandwich photo and this photo. Boy, you can really tell a difference between the photos! This was probably at my lowest range in the mid to low 150's.

It's crazy how I look at myself in the mirror everyday and don't really see how far I've come. As much as I hate those old photos of me, I'm glad I have them as a reminder of what I've worked through. I have left behind some of the self doubt and self criticism and am redefining who I am. Jan 10 may be National Quit Day, but not for me!