Cracking the Cocoon

Last night my husband was feeling badly right before bedtime. His stomach hurt and he decided to sit up in his chair awhile, hoping it would pass. Because we live in our little cabin now, (which is like a large hotel suite) I stayed in bed, propped up on my pillows and listened to the silence. I stared at the back of his head as he sat in his recliner, and I said a little prayer that he would soon feel better.

It was then that the importance of this diet hit me so intensely. 

We need to be well. 

We need to get healthy. We need to stop believing we are immortal - that we will be able to walk and see and talk and do all the things we've been doing all along.

Last year I lost almost thirty pounds. I could breathe. I could hold my grand baby while we sat cross legged on the floor - and I could get up from that position without having to crawl on my hands and knees to find a piece of furniture to pull myself up on. My bones didn't hurt. My heartburn disappeared. My energy levels increased. Romance returned.

You see, losing weight isn't all about sliding into a smaller, more fashionable pair of jeans. It's about feeling good. It's about prolonging your lifetime. It's about preserving the best of yourself and chucking the bad.

I listened as my husband went into the bathroom and threw up. He instantly felt better and slept well. This morning he's just fine.

But last night I hated the feeling that we aren't the best we can be.

 We eat way too much sugar and carbs. We spend days watching TV and playing on the computer. We make unwise choices when we eat out.

It scared me to imagine always being sick, weak and unable to enjoy this retirement, this beautiful place, my sweet family...

So, tomorrow is more than just a diet. It's a permanent change. 

A metamorphosis. 

We can't ever let ourselves crawl back into that big, fat, dark cocoon again.

We are going to be beautiful, graceful...free.

We are going to fly again.