theme update

So my theme for 2008 is health and so far...well so far last week highlighted the obstacles in the way to healthy choices rather than actual healthy choices. But I am actually okay with that. In fact, this is one of the reasons I prefer themes to resolutions. Resolutions have a pass/fail quality and if I had made a resolution to be healthier at this point it would feel like I had failed and by next week I would probably be giving up. But since it's a theme, this is just the first step to a journey that is not over until 2009. Plenty of time to change and grow.

So what has happened? Well I have a lot of health issues I have to deal with right now. 2007 could be labeled the year I got the check...meaning I have been abusing my body for most of my life and I just got the bill. I had a lot of health problems and had to have surgery. All of the health problems could be controlled and changed now with healthy lifestyle choices. But, the writing is on the wall and if I don't change my ways they will end up being permanent problems.

So one of the first things I need to work on is eating. Now I am very overweight and need to drop some tonage but that is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, I think that is more of a symptom of the problem than the problem itself. I also found out that I am insulin resistant and have PCOS. Diabetes to follow if things don't change. So I need to change what I eat - twice as much protein as carbs - and eat some veggies dammit. I'm Irish by heritage and a meat and potatoes girl (and frankly I could skip the meat) so this is hard shift for me. Plus, I tend to not eat often enough. Eating small meals 6 times a day is the healthiest choice for me and is very challenging. And finally, I don't cook. At all. Not even a little bit. If it doesn't have microwave instruction on the box, it doesn't come into the house. In addition to the PCOS etc... I have been having problems with migraines and one of the triggers is processed foods, so prepackeged healthy stuff is out as well. (i.e. no south beach frozen dinners) I tried to work on this at the end of the last semester but learning to cook, learning to shop for food, cooking it, bringing it to school and eating all this strange stuff was too much too handle all at once. (was going for the South beach diet) Over break however, I got much better. Despite several Christmas related slips, overall I ate much better and one of my friends came over several times and we had big cook fests. She showed me how to prepare some good recipes and we cooked up stuff in advance so I could then microwave and eat during the week. All in all, it went well I was doing pretty well on the cooking and eating front... lots of room for improvement but I was pleased with myself. Then school started. And I was back to my old habits. Last week, I ate once a day somewhere between 4-8 pm and I would get Chinese food on the way home. At that point my blood sugar was so low that once I did eat (enough food for a family of 4) I slipped into a post prandial coma on the couch for a couple of hours. Not good.

But rather than be filled with despair, I am looking at this as an opportunity. I was able to identify several problems/triggers and have hopefully come up with a solution. My new motto - the crock pot is your friend! So I went and got a little mini crockpot over the weekend (I already had a full sized one) I can make oatmeal in the minicrock - you put it in the night before and you wake up and it's all ready and yummy. At least that's what Alton Brown on Good Eats says. First thing in the morning, I am all dopey and it's all I can do to make my coffee and read my blogs. The idea of cooking is not only anathema but downright dangerous. (Really, after the unfortunate fireball incident, I take these things more seriously) And by the time I am functional and it's safe to cook, I am already late for class. But if it's there already and good to go, well, even I can scoop out a bowl of oatmeal once I have had some coffee. Then for dinner, I will do a crock pot meal as well. If I know I have something tasty and hot waiting for me the minute I walk in the door, I can hopefully stave off the drive thru urge. And then I can do leftovers and salad for lunch the next day.

We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!