Tuesday, June 14, 2022

A World of Difference

Happy Tuesday Friends!  I'm back with an evening update on the personal front.  I hadn't planned on posting anything today, but I felt a calling to come swing by to write something.  I've been both looking forward to and dreading this day for months.  And after all has been said and done, I really wanted to remember how today went.

Earlier today, Eliot and I had our annual physical exams.

You might recall that last year I had a horrible experience.  Our doctor is wonderful and we're so lucky to have found someone we trust.  But I did not have a great experience with the check in process, and I also was thrown for a bit of a loop when she wanted to put me on medication for high blood pressure.  I left that appointment so discouraged and frustrated with myself.  I hated myself for allowing my health to decline so much.

Since then, I haven't exactly been making as many of the proactive changes that I should have been.  Although, I have been trying.  I've been watching what I eat a lot more.  I'm eating healthier, more balanced meals.  I also don't always have a snack before bedtime if I'm not hungry.  I try to only eat when I'm hungry to begin with.  I've been snacking throughout the day a lot less.  And I've turned the television off more so there's been less mindless snacking.  If I do binge watch a show, I'm very honest and strict with myself so I'm not caught being a couch potato.

I haven't adopted an actual exercise program, though that will be changing soon as Eliot and I are both gearing up to train for Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend.  So I will be actively making an effort to get into a regular exercise routine.  I also have a few other things that I'm planning to add to my routine to keep it fresh.

But over the past year, I haven't made what I would consider massive changes or a gallant effort.  So I really wasn't sure how our appointments today were going to go.  I weighed myself once since my appointment last year, and that was about 2-3 weeks ago.  I got on the scale long enough to see that I've lost about 15-20 pounds, and it was honestly a pleasant surprise.  Still, I wasn't sure how today was going to go.

I think that I mentally prepared myself for the worst... and that's why I was so anxious to get to today.  I've had some stuff that's really been weighing on me the past few weeks, and I needed to get some questions answered for my own peace of mind.  I even wore my happy rainbow Carousel of Progress shirt as a little reminder to myself that no matter what happened at our appointments, tomorrow is a new day.

Thankfully, I was worried about nothing.  A year later, it's a world of difference.

This year, our appointments went so smoothly... other than the check in process.  I guess going forward, I know to expect that they'll have no idea we're going in to be seen together.  And thus, checking us in together at the same time will always seem like a small disaster to the nurses... even though it's really not a big deal.  Anyways... 

This year, there weren't any students seeing us, so Eliot and I had our doctor all to ourselves once she came in.  We answered all of the standard questions, and since neither of us smoke, do drugs or drink hardly any alcohol, she was able to knock both of our questions off at the same time... thus saving herself some time.

The atmosphere in the room was light and we were laughing and joking around with her.  Eliot was technically scheduled first, but she ended up doing my exam first.  It went well and she said everything looked normal.  

Eliot and I were able to talk to her about getting our 2nd COVID booster shots in another month or so.  She answered a few questions that I had about my medication, and changed my dose to half a pill twice a day instead of one all at once.  (I've been experiencing a lot of dizziness when bending over and she said that separating the dose throughout the day more should help with that.)

We talked about a plan moving forward with the pills, mostly to get me off of them, but also for me to be in the best health that I can be.  I was feeling satisfied and relieved. 

And I also got a gold star for losing weight.  She was teasing Eliot that I was doing better at that than him, which is ironic since Eliot's been actively working out.  He hasn't lost a lot of weight, but we know he's losing fat and gaining muscle.  I haven't been working out on a regular schedule at all.  I was super proud of the 17,000 steps I walked each day at Disneyland back in March, and I've been walking more on average each day, but it hasn't been a scheduled thing.  My random dance outbursts in our living room have resumed over the past few months though.  Maybe that's helped? 

I do have to go back next Friday for a quick blood draw appointment.  Our doctor wants to make sure that all of my levels look good since I'm on the medication.  Then, unless anything changes, we don't have to go back to see her until June 16th of next year!

I left the appointment feeling happy, light, airy and proud of myself.  I was really glad that I asked her the questions I did... especially since some of them were weighing really heavily on my mind and my heart.  This time around, I didn't hate myself when I left the office.  Plus, I couldn't help but imagine how well our appointments could go next year if I actually tried to stick to an exercise plan and made more of an effort.

Like I said above, Eliot's and my plan is to train for the WDW Marathon Weekend races (10K for me and Dopey for Eliot).  I'm also looking into some other exercise plans that I can do at home during the day.  I need variety in order to keep myself engaged with regular exercising.  Plus, we're looking into getting a walking treadmill that I can use while working on my blog and other business stuff.  It seems so wasteful to sit on the couch working when I could be moving and getting some exercise in at the same time.

Anyways... I just had to pop in to celebrate this win with you.  For the rest of the day, I've been feeling really good and encouraged about everything.  I'm pretty sure you couldn't wipe the grin off my face if you tried to.  Cheers to making progress!!!  °o°

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