Blue Monday

 Good morning!

     I had a pleasant Easter afternoon and a delicious dinner yesterday with my son and his family.  I'm so blessed to have a loving family to spend time with, especially on holidays.

This morning, I got up, made up my bed, washed my face, and dressed to shoes.  Actually, I dressed in an old pair of blue jeans and a faded cotton blouse.

Today, I cleaned my bathroom and it took me about an hour to do a good job.  I follow the Flylady method of house cleaning and this week, I'm working in Zone 4: Master Bedroom, Bath, and Closet.  It's hard work, but somebody has to do it.  I have always been the one to have to do it since I was a teenager.  My mother told me learning to do house work would prepare me for marriage--oh yeah. That's not what I really want to talk about today, but I had to get that job out of the way quickly.  

The thing that is on my mind is my diet which went haywire last week because of Easter Holiday weekend.  I started The Mayo Clinic Diet about three weeks ago and I already lost about six pounds.  That has been a mile stone for me and is encouraging me to keep it up.  Although I'm not obese, I am over weight and need to lose some weight for health reasons.

My major health problems include high cholesterol, rising blood pressure, exzema, low energy, and often insomnia which could lead to anxiety and then, possibly depression.  All of these health problems contributes to heart disorder and possibly heart failure.  Therefore, it is important for me to lose excess fat.

Another serious problem with aging is becoming inactive which leads to extra fat around the waist and heart.  

The Mayo Clinic Diet book contains a Body Mass Index (BMI) and the formula to accurately calculate your exact BMI.  As for me, losing only six pounds so far, has brought my BMI down to 26.  I already feel the difference in the way my jeans fit.  My hope is to get my waist down to a normal BMI.

Other weight loss tools in Chapter one includes:. 1- Inner motivation; 2- Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid; 3- Quick Reference Guide with page numbers.  The book contains an abundant tool box to help with weight loss, plus teaches me how to eat properly without counting calories.

I read the book all the way through and I still refer to it to stay on track with my weight loss journey.  One thing in particular I found extremely helpful is a tool to determine my starting calorie intake per day which for me is 1200 and when I stay focused on what I eat, I do not feel hungry until meal time.  I'm​ allowed to eat snacks as long as it is a piece of fruit or vegetables which are unlimited.

Other important ideas or tools are Add 5 Habits, Break 5 Habits, and Adopt 5 Bonus Habits.  I don't​ want to spoil the reading experience for you so I will stop right here and give you the References.

Ref: The Mayo Clinic Diet; Published by Good Books; Copy Right 2010 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; First Edition; Written by Mayo Clinic Staff Members.