New Years Resolutions

Adrienne at About.com wrote a post about Setting Goals for the New Year With Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. That reminded me that I wanted to put my goals in writing.

Health goals:

1. My cholesterol is 6.5. My goal is to get it to 6 through diet rather than taking statins. The UK measuring units for cholesterol are different than in the US, but 6 is the line they want you to stay below.
2. Lose an average of 1 kilogram a month. This is a very low goal, and even this will be hard. I can perform so little activity, and my drugs make me hungry all the time. 
3. If I can't do number 2, I at least want to get my BMI down below the "obese" line. That would mean losing 2 kilograms in total.

Personal goals:

1.  Spend time with my husband, every day, even the bad days. Make sure he knows how much he is loved.
2. Try to get out of the house once a month for something that's just for us rather than a medical appointment.
3. Acquire Canus Novus and make it part of the family.
4. Get to the US for the summer trip that I missed last year.
5. Post on this blog at least twice a month.

That's pretty much it. The list looks long to me, but I think the goals are realistic and attainable.

If not, well....

Recipe: Lemon Water

Photo by ex.libris

• 1/2 lemon, sliced
• 1 litre of filtered water

Put water in pitcher. Put lemons in water. Leave the lemons in the pitcher when you pour yourself a glass, and you can keep topping up the water for two or three days before you need to toss the lemon slices and make a new batch. Store in the fridge. So refreshing!



Yes, this is far too simple to be called a "recipe", (and even so simple, I have to get someone else to slice the lemons for me) but it's my main weapon in my battle against my Coca Cola addiction. I haven't seen any weight loss yet, but I've at least been consuming less soda, and that can only be for the good. ☼

Losing Weight

Since I got sick, I have gained about 7 to 10 kg (15 to 20 lbs). I don't know exactly, because I never bothered weighing myself back then. I'm 156 lbs now, or 71 kg. Not obese, but definitely overweight, and at the point where the extra weight is uncomfortable to carry around. So I'm trying to lose weight without being able to exercise, and without having the energy to prepare as much as a bowl of cereal some days.

Yes, this will be a challenge. My dream goal is to get down to 65 kg / 145 lbs. My realistic goal is to get below 70 kg and stay there. If I gain any more weight, I will need all new clothes, which means spoons expended on shopping and ordering and returning what doesn't fit and... ugh. DO NOT WANT!

So the posts tagged with 'diet' will be what I'll be trying and learning from along the way. Join me on this journey, won't you?  ☼