A New Year

 

Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay 

A New Year. What challenges and blessings will we encounter? Only God knows.

However, it seems my new year is starting with a mixture already. I’ve been diagnosed with moderate chronic kidney disease. Oh, fun! Thankfully, diet, exercise, and medication changes can stop the progression. So that’s good news.

The diet makeover my doctor and the National Kidney Foundation recommend is The Dash Diet. It’s great for high blood pressure, kidneys, and diabetes, and is overall a good healthy lifestyle.  

I knew I needed to make dietary changes for some time but couldn’t stay motivated. Well, guess what? I’m motivated now.

I never liked much salt, but I’m amazed at how much sodium occurs naturally in so many foods, like honeydew. Never thought a melon would have sodium. Now, that I'm restricted to 1500 mg or less, I’m also thankful for so many no sodium added and low sodium options. The DaVita Kidney website also gave me lists of low sodium restaurant options so my husband and I can still enjoy dining out without jeopardizing my diet.

To keep my sanity and to help navigate this minefield of options, I’m especially thankful for the MyNetDiary app. It has The Dash Diet percentages options in their premium diet plans, and it does all the math for me. I can import recipes and tweak old ones and the app figures out the calories¸ fats, carbs, and sodium per serving. Same for canned, frozen, and packaged foods and restaurant meals. The bar code reader is an added bonus, cutting down on even more math and data input. My job is to be sure I’m eating the same amounts as the app suggests. Thank goodness for a food scale and measuring spoons!

The other surprise, I’m not hungry on this diet, nor do I feel deprived. Then, my motivation may have a big part in that. 😉

Rainbows are already showing up, symbols God has used in the past to encourage me during serious health issues. They have preceded cures from blood poisoning to breast cancer. I only need to follow my health care professionals’ advice and leave the rest in God's hands.  

As for the rest of the year, I expect other challenges, but they will be mixed with blessings, just like this one. Isn’t that life? One thing I can be sure of, with God, all things work toward my good.

How has your new year started out so far?

 

That Four-Letter Word: D. I. E. T.

Yeah. That word. I’ve played with it all my life. I used to be good at it, and I was slim — and young. Those two go together. Because, let’s face it, we older folks are at a disadvantage when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off.

After being very slim, (okay, skinny) for most of my life, this post-menopausal weight gain has devastated my self-esteem (all right, ego.) I always felt a bit superior for being, and staying, so slim. I think part of my weight gain was God shaking a finger at me. I now have far more empathy for others in this war on weight, and a much healthier idea of what constitutes the right body weight.

I always thought I was fat, even when my ribs were showing. No, I wasn’t anorexic, but every time I gained a little weight, I’d get sick, and I’d lose ten pounds in one week. Yeah, I kinda miss the ability to lose like that, but I don’t miss feeling ill most of the time. Obviously being slim does not mean being healthy.