fifty cubed

AKA...

50 in 50 before 50

In exactly 50 weeks from today, I will turn 50 years old. I'm tired of weighing more than I ought/want and being less than healthy. I really dislike the idea of going into the second half of my life in this condition, physically speaking.

So I'm issuing myself a challenge. And I'm doing it publicly. I'm not good with accountability. It works for awhile, but eventually, I just slink away into hopeful obscurity, sort of like Carl does after blowing up the golf course.

But it's time for a change. Time to step off this downhill escalator of apathetic, eat what I want, get no exercise nonsense. For some reason, that plan hasn't worked out so well.

It may seem a little vague here right now, but that's okay. I am not following a particular plan. I know what I should and shouldn't eat. How much I should and shouldn't eat. I know all about the water I should drink, the exercise I should get, etc., etc. But at some point that knowledge has to make its way into active reality to be of any value. At this point, I intend to make at least one simple change each week. And then I'll blog about it.

I'm not posting a before picture or weight. At least not yet. Eventually, I imagine that I will want to do that. But I can't just now. Not publicly.

This isn't a meme, although I made myself a cute little button to put on my posts. It could be a meme, although I doubt that anyone else out there will turn 50 in 50 weeks and wants to lose 50 pounds by then. If there is, feel free to join in.

If a week goes by and you don't see me post about this, feel free to call me on the carpet. You can email me at bunny dot trails at yahoo dot com.

WEEK 1: FLAX SEED

I learned about the benefits of freshly ground flaxseed a number of years ago. Those little seeds are practically a wonder drug. Which makes me wonder why on earth I don't use it. But that's in the past, right? From the class that I took, some of the benefits include:

• Assist in lowering cholesterol
• Helps joints and arthritis
• Improves mood
• Excellent for female hormone balance and peri-menopause
• Helps with both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
• Can diminish food allergies
• Helps with dandruff and skin problems
• Lessen fatigue

My instructor also mentioned that flaxseed is the only significant plant source of Omega-3. A definite plus for people who don't like fish.

I actually have a big container of flaxseed. Which I don't didn't use. So today, I pulled it out and made myself a smoothie with some leftover berries, vanilla yogurt, milk, local honey, and freshly ground flaxseed. Since I was feeling industrious, I went ahead and prepared the ingredients for a few more smoothies in the extra cups, covered them, and stuck them in the frig. Now all I have to do is pull out a cup, toss in a few ice cubes and blend it with the Magic Bullet.



My primary goal this week is to have fresh ground flaxseed on a daily basis. I'll track any other improvements I make as well, but this is the focus for Week 1.