Closing the door on 2016

I'm happy and relieved to be closing the door on 2016. In fact, I'm going to slam the door, lock it tight and throw away the key.

The year wasn't all bad. In some ways it was pretty fantastic. My husband retired at the beginning of the year and we went on a three month trip down the west coast, around the coast of the Gulf of Mexico all the way down to the Florida Keys, then up the east coast to North Carolina, then came back pretty much the same way except we skipped the Keys. We had a blast, walked for miles on almost every beach along the way, and visited a few of my old friends. We also visited my daughter, whom I hadn't seen in four years, and my grandson and granddaughter. It was awesome. My husband is good company. We talked a lot, laughed a lot, and took a lot of pictures.

But... I gained a pound for every week we were gone, and when we got back I just couldn't get my head back in the healthy eating and exercise zone, so I gained some more.

I've spent considerable time thinking about this, wondering what went wrong, worrying that I was just stuck in this strange limbo and would never be able to get myself out. I started every day with a promise that today I would keep my calorie consumption within my weight-loss parameters and get some exercise, but by the end of each day I was usually over the calorie count and under the exercise minutes.

I finally figured out the problem. My husband is here all the time. When he was at work I work I walked my 8,000 steps, worked with free weights, did videos with Richard Simmons and countless others, and I was learning to dance. I don't have that time to myself any more.

Please be assured that I am in no way blaming my husband for this. My actions, or lack of actions, were entirely my own fault. I am responsible for my own health, and I have been neglecting that responsibility for over a year. So, the question is: what am I going to do about it? I've had a lot of time to think about it, and I finally came up with a solution that I think will work for me.

Tomorrow, I'm joining the local gym. They have a pool (I love to swim), several classes that look like fun, plus all the equipment I could possibly want. I doubt if I'll make much use of the equipment at first, other than the stationary bikes, but maybe I can work up to that. In the meantime I'll be happy with the yoga classes, the water aerobics, and the various other classes that look enticing.

I've promised myself I will start out slowly. By March I'm hoping to walk the mile and a half each way to the gym, and by May I plan to be good enough on the stationary bike to join a spin class, which my daughter assures me is lots of fun. And I'll swim as much as I possibly can. And if I treat the visit to the gym like an unbreakable appointment, I believe I can make a go of this.

Bring it on, 2017!!