Feeling Grateful...

Thanksgiving 2011

Dear Friends,

Happy Thanksgiving!  I'm feeling extraordinarily grateful today.  I am a ridiculously blessed woman!!  And it feels like a good time to name a few of the things I'm thankful for that involve my improvements in health in the past year.

First, I'm thankful for my new eating habits.  I am proud of how today went for me compared to the last time when many of my favorite foods all showed up on the same table.  I ate smart today.  I didn't eat emotionally or socially, or for any reason other than I was hungry and needed food.  And that feels amazing.  That green bean casserole in the picture up there is one of my very favorite side dishes EVER.  And I ate only an appropriate sized portion of it.  That's progress!

Next, I'm thankful for my new exercise habits.  It feels strange to me on days like today to NOT be at the gym.  I miss it!  And those of you know know me in real life can attest, that was not something I ever imagined happening in my life.  If you looked up the definition of sedentary in the dictionary, it could have shown my picture!  After a long day, I liked nothing more than coming home, putting up the footstool on the recliner, and chilling out to recover from the day.  Now, doing that feels strange. 

I'm also grateful for the decrease I'm currently experiencing in knee pain.  I know that losing weight is only really putting off the time when I will have to have these old, arthritic knees replaced.  But the fact is, I'm putting that day off!  That's huge!  This is so different from the path I was on only a year ago, and I'm thankful for every day further I can go with knees that don't function like they're supposed to.

Finally, and most importantly, I'm thankful for all of YOU!  Some of you I see in person and get to experience your love and support first hand.  Others of you I know but don't see often (or at all!) because our paths don't intersect often and this blog gives us a chance to stay current in each others' lives.  A few of you, I don't know anywhere but online...and even a few of you, I don't know at all.  But the fact that all of you are part of my community is what makes this journey such a meaningful adventure for me.  I'm certain that having you surround me, pray for me, encourage me, challenge me, and really hold me accountable for doing healthy, positive things in my life is what has made all the difference for me.

So...thank you.  Happy Thanksgiving!  Thank you for making such a HUGE difference in my life.
Angie
:-)