#jumpstartjune

JumpStartJune16 Picture Challenge -- What Makes you Unique? 

So, I’ve been thinking about this question for a while, and I keep coming back to the same answer: Nothing and everything. 

There is no one thing about me that makes me unique -- I’m sure that my qualities and quirks are shared by many people the world over.  On the other hand, we are ALL unique in the way that our qualities and quirks are put together within us, how we use them, and how we present them to the world.

It’s really hard to take a picture of nothing and everything, tho. :/

So, to back away from the existential black-hole that this question began to create for me, I finally settled on something that is probably a little unusual, if not really unique:

I am both a beach bum and a country girl. I love them both. I am blessed to have the chance to spend time in both places every week.  I guess doing headstands in both adds to the uniqueness a bit. :)

Today I started my morning with a yoga practice. After having focused on night classes for a few evenings starting with a morning one was refreshing.

It’s nice that the day’s energy is set with a nice invigorating yet calming flow.

I’ve got lots of errands to run today (dropping off presents and forms) which could be annoying but I’m not letting that get to me. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to keep working on the article I’m writing when I’m done errands, which depending on how long it takes I should be able to get some stuff done.

(Photo: Hiking. Beautiful trail with some amazing Bristlecone pines. I ended the hike at Raintree which is thought to be the oldest and largest Britstlecone pine in the Spring Mountains, I think the estimates are that it is about 3000 years old!!!!!)

JUMPSTART JUNE INTRO

This shit got so unexpectedly long. Sorry about that haha.

Hi, I’m Valencia, (Val for short)! I’m a native Floridian, 53 years old, soon to be 54, and like most of you, have struggled with my weight my whole life. I have probably lost a literal TON (2,000 pounds) over my life, and gained it all back, also.  Being raised in a ‘fat is bad/carbs are good’ world, I resisted low-carb with all my might, but finally succumbed when I reached my highest weight of 352 (or so -- no scale went that high that i had access to). The ‘straw’ was seeing this picture of myself and was just floored by it. I couldn’t believe i was THAT OBESE.

I avoided cameras at all cost. This was probably the first picture I’d allowed to be taken of me in YEARS. 

Since then, I’ve gone on and off keto/lchf, losing weight, and then gaining it back when I started eating carbs again. Finally, three years ago, I realized that I was addicted to refined carbs (and maybe gluten?) and a switch turned in my brain.  Low Carb / Ketogenic is how I need to eat to be healthy, happy, and active. It is the only way I can keep from bingeing relentlessly. It removes the brain fog and lethargy from my body. It brings all my labs (cholesterol, blood pressure, etc) into the desired ranges or even better. 

It’s been a long road to get to this realization and acceptance of it, but I’m there now and I know I won’t go back. I finally get it.

That being said, I’ve been on a plateau for about a year or year and a half and have gained back some of the weight I had lost. I keep trying to change up different things to get the scale moving again. Most recently, it is letting go of artificial sweeteners, which I began around the first week of May 2016. 

I would REALLY like to get into one-derland one of these days. That would be my ultimate goal, somewhere under 200. (my starting weight this morning was 218.4)

With that said, I try to never make that a ‘goal’ because it seems out of my control, so I concentrate on things I can control that will make me stronger, fitter, and hopefully inch me down towards that scale victory.

So, with that said, here are my June goals:

I downloaded an app called HabitBull to track some of the stuff I’ve been working on (it’s very flexible as far as how often you can schedule the goal, unlike some which only allow DAILY goals):

Other stuff about me:

I’m learning how much gratitude can change your life, and I make sure to find something to be grateful for every day. I love the beach and sunsets, Jazzercise and hot yoga, swimming and walking and biking, and headstands are a thing. Combining the beach, sunset, and headstands is a total win!  :)

People who inspire me and keep me going include all my followers and friends here on tumblr, a few in particular are: