Yes You do Need Support While Trying to Lose Weight!

Senior Portrait of Shirley Dawson

Like many type II diabetics, I am overweight, very overweight. I wasn’t large growing up, in fact, I was pretty skinny. After I gained so much weight in my pregnancy, it seemed like there was nothing I could do to lose that weight again. So for the past 28 years I have done the “yo-yo” diet thing. Diet for a while, maybe even lose a few pounds, then fall off the diet and gain it all back, plus some. Does this sound like you?

Because I wasn’t overweight until I was almost 35, I have never thought of myself as fat. Inside I’m still that tall, gangly, tom-boy, who loves sports and the outdoors. Then I pass a mirror and glance at it – I’m still shocked to see myself. Who is that old fat lady? Not only is she fat, she’s old and gray-haired too. Continue reading

Image of fake smile, copyright Microsoft

Faking it until it Works!

I personally believe that those who live in chronic pain and disability need to be sure and not let depression overcome them. I know I’ve had some pretty awful lows in my life due to chronic pain, especially when I’m not sleeping well because of

the aching hips and legs and not able to do normal things like walk across a room.

One thing that I know helps me, is to find things to laugh about, a story, a movie, some incident I notice, even YouTube. One night at my vacation home, I couldn’t sleep because of my aching hips and restless legs, so I got out my iPad and started watching YouTube videos. Soon I was laughing out loud, I watched videos for about 40 minutes laughing and chuckling all by myself and soon I was able to fall asleep. Continue reading “Finding the humor in life”