My old, dysfunctional 1960s kitchen got ripped out this week to make way for an up-to-date stainless and granite replacement.
I can’t imagine what the new kitchen will look like, having put up with the old, hideous one for three years now. It’s going to be pretty nice, I think.
It strikes me that I’m also undergoing a renovation of my relationship toward food, and it’s one that has been as desperately needed as my kitchen reno. For years, I’d been sailing along eating mainly healthy foods but after a glass or two of wine in the evening, a few extras creep into the works.
Two fractured bones this year – one an arm, the other a leg – have led to an epiphany. I can’t move, can’t exercise as I’ve been doing, so I have to cut calories. Our bodies are the best calculators of how many calories we really need to survive, and right now I need the bare minimum.
I broke the other ankle 20 years ago (I swear, I am not accident prone!) and that fracture ceased my 10k kilometre runs and left my butt parked on the couch. I was still eating and drinking like a runner, and the weight piled on.
I cannot let that happen again. My unlucky bone breaks mean I can’t go on my mountain hikes, can’t do intervals on the treadmill, can’t do workouts with my trainer Lindsay Forget at the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence.
So something’s gotta give, and my focus now turns to my diet. I have pretty much replaced wine with water, sparkly water if I need a treat, and I feel a whole lot better. The evening treats aren’t happening anymore because I simply can’t afford them.
I have a vision in my head of how I have looked in the past, and how I will look in the future, with 30 pounds gone. I awake with that vision and I go to bed with that vision.
And you know what? After months of trying to lose weight, I’m finally beginning to drop a few pounds.
Sure, it’s frustrating sitting here at home with my broken foot on a pillow. But I think I’m making bigger strides now than I was before, when I was working out and then erasing some of that good work with my diet cheats.
By the time my kitchen comes together in early March, I hope both my diet and exercise plans will be on track as well.
My new kitchen will make me happy, but being healthy and fit will make me even happier.
