When you retire you have a lot of time on your hands especially if you haven’t found activities to keep you busy. Eating and drinking can easily become your friend. Be careful of gaining unwanted weight or becoming an alcoholic. Both food and alcohol can be comforting but unhealthy. Eating healthy can be difficult for some. Drinking too much alcohol can lead to trouble.

I love sodas and I love coffee. I love potato chips, bread, cookies, cakes, pies and chocolate candy. The first change that I made was to stop drinking sodas. I am not supposed to have coffee, doctor’s orders, but I have a cup maybe twice a month. How can I give up bread and pasta? I have been told that sugar is the devil. But the tummy loves sugar! These are some of the things that I still struggle with. Do you have the same struggle? The struggle is the change.

Change can be good and it can be difficult. It has been difficult to change my eating habits. I have a personal trainer who is fantastic! He makes a 7-day detox that gets rid of all of the junk in your system while you are changing the type of foods that you eat. I am starting a new journey.

When I look in the mirror I am motivated to continue on this new journey. I see the changes in my body. I feel and look better. My clothes have gotten loose. This journey is about treating my body better. My body deserves to be taken care of the right way. I will be using it for a long, long time.

Some tips that I have learned throughout this journey:

· Drink at least a gallon of water a day

· Do exercises that you enjoy

· Stay active

· Detox before you start on this journey

· No bread (this can be difficult)

· Smoothies with greens, I like spinach

· Get 8 hours of sleep

· Eat foods that do not have preservatives

· No dairy

There are other tips that I will write about later. Which one of the tips would you find most difficult to do? Not eating bread and drinking a gallon of water a day, has been a challenge for me. But I am working hard to achieve my goal to lose 50 by my birthday. When I set my mind to something I am successful. There, I claimed it, it shall be.