no scale Getting It Back

No, not gaining it back :)... I don't like to talk about how I used to be, too often, but sometimes something happens and I get struck by how different I am now compared to about two and a half years ago when I couldn't walk or stand for more than about 5 minutes.

I had had a spinal fusion surgery in 2003 that I consider a total failure. I had another less invasive spine surgery in late 2008 and that was the miracle surgery. Laser Spine Institute had just opened a surgical center in Scottsdale and I went for it. It totally changed my life because I could walk without the pain that I had lived with for five years.

And, by that time I was working with Jennifer Scott (jscotthypnosis.com) on weight loss and spiritual awareness so that I had started losing weight. All this is leading up to the fact that today I hiked with the family and had a great time. Our three kids and their partners joined us at Bretton Woods in the White Mountains of New Hampshire for a family vacation and I was not going to be left out. We hiked almost straight up - the terrain was much like the hills of Cortona - for about a mile and then headed back, almost straight down. Down was trickier than up due to loose rocks and lots of tree roots, but I did it. Our kids were remembering when I was using canes and a walker so it was a great moment for us all.

I know the weight loss has played into my "getting it back" tremendously and I am just so grateful that I have been able to do this. I read and re-read the Geneen Roth book, Women, Food and God and find so many ideas in it that correspond to what I have learned working with Jennifer. Figuring out and separating physical hunger from emotional hunger seems key to making the changes necessary for losing the weight and keeping it off over time. What a gift to be able to enjoy this time.