"Good Fences Make Good Neighbors" in Kitchens too?

Yahoo - the fever broke! I'm out of bed and I'm thrilled because I'm returning to the Virgin HealthMiles GoZone later today to rejoin my Team! I'm a little behind in my contribution and it'll take my best effort to catch up, so that's what I will commit to today.

When I started this journey, I was clear that I was going to focus on increased activity and changing behaviors that control what goes into my body and how I respond to stress. The Virgin HealthMiles Program at my job gave me the tools to focus on the activity issues immediately, so I just went for it. But make no mistake - all of these issues are critical and interchangeable in terms of order of importance. If I don't put on boxing gloves to swing back at stress at the same time I'm changing eating habits, it's impossible for me to focus on "complete" health and wellness.

With this in mind, I'm moving away from the topic of activity today to talk about food. "Good fences make good neighbors," Robert Frost wrote, so that's where I first came up with the idea to put up a wall in the kitchen between me and my refrigerator. No contractor had ever heard of such a thing, but think about it - if a person - like me - has success with visual learning, this idea could have wings.

I want to talk about Refrigeration Management. My Uncle John used to joke that if you put melted cheese on an automobile tire - cheddar, swiss, mozzarella, provolone - that my Aunt Nonnie and I would eat it! After my Mack-Truck awakening when Katie was three years old, I went out and lost 41 pounds and this is all I did: I jogged 3 miles four mornings a week; eliminated cheese and mayonnaise completely from my diet; and drank as close to 8 glasses of water (or seltzer) a day as I could stand. Everything else was done in no-holds-barred moderation. That's it. It worked.

Yes - I was younger then. I was 34 years old, but I actually believe I have a much better shot at keeping the weight off in 2010 because guess what happened in 1992?! I looked so good that my husband Harry couldn't stop chasing me around the house, (it was fun!). Nine months and Fifty-five pounds later, that little brother arrived for Kate Cecilia!

With the same kind of energy that fueled the feud between the Hatfield's and McCoy's, I ran out to the hardware store right after Scott's birth to purchase neon yellow Caution Tape to renew my war with the cheese in that refrigerator! Okay it took 16 years, but now is as good a time as any to remove the shrink-wrap packaging from this tape to create boundries in my personal No-Go-In-The-Kitchen Zone! I'm happy to report that I haven't reached for a single slice in 17 days!

And PS - Screaming "Cheese!" during pictures is no longer an option in our house!

Best regards,
Everybody's Cousin Tish
Score: 7/51

Quote of the Day: "Good fences make good neighbors."
- Robert Frost, (Okay - Barricading the ice box was not his point!)