A Fresh Take on Resolutions

This is it. It's January 5th and right now thousands of people are feeling good about the 4-5 times they've been to the gym (minus new year's day when they are recovering from, well, 2010). But by next week thousands of those thousands will teeter off their healthy weight regimen and slowly revert back towards their old life. It's the number one resolution every year and also the number one resolution gone unfulfilled.

Now, I am also one of those healthy weight resolution folks. The difference is I tend to start on the resolution sometime in October so that by the time the calender flips I am already in the habit. Plus it takes me a while to train for the Shamrock Shuffle 8k in April so I try and get my cardio ready for the real training.

This year however, October came and went and I wasn't running. In fact, I ended 2010 with more hours on the couch than ever before. It was a rough year for allergies and my sinuses which are such a pain had pulled me out of even the slightest motivation to workout. Even Jillian Michael's couldn't convince me to keep pushing during 30 Day Shred which is only 30 minutes long!

So it was that I made the decision in November to have sinus surgery. I had had one in 2003 and for a few years felt pretty good. But I've spent the last 4 years debating the surgery repeat idea and after trying a myriad of different solutions to the problem (including a drug that is given to patients after bone marrow transplants!). Really, I've been on waaaay too many prescriptions that could damage my organs in the long run and felt this was the best choice.

So I went in last Thursday, the day before New Year's Eve, and took the plunge. I felt going into this that my doctor wasn't really sure this was the solution but was doing the surgery just because I wanted it. He felt sort of aloof and didn't really say anything to me the day we made the decision, just had me set up the surgery appointment. The operation took just over an hour and my Mom came to nurse me back to health.

Neither of us stayed up past 10pm on New Years Eve, both tired from the stress and anticipation of the day before. There was a little pain right after I got out of the surgery. My ears popped like fireworks for several hours straight, finally relieved of their burden of pressure which had been off for months. You can't imagine the relief I had with that alone!

I went in for my checkup yesterday feeling like I was doing pretty good. I didn't think there was any packing (gauze) up my nose this time around because I couldn't feel it. I should have known that it is a must-have step in the process to promote healing! What I learned at my post-operation appointment yesterday was that my Doc really did think this was a good decision. He was displeased with the way my 1st surgery was done and tried to, essentially, correct what had been done wrong. He did a little "house cleaning" while I was under and for the next several weeks we'll be keeping an eye on how it heals. Apparently, the scarring/poor healing from the last surgery was pretty bad and didn't help improve the situation.

I'm extremely pleased. It is probably the 2nd best decision I made in 2010 (The first being my trip to Italy and the 3rd being the decision to take the English Teacher exam). I have no doubts I'll be healthier this year. I'm already feeling amazing. Where I am today, just one week since surgery is about where I was after 2 months last time. It took me 6 months to feel normal last time. This one probably just about a month. I am so thankful.

So I'll be adding how my health improves to the blog this year, in addition to teaching and other random things. With hard work, dedication and healing I'll be eating better, working out more and just feeling good much, much more in 2011.

Here's to a HEALTHY 2011 for all of you. Let's keep each other accountable.

KB