Day 365

The of the 365 Day Renovation of Nancy has come to an end. As I said before, this was more about improvement than full out renovation. There were 5 things I wanted to improve during the last 365 days:

• Eating
• Exercise
• Thinking
• Teeth
• Skin

Let me just say that eating and exercise were just an incredible whirlwind of activity. Here is what I learned in the last 365 days that I can point to as improvements:

1. Eating is not complicated; should be kept simple; have what you like; eat less of it.
2. Exercise is not negotiable; should be fun; needs to be daily except for one day per week for rest.

I lost weight and gained it back during this last 365 days. Why? Because I fought what was right in front of my eyes. This isn't complicated. Eat sensibly (and I do mean sensibly) most of the time; of the things I like and have a treat once in a while (i.e. twice a month). I can do this now! I actually like exercise and will enjoy doing the things I like again.

In the area of teeth and skin, I got the best rating from my dentist ever, so I believe my results were confirmed. In the past year I took the following steps to improve these two areas:

• Had a deep cleaning of my teeth.
• Flossed daily, without fail.
• Began using an electric tooth brush to improve my brushing.
• Brushed twice per day without fail.

My teeth went from scores of 4-6 on the gums to 1-3, with most areas at 1 or 2.  Really great!

For the skin, I began to see a Dermatologist. Even though I have terrible skin I'd never taken this step. I've followed her instructions and my skin is better than it ever has been. I suffer with Hidradenitis Suppurativa (It's nasty, so look it up at your own risk) and never really knew what it was. My case is moderate, but the flareups can be horrific. I've lived with it forever and was gifted it by my father at birth, who had a rather severe case of the disorder. On top of that, I also have Rosacea. Both conditions are under control and I'm very happy with the results!

The final area I wanted to renovate is my thinking. I made it a point to do three things in the past year that I'll call the Stop, Start and Continue Thinking Things:

• Stop - thinking that it's more important that everyone else be happy, first.
• Start - thinking I'm valuable.
• Continue - thinking that life will be exactly what I make out of it.

I've worked at this, but old habits die hard. The continue is fine, but stop and start have had a rocky road. I'm still working on this, but I am better. I've stood up for my own happiness, some and I'm better about seeing myself as valuable. I have more work to do, but I'll keep doing it. I feel better knowing I made progress.

So, that's it for the 365 Day series. I'm on to other things. The blog will still focus on my life interests and how I solve problems for myself. I hope you stop back by for more of life with the HumbleVoyager. Until tomorrow, when we'll be into something new, Godspeed, Voyagers!!