I’m a huge NCIS fan – the original NCIS. (I keep asking Santa to bring me Jethro Gibbs for Christmas; but, he just brings me kitchen implements and hair thingies. I think Santa doesn’t understand just how serious I am about this.) On the show, they are forever talking about “sitreps.” Now, in the spirit of Abby and the gang, Ima give you the latest situation report for the Goddess.

Okay, so remember AGES ago when I said that Satan invented stretch fabrics? Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure he’s behind PMS, too, and I am reasonably certain he sits on the board of some baking companies.

For the last couple of weeks, I have been an absolute slave to my hormones. Good grief! Thankfully, this degree of craving is a very rare occurrence; however, when it happens, it takes me WEEKS to recover. And have I been craving apples? greens? lean meats, maybe? Oh, my goodness not a chance. It’s been all about the Ho Hos, honey! Yes, that unholy trinity of wheat, chocolate and sugar has had my number for days now and I can feel it in the fit of my jeans. Thankfully, we seem to be at the end of this sugar siege and the damage isn’t irreparable.

But that’s the thing, isn’t it? As long as we’re still on this side of the grass, the damage isn’t irreparable.

Or, at least most of it isn’t. Joints damaged by decades of extra pounds cannot currently fully heal; but, they can get better. Even diabetes can get better with a carefully controlled diet and exercise – or, shoot! Just with a carefully controlled diet!

I’ve said it over and over again: this isn’t a one time fix-it thing. It’s not like earning a diploma – once you get it, it’s yours forever. This is a lifelong process. When you reach your goal weight, you don’t get to stop watching your intake and fuel burn, reverting to your previous eating habits – not if you want to keep the weight off. No, this lifestyle is a series of choices – every time you fix your plate, every time you chose the stairs over the elevator. With every morsel or movement, you are choosing to remain healthy or choosing to regress to poor health.

As I sit here writing this, I have a cold – my third since Autumn. When I was eating a mindfully balanced diet, I had no colds – not one. Now, I was also working out of my home and my contact with the outside world was more limited than it is currently. However, even then, my son was living at home and we all know how germy kids are. (We love them; but, they’re like plague rats – carrying everything!) I have been eating poorly and certainly not in a regularly balanced way since October and my health has suffered. I’ve had these colds, my skin, hair and nails are dry and damaged, my joints hurt, my spirit is low and my digestive system is in constant turmoil. By not choosing to be healthy, I’ve chosen to be unhealthy. So, in short, my sitrep is ACK! However, again, the damage isn’t irreparable.

Time to get my culinary tools out and start fixing! Are you coming?