Yep, as the title says, I’ve taken a bit of a detour from my once healthy habits. However, I would like to take the opportunity to thank my next door neighbor for being partly responsible for my recent downfall. *chuckle*

You see, due to my work schedule, I haven’t been able to partake in the Halloween festivities in the past few years. So the week before Halloween, I asked him how many trick-or-treaters I should expect. To which he replied, “About 200". Ruh-roh, I hadn’t quite planned for that many. So the night before Halloween, I drove home from work, and at 12:30 in the morning, I’m at Wal-Mart buying more candy. At 1:30 a.m., I was sitting on my living room floor, surrounded by candy, and loading them into little trick or treat bags.

So Halloween came. The trick-or-treaters were cute in their costumes, and I had my opportunity to support the dental profession one day out of the year. After all, dental professionals have families, and children to send to college as well. *chuckle*

However, my neighbor was slightly off in his estimates.............by about 100. Now, when I say 100, that doesn’t mean that I was suddenly left with 100 pieces of candy. No, that would be more like 500 pieces of candy. And so the nibbling began. After a few weeks, I wasn’t even making a dent in the candy. So I shipped half of it up to my brother’s at Thanksgiving, and still had a fair amount left. This weekend, I took the remaining candy to work, and let them enjoy it. I needed to get it out of the house!

Enjoying a few pieces of candy turned into enjoying a few sodas here and there, a few more wheat products, the oh-so-delicious, and yet evil apple pie at the hospital cafeteria. It finally dawned on me that I was starting to backslide. So it’s time for me to nip things in the bud, and get back on track.

You see, on the 18th, it will have been two years since I first started the ER4YT journey. When I started ER4YT in December 2004, I was at 176 lbs., on a vertically-challenged 5'4" frame. By September of 2005, I was down to 140 lbs. In January of this year, I started weightlifting again, and quickly jumped up to 165. However, that gain was more fat than muscle. As the year has worn on, the ratios have slowly reversed, and the amount of visible fat has lessened, while muscle mass has increased.

But now, it’s time to get serious, with regards to my weightlifting, and returning to a higher rate of compliance on ER4YT. A new year is approaching, and it’s time to start work on a new and better year. Numbers have been crunched. Ratios of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and calories have been calculated. An eating plan has been drawn up. Now it’s time to make things happen. Not too long ago, Peppermint Twist sent me a quiz, and one of the questions was “Where do you want to be in 10 years?”. And I replied, “Buff, tough, and putting kids half my age to shame”. *chuckle* That, and putting the fear of God into any young man who wants to date my Girlfriend’s daughter in a few years. LOL However, he’s probably going to have to worry more about her, than me. *chuckle*

So as another year comes to a close, take a moment to reflect upon the successes that you have had, and are grateful for. Think about what didn’t go as well as you might have hoped, and what you have learned from those experiences. As Florence Scovel-Shinn once said, “All hindrances are friendly”. We may not understand the reason why at the time, but there IS a reason. The more we fight the Universe's workings, the more difficult we make our own lives.

May you all have a safe Holiday season, full of health, happiness, and harmony.