Amanda's Musings

(Originally published 29 February 2020)  I knew it was coming up, but I actually missed my own 10-year sobriety anniversary! It got eclipsed by official notification of my career position—ending a 14-month temporary assignment (which had been extended 3 months beyond the original 12) & the increasingly anxious 7-month job hunt for a more secure placement. But I know this is a major milestone, and I want to acknowledge it. Getting and staying sober was also the beginning of my journey away from obesity to greater wellness. It’s not that I was completely unhealthy before. I was into personal growth and working on my PTS issues, I ate lots of vegetable, I exercised some and was proud of my flexibility. Even at my heaviest (215 pounds on a 5’3” frame), I could bend at the waist and place my hands flat on the floor. I had tried to get sober with AA back in California, but had several unfortunate experiences that, as an incest survivor, made me feel unsafe in meetings and with sp...

(Originally published 18 March 2012)  Whether you actually did this in science class or not, you know how rats are put into a maze, and how they run down and back those passages looking for the cheese. Once they've gone down the same passage a few times and found no reward there, they usually stop going that way and concentrate their search in different directions where the likelihood of finding their cheesy reward is greater. So are you as smart as the average lab rat? Are there goals you want to accomplish — some reward as important to you as a chunk of cheese is to a rat? Are there paths and actions you have taken in the past that have proved unsuccessful at bringing you closer to your goals? Have you abandoned them and tried a new way? Maybe you think you know exactly how to reach your destination. You have the perfect road map: to lose those unwanted pounds, you just have to give up sugar and fat and salt, most of your favorite foods and do 30 minutes of cardio and 30 mo...