I opened the garage door to push out the garbage can – and this is what I walked out to!
It was a beautiful sun rise – the best I have yet to see here!
Everything was quiet – except the birds!
I went back inside and grabbed my phone to take a few pictures.
The sun comes up right there and that is where the Ocean is some three miles away.
We get really fantastic cloud formations from here and to the West.
As we learn the area driving around – we know we made the right choice to build here – when there is no construction – everything is quiet – and a lot of neighbors walk! So we are meeting people – I told Sherry we need name tags!!!!
The neighborhood bathed in a orange glow!
It will be a good year and half before they have built out – but most of that is away from us!
Each week more and more homes close – and people are moving in.
And I am surprised how easy it is to leave the Cameron Woods community and get onto the main road.
It is a good half mile stretch or 3/4 mile in both direction and is straight so you can see.
Only once have I had to sit and wait and that was only a minute of two.
Sherry on her way back into the garage – CERTIFIED HEALTH COACH – http://www.sf.juiceplus.com ssherrylynn49@aol,com
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PAPA’S WORLD – SUNRISE AT CAMERON WOODS – OCEAN ISLE BEACH – N.C.
The small building to the right is golf cart storage and a trash compactor building – the one to the left is for golf carts only. You are on a list here for golf cart spaces – that is the only way to get a spot to park it.
Sherry walking by one of Six Pools just like this one – the two on the main road through Ocean Keyes – have a community building – with TV – pool table – ping pong table and chairs and tables. This one has the work out room with all types of equipment. Each pool has a hot tub and a small wading pool. There are propane grills and picnic tables outside and each pool has men and women bathrooms.
The complex has over 780 individual condo units and town houses – this at one time a golf course called The Old Gator Hole! I think in the mid 2000’s it was sold and made into Ocean Keyes plus two other developments including a plaza with Walmart and Home depot.
Her on the left is one of two trash compactors we use – this one also has recycle bins while the other does not.
On our walk we pass the tennis courts and pickle ball court where we have played pickle ball with friends.
To be continued in my next blog – part three of walking back from the beach in Ocean Keyes!
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WHERE FRIENDS MEET THE FAMILY – FAMILY MEETS FRIENDS!
As we leave the beach entrance we use almost every day – and walk back to the condo – a two block walk to the gate.
This is the property just before we enter the gate at Ocean Keyes – We love this house and grounds!
This is along the sidewalk outside the fenced in yard – almost everything here comes back every year!
They have irrigation out here as well in the enclosed yard. It is shaded by Cypress trees –
and it is a inkling to what is inside the fence!
As soon as you walk through the gate – you see these three white ducks!
I have given them the names of HUEY – DEWEY and LOUIE ! LOL
Sherry – who is a CERTIFIED HEALTH COACH – will run ahead of me – then turn around and come back – to get her heart rate up – but I think she sees this sign and off she goes! LOL
I have to keep up or the sign in RED is for me!
Thank you for reading Papa’s World – the next blog will continue the walk back through Ocean Keyes!
A picture along the trail in a display for a resident hiker of the Appalachian Trail she took beginning to end.
This is all part of the Shenandoah Museum complex in Winchester Va. A hiking trail – through the woods.
Sherry took all these pictures as we walked about three miles!
The pathway is very wide – I would guess eight feet and all made up with crushed limestone! There are benches to sit on the entire walkway – and areas to sit quietly – a really nice walk and easy on the feet!
We have walked this every time we come to visit and now in late spring – the flowers and trees are full!
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Papa and Debby walking the newest feature a boardwalk circle with water on all sides!
They have been missing for about five weeks – I would catch a glimpse of them to the left of the lanai
Around the bend and through the shrubs and trees – once in a while
Sometimes I would mistake them for the lone swan –
But then I would see it futher down the lake.
Thought maybe they had a nest and were nesting little ones back in the marsh.
The two mated swans are in the top left of the picture while the lone swan is in the middle right of the picture – the first time I had seen all three in over a month!
But – there were no babies and the geese have tons of babies –
So – I do not know why they disappeared and seemed to glimpse them every once in a while through the trees.
That part of the lake is undeveloped and is marsh – swamp – trees and water – not the type of place you want to wade
through or even boat in there – at least I wouldn’t!
I was disappointed in no baby swans but happy in that the were back!
They still would have nothing to do with the lone swan.
This is as close as they would let it come!
Then – last week – a man showed up in a small skiff – he comes once in a while to fix the fountains –
the one we see that is close to us in the middle of the lake – gets clogged up and quits –
I have watched him a half dozen times come in and go to it and unclog it!
This time as he was coming down the lake – I watched the two swans take flight –
beating their wings against the water and become airborne –
they circled around and headed over the houses to the left –
There is another lake over there – I think they went there as they were frightened by the man and boat.
After that we went for a walk on the beach – and have not seen the two swans since!
Thank you for reading Papa’s World – the one swan remains – mingling in with the ducks – mallards and geese.
I have seen turtles by the hundreds – a otter – some very large fish – a eagle several times -osprey – cranes – herons – egrets – storks –
And the three swans when all here.
A place that when you wake up with the sliding glass doors open – you hear the songs of the birds.
PAPA’S WORLD livinglifedoingitmyway.blog email fitztdf@aol.com
If you want a peaceful walk – there are miles of trails and paths – among the old growth live oaks – the tall cypress and pine trees of South Carolina.
Along the way – a boardwalk – near the marsh – through the grounds of the old slave quarters – and see the history of this historic old plantation – and the huge rice fields – and wonder how these people lived – worked and toiled.
Scattered about over the acres and acres of the park – hundreds of bronze statues – depicting life of the world – by famous artists – some bigger than life – beautiful to see – and a story behind each one!
A building of hundreds of bronze statues – faces – animals – marble – stone – behold the beauty and capture the imagination of ones soul.
Carved out of wood – almost real like – exceptional artistic work.Another work by the same artist – carved out of wood!
Thank you for reading Papa’s World – I shall continue in the next blog with our walking tour.
Papa’s World – livinglifedoingitmyway.blog
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The pier in the distance – we went in and grab something to eat and just sat and enjoyed the view!
We knew Ocean Isle Beach was a eight minute drive from the new house- without heavy traffic.
Now – it was time to see just how far the other beach – Sunset Beach – was from the new house.
So – we drove and it was 13 minutes!
About five minutes longer in no traffic!
So – there you are – two beaches to choose from – and if we want – we can go back to NMB –
some 30 minutes away – with no traffic.
We checked out the parking as we understand that in the busy part – this could determine where we go!
They have pay parking – which you can pay a set price for the year –
and – like the other beach – off the road parking –
but we were told to be careful on that – if you do not do it right –
like blocking the bike path or sidewalk –
you will get a fine!
The other direction on Sunset Beach which we were told was voted one of the top ten beaches in the country! And it really is nice – time will tell if we like it more that either of the other two beaches!
It was a very windy day on the sand – so we decided not to walk the beach –
but rather see where we can walk among the streets and houses.
We did find a path to walk – while not going on the sand –
and could see we could easily get our three mile walk in!
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Sherry – too much wind – another entrance too the beach – CERTIFIED HEALTH COACH!
Sherry went to visit her sister – so I had no car – but – that did not matter – I walked!
I decided that instead of one big walk for the day –
I would break it up and do several smaller walks
So I walked four times!
And it was a total of 6 1/2 miles!
The first picture was the beach entrance I choose – after walking .60 miles to get there!
This picture is of me after walking onto the beach.
It was a great walk and the sun came out making it warm!
I choose this entrance because I walked a new path
and it brought me to this street.
You see – every street here running West to East –
ends in a beach entrance and most have parking lots!
So I turned left – North – and headed up the beach – back to our normal entrance!
It was almost to low tide – not many people there!
Looking back the way I had just walked! Still not many people!
The beach exit I choose – I came here because to the right is a ramp and it leads to a bench to sit down on. The sand has nearly reclaimed that part- but I find it peaceful to just sit and listen to the surf and watch the people!
Plus there is a boardwalk all the way back to the parking lot-
giving you time to clean off any sand in your shoes!
One last look down the beach from where I had just walked.
In this picture at the bottom of the lake – is a four story condo –
that is where we are renting until the end of June – 2021! TOP FLOOR !
We are in the middle with a full view of the lake!
There is a road way among the condo’s to the right – that is where we walk to the beach!
This would be the view only from the first floor condo – we are on the top floor.
Here you can see the map of Ocean Keyes – we are a short walk to the real estate office and once we exit on Ocean side Drive – it is two blocks to the sand and water!
We walk this area over to main street – Duffy main street seafood and many other stores.
The tennis courts and Pickle ball courts!
A short walk for us and right across the way from here is one of six pools!
There are six pools with bathrooms in this development and 780 condo units and town houses!
These are the town homes on the far side of the lake near the Hillside drive entrance.
We would of loved to buy one of these – but first there is a waiting list to buy
and second they were out of our price range!
We actually looked at one – it was well used as a second home and had to be completely redone on the inside
and did not have a view of anything other than some trees and bushes.
Walking – taking pictures – looking – where am I going? LOL
Some of the many condo buildings you walk past on the way to the Hillside Drive gated entrance!
Town homes and our condo in the far end of the lake! Top floor with the wide lanai to the left!
On my way back from the beach – just after you enter the gate from Hillside Drive –
I have named the three white ducks – for my own amusement –
HUEY DEWEY LOUIE!
They are together constantly – where one goes – so do the other two – all across the lake.
I have never seen them up on our end.
This day they were napping by the water
And within twenty feet – was the LONE SWAN!
I think this is a male as the other two will have nothing to do with it!
He too is napping!
The LONE SWAN!
I have decided to name him – for my own amusement – ” DARTH VADER”!
He cruises the lake by himself –
and when he comes near – they scatter away from him.
He is a lonely white swan.
The other two will have nothing to do with him and will chase him away!
Even he will take off and fly away from them!
Thank you for reading Papa’s World – my walk back from the beach – Huey Dewey Louie and DARTH VADER!
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Ocean Keyes – North Myrtle Beach – S.C. just google them – there are rentals and places to buy! 601 Hillside Drive
When we were here with our grand kids – CASSIDY -TAYLOR – BODE – they strung together these shells with all our names on them including MORMOR & PAPA! Each time we return – we can feel them being here!
They began gathering their shells –
We had shown them the shells that the grand kids had hung from the tree!
The shell Taylor hung with her initials – TK – and the month and year!
In the back ground – our grand daughters – Cassidy – shell with her cousins Olivia in the foreground.
They loved doing this – and when other family members come down
we shall do the same!
On the tree – Sherry wrote the names – Taylor – Cassidy – Bode and now Maya and Olivia.
Maya signing her shell.
Olivia signing her shell!
We spent some time here – reading other shells and found one with a date of 1990!
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Mother and daughters – Kristie – Maya – Olivia
WHERE FRIENDS MEET THE FAMILY!
FAMILY MEETS FRIENDS!
MAYA
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BLOG: FAMILY JONES
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PAPA AND MORMOR with Casey – Maya – Olivia – FAMILY JONES!
Often times you look on the other side of the fence – and then there comes a time you get a chance to walk at a place that would look the same 300 years ago! Here is that place at the far end of Cherry Grove – S.C. where no houses are built – no piers or docks – just sand – ocean and trees and shrubs – a deserted beach!
This I think is what the coast line looked like long before the settlers came here. No buildings – just raw nature – surf – and sand!
First – you have to find the path through the trees and shrubs to get to the beach!
Finding a very large tree washed upon shore – perhaps 60 feet long!Sherry Tammy Cassidy Bode Taylor
Walking along the surf – no one in sight – imagining that this is how nature looked centuries ago!
And then we turn around and in the distance the pier – broken from the last major storm! Mother and daughters – solitude – listening to the surf – and time to turn around – head back to the houses.
In the background – the end of the buildings – the broken pier and a deserted beach – and looking ahead into nature what it looked like all those years ago. Tammy – Cassidy – Sherry (MorMor) Bode Taylor
This is a place where the past meets the future –
and we had the pleasure to bring the family
to see – hear and experience it!
Walking back to the future – Bode and MorMor!
Walking to the past from the future!
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When the day begins with a splash – each day break is different! Ocean Keyes – North Myrtle Beach – SC!
This is the view I saw in the ad for this rental!
This view sold us and we jumped on it right away!
Each morning is different!
Our view of the small lake –
Water fowl flying in and out!
There are six fountains that we can see!
Each at night is lit up!
The moon and fountains light the water !
This never gets old.
I will miss this when we move into our new house.
But – we will have enjoyed it for nine months!
We are social distancing from here – in the condo!
We knew when we moved in October 1st. that we would be mostly alone-
that we would not be able to eat out –
but what we have here is the ability to walk!
Every day – we can walk different routes and still end up at the beach!
One half mile walk brings us to this! If you want information on this place – just contact us here or through my wife’s web site: http://www.sf.juiceplus.com and we will answer.
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WHERE FRIENDS MEET THE FAMILY
FAMILY MEETS FRIENDS!
The view from our living room through the screened in Lanai – plus you get this same view from the master bedroom!
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Every morning when the sun rises – we get to see this!
This view is what first got my attention when I was looking for a place to rent!
I came across it and right away I called to Sherry –
“How would you like to live here for a while” ?
It took maybe one minute to decide – this is where we will go until we find another place!
We have now been here – at this time of writing – early January – some 13 weeks!
And – expecting our house to be done – the end of June!
But – that view is not all – we can walk to this every day!
The other reason is the walk to the beach –
a little over 1/2 mile and we are standing here.
Although the clouds roll in and out –
very few times have we not been able to walk with rain ruining it!
Plus – we are so close to other trails – nature – we can explore.
We are building a house – in the long run – it was about the same as buying one already built!
In our price range.
And – we will still be close to this – one half hour away!
The area we choose is in N.C. 15 miles away.
There we are close to two other beaches!
Ocean Isle Beach ( which is the address) and Sunset Beach.
Both about 4 and 6 miles away!
Although we will not see this on our walks – we will have a entirely different view.
The skies here are wonderful – different each day – I always notice skies where ever we are!
Just above the fountain – two black dots – the SWANS have returned – they come and go!Looking back toward the beach entrance – and .66 miles away – our rented condo!
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WHERE FRIENDS MEET THE FAMILY
The wonder of the surf while working her business by phone! http://www.sf.juiceplus.com from anywhere in 21 countries!
FAMILY MEETS FRIENDS!
The skies of North Myrtle Beach – where we live-walk!
It is with in mind – I record our lives one day at a time –
hence my blog: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog
In a little over one year – thanks to my wife Sherry –
I now have a following of 362 plus followers!
Of which I only know four of them!
The rest are from all over the USA and the WORLD!
Screen shot on a normal day – I never though this would happen – but I guess projecting good thoughts – happy family life and adventures of two 70 plus year old’s must appeal to people!
Sherry and Papa – (Tom) living our life one day at a time. Each day I am alive is a blessing! I do not take it for granted.
Sherry is the driving force behind my blog –
” YOU HAVE TO WRITE AND PUT IT SOMEWHERE – A PLACE WE CAN FIND – WHEN YOU ARE GONE”
That is the reality and I am okay with it!
I write for family – I write to record for future generations so they know who I was!
Each day I open the site – answer the comments and push on!
I include lots of pictures – they all tell a story.
Each day I start out not knowing what I will write about
I see a picture I have taken – a event we did – or where a day has taken us.
Then – I start – so far I have scheduled a month ahead in stories –
That way – is we are going someplace – all I have to do is share it to face book!
On here – it is automatically scheduled!
My hope and desire is to bring inner peace to those that read this – and to see – when adversity hits home – when death knocks on your door – there is a life beyond and each day is a blessing – one that had it gone the other way – well – I am happy it didn’t – and that is going to be my legacy – living life doing it my way – blog!
Here we are – in our early ’70’s – homeless – living with daughters –
until we pack up and head South
to North Myrtle Beach S.C.
First thing we do as vagabonds – is play some golf!
We made it a point – have fun – play golf – and enjoy the warm weather while we can!
Here we played one of our favorite courses in NVA!
Deer are everywhere – and are so tame – even when you hit toward them
they do not move!
You have to be pretty good to hit them and we are not good! LOL
Our view from youngest daughter and husbands home!
We would have almost three months to wait before we left –
pack up and go –
to a place we had never been and found by accident
OCEAN KEYES – North Myrtle Beach
every day a 1/2 mile walk to the sand and water of the beach.
First – we had to downsize – made dozen of trips to the Salvation Army – sold almost 95% of our household furniture with the house ! And got ourselves a storage unit – one big enough to walk in and through all our “STUFF”!
I thought I would MISS STUFF but I don’t!
I have moved on – just as we were about to do!
But first saying our goodbyes – these are what I will miss – FAMILY!
You never get use to that – WHEN YOU THROW IT AWAY – REMEMBER THERE IS NO AWAY!
That is why we are back home for the Christmas time – for three weeks!
And we will come back again in late Feb. and early March.
They will come down to visit –
And our life will go on!
We will walk once again with them – we will share laughs – and in Jan. hope will bring them to us!We will meet up once again with old friends – laughing – exploring –And true to form – PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING! LOL!
ICE CREAM and a SMILE!
This one texts or calls everyday her MORMOR & PAPA!
FAMILY – fun times and memories made –
FUN TIMES and memories to be made!
NEW ADVENTURES AWAIT FOR THESE TWO – as we a\have traveled the World together and now they live only 40 miles from us!
Our friends of many years – Buck and Cindy – have lived down in N.C. for years
and now – we golf every week together.
Family is back home – friends are here!
Yes – the Sun set of a family home – the night before we left – rain shower cleaning the roadway – vagabonds!
We are blessed to have these places to stay –
and now – we have begun our new home build
and once again – it will become a FAMILY HOME!
Once again in the South – we will be together – family – as always – you never throw that away!
We found out she also was from NVA and had just bought a condo there!
She gave us information on golf carts – and the sales office.
Seems – property is sold first inside the development
and rarely listed outside to the public!
Looking back toward our condo – it is a straight walk mostly once we get to this street
And then you turn around and look straight
and that is the parking lot and entrance to the beach!
After you leave the street and walk thru the parking lot – pathway to the beach and ocean
Point 66 mile walk and you are standing here
about ready to go to the water!
The beach is very wide even at high tide!
This is looking North.
Looking South toward Myrtle beach some 10 or so miles away.The beach entrance from the parking lotSherry going to touch the water – it was 75 degrees – as warm as the air.
Instead of going back the way we came
We decided to walk South along the beach
and come out on the road that runs into the shopping area!
About here is where we came off the beach
and were able to find shops that had buy one
get the second one half price!
So – we bought two light weight beach chairs
that had straps so we could carry on our backs
to make the walk to the beach easy
and still have arms free to bring whatever we needed!
Once back “home” at the condo
it was time to fix dinner – and have some cocktails on the lanai!
It was by accident that I found this place while searching for a place to live after selling our house!
I came across a picture of the view from the Lanai and we fell in love with it!
This is situated in North Myrtle Beach and we had no thought of coming here!
The plan was to find a home to buy or a lease –
planning on only being here for five months!
But – after searching and searching and visiting numerous homes – condo’s
And the housing market going up every day- it became apparent to us –
that maybe the best way was to find a model and build it our way!
Where we are staying is the building at the very beginning of the small lake – top floor – four stories -middle!
We found that we could build for almost the same price that we would buy –
and not have to do any renovations!
So – we extended our stay here until the end of June!
And hope that our build out of four to six months
would allow us time to enjoy what we have here!
From our condo – is 6/10 of a mile and we are standing on the beach!There are six pools here – a tennis – pickle ball court – a work out gym and a community center!
We walk the road every day past the pool straight to the beach entrance.
Cross two roads and are in the parking lot of Avenue six beach entrance!
Standing on the beach after a 12 minute walk!Early morning view from our Lanai – with views from both the master bedroom and the living room!
Thank you for reading Papa’s World – our stay in Ocean Keyes – North Myrtle Beach – S.C.
Sherry walking the historic section of Conway S.C.
We like to explore and I love old towns and history of the area!
We had completed the River Walk and then headed onto main street.
This being Sunday – there were no stores open!
Which surprised me as there were lots of people on the River Walk.
A cool little garden and fountain just off main street!I assume this mural has a part of the history of this town!
Walking – taking in the sites – and then we both noticed just how many old
historic churches were here!
Maybe that is the reason for stores being closed on Sunday?
This church was too big to get in one photo – and had been built in the 1800’s!The first view you get of this church walking up to it – the previous picture was the center of the church!The right side of the church – this church took up almost the entire block!
We also looked at the first church that was built here
Thinking that the people had outgrown it!
The first church built in the early 1800’s!
A beautiful stain glassed window!
Thsi was a very solid built building
but I think it ended up being too small
So they constructed the second church!
I want to go back and spend more time reading the grave stones!
We also walked by one other large church that sat on the river-
and had drive up docks for boats
and signs for people who came to church using the River!
Sherry has a friend from back in NVA who also owns a home just outside Conway.
She told us we had to visit this town as it has large living Oak trees
and a historic part with a River-Walk!
The walk is along this river – known local as THE BLACK RIVER!While these pictures do not show just how black this water is – you could see nothing!
I tried to see into the water – but it was black!
I guess there is a chemical released from the Cypress trees that line the banks –
that leaches into the water – turning it a almost black color!
It just gave me the creeps not knowing what or if anything is in there!
The trees and bushes were really beautiful as was the new walk way!
From all the rain they had – flooding of the River-Walk!A portion of the walk was under water – making it so we had to find a way around it!Geese swimming in parts of the park under water! You can see the water mark on the base of the trees!
We also came across a marina – with docks and boats – this area seemed to me – to be like a campground for boats! There were a number of boats with people living on them and they looked to be in pretty rough shape! I would not want to take them out onto the river. There was bathrooms here so I assume the people used them to bath etc.
These are some of the better looking ones – some were decorated outside for Christmas – others had lawn chairs and some had just things laying around!
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WHERE FRIENDS MEET THE FAMILY
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MY BLOG SITE
livinglifedoingitmyway.blog Sherry standing in front of a almost two hundred year old warehouse!
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I first met Jim some years back – his wife Claudia is a close friend of my wife Sherry!
Jim is a very large man – standing 6’5 ” of taller!
He loves to cook and always was making BBQ for his employees!
Claudia was interested in what Sherry was doing for her health.
Then – Jim became interested.
He sent me this email – I had no idea he was writing it.
It is such a story of health and a journey for a individual
who one day said enough is enough!
IN HIS OWN WORDS – JIM MARTIN!
My name is Jim Martin, and I am 65 years old. I live in Reston, Virginia, I still maintain a full-time job.
Heaviest Weight: 350 pounds
Current Weight: 260 pounds
I struggled with my weight my entire adult life. It led to binge eating and weight gain. Before trying Juice Plus, I had done yo-yo diets my whole life. My weight has gone up and down 50 to 80 pounds over the years, but nothing ever stuck.
Before Juice Plus, a typical day consisted of a lack of sleeping of no more that 4 to 5 hours a night and grabbing either a breakfast burrito with an apple juice or a chicken biscuit from a drive thru. I would go to work at my incredibly stressful sales job from 7:30-4:30 and get little to no movement at work. I would always eat out for lunch and pick very unhealthy options—sometimes I would even get dessert (cookies) with lunch! After work I would come home and eat dinner around 6:30 pm and sit on the couch until it was time for bed. Before bed, I would usually have ice cream or another dessert. Sometimes I would wake up and get a “midnight snack.” I was literally eating around the clock.
The first time I heard about Juice Plus was almost a year ago. I was not into fitness at the time, but back then I thought Juice Plus would help me lose weight and promote a good immune system. However, after years of putting on weight, I started learning more about it and decided I wanted to give it a try and joined the “Shred Your Way” Facebook group.
My turning point came on January 6, 2020 with the “Shred Your Way” Sugar Shred Challenge, No sugar for 10 days. As a result of completing this challenge, I have completely removed sugar from my diet for the past 11 months. I have no sugar cravings or desire to eat sweets as I did in the past. This all happened two months prior to the COVID lockdown and I was stress eating like crazy. It was a Monday morning and I stepped on the scale that I had been avoiding for months. After I read it, I just said, “That’s enough.” Something had to change.
My goal when I started this journey was to be in better shape than I was when I was 45. Back then, I was 260 pounds and less than 20% bodyfat. From the start of this journey to get healthy, I told myself that I wanted to be in better shape in the next year than I was in the last.
I found that adding Fasting, Healthy eating and Walking to my journey
I loved it so much, I added the Fasting (Zero Fast), Food Monitoring (MyFitnessPal) and Walking (Fitbit) apps to help me stay on track. It has been a huge help in my journey. Tracking the fast, steps, and foods It helps me to see trends, and with that I can make adjustments. I love being able to look back and see how I have done. The Shred Your Way Facebook group has also been a great source of motivation.
I currently follow a 16:8 fasting schedule, walking 8 to 10 miles a day, and eating about 1500 to 1800 calories a day, while trying to keep it flexible. Most days I end up following 17:7 Fasting, 25,000 steps and 1600 calories. I change my fasting times to suit my lifestyle. If I want to go out and have a big dinner with my wife, I will just do a longer fast leading up to it, so I stay in a deficit. And some days when I am hungry, I will break my fast at 13-14 hours (minimum of 13 hours to be considered fasting). I listen to my body and hunger signals. That is what I love about intermittent fasting—it is all about flexibility.
The first few mornings I started fasting I was so hungry, but honestly by the second week my body had adapted well. That is part of the reason I have been able to do this so long (coming up on 7 months). It is not a struggle for me to follow the plan.
Aside from the weight loss, fasting gives me freedom from food, walking gives me the movement I need and Juice Plus give me a healthy immune system. I no longer feel like food is my source of comfort. I can focus my thoughts and feelings more. I also did change my overall diet. I discovered tons of extremely healthy choices. However, that is another writing exercise.
Here is what I typically eat in a day:
Breakfast: Black coffee, breakfast cereal (Ezekiel or Sola brands, no/exceptionally low sugar) blueberries, raspberries, almond milk, and chia seeds.
Lunch: Arnold whole wheat bread or a Mission brand low carb whole wheat wrap, turkey or ham, mustard, lettuce., tomato and Kettle Brand avocado and Himalaya salt potato chips.
Dinner: Taco Bowl (steak, brown rice, pinto beans, salsa, cheese,) Kevin Brand Chicken entrees with steam veggies.
Snacks: Mixed nuts or, protein shake (1G or less sugar) or apple or protein bar (2G or less sugar)
Dessert: 1oz70% Dark Chocolate
I feel completely different now that I added fasting and walking to my Juice Plus daily routine. I no longer have a need to eat wasteful and harmful foods like sugar. Before, I would always eat a huge lunch and then be worthless for hours afterwards. Now, I experience the mental clarity that comes from eating the right foods, fasting, and walking. I am tracking all my calories in MyFitnessPal because I wanted to stay in a deficit, which was key for weight loss. I aim to eat 1,800 calories each day. I walk 7 days a week. It has been great.
These three changes contributed the most to my weight loss success.
Change 1: I gave myself more than a year to reach my goal.
By taking a longer-view approach, I do not get discouraged by little missteps. I still have plenty of time to reach my goal. When you set a short timeframe to reach your goal, you can get discouraged if it does not happen “fast” enough.
Change 2: I focused on healthy eating at first. I’ve done diets before, and when you change everything in the first week, you drain yourself of willpower and end up falling off the wagon. I just focused on finding healthy food choices that minimize or eliminate SUGAR. SUGAR is the killer of any plan that includes weight loss or a good immune system.
Change 3: I do not get discourage… focus on the big picture
Life happens, and if I get down on myself for being human, that is not going to help me in the future. So instead, I give myself grace and understand this will happen. I acknowledge it and move on instead of making myself feel like a failure. I could barely walk a mile without resting, now I can complete a 10K in less that two hours. It takes one step at a time.
I hope my successful journey can help other archive the life changing experience this has been for me. I think the most rewarding part about making this change has been the mental clarity and focus that comes in the last few hours before breaking a fast. I do not feel mentally drained. But the weight loss has made the biggest difference. It is going to allow me to live an active life well into old age. If I had continued putting on weight, I would have been in extremely poor health within the next five years. But now I feel strong, and I do not feel deprived.
The new Jim Martin – at 260 lbs.
As a side note – Claudia Martin has literally folllowed in Jim’s footsteps.
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