A great way to start a conversation on Facebook? Ask about diets that have (or have not) worked. I wanted to know how my friends were making changes in their life thanks to the pandemic, the resulting stress, overeating and then the guilt. Sound familiar?

Honestly it’s all that for me and much more. Add an autoimmune disease like lupus, the many syndromes that come with it, and then just being too tired to do much than come home and sleep. Not healthy, not good and not what I want out of life. Oh...and then there was a small matter of a heart catheterization. No way was that in my plans and it was as they say my “come to Jesus moment.” That at least did turn out better than I thought it would. So here’s where I am today.

But to all of you who cared enough to share suggestions on Facebook, thank you. My plan is simple and most definitely won’t add any more stress. I’ll use the My Fitness Pal app to track my carbs, sugar, protein and calories. I’m not going to any extremes, just following the plan my dietician has set up for me.

That brings me to the one small appliance I’m glad I hung onto in the process of making Ann Kelly’s Kitchen a more efficient space. Behold the air fryer. I might be a little late to the party here but very happy I’m finally going to enjoy good food cooked quickly and with lots of flavor. That’s something that I’ve let slip over the past months and depended way too much on prepared food that were good, but took away a lot of the joy of cooking for me.

So here we go. It’s just the start and I’ll be sharing my progress and look forward to your comments and suggestions. Pandemic pressure is no longer going to be my excuse. I will accept what I can’t change like the ups and down of lupus, but I can change how I respond and treat my body better. Those Ann-Ventures are about to get interesting! Thank you for your support and here’s to a healthier new year for all of us.

Cox Media Group