June had some really major personal milestones: I got a clean bill of health, in that my thyroid was well managed and I’d managed to reverse my insulin resistance in 18 months with small diet and exercise changes. I also had my first “significant” Pilates injury that required taking a class off and an examination by a physical therapist. I’d somehow strained my rhomboid muscle in my left shoulder as well as all my neck muscles, a result of that area really opening up and getting more movement. The physiotherapist said it was a shame that I didn’t get physio after my breast reduction in ’07 as it would have been easier to reverse my lordosis at at 28 than at 46, but he felt confident I could still accomplish it and gave me some exercises to do daily.

He put me at such ease that I felt comfortable talking about my knees and how I felt that I’d reached a point where I was in better shape than what my knees could handle. Rather than the usual “Just lose weight,” non-help I would have gotten in Canada, he said “Focus on your quads,” and gave me simple exercises to do. I followed his regimen and within a couple of weeks, I had real improvement and could squat and kneel better and for longer periods of time. My Pilates instructors were in awe! As was I the first time I squatted at the grocery store to examine items on the bottom shelf for a minute, then simply got up and continued my shopping as if I hadn’t spent all my life struggling with getting up from a squat..

The changes have been so slow and incremental that I was in shocked when I came out of an Adidas store after buying this outfit in their size large, realising that belly notwithstanding, the real me was about to burst forth, the me that has always been active and fit despite not meeting societal aesthetic standards of fitness. I’ve had such a mindset shift the longer I’ve been treated in Mexico and that my worth hasn’t been determined by a meaningless number on a scale or the BMI algorithm that is literally killing people.

I’ve put in a lot of work on myself these past few years, and this was a summer of being strong. I not only started doing knee push-ups but almost immediately excelled at them, able to easily knock out 100, before finally completing the first full body push-up of my life. Pull-ups are next!

A clean bill of health meant I could return to eating “normally,” whatever that means in this new reality of intuitive eating, having discovered that my body was giving me clues for years that it was about to crash. I’d just spent 18 months free from diet culture, was down two clothing sizes, and knew that I had the tools to keep trending in the right direction. And best of all, I finally had a kitchen I was happy to cook in!

I got a baking set specially designed for large countertop ovens and baptised it with delicious banana bread:

I’d promised myself a tray of Costco croissants as soon as I could eat starch with abandon again, and they did not disappoint! I froze most of these and enjoyed them over several months.

I had my first burrata, amazing!

Last summer, my mother showed me how to make fridge pickles. After reconfirming the “recipe,” I got to work. I find it weird how Mexicans haven’t figured out sweet pickles yet. These have been life-changing. I also like them with jicama!

On that same Costco trip, I bought a huge amount of cherries, so huge I ended up buying a cherry pitter.

I froze a large portion of them. Months later, I made them into cherry no churn ice cream.

I think the most significant decision I made in June was that it was time to get a second fridge to use as a pantry. As it turned out my dream fridge dropped like 60% at Liverpool on a flash sale (with nine equal no-interest payments to boot), so my old side-by-side went into the dining room to be used as a pantry. I can’t tell you how much I overthought this purchase, but it really was the missing piece to the kitchen I expected it to be.

The top part is like a standard French door fridge, but instead of having a freezer drawer, you have two compartments with pull-out bins, with one of the bins having the option to be a fridge or freezer. I have a ton of freezer space, so I only took one compartment as the kitchen freezer. The other compartment is kept at a warmer temperature than the top part and holds spices and onions. I love this fridge, and having it paired with the side-by-side and a deep freeze is a dream. My food stores are properly organised and accessible now, just like going grocery shopping.

My favourite detail is this “snack” bin in which my favourite yogurts fit perfectly. It’s the little things. 😉

This photo of Alma isn’t the best, but it’s so funny. She loves playing with my chanclas!

Dodge doesn’t cuddle with me much, but when she does, I’m not allowed to go anywhere!

Bonus Dodger pic. I used to have the modem on this shelf by my desk. It took weeks of not understanding where Dodger was hiding to get locked in the room overnight to finally find her! In my defense, she would usually sleep with her black rump towards me and be invisible!

Sunset by Pilates one night in June:

I rewatched a favourite movie on a night when I needed a laugh. “Junior” will never not be funny!