Health and Fitness, November 2011

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Walked 3 miles yesterday but since I skipped volunteering and my board meeting was cancelled, I ended up having a restful day other than singing.

Am strong enough to be on the treadmill today, but haven't pushed myself so it is taking longer than my usual 40 minutes to get to 2 miles.

I started counting WW points again yesterday (after 3 false starts.) Not only was my energy level down yesterday, my appetite was down too so I barely ate all my points for the day. After an insatiable appetite for the past 3 days, that was a nice change.

I also managed to go through the day without any cheetos or softdrinks. Don't know if I can keep that up but I know I need to get partially hydrogenated fats out of my diet and cheetos are a significant portion of those fats for me. Only one tiny Halloween 100 calorie bag a day (2 on bad days) but still, it should be a place to start.

My jaw is still recovering after my set-back of eating texas toast. Who'd of thought that would push me back to where I was a week after the original injury? Pizza was fine, I'd even managed a hot dog, but texas toast is apparently the line in the sand for me. So I'm back to softer foods for the next few days.

[Nancy]

Better day here today bs is good
work out done.

[Harriet]

Right, Kathryn, when we find starting places we start a trend. I have lots of areas of life in which I can point to a trend, very few in which I can point to an absolute. That makes me a success, though.

I have come here to announce that I have done 15 minutes of exercise! Hurray! I know, this means I have lived up to expectations, lol. Still, deserving of a cheer! Hurray! I expect 2 hours of committed exercise a week, and with a little addition this puts me there, so hurray for my everyday 15. She tells you when you are "almost in fat burning" but I don't need to hear it, I feel it. The 2 water breaks are appreciated.

I meant to say that yesterday I had the loveliest sweet potato! It is the season to find them at their best. I don't buy the gigantic ones. I like ones that, if liquid, would measure between one and 1.5 cups. To me, they seem to cook up better and make a better portion with nothing wasted. (remember, I am alone in my love for sweet potatoes in this house!) If the ready-wrapped ones are reasonably priced, I do sometimes buy them, but I get the same results stabbing one and wrapping in waxed paper.

I've been trying to decide on a couple nutrition books to buy. Our library is not an option, it turns out - very little luck. So I've been perusing Amazon. This evening I reread some of Fit for Life A New Beginning, which is an excellent book.

[Harriet]

How is everyone feeling?

I've stayed closer to my optimal water intake today. I'll add a salad this evening and can feel good about my veggies.

Walked with my ddad.

Tonight I changed it up and after stretch did the mid-portion of the Total workout which is lunges and the balance sequences for a different total of 15-20 mins. Gluteus maximus muscles are protesting a bit. Usually I wouldn't be so formal, but they have earned the respect. If anyone knows this sequence, no, I did not do the runner's stretch. Avoided that punishment!

I was going to tell Harmony and Kathryn that yes I notice Calbom recommends not just the word "organic" be on the label for coconut oil, but also "virgin", and if you can find it, "unrefined" and "cold-pressed". I'll be looking at the organic food store to see if I find one that comes close to her ideal. So far, the one from the grocery is tasty and we like it, but it is expeller pressed and refined. And, right, don't go overboard - she says that since she doesn't have thyroid concerns, she probably uses about 1 tbsp a day, for an additional 40 calories a day. Harmony, I know what you mean and wish there were some guarantee of quantifiable results from foods or products we might choose.

[OKay]

My weight has gone up as I added in more food selection (cheetos, real pizza, etc). I am too close to my goal weight (just 3 more lbs!!) to quit so i am returning to what has been working for me.

My goal weight was established by our family doctor, but this morning i went looking for other official recommendation of height/weight chart for my age group. I found that I am well under the maximum weight if I was in the Army.

Then I ventured into other ways (besides weight/height) to see if I am about the right weight. That lead me to the WHR (Waist Hip Ratio) which I discovered my measurement ratio is not as good as I would like. I am .83 so I need to continue on the weight loss journey a while longer.

Female WHR
• Less than 0.8 - low risk of cardiovascular health problems
• 0.8 to 0.89 - moderate risk of cardiovascular health problems
• 0.9 or over - high risk of cardiovascular problems

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

My temp was up .2 yesterday and down .3 today. So still up but not as much as yesterday so I'm exercising today.

I definitely over did it with housework yesterday. I was pushing through hard in order to keep up with my success on the chore end of things plus to get some aerobic/exercise value from the work. Unfortunately, it knocked me out for the rest of the day.

I'm now behind in my prep for the Asian supper and panicking. I can tell because I woke up at 4:40 and never got back to a full sleep. I don't feel tired but I will by the end of this evening since my day is over busy. And tomorrow is worse.

My weight was down nicely on Wednesday when I weighed myself. Will probably be up today because I pigged out yesterday on dressing (I ended up cooking stuffed pork because I had the points for it and then ate too much.)

I also broke down and had a diet dr. P at my lowest point yesterday and it helped a little bit. The diet gingerale at dinner helped more. My tummy is unsettled with this fever (thus I've been eating less) and I think maybe I need more gingerale to settle it.

Today's eating is out of my hands but not too bad. I'll skip popcorn at the theatre and eat ok at lunch but dinner is at the musician's house so I'll have no control over the calories. She only serves extremely healthy food so it won't be junk but it will be not calorie or fat reduced either.

For the boys at the theatre, I'll buy a large popcorn and decant it into individual brown paper bags so they won't spoil their lunch. I'm also taking plastic cups with lids and dividing up a large gingerale (the one soda they are allowed to have.) For snack at my house in the afternoon, there will be cheese, crackers and veggies with hummus. Plus milk, juice and water.

Must measure my waist/hip ratio. Suspect it will be ok since I have very large hips and a small waist (makes getting pants that don't gape badly hard to find.)

Edited to add: I measured it out to be .73 and then read the wikipedia page and have to remeasure. Probably won't have time to do that until Sunday.

[Harriet]

Happy trip through the produce today at green grocery and even had the produce guy help me a little and chat about some smart buys.

Came home and HRH was amused at how antsy I was to get to the juicer to play...um...experiment! He had Pad Thai, some of the chard I'd brought home, and watched me. In reading a recent interview with Cherie Calbom I saw that she likes to consider one organic cucumber as her base, rather than carrot like I've usually done. She doesn't even peel. So with that base, I added 2 stalks of red swiss chard, a handful of parsley, the bottom few inches of a bunch of asparagus (also a thrifty idea from her - use the rest of the stalk for your pretty vegetable dish), 1 small carrot, 1/2 a small apple and 1/4 of a tray of wheatgrass (I chopped that and the parsley to try to make it easier on the juicer). Very green juice! Tasted just like the ingredients! (Good, but not sweet) About 2 cups, so I've sipped one and will have the other when I get dd home from school.

Bought nutiva brand coconut oil, because it had all the right words on the jar and also said, "product of the Philippines", which I've read has very healthy coconut farms because of the soil there. Happily, per ounce it is the same cost as the grocery's lesser quality brand.

Tobias likes the wheat grass, too, so I'll have to watch him! He can have some but not play in all. (it is still growing in a little flat)

Went for a walk with my ddad.

Hmmm... ... I may have lost my wheatgrass. Orphan Cat discovered it and and just adores it. dd says she hasn't seen Orphan Cat so excited about anything in a long time. I don't see how I can take it back from her. They warn you this can happen. Some people just buy it/grow it for the cat in the first place. Update - I just "planted" it beside her fountain. Oh well.

[Nancy]

Found out that two of four of my Rx's are done this is me focusing on the positive and not that I had a melt down in the car after the 2nd on had to have a req. for fax to be renewed I knew the dr.'s office was closed and next week would be hectic I was so hoping to get these handled today. Big sigh Dee I hear you!

H. is back on bp meds. the machines are off at the w-mart location he has been using ack!

Oh yes snow is half way up the hill and my walk was brisk after lunch got more nuts for the squirrels. The walks always seem to help but this one more than most!

[Lynlee]

walking remains my primary exercise. yoga once or twice a week.
Interesting conversation on coconut oil. I bought my 2nd bottle but have left it a while because of the smell I put down to its use. tmi. Its taken quite a while for "bathroom smell" to disappear. Using rice bran oil as alt as it has high smoke point also - though gi isn't as good.
interesting re thyroid also. without prev med known to suppress it I;ve managed to reduce dose ad raise tsh so its working now. Iodine is supposed to help it do its job so try to inclue iodised salt.
I found cotton, nylon, elastin socks at kmart and bought a 3pack of low anklet socks. Current socks are warned - shoecreep means otd.

[Harriet]

((Nancy)) Oh, also sorry dh is back on that med.

LOL about creepy crawly socks, Lynlee. What else did you do to help your thyroid besides iodized salt, do you think? I am still learning about the different types of coconut oil, and am thinking now that our grocery shouldn't even have stocked it if they weren't going to provide a higher quality one than they did. I'm grateful I live near an organic store large enough to offer 4 choices and that I had just read (one author's opinion of) what to look for.

I am down another 1/2 pound today, so that is 4 pounds since I joined in the enthusiasm here on Oct 1.

I had hoped for 5 pounds a month over a few months, but this is good. I would rather go into Christmas season 5 pounds lighter than not to have tried!!! If 2 pounds a month, so be it. But I am thinking maybe I can get it up from there and start losing at a little faster rate. I think, as I experienced before in my life and as OKay and Cowinkie probably noticed, you can get on a "roll" and when your body agrees to allow the loss, things happen more smoothly. Even if not, I'm trying despite my silly body.

As far as how I felt with going back to juicing yesterday, I felt great all evening and noticed after doing the evening daily card kitchen duty that I had been dancing around the kitchen a bit! This morning I awakened with a neck-ache (not exactly a headache) and don't know if that's related. Didn't last long.