Health and Fitness, November, 2009

[Nancy]

Thanks for the feed back;
I've changed vits. calcium "extra" is not working so well for me
so I'll be going back to the regular ones soon. The balance of
magnesium is not right for me system.
I really need the fiber and have been missing fruit lately.

As for Harriet I've been wondering the answer to Harmony's q. also.
Good numbers for Harriet's dh.

Don't know right off the carb counts of the fruits mentioned but
I'm sure a web search will give you that info. the neighbor said
pears made his sugar go way up; so when I had a low reading
I had about 1/3rd of a large one to get it back up.

Last night my bs was nearly #200 eeks before dinner
usually it's high before bed not at dinner I've been
fighting a bug, today my reading was #71 when I got up.

Breakfast was a ch. chip muffin small cup cake size 19 g. of carb.
love the back of the Schwan's box for learning carbs. Huge ones are
3x that and large ones double that! I have cocoa in my coffee which is part decafe'.
I've found a diet cocoa with only 4 g. carbs. plus one for sugar free creamer.
I'll have some peanuts for my mid morning snack.
If I get hungry I'll have an egg. Speaking of eggs.
I need to make up some deviled eggs, have the boiled and peeled so that should
go fast. Eggs are low in carbs look on the carton one or two g. of carb.
as is cheese some is 0 depends on the kind.

Breakfast most days during the week I have cheerios 20 g. of carbs plus 6g of carbs.
for 1/2 cup. of milk, with my cocoa in coffee and creamer
so that's 30 g. of carbs.

Dinner Last night had an Arby's roast burger 34 g. of carbs
plus 6 g. of carbs for sugar free pudding. 40 carbs for that meal.

Lunch soup Cambell's chunky split pea w/ ham for 1 cup serving 5 grams of fiber;
30 carbs, and 1/2 cup of apple sauce 19 carbs was my lunch today
49 carbs total. 30 - 40 is my recommended limit of carbs per meal
but I really needed the fiber in the applesauce have not had it in a month or so.
So I splurged a bit.
Blood sugar was good #93 when I took it before lunch.

[Harriet]

I appreciate you guys helping me think this out!

Doctor's been talking about me coming off the Nexxium ever since he prescribed it. So the timetable is really not much of a surprise, I guess. However, I may call and ask if I can do anything to help the process be less difficult. I wonder if it could happen gradually somehow, through either dosage or timing. He does say there is "no quick fix" (his words) and I will probably have to help my system heal through diet for quite a while.

Today my dmom's swallowing therapist was very helpful. She says instead of the morning med time, she would suggest I now move the pill to 30- to 60 mins before my largest meal of the day. She seemed to think I could move the timing of the pill without a problem. She also gave me a handout that suggested scheduling exercise 2 hours after a meal - that's the first I'd heard of that.

As of this evening, the verdict on the mostly raw veggies eating is a positive one. Dstepson came by and started feeling so sorry for me. But I've been fine. He doesn't understand that I would gladly give up a few enjoyable meals to get past the discomfort. I haven't been especially hungry - did hear (not feel) my stomach growl while at the therapy appt., but just a little, and I ate immediately upon getting home. I've been comfortable. I think the olive oil has made all the difference in being content with just veggies. But I'm sorta glad the 2 days are over.

About fruits being a surprise - when HRH was taking his blood sugar readings, watermelon spiked his super-high. We were surprised because we misunderstood - watermelon may seem light, and it's true that it's full of water, but it is so fruit-sugary.

Harmony, when you say you are losing your belly fat, are you serious that you are shrinking at the middle? They say cardio will do that. And I guess you are doing mostly cardio activity. Sounds wonderful. I wish you frustrating battles with waistlines that are too big - hope you have to use safety pins.

Nancy, I thought of a product you might like. Almond Breeze, which is an almond milk, sold in stay-fresh boxes on grocery shelves. The carbs on the "original unsweetened" one are low - 2 carbs and 40 calories per cup. And I think the sweetened one is not bad either, but I don't have it here to read - I know the calories are 70 per cup. I just have it like milk, take my supplements with it, that sort of thing. Using it on cereal seems like it would work fine to me. The taste is different but it's a good different. It might help you lower breakfast carbs and splurge on something else. Just a thought.

[Nancy]

Harriet thanks for thinking of me
when you saw the almond milk
sounds great I'd be on that in a heart beat
if I was not allergic to nuts!

Dinner was good!
Salad
pork and tomato sauce on a bun *
sug. free pudding. 49 carbs.
#88 blood sugar reading was good before dinner tonight.
I'm feeling better too.
Having some tea while I type this up.

* I look for small hamburger bun when I shop and found some that have 21 carbs.
better than two slices bread at apx. 19 carbs. each.

[Harmony]

Interesting reading here lately.

Harriet, belly fat I'm referring to is more correctly referred to as abdominal fat. The pouch in front. Also, right away I noticed directly below my ribs, on either side, (half-way from belly button to side) a little hollow spot! Would that be my midriff?

It is also nice that the sports bras I wear no longer feel like tourniquets!

I've always been pretty proportioned, just a little too much at each spot. Some people carry their weight in one spot or another, mine just is nicely distributed! I'd just like to have a little less of it.

Hoping to be close to 150 by the end of the month or in my wildest dreams, out of the 150's.

[sherinjoy]

Changing subjects from weight loss to dry skin for Harriet - she asked about it the other day and it's something I've dealt with for years. I am very fair skinned (white as a ghost!) and have dry, thin skin. My dermatologist recommended the following combination and I have used it to successfully keep the dry, itchy feeling at bay for several years, although winter is the worst because of being indoors with the heater on.
Amlactin body lotion - used to be a prescription item, but now sold in Costco and other stores. Use on legs and arms, neck - exposed skin which drys out the most. I put it on right after my shower in the morning to seal in moisture.
Udderly Smooth udder cream - 12 oz. jar, uddercream.com, I buy online through drugstore.com for best price. I use this on the soles/heels of my feet, and elbows, skin areas that get so dry they crack. This has really worked for me to keep my feet soft. I put on in the morning before socks to keep soles/heels moist.
Aveeno moisturizer as general moisturizer during the day for body and hands after washing. I use all Aveeno products from body wash (no soap - too drying) to facial wash to facial moisturizer with sun block SPF 20 year-round.
Showers - in winter, no long, hot shower water, keep it short and med. temp.

Sorry about the novel, but it was something I have info on and wanted to share with others in case it could help.

[Harmony]

I've also had lots of dry skin issues. And allergic rashes.

I am also a pale-face! But, if I keep some little tan on my skin the texture of my skin changes completely. It seems thicker, less dry, more resilient. Everywhere, my face, hands, body.

I use spf15 at the beach or I'll burn, but I don't use a lot and we don't stay in the sun a long long time. It is enough that I don't burn but I still do slowly tan a little.

My dermatologist had advised me to get some sun and the texture of my skin would change. He was right.

I do have to use some moisturizer on a couple areas of my face once in a while and on my hands if I'm in dishwater some. I've heard though that the more moisturizer you use the less your skin will produce. I think that's true. I think it's an inside job, really, you have to get enough omega oils in your diet for your body to produce it for your skin. I need to work on that.

[blessedw2]

good morning. I have gotten up to 40 minutes at 2.5 mph never thought it would happen. it may seem small for many but for me its taken me 2 weeks to get here. 16 minutes the first day at 1.5


cheering all of you on *\o/*

[blessedw2]

the udder cream used to work for my sister in law who milked cows. she said it really helped her dry dry hands.

[Harmony]

By the way, Udder Cream is my all time favorite too. I believe quilters use it because it doesn't stain their cloth. I had read that bag balm is equally as good, but does leave stains on the cloth.

[Harriet]

blessed, WOW. That is strength and stamina building! Very impressive. 40 minutes is a good long workout for me.

Oh, thank you sherinjoy for the list - I already have Aveeno moisturizing skin cream for hands. I will look into the other products. I realize that, for my hands, one big problem is washing dishes so much, at two different houses, often after I just come inside or am just going outside. Yes, brief showers at lower temp in winter - I was actually advised by doctor to cut my number of showers per week by half in very dry low-humidity times.

I was able to attend the workshop, and saw the same trainer I had a few years ago - we had our photo made together which pleases me and she talked out some acid issues and experiences with me, made some recommendations. NCShe was not able to attend this time but I made some new friends and had fun. My muscles are still "humming" with so much blood pumping and muscle movement that we did. Learned a lot! Had my form corrected some (blush, grin!) and also found that I was doing a lot of things right.