Health and Fitness, September, 2010

[Nancy]

Harriet I'm taking Levothroxin.

Got an arm work out on my walk yesterday carrying purchases home from a yard sale.
Surprising how heavy fabric can be! LOL!

Then I mowed the high spots in the grass later on.
Walked a bit more like an evening stroll at the fishing hole saw a fawn with spots in the brush
while I was checking out berry bushes! That was fun!

[Harriet]

HRH has lost 14 pounds in 4 weeks on NS-D. It definitely happens quicker for a man, doesn't it? Also, of course, this was the beginning, and you do always lose the most at first, no matter what the plan.

Dstepdil came to see him for bday today and told him he must be tougher than she, because she tried NS and had to give it up. They compared notes and discovered that she had ordered a lot of the egg breakfasts without realizing how much she would dislike the powdered eggs, so got off on the wrong foot many mornings with disappointment. He ordered none of those, since we have all the eggs we want here, and he was looking for variety with low-glycemic muffins, pancakes, bars. So he usually had a pretty contented breakfast and could have an egg with it if he wanted anyway (supposed to choose an extra protein.)

So that's the weight loss verdict; the taste verdict was "I don't hate it" ; and we'll find out a blood-sugar/A1C verdict at the first of next week.

[Harriet]

That's wonderful, OKay

Some funny lines from the article Okay suggested:

not green beans, but the grown-up kind.

they (beans) are so cheap it's almost ridiculous. That may be what keeps people from eating them.

Beans are actually a vegetable, but they're high enough in protein that the government also considers them a meat substitute. Since they fit into two food groups, they're often lost in the shuffle.

(this fascinates me, since we’ve just talked about how NS considers them a carb for the purposes of a low-glycemic diet!)

Take the pinto out for a spin.

Finally, you don't need to stop eating eggs. Yes they have cholesterol, but the cholesterol in your diet isn't much of an issue. Saturated fat is what really can raise your serum cholesterol, and eggs are low in saturated fat.
Read that last sentence again and please commit it to memory. There isn't a week that goes by that I don't get the egg question. Thank you in advance.

Was very interested to read about the almonds and just assume he omitted that you need that many per day.
Never heard of the drink.

I've forwarded the article on to HRH because he is very fond of pintos and will be glad to read they got good reviews. I like blackeyed peas - OKay have you ever heard how to learn the differences in the beans, as for as just how good each one is? Do you almost always have pintos?

[Indiana]

I have been reading about the soluble fiber in beans too.

I found this:

http://uvahealth.com/services/digestive ... -fiber.pdf

I don't mean to step on your toes OKay with an answer I just thought it was a great chart for someone starting.

An article I read said you need a serving of beans 5 times a week. To lower cholesterol and to help with diabetes.

[Indiana]

I like the SELF Nutrition Data site more and more. This is the first site I have found that has all my needs and no-nos in one place.

Besides the stand fat, carbs, protein, & sodium it also shows - Vitamin B-12, Vitamin K, Potassium, and magnesium. It is the best site ever.

[Harriet]

Indiana, then from your reading (and that site and the trial of pintos and blackeyes in OKay's article) do you think we can assume lima beans would be even better at lowering cholesterol, since they have more soluble fiber? (blackeyes having only half of pinto's amount)

I find this fascinating, since I would love to surprise my dr a little bit, like OKay did!

Dvetneighbor scrutinized my eyebrows and listened to my symptoms and says she does not think I am rapidly changing to hypothyroid yet, at least. So taking some time to consider this is not a bad thing in her opinion. Waiting for input from 2 other IRL friends who have thoughts. Cowinkie, because you mentioned it (thanks), I read that one marker is how long it takes you to fall asleep (on average - of course sometimes we all have a hard time) and I was pleased to remember that, although often interrupted by circumstance, I do fall asleep rather quickly.

Some reading I've done suggests I'd better check my ferritin levels (stored iron) because low ferritin goes hand in hand with hypothyroid. And the ability to assimilate iron from meals can affect hair - some people begin to need to add enzymes to their meals or they literally won't get the iron out of them.

[Indiana]

Harriet yes that is what I got from it lima's are the best.

Beside my thryoid test showing low thyroid I also had symptoms - dry skin, and a few others. I don't remember the other symptoms I had.

[blessedw2]

so happy for your dh dharriet!
keep up the work hrh.

great arm work out dnancy

great job on lowering your cholesteral.. beans really work? how do you add them to recipies. I am not a bean person (hiding in shame) but I want to learn

[Nancy]

On my walk yesterday I saw six deer one was a buck with a small rack and two does, one had a fawn and the other had twins.

Then I stopped and chatted with a neighbor I had not talked to for a while.
So ...
I took another walk in the evening at dusk this one was longer at sunset lovely to see and
brisk and I did not stop to talk to any one.

[B.s. was up a bit today must be hormonal activity. ]

[OKay]

I never met a legume/bean that I didn't like. However, DH will only eat Pinto Beans so that is what I cook 99% of the time.

When the subject of beans comes up, I often think of Shadow Dancer (remember her from the old SHe boards?). I believe it was her that told about how they keep a pot of beans on stove year round in Puerto Rico. Each morning they boil them hard to kill any germs. I wish i could visit with her about their tradition of eating beans daily. I found it fascinating.