Health and Fitness October, 2011

[OKay]

RE: arthritis - I have traced my arthritis flares to carbonated beverages. My siblings have noticed the same effect. I'm sure this isn't true for everyone, but I find it interesting to observe cause/effect of food/drink on body.

I've reached this months goal weight.....now to maintain this weight loss until the end of the month.

[Harmony]

DH takes glucosamine and chrondroitin and msm for his arthritis and joint problems. He has bad ankle joint that basically has no cartiledge left (he has screws from skiing accident when he was young) and drs. have told him he basically shouldn't be able to walk on that thing, but he's too young for replacement, especially with the work he does, and it's still fairly experimental. If he doesn't take this, he can barely walk, and it's almost immediate, since he's tested that upon traveling to relatives without taking those along.

He once tried to drop the msm and found it is necessary. Last year he went to the liquid version of gluc. & chrond. at s ams and once tried to go back to pills and knows the liquid works much better.

My arthritis comes and goes, and since it is bearable so far, I've not added supplements. Usually a flair will go away in a day or 2. I like the sports rub cream I have, it has aspirin in it. Drs. have said I have some in my spine. Last week my shins were aching, never had a pain in that spot before. (Kathryn).

I am making progress in a couple of my goal areas. A few more check marks. My weight however is still the same, I'm not surprised. I am pleased that at least I weigh less than I did when we moved in here 3 years ago. I guess that is something. It is cooler now so I want to start walking a bit. Yesterday's work in the shop was an eye-opener. Neither of us has any stamina without feeling worn out, and I always thought it was because I don't work hard consistently. DH thinks it is just our age. I guess some slow-down is normal, but I don't know if the way we feel is right for 62 & 63 year olds with no other major health problems. I will keep trying.

[Harriet]

That's a great report, OKay! Congratulations. Thanks for sharing your family's clear experience on carbonation - I have cut back, but I never seem to give it up completely .

As of this morning I was down another half-pound. But losing 3 pounds by the 27th of a 31-day month (and this being the first month of setting the goal, not a second or third after success in a previous month) does not bode well for losing the 5 pounds in one month - something I used to be able to do much more easily. I discussed this a little with dr yesterday and he says he feels my thyroid is definitely balanced and is no longer contributing to the problem. So I don't know what else I can put this down to except the fact that I am older than at the times I could lose more easily. And stress, but I've tried really hard to keep stress from sending me to the fridge, by writing down everything I eat.

I didn't do that yesterday, because I couldn't find out. Yesterday I had a morning smoothie, then while out for appt, picked up a souvlaki plate (it was so big) at the Greek place to go, and had it for both lunch and supper. Only problem is, it's not a national chain so I couldn't find the calories, etc. online. This may have caused me to hold back on eating more since I didn't have a count, and maybe I cut back on calories without knowing! But I was never hungry. Hmmm... ... makes me want to eat the same thing every day until the end of the month!!!

Kathryn, I hope the book you can find turns out to have some info. I remember now that you did go to a rheumatologist. If you felt you wanted to learn to eat to avoid/control rheumatoid arthritis specifically, I think you will find that info is even more available.

Harmony, that is interesting about dh finding a difference between the powdered and liquid form of a supplement. (I'd have to look up msm - don't know that one). Thanks for the personal experience that glu/chon DOES work - ds' doctor told me it was "a waste of his Mom's money" when ds fell off that roof. But I knew I had heard that it did too work! Like OKay said, we have to try to observe cause/effect of food/drink on body. When I read about fresh ginger's help to men who want to avoid prostate cancer, I was glad HRH has been drinking his lemon-mint-ginger water (you grate the ginger root). Then, while glancing around about arthritis yesterday, I saw that for arthritis, Dr. Weil recommends also taking ginger that has been powdered (capsules), because there is a difference in it after it has been dried (he had a long explanation).

I got in the Basic workout last evening.

Emptynester and I have talked about time-of-day for exercise. I gave morning the good ol' college try, but I'm just not as flexible and that does make a difference. Now I seem to have settled in to the evening after my ddad has gone to his room and isn't going to need anything else. Dr. Oz says he gets out of bed in the morning and starts his floor exercises (which to me would require the most flexibility). Hmmm ... ...

Harmony, so many variables for a particular day and stamina. If I slept well the night before, my stamina is completely different, for instance.

[Nancy]

Just got back from a long walk pushing dgd in the stroller, she drifted off to sleep in the beginning I was going to drop her off for h. to keep an eye on while I finished but she woke up enough to "put up a fuss" and said she wanted to go the other way too, so we headed back out she drifted back off to sleep again right after. Any way it is a lovely fall day out. The fresh air is good for both of us.

[Harriet]

Well, maybe you burn more calories pushing, Nancy! How many things we do for children who never have a clue!

I did Basic workout again. I don't want to miss exercising but I don't want to do so much that my muscles retain water, or, more importantly, that I strain anything or lose my momentum/enthusiasm in any other way right now.

Today according to the online calculator, I had more than my usual sugars, which would be a minus, but had less than my usual sodium, a plus, and more than my usual protein, a plus. My fingers tell a somewhat different story, as they are a bit puffy. Hmmm... ... But if I believe the calculator, I should be as likely to have a loss tomorrow as any other day. One guess is as good as another! Oh, I just remembered I didn't put in the barbecue sauce I had with the chicken. Oops. That will track things more to the minus side. I still think keeping track of every thing I eat is valuable.

Tomorrow I'll have a tough day with a lot to do and then for the weekend, we'll have houseguests who won't be on the same weight mindset as I am AT ALL. Hope I can keep up my resolve.

[Nancy]

Back from my walk 2 mi. pushing stroller today.
Had an item I forgot when I was there earlier.

Christmas Crunch was my down fall today so figured I'd better get a bit more exercise in
I'll get on the exercise bike before the day is out too.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Yesterday I finally had a 6 in the right place on the scale. I'm sure it won't be there today but it does indicated downward progress, more 170s than 171s and now a 169.

My period is due today so if my weight stays at 170 that would also count as a loss in my mind.

I skipped the treadmill yesterday but did get a walk in.

I'm back to eating my cereal in the morning, softening it with hot water before adding my milk and berries. And I still have a good number of soft foods in the house so I'll keep up with them for as long as I can stand it. Last night's shepherd's pie had bacon slices on top but I cut them up small and ground them up with molars and was fine. I'm grating carrots now to eat when I'm craving raw veggies and my Pampered Chef chopper cuts anything else crunchy up to be manageable.

I picked up Dr. Weil's Healthy Aging last night and will look it over. He's more open to alternative things (like bee sting therapy) than the other book at the library. In its section on arthritis it said that many doctor's still don't believe in dietary control but here's what works for many people (as reported from reasonable sized studies.)

I had heard about carbonated drinks before, especially aspartame. I really should cut it out again but find it the most difficult of my bad habits to ditch. On the ship, I can give up chips and popcorn (although I do get nuts for my 'salty') but I find I still stick with soft drinks, in a lower quantity than home but I can't cut them out entirely.

[Harriet]

Well, I must admit bee-sting therapy needs to be put in a capsule to be swallowed before I could ...um...embrace it. I do feel a bit gratified and also a bit anxious , lol, to think Kathryn took suggestion from me to check into an author.

It is Saaaaaturday. And I have lost another half-pound (actually 1 pound from previous Saturday, but I had reported early), so that's 3.5 pounds on the 29th of the month. Not stellar, but each little drib makes me feel better. HRH brought home Chinese last evening because of dd31's family's early arrival. I guess I was so scared of the food's affect on me that my small portions worked to my advantage. Looking at the plate, as per recent recommendations, the greatest "slice" was taken up by "space".

Exercise? Well, I picked up a one-year-old a lot last evening!!!

[OKay]

****CLAPPING in support of the effort & those smaller numbers showing up on the scales*****

I am failing on having a structured exercise program. It remains on my goal list, but I haven't committed to a fresh start date......yet.

[Nancy]

Shopping = walking and I did a 10-15 min. time on the mini ex. pedal thinging today for my exercises.