Health and Fitness May, 2012

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

I'm having trouble keeping my heart rate up now on the treadmill. When I push it, fine, but then at 2% grade and 3.2 mph it slips down below 70% of max. This is a sign I'm getting stronger, but I can't type at any higher speed so using the internet becomes more difficult and any higher grade for the whole workout bothers my back. I go up to 8% grade, 1% per minute from 5 during one song, but I can't do the whole workout that way.

And today, the HRM wrist receiver isn't working (the one on the treadmill is working but I have to lower my computer lid to see it.)

Sigh....

Skipped working out yesterday and had bad eating days 5 days in a row now. Last night's dinner (church supper at Presbytery) was chicken in a cream sauce, salad with dressing already applied and rice so I was doomed before I had the roll and cake after. Plus there was no water when I went to get a drink so I had lemonade instead (I couldn't wait because getting in/out of my seat in middle of the long table was hard.)

On the plus side, barely any blood yesterday and none upon waking this morning. I may have finally stopped bleeding after 30 days. Fingers crossed (I'll know better when I finish the workout - all the jostling might start things again.)

That doesn't mean I won't have to take full protection with me on the trip, though, because I never know when it will start up again. It was due to start again last week but since it never stopped from the previous start, I don't know what to expect.

I haven't weighed myself since Thursday so can't say what is happening there but suspect my tummy is larger.

Edited to add: forgot to weigh myself but I think I can say the bleeding has stopped. It has been over 24 hours since any sign of blood at all. Yay!

[Lynlee]

I hope you have a reprieve for a while Kathryn. It can really be wearing.
Try looking up interval workouts. They are supposed to really help. I think the ratio is 8 min could talk and walk, 2 min intensive push it, repeat. I'n not sure how many cycles.
That was per Flyladys friend Johnaton when I used belong to free newo group.From my memory so you might want to check the information.

New yoga teacher will be good. We just need figure out a way around music from spin class at gym. Maybe going back to old time slot if we can.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

I do a 2 minute speed push near the beginning and then another push for 5 minutes second last song (that's when I do incline not speed.) In between my rate is dropping back into moderate and since the watch receiver isn't working, I don't notice (the treadmill display is blocked by my laptop.) I'll have to find another fast song to add in the middle of workout and take out one of my 'regular' (i.e. beat is about 3.2 mph) songs.

No bleeding again this morning (and forgot to take my pills yesterday afternoon and this morning.

Dh is no longer waking me up early. I had the light come on this morning because he had a conference call at 8 but he still slept through until 6:30. He says he's waking a lot in the night with nightmares. I was up at 5 because the wind changed and suddenly there was a cool breeze, and since he's between me and the window, maybe that's the problem. I'll open our other bedroom window tonight so he'll be in a draft-free zone.

[Nancy]

Windy day and granny duty until five so stayed inside dgd slept pushing back my walk until after dinner down the hill where the wind was less glad to get it in last night and today my bs is perfect at #125 best It's been in a week! A good way to begin my day. No wind today so maybe we can take a walk later on. Cooler temps out so we will need jackets.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Finally remembered my Heart Rate monitor on our walk. Yes, I'm in the high zone if I push myself. The last few days we've been dealing with rain or the threat of so that's been easy. Confirmed that when I push it, it takes just 14 minutes to walk to the general store so we are averaging 3.4 mph. Pretty good.

Weighed myself yesterday after s2s and was 170 so took off my pants and top and was 169. Yay! This means I haven't gained any weight despite my poor food choices. Restarted WW (for second time this week) and did fine. Subway really seems to help me keep within my points because I can eat a lot of food for few points.

[Nancy]

K in c Yea for remembering your heart monitor on you walk way to go! That reminds me I could put on my pedometer!

I did a walk with dgd she did not want to ride in the stroller so walked 1/2 mi. was saying her legs hurt after about half way around the loop on the route but she made it! I finished the rest of my walk after dinner.

This year I've decided to forgo the mom's day thingie at the other church we used to go to because of the pitfalls for diet there.

Mowing is done plus a one mi. walk for today's exercise.

Sat. exercise was a walk and gardening!

[Harriet]

Weighing with clothes on - never. Only when I weigh a cat (which is a subtraction exercise only). I have only recently admitted that I can weigh with panties and my watch on. It has occurred to me at times to try weighing without my glasses, but how could i read the scale?

Congratulations on a new middle numeral, Kathryn. I hope your trip allows you plenty of thoughtful time for food decisions.

Congratulations on a great bs number, Nancy.

The conversation with Harmony and later web-surfing about ICR, Intermittent Calorie Restriction, has reminded me of this tool for weight loss. Strangely, it was even mentioned in the other day's Mercola newsletter, and Dr. Mercola says he has relaxed his former advice against IF intermittent fasting (which of course is a stricter thing, but similar - he was never against ICR). Recent studies have proved Dr. Johnson's theories further. Anyway, I am going to alternate between high and low calories in a casual way for a while and see how that goes. I won't go over 2,000 or under 500. In fact, I probably won't press either number too closely.

Harmony, how are you feeling?

[Harmony]

Everybody sounds so much more diligent than I am with all this.

Thanks for asking, Harriet. Some days are good, others not so much. I'm still monitoring my fiber. Now I'm trying to figure out which things specifically I ate that caused the next morning to be normal. I suspect it's not only the grams of fiber, there must be something else to it.

I do know, getting off track and having problems messes things up for another few days, getting back to normal again, and that causes almost constant cramping pain. And then some days I get lucky and things are normal and I just feel so comfortable inside. I held my breath and had long grain/wild rice yesterday and today was so good...was this it? I don't know.

Weight is up a little. Making lunch for the guys most days, I have things in my house I didn't usually stock up on. Chips. They sit on the counter and call for me. Cheese and lunchmeat in the refrigerator. ..sigh.... DH brought ice cream home again.. the big size.

I weigh in underwear and glasses, and never after a shower with wet hair! I'd sure like to see the numbers go down, though in the mirror I'm thinking I look a bit better. Bloated tummy is not attractive, and I'm happy when I don't see that.

[Harriet]

What great TRUTH re: bloated tummy is not attractive. In fact, any large waist at all is not attractive. I know Kathryn and others with smaller waist/larger hip ratios have their own woes, but it has got to be easier to nip in a waistline on hip-friendly pants (even with a safety pin or something) than to search for the most e-l-a-s-t-i-c of the elastic waistbands to make the tummy happy and then you still don't look right because of the saggy bottom!!!! I'm very hopeful that my tummy has been more affected by HFCS than I knew, and omitting it will help. Reading about stress contribution to larger waists makes me stressed, because I fear I can do little about it.

Very wise to be a Sherlock Holmes and ask yourself what happened yesterday that made things right or wrong today.

On what type/what grams of fiber: I have about decided that I can't manage without a big tossed salad a day. If not, then I need to have considerable other high-water-content veggies in other ways to replace it. Fruit breakfast alone is not enough. Veggie stick tray can take the place of a salad for variety, but lean it toward cukes/celery for water content - in fact, I greatly enjoy cuke-sticks, which are underrated on veggie trays. Was HIGHLY complimented on trays for entertaining that included asparagus cut the same length as other veggies. Bell pepper and onions chopped together is a great go-to decision to sneak in an additional veggie serving in a main dish - pizza, omelet, in spaghetti sauce, fajitas. Red bell pepper is expensive, but makes extra veggie content more appetizing.

Oatmeal, fiber cereal, all great, but I need that foundation of high-water-content veggies or the grain fibers won't make me feel well.

[Lynlee]

http://ginews.blogspot.com.au/
link to low GI newsletter.
In it there was a link to a dietians - ben Schnapnel. I read the full article on "Seven problems with the Dietary Guidelines" that covered many factors of diet ( and disbelief in Aust new guidelines) also listed on his blog page was an article refuting of the HFCS damning by Lustig - the 1hr.30 video link I posted some time ago.
Who is right - I have no idea.

Whole foods that satisfy is my basic requirement.