Health & Fitness August 2012

[Harriet]

Lilac, I think you are wise to schedule your series of A1C tests in a way that will show a trend. If the doctor just wanted to see you in the office in 6 weeks, though, that might be sensible. Glad you may be posting more with us.

It's nice you got so many different types of exercise in, Nancy.

How are the hands looking, Harmony?

Cowinkie, I love record keeping of healthy habits. I think "My Calorie Counter" was really state of the art when I began using it, but it doesn't have particularly good charting. (There's also a "scale" that is a clever moving graphic but after you've seen it once, you've seen it.) Also, there is nothing forward-looking or predictive like what you've mentioned at "myfitnesspal". Still, as I've said before, all my info is there right now and I tend to want to stay with it. The database of foods is extensive, it tracks most daily input factors (Fat Chol Sod Crb Fib Sug Pro) except how much food input of vitamins, which even the old Slim Fast site used to track way back in the day, and the articles each day are pretty good.

All my T-Tapp workouts and measurements are kept on a calendar sheet. I print it out and write things in and then 3-hole-punch and keep in a binder.

The fridge 4x6 index card for my daily 14 Healthy Habits is a lot of help and on the back I write the weight at which I started and any change through the half-month. I know it sounds like I must do a lot of record keeping, but it only takes a few minutes a day.

[Cowinkie]

I did my pilate class today. Who knew stretching would cause one to sweat so much.
Stayed on my eating plan. Bought Sweetie nuts at the store and they are tempting me big time. However my scale said 138.8 this morning and I believe if I stay the course I will meet my next goal of 135 by next Monday. That helps to motivate me.
Big challenge will be tomorrow night. We are eating out with friends and they chose Mexican. Will look for a salad to eat, but the chips one the table will be calling my name

[Harmony]

My hands are much improved. I can see the areas which are a redder shade and also have more lines (scars?) and a small area that's trying to scale, but no raw spots. No itching. I am still putting on the salve at night and wearing the plastic gloves for 1 hour. I am avoiding water and soaps of all types (except for the shower) like the plague. Kitchen duties are all done with rubber gloves. Thanks for asking.

[Harriet]

helia, as far as a recommendation for video workout for the torso, my own answer is the T-Tapp series. The idea is developing muscle density and spinal alignment, so that the muscles work like girdles again and cinch us in and up again the way they did when we were younger. Teresa Tapp is a physical therapist and did her Masters thesis on the female body after 30, so she also focuses on rehabilitation of joints, plus hormone and lymph concepts.

The reasons I chose this and have continued for so long are two-fold. First, I have the figure flaw of a large waistline, which is party inherited, partly the result of a pregnancy after 40. When I am consistent with T-Tapp and hold my weight down, I correct this figure flaw relatively well. Second, and going hand-in-hand with this, is my potential for lower back pain. I truly need to keep my lower back strengthened with safe exercise or risk being bedridden for a couple days every time I "move wrong", and I'm sick of that.

The learning curve for T-Tapp is long, to perfect the form and all the isometric tension. You are thinking all the time. But after learning, the time spent in workouts is short compared to other types because it's efficient. To learn the Basic, which is a 15-minute workout suitable for everyday, you have a 45-minute Instructional video that takes a week or two to master. The next is "Total", which also has a 45-minute Instructional, but any further workouts (floor, walking, hormonal, rehab) don't require pre-instruction. No equipment, weights or impact. There is no music on any workout because there are constant reminders of form, with a lot to think about, a lot of mind-body concepts. T-Tapp is also not cheap, as you can imagine. Tapp herself is a calm, encouraging instructor with a modulated voice, very poised.

So you can see there are pluses and minuses to the one I do.

I know I can always do P90X or CrossFit, either of which my son will loan me or whatever, but I don't intend to have my son's lifestyle of intense physical emphasis/career, and I don't think those would be good for me, either. Too rough, and too much potential for injury.

Others - I also own Richard Simmons, Zumba, several hula-hoop, The Firm and Bob Harper (who is the other Biggest Loser trainer) and I do sometimes switch up and do one of these just for fun with dd. Certainly hula-hooping deserves much more credit than it gets as an exercise, but it takes a LOT of space and gets loud. The rest are good for overall fitness but don't specifically target the core. I've heard that Callen-etics is good for the torso - that was an older workout before my time, which later had a comeback, and I just missed it in the middle, have not tried it myself. To see a big variety of video workouts at once, the "Collage" online site and catalog is good, with everything from yoga to bellydance.

Bottom line is, the right workout is the one you will DO. Video workouts are private, forgiving, ready in an instant, non-weather-dependent, and (in some cases) offer instruction from people that are way beyond expert.

[Cowinkie]

There are several ways to "try" a certain exercise DVD before you buy it.

Go to YouTube and search for the particular DVD. There are always videos to view. Also you can google the exercise DVD and write video right after it. Usually google will direct you to specific sites for you to view. Public libraries carry exercise DVDs that you can take out. I have several DVDs at home including shred, but I don't like the way michael's presents the the exercises . Loved her on the show but not on her DVDs. Since I regularly participate in group classes at the gym, I find home exercise DVDs lacking. May just be me.

I do have weights at home....in all different sizes. Older people need to add weight train...better to say strength training to their program. I'm not talking about becoming the Hulk. 20 minutes with 2,3,5 or 8lbs hand weights every other day will do the trick. Plus additional benefit is once you work out, your body will continue to burn extra calories for the next 48 hrs...that by the way is a fact, not just wishful thinking and the reason you are told to only strength train every other day. My classes at the gym incorporate weights and I like that.

I'm not going to the gym today...but my weights are waiting in my office. Yesterday I bought two 3 lb weights cause they're the most popular at the gym and everyone wants to use them this way I have my own. They cost me $4 each.

[Nancy]

I walked today for ex. this a.m. & I did the watering outside.

I made apple sauce today with a few plums and peaches in for added flavor today with out sugar or spices.

[helia]

Thank you Harriet and Cowinkie. I found a short intro clip on youtube and did it -- for 5 min. It was working upper body and I can still feel it. LOL! I like the emphasis on keeping hips tucked in. I had a herniated disc at age 19 that can bother me if I'm not careful, especially if I don't exercise, so I appreciate the proper back position. I might go ahead and order T Tapp and compare with the 30 day shred. T Tapp might be a nice complement to my jogging routine.

Funny note. . .I always thought T Tapp was dance-based, as in "tap" dancing, so I never seriously considered t b/c I'm not a great dancer. LOL!

[Harmony]

Today I found out that I am another inch shorter. RATS! I've previously lost half an inch, so that makes 1 1/2" gone somewhere. I try to have good posture, but oh well, that's old age for ya.

[Harriet]

helia, I think she gets a lot of that (tap-dance assumption). I'm glad you found it gave your muscles a good challenge.

Dd enjoyed some kind of dance game on Wii at the recent sleepover and is nagging to get it. Must really be nice. I told her Cowinkie's point about how you can always find short vids these days of the ones you like on YouTube just to try them out. But she says that doesn't work with this because it's a Wii fitness game, and You Tube can't show how the game is played. Oh well.

Also collagevideo.com has a mini-video to view online of every DVD they sell.

Hmmm... ...Harmony, that actually sounds like a lot of height loss for you, as young and active as you are. Remember, dr's office scales are notoriously inaccurate, so why trust their other measuring supplies? Why don't you and dh check it out yourselves at home, too. He might know how to measure. ROFLOL!

Lots of exercise programs suggest they may be able to restore some height, Harmony. When I glanced at Callen-etics information to make sure I was stating it right for helia, I noticed it did. (Google "Callenetics taller") And there are many posts on the T-Tapp boards that say people's height increased. The trainer who taught me and NCShe at the workshop we attended, Kirsten, had been able to document that she gained 1 inch back in height during the calendar year 2005. So you never know.

I'm still pleased with holding my weight loss while getting workouts in, eating according to plan.

[Lilac]

I have had 3 days of keeping both my bs and calories where I want them. I can't remember if I mentioned that I have 5 lbs that I keep gaining and losing that I call floating lbs. I need to get them off, so I can tackle a solid 5 lbs. that I want to lose. My class reunion is the last weekend in Sept. I want to have as much of it lost by then as I can. I have new capris that I want to wear. I can fit in them but that doesn't mean they look good right now. These were bought before the floating lbs. arrived.

I have walked an hour a day, for 11 days straight, except for the last day dd1 could walk with me during the week, it sprinkled and cut our walk short. Out of the last 9 days, I have walked 7 of them by myself. Dd1 and I walked both Saturday and Sunday evening. It is getting easier for me to walk that hour by myself. I find that I get a much better workout, because without my jaws flapping, I walk faster.