Health and Fitness November, 2012

[Nancy]

Trying to spread out carb eating sigh a challenge.
Got a tky. san. last night from leftovers.
Pie is nearly gone.

Did a couple mi. extra on the ex. bike last night.
Plus I walked as well I think trying to remember...
Raked leaves yesterday and today.
Will hit the ex. bike later on.
Leaves need to be bagged up.

The chickens water was frozen today first time that's happened so I'll be taking warm tap water out with me in a bucket after this when it's frosty outside in the mornings. They went to the part of the yard that was sunny and frost had melted then back in to the pen for a bit. They seem happy!

[OKay]

Thanks for asking about me.

I come here almost daily. I get motivation and inspiration from reading about others efforts and accomplishments.

I am not going to reach this months weight loss goal. However I am making better choices and am staying aware of what I am eating.

[Harriet]

Checking in Day One

No sweetened drinks – Check!

Exercise - Check!
First 3rd of Total workout, 15 mins. Also walking

8 cups of water – Check!

5 veggie/fruits – Check!
apple (1), ½ cup sw potato (1), toss salad (2), eggplant burger patty* (1)

Supplements – Check!

* Yes, there was such a productin my grocer's freezer. Tastes good, too! It's better for me than SOME veggie patties because eggplant (being the veggie) is actually the first ingredient. In many, soy is the first ingredient, not so good for the thyroid. When I get to the healthy food store I'll shop the Amy's brand and maybe do a little better. I fried in coconut oil, served with lettuce and condiments on a nice sesame bun.

OKay, yes this is where I come for motivation, too! Being aware is HUGE. It's when we are in denial or sidetracked and have blinders on that our habits lose traction!

Nancy, you do have a challenge to moderate your carb intake through the day, but you have learned so much.

Kathryn, I get that effect from creativity. When my brain is sparked by fun problem-solving I forget to eat.

Lynlee, great yoga report - wise instructors. It is so hard to be sure if a supplement is helping - sometimes believing in the studies enough to give it enough time to "work" proves out.

Harmony, I gain weight when the grandchildren are all here. Even good stress causes me stress eating, and they are the very pitter-patter of good stress. My idea is that even though I will be busy and need to calendar well, I won't have social situations again for 4 weeks so in theory I can c-a-l-m it d-o-w-n and get the habits back.

Now it's time for the healthy habit of a good night's sleep.

[Harriet]

And just when I'm trying for "better" something comes along to remind me of those trying for "best".

HRH's digestive doctor's office sent out an email over Thanksgiving and this was part.

So here's ONE ideal, from the vantage point of reducing inflammation in our bodies, which is highly desirable.

Dr. Weil's Food Pyramid

Am I ready for my 5 veggies/fruits, THEN adding 4, AND not even counting beans in the total? Probably not, but I am interested to see the recommendation.

One omission I see here (and of course there was very little space in each place) is virgin coconut oil, which would be excellent under fats and nuts. Weil has stated he is "increasingly persuaded" about its health benefits. I wouldn't take the soy advice, but then I have a particular concern about thyroid that others don't have. I think limiting to such a tiny amount of sweets like quality chocolate would be discouraging! If there is anything Weil has been criticized for in this idea, it's the lack of fats in general. Many think his advocacy of taking all skin off chicken, eating animal protein only twice a week, etc. is way too strict in this day and age of knowing more about where heart attacks really come from. Obviously, the Paleo diet folks look askance at this pyramid. Still, its worth studying, and would offer protection against the threat of hormones in meat.

[Nancy]

I try to eat most of my carbs. for breakfast and lunch.

Ex. bike done 4 mi. this morning.

[Harriet]

Checking in Day Two

No sweetened drinks – Check!

Exercise - Check!
20 more mins. of T-Tapp Total

8 cups of water – Check!

5 veggie/fruits – Check!
banana (1), ½ cup sw potato (1), carrot salad (1), small toss salad (1), veggie wrap(1)

Supplements – Check!

[Harmony]

That's an interesting pyramid. Uneven stack of food it looked like!

Eating like the low acid book suggests, I had banished the chronic cough. I did realize this diet was less healthy in other aspects than other diets, since lots of vegetables and fruits especially are high in acids. I found myself having more carbs than I used to. Thanksgiving and it leftovers has been my downfall. My cough is back. I was awake much of the night. My coffee consumption has crept up too. I will fight my way back down from this unhealthy (for me) plateau.

I lent my acid book to a friend who began chatting about her problem...and she's been on the phone wanting to thank me quite profusely so I must call and see what's up.

Interesting dr. visit today. Weighing at home with only PJ's on, I was at the top of the scale numbers for me. At the dr. office - after a banana and coffee, and dressed in corduroy pants (heavy) it registered 2 pounds lighter on their super duper slidey weight type scale. Go figure.

Dr. assures me my hair will begin to thicken back up and my skin will lose it's thin thin quality and be healthier. Crossing my fingers she is 100% correct. I think she was very astute with her questions, assessing my overall health. She asked me about Thanksgiving, where did I go, etc. and I said I had it at my house. Eyebrows up. How many. 9 adults, 6 children. Eyebrows up a bit more. What ages are the kids, from 2 - 13, ... and we began to chat about how I was feeling. I really really like this dr. I go back in 6 months.

BWTG Harriet!

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

My pedometer didn't count right yesterday but I caught it midday and corrected it. The documentation says it must be vertical and my guess iit isn't kidding. Today, while on the treadmill, I held it horizontal while entering some previous numbers and noted that for 3 minutes it didn't count any steps despite the fact that I was moving at 3.2 mph.

So for the first, big grocery shop, I got 0 points and probably 0 for most of my time at Presbytery since that was probably where the pedometer got pushed sideways since I was up and down moving videos from upper shelves to lower shelves. I was so pooped after the first store, I pulled out the pedometer to check it and was shocked that I had only gone 1060 steps for the first 6 hours of the day and yet had been on my feet almost the whole time. The second store had us pick up 3 items and I registered 1600 steps so I've added 1000 to my total for yesterday figuring that is still probably 2K short of my actual movement.

I was so sore yesterday I could barely walk while out (which is also why I checked the pedometer) but was fine once home. The difference? I was in my shoes at home as opposed to boots and slippers. I'll wear my hiking shoes today while out since they provide grip in the snow which my regular shoes don't. This is the time of year that we have to add 5 minutes before going outside and after coming in because of adding/removing coats and boots.

I'm on the treadmill again but need to blow off it now and s2s since I need to leave here in an hour and it is hair wash day.

[Ivy]

I walked 1/2 hour, but I had a slice of key lime pie. However, my breakfast and lunch were healthy.

I'll limit after dinner snacks or have none at all. I'm refraining eating the jumbo muffins DH bought.

I took meds and supplements, too.

Later I did some stretching for my plantar faciitis.

I'll continue to get up and move around in between sitting-down-crochet surges and to stretch, too.

[Harriet]

Checking in Day Three

No sweetened drinks - Check!

Exercise - Check!
20 more mins of T-Tapp Total

8 cups of water - Check!

5 veggie/fruits - Check!
apple (1), prunes in my oatmeal (1), veggie delite at Subway (2), green beans (1),

Supplements - Check!

Harmony, what a great report on low-acid eating according to the book that you learned how to relieve the cough. (She's talking about Dropping Acid by Dr. Jamie Kaufman). To think you could even loan out your book and help somebody else. While your book is away, have you seen this? Yes, I suppose it does require tweaking to move over to fruits and veggies that are lower acid. You kinda live in the acid-fruit belt there! So delish and just what all the other areas' groceries are longing for, yet maybe not the best for an AR diet (strawberries, citrus). I'm still determined that my apples must be Gala or something even less acid, or I just won't eat any.

Kathryn, the difference in how you felt with different footwear is interesting. I have learned that after a long day in the same pair of shoes all day long (almost always lace-ups) I can really be in pain. I need to switch over when I can to either a different lace-up shoe or a soft shoe.