Health and Fitness January, 2013

[OKay]

Keeping On......

Very interested and learning much from reading posts here.

Weight stayed the same today which is A-Okay with me. I don't want to lose too fast. My pizza yesterday wasn't from the health food store so it was loaded with sodium. It made me so thirsty that I drank and drank and drank water after eating it. I expected to see the scales go UP so was pleasantly surprised to see no change. There are 2 pieces left over but I think I will take a pass on them today and let DH eat them both.

Fruit & vegetables art - These remind me that healthy eating doesn't have to be boring, ugly or lacking creativeness.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

OKay I notice extreme thirst with pizza now but consider that an improvement (I don't recall it from years ago, so I must have cut enough sodium out of my diet that I notice the spike pizza give me.)

Good day eating yesterday. Left 3 pts on the table so the recent out of control hunger is passed. Could be my period but I also finished the annual report (major stress) so still not definitive but I'm guessing period since church is stressful due to having to fire a volunteer and I don't want to think about finances or business books but they are both well out of control.

[Harriet]

That's a great collection, OKay! I love the "shamrock" bell peppers on the plate, about a third way down the page when I looked. I could probably do that much! HRH has two friends who can do the intricate carving. A work friend from Thailand does elaborate melon carvings of birds, flowers, baskets. Also the father of a computer friend, who was the chef to one of the Kings of Malaysia (their Kingship alternates between royals, so not "the" King), does this type of carving. He makes vegetables into trees, basketweaving-looks and cirlicues. What fun!

[Nancy]

I've done me 4 mi. on the ex. bike today and raked leaves again in the front yd. glad I did that early bc it's raining outside now.

[Lynlee]

One of the things I have found about rice as a food is that its best taken with protein. (easiest for me) Other wise it becomes like a quick carb/ sugar - providing a quick peak and drop of bg levels so counter productive. The protein (or fats or acid serve the same purpose) slows that process so if you can create a meal/snack around that it might make life easier. I guess a salad with certain dressings would do the same as protein - if the dressings themselves aren't a problem.

I'm trying to recoup some rest and sleep. Took a nap today until ddog roused me that rain was lest, and it was getting late.
Walked in the dampness falling The crocs I wore brought on a blister so back to getting wet sneakers when I walk - unless I try socks with the crocs.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Tough hike yesterday with lots of short (20' high) hill-lets to go up and down over. Plus a number of felled trees. It is really important to do terrain like this since the treadmill is just too easy, all smooth with safe places to put ones foot. I found walking yesterday was almost like a game of Tetris, matching my stride and location of foot-fall in order to land on a flat piece of icy snow rather than the edge of a frozen footprint and have my foot slide sideways down into the indent.

If I'm a wreck tomorrow, I'll know why.

On treadmill today but we may do a hike today after church. It is still sunny and I'd like to get out at least twice a week. Snow is in the forecast tomorrow, then freezing rain (but that means the cold snap will end.) Wednesday should be very warm so we are thinking of driving down to the Seaway and check out a condo building being built there.

Since dd doesn't have any kids, and our health is probably good for the next few years, we don't need to be in the city for her or hospitals, so we might move down to where I can see ocean going ships. It is an hour long drive back to the city (longer in winter) but would be a nice place to live for a while. I'm actually excited about the possibility so we'll go down for the afternoon, check out the building, check out nearby rental buildings and then walk around the area. This is where Molly's Mom moved to, plus three other neighbours are planning to end up there once their houses sell. So it wouldn't be like we're completely giving up our friends here, since they keep moving there anyway!

Just check my heart rate and realized that the treadmill settings were too easy for me so have upped the incline since I can't up the speed while typing.

I highly recommend checking your heart rate regularly to make sure you are working out in the range you want to be in. Once I got my HRM (I'm too lazy to keep stopping to check in manually) my weight started to come off faster and I started to notice better energy levels in regular life. My body had got used to walking 2 miles a day at 3.2 mph, 1.5% incline and my heart wasn't being pushed into strengthening mode, it was in maintenance mode.

[OKay]

Keeping on.

It is very frustrating to eat within my limits and GAIN WEIGHT. Yesterday I ate less than 900 calories however the scales are up 3 lbs today. HUURRRUMPH!! The reason i ate so little calories is I made/ate a huge pot of vegetables in chicken broth. The entire pot of soup only had about 500 calories and it tasted so good. The chicken broth was made from skin/bones of store bought rotisserie chicken. Those things are LOADED with salt. I know this weight will come off within 24-48 hours but it was discouraging to see the scales go so far the wrong way.

I'm not exercising. I know I should. I'm active but not in a way that raises my heart rate and keeps it there for long periods of time. They say admitting something is the start to changing it. So there. I admitted it.

[Nancy]

I'm no longer backed up and feeling better yea!

Did my 4 mi. on the ex. bike.
Plus I cleaned the chicken's coop and at least two sessions out side raking leaves the fresh air felt great!

[Harriet]

I had so many fires to put out yesterday a.m., including some for a dcousin, that I didn't eat until 1:30. This was terrible for my stomach and caused me a headache, aggravated by the harsh light coming in all the windows because of the ice blanket over white sleet. Omelet with avocado at 1:30 just didn't hack it - I think because by then my stomach needed bread or some other carb. Sandwich with pita bread and tuna later was much more helpful and I took one Exedrin migraine with it. Still, later my stomach was in a state after a supper of beef stew, choosing not to eat the bread the rest of the family had. I was up at midnight having bread and butter to quiet it! That sounds bad, doesn't it?

So today I had oatmeal for breakfast even though it breaks my string of almost no-carb breakfasts and lunches. I immediately had cravings to fight, then absentminded eating later, which has not been happening until today. I'm going to try to start over tomorrow.

I have noticed that many times a bad day for eating started the day before.

Harmony brought up the subject of our memories/brains in PWYC. DVetNeighbor and I have brainstormed (ha ha) this often, partly because we each have some caregiving responsibility for a parent who is experiencing cognitive decline. Some of our research: She is a firm believer that we all need to take fish oil or krill oil as a supplement. Also there is research that coconut oil in the diet is helpful for those with dementia and might stave off dementia. Astaxanthin (the microalgae that make fish pink) is one of the few antioxidants that can reach the brain, and is very good for the brain. B vitamin levels can reduce as we age, and sometimes adding in Bs can be a help to memory - DVetNeighbor has kept her mother on high B supplementation for a decade. Sleeping well is vital for the next day's mental clarity. (Sleep is the mantra of my father's dr, for sure.)

[OKay]

Keeping on.

NOT happy with the weight gain but I'm staying on program.

Yesterday I attend party and was surrounded by 3 kinds of pizza and birthday cake. I resisted the urge and didn't get one single piece. I finished the day under my calorie goal.