Health and Fitness, March 2013

[Ivy]

Harriet, The book is very good, it's first edition was 1990, and there are food lists, and, yes, there are food lists and a recipe section, too. It's nice to know the origins of Zumba and all the benefits it does, too.

Nancy, Hormones sometimes causes belly bloat, too.

I've lost 5.5 Lbs. since Lent started. I'd been on a plateau. Since the nurse (at the eye clinic) said my ophthalmologist said I had a "compromised immune system" and had to stay away from people for 6 weeks, until I see him again the end of April, I've been looking into building UP the immune system. I've been eating healthier, getting exercise, and a balance of activity and rest. I feel better, too, as far as health and mood and energy go, too.

Now, I KNOW this is a bit silly, but I've been decluttering and I found this OLD poem I wrote years ago! I wanted to share it with you, for a laugh or smile.

FIT OVER 50!

Fit over 50
is very nifty!
The scales used to say
an over 275 Lbs. weigh!
I know I couldn't just talk.
So, I did walk and walk and walk!
I no longer have a frown!
I am 90 Lbs. down!
Smaller sizes show
I only have 15 Lbs. to go.
No more "obese" cloud!
You bet, I'm proud
and my numbers show health!
This is living wealth!
Clothes are comfy and fit.
I no longer sit-sit-sit.
I have a great big smile
because I can walk more than a mile.
To my old body, I said, "Good-bye!"
And to the new one, I say, "Hi!"
Each journey begins with one step
and you get faster with more pep."


Now I'm down 105 Lbs. It was fun to see my cute-funny poem this morning! It's so hard to "see" to read my poem, written in pencil because of my antibiotic ointment in my eyes, too. I have to blink a lot to see the words.

[Harriet]

Thank you for the poem, Ivy! Did you first hit the 100-down mark while you were posting with us, or was that earlier in life?

[Ivy]

Harriet, I hit the -100 down mark after I posted here, then it went down to -105 Lbs., but it went back up to the -95 mark. Now it's coming down again, because I'm trying to be healtheir. I need to lose -20 to -30 more pounds.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Slept well enough last night that I could get out of bed after 8 hours instead of 10. I'm on the treadmill. No idea if it is a good idea or not. Heart rate is not overly high so I'm assuming I'm getting enough oxygen despite the cold and the workout is not making me cough (although my nose just started running so I'm sniffing since the kleenex is on the other side of the room.)

Knees hurt more than they did, it must be the new glute exercises. The bike also twinged my back but not enough to not do it. But I was definitely limping the day after being on it which would be what I'd expect. I did only 5 minutes, twice on it as per her instructions.

I'm just a bundle of emotions, full of stinkin, thinkin. I'm tired of feeling not 100%. I've had so few good days, it is as if I'm always wading through deep water instead of walking along a gentle shore. I can't get things to go well for more than a day or two at a time and then something else comes up that sets me back. I think I've lost over 30 pounds in the last year but my weight is exactly what it was a year ago because I've gained the weight back over and over. Down 5, hold for 2 - 3 weeks, up 5 because of illness or knee pain, or traveling or Christmas, or two periods back to back. Get back to health, lose the 5 and then repeat.

My high in the past 14 months was 174, my low 162 (after 2 weeks of being bed ridden and very little food) and my weight now is about 170 (I'm in my period so I don't know for sure but that's what it was the day my period arrived.)

OKay Given I can gain 3lbs or more with my period or a high-sodium day, I don't worry about weighing in every day because it affects my mood too much. If I'm up after being 'perfect', I analyze everything I eat and still have been 'perfect' than what the heck is the use of trying? On the other hand, if I lose 2lbs despite having a 'bad' day and overeating, I don't consider that the prescription to losing weight. Harriet's healthy habits, day in and day out are what one has to rely on and weighing oneself once every few days will catch a trend (if the mirror and your clothes don't.)

My jeans were way too tight yesterday but my weight the day before was 170. Given that I was wearing these jeans at 178, I either gained 8 pounds in 1 day, or more likely, my body was swollen due to cramps and my period.

So weighing daily isn't the best choice if it messes with your self-esteem/motivation, relying on clothing fit is not foolproof, being 'perfect' doesn't work all the time and 'cheating' helps drop the pounds sometimes. I have no problem losing weight, my problem is I can't stop regaining it.

Our bodies are such complex machines, scientists really don't know what is best for us. Seriously. They really don't know. That's why half the nutritious talk about whole grains and another percentage say to avoid all wheat because it doesn't react in our body the way it used to. Both are just theories, neither have been proven scientifically. Calories in/out is a factor but it has been proven to be not the whole story. Thyroid plays a role but women who have trouble losing weight and get the thyroid fix don't lose excess weight (despite now doing everything 'perfectly.') Metabolism plays a role but there are lots of couch potatoes who are slim.

So you can't let the scales or anything else have power over you. They are just one tool in a large and random toolbox that may or may not be able to 'fix' you.

[OKay]

Ivy - Thank you for sharing the poem you wrote. Very inspirational!

I have no problem losing weight, my problem is I can't stop regaining it.

>>>nodding head....OH so true for me!<<<<

My weight is all over the place. I use software to average out the ups/down and I ***try*** to look at the trend and not the daily number. It is showing that I have lost 8 lbs and then stalled out.

DH has recently shown interest in losing weight so I am following his lead. After discussing the options, we decided to do fruit/protein smoothies for breakfast and huge rainbow salads for lunch. Supper is meat/carb/vegetables combination that are portion controlled. We are trying it for a week and will make decision this weekend if we will continue it or do something different.

[Nancy]

I've done 10 mi. on the ex. bike it helps reduce stress and
h. pointed out that it helps bs #'s as well.

[Ivy]

Oh, that's just too funny: I have no problem losing weight; I just regain it. Cute!

I walked 30 min., did laundry, decluttering, lifting, and physical housework things. I'm so hungry! I must've worked up an appetite!

[Ivy]

I did 1-hour prayer-walking. I was honestly, waiting for a phone call, but it didn't come. But I kept walking while I waited and praying for family, friends, Villagers, etc... It feels good to have gotten in so much walking.

I think I might nap this afternoon for 30-40 min., too.

Oh, I stretched, too.

[Harriet]

My blood work all showed up in the mail.
Remember, nurse said dr had "noted" my LDL Chol.
My LDL (bad) cholesterol is better than it has been any time he ever checked. (He only started in March 2010 and has only checked 4 times). It's down 13 points from the worst time and "non-HDL chol" is even-steven with the best time, down 11 from the worst. Total chol is almost even with the best time. So this is positive in my mind although I still can't say they are in range. Yet this is the time he chooses to "note" my LDL and say I should be on a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet and do 30 mins of moderate exercise 5 times a week (I think this could be boilerplate paragraphing from his parent hospital, but still he included it). Hmmm... ...

Does anybody understand HDL?
Wish I could say HDL (good) cholesterol was better, but it's not as good as it was back when the other numbers were at their worst! What's up with that? If HDL is just going to go up and down with the other numbers, yet its measure is supposed to be taken in an opposite manner (healthier numbers for HDL are to go higher, not lower), then I question this whole system, lol. The only time mine was up into range was when my other numbers were the worst, and furthest away from range. So while trying to exert positive downward influence on my cholesterol numbers otherwise, why do I seem to negatively impact my HDL downward, too? Sigh.

I take comfort that my relatives with the highest cholesterol had the longest life spans.

My triglycerides are in the middle between my own worst and best, but they are still well within range.

Vitamin D was 47 after a winter of supplementing and no sunlight-made D yet. It was 46 in March of last year, too. So I guess that is not so bad, although of course he wants a level of 50 and so do I, so you'd think with daily supplementing as easy and predictable as it is, I could have crossed that threshold. Oh well, summer's coming. My worst level had happened when I got pneumonia in July, 2010 and we didn't know until it was measured in Sept, two months after onset of symptoms, and it was at 25. Both dd14 and HRH have had worse levels than that - that's not really so low. My ddad, interestingly, has never had that low a level.

[Nancy]

Harriet I just do not worry about chol. #'s I eat fish & chicken and they have pills for chol. if it gets up & my bp is always low [runs low on both sides of my family] dr's are all too often looking for perfect numbers I think I remember reading some where it goes up in the winter. You might be able to do an internet search.

Did my 10 mi. on the ex. bike today & shopping with three kids ex. done!