Health and Fitness, April 2014

[OKay]

Putting my "thinking cap on"

Thinking of vegetables I eat by color -

White: Mushroom, Onion, Potatoes, White Corn, Sprouts, cauliflower, garlic, turnip, leeks
Yellow: Summer squash, yellow peppers, corn
Orange: Cantaloupe, Carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, pumpkin
Red: Tomatoes, Watermelon, red peppers, radishes, beets
Purple/Blue: Eggplant, purple cabbage
Brown - Lentils, pinto beans
Green: Avocados, Cucumber, Lettuce, Celery, Peppers, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green beans, peas, Lentils, Edamame, okra, cabbage, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, collards

While shopping yesterday, I had a $1.00 coupon for Recipe Ready Vegetables. This caused me to look through the frozen vegetables as I scanned to find the package to match the coupon. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many vegetables prep'd, ready to use and at a reasonable price.

[DeeClutter]

How, on earth, did you manage a $100 coupon, Okay? Looked at the sight. Looks like plenty of recipes there. See they're available at my favorite store up north -which would be the one Alec Baldwin's Mom wouldn't leave behind.

I persevered, albeit a lot of back & forth walking before I went to bed (in my room-bathroom) and managed to get to 9,000 steps yesterday. Felt better for it and my knee seemed to hold out. I would so like to be at least a little bit less when I get back home than when I left.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

On the treadmill again. It is work this morning but I have to get back into the habit.

I found that unlike OKay having success by following 'seat of her pants' last week, I eventually fell back to 'sitting on my seat and eating' so didn't do well. No point getting on a scale, there is no way it could be good news.

The Easter eating days are behind me now and so I'm starting afresh. There's turkey stock to use to make soups for lunch and I can have crackers now as a snack which might help cut down sweets. My cherry lovers candies are all gone so they are no longer a temptation. Of course, Dr. Pepper is now 'allowed' so I'll have to figure out how much is acceptable. There was just one can Sunday and Monday but I also had other HFCS drinks so it added up to the equivalent of three cans each day. The second two yesterday were a drink from Mcd. The house I visited was vegan and she used almond milk in my tea and that turned my tummy so we got some coke to settle it as soon as we left.

When I was still tracking my food intake I noted I'm having a hard time making the veggies and fruit so will have to make that a healthy habit.

[OKay]

Dee - OH MY!! That $100 coupon was definitely a typo by me. I left out the period and went back and corrected it. Thank you for bringing that to my attention!

I am dabbling with coupons again after being inspired recently. A couple weeks ago I attended a two hour coupon class presented by a local lady who started doing coupons in order to save money for adopting a child. Four years later she succeeded in her goal. Her friends at church asked her to teach them how to do coupons, so she put together a free class for them and started a website to share with her friends the good coupon deals. Her website is now growing by leaps and bounds as she continues to share her "know how" with others. I love these types of start up businesses that came out of genuine desire to help others.

[OKay]

I continue to track food & nutrition even though I haven't been "good". Two days of celebration type eating is showing up on the scales in a less than positive way.

Sunday was a big Easter meal (Ham, potatoes, bread, cake) that pushed my calories up to 1583.
Yesterday was DGS19 & DGS17 birthday meal at Olive Garden, plus I ate lunch out at Atlanta Bread Co. That resulted int 1414 calories for the day.
Those two days of overeating resulted in gaining a half of a pound.

It also confirms one of the changes our family doc suggested yesterday. I was going to set goal of keeping my calories below 1400 each day. Doc said to take it down to 1200 calories a day if I wanted to lose weight.

His other suggestion was to up the steps. Instead of making 10,000 steps my goal, he said to make it my minimum. That is going to take some major lifestyle changes to achieve. I'm willing but clueless how to do it.....I'll think upon it while waiting for it to be the focus.

I recently washed my fitbit for the first time since I started wearing it Dec 2012. After following directions (putting in rice for 24 hours, reset, etc) the fitbit was still dead. I emailed Fitbit company and am thrilled they are sending a new FitBit One to replace the one that I ruined. I am more than pleased with their support. Meanwhile, until it arrives I am clueless how many steps I am getting......

[Twins' Mom]

OKay, you may remember they also replaced my Fitbit One for me. I've washed mine several times since then and it's been fine, however.

I felt quite energized early on yesterday but it wore off by the time I went to Five Guys for lunch. Last night dh and I ordered pizza and I ate three slices. I'm afraid to think of how many calories I ate.

[Harriet]

My report is that I have completed another proactive step and had my regular GP appt, and he did his version of blood work.

Things of interest to several discussions here ....

About hip/sciatic/piriformis muscle pain - he says after hearing my description he would diagnose mine as much as I.T. Band (muscle or tendon at side of hip down to side/front of thigh) than piriformis and sciatic right now, but no matter which, he prescribes a foam roller to massage it. This is a large foam roller you would lie on and roll along for a few minutes at a time, so not a pain-free, pleasant "massage" at all, but he says I will feel better afterward and grow to appreciate it. He says this doesn't mean I have "hip trouble" at all, just a series of muscles that needs relaxation and less tightness. I asked, when I feel better can I stop, and he was obviously doubtful that I would be able to change so much that I wouldn't ever need it any more. Oh, well. So I'll be looking on the internet for this.

About weight - new thought - here's another dr who doesn't take this as seriously as I do, and just shrugs, says in the grand scheme of things I will probably swing back lower, so don't obsess. However, he says it is of interest to look at my age (57) and realize that beyond age 65 he, in his practice, likes to advise maintaining only (assuming a relatively normal weight that isn't actually obese). He says the advice I will be getting then will be to maintain whatever weight I am, assuming it isn't really high, and doesn't seem to be a factor in specific health concerns. So, just in thinking practically, he says if I self-identify as a slimmer person, the next few years will be the time to make and keep that a reality, in his opinion. I told him he was a tough dr, and he said I could handle the truth, lol. Anyway, that is an interesting wrinkle to the weight/size dilemma - that for the way MY doctor thinks, there will be a point at which he will no longer be "on my side" in dieting.

Other - he wants that mammogram. Now. So I will do the blankety-blank thing. I tried to talk him into thermography this time but he points out that even if that might tell us as much, it wouldn't satisfy insurance as well anyway. They would still be asking about the mammogram, because that's all they know. He agreed it has been about 3 years since my last one, and hormone dr had said he thinks a 3-year spacing is fine at my age, so maybe I'll think of it that way and hold my nose and do it, complaining about radiation near my thyroid the whole time. Maybe in 3 more years there will be better ideas. Dr felt my neck and was pretty sure nodule isn't growing further, didn't suggest another appt with specialist (yay).

BP was in the 1-teens over 70, as good as ever. I attribute this to excellent recent hydration, btw, if anyone wants to know. At least that's the way I've learned my body works. (Returning to regular 15-20 min formal exercise daily probably helped lately. of course.)

[Twins' Mom]

Harriet, my hip discomfort is also IT band. I don't do the rolling, which is highly recommended by my massage therapist often enough. One of the stretches that really feels good to me is to lie on my side on the edge of the bed facing the center, and then dropping the top leg behind me off the edge of the bed to stretch it longways...

[DeeClutter]

A minimum of 10,000 steps, Okay? I'm patting myself on the back because I made 9,000 yesterday & 10,000 today. Of course that meant about a 1/2 hour of walking back & forth in our room, but the steps are in the counter. Now to see in a few days if things start to change.

[Nancy]

I have done my walk.