Health and Fitness, September 2020

[RunKitty]

Well, I guess I will share a secret. It's not really a secret, just a study showing that eating four Brazil nuts per month significantly lowered Cholesterol. I told my mother about it last November. She was supposed to have bloodwork done in January, but ended up not going to the doctor until last week. Thirty years ago she was found to have a cholesterol level of 400 and triglyceride level of 600. She has been on meds ever since which made it better, but never in the normal range. Her cholesterol is now 149 and her triglycerides 117....both in the normal range. Her doctor couldn't believe it. He thought she had been put on some additional medication by another doctor. Nope. Just four Brazil nuts a month. BTW, LadyM, one Brazil nut per day will give you more than the Rda for selenium. Potassium and fiber should be easy to get by replacing animals products with legumes, whole grains, and fruits and vegetales.
Still doing the same here.....completely plant based eating. I eat whatever I want, as much as I want. I'm at my goal weight or under it. I wear size 2 pants and have good energy. No secret; just evidence based and sensible.

[Ramblinrose]

Runkitty... I’m not where you are with food, but I have drastically cut down the amount of meat I eat, which at this point is mostly fish. I’ve increased my veggies at meal time as well.

I have a friend that just started eating vegan less than a month ago and she’s already lost 15 lbs with no exercise. With my IBS grains still bother me so they are off my list..except for my skinny muffin which is made from ground flax seed. However it does have an egg in it. I eat one every other day.

I still use cream in my coffee but am slowly weaning myself down to just drinking it back. I can’t use stevia cause it really upsets my stomach. Don’t drink much else except water, coffee and occasional no sugar flavored carbonated water. It’s gotten to the point that even herbal teas which I love, bother me.

Sometimes I get so bored with food I just don’t want to eat, but even with that and increased exercise the scales are t moving much. Since the weather has cooled. I’m about to add bike riding. My knees cry when I run

[DeeClutter]

Interesting read, Runkitty. Looked brazil nuts up in regards to cholesterol and blood sugar. Forgot to add day #6 of Balance Exercises.

[Lynlee]

Endorsing what RunKitty says about eating food that suit you for balancing weight levels.

I still eat meat though as pulses, legumes, hard beans seem not to agree with me, and were in an 'off list' as far as a FM diet sheet showed (together with potatoes, tea and coffee, chocolate, tomatoes, and I'm not sure what else. Oranges and manderins are also out for me, and a heap of other things. )
If you are taking things out, you need to find other food sources though.
Seeds are a mainstay for me.
Remember brazil nuts have upper limits of what is too much. I did the sum one time and came up with not having more than 2 on any day. That is interesting about the cholesterol. I was thinking the seeds were helping. I think brazil nuts are technically a seed though, as are cashews. Cashews best eaten cooked, one source said.
Buckwheat and quinoa are seeds too. Not grains, though folk treat them as such. Good for protein.

The things I have to watch - any food that says more more more, in the one sitting is not helpful. I need to cease and desist with it.
Also I can easily go 'off food'. I need to eat wholesome food, want to or not. Sometime that off feeling is something over done. Sulphate producing food do that to me. Latest reminder was to limit garlic, again.
Like manderin, maybe I can 'get away with it' if its not a daily or often thing.

All that said, I need to be more active. I was reading little people, otherwise known as young children, need 3 hours vigorous play each day. I've thought that the being active thing is needed by the older people too. Namely me. My getting up from on my haunches is not what it should be. Its not what it was.
I hope I can report some progress over time. and not backwards progress.

[DeeClutter]

That having been said to Runkitty, I have some Brazil nuts coming tomorrow. But....I will be ultra careful.

Think for probably the first time ever I forgot to take my T-med this morning. So have been a little lazy today. By the time I realized it time was already too late. It was later in the day that I realized I also hadn't taken my B12. Off day for me.

Just finished my 7th set of Balance exercises. Go me! I find myself procrastinating on it and once I start, wonder why I resisted! Also did about 25 minutes on the exercycle.

Having grilled steak, spaghetti squash and applesauce for dinner. Steak smells good. *Editing to say: Think I'll put the remaining steak in the frying pan along with some beef stock & cook it slow for a couple of hours, much as I would a roast. Hopefully then it'll be good & tender for supper.

[Nancy]

Sun. I did my exercise on the stat bike.
Mon. I did 30 min. On the stat bike today.
Tues. Got my steps shopping. & got my flu shot W store was having a clinic.

[DeeClutter]

Counted shopping today as probably 20 minutes exercise, just did the exer-bike for about 40 minutes. Also did my balance exercises #8. Only 13 to go to make it a 'habit'. Also started eating (1) one Brazil nut (Runkitty) and 5 pistachios (bought them in the shell to make it more difficult so I wouldn't overeat. I'll see after a week or 2 what kinds of differences it makes (she says hopefully).

[Harmony]

Got a health problem here. A little over 3 months ago new Dr. ordered more Thyroid meds every morning because she said my test turned out that way... so I did that. After 3 months went for the lab test as she requested. I did not expect results to be back for at least a few days but the next day someone from the office called (nurse practitioner?) and I did not know her. But apparently my tests hit their labs in the right time early enough to be processed this quick. Whole thing confused me.

She said I'd been taking too much (per the test) and wanted to know if my heart hadn't been pounding or racing. No, I told her none of that and actually I'd been feeling better. She was very vague about what to do, going back to old dose and maybe adding one of the stronger once or twice a week, nothing definite, and of course I have none of that dose here. She said Dr. would talk with her that evening and she would find out what to do.

Twice since then I've noticed my little arrhythmia in my heart. It's not unusual for me to feel a little 'jump' in my heartbeat. Now I'm just a bit more aware of it. In almost a week since the test no one has called and I have no idea really what to do. Last evening I could feel an irregularity in my heartbeat almost constantly while I was trying to go to sleep. Finally I drifted off and this morning it is ok.

I guess I will just call and make a full appointment with her. I hate this covid stuff that there's no face-to-face appointments and telephone ones with a new dr. are next to useless. But, interesting to me that even with stepped up thyroid, I've still been struggling with weight. Whole thing is discouraging.

[Harriet]

I was at 60 mg (this is Armour) for a long time, then dr thought it would be good to experiment with dosage to try to get my level a little better. The experiment went that I was put on 90 for 2 (?) months, retested and the results told the dr that was too much, so I was taken down to "70", which has evidently been correct in dr's eyes and I've been on that for more than a year now.

Armour comes in either in 60s or 90s, though; there's no pill in between those. So when someone is prescribed "70", that's 90s every-other-day with half-pills of the 90 every-other-day. I understand this is a common prescription method with Armour. I can also choose to take 90s M,W,F and half-pills the other days, to remember easily. This is the main reason I own a pill-cutter, although HRH at times has needed one. When I cut a pill, I store the neater half in a little baggie in another pill bottle until I need it. I take the less perfect half (that may have shattered) right away.

Taking differing amounts different days doesn't seem to affect how I feel on any given day. I believe that's because I'm still getting a consistent dosage over time.

I have never seen any evidence of such a thing as an effect on weight. None of my IRL friends or in-law relatives have, either. I'm not saying it's independent of weight; I just don't believe it's much of a factor.

I am assuming I'm more focused mentally because of the thyroid supplement. I don't have proof of this except for the fact that studies show that people are.

[Harmony]

My dr did not like that Armour medicine. When it needed adjusted, she did not know how to do that. So I just gave up and went on the levothyroxine. So I was on 50 mcg (I think that's it) and she upped it to 75mcg. That test didn't turn out well after 3 months. I didn't have any symptoms until a week later.

When I had just started the new level, I was cutting my old pills in half and taking 1 1/2 pills to get the 75. So I used up all the old pills except for one 1/2 pill. Fortunately I kept that and the bottle so I ordered more of the old dose today. I don't know how long to not take any to make my level right. If my symptoms would go away, I'd know it was alright to take it again. Maybe I'll wait another day or two.

Harriet, I have a pill splitter too. It sometimes shatters them instead of cutting, even with ones that have that ridge in the middle. I discovered that a fingernail does a much neater job of separating two halves. Try it, maybe it'll work for you too.

Course, I have to laugh when I think of that telephone call when I was told my dose was wrong. She wanted to know if I had symptoms of being anxious etc. Ha! Live my life with this going on and try to judge if your anxiety is worse. I had actually thought I was coping better, especially considering this new health thing with DH. Maybe I am just getting used to this Covid stuff better.