Health and Fitness, July 2009

[Harriet]

It is the half-point of 2009! We are 6 months in with equal time to go, and it’s a great time to take a step back and consider “where we are”.

Do you deserve a pat on the back for healthful eating, for increasing activity, for getting back to postponed check-ups, for meeting goals or other positive strides since 2008? Maybe there was a specific resolution you can now revisit, or some personal success you’d like to let us know about.

Would you like to share either plans for consistency over the next 6 months, or goals to meet by 2010? We’re truly interested!

[lucylee]

Jan. 5 -- 160
Feb. 2 -- 159.5
Mar. 2 -- 156
April 6 -- 155
May 1 -- 156
June 1 -- 156.5
July 1 -- 152

^ Every cloud has a silver lining I guess.

July goal -- (boy, I've typed this a thousand months in a row...) -- CONSISTENT EXERCISE.

[Harriet]

lucylee, you did it! You had a desire to lose and lost 8 pounds in the first half of 2009. Great job. Do any clothes fit better or look better on you than December?

I lost 7.5 but then stagnated and even bounced backward a little. Recouping and regrouping now! LOL The tech at my ddad's hearing aid doctor's said today that I looked like I'd lost weight - she last saw me in Feb/March.

Exercise is needful for me - I need to find the time to get in more of a workout several times a week as I am at a minimum these days.

I've made the appt for my annual exam this month. Anyone else calendaring appts for proactive care of good health?

[Indiana]

lucylee I'm so exited for you and proud of you. You got rid of 8 count 'em 8 pounds.

Great job!!!!!

[lucylee]

Oh, thank you, Harriet & Indiana! I hadn't even thought about that -- saying I wanted to lose two pounds a month. Wow.
I can't really tell much about my clothes yet, and I took measurements this morning and there's no real change there, either. But I do enjoy getting on the scales. At least that's something.

I don't feel real confident about it, either, b/c the biggest part of it just slipped up on me these last few weeks, with my crazy worrying about ds, you know... * sigh * BUT -- maybe if I can get the exercise thing going again, I can keep moving in the right direction.
I really appreciate your support and encouragement.

[lucylee]

Jan. 5 -- 160
Feb. 2 -- 159.5
Mar. 2 -- 156
April 6 -- 155
May 1 -- 156
June 1 -- 156.5
July 1 -- 152
July 6 -- 153

[Emptynester]

I just found a yummy new bread that is also lo-cal. They are called Sandwich Thins and can be used in place of hamburger buns. They also seem to last longer without getting flat like hamburger buns do. They are made by Arnold Bakery (arnoldbakery.com) and come in whole wheat white and multi-grain for 100 calories each.

You can even go on the website and put in a zip to find a store in your area that sells them.

Just thought I would pass it on.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Indiana asked about my new eating plan so I thought I would share it here instead of boring the PWYC folks with it.


Breakfast: Bowl of shredded wheat with skim milk and blueberries, sweetened with maple sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Unlimited fruit and veggies through the morning.

Lunch: Bowl of shredded wheat with skim milk, a different berry or blueberries if I don't have anything else in the house, sweetened with cinnamon sugar.

Many servings of veggies (either about 5 cups of salad or a plate full of stir fried veggies.) I often have this a couple of hours after the cereal.

Unlimited fruit and veggies through the afternoon.

Dinner: Whatever is being served. Tonight it was baked chicken breast, roast potatoes, corn, salad and several slices of french bread dipped in olive oil. Last night was burgers and onion rings plus ice cream for dessert. Last Tuesday it was 2 burgers, chips, salad, and good-sized tastes of three different desserts at the party.

To drink, I have my decaf tea in the morning, the milk on my cereal (which adds up to three cups through the day, sparkling water, sometimes mixed with pure juice, and Special K20 drink crystals. I haven't had any today but most days I have one sleeve (which is supposed to make up 2 cups but I mix it with 4 cups of water.) This drink has fiber and protein in it and I drink it when I'm feeling like eating something between meals. One quart lasts me the day.

I don't know if it is the high volume of unprocessed grains or the unlimited fruit but I'm actually eating less than I usually would and am not hungry hardly at all (I was at dinner tonight but I missed my veggies at lunch and didn't have any K20 today.) Counting in my head, I'm guessing I'm taking in 20 - 30 WW points a day (depends on the dinner) and 8 - 14 servings of fruits and veggies a day.

So far I'm down 5 lbs in 2 weeks. Probably a record for me on any eating plan. (On average, over time, I lose 1.5 pounds a week.)

Record amount of energy too. I'm not sure if it is due to the food (the Special K drink doesn't have caffeine, I checked!) or just the fact that I'm home for a long spell but I'm getting tons done around the house.

Downsides to the plan:

1. taking lunch to work is awkward but I do it. Luckily I have snap on lids for my cereal bowls so I take a bowl of cereal with the fruit and sugar already added and then pour on the milk. And I take a large salad. And some other fruit to munch on plus my Special K drink.

2. It won't work when I'm traveling. I'm using spoon sized shredded wheat which is hard to find in some places and impossible to find in Europe (they really don't do cereal much over there.) Plus, overseas there is little access to skim milk. And I don't always have a fridge for all the fruits and veggies.

I'm home for the next 6 weeks and then 2.5 weeks of traveling in Canada so I figure, at this rate, I can lose another 10 - 16 pounds which would be great.

[Harriet]

Kathryn, that sounds great. I wonder if oatmeal would work the same as wheat. Very interesting about the energy - well, come to think of it you are not too far off from the Fit for Life concepts and that could be helping. You are not combining foods in anything but easy-to-digest ways (you're keeping fruits and proteins separate except for the skim milk, which is not usually a problem) until the evening meal perhaps, when bedtime's close anyway.

Thanks for the bread rec, Emptynester! Btw, your exercise commitment is an inspiration.

lucylee, that's a fluctuation - a transient pound can be from anything, including too much salt the day before. How are you enjoying your walks - is the heat bothering you?

Very happy for Mystery Woman in her loss of 15 pounds.

I went to my annual gynocology appt today, with pap smear. So that is one more proactive medical appt handled for 2009. Yay! She only sees a "snapshot" of one day each year, of course, but did note that I was down 4 pounds from appt at similar time last year. My bp was 126 over 82, which she liked, but I was disappointed in that diastolic lower number. She thinks we can safely say to each other that sometime between now and my next annual appt I will be officially entering menopause, though she sees no reason for me to have blood tests to confirm it at any time. (Last year she said I was "in the neighborhood" of peri (pre) menopause.) It's all just labels, anyway - I am only concerned with being the best 53 I can be!

[lucylee]

Jan. 5 -- 160
Feb. 2 -- 159.5
Mar. 2 -- 156
April 6 -- 155
May 1 -- 156
June 1 -- 156.5
July 1 -- 152
July 6 -- 153
July 13 - 155
I cannot enjoy prosperity, it seems.