Health and Fitness December, 2024

[Harriet]

Truth, LadyM. Might as well look right at the truth, hadn't we? Our bodies are going to, anyway! Here is a bunch of research-truth I'm sharing today.

Such gratitude for two straight nights without muscle cramps. Also, I deliberately crocheted two rows on my project last night just to be sure there was no pain and there wasn't. I wish there was a daily prick of blood test one could do for potassium because, honestly, I would do it, but that's overkill, plus many dollars, I'm sure.

Ramblin', I am using a water tracker for the first time in a long time. Hopeful, hopeful. Trying to have it through the day regularly, not a pint in a few gulps like I always did through youth!!!

Although I do not have a tumor, of course, I do have this happening: "The tumor-lysis syndrome wherein cancer cells spill their intracellular contents upon destruction, which can cause severe electrolyte imbalance." And added to that, the reason I'm being treated in the first place can cause electrolyte imbalances. I've had three blood tests now that show potassium low out of range. And even though it can't be denied, it can't just be treated with pills, either. I'm already on a great lot of meds and don't need any more sudden interactions, but also that would over-correct too quickly. Dr wants me to build up, and it's me and my refrigerator, on our own, lol, to replenish stores before I go through another period of every food tasting awful.

I'm very interested to see if/that this corrects itself completely after treatment. It really seems that it should. Also very interested to see if it is ever this bad again during treatment. One nurse told us that it is the first treatment of my kind of regimen that actually kills as many as 90 percent of the offending cells. So, does that mean that after each upcoming treatment this will be one side-effect, at least, that will be less? Inquiring minds... ..

[Lady Maverick]

In good times and bad.
Reminds me of some marriage vows.
It was bad yesterday. Hopefully I hit bottom yesterday. Once I hit bottom then the only place to go is up.....right?
Those cheeseballs that woke me up at 4am with addictive desire to eat them.....are now gone.
Those peanut m&m's that I was eating before sunrise are now out of the house.
I can cook all kinds of food for others without it bothering me. However, there are a few items that I have no willpower to resist. Potato chips, cheeseballs, kitkat bars, m&M's need to STAY OUT OF MY HOME.

I am committed to not giving up in my effort to TAKE CARE OF MYSELF.

[Lady Maverick]

Progress made yesterday in my effort to TAKE CARE OF MYSELF.
** Whole foods made up 98% of what I ate. I am not ready to give up all processed food. Deli meat & hot links are two of the processed foods I continue to eat. I do limit the amount.
** All vitamins & minerals were turned green (good) except for one. I didn't get enough Vitamin K. I will increase my awareness of eating greens
** Steps were increased 1.5k over the past weekly average steps.

things I want to continue doing well -
** Hydration. I eliminated one of my daily drinks because I am drinking too many ounces of liquid. I use the formula of dividing by half current body weight and drink that number in ounces. Example 200lbs = 100 oz of liquid to drink
** Sleep. I slept 9 hours 23 minutes on average this week. Christmas break has raised my average sleep time by 40 minutes!

Areas that I want to make improvement -
** Eat a serving of greens daily. I thought I did this but the cronometer data provides factual proof that I don't.
** Eat less. My calorie count used to be just right. Over the past month it has creeped up and is now too high. I need to back it down by a couple hundred calories.

[Twins' Mom]

LadyM, I never thought I could do the lower calorie counts that you had been registering. I see now, with my appetite turned off that I could. I'm not eating well, so I know I'm losing muscle but I'll eat better once the celebrations, Hanukkah and dh birthday, are done. We're staying in for New Years. Dh attempted to set up something with friends A and V for New Years eve but they were also wanting to stay in.

My steps were off this week, in part because of bad weather, and in part because dh, when he's home, will walk dog more and I don't. I still averaged 6K daily but I feel it's not enough. Workouts restart on 7 January, twice a week.

[Lady Maverick]

I have been reviewing the data from previous health courses I have taken.

A couple recommendations jumped out at me that I have decided to focus on for a day or two....or more.

** keep your protein bar longer than your energy bar in Cronometer and keep the energy bar under 100%.
** If you are not losing more than 0.5% of your body weight each week, reduce your energy limit by 50 calories for the coming week.

I tend to weigh food, eat, and then record my food into cronometer. I need to reverse that process.
Record what I plan to eat in cronometer before I weigh food & eat.

These are tiny tweaks but I believe the results will be game changing.

[Lady Maverick]

Last day of the month.
Last day of the year.
Time for me to review the data and see if it has any insight to influence my future decisions.


Choline and Vitamin K are the two micronutrients that I struggle to get the recommended amount. There are many options available, but I need something uncomplicated that can be repeatedly done without much consideration.
** Choline is solved by eating 2 eggs a day. This can be done by many recipes and methods. If I get bored then change how I prepare the eggs.
** Vitamin K is solved by eating 1/3 can of spinach a day. Canned spinach isn't my perferred way of eating greens but it is easy, simple and repeatable. There are many other way to eat greens and I do use them. I enjoy picking green leaves when i am in the garden and munching on them. However, eating a dozen or so fresh leaves of baby greens isn't enough. I buy the fresh organic baby spinach leaves and use them when i am cooking for myself. But the fresh greens can mold quickly even when freshly purchased and opened. ANYway....all this jabbering to say the 1/3 of a can of spinach a day is uncomplicated and repeatedable. It is a nutritional power house.

I lost 20 lbs this year. That has resulted in many positive improvements.
1316 calories was my daily average this year.

My best weight loss month was October with losing 4.1lbs. I averaged 1139 calories that month.
I lost .9 lb in December. I struggled for many reasons. I averaged 1423 calories in December.

[Ramblinrose]

LadyM ….i take vitamin K in pill form to help with absorption of my vitamin D3. It’s part of my daily vitamin regiment for my migraines

[Lady Maverick]

I take Vitamin K in supplement form too. However, the multivitamin I take only provides 56% of daily recommended dose of Vitamin K.

RDA (recommended dose) is a WHOLE NOTHER wild card. It varies widely between countries and organizations what the bare minimum amount is vs amount needed for optimal health of elderly (me).

Someday I want to set my goal for ONI (Optimal Nutrient Intakes) but for now I am just striving to meet the bare minimum of RDA amounts.

cut/paste from one of my health class documents.

If you’re into nutrition, you may have heard of some of the recommended daily nutrient intake values, like:
• Dietary Reference Intake (DRI),
• Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA),
• Adequate Intake (AI),
• Estimated Average Requirement (EAR), and
• Tolerable Upper Limit (UL).
These recommended nutrient intake targets were established in the 1940s to ensure World War II soldiers obtained a minimum amount of each essential micronutrient in their rations to evade diseases associated with deficiency. In other words, these nutrient targets were to keep soldiers alive.
These nutrient targets were not designed to help you thrive, achieve an optimal weight, thrive or live a healthy or long life.
Shockingly, they haven’t been updated much in the eight decades since!
While most people treat these intakes as a goal, the reality is they are just barely adequate to prevent disease in a select percentage of the population most of the time.
While many still struggle to meet these minimum recommended nutrition intakes in our modern food environment, they certainly do not represent the optimal target for satiety or longevity! In fact, our analysis shows that these nutrient intakes tend to align with the lowest satiety and highest calorie intake.
Rather than narrowly escaping diseases of deficiency, you likely want to know how much of each essential mineral you need to optimize your health, energy, body composition, performance, and longevity. Right?

I can easily lose track of time following these type of topics down a deep rabbit hole. .....

[Twins' Mom]

My weight is down 1.2 lbs from last year's 12/31 10 day average weight. I've been up from beginning weight as much as 5 lbs and my weight today is about the lowest for the year. Last January-February I was hovering about where I am now. I've taken 6 jabs of Zepbound but have not been eating well, as I've observed.

I'll do Dry January again this year - I think it helps get past the eating/drinking poorly habits from December and sometimes jump start a little weight loss.

I start workouts again on 7 January.