Health and Fitness, August 2014

[Nancy]

I walked tonight for my exercise.

[Twins' Mom]

I've hit 10K steps two days in a row now. For today, I need:
-record my food WW
-workout at Y
-get in 10K steps (walking on the treadmill to warm up for 10 minutes helps me get there, also)

Last night's dinner was broiled salmon, corn on the cob and a green salad with cranberries, walnuts, goat cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette, with blackberry cobbler to finish.

[Harriet]

Sounds like a wonderful supper, Twins' Mom. Yum.

Sorry to read in Pwyc that Nancy had a scare on her walk.

Tried an experiment yesterday - almost told you guys about it but wondered if it would be too dismal in its conclusion! Dd needed to be carried hither and yon, and hoped we could eat at fast food together while out. So for the experiment day, I ignored sodium worries and ate at fast food with dd twice, for lunch and supper, with only breakfast at home with HRH. Not my finest hour, but I did avoid sugared drinks, at least.

Breakfast - 1/4 cantaloupe, small serving egg salad
Lunch - Taco Bell Crunchwrap
Supper - Subway Applewood Pork 6-inch, slaw, lettuce
calories were a little over 1,200
sodium was (gulp) almost 3,000
I figured weight would bounce up with the additional sodium but that maybe by the next day the moderate calories would help with a weight loss that would probably include a second day of moderate-to-low calories and normal sodium. I exercised 25 minutes - that shouldn't help or hurt, I didn't think.

Strangely, I had an 8/10th of a pound loss this a.m. Hard for me to fathom, but my body accepted the moderate calorie day and didn't penalize me for the fast food. Just goes to show you can be fooled even when you think you know your body.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

I continue to be concerned about my dsis-in-law. She lost well over 100 lbs and got scary skinny, made herself incredibly ill and has never recovered. Her marriage is on the rocks partly as a result of the fact that she has no moderation in her life and goes 'postal' at my sister whenever any of her food is touched or her meals aren't just the way she likes them.

She and my sister eat completely differently and their tiny kitchen is dysfunctional because it is piled high with protein shakes, supplements, all kinds of packages of special food, the fridge overstuffed with fresh veggies (rotting) and the basement overstuffed with cases of special food that dsil was on, bought a case or more of in order to reduce cost and now can't have because she's onto the next diet craze.

She is obsessive to the point of not wanting to 'share' her veggies with dsis so things rot in the fridge all the time because she buys things, buries them in the mess and they never get used.

She works out a minimum of 2 hours a day and just got back from a 400+ mile bike ride.

It was the pictures from the bike ride that caused me pause. She looks as large as me. And I'm obese. So, although her crazy diet has continued and her workouts continue, she is still gaining the weight back. And she has so many health problems I can't list them all. She is having surgery today that she doesn't want but is highly recommended and dsis is hopeful things will be better if this fixes one thing.

I feel sorry for her but mainly for my dsis. When my dsil started this whole thing (she was on sabbatical and made it her goal for the year) my sister wanted to participate too and lost 1/3 of her own weight. She can walk again, is healthier and happier. But she just ate sensibly, drank sensibly, and slowly started to move more and more (she was the one who turned me onto a fitbit.) She bought a bike, but an electric assist one so that she could go out and not worry about being too tired to get home. She didn't work out obsessively, join a gym, start on protein shakes, etc. she just made a few lifestyle adjustments. Obviously her diet wasn't great before since she had such good results with so few changes, but it shows what can be done on the slow and steady mode.

My dsil is living a separate life from my sister. Even when my sister tries to share interests and suggests that they go for a bike ride, my dsil leaves my sister in the dust (my sister's bike has 20" wheels so goes very slowly) and then waits at the destination for dsis to arrive, instead of enjoying an outing together. They seldom go out to eat, they can't travel together (my dsil won't miss her gym time or other classes) and my sister's retirement has become a living hell for her since she is always walking on egg-shells trying not to upset my dsil. The doctor's say the volatility is due to hormonal imbalance brought on by the rapid weight loss but the imbalance hasn't corrected itself now that she's gain weight back.

My sister has gained some weight back but, of the three of us, she is the thinnest at the moment. She'll miss not having the dog to walk but it allows her to travel now (she couldn't before because she can't drive so couldn't take the dog with her, not at least she can take the train or fly places but would have to do it alone.)

There are no solutions (at least none that dsil will take - what she needs is meds for OCD) but I thought I'd share my hesitance to go 'all out' on weight/fitness because I have seen how it can mess with balance in one's life.

[Ramblinrose]

Well I did join dietbet yesterday and weighed myself this morning...up about 1.8 lbs, but I can live with that. I'm not sure how much weight I will need to lose for my bet. Just submitted my information and should find out later today. My guess is it will be around 6 lbs which is certainly doable, but I am setting my personal goal for 9. We shall see.

Stayed on my plan yesterday and got all my water in. Started my morning well and now need to focus on my day....which includes a grocery run. Already on my second bottle of water. Will be in and out of stores, but I know where all the bathrooms are if I need them

Hope ya'll have a great day......

[Nancy]

I take walking stick with me on walks in case of dogs one was out last night.

Today started off with at least half hr. Of gardening I moved a rose bush hens had dug out so it has shade and a circle of fencing to protect it from hens in the front yd. Now.

Got my ♥ rate up mowing front yd.

[Harriet]

Ramblin' that was something I didn't know - that the diet site people had anything to do with choosing your pound-amount for a bet. It makes sense now that I think about it. For one thing, everyone needs to have the same rules, and for another, the site needs to be somewhat proactive and aware, in assuring that no one goes wildly overboard.

Kathryn, you said a lot of positive things about your sister. Be sure she hears them from you. Tease her about being the smallest of the three of you at the moment (although perhaps not in front of your dsil). I think that might be affirming silly sister-talk. Affirming thoughts from you (and Ken and even your children) could be a buoy to her, IMO. If I were to advise her, I would say stop trying to do what anyone else expects and search her heart for a true creativity of her own, and then plunge in for personal enjoyment. She will find some gratification, even if dsil doesn't immediately compliment. Eventually, dsil will have to admit there is something to admire in your sister's new hobby/adventure/idea - she may even brag on it someday.

I wonder if your dsil sees a true hormone specialist. I do have one (although he is board certified in gynocology he does not deliver babies or have a hospital affiliation to request birthing rooms, etc.). I believe Twins' Mom does as well. My clinical ob-gyn has differences in her opinions regarding hormones as opposed to my hormone dr. And it has been my experience that a specialist has more cutting-edge knowledge, prescribes more correctly, monitors more exactly. They are knowledgeable about thyroid as well as sex hormones, and by extension have a handle on many areas of health, the invisible/ignored forces within the body, and the concept of balance.

Veggies/fruit as prized possessions - yes, I can see that becoming a problem. When it's not easy to get to the supermarket often, or when a favorite is in season for a short time, veggies/fruits can start looking very valuable. But it is a little alarming that one family member would hold any back from another family member. Not wanting it thrown away yet - sure. Feeling that it's not appreciated enough to be "wasted" on the unappreciative - rarely. But actually hoarding it FROM another loved one is an unhealthy attitude.

[Lady Maverick]

Reading and enjoying the sharing. VERY happy for those who are having success.

I continue to follow healthy habits -
** water bottles are filled each morning and monitored during the day so all water is drank
** weigh daily - 99% compliance. I log weight daily and track the trend.
** fruits & vegetables are high priority. Most days met or exceed 10 servings of fruit/veg.
** Treadmill - daily habit. Each day I try to add something extra (speed/incline/time). It is a very slow process, but it is consistent.
** Portion control. One 7" plate with emphasis on protein/vegetables. I very rarely get seconds.
** Tracking calories - That is a hit or miss logging them. I do stay aware.
** Night time eating - Rarely happens. Maybe once a month.
** Sleep - this is big downfall. I have stopped tracking it but know I'm not getting enough. Most nights are 4-6 hours of sleep. I'm typically awake and up a couple times during the night. Last time I remember getting up once to go to the bathroom and again to take care of LO when he woke up with a bloody nose. There was a couple more times that I woke up and laid there listening to podcast until I fell back to sleep.

These are good habits to develop and I do want to continue to follow them. However, I'm struggling big time because weight keeps creeping up no matter how hard I try. Weight is one pound from the highest I have ever been.

Yesterday (away from home for all meals) -
Breakfast at hotel - scrambled eggs (about 1/4 cup) and 2 helpings of grapefruit sections. One bite of apple pastry (about a 1" x 1" bite)
Lunch @ BBQ place - I ordered chopped brisket sandwich with a side of beans. I threw away the bread from the sandwich and ate the meat & beans (1/2 cup)
Dinner - 2 chicken drumsticks with double helping of salad. I ate about 1"x 1" of LO birthday cake (scrapped the icing off)
and I gained weight.......

I would ask for a piece of cheese to go with my WHINING.....but string cheese has about 70 calories and it would probably just add 2 lbs to the scale tomorrow.

Okay....I will stop whining. Logically I know if I continue to eat right the weight will right itself.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

My dsil has tons of unhealthy attitudes. She is a shopaholic and hoarder and when my sister wasn't able to get upstairs easily, she'd hide her purchases upstairs, including buying a $100 coffee maker for her room up there (the kind that take the little cups) and letting my sister continue to buy stuff for the coffee maker downstairs and make her coffee each morning because she didn't want to admit she had bought herself another toy. Their relationship is dysfunctional that way.

They've had two purging events (the first was a bed-bug infestation, the second a basement flood) so things have left the house with my dsil knowledge. My sister gets tired of living in the mess all the time. But part of the issue is that if my dsil has a mess, my sister feels she deserves a mess too and won't clean up after herself, let alone my dsil. Now that she has retired, my sister is doing a bit better cleaning up after herself but she still maintains there's no point because dsil is so messy.

Once she went on and on about how dsil leaves her clothes on the floor of the room. I asked my sister why she didn't pick up the clothes and place them on a chair and my sister was indignant that I would expect her to pick up another person's mess. I pointed out my dsil wasn't bothered by the mess but it hurt my sister, so why didn't she just pick up the mess so she wasn't being hurt by it. Not to help out dsil but to help out herself. No, she felt that made her subservient and it was proof I was a slave to dh because I pick up after him (and close his closet doors, another thing he does that bothers me but doesn't bother him.)

They seem to be incapable of understanding that couples are partners who should be working together to create home, not competing for space to make their own, at the expense of the other, within the same house. Aside from two complete sets of food (duplicates of spices etc because my sister dare not touch dsil's supply), they have cutlery for 24 because each has a set of 12 and both refuse to give up their set. Same for kitchen utensils, two knife blocks, two sets of pots. Then my sister has the nerve to complain about her kitchen having no room. But neither will clean up because there's no point, the other will still have their mess everywhere. So food prep is done in about 12" of counter that gets shoved clear. It is a wonder they ever eat anything.

I'm telling you all this so you can all feel slightly better about yourselves. And to thank you for being here for me. For years, my sister,and then dsil, would mock my card file system and how I had to do things when the card told me to. Dsil actually made me up a Christmas Preparations card-set that included such gems as 'refill car tires with candy-cane scented air'. It was only once I found you guys online that I realized I wasn't the crazy one.

[Twins' Mom]

Kathryn, thank you for sharing. I'm not the only one with a crazy sister, huh?

You actually made my day with the card for

'refill car tires with candy-cane scented air'.

What a good giggle, sounds like something Martha Stewart would suggest.

I'm sorry to make light of it but your dsis and dsil are OMM wondering how they got this way and why you are normal. Same with my dsis and dbro.

Do they want to stay together? What is even keeping them together?