Healthy & Fitness - September 2014

[Lady Maverick]

I just love coming here! So much wisdom and inspiration shared. BUT also very real life with our downs as well. They show that we don't have to stay down, we can choose to make a change.

This morning I saw this....If you keep thinking of the way you used to be, that is exactly what you will continue to be.

I'm grabbing a bucket of courage and going for it. I know losing weight is possible and I know how to do it. I will be successful. (No brag. Just fact)

I woke up at 2am this morning needing to eat. I had 30 calories left from yesterday but I couldn't find anything that was only 30 calories to eat. On the good side, I was mentally totally on board. I knew my body needed food but I didn't want to use this moment as a excuse to gorge or eat crap. THIS is a positive change! In the past, I would give myself a "pass" on eating healthy and eat anything and as much of it as I wanted (aka Binge eating).

I need to find and establish a "go to" healthy, easy to grab, filling, low calorie food to eat when I wake up in the middle of the night.

Scales were same today but the trend continues in a very slow downward direction.
Except for one blooper, sleep is staying consistent around 7 hours (my goal)
Daily treadmill is consistent. Today's baby step increase was top speed of 3.3mph. Top heart rate was 129 bpm which is lower end of my zone.
Daily logging of food on MFP is consistent.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

That video is one of the reasons I kept trying to ride a bike when I couldn't get on or off one gracefully. I kept thinking if I kept at it, I'd get more flexible and be able to eventually get on and off without having to be beside a curb to step onto. I can. I can also ride on the street so am now choosing more efficient routes because I'm steadier and can ride at the side of the road more safely. (Was thinking of that as I biked home today.)

I was also thinking about how unfair it was that the wind changed while I was in the mall so I had to bike against the wind in both directions!

I've picked up my two books that will remake me and now embark on my fall project of getting to like myself again.

I will share the sensible tips along the way. The junk won't be repeated. And I set the bar high. (That video is an example of something that deserves to be sent round and round the internet.)

I do not believe in extreme low calorie intake (sorry Harriet!) so probably won't follow the eating book the way those on the 'Biggest Loser' do because I don't want to take in anything under 1200 calories a day. The dietitian's reviews I read on the book say the eating plan should work but that's because it is below 1000 a day. They do like the maintenance plan, though and other ideas. So that endorsement, along with the evidence of how great my cousin looks, is why I'm actually looking at the book. I was disappointed in the Dr. Weil book because too many of the suggestions in my version have been reversed which makes me think he's not using his critical thinking skills but following junk science in his recommendations.

As for the "How Not to Look Old" the lady on the cover (possibly the author Charla Krupp) has either had work done or is 20 years younger than me. So we might have a different definition of old.

The tag line for the book is "fast and effortless ways to look 10 years younger, 10 pounds lighter and 10 times better." It is the last of those that I'm looking for although I'll take the first two as well and fast and effortless is always good!

Edited to add: Krupp is/was actually 7 years older than me (which makes her a year older than me in the pictures in this book.) But she's dead now from breast cancer. I still argue that she's had work done (or was airbrushed in these pictures - no one has flawless skin like that, even with makeup.)

[Harriet]

Oh no, Kathryn, neither do I. I've never liked calories under 1,200 per day and I don't think I'd feel well enough to exercise. But I do like going back to 2-day averages sometimes like 800/1800 or less/more, like 700/1900. The health benefits with intermittent calorie restriction are fascinating to me. And Dr. Johnson's alternate-day just makes more sense to me than other types.

Happy for you on your new plan and inspiration. I like, "embark on my fall project". That sounds great.

Btw, dd cited some shocking statistics on airbrushing in published photos (mags, books, ads) that made me wonder if every image I see has been "doctored". Supposedly the percentages are coming down now. So depending upon the year of the book, all the publisher's jacket photos may have been air-brushed. She said she'd read that one thing people do see is the absence of wrinkles, but they miss the shaving-off of the waistlines and are more likely to assume those are accurate.

Also like "grabbing a bucket of courage", Lady M! I cannot help you with the concept of anything to eat before lying down - I have to avoid it so as not to aggravate acidity. For 30 calories, though... ... almonds?

[Lady Maverick]

Kathryn - I'm looking forward to hearing the tips you reap from the new books.

Scales continue on their very slowly downward way. Trend is down .4 today. Although most days the scales barely move, I'm perfectly okay with that. I was surprised when I compared today's weight to a week ago and find I'm 2.6 lbs lighter than last Sunday. I've been focusing on the trend instead of the actual weight.

Treadmill top speed was bumped up to 3.4mph.
Logging in MFP
Water bottles are filled and drank each day.
Sleep is improving. I averaged 7 hours and 37 minutes sleeping this past week.

I have officially weighed in and been accepted for my first Dietbet. That part was easy. After accepting my pictures they emailed my goal weight to reach by Oct 6th. I don't know enough about the rest of the process to have an opinion yet.

[FelineFriend]

I watched my diet closely this past 7 days, I counted calories, stayed within a healthy range, and exercised and kept active. I was so happy to wake up -3.2 Lbs. less today, than last Sunday and my waist measured 36", too! My waist measurement goal is to be below 35", for heart-diabetic health. I'm not diabetic, don't have high blood sugars, but hear that if you keep an eye on the waist measurement and hip to ratio measurement, you'll do better. Just repeating news reports, is all. I now have -19 Lbs. to lose to become 155 Lbs., for my first goal. Dr. said 137 - 165 Lbs. is good for my age, height, and frame. 165 Lbs. is only 9 Lbs. away! OH MY GOODNESS! That's a huge surprise, I just discovered sitting here doing the math and it's so wonderful, too! I haven't been at 165 Lbs. since about 1982! Oh, my! I just took my calculator out of my desk drawer here, did the math and that's 32 years ago. Oh, this is getting scary! I don't know how to act when I get that weight. Oh, well. All it means is I'll be able to wear those size 16 WITHOUT the "W" jeans a bit easier. I have 1 pair of lined size 12 tweed slacks, but no 14's. I guess I'll need to go buy some fourteens when I need to. I DO have some size Large Adidas pants, which must be small because I cannot get them up over my hips now or yet. So those should fit when I'm a size 14, right? I'd love to buy 1 pair of bootleg Levis in size 14, for good, and then just get the other jeans, cheap, out at Costco. They're about $15 - $17. Someday, I want to get sexy underwear, a matching bra and panties set, a negligee set, and try bikini underwear. A girl can dream, can't she? I WON'T try thongs though. I heard it's like "floss" and you can get yeast infections. It was a tip I read somewhere, on advice for women. Has anybody else ever heard that before?

Hi! I just wanted to say on Friday night, DH and I went to a cafe. It's the first time I've been OUT to eat, since around March or April, because of Gastritis problems. I never could decide on anything that was NOT spicy, acidic, greasy, fried, etc... I ate a bowl of clam chowder and a Cobb Shrimp Salad, had very little problems with it, just minor ones, but wasn't out-and-out ill from my meal or in terrible pain. It was so wonderful to actually celebrate our 44th wedding anniversary by going OUT to a cafe and I had so much fun.

Also, I wanted ya'll to know that tonight, we ate chicken-mozarrella ravioli from Costco tonight. However, DH did not use Alfredo sauce because it disagrees with me and I cannot have the acidic tomato sauce on this Gastritis diet. I ate my ravioli plain, it was just fine, was moist from boiling it, and I didn't "need" sauce. DH, however, slathered margarine all over his. He LOVES margarine on so many things! I cannot have butter nor margarine on the Gastritis Diet. I CAN have Molly McButter sprinkles though, which mimic butter, on vegetables. Anyway, in a few weeks, since i'm still having Gastritis symptoms, my Dr. said he'll probably order the H. Pylori test for me. He chooses the easy blow-into-the-balloon test, not the other 2. I just look forward to the day when I'm healed and there is no more special totally restrictive diet to follow. However, I've read it's quite common for the elderly to get Gastritis flare-ups for the elder years on and off. That's sort of sad, to me. AND surprising, too.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

The first meal I prepared from the Now Eat This Book was a success except dh just ate the meat. And I left the sauce off. And since I didn't have agave syrup, I used maple syrup this time. Will shop for the other tomorrow.

The recipes are supposed to take 30 more or less in most cases to cook and this was close, 38 minutes. I did pork tenderloin with butternut squash mash. Added a salad. Dh skipped the squash and had potatoes and frozen corn and peas. He can refuse to eat the healthy veggies all he wants, it just means he has to cook his own veggies each night. I'll do the rest of the cooking. I may have to buy a copy of the book to replace the library one. It got spattered by dh's pan fries.

Dh is out at a movie tonight. I'm off to bed now.

Since our bike ride was short (under 2 miles) I opted to do 30+ minutes on the exercise bike while watching an episode of Suits. Dh bikes for about an hour a day, watching an episode of assorted tv. I figured it would be better use of my time tonight. Hope my legs are ok in the morning (it is recumbent which has a different leg motion than a regular bike.)

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

I'm taking steps more quickly now both figuratively and literally. Early in the day or before I've been on my feet too long, I notice that I'm moving quickly, rather than barely strolling. Not quite a brisk walk but at least I'm now moving as fast as the general crowds in a mall (and in some cases faster.) I think I'm biking faster too although still not at google maps average of 18 kph when it says how long it will take to get somewhere.

Figuratively, I'm quickly taking multiple steps this month to reverse my decline. Not that any steps I've taken so far are helping. I'm up 5 pounds since mid-July, despite being in better flexible and moving shape now and over a pound of that gain was in the last few days despite stopping cutting 2100 calories from my diet in the past week by stopping my 2 can a day habit of HFCS soda. To me, it feels like the more steps I take to get healthy, the higher the weight goes which is incredibly frustrating.

I now have 51 pounds to lose to get to my goal weight (which is the high-end for my height according to WW.) At this weight, in the past I've felt good but not fabulous. I feel fabulous at 132 which is only a distance memory now. I weighed that when ds was 3 (after my campaign for town council so I was out walking the villages, knocking on doors.) I weighed that again in 1999 after my first WW experience and again in 2004 (after using WW and Curves and at this point I was physically smaller than in 1999.) Each of these times I felt amazing and fit but 2004 was the best. I made my WW the day after my dad died and maintained it for 13 months despite dh's parent's deaths, including me splitting my time between Ottawa and Toronto to help my dmil die at home. Then, while clearing out their house my back went out and I've been gaining weight ever since as I've dealt with mid-life crises of dh's cancer, my own disability, then travel (although I almost got to goal weight at one point after starting travel) and then my illnesses.

I've tossed almost all my clothes from that time (just keeping a few gowns and super dressy things that may be useful on the ship.) Anything else was just a reminder of how far I have fallen so didn't make the move with us.

So far this month I've:

1. Stopped HFCS in liquid form (I'm not bothering checking breads, etc. because in the past when I did so, I found it isn't in many Canadian foods even when the US versions do contain it so it isn't worth worrying about, especially as I'm working on switching to few processed foods.)

2. Started tracking my WW points (not sticking to WW point-range, but tracking the points) This is in additional to the tracking I've done since August 1, so I'm now tracking milk, sugared drinks (so the calories aren't just hidden in the food diary but highlighted), # of WW points, # of steps, # of floors and type of movement (biking/walking/housework for example), water, veggies, fruit. Plus the odd journalling comment and it records my weekly steps and weight.

3. Joined the Fitbit Ottawa activity group to give me more motivation and potentially real-life accountability.

4. As a result of 3 (and your comments here), have joined MyFitnessPal because it can be linked to my fitbit.

5. Have started to 'digest' Rocco Dispirito's Now Eat This! philosophy, using it as a source of new recipes that will WW point out to healthy ranges but cover off being fulling. Usually, on WW I do that by having lots of popcorn as my salty snack and lots of salads with my meals. This will give me some other foods to use (although I love both popcorn and salads so will keep up with those as well.)

6. Weighing myself daily (counter-productive right now since the scale has only gone up this month despite all the other changes.)

7. Started reading the "How not to look old" book in order to improve my general appearance in the hopes of liking myself more. If I can 'fake it until I make it' it will help me get over setbacks (such as the weight going up.)

8. Given myself a budget of money to spend on myself. Our finances are run as a commune, all income is pooled and we draw a monthly allowance. I use mine to buy stuff occasionally (like my fitbit or my tablet, presents for dh), or to buy experiences (excursions on the ship for me, pedicures, movies, lunch out with friends), but mainly for buying food that shouldn't be part of the food budget (like my soda or baked cheetos since dh doesn't have a similar food item.)

I seldom spend close to my monthly allowance so have a surplus. As part of this makeover, I'm promising myself that I'll spend a set amount on myself over the next 3 months. This will be for new makeup, the 'right' clothes, tools to help with weight loss, etc. Basic items like running shoes or, if I buy them, orthotics, are household expenses but things like fancy shoes or chunky jewelry (apparently all thin gold chains are a no-no for people trying to look young) will be part of this remodeling budget.

[Harmony]

Good luck, Kathryn. It always helps to have a plan!

I have a sure-fire way to go crazy. Get out the books a friend passed along to you and read one after the other. The first was all about Low Carb (at kins type diet) with cookbook at end. The second was Ornish, low fat (almost no fat) diet with no meat, eggs, etc., and this book was half cookbook. What a way to scramble one's brain. Each has studies, etc. etc. to back up their theory.

How do you all pick a program to follow, anyway?

[Nancy]

Loving my #'s the past 2 days! I am SO happy that this med. Tweak is working for me!

More good news tried on thejeans I the "too small" pile slatted for donations one pr. Fit!!! Oh happy day!

Way to go gals you are working on this so many pages for this mo. Already on this thread!

Got a new pink bs meter have my eye on a red one next with cheaper strips. If colored monitors motivate me to keep better track of my #s so be it.

Saw w mart is putting clinics andemployees could get a check up for $4. Other folk $40. might be worth it for considerstion... just a thought.

[Lady Maverick]

Nancy - Sooo very happy for you!!

Kathryn - that recipe sounds wonderful! I've never thought of using applesauce to make a sauce over meat. It sounds like a great idea. Did the recipe make enough for another couple of meals? 30 minutes of effort = ?? meals.

Harmony - IKWYM! Everyone is an expert and has data to back them up. It is confusing.

I have settled on eating "normal" food. We have successfully done the Omish and Atkins type eating style in the past. We did outstanding when we went low carb, but eventually we got tired of not eating carbs and the weight all came back (plus some extra pounds). Our family doctor consistently recommends WW because he wants us to learn portion control. Nothing is off limits.... except gluttony. Both DH and I are losing weight (very slowly) while eating all our favorite foods. I'm the one counting calories. I do tell LO and DH what the recommended portion size for each food being served. One serving of Spaghetti equals one cup.... I measure my spaghetti with the 1 cup measure bowl and leave the measuring tool on the counter next to the food. They typically don't measure theirs but they do have a visual size next to the serving dish. It has been a slow process for me to learn and use proper portions. I still think it is a crime that ONE slice of bacon is a serving. One the good side - LO is learning along with us. A couple days ago LO wanted some mandarin oranges. I grabbed a can from the pantry and LO said "I know I can't eat the whole thing. There are 3 servings in that can." It was a sweet moment when I realized he is learning along with me. Hopefully eating the correct portion will become normal way of life for him.

Scales bounced up .4 lbs today but the trend continues downward for the 8th day in a row.

I am struggling with exercise shoes. I have some high priced running/walking shoes that I try to wear but my feet hurt after a few minutes on the treadmill. I can wear nothing (crocs) and be okay but as my top speed on the treadmill slowly increases I am finding my shins are starting to hurt. The only thing that doesn't hurt is boots. It seems weird to wear boots but I can't find anything else that works for me. My goal is to one day be jogging......but jogging in BOOTS has never been part of that dream. Maybe I will scratch jogging off my goal and make a new goal of reaching/maintaining a fast walking pace. Boots on the treadmill may seem weird, but I'm okay with that as long as my feet/shins don't hurt.

This morning I hard boiled 6 eggs and cooked (baked) 3.5 lbs of bacon. Both of those items were easily done while I was doing other things. They will make future meal prep faster and easier. Preparing 3 meals a day is easier when I keep the ingredients on hand and ready to use.