Health and Fitness January, 2013

[Nancy]

Wish me luck today bs is up have a birthday dinner family gathering tonight at a place we do not normally go to so trying to decide ahead of time so I have some sort of a meal plan. Taco salad maybe, what we used to get ch. fry steak is out that was before diab. Rx.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Nancy: good luck today.

My milk consumption is up as I use it as a source of protein as well as something to drink.

I need to put some almonds out in order to have them to grab when I start to want a snack. It is amazing how powerful even 5 almonds can be to stop a craving. The key is to eat each one, chewing it completely, before moving to the next.

I'm using apples more too.

Treadmill has developed an obstacle. Dh is now using it to prepare for the hike up to Machu Picchu. I pointed out that he needed to do incline work and the bike wouldn't help develop those muscles. He tried the treadmill for 10 minutes on incline and had to agree.

Well, the issue is his timing and my sleeping. He get out of bed and goes to the exercise room at, for example 7 a.m. At 8 I might hear beeping and hear thumping so figure it is the treadmill so don't get up to get on the treadmill. Then quiet, then beeping and thumping an hour later. Turns out he's been on the bike, but just doing email, not biking for the first hour, then biking for an hour, then on the treadmill for 30 minutes, then 30 minutes of floor exercises. I didn't realize how much noise the bike makes when he's biking hard with it so confused it with the treadmill.

This has happened two days in a row. I'm on the treadmill now but could have been on it 2 hours ago (it is 11 and I'm just getting up for the day because I lay in bed waiting for him to be done.) Turns out he didn't even get on the treadmill yesterday and the noise I heard was the bike. I gave up the treadmill thinking I'd get out for a walk because it wasn't really cold but then my dejunking cut into walking time so that didn't happen so I just did 4200 steps yesterday.

I skipped a nap two days in a row but ended up in bed for 12 hours last night so not sure how much progress this is. I'm wondering if the green tea in the morning is giving more energy I don't see any because by noon I break down and have one soda to keep going, then miss the nap because I have enough energy to go on through the whole afternoon.

As for eating - that is not really going well either. I'm debating trying a diet soda today since the doc said it would be ok (due to the weight gain from using regular soda to keep going.)

There is a huge balancing act between trying to live a normal life and dealing with the exhaustion from the hep, since the sugar gives me the energy to get through the day without a nap and without the aches and emotions that I have when I don't use the soda. But at the same time, the sugar just brings me up to a normal amount of activity (3-4K steps without a workout) so I don't move enough to burn off the calories from the extra sugar.

The other day I went the whole day without any extra energy and did a whopping 2700 steps so that's what I'm like without using soda.

Since the green tea doesn't seem to be doing anything (aside from keeping me awake at night when I take it later in the day) I don't think that caffeine is helping and I really think it is the sugar. If that is the case, diet softdrinks shouldn't work either. That will be my experiment today or tomorrow.

[Harriet]

Love that almonds experience, Kathryn. I can find them at the healthy foods store and try to quell a craving or two. I can put them beside the chewing gum! (That's my other go-to craving-stopper.)

Other energy boosters - besides coffee? Hmmm there's also caffeine gum, which I've never tried, but hear it is gaining in popularity and doesn't have many detractors. B-12 spray or sublingual - wondering about OKay's family experience with that? Dr Oz says have coffee just before a nap, then splash your face with cool water after the nap - now, Dr Oz is not thinking of acid reflux when he says this but for those who don't suffer, it seems to work very well. He also says have high fat meals in the evening, not lunch, because we get groggier while digesting fat, and eat lunch beside a sunny window. (I wonder about that one - sometimes I think the sunshine makes me get even more cozy-napping feelings, lol.)

In NASA-funded research, a siesta boosted the performance of long-haul airline pilots by 34%.

Good luck, Nancy. If it's a national chain, you can look up their nutrition online. Hate to say it, but usually it's disappointing to do that! Of course, you can also just decide in advance you're going to have half the portion they bring, and maybe those numbers won't be as bad. Hard to stick to in a social situation, though.

[Lynlee]

Harriet - I have met the couple behind the fedup site too. There is a lot of info on line there so mark it to read parts of too - esp to skim to the parts of newsletter that will interest you. They both found they had food sensitivities when sorting out their dd's problems - and he is a food scientist too.
Joan Breakey really could be counted as a researcher and her work is really up there with the best.

Kathryn - (in the newsletter) I seem to remember a link between artifical sweeteners and fatigue - though its maybe 6 mths since I read it. Both those 2 sites will say sugar is not the problem. (I think the how much taken in a dose is, and all the stuff they add to sugar to sell it.)
The fedup one says if you can get intolerances under control then blood sugar levels aren't so dramatic with hypoglycemic reactions - I've found that to be true. My levels stabalize if I follow what works for me.

Personally - my preference is to see what is helpful from less dramatic starting point - though it could just be that for me - so much of what was meant to be allowed on the fail safe/fedup scheme wasn't what suited me. When I spoke to a dietian at a fedup lecture night she really discounted my experience - which joan breakley had said was actual allergy back decades before.
As they say - good help is hard to find. And it is our own slouthing that will find us the way if we follow the signs.

Must. go
. I need lunch and a rest before I go out to morbidly obese friend's house. She rang me earlier.

[OKay]

Keeping on....... logging food, water, sleep and exercise.

Weight is stayed the same today which is GOOD. I held my breath this morning when I stepped onto the scales because I had overeaten yesterday. And had way too much sodium. I am frustrated with myself, but know it is part of the weight loss journey. Bumps in the road are to be expected. I ate almost perfectly all day and then blew it from supper on. Saturday night Ice cream is a tradition here and I continue it. An Ice cream cone has about 230 calories and for a once a week splurge I consider it A-OKay. However later I also ate popcorn with LO....then all those high carbs made my blood sugar crazy so I ate a chicken sandwich to even it out. OVER EATING. CARBS maxed out. SUGAR over load. Yuck.

I have had 2 liver diseases (hep & mono) so my liver is probably more sensitive than most. The quickest way I can make my liver start hurting is by drinking a soda. Full sugar or diet doesn't seem to matter. Pepsi or coke product doesn't matter. They all make my liver hurt for days. If you haven't already, you might want to research sodas and their effect on liver.

I had to give up tea because of acid reflux. That one was hard. I loooooove drinking tea.

So now I am a coffee drinker. Black with nothing added (no sugar, creamer, flavor enhancers, etc). Coffee doesn't seem to bother me. No negative effects that I can detect (other than being addicted to it) So that leaves me with only 2 drinks I can have are water and coffee. Everything else affects my body in a negative way.

B12 research is still underway. My last blood work (Oct 2012) showed me to be low in B12. I added in the daily liquid B complex drops and will see if they make a difference in my next lab results.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

OKay I was holding my breath yesterday when weighing myself for a similar reason - Pizza usually causes water gain for me. But, like you, nothing. Hope it doesn't show up this morning - I finally tracked all my food yesterday. And was within the points allowed.

Felt really sick through the night - a general unwell with shakes but no fever or gastro symptoms evident. Still don't feel 100% (more like 70%) but got on the treadmill anyway because I don't need any more excuses to avoid it. If I'm really getting sick (flu as opposed to the cold I've had for the past week), I'll be off the treadmill later this week.

Dh got me one of his undershirts to wear (I had on a camisole and sleeping pants but my back and shoulders were cold) and brought me the bucket just in case the gastro came on suddenly but I didn't need it. I had several hot/cold swings through the night but I get those even when I'm well.

Tried a diet Dr. P yesterday. Almost instant headache and I ended up drinking only 4 oz before deciding it wasn't worth trying more. Had jelly beans later in the day to perk me up so went the day with no caffeine (and no nap but I didn't get out of bed until 10:30 and was in bed at 10 so there really wasn't time for one!)

Anyway, the diet drinks are a definite no-go for me. As soon as I sipped it, the memory of the awful night of aspartame withdrawal came flooding back and I'd prefer to not go through that again, ever. The ER was seriously considered that night because I couldn't get a handle on the pain. I finally took two extra strength tylenols (this was the day before the liver was identified as the problem) and rocked back and forth on the floor for a while. Through the whole hepatitis acute attack, that was the only true pain I felt and that was from withdrawal, not the illness itself.

For those of you using caffeine and/or gum for energy/diet help, both are off the table for me. Caffeine due to heart palpitations and gum due to my jaw. Even jelly beans are bad for my jaw but I put my hand up and support it while chewing those. I don't allow myself more than 12 oz of caffeine tea a day (or 3 cokes for about the equivalent amount.) Above that, too many heartbeats skipped while working out and my heart rate monitor stops working.

[Cowinkie]

Sat... 143.2 Lost .4 lbs and I ate out last night.
Sunday 142.8 Lost .4 lbs and I ate out last night with Norma. We went to a Mexican place and I had fish and veggies.

Total 3.6 lbs for the week.

I am very carb sensitive. I know if I eat anything that resembles bread...such as crackers or cookies...it will send me off on a binge. Two habits I have worked hard to change this week. First is the "pencil between my teeth" routine so I don't eat an additional meal while cooking and cleaning up after the real one. Second...and I have to really concentrate on this...is to put my fork DOWN on my plate between bites. It helps me to eat slower. Sweetie is a skinny man...but he hasn't always been. He is very slow to eat his food. Mine is usually gone before he has finished 1/3 of his plate. I use to kid myself about how fast I eat reasoning that Sweetie finished last because he eats so much more than me.

This week I started doing a new diet...Its called Face The Truth ...Hardest diet I've ever done. As in...well if you've not going to be physical today, thats OK, but you need to cut down on your calorie intake. And...you know its NOT alright to nibble on forbidden foods cause it will start you on a binge and then you'll get mad at yourself afterwards.

Every night before I go to bed I visualize how I will look and how proud I will feel when I reach all my small goals. And I give myself that "Adda girl" talk each day I stay on my eating plan. I have cut out pictures in magazines of bodies I like and have taped them to my bathroom wall. Sweetie thinks I'm crazy but I don't care. Not using young bodies either.

Bought the new People's magazine this week..Its their issue of "I lost have my size" I find those stories very, very motivating. They are just normal everyday people who didn't spent 7 days a week at the gym with a professional trainer, nor do they have chefs in their houses to prepare their foods.

That reminds me...the other habit I am developing is to be like the Boy Scouts and Be Prepared. I cut up an apple, put it in a zip lock bag and grab it when I leave the house. Last night I did my sleep walking/eat thing and I ate 4 apple slices..thats all that was left in my bag.

Tomorrow night I am going to a friends house to watch the Alabama game. I have already planned to cut up my apple into bite size pieces and take it with me. That way while everyone else is munching on chips, I can be munching on my apple and won't feel like I'm being left out.

Next challenge...see if I can repeat this process for the next week. Gotta make it through today first

Forgot to add...I am using a small spiral notebook to write everything down. I find if I use the food apps on my phone it takes too long. Paper and ink is much faster and easy, plus I don't have to think when I do it. That's a plus for me

[Cowinkie]

Okay...Healthy Choice frozen yogurt is only 100 calories with no fat....and it is hard to find because it is so YUMMIE!!!! Look for it in the Healthy Choice section where their dinners are.

ABC's 20/20 half their size
http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/wo ... ealth.html

People mag...
http://www.people.com/people/package/ga ... 53,00.html

[Nancy]

Ex. done today did 4 mi. on the ex. bike and shoveled a bit in the garden for my arms too.

[OKay]

What good ideas here!

Yesterday was a disaster diet wise. I was so busy that i am not sure what I ate. I would grab something to eat on my way to check on LO.....grab something to eat on my way to pick up plates off tables, ...grab something to eat on my way...well you get the idea. There is a reason they tell us to SIT DOWN when we eat. Eating on the go makes it seem like all the food I was putting in my mouth didn't happen.

So, I am picking myself up today, dusting my bruised intentions off and starting again.