Health and Fitness September, 2013

[Ivy]

I walked 20 minutes while talking on the phone with my Utah sister.
I worked real hard in my small office to strip the desk, rearrange it, put desk items in other places. Worked up a sweat.
I'll do yoga this evening and/or also in an evening shower.
I read an idea at a stress-reliever newsletter, which said you can do stretches and yoga in the shower!
That's like killing 2 birds with 1 stone! I think it's a super idea!
In fact, I'm thinking about taking a morning shower to loosen up the joints and muscles AND doing it in the evening, as I wind down to relax so I sleep better.
Why? Because my doctor's recommendations to him that are patients in their 60's and older were stumbling, walking wobbly and falling and breaking hips on the fibromyalgia med I'm on. So his instructions to me are to wean off this med, to use exercise to deal with the pain and get a more restful muscle-restorative sleep with and this is working.
Yesterday, I felt a little withdrawal symptom for the afternoon and evening, but today, after 1 week, that's all GONE!
I'm so pleased this is working for me. I know it won't be "perfect" everyday, but what is? Nuttin'!
I'm going to continue to do what my doctor says and also, I have a book on FM and curing it with exercise, too.
I'll re-read that, too. Good ideas are in it!

HAPPY AUTUMN, EVERYBODY!

[Lynlee]

wow ivy - I'm pleased for you.

[Harriet]

Tried to post last evening and the other computer wouldn't let me stay on long enough to post, and lost it.

Was trying to say,

Ivy, I'm so glad you are off that med.

Harmony, I was thinking you were eating pretty close to this. Yes, simple. No particular hunger.
What a lovely party that must have been.

Also this is probably not too far from what Norma and Mr. Guy were doing. Not sure if OKay ever did this way of eating or another, but probably had some elements of it.

I won't try to post exactly what I ate, but I stayed close to recent menus and am pleased. Exercise has daily become "the next 15 minutes" that comes up on the total workout - really the 3-minute stretch and then 12 minutes, I guess. That's less than 2 hours of formal exercise per week, but right now with a new way of eating I'm thinking about, that's fine.

Thought of putting blueberries into themuffin in the morning, and that's really delish, very moist. Just have to remember there were a few sugar calories at breakfast, but really so few they hardly matter. 5 or 6 for 1/4 cup, and it takes less than that for a muffin.

[Nancy]

I have done my 10 mi. On the ex. Bike today plus a half mi.walk with dgd we used our umbrellas and she did plenty of Wading in mud puddles.

[Harmony]

Ivy, that is great to get off that medicine. I hope the 2 showers work to ease your pain.

I did well at the restaurant this morning. They had oatmeal on the 55+ menu and I had that. It came with a tiny cup of raisins which I added, brown sugar which I sent back, and whole milk, which I used a smidgen of. The juice was apple juice which tasted divine, but I only drank a little of it. I suppose that was a lot of sugar, wasn't it, Harriet?

But at least I didn't have the cheese omelets with sausage and bacon and pancakes with syrup like the others had! I got the biggest kick out of the one gal, she had a double omelet with all that and pancakes, then she asked for sugar-free syrup! I also did decaf because I know they set pitchers of coffee on the table and I didn't want to be so tempted.

Last evening I stopped at the store and got a cart-load of veggies. And that's all I had for the rest of the day, with a little chicken.

How long have you been doing this way of eating, Harriet? Have you noticed a weight difference?

[Harriet]

Nancy, I neglected to think of you, but the concept of watching sugar is probably something you do as much as any of us, even if it's not counting the actual sugar calories.

Good job sending back the brown sugar, Harmony. Can't lie to you - oatmeal, raisins and apple juice... ... Yes, that was enough sugar. But sounds like a great lunch and dinner.

Well, Harmony... .... that's the 64 thousand dollar question isn't it? As HRH said about his partial recovery from muscle pain from the hospital shots in the rear, "Shh, don't ask - you'll jinx it." But yes, news looks good. This morning is exactly one week. For the first morning yet, I didn't have at least a half-pound loss. So for this first week, that is about as successful (for weight loss) a way of eating as I've experienced. Perhaps I'd better hold a definite verdict until another week passes, in case that was a last hurrah, but after the first day (to which I don't pay much attention, because any change in diet causes a change the first day) it's been about a half-pound a day, and that's even out to day 4, 5, 6 before a break ... ... that got my attention.

I had occasion to go back by the office of the dr I'd seen 3 weeks previously just for a new prescription. I asked if I could be weighed on the same scale, even though we all noted I didn't take off my lightweight-ish shoes this time (they really didn't have much time to spare me). The ladies documented a 3-pound loss even with the shoes (and of course assumed it was over 3 weeks, not one), and stopped talking about the diet supplement one had brought in, to ask me what I was doing. I said, "laying off the sugar". They both gave a little groan. It doesn't exactly sound like a fun plan, does it?

[Harmony]

Well that sounds impressive, Harriet. I'm happy it is working for you. I'm sure I had a cup (cooked) of oatmeal, but it was unsweetened the way I eat it here at home, and I'll bet there was only a tablespoon of raisins, and I probably drank 1/2 cup of the apple juice. See, I had a choice of apple, orange (a no-no-acid) or tomato juice (also a no-no). How much sugar would those other breakfasts had? And the last benefit, it was $4.95 including the decaf! Though I had that for health reasons only....

And the rest of the day I don't think there was much sugar at all...

I am presently stuck at 6 lbs weight loss, including the relosing of the 2 fluid ones I gained with the fast food.

Today was a tuna salad sandwich on 2 pieces of 50 cal whole wheat bread. I make the tuna with scant mayo (the kind with olive oil, half the cal.) and lots and lots of celery. (DH complains it's too dry, yep he's right). And I add juicy pickles to up the moisture. The rest of the day will be my veggies I made yesterday, there are some beans in there I guess they're higher sugar? Where is the list of sugar values? Besides on labels?

[Nancy]

Watching carbs is diff. Than sugar, some folks talk about high fiber but fructose in fruit can drive up blood sugar as can oatmeal w out anything else added to it who wants bran cereal w out raisins?

I Had a no bake pb cookie for breakfast #58 bs when I got up so had to have some before heading outside to do hen chores at five thirty a.m. mid morning cheese and eggs. I do not eat yogurt going for hard cheese has loads less sugar.

Lunch a salad had some mini candy bars today also. Pb no bread Dinner fish sticks deviled eggs.

Some days I have tuna
salad w out bread and extra pickles or pickled peppers. Pepperchinis and olives and cukes if you are not fond of pickles or are watching salt intake.

[Twins' Mom]

I've not CUOP-ed in here this month, but.....today I am starting WW again at the 5:30 meeting. Probably won't start tracking eating until tomorrow a.m. but I'm on my way. I think dh is going also but if he backs out I won't. We are such different people - he can't do it part way - he is in for 110% and has to recite off what he's eaten daily. I am "all things in moderation" so I'm more like 80% in.

[Harriet]

Oh, that's great you may end up doing this together, Twins' Mom. All best wishes! Hope you run into nothing but pleasant folks. Let us know how it goes.

Harmony, I can't find a webpage that explains how many sugar calories a long list of items has. But if you found a long list of how many carbs foods had, each could be multiplied by 4 in estimation rather quickly, I suppose.

Cruise pays no counting attention to a lot of foods, like fish, poultry, eggs, lots of cheeses and meats, or non-carby vegetables (non-potato, carrot, bean, sweet potato). Mayonnaise, sour cream, half-and-half in small portions are ignored. He says these are "freebies", don't bother with counting anything, but of course don't go overboard with huge servings. He counts fruits, with apologies, saying yes they have fiber but it's hard to calculate how much that changes the high sugar - pretty much what Nancy was saying.

If you eat usual breads/cakes, he wants you to eat small portions and count the sugar calories (carbs x 4). However, he says the really good news is that there are flours that are freebies - coconut flour, almond flour, ground flax meal. So he wants you to make your breads out of these in ways that make the breads "freebies", too. I have bought the almond flour to make the little chocolate cake but haven't had time. But you can find that cake recipe on the net, too. There's a pancake recipe for someday.

So far, my breads have been the muffin recipe and (convenient no-brainer) egg mcmuffin from McD, which has such a small portion of bread that the whole sandwich has only 87 sugar cals. Also the muffin recipe with added berries, which changes it a lot and adds 5 or 6 sugar calories for the day. You could certainly have an ordinary sandwich and maybe come up less than my mcmuffin, since he says one hamburger bun may have as little as 72 sugar calories - check the package, they're different. You'd just need to have that at one meal and watch the counting for the other meals. In his list of beans, btw, most familiar ones look like 80 sugar calories per 1/2 cup serving.

I'm making the "shrimp salad" and putting it over a tossed salad now, and that's different and enjoyable. I know myself, and I need to make sure I'm getting my veggie fiber, so having the salads helps.