<p>I went AWOL for awhile, because I had an injury and couldn’t run at all. I’ve been back at it for about a month. I’m down 11 pounds from last June. I’m motivated to lose more, because I’m going to South Africa in August with my parents (without any kids or husband!!). I’m going to treat myself to a shopping trip the last week of July. :)</p>
<p>A trip to South Africa - what a treat! That’s a great incentive to stick with the program. </p>
<p>Are you back running ML? South Africa sounds like a trip of a lifetime :)</p>
<p>20 mile bike ride, it was really hard today. Could have something to due with the less than optimal inflated front tire 
Got all ready to ride but forgot my pump so I went anyways. Got through it so that was a success. </p>
<p>Calf muscle is still sore. Ran 3 miles yesterday and it went well but had soreness afterwards. </p>
<p>Out of town this weekend. No time for exercise but it will be good for rest. </p>
<p>Sabaray- that is disgusting and irresponsible. Coke must be getting desperate! </p>
<p>sabaray:</p>
<p>Hmmm. Funny how they don’t show the people trying to pedal off the calories for a Big Gulp… 
Those peeps would look like me staggering off the Airdyne…</p>
<p>Or point out that to really “earn” a can of sugar water, you would have to burn NET calories, over and above what you would be burning just sitting on a beach chair. Just guessing, I suspect that it would be well over an hour of pedalling that bike to rack up the net calories.</p>
<p>But, the food companies want us to believe that a calorie is a calorie and the only thing that matters is calories in, calories out. That’s the only universe where it is possible to claim that drinking Coca Cola isn’t unhealthy.</p>
<p>Sabaray: awful commercial! It makes my teeth hurt just thinking about it. Seriously though, what’s the message? If you’re thin, you should drink coke? If you ride a bike, you should reward yourself with coke? Coke drinkers look like mice spinning away on their wheels? </p>
<p>MaineL, a trip to South Africa sounds incredibly amazing!</p>
<p>I put in some short walking time outdoors this morning–20 minutes–and then hit the gym this afternoon for a core workout following a 1.5 mile jog on the treadmill.</p>
<p>I used to have horrible headaches. To alleviate them until I could get to my heavy duty meds, I would frequently consume some contraindicated dose of extra strength Tylenol and drink a Coke. It worked. My grandmother used to swear that Coke would settle nausea. It usually did. Funny thing; now that my diet has improved and I’m exercising, I haven’t had a headache like that in quite a while. Have to wonder about cause and effect. </p>
<p>I thought about the Big Gulps too, iDad. Most people aren’t drinking a single can of Coke. Blech. </p>
<p>Slow exercise day today. Work has been stressful. Walked with my mother and Sabadog and Sabapup. The pup loves my mother. A lot. Fun was had by all. </p>
<p>^ Caffeine is known to help relieve headaches. You used to be able to buy acetaminophen/caffeine formulations in over-the-counter medicines. Maybe you still can.</p>
<p>My mother used to give me Coke for an upset stomach too.</p>
<p>One of the first withdrawal symptoms for caffeine is a headache. So drinking a Coke or a cup of coffee would cure the headaches that are cause by caffeine withdrawal.</p>
<p>Not, that I would ever go without my coffee… :)</p>
<p>I hear you on the coffee, iDad. I have moved to 1/2 caffeine and just can’t force myself to either switch to decaf or herbal tea. I love the morning ritual of making coffee.</p>
<p>I have 2 other headache triggers that motivate me: I started taking Vitamin D after a blood test showed I was way low a few years ago. Once I got used to the dosage (2000IUs/day) I find that I will get a wicked headache if I accidentally skip a day. A similar wicked headache happens if I miss my Synthroid dosage. Since I have missed at least once for each med, especially when I travel and my routine is off, I am extra motivated to take my meds as prescribed. The recovery is about a day and a half since it’s not a simple tension headache. Caffeinated coffee does not help for these headaches, only getting my blood back to the right D or. TSH levels helps, and that isn’t quick.</p>
<p>Today’s workout is finishing our yard work and mulching … Hope my SI joint holds up!</p>
<p>The one thing I can really do for my bone density problem besides the horrific meds which I am refusing for now is to take my calcium. Now there’s a pretty credible sounding study indicating that might be a bad idea and that taking calcium supplements can cause heart problems. Pretty discouraging. </p>
<p><a href=“Calcium Supplements: The risks of calcium supplements | Chris Kresser”>http://chriskresser.com/calcium-supplements-why-you-should-think-twice</a></p>
<p>Here’s the link. Appreciate your thoughts.</p>
<p>MoWC: What I’ve read is that you need to also take vitamin K2, in addition to calcium and vitamin D. Vitamin K directs the calcium to your bones as opposed to your arteries, where it causes problems. I’m pretty sure the calcium pill I take has K in it, too.</p>
<p>I also take strontium for my osteoporosis. And a small dose of estrogen.</p>
<p>I’ve found the osteoporosis forum at the National Osteoporosis Foundation to be helpful (<a href=“Bone Health & Osteoporosis”>https://www.inspire.com/groups/national-osteoporosis-foundation/</a>). </p>
<p>I’ve discussed my supplements with my specialist, and she’s not worried about what I take or my dexascan scores (which suggest my bones should be breaking all the time). She has not recommended that I take the scary drugs, but says that when I get much older I should take them for about 5 years, and that will strengthen my bones. I’m now in my mid-50s, and hope that when I need to take those drugs, in 20 or so years, that either they will be improved or new, better, ones are around. </p>
<p>MomWC, I’ve avoided calcium supplementation for years due to the research that seems now to be accumulating but was around even back in 2001 when my facet joint syndrome was diagnosed. I am also a paid member of consumerlab – the author of the purity report that article refers to – and saw that study.</p>
<p>But I do (instead) take the magnesium daily. Can’t tell if it “works” because I haven’t had a bone scan for years but because it is also a muscle relaxer and because I’ve been very much pain and lockup free for so long, I have at least a superstitious belief that the magnesium makes a positive contribution ;)</p>
<p>In your case, a strongish dose of magnesium daily might help you on two fronts…bone support and reduction in the muscle spasms your injury promotes. Might be worth a shot.</p>
<p>More weed whacking workout to be had in the back meadow…by the time I’m done the freakin thing I’ll have to be starting all over again…this is weekend #3 
hoping to supplement that routine with some terrace gardening acrobatics and finish with a nice swim!</p>
<p>Sabaray, do you think I’ll earn myself a COKE with all that? ;)</p>
<p>In actual fact, lemonade is my sugar calorie danger zone on days like this. I’ve finally found a lower cal version but really, I need to start making my own. Beergarita season is upon us, and I’m pretty sure there’s enough calories in a beergarita to be a meal replacement beverage…in a bad way!</p>
<p>Thanks to both of you for the info. I’ll check my calcium bottle for the Vit K when I get home from this VA trip and will definitely start with magnesium. My injury is a lot better with very little pain at all. I do have an appointment this week with my orthopedic surgeon to get another dad on this. He knows my history and I want his opinion on when I can swim and do some other hints and how long I have to be on the crutches. It’s not that I don’t trust the guy I saw- I think he did a really good job- but this guy has gotten me (and WildChild)through a lot of stuff.</p>
<p>KMC: juice 4 lemons. Add 14 oz water, 1 tbsp agave (or to taste) and a pinch of cayenne. Easy and tasty. I suspect you could substitute your sweetener of choice. MUCH better than a Coke. </p>
<p>MOWC, glad you’re feeling better. Hope the healing continues. </p>
<p>4.15 miles done in my favorite (ha!) rolling hills park. Big walk with the dogs. And it’s only 10 am! Weeding yet to come. </p>
<p>Another thing, MoWC – I used one of those food tracking apps to see how much calcium I was eating during the day. I make an effort to get my calcium from food as much as possible. I then brought that info to my specialist and asked her how much calcium I needed to take in a supplement. On the bottle of the supplements I take the recommended dose is 3 tablets – she told me to reduce it to one a day. On days when I’m traveling or know my food calcium intake is low, I pop another pill.</p>
<p>MOfWC, what this guy writes about calcium makes sense - it is largely concentration-driven:</p>
<p>“Researchers suspect that the large burst of calcium in the blood that occurs after supplementation may facilitate the calcification of arteries, whereas calcium obtained from food is absorbed at slower rates and in smaller quantities than from supplements. (7) It is also suspected that extra calcium intake above one’s requirements is not absorbed by bones, but rather excreted in the urine, increasing the risk of calcium kidney stones, or circulated in the blood, where it might attach to atherosclerotic plaques in arteries or heart valves. (8)”</p>
<p>I think most people who supplement calcium don’t really know if they even need to supplement it. You may be getting enough through your diet, but without doing some very tedious tracking, using a calculator such as the cron-o-meter, there’s no way to know for sure.</p>
<p>Some of these studies look like junk, although they make for great headlines. One of the studies referenced in MoWC’s article involved 24000 people, but relied on surveys, which are unreliable. And even though they theoretically screened out people with existing heart conditions, they didn’t analyze why people were taking supplements in the first place. And they were comparing against people taking no supplements at all, which is probably a younger healthier part of the cohort. And this same study showed that people in the 3rd quartile for dietary calcium consumption had a lower risk. They claim to adjust for </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>but when you are dealing with incidents that occur at a cumulative rate of about 1% total over 11 years, how much noise do all these adjustments add? All of which were self-reported. And then there’s this, which was overlooked in that article:</p>
<p>
So apparently calcium isn’t killing people. I don’t think this got reported. :)</p>
<p>That said, there is a synergy between calcium, magnesium, K2, and D3. Most people are deficient in Mg, K2 and D3, and I think it is good to supplement these. And some forms of Mg are better than others - avoid the oxide and citrate forms. I take the glycinate form.</p>
<p>Got two second place metals in age group 100 and 800 meter run track meet today. Encouraging because I haven’t had any real track workouts for 3 weeks. Discouraging because I used it as an excuse. Best news is that the right knee didn’t seem to suffer any ill effects. </p>
<p>Before the race, thought that I wanted to give up competitive running. Now I’m looking forward to the next two meets. Running IS stupid.</p>