Diet/Exercise/Health/Wellness Support Thread

Parent Cafe
43201

I used to be really thin and very healthy. The last few years, I’ve gone through menopause, had neck surgery, and really struggled with my weight, a very odd frame of mind for me. I’ve exercised and hurt my back several times, so had to stop. Last fall I started riding my bike, but slowed down over the winter, hurt my back again and was out for a good while, but restarted 7 or 8 weeks ago.

Six weeks ago, I went to the doctor and had a bunch of blood work to see if I was at risk for stroke (mother had severe diabetes and many strokes, which began at age 48). My coags were fine, but the scale showed a number I’d never seen before, my blood pressure was at 162/94 with a double dose of my BP med (forgot I’d taken one really early when I took one the second time), AWFUL trigylcerides, high fasting insulin, and my A1C showed pre-diabetes. All the symptoms of metabolic syndrome and feeling pretty crappy all the way around.

I’ve been riding my bike like a fiend to get BP pressure down and to improve insulin resistance. I have gone on a pretty strict low refined carbohydrate diet, added healthy fats and eliminated the bad ones, pretty much eliminated alcohol (restricted alcohol to a glass of wine on only 2 occasions), and have started going to bed earlier. I think I’ve lost about 12 or more pounds and people are starting to comment on it.

I have a doctor’s appointment in a couple of weeks to check my blood work, but yesterday I noticed I’ve been feeling a little orthostatic hypertension (that temporary light headed feeling upon rising from a chair or the couch), so I took my blood pressure. It was 116/68.

So I’ve lost weight, gotten my blood pressure down, am sleeping better, and hopefully have improved my blood work.

To celebrate, I just went on a one hour bike ride. A couple of months ago, a desire to celebrate would probably have meant a cheeseburger.

Baby steps, but they feel good!

43202

nrdsb4- That’s great progress and it’s good you addressed all the issues. It is so easy to give up when we hit setbacks- and you did not! I know there is so much more I could do to improve my health and overall well-being, but I just don’t do it. My job is extremely fast-paced and stressful- even though I love it. Some of my co-workers and I really like to go out at lunch just to decompress. Yes, I could bring a salad or something- but I don’t. I’m going to try to do a little better, but it’s hard. My weight and diagnostics are good and I’m taking my stupid bone density shots every day. I’ve slipped back into too many diet colas (those fizzy machines at lunch are too hard to resist)…

43203

Went to yoga today. I’m off to our vacation home for the next 10 days. Plan to walk on the beach and bike on some of the bike paths. Cars scare me when I’m bike riding, so I stick to the bike paths. At home, I’ve got to drive to get there, but at the vacation place, the path is at the end of the street, so I do more biking in the summer.

Sounds like you have made some great improvements to your health, Nrdsb4! It’s hard work.

43204

Such a great day I added a 4 mile walk to the mix. Met a friend and walked the 2 miles to lunch, ate a salad, then headed back! Would we could have this weather all the time!

43205

Keep it up nrdsb4!

My son’s been home for a week and we’ve been to the gym every day but one. Yay! I can really feel the Cosgrove workout pain, in a good way. I’ve also been walking, riding my bike, running, and cleaning the pool of the darned palm tree debris that keeps falling in. Today was a short workout day–ran three miles on the treadmill.

Oh, and my Coolibar long sleeve workout tee came. The fabric is amazingly soft and light. It fits somewhat loosely, compared to the rash guard, and its longer, but I like that. I wore it out for errands yesterday over a lulu skirt–felt very fashionable, lol. It also has a small zipper pocket, suitable for a key, but not large enough for an iphone. Their sizing seems generous. I bought a small and wouldn’t want it any longer in the sleeve or looser around the torso. Here’s a link from Coolibar–hope that’s allowed (?).

http://www.coolibar.com/product/Long-Sleeve-Sport-Tee/156573.uts

43206

That’s a nice shirt PlantMom - I find that may fitness shirts are LONG. I don’t want them showing my midriff, but I’m not short, but they are LONG! I do prefer my shirts a little loose though. Nothing clingy.

I’m proud of all the last several posts above! Streaks, health and wellness and exercise - so motivating, so amazing!

43207

Thanks, C3B. I did 4.5 miles from my office and beat the rain. I took it very easy to start. I seem to have trouble getting going after sitting most of the day. It was humid but overcast so not too bad.

43208

We owe Nrdbs4 two 5-pound parties! Congratulations on all the great work you’ve done in just a few weeks. So many people don’t have the willpower to make significant changes in their eating and exercise habits.

C3Baker, I figure there are a lot worse obsessions to have. Recording food consumption and steps/day seems a mild one to me.

In the last few days, I feel like a did a spread-out triathlon – I biked 28 miles on Saturday, ran/walked 8 miles on Sunday and swam for an hour on Tuesday. Conclusion: No way would I want to do all of that consecutively. Today was yoga.

43209

Yay, nrdsb4! I love five pound parties! I could use one myself…

Basement for me. Slinging around some dumbbells and stuff.

43210

WooHoo x 2!!! Double congrats!!! Enjoy every one of those pounds lost!!!

43211

Tried to catch up on the posts from the last couple of days. Nrdsb4, that is phenomenal progress you have made! Congrats!

On a certain level, I shake my head in frustration about the never ending swings in nutritional principles. It can feel like being a ball in a pinball machine as you careen from one “theory” to the next. I’ve tried to keep it simple for myself. Avoid processed foods, including processed sugars and fats, eat organic wherever possible and exercise moderation in portions for all macronutrients. Make sure each meal has some colors of the rainbow in it. And I generally refuse to weigh myself more than once a week on the same day and at the same time so that I have consistency but also don’t obsess too much about weight. Even so, I do find it tough not to measure and track grams of carbs and protein, the former because I want enough carbs to fuel my activities but not so much as to overly dominate my macronutrient balances, and the latter because I want to make sure that I have enough protein to rebuild muscle torn down by high intensity training.

This approach has generally worked well for me. However, I’m finding lately that I’m very susceptible to leg cramping during or after long, arduous bike rides and that my rate of respiration and heart rate are not in sync to my standards and expectations under heavy load. So, I’m having a complete metabolic and blood chemistry work up done and then, based on the outcome, will be consulting with a for real certified nutritionist who has a strong background with athletes. So much for keeping it simple ;).

43212

Wow, thanks for all the nice words!

I agree that trying to find the right nutritional regime is very difficult in light of all the conflicting information we receive. Nothing like seeing a test which predicts diabetes in the very near future to get your attention, however (that’s the A1C, which tracks your blood sugar over a period of 6 weeks).

People who process carbs normally don’t particularly need to engage in strict low carb diets. Engaging in regular exercise, just not drinking sodas, and limiting desserts to the special occasion may well serve to keep them healthy and of normal weight. People who do not process them well, however, find themselves in my predicament: metabolic syndrome, which is characterized by high blood sugar, high fasting insulin, high blood pressure, high tryglycerides, high cholesterol, and often obesity, or if not obesity, overweight, with concentration in the abdominal area.

I am not starving myself, but have really restricted any kind of refined carbohydrate. I have been eating lots of fish, eggs, and chicken, adding healthy fats like olive oil, coconut oil, and some butter, and eating lots of nonstarchy vegetables. No sugar, bread, pasta, desserts, rice, potatoes, crackers, etc.

Once I get to my ideal weight and health status as reflected by good blood work, I will slowly add back some healthy starches like yams, berries, and the like, and see how I react.

I am one of those people who can go into metabolic syndrome if I’m 15 lbs. overweight, while it may take the next person becoming obese. It’s in my genetics, my mom and her mom had it, my sister has been there a while, and I’ve been flirting with it for several years.

Luckily, I love the food I’ve been eating (problem being I love carbs as well) and I really REALLY enjoy riding the bike. Exercise is known to improve metabolic syndrome, particularly improving blood pressure and reducing the insulin levels and resistance.

I just needed to come to the realization that this is how it’s going to be if I want to stay healthy. Goodbye, my beloved crackers. :frowning:

43213

I would like to add that @MichaelNKat is right about the processed foods. Even things which should be simple, like a cheeseburger, are so much worse when they are highly processed as found at a fast food restaurant. Cooking a cheeseburger on the grill from high quality ground beef and a few simple spices, and forgoing the bun is a nice tasty meal. Check the ingredients on that same burger, with the bun, from many of our fast food outlets, and it is amazing the amount of crap which is included in that meal.

I was eating a lot more fast food that I had actually admitted to myself, and I’m coming to the realization that that stuff is borderline poison. Also, trying to find any kind of processed food without added sugar is interesting. I was looking through the chicken salad/tuna salads at my local healthy grocery store, and all varieties had added sugar or honey or corn syrup, etc. Same for almost any kind of food which is put together for you vs. cooking it yourself. Sugar is just added to almost everything!

43214

I recently discovered the joy of walking for exercise! I have been a longtime runner for exercise, have been injury-free and I can’t even remember not running due to injury. I recently tried competing on the track, which resulted in some minor strained muscles that I wisely decided needed rest to recover. But I couldn’t sit around and do nothing for a whole week or even 2 weeks while my strained muscle recovered, because I would go nuts while losing conditioning. So I went out for a brisk walk and much to my surprise I really enjoyed it, and I worked up quite a sweat walking 5 - 6 miles. (my runs are 4 miles, sometimes 3) Now I think I will alternate running days with walking days instead of running all the time. It’s also great for hot days that I feel are too hot for running.

43215

I think sometimes we can be pleasantly surprised when we switch up our fitness routine and add in other varieties! My walks are not “leisurely” by any nature - after running, if I walk slow I feel like I’m barely moving! So yeah, a good brisk walk definitely can work up a sweat!

I enjoy running but also have learned to appreciate some variety on other days as weather or time allows. In the summer, a bike ride/swim/kayak is a great alternative. In the winter, a spin or cardio class provides variety.

All are good for mind and body!

43216

After a couple of months of bike riding, I decided to do a power walk at the lake. There are some hills there which can’t be found in my Dallas neighborhood.

I walked for 45 minutes or so, and made it as intense as I could. A nice, vigorous workout.

OMG I was so sore for several days!

43217

@Nrdsb4, first of all CONGRATULATION! It’s fantastic that you are making all these changes! You should be so proud of yourself!! :slight_smile:

Your post about finding foods really resonated with me! I wasn’t pre-diabetic, but I felt like I was heading in a bad direction, so I started limiting my daily added sugar, first to 50 grams a day and then to 25, the recommended maximum. And I found the same thing. EVERYTHING has added sugar - from yogurts to cereals to savory foods. Now, I mostly stay away from all processed foods, and I am happy to report that after a year, my fasting glucose level has been on a downward trend and is in a really good place.

Good luck with everything!

43218

NJRes- That’s great that you were able to embrace walking. I have failed at that every time I have been injured. I am not sure why. I get impatient and frustrated, and am always too tempted to “try just a little running”. I can only walk for exercise if I am with someone and talking. I am not a very good walker, either. I’m slower than people who walk for exercise. I think walking is a great form of exercise- especially if you can push yourself once you build up a certain level of fitness.

43219

^^^ I too have that problem when walking, “ok, just run ONE block…”

MOWC, I guess you just need to look at walking as a social time that burns a few more calories than sitting at Starbucks socializing! (every calories gone counts, right?!)

43220

Nrdsb, what an amazing journey. Injuries can be very debilitating to exercise mentality. It is so much easier to just give up than to fight after being sidelined by an injury. Congrats on the job well done.

As far as nutrition advice goes, the best one so far I heard was the advice from my grandpa, our family “chef,” about 40-plus years ago. Whenever my sister or I would reach for a cookie or load up our plates with mashed potatoes, grandpa would say, “If all you eat are sweets and taters, your butt will turn into a giant loaf of bread!” Lol, without college or even HS education, he was a pioneer of carb moderation, but he never skimped on bacon. Grandpa just used common sense and fed us a lot of veggies that he grew in our garden.

Well, my hike was derailed by… a mouse. I spotted it munching on a watermelon rind that someone tossed in some bushes by the trail. The damn thing was so cute and was completely not afraid of humans. Mr. B had to take his camera out and photograph the wildlife for half an hour! Then it was too late to go much further because the sun was already going down.