I had to use a bolster to get my knees to go flat when we had to sit cross-legged (sit like an Indian is what we used to call it, but don’t think that’s PC) - so yes, one could say I had tight hip flexors! I will keep at it. Thanks for the encouragement.
Rocky, that is a great post. Thanks for piping in!
Finished physical therapy today! Apparently my flexibility and strength has increased Significantly in 12 weeks 
Went down another step on my Prednisone so fingers crossed that my pain doesn’t increase.
Waiting for Mr. R to get off work and then off to swim.
Romani are you swimming inside or out? Wondering if you’re having to deal with lots of summer rugrats.
Sparking of rugrats and swimming… So proud of baby kiddo! She was swimming for fitness and saw a dad struggling to teach his son dive starts and taught the kid a good form start technique - with the use of a floating noodle. The father was amazed that a random young woman was so helpful.
@abasket inside. I have to hide from the sun because of the Lupus 
We are swimming at a very nice community rec center but school is still in session. It’s pretty quiet now but I expect a big uptick in a week or so.
It’s mostly us and retirees and a few babies. The retirees look to be about in their 70s and 80s and they’re putting my water walking to shame. Nothing like getting lapped by a woman who is probably old enough to be my great grandma
Well, I spent years telling myself I was “fit but fat”–until I got hit with the chondrosarcoma (adult bone cancer) in my femur and it was a choice between pain and fat. I went with pain, which is to say I recognized that my knees (first the surgical one, then the compensating one) could not handle the load. I was headed toward double knee replacement (“by age 60”, which would have been this year). BUT… there’s NO research on what happens when you try to screw a knee replacement into a bone graft (which is kind of like bone, in the same way the MDF is kind of like wood). That scared me witless enough to get serious about losing weight. Then I went into “I can’t lose weight” whining, especially after the nutritionist told me that I “should be losing weight” on the diet I was eating (I wasn’t). I had to count every single effing calorie and move gradually toward exercising vigorously on a daily basis–by which I mean “sweating profusely for (at least) half an hour or so.” (Or swimming, which thankfully does not involve so much sweat, although quite a bit more liquid.)
So I sympathize with those who “try” to lose weight but fail. It’s quite hard to actually change your life, which is what is truly required to lose weight and keep it off. When my friends ask me what I did, I’m afraid I often point out that I’ve developed at least fifty new habits as part of losing weight. However, I’ve watched another friend, who lost sixty pounds three years ago (which I found very encouraging when I was twenty pounds down and stuck at a plateau for 9 months (because I stopped tracking and got sloppy about my portion sizes)), gain back all the weight and then some. And she wants very much to compete in dog agility at the national level, and her weight is holding her back, once again. It makes me sad. And reminds me, every time I see her, that I can’t think of my changes as temporary.
CRI syndrome? It is hard. It can be very hard. And there are certainly situations where medical conditions and metabolic syndromes make it that much harder and the normative approaches don’t work. But do much of the time, it’s about not having the mindfulness and the will to do hard work. So shortcuts are taken, a quest for a simplistic magic bullet. Just follow “this”, it will do the work for you. And after some beginning “success”, then it doesn’t, so the search begins again for the next new best thing.
Fruit is great. I love it. The USDA Dietary Guidelines promotes about a couple of cups a day. But it has calories. And lots of fructose. It has a role in limited quantities in a well balanced diet. And for athletes it’s essential for replenishing muscle glycogen after a hard training session. But for those who are not active, it can quickly become too much of a good thing as all that high glycemic index fructose isn’t converted to stored glycogen and instead gets stored as body fat. CRI syndrome redux.
Great post, dmd.
Today’s exercise was 4 miles of run/walk and 2 miles of walk only. I kept the Garmin happy by sticking to the zone 3 activity level, and the Fitbit satisfied with my steps and calorie expenditure and hourly activity. Whew. There’s too much information from these bossy little gadgets. I fixed a cold dinner appropriate for the hot day: slices of leftover pan roasted NY strip (on sale, Publix) atop a watermelon and feta spinach salad drizzled with olive oil and a fine syrupy aged balsamic vinegar. Satisfied the ice cream bar cravings with a frozen berry protein smoothie.
Yum, Plantmom! I had fresh Korean food for lunch, so we had a light dinner of soup, deviled eggs and cantaloupe.
5 miles of running and 16000 total steps. Seemed like I climbed a lot of stairs today at work.
Heading out to breakfast. Swedes bake the most delicious bread. Crusty and sooo good with butter! Food in Europe does taste differently: apparently, not every junky additive which is OK in the US can be added to food in Europe (per my conversation with a person working in the business - their co. had to reformulate some of their products to be able to enter European markets).
My Fitbit thinks it is still yesterday, so the morning steps will count towards yesterday’s goal. There is a nice park here nearby… I will venture out and explore after breakfast. I am sure I will be over 10k steps in no time!
What do I see when I log onto CC from my laptop? A banner ad… for laxatives in Svenska. 
Are they telling me too much bread will make me constipated? It probably will, but it was so worth it to supplement my breakfast of fluffy scrambled eggs, fruit, and “sour milk” with a small slice of buttered, toasted goodness.
(Now I need to populate my ads with gorgeous spam… Like these beauties:
http://www.barneys.com/christian-louboutin-%22goldopump%22-pumps-504545994.html
).
Interesting review of the “science” behind the Fast Diet (aka 5-2 Diet).
http://www.weightymatters.ca/2013/04/diet-book-review-fast-diet.html
Interesting review. It’s probably not going to be harmful for many people, because they won’t stick to it. I think it sounds a lot simpler than it is. I agree that the fasting days aren’t fasting days.
Today’s lifestyle for many people includes meals out, social events and travel. That challenges even realistic nutrition plans. This would be a quick fail for most people. It sure would be for me.
Love the line “science is only just starting to catch up.” That’s about as reputable as when yoga teachers tell me that by twisting, I am “rinsing out toxins from my body.”
Another one:
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2013/01January/Pages/Does-the-5-2-intermittent-fasting-diet-work.aspx
Yet another analysis of intermittent fasting diets with some interesting comments on athletes:
http://easacademy.org/trainer-resources/article/intermittent-fasting#bmb=1
My 30 minutes of low HR “running” was not as painful today. I think I am finally getting the hang of it - pace improved,stayed in the zone. Followed up with an hour of Pilates with my trainer. Now I’m enjoying Greek yogurt, honey and raspberries - yum!
Bunsen, that bread sounds wonderful! Michael Pollan has been doing a series on FB on bread baking, using your own starter, etc. - unfortunately that’s an area of baking/cooking I’m somewhat challenged in.
3.9 miles done by 6:30 AM! The hardest part of exercise for me is just getting out the door – so sometimes I have to get out there before I have time to think about it. Lovely, cool morning at the beach.
^^Sounds heavenly CBB! Ahh, the beach!
Sabaray, I’m channeling you across the miles, yogurt, honey, cherries and a little granola right now!
Not buying this theory - the theory that using your own bags at the grocery store (reusable bags) makes you feel like you’re doing something good - so you buy more treats to reward yourself…(???)
http://time.com/money/3948299/reusable-grocery-bag-fat/?xid=time_socialflow_facebook
I say the opposite - because I’m using reusable bags and helping the environment (or whatever), I want to fill them with good things - not crap - to eat!