Interesting! Hearing loss makes the brain work harder to process what it hears… possibly contributing to dementia?
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/for-better-brain-health-preserve-your-hearing/
I’m enjoying how this thread has expanded.
Random question that I thought might fit here- yesterday I went to Costco and walked the entire store, by the time I was almost through my foot began to cramp. I went over to the furniture display and sat on a couch and removed my shoe. My calf muscle began to spasm and the calf and foot became hard as a rock and excruciating painful. I was able to Flex my foot and walk it out but it was slightly sore. Fast forward to this morning waking up to a totally sore calf. I’ve tried some stretch exercises today but I’m wondering if I need to just let it rest or if I should push through the pain. Or possibly should I try to get my PT next week to loosen the muscle. Anyone have experience with this? I was wearing flat slip on sneakers which I’m sure was the cause. I’ve gotten foot cramps at Costco before when wearing Toms but nothing like this.
Ouch!! Leg cramp. I hate them. I began having them quite regularly and had no idea what caused them… long story short, BC pills were the culprit.
Your muscle is full of lactic acid like it if ran 2 marathons. No permanent damage… the pain will go away. Your PT should be able to offer some exercises or massages to relive the pain.
@mom60 - Your calf may need PT or medical / PT attention. Hopefully it does not pain you too much in the meantime.
For folks with simpler foot cramps, try a banana a day (to get extra potassium). I know this sounds crazy, but the tip came from BIL (a doctor) when he heard me and another relative complaining about our night time foot cramps. It actually helped us both, except (oops) when we’d forgot for a few days.
Agree that the pain will resolve. Do mention it to your PT, though. Try to wear shoes with some good insoles and cushioning next time.
An article on the Keto diet appears on CNN today:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/05/health/keto-diet-day-wellness/index.html
I’m not a big fan either.
I love the program I play in. It is a drop-in program organized by my county. It is explicitly no-contact. The Messi/Ronaldo guys aren’t allowed to play. It is also nice because unlike a team if you have to miss a week it isn’t a big deal. You do have to register and they cap the program so that fields aren’t too crowded
I might try a warm epsom bath in the meantime until you can see the PT.
Just made a batch of baked oatmeal for the week. I am a breakfast person and I like a substantial breakfast. This blog has several baked oatmeal recipes. There is a sweetener in it (often maple syrup) but otherwise oatmeal and other good ingredients.
Today I made cinnamon raisin baked oatmeal. I added almonds and reduced the maple syrup and added in some pureed fig I had.
https://restoreyourradiance.com/2019/11/11/cinnamon-raisin-baked-oatmeal/
I halfed the recipe and it will last me (H will not eat) most of the week. I’ll eat it along with an egg and fruit. And maybe a little slather of PB on top.
https://restoreyourradiance.com/2019/11/11/cinnamon-raisin-baked-oatmeal/
I met a friend for lunch today at a chain restaurant which is required to list calorie counts next to all the items.
It’s no wonder so many people struggle to maintain a healthy weight. I chose the BBQ bison meatloaf wrapped in bacon with mashed potatoes. According to the menu, that clocked in at nearly 1400 calories!
It was delicious! Of course, I could have just eaten half @maya54 — but I’m planning the rest of the day around that one big meal.
No beer (doing Dry January) so no further damage with a caloric IPA or Stout (or 2!).
I’ll be having a very light meal later, and that will be all.
In other news, I discovered Trader Joe’s carries “quick cook” farro in the dry section, by the rice. I tossed a bag in the Instant Pot with some bone broth & used the rice setting. I’ll use the farro in my homemade “power bowls” this week.
For other people looking to avoid cooking or take short cuts, I’ve been very happy with Trader Joe’s cooked chicken breasts. I usually get the chili lime or lemon.
My Fitness Pal says a 12 oz package of the chicken breast has 76 grams of protein, and this makes up a big chunk of my daily protein goals. So quick and easy to throw together a healthy meal.
Good hints @Midwest67 . Do you eat 12oz of chicken all in one meal?
Yes, not always, but since I’m aiming for 125-150 grams of protein per day (for strength training - building muscle) I’ve found it works better for my main meal to have the full 12 ounces. It’s very filling with high satiety.
2 Skyr yogurts for breakfast is another 30 grams of protein.
Smaller amounts of protein from potatoes or grains will get me another 5-15 grams? so let’s call it 120 total so far.
Then getting the last 5-30 g is easy. I’ll resort to whey isolate protein if I have to. It upsets my stomach a bit, but it’s nice to have it on hand if I cannot reach my goals on food alone.
@Midwest67 i love that quick cook farro. I also keep a few bags of the quick cook barley in my pantry. My H prefers both of those over quinoa for grain bowls.
I considered going to the Chinese foot massage but decided against it. I’m going to see if I can get into the PT this week. I think the muscles need some deep tissue work. I’m kicking myself since I just canceled two PT appointments I had scheduled for this week as I thought I was in good shape. I have a great PT and over the last 18 months have worked on my hips, knee, gait and ironically calf strength and a whole host of alignment issues.
Tomorrow I’m going back to the gym after a week out with a bad cold. It will be my first week back since my favorite trainer/ instructor has moved. I know change is good but I loved her classes and I feel like she helped me get back in shape.
@cooker You and I are in the same running category. I have about the same base miles every week (or at least I did, pre-injury, and hope to be back there soon). I also never tackled a marathon, but run a couple halfs a year. The treadmill? Hate it, but use it about once a week for one reason or another. Torture.
Day 5 of 2020, and I have done 3 runs. 3 miles each run. Today, no need to take a walk break, and I didn’t notice until I was done. My pace is still low (I was running 9 minute miles before, but now I am at about 11…feels glacial but right for me, at the moment.)
So far, return to running has gone well. Am trying to be very mindful of slowly building myself back up.
Restarting has been so, so much easier than starting many years ago. Surprisingly easy (so far).
For those folks that may be looking for an online weightlifting (and coaching) program, Cal Strength is highly recommended. I’m currently following a different program (actually two) that is more broadly based (CF), but I’ll eventually go back to Cal Strength. They have a starter program and they have 3-day/week and 5-day/week options.
And at $15/month, it’s reasonably priced.
They also have a women’s program too.
“Running a marathon could help you live longer, study suggests”
Start training for a marathon now! 
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/06/health/marathons-aging-wellness/index.html
^ Well, I’m starting to train for my first half marathon, so I might get half of those benefits!
My idol Marathon Meb just launched his first online training- the 20/20 Vision:26 Mindset series. Of course I signed up and got my first assignment on Monday. The focus is on setting goals and achieving the mindset to achieve them. As he writes, “We can’t control our outcomes in life, but we can always control our effort and attitude in challenging situations.” So far I’m enjoying the content and find it relevant to many aspects of life, not just marathon training.
I’ve gotten in some fairly mediocre runs the past few days which told me it was time for a rest day. Spent a good portion of the day Sunday doing some meal prep which made the beginning of the week easier. Investing the time results in some good quality quick meals during the week.
I have spent way too much time today day dreaming about hiking trips for 2020.
…feels so good.
Here is my little update:
Dry January has been no big deal so far, which is a relief. I’ve observed that my daily beer (or two!) is a habit and my way of “closing out the day”.
I am a little disappointed that I have not noticed any big, obvious improvement in the quality of my sleep or being less groggy upon waking, something. But (!) it’s only been ten days.
I’m coming up a little short on calories in My Fitness Pal without the IPA or Stout.
Earlier this week, I drove down to visit the strength coach again. He requested I send him some videos of my lifts beforehand, which I did. In person, he checked my squats (great!) and deadlifts (very good, just a small correction). He said all my videos looked very good. That meant so much! Relief! Confidence!
We left plenty of time to discuss programming since I am at the end of the Novice Linear Progression for strength training. That means I am no longer able to add weight to the bar for every single lift at every single session.
I’ve been missing reps on the Press and I missed my last rep on the last set of Squats last week. The next step for programming – early intermediate – is much more complicated than the follow-the-recipe simple novice program.
There are so many options for programming moving forward. We went over a couple options that might work well for me, and that was so helpful to talk out in person.
I guess, part of it, is what my goals are moving forward. I need to give that some thought.
One funny part of our session was going over how to put on the wrist wraps. I had him put one on, then I copied him on my own wrist. I wasn’t sure how tight to wrap it because it doesn’t take long before you feel like it’s cutting off your circulation.
He told me to put them on tight. After all, you only have them on for the set.
==pause of silence. me with blank stare==
He said, You are taking them off between sets aren’t you?
Oops. Humph. Some things should come with instructions! lol
I was encouraged because he said I had a lot of potential left should I want to continue to add weight the bar and get stronger.
I wasn’t paying much attention to how much weight we were adding during our training session, and he had me do a single on the deadlift. It felt heavy, but the bar moved at regular speed & my form was good. He said, See? Easy. That was 200#. PR!
I’ll be doing some more reading up on Heavy Light Four Day Splits and will come up with a new program this weekend.
How is everyone else doing with their personal challenges and goals?