<p>Bookiemom - You go, girl! Great job!</p>
<p>Yea, our extended family tends to look very fit. My sister (who is 3 years my senior) is told regularly by the internist to come for a physical only every 5 years because she appeasr so fit! She’s over 50 and that’s still his standard line for her! He requires me to come in every 3-6 months because I brought to his attention my trouble with breathing (tho I look perfectly healthy–we found out I have very bad lungs anyway, even tho I shouldn’t). We do count our blessings that we have great genes.</p>
<p>HMom5- the quiche probably was made with cream and full fat cheese. It was full of mushrooms and onions and extremely small. It was delicious. It is not place I would go regularly. It has been around a couple of years and I had never been there before. For me the croissants would be my downfall.
I need to lose some pounds but my Dr feels I am lucky. The last Dr I saw told me my blood pressure was one of a 20 yr old. I have always had low blood pressure. My blood work always comes back excellent. I am just lucky. My SIL who is slender and muscular and fit and a vegetarian has high cholesteral. My next blood work they will do a Vit D level. I might have a problem there.
My diet needs improvement but I am not a sweet eater. I rarely eat cookies or cake. I might have ice cream once a month. I don’t sweeten my oatmeal, coffee or tea. I have never drunk milk. I will eat cheese on a sandwich or mexican food but I am not one to crave a chunk of cheese. I do like butter on my toast but try to limit my bread intake. If I eat yogurt it is non fat. I do love eggs. My biggest downfall is I love carbs. Give me a loaf of delicious french bread and I could devour the entire loaf. I also like rice, potatoes and tortillas. We mainly eat chicken and usually breast unless it is a whole chicken. I use little salt.
For me the big change I need is to add more vegetables to my diet. I have never loved them. Limit my carbs and eat smaller portions. I also need to add weight bearing exercise to help my bones.
One difficult thing is my family are picky eaters. If I made kale salad no one would eat it but me. Also both my H and D are too thin. They both could use to put at least 10 lbs.</p>
<p>On another note I did a 30 minute walk today. My neighborhood is rural and rolling hills. Was able to go farther and at a more brisk pace. Slowly working the lungs.</p>
<p>mom60 - Congrats of the lovely walk.</p>
<p>HImom - that is what I am talking about. Nobody could have prevented our friend’s colon cancer from returning, but I think if he hadn’t looked so darn good, maybe his doctor would have been more concerned earlier about some of his symptoms - even tho his “numbers” were looking good. Our friend had excellent care, but when you look more fit than the physician, I think sometimes it is human nature to think everything is okay. </p>
<p>Hey, so all of you who are really committed to getting healthier - stick to it!!! But when you arrive at your new, fit, fabulous self - remember to remind your doctors to take any symptoms you have seriously.</p>
<p>Interesting that very fit people might get worse health care. It turns out obese women get worse health care too:</p>
<p>[The</a> surprising reason why being overweight isn’t healthy - CNN.com](<a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/01/21/obesity.discrimination/]The”>The surprising reason why being overweight isn't healthy - CNN.com)</p>
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<p>Thanks you for providing this anecdote. It absoultely upsets me to no end when people make a major lifestyle change, and still end up with some horrible, life-threatening chronic disease and say, “Well, what happened to all the benefits I was supposed to get from (fill in the blank)?”</p>
<p>Your H’s doctor was exactly right! And I hope H felt good about the changes he made.</p>
<p>Not to say that it’s not a person’s choice to make a decision about how they want to live their life. But don’t put doubt on all those who believe that lifestyle choices CAN make a difference.</p>
<p>Day 3 of 2.6 mile uphill hike completed! I also did a short probably quarter-mile walk later in the day yesterday and will do that again today.</p>
<p>Question for you athletes out there: I want to start aerobics, jazz, and water aerobics at the Y asap, but I don’t want to overdo anything so that I am too sore or give up walking. How should I add the classes in? Just not walk one day and go to class that day instead? I guess I couldn’t do both right now. </p>
<p>Or should I just keep up with the walk for about two weeks and then add in one class each day on top of the walk?</p>
<p>Thanks for the thumbs-up, eddieodessa. I really am a couch potato at heart, definitely not an athletic type by nature.</p>
<p>bookiemom - I hear you. I’ve been having a few very small aches and pains that in the past I would have used as excuses for stopping. However, I (and I do not regularly watch this show) remember catching a few shows of The Biggest Loser (because one of my co-worker’s H was on it) and I just kept saying to myself, “They are working these people’s butts off, all day long, and they’re carrying around much more weight than I am, but they get up each day and do it again. And so can I.”</p>
<p>Some friends of ours have been watching that show each week to encourage each other to lose weight. The mom makes a healthy dinner and some of their adult kids come over for dinner and to watch the show. The dad of the family was morbidly obese, diabetic, high-stress job. He has lost 100 lbs.!</p>
Bookiemom, you’ll know the difference between soreness from using new muscles, and pain. Go for the soreness; it’s a wonderful feeling. Don’t worry about overdoing it; your body will let you know.
<p>Mom60, I wasn’t picking on you! I used to love making quiche with bacon, heavy cream, lots of cheese…I figured it was no big deal because I was thin and ‘healthy’.</p>
<p>The bottom line I’m trying to point out is for those who want to lose weight, be healthy and keep their numbers in good places for the long term, it’s a good idea to remove many foods from your diet. After a while they will not be missed. Finding good things to eat in restaurants can be really hard! I often feel like Meg Ryan in the restaurant scene in Harry/Sally (no, not that part!) when she gives extreme directions on how to prepare her food. I ask for lemon and dijon to make my own dressing for salads and question every ingredient. </p>
<p>Again, I’m extreme, but if we’re passing along diet hints, I think the hardest part is what to order out.</p>
<p>One benefit of being sick for so long is I have not gone out to dine in a month until yesterday. I think now that we are just 3 at home we are going out more. I can see the benefits of eating more at home. I know exactly what we are eating and we are also saving money.
I am not ready to go extreme. I still have to cook food that the rest of my family is willing to eat. At this point I am trying to slowly make changes that will benefit our health. More vegetables, less fat. Brown rice versus white.
I want to make better choices when I dine out. But also I want to give myself permission to sometimes eat something that is not “good” for me. For example-We sometimes go to a hole in the wall mexican place. They make delicious tortas. I am not worried about having one 4 or 5 times a year.</p>
<p>My personal belief–if trying to lose weight, don’t cheat. It prevents the brain chemistry from changing and causes you to crave more fat, sugar, salt, carbs, etc. Once you’ve reached your weight loss goal and maintained it for a couple of months, than absolutely having unhealthy treats on a controlled basis is fine.</p>
<p>My family also had complaints when we went on strict healthy foods for DH’s sake. Amazing how quickly the came to enjoy our new way of eating. I really think the kids will eat differently in general for life, though of course they join friends for junk food.</p>
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<p>I, on the other hand, think trying to eat an extremely restricted diet (that is to say, restricted away from eating butter, cream, cheese, white flour, white rice, sugar, bacon, and many other delicious things, even in small amounts) will backfire. The dieter will be able to keep to that diet of deprivation for a while, but when she falls off the wagon, she’ll go on a binge and gain even more weight. </p>
<p>That is what actually happens to most people when they go on extremely restricted diets. They do not find that they stop missing the delicious food and start loving brown rice kale bran muffins with stevia/gravel sauce.</p>
<p>But a lot of those delicious things are SO addictive, at least to me. Butter–it’s just better for me not to have any at all. I eat my bread (mostly whole wheat now) plain, or with a little of whatever I’m eating on it, or with peanut butter. Sometimes I allow a little cheese melted on the bread for a treat. </p>
<p>Cheese is another one that is just addictive for me. The more I have, the more I want it. Chocolate and cookies also. It’s better for me to avoid those almost all the time.</p>
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<p>You make a good point, many won’t stick to this for various reasons. But many, many people do. Also for various reasons. Some have had health scares and don’t feel they have a choice. Others have found it simply makes them feel and function better. Others want to look good and live longer. </p>
<p>The point is, when you make a commitment to eating ‘clean’, healthy food and stick to it for awhile, you will not miss junk food. There is scientific proof of this. Former ice cream and chocolate addicts chose fruit over them after a few months of cutting the bad stuff out. </p>
<p>I meet 80 plus year olds on my hiking trails who’ve eaten like this for decades.</p>
<p>Does anyone else experience PMS eating binges? I am continually hungry for about a week before my period (if it ever comes, that is). I think I ate at least three dinners tonight. At all other times, I eat very normally. I know it’s hormonal, but it’s getting out of control! Anyone have any tips?</p>
<p>Bookiemom - Maybe I am misunderstanding you…You have just started a walking routine and now want to add take 3 classes each week (or will it be 6 total) at the same time? Boy, that seems like alot at once. I would proably burn out very quickly - but that’s just me.
I am not an athletic person, so someone else can answer your questions much better than I.
Are you the one that just joined the Y? I just started going 3 weeks ago and am loving it. Maybe I will see you there! :)</p>
<p>As someone with a gigantic sweet tooth, my goal is to reduce my sugar intake. I am on day 5 of not having any sweets. The first day was actually the toughest. Now it is getting a little easier. Along with that , I’m trying to eat more vegetables. I feel like I’ve put off eating well for long enough, and it’s time to make a real change. Since I’m not focusing on cutting calories (although that is happening naturally given the absence of all the chocolate and pastry I usually eat), I’m hoping that I can stick with this.</p>