<p>I also started this as a recipe thread. Tonight we had a delicious soup that I may have gotten off of CC several years ago. I am not sure. If it is belong to one of you- thank you and please state your claim.</p>
<p>Taco Soup- Cooking Light</p>
<p>1 tsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 lbs shredded cooked chicken breast ( or more as desired)
1 1/2 cup frozen whole-kernel corn
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tsp cumin,Worcestershire sauce and chilie powder
1 tbsp chopped seeded jalape</p>
<p>Yes, Counting Down, I reread your post several times–so glad you made it through!</p>
<p>Just wanted to extend my thanks again…I ordered the book mentioned above (Strong Women Stay Young) and, while watching Downton Abbey this evening, I spent 10 minutes lifting weights, doing deep knee bends and leg lifts. It’s a start!</p>
<p>Well, that’s because of the raisins. Dried fruit is concentrated fruit, which is mostly sugar when you remove the water (although it retains the fiber as well). In general, fruit is best eaten as whole fruit, not dried or juiced.</p>
<p>Pushups, dips, pullups, planks, and (bodyweight) squats can be done with minimal equipment.</p>
<p>Biceps are rather small muscles; for general fitness and strength, strengthening your large muscles (chest, back, core, legs) is of higher priority.</p>
<p>Me too! At the urging of my adult kids, I joined a gym. They claim (and I’m sure they’re right) that I will do more and feel more accountable if I’ve paid for the exercise time. We have a treadmill and weights at home, but I can come up with too many excuses to avoid that room. Anyway, I started two weeks ago, and my sister advised me to sign up for a trainer for a short while to get a healthy routine established. I carry the post-50 creep of about 15 pounds that I must get rid of, especially since Type 2 diabetes runs in my family and my A1C is already in the danger zone. So, for the next few months, once a week I will meet with my trainer to develop a reasonable weight program. My biggest problem is that I don’t want to have to cut calories so much that food is no longer a pleasure. I like to cook and I like to eat. Right now I’m desperately trying portion control so I don’t have to eliminate all cars etc. and I’m trying to limit wine to weekends only. Oy, all I want to do really is be healthy, more fit and get rid of that middle-age bulge around the middle. That’s all </p>
<p>So, off to the gym this morning to get a good start to the week. I love the approach of this thread.</p>
<p>That’s why it’s wonderful that we’re all so different. If I had to leave the house to exercise, there’s no way I would do it. I either have to do it in the spare time I have at home without adding commuting time, or find something enjoyable to do like hiking with a child, or playing tennis with a friend. Or it has to be productive, like walking to the store instead of driving, or even vacuuming. Walking for no good reason is pure torture for me. </p>
<p>I also could not count calories. I just try to eat healthy things and stop before I stuff myself. So far that part is working well. If anything, I could stand to gain a few pounds. Now just trying to increase my activity level. </p>
<p>I do agree with the part about weighing a little more as we age. I want to have a few spare pounds in case I need them.</p>
<p>I’m with you, 3bm103. I don’t mind walking, but it needs to have a purpose. I live in a neighborhood of short cul-de-sacs, so I’d be walking the same streets over and over again. How boring. I’d also not exercise if it meant having to leave the house to go to a gym. I’d find too many excuses not to go. </p>
<p>But i do need to get into some sort of exercies routine. Last year I lost 20 pounds that I’d put on over the previous 10 years. I’m treated for hypertension and the extra weight was making it harder to control my blood pressure. Blood pressure is better now. I didn’t do anything special to lose the weight other than watch portion sizes, eat fewer carbs, eat more fruits and vegs, and eat out less frequently. DH does some of the cooking, so he had to adjust to my new eating preferences. Bonus for him was that his cholesterol went down so he didn’t need to start on statins.</p>
<p>I’ll check out youtube for exercise routines. Anyone have any good DVDs they like too? I’d like some combo of cardio and strength training.</p>
<p>I have found that even days when I am too busy or lazy to do my not quite daily routine, I can fit in some stretching. My usual routine is 20-30 minutes of stretching exercises from my toes to my head, but there are days when I just drop my heels off a step for 30 seconds and stretch my neck by looking over my shoulders. It always surprises me how much better, even this miniscule amount, makes me feel. The fact that flexibility is a good component of wellness is just a bonus.
Also, someone suggested to me to drink room temperature water. I have found it much easier to drink more this way. I’m really trying to back off the DC, and drinking more water has helped with the caffeine withdrawal as well.
My biggest challenge is socializing. I can, and do ,undo all my best efforts on the weekends. Even careful selections and moderation seem to mess me up.</p>
<p>All the experts say that it takes a while to break or establish a habit. Exercising is a habit like anything else. In my case, I had never done anything. As a Bronx girl in the 50’s/60’s, pre-Title IX, our gym class in those awful outfits–please!!! I never learned how to swim (no place to learn), couldn’t ride a bike (too poor to afford one), Tennis, golf, skiing–HAHA.So what is left? After being downsized 3 years ago, I now have 5 part-time jobs that I run to- and from, and walk in between. Helps with the depression too.I have been unable to walk this week, since I draw the line at zero wind chills, but I was out today, and I feel so much better, even without diet/weight concerns.</p>
<p>Apologies to all who have read this before…</p>
<p>dstark, my 20 yo S2 saved my life. He learned CPR when he was a summer camp counselor earning community service hours at an archaeology camp. I was in full arrest, a lovely shade of blue, and he brought me back. (He even tore himself away from the Washington Capitals playoffs on TV to do so. :)) I don’t remember anything from the two weeks prior to the attack til Memorial Day weekend when they brought me out of the induced coma. </p>
<p>morrismm, the docs don’t think it was the weight loss that caused it. They are certain I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t lost that much weight already. I had a 100% blockage down the major artery in the left side of the heart. I also have polycystic ovarian syndrome, which has been linked to diabetes, which is linked to metabolic syndrome, which is a risk factor for heart disease. Was also on cardiotoxic chemo, but the consensus is that the meds didn’t cause it, but probably exacerbated the severity. Also have family history of blocked arteries, clotting disorders and congestive heart failure. I was not diabetic, but was borderline in April 2011, which was the impetus to start losing weight. There were a lot of little risks that added up. In retrospect, I should have taken the risk factors far more seriously.</p>
<p>The ironic part is that I climbed Masada in Israel (big mountain in the desert, fortress at the top) three weeks before this happened – to celebrate ten years of surviving leukemia. G-d has a funny sense of humor. ;)</p>
<p>Interestingly, my cholesterol was 130 at the time of the heart attack. I’d had jaw pain (a sign for women’s cardiac issues), saw the dentist and my primary, and was sent to the cardiologist six weeks before, where I got a clean echocardiogram. Had a normal EKG ten days prior, too. My docs were as shocked as I was.</p>
<p>So, while I will never be able to swing large kettlebells or run 5k, I am building up strength and endurance. The docs are happy. I am here, and that is an enormous gift in itself.</p>
<p>CountingDown, I agree that you should write this up for a general audience. It is well known that women are not good at recognizing heart disease risk, or even the signs that one is beginning. For example, I had no idea that jaw pain was a warning sign. Did you have a stress test at the cardiologist’s office? Probably not, you didn’t have enough risk factors to justify it.</p>
<p>I am so glad that you survived! Everyone should know CPR.</p>
<p>No, they didn’t do a stress test. Would have been instructive, is my guess. DH and I were in Eastern Europe and Israel the month before this happened and I was exhausted, esp. by the end of the trip. I would walk for a bit, then have to sit for 20 minutes and rest. Assumed it was my daily chemo. Now realize the blockages must have been nearly 100% by that point. </p>
<p>Scary part is that I went out exploring on my own part of the time, had no cell phone and did not have DH’s cell phone # on my person in case something happened. Always carry emergency contact and important med/health info!</p>
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