Gratitude for a Wednesday

This morning I was standing in my doorway waiting for my ride. The sun was coming up over the houses across the street and I saw the yellow flowers blooming on the dandelions growing across my yard. They were beautiful even if they were just weeds. The sun's rays were glowing through the branches of the newly budded trees and I was thankful for the glorious morning I was enjoying. I started thinking about all the things I was grateful for. I have a home to live in - a roof over my head for protection. There is plenty of good healthy food in my kitchen waiting to be prepared. I have enough clothes to cover my body in between trips to the laundromat. I own a car even though it is currently not licensed to drive. A sweet cat purrs at my feet as he rubs against my legs and I have a job that I love to go to each day. My health is getting better every day with all the changes I have been able to make . I found myself content and happy and that is enough for me.


Are you grateful for what life has given you? 

See what a free dozen eggs caused

I was shopping at my local grocery yesterday and because I had a coupon for a free dozen I was checking out the selections of eggs. This is a small grocery for 2011 and their selection isn't always the greatest but I go by it on my way home from work every day. Convenience wins out on some days. I observed that they had some labeled cage-free. I was surprised but I know that cage-free means just that. The chickens may not be in cages but they can still be overcrowded into large buildings. It doesn't have to mean humanely treated. I don't eat eggs for the most part. I use them in making other types of food like pancakes on occasion. So it's not an overwhelming issue for me. However, yesterday I was reading a new blog I've found called Nutrition By Carrie. I noticed she also authors another blog Carrie's Urban Farm. Her most recent post showed photos of her chickens. In one photo someone was holding one of the chickens and their feathers looked so healthy and shiny. I started reading her posts about her experiences raising them and caring for them and I decided right then that I want my eggs, even though I only buy a couple of dozen a year, to come from hens who are cared for like them. Yes, I picked-up a carton of the regular eggs (that's what the coupon was for) but I've become politicized about eating eggs. From now on I'm only going to buy eggs from humanely raised chickens from local farms. Living in Kansas I assume they are available somewhere within reason.

Off of the soapbox for now...

A Healthy Tuesday

It's a little after 8:30AM and here's a glimpse of what I've done for my health so far this morning:

Eaten two servings of fruit

Had two tablespoons of ground flax seeds

Enjoyed a 15 minute ride on my indoor bike

Drank a cup of green tea

Experienced a full range of upper body stretches

Applied sunscreen

Brushed and flossed my teeth

Taken my prescribed meds and supplements for the day

Not a bad start for being two and a half hours into my Tuesday.

What good things have you done for your health today?

Supermarket Vegan

It's been nearly a year and a half since I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. I remember wondering what I would be able to eat. It seemed as though everything I ate on a normal day contained gluten. I was lucky to find a local support group who helped me find my way into the world of gluten-free foods. I found some excellent blogs and began reading how others handled day-to-day life with Celiac. Over the last year I've phased out processed foods. I prefer eating foods that are naturally gluten-free: fruits, vegetables, some dairy, whole grains such as quinoa and millet and every now and then a little meat. I love collecting cookbooks and over the year I've gotten quite a few gluten-free ones. The problem is that most of them no longer meet my needs. They focus on baked goods using processed foods instead of whole foods. About two weeks ago I found the world of vegetarian and vegan bloggers and am finding all kinds of new things to try. This weekend I purchased what may turn out to be my favorite cookbook of the year Supermarket Vegan by Donna Klein. I've already earmarked several recipes to try. I like the fact that she focuses on foods which are easily found in the average grocery store. No runs to the health food store every week.

It's amazing how small changes added up over time can turn life in such a different direction.

What's your favorite cookbook?

Upper Body Time

I keep singing "It's upper body time, it's upper body time" to the tune of the Howdy Doody theme song. I know, I'm really dating myself. Since I can't do much cardio due to the tear in my meniscus (at least til after I get the cortisone shot next Tuesday) I've been focusing on doing upper body strength work.

I'm doing dumbell lifts to strengthen my forearms, biceps, triceps, shoulders and upper back. I love weight work. I do 3 sets of decreasing reps 15-12-10 using 5-10 lb weights. It's a pretty good workout. I follow it with some good old fashioned stretches from Bob Anderson's book Stretching for about 15 minutes. My muscles are nice and warm and tingly after that. I've used his movements for many years and they never fail me.

I do the weight workouts on alternating days and the stretching everyday. Love it!

More later...

Sleep

There's been a lot written in the press lately about the lack of sleep and obesity. There appears to be a correlation between the amount of time one spends sleeping and the amount of weight one carries. I find these articles disturbing because I've had a hard time sleeping more than 5 hours a night since my heart attack and my weight loss has stalled since then. For reasons other than my concern over my weight my primary care doc scheduled me for a sleep study. I put it off for several months but finally had it done on January 10, 2011. I was absolutely certain that I wouldn't be able to sleep hooked up to all those wires (head, chest, and legs). The room looked like one that could be found in any high class hotel. The bed was comfortable and quite cushy. Only the bathroom looked like any other hospital bathroom - clean, but sterile. It took nearly an hour to hook me up to the monitors. They even use glue to get the leads to stick in your hair (they use acetone to remove them). Strangely I had the best night's sleep I'd had in months. I decided that a lot of my problems had to do with sleep hygiene (that's what they called it). In other words, I had some poor sleep habits. Since then I turn out all the lights. I don't go to sleep with the TV on. I got new pillows. I make my bed every morning so that my sheets don't get covered in cat hair (it makes me itch). I also have cut way back on my caffeine intake. I don't drink caffeine after 9AM. It's all made a difference. I'm sleeping much better. I still get up between 4AM - 5AM but I go to sleep earlier. The lab report came back this week. I only snore lightly and occasionally which I was happy about. There are no signs of sleep apnea (which is what they were trying to rule out). They did notice periods of arousal associated with leg movements so there's a possibility of Periodic Limb Movement Disorder which is kind of like Restless Legs Syndrome. I can live with that. It's a funny thing about the caffeine and the sleep hygiene stuff. I would have sworn that none of that stuff mattered but it turns out that making changes has paid off. I now get closer to 7 hours a night and the weight is coming off again, slowly but that's ok.

How's your sleep?

Hypoglycemia

Lest I begin to sound like Pollyanna I want to let you know that I faced a challenge yesterday. I am a type 2 diabetic and last night after walking for 20 min on the treadmill I had a low blood sugar event (for those of you to whom this will mean something it was 79). Not so low as to be dangerous but low enough that I was having symptoms. I get sweaty and shaky and I want SUGAR. Of course, I wasn’t prepared to treat the low right away. That’s a mistake a seasoned diabetic should never make. I waited until I got home and by then I was stumbling through the snow and ravenous. Let’s just say I didn’t make good choices. I ate way more than I needed. It was all healthy food but the quantity was much more than my body required. I was uncomfortably full and disappointed that I handled it badly. Today I brought extra snacks with me and I have my glucose tablets to take to the gym. If I have a low I will treat it immediately instead of waiting. Lesson learned – again.

More later...