Health Journal

I need to get my cholesterol levels down as well as loose weight. I have been working on this for some time now and just haven't had much success. About 3 months ago I went mostly Vegan which will help, I'm sure, and I have been taking supplements that apparently help to lower cholesterol, as well as eating more fiber rich foods. So far I haven't lost weight and tomorrow I will find out if there has been any change in the cholesterol levels as I had blood tests done Friday for my every 3 month diabetes blood sugar test as well as the cholesterol. Tomorrow I see the health nurse about my results to those tests. I know I have to drink more water and get more exercise as well as watch how much and what I eat... so I started the year off by starting a Health Journal where I will be keeping track of all I eat and drink as well as my daily blood glucose test results, exercise, how I'm feeling if that is effecting what I eat, etc. I haven't used my treadmill for several weeks and finally have started again... 15 minutes yesterday and 20 minutes today. Not a lot, I know, but it is a start and I will build up to longer. I weighed myself today and wrote that in the book too and each Thursday when I go to my TOPS meeting do the weigh in there I will record that 'official' weight in my Health Journal too. I am determined to get slim, trim and healthy!!

Ahhhh.... 'Tis The Season...

'Tis the season for social gatherings when there are oh so many pot luck dinners to attend which means oh so many dishes to cook and take along to share with friends, and oh so many photographs to take of people and food at the parties. Christmas is a hard time of year for many people for many reasons, including so much over eating makes us gain the pounds when what we want to do is drop weight and inches for a slim, trim body and improved health. All the excess photographs I take can be put on my portable hard drives, yet the excess food I eat goes straight to fat that gets stored on my body. I need to make sure I get more exercise as well as do my best to refrain from the over eating thing!! Wish my luck!!

My day today:

Planned to do: 30 minutes on treadmill.... laundry... clean chinchilla & rabbit cages.

Actually did: 3 loads of laundry - washed/dried/folded/put away... cleaned all 3 chinchilla cages and 1 rabbit cage, gave the chins their dust baths, topped up water bottles... talked on phone to George for 4 hours while I did the laundry, talked on phone for 1 hour to Ray, talked on Messenger with Dan for undetermined time twice, thought about Mark and wondered if he'll be coming over this way any time soon and if he has bought another truck yet. (I have one I will sell him, lol)

All that is on top of 'every day stuff' like feeding birds & cat (rabbit & chinchillas get food dishes filled every few days as needed). My dog, Indaway, is inside now and just finished eating his dinner or raw turkey. Oh ya, including feeding myself, haha.

Doing dishes was something I should have done and would have done, though didn't get to. They'll still be there tomorrow. I am disappointed that I didn't get on the treadmill today, just couldn't fit it in. Guess I could have done that while on the phone, if only I had thought to do so.

So... my 'To Do' list for tomorrow will start with 30 minutes on the treadmill and do the dishes. Fold more laundry tops the list too. Then work on cleaning the kitchen.

Treadmill

Today I rode my trike out to Falkland to look at a used treadmill that a friend of mine told me about at the Senior's Centre there. It is a good machine and I bought it for a really good price. I phoned my friend Dan the Man with a Van and had him come out and get it for me as it's way too big and heavy to pack on a motorcycle, even mine. I would have liked to go visit some of my friends in Falkland, including Don who owns a store that sells lots of motorcycle clothes and accessories, even some funny tshirts I really like (I want to get the one that says "Property of Nobody"), but had to ride home to meet Dan. By the time I got here he'd dropped off the treadmill in my carport and left already, so I picked some of my plums, then came inside and prepared a spot for the treadmill to go. I had to move other furniture to make room for it. Dan came back a bit later and between the two of us we managed to get the huge, heavy machine into my house where it now takes up a large part of my living room. It's a good thing to have and will help me to look better by spring when maybe I'll buy myself one of those t-shirts.

July 15th

Today was a very good day. It was the first in several days that I didn't get rained on while riding my trike and that has to be good. This afternoon I rode up to the small town where my mother lives, with the intention of visiting her. Before going to Mom's I decided to go take a walk along the river that flows through the town, it's so beautiful to walk along it. On the bank of the river, right where the one end of the River Walk starts, there is an RV Park Campground. Of course this time of the year it is packed, and this particular weekend there are a lot of motorcycle riders staying there as this town is fairly near Salmon Arm where there is a really big motorcycle rally and music festival this weekend, called Sturgis North. I didn't get to walk far as people kept recognizing me as a rider (wearing chaps and a doo rag) and talking to me. It was really awesome and I really enjoyed that, though really could have used the exercise, lol. I made it over to Mom's and we went out for dinner, then for a drive in her car. Back at Mom's I got back into chaps, jacket, helmet and headed back home.

I need HELP

I was surfing the net, as I often do, reading various things and came across and advertisement for best creatine supplements. Since I did not have a clue what creatine was, I Googled it and found it an interesting read. Among other things, Wikipedia (gotta love Wiki) says "... and helps to supply energy to all cells in the body..." WOW, I wonder if this means that a lazy couch spud like me would get energized and start to clean my home and yard as well as going for walks or riding my exercise bike. That sure would be a big bonus, wouldn't it!! I know I have to get moving, that I have to find the energy to take back my life and my health!! This is really out of hand for a woman who used to be very active. At one time I was always out at the country night club dancing all night long!! I 2 stepped and line danced to a slim, trim, healthy body and now since I quit going to bars I quit dancing and slowly got to where I quit moving much at all. I am in trouble and need some kind of help to get me moving again.

Loosing Weight

If you follow my blog, you know I am the leader of my TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) group. Having lost and gained weight many times over the years, I know that we never lose weight fast enough for our wishes, though we do seem to gain it too quickly. We eat 3500 calories to gain 1 pound of fat, and we must burn off 3500 calories to loose 1 pound of fat. I have found that it is much easier and more fun to take in that 3500 calories than it is to burn/use the same amount. I have set myself a goal... to loose 4 pounds per month, which averages about 1 pound per week, for the next 10 months or 40 pounds. A 4 pound loss per month doesn't sound like much when we want to loose 40 pounds and be 'hot' in time for swimsuit weather, or a special occasion, but it is 'do-able', it is an 'achievable' amount and it is a healthy amount to loose. It will require a change of life style, not easy for me, yet that too is 'do-able' and is what will be necessary not only to drop the weight but also to keep it off. If I am going to achieve this goal, I had better get busy and exercise a lot more than I have been lately.

Friday January 21st

Today I went to town and picked up a letter from my physio therapist to take to the surgeon that did the repair work on my shattered left wrist. I then went for x-rays on the wrist so the surgeon would have current pictures to look at, then it was time to drive over for my appointment with said surgeon. I have been having a lot of pain in the wrist and lower arm, especially if I try to use it, bend the wrist or pick up something even as small as a book. I also have pain in the thumb and what the call a 'trigger finger' in the middle finger due to the tendon getting stuck. The surgeon, Dr. Splawinski, has now scheduled me for a second surgery that I hadn't planned on. It seems that the pain is likely due to complications with the metal plate & 9 screws he had to put in when he did the repair surgery in September. At this point, it sounds like it will be March 30 when I have the surgery to remove the screws and plate, but that will be up to the hospital. I sure hope it is that day as then I can still be healed enough to ride my trike this year. Dr. S. figures May or June is what I'm looking at now to start riding again. Usually these metal plates & screws are left in for the rest of a person's life, but if they cause problems they can be removed and I am one of the few that have to get it taken back out. I'm not happy about this but guess it has to be done so no point in whining about it.

This evening I did a full hour on my exercise bike. This is the longest time so far. I'm feeling good about this, mentally & physically.

Now off to bed to read and sleep. Nite all!!

Smokin' Baby!

I must admit that I am smokin', Baby!! No, not smoking as in puffing on a arturo fuente or a Players or anything like that. I mean smokin'! Okay, what I am talking about is my exercise. 3 nights in a row I did 45 minutes on my exercise bike then yesterday I did none due to a headache I had all day. Today I went to my regular Thursday TOPS meeting and of course the regular weigh in. I am down 2.25 pounds!! I was the "best TOPS" today so that was cool. I had planned that tonight I would do another 45 minutes on the exercise bike, but I didn't do that. Why?? Because I did 50 minutes instead! Haha. It feels really good I must admit. I am determined to turn the fat to healthy muscle, to see smaller numbers on the scale and to wear smaller clothes. Yup, healthy and slim is my goal. I plan to do minimum 45 minutes exercise minimum of 4 days per week, expanding it eventually to minimum 60 minutes exercise minimum of 5 days per week. I also plan to eat less 'junk' and less bread, as well as more vegetables. Not easy for me but a must if I want to be healthy.

My Weight and Health

2.5 hours moderate to vigorous exercise per week.... that is what they just said on the TV News (Global BC) is what adults NEED to be healthy. I didn't catch what they said kids need. However, few people actually get the required amount. Sad.

45 minutes x 3 = 2.25 hours so I'm very nearly there this week. I know I will get more yet before the week is over. I know too that I need more than the 2.5 hours exercise if I want to loose the excess pounds... and I do.

Weight Loss

I honestly don't know what the best weight loss supplement is, but maybe I should read and find out. I use smarter food choices (keep messing this one up but am trying) and exercise. I am getting better with the exercise part of it. 3 nights in a row now I have done 45 minutes on my exercise bike. This is really good and something I must do regularly. Unfortunately I had a headache most of the day today so didn't do any exercise. I will do it again tomorrow, even if I have to break down and 'take something' for the headache. I believe that I will wake tomorrow morning and feel great.

I must get everything ready tonight so that in the morning I can get out of here on time. I have to run into town to grab some juice to mix my MMS, then off to the town to the north for my weekly TOPS meeting where I will find just what happened with my weight this week. I sure hope I've lost something.

My Weight and Health

I don't really believe in taking medications for anything unless it is totally the last choice and yet even I have been tempted lately with the idea of taking what could be the best weight loss pills. Not that I'm going to yet if ever, but I have been 'out of control' with my eating lately and have been gaining weight instead of loosing it. Every Thursday I go to my TOPS meeting and weigh in. Last year most weeks I had a loss, earlier this year lots of ups and downs resulting in staying about the same, but since my crash I have been 'bad'. With a shattered wrist and a sprained wrist I just ate what I could get my hands on... nothing I had to cook or prepare so nothing healthy, just stuff that would fill the emptiness in my stomach. Usually I wear jeans so if I am gaining weight with them, it shows with discomfort in tightness, but now I can only wear stretchy pants that are easy to get into with damaged wrists. This has resulted in gains. I have now recommitted to getting under control for my weight and for diabetes. I HAVE to get back under control or be in very grave danger. I am now writing down what I eat, and when as well as back to taking my blood glucose readings and writing them down too. This will all help me to see where I am going wrong and where I need to make changes. I also must get back to more regular exercise.

Weight Loss

Very nearly 2 years ago, I was wondering how to lose stomach fat fast, as well as how to loose fat from other parts of my body. One evening at Toastmasters I was talking to Pat and the subject of weight loss came up. I said I'd like to loose weight and she invited me to attend the TOPS meeting with her that Thursday morning. I went and on that day, January 15, 1008, I joined. Over the next year I dropped 20 pounds. Sadly I have been gaining a pound here & there again lately, but since I weigh in every Thursday I am very aware of this and know I must make changes in what I eat and how much I move in order to get this going back in the right direction for my looks and my health. I am going to keep a 'food journal' for the next while, recording what I eat as well as when & why. I will also record water and other drinks as well as exercise I do. This will help me to see what I've been doing wrong and correct it. I am sure that eating lots of scones has something to do with it, so that must change to eating a scone only occasionally.

November 9

Today was a wonderful, full day. It started off with my friendly pellet stove repair man coming by about 8:30am to have a look at my stove. It's been making noises lately that I don't like and figured that the motor on my fan could be 'going'. He thinks it just needs a good cleaning and oiling so will be by Friday morning to do that. This means I will have to get up early to turn the stove off so it can cool down before he gets here as it must be cool for him to work on.

I was on the schedule tonight at Toastmasters to be the Greeter & the Grammarian, give the Joke, chair the business meeting (I'm the club President) and to give a 5-7 minute speech as well as to be Timer throughout the meeting. I had been trying all week to think of what do do my speech about and yesterday came up with an idea that just wasn't really working, though today it 'jelled' and came out as a fairly good speech. It would have been much better if I had it written a few days ago so I had more time to practice it rather than just a couple hours, but it is what it is. Due to many people moving away for work, our club has gone from around 21 people to 7 people this year, so each of the active members must 'wear many hats' to fill in all the spots on the evenings agenda.

Usually on Tuesdays I am at the pool for a good part of the afternoon, doing Aqua Therapy then some swimming &/or soaking in the hot tub, but not today. I had to get the speech written & practiced, do up the agenda for the business meeting, read over the basics of Roberts Rules of Order in preparation for the business meeting, find a Grammarian word and print out the word with it's meanings, find a joke and familiarize myself with it in order to 'present' it rather than 'read' it.... etc. etc. so I didn't have the time to spend in town. To make up for this, I got onto my recumbent exercise bike and peddled for 30 minutes while studying the speech I'd written, then had my shower & got ready to go out. I've decided that since I don't seem to be able to give up the 'bad' foods or change over to more healthy, sensible foods, I must exercise more to make up for bad eating. I still must work on changing eating habits, mind you, but the 'work outs' are a good thing. More work to be done tomorrow.

November 8

Yesterday I went to town for x-rays on my left wrist, then went for blood tests for my diabetic check up that is coming up soon. By this time I had to run to get a cup of tea to take with me and off I went to my appointment with the orthopedic surgeon that did the reconstruction on my shattered wrist nearly 2 months ago. He brings up on his computer the x-rays done at the hospital as well as those done at the x-ray place downtown. It was interesting seeing what the metal plate & 9 screws look like and where in my wrist they are. He said to now start doing physio therapy on the wrist and go back to see him in 2 months. He also said it will be 6 months before things are back to normal if they ever get back there.

I went to visit Joyce then Tuggy phoned and wanted me to meet him at A&W, so Joyce & I went and had lunch with him. He was on his way to his doctor for more tests as he's not well & they're not finding out why or what to do about it. I had planned to go to Aqua Therapy, but by this time it was too late to get home for my swim suit and such, so I went to Joyce's for awhile longer then headed home to try to write a speech for tonight at Toastmasters. I had finally come up with an idea what to speak about... or had I? It just wasn't working.

During the evening I watched House, Lie To Me, & Hawaii 5 O on TV. While watching House I got on my recumbent exercise bike I had a workout. The timer quit working part way through so I don't know how long I peddled on it, but do know I did it for a fairly long time. Once in awhile I stopped for a short rest before starting again, and did this for the greater part of House.

Recumbent Bike

A couple weeks ago I had the chance to buy a recumbent exercise bike in good used condition for $15, so I grabbed it. I don't like the regular exercise bikes, but find the recumbent bikes much better. This isn't exactly like mine, but gives you a good idea....


The other day I finally got on it and used it. I did 15 minutes, non-stop. I didn't do it super fast, but did a fairly decent speed and steady for that full time. Today I got on it again and this time did 20 minutes while watching TV. I must admit I did not do it non-stop this time, I stopped twice, once to grab the nail polish & hand lotion from the desk beside me which only took seconds and I used the lotion while peddling. Then I stopped for a couple minutes to put the polish on my nails and continued peddling, letting my nails dry as I worked. Oh, I know it would be easier, less work, to just go to www.dietpillswithephedra.net and have them ship me pills to take for weight loss, but that's not my style. I want to give my cardiovascular system a good workout, to keep my blood sugar levels in check, my muscles strong, and loose the weight all at the same time, so I choose to exercise. I plan to get on this bike every day, or at least nearly every day, and work out on it. As I get more used to it I will do longer times and/or tighten the wheel so it's harder work to peddle so gives more workout in the time I am doing it. I am looking forward to my new healthier body.

Monday

I spent a quiet, relaxing morning at home, followed by swimming with Joyce & her daughter Melissa. We get together several times a week to go swim together. I have been doing 17-18 laps of the pool, and am told that 32 laps is 1 mile, so I do my 1/2 mile + 1 or 2. I plan to work my way up to the full mile in time. Just now my right arm & shoulder give me a lot of pain so I don't want to really push it, though it hurts less when in the water than it does any other time. The worst time is when I lay down, then the pain increases (I don't know why). This makes for very poor sleep each night. I currently have shooting pain going down the arm from just below the shoulder joint to the elbow... a challenge to type. It was bothering me some before I started riding my trike, so I know it's not from that, or at least not all from that. The left arm bothers me too but not anywhere near as much as the right one. Anyway, after the swim, as usual we sat in the hot tub for awhile, then showered and went on our way.

From the pool I rode about a half hour to Lumby where several of my friends were gathering for a birthday party at the pub. We not only enjoyed each others company and ate good food, we also sang a lot. Roy, the birthday boy (81 years young) is always bursting out in song, and with 2 other singers and us others that wish we were singers, we had a grand time. After awhile they turned up the music in the pub, perhaps to shut us up, but it didn't work, haha. Also, there was another table of people sitting just up from us that joined us in song. When we were all leaving, 6 of us (there had been 11 of us there) stood outside with our arms around each other, talking and singing. The feeling of Love is strong in a group like this. I sometimes think it would be great to have custom mugs made to commemorate these kind of days.

I rode home in the rain, thankfully not raining terribly hard but raining none the less. I was grateful for any little patch of road where it wasn't raining, and for my windshield. Though the windshield on a motorcycle is not high enough to totally block you from the rain, it does help a lot.

Swimming

Had a nice time at the pool today. I try to get there 3 times a week and of course more would be good. I often go with my friend J and sometimes her daughter M joins us too. Today J couldn't swim but M came to join me. J has a pinned-together ankle which she is going to have to start wearing a brace on. Her doctor wants her to loose weight and she wants to as well, though it's not easy to exercise when you have a messed up ankle, so she wants her doctor to give her some weight loss products. I know how she feels as I have a similar situation. I live in chronic pain and find walking can be rather painful at times. Personally, I don't believe in taking meds of any kind if I can at all help it, so always look for more 'natural' ways. Swimming is a very good thing to do. It doesn't feel like you are exercising because of the buoyancy and moving in water is very effective strength building activity. It really wears off the calories as it builds the muscles, good for my challenges with diabetes, fibromyalgia and arthritis. The only downer about it is I'm usually really hungry after I swim. Of course, if I eat wisely this isn't a problem.

With summer upon us, all the kids are out of school and many of them are at the pool. I am going to start going in earlier when the kids are less likely to be there. They are having a great time and it's nice to see them having fun... and I prefer peace and quiet over loud, noisy and splashing.

Trike and Truck

Last week we (Tuggy & I) worked at over coming a problem with the back brakes on my trike. His nephew, Vic, took a look at it after we had changed all the brake lines and spent many hours trying to bleed the lines with no success. Vic is a mechanic and he said the problem was with the brake peddle Tuggy had manufactured. It wasn't pushing the shaft far enough into the master cylinder. So on Sunday we made some big changes to the peddle mechanism and got the back brakes working really well. Cool!!! Now it was finally time for my first lesson... just as soon as Tug took the trike for a little spin to make sure all was working well before he let me on it.

First, we pushed it out of the shop into the yard... then to start it took some time and we had to boost it with my truck. There had been a strange sound in my truck for the past few days which turned out to be the alternator... and now it made some crunching, grinding sounds and that was it... it quit. By then, the trike was running so Tug went to ride it and made it maybe 2 inches... the drive shaft "calved". It just twisted apart at one of the welds. The welder Tug had to the work is very expensive as it turned out, and very incompetent.

I was able, after we pushed the trike back inside, to drive my truck home where it stalled when I was backing up the hill. Thankfully I was nearly at the top so when it wouldn't start with a dead battery I was able to roll down the hill and let out the clutch, thereby 'jump starting' it.

The next day, Monday, I got an alternator from one of the auto wreckers in town, thanks to Dan driving me in to town. Then Tuggy came in as Dan is not a mechanic and had no idea how to change it over. He and I (mostly him) took the old one out and put the 'new' one in... and when I started the truck and checked my gauges I saw it wasn't charging!! We figured this meant there was a problem with the alternator so I called the auto wrecker who said they didn't have another one like that. The next day, Tug called saying he'd found another one, that a friend of his has a smashed Ranger we can get the alternator out of. So he came on Big Red (his trike) and picked me up as well as some of my tools and off we went. Turned out the front of the truck was smashed in so it was a really big job to get to the alternator though once we finally got to it, it was easy to get out. We brought it back here and put it into my truck... and it wasn't charging. No way could we have 2 bad alternators, so we drove it to an auto electric place and had it tested. It turned out that both the alternators were good, and there was a fuse that was burned out. It cost me $40 to find this out... and about 15 minutes.

I returned the first alternator to the auto wrecker and got my $60 back, then took us for burgers. It was a long day and well past eating time, lol. So... in the end the cost was: $10 to Tuggy for gas, free alternator from his friend, $40 to get them checked and replace the fuse, $15 for eats = $65 and I'm back on the road. Could have been a LOT worse.

I actually really enjoyed the time spent ripping apart that guy's smashed truck to get to the alternator and think if my body was in a bit better shape I'd see about working at an auto wreckers taking vehicles apart. Today I really am paying for the fun though. I was in so much pain this morning that I could hardly move so went to the Rec Centre to soak in the hot tub then to the Chiropractor for a treatment and I have to go back on Monday for another one. Medical covers part of these treatments though I have to pay a user fee of $12 each, then after 10 treatments medical coverage runs out and I have to pay $25 per treatment, so I hoard the things, trying to stretch them out as well as I can over the year. I am better now, though still stiff and sore.

Due to the 'down time', I was unable to get to my Volunteer work at the Food Bank this Monday morning, or to Aqua Therapy Monday and Tuesday afternoons. I even forgot to go to Toastmasters on Tuesday evening as I was so busy with getting all that done and got home around the time I would have had to be leaving to drive there... and only had relaxing my sore & tired body in my mind.

On Tuesday, before and after Tuggy was here, I did some sewing which I will tell about later. For now, I must get off here as sitting here typing is becoming rather painful. Time to go to bed me thinks.

Nite nite.

My New Monday Schedule

Today I started my new volunteer job. I am working at the Food Bank. Really big bags of mixed donuts, muffins, and other baked sweets come in and we have to dig out off that sloppy mess, putting 3 items into smaller bags. After that was done, I was given 2 bags of sugar and some 'zip lock' type bags.... put the sugar into a big bucket and then scoop 1 1/2 cups of sugar into each zip lock bag. Next was rice... same bucket, same zip locks, 2 cups of rice into each baggy. Then, a big bucket of peanut butter (not the 'natural' kind I like with just peanuts, this is the more common kind with huge amount of sugar and chemicals to preserve it and to keep the oil from separating out). I scooped this into plastic containers and put lids on. Before I left I washed all coffee/tea cups and all the counters. There were 2 other women working too, though they left earlier than I did, and other were others in other areas. I actually enjoyed doing this, though did most of it standing so my back was killing me. I did grab a chair and sit down later on, but too little too late. I find it hard to work while sitting on a chair, especially at a counter. Anna, the lady in charge, suggested I put the bucket of peanut butter onto another chair beside me so I can reach it better. Good idea... or maybe take a tall stool from here to sit on each time I work there. I am happy to be doing something to help out.

Monday is one of the days I do Aqua Therapy. I am done at the Food Bank at noon and go to the pool at 2, so figured I'd be able to work on my speech for tomorrow night and be on time for therapy. Then I left without my pool bag, so no bathing suit and not towels, shampoo, etc. I drove home to get it and decided to lay down for a bit to rest my sore back.... by the time I work up it was too late to go to therapy. Dang!! Sleep wasn't in my plans. I also didn't work on my speech. I must get to it.