Mature Fashion: Aches and Pains

Hello, Friends who read my blog!

A younger friend, (one not yet in our 'mature' group) was commiserating a few days ago on her sore core muscles;  it seems she had just joined a gym and was working on a program to strengthen her core.  She mentioned how the exercises she had performed on the morning were just catching up with her late in the day. I was really empathetic because even the few core exercises I had done earlier in the day were physically 'noticeable'.  I really was feeling my age because the three sets I performed consisted of only 3 repetitions and I am sure her's were at least 10 apiece!!  Of course, this brought to my mind immediately the awareness that older may mean slowly building up to our meaningful routine; it means we also need to be aware of the incipient injury we can cause to ourselves if we do not prudently build up to a routine that we can perform safely.  

Monday a.m. weigh in- 135.7; good news of 1/2 pound loss; bad news, still weigh in more than what I thought I was when I began this trudge to losing those last miserable 10 pounds!!(well, actually, 12.2 pounds-just didn't know it).

Although I do exercise regularly, I have discovered with this weight loss endeavor that I had not been as consistent as I thought;  Even with the colder weather giving me the incentive to keep moving, I have had to drag myself into doing the exercises every day.  As a result, I am now trying to make sure I do them as early as possible during the day to assure myself I do them.  I am also setting the alarm clock on my cell phone to remind me to get up and move around for five minutes after every 20 minutes in front of the computer screen.......Have a great week....,Geneva............Rockmyages@aol.com

Mature Fashion: Monday's Weigh In

Greetings, Fashionistas and Stylinistas;

As promised, I did my Monday a.m. weigh-in to see how I am progressing on my loss of almost ten pounds to reach a goal weight of 125. Well, the good news is I lost weight, the bad news is I still weigh more than I did when I thought my weight was 134.4. I weighed in at 136.2 for a loss of exactly one pound! 

I was pretty good about keeping the written journal but I did miss the exact recording of one or two. (keeping the journal on-line I thought would help, but it just takes too much time). I will be happy if I lose at least one more pound in this next week.  I don't believe in losing more than 3 pounds a week unless one is very heavy, and even then, I would want to seek medical advice and oversight. 

One thing I really noticed as I was keeping the journal; I eat more than I thought I did, and I have also been a little sloppy on portion control.  It will probably take a couple of months to adjust my eating habits to consume the correct amount of food for my body.  Contrary to many special diets, experts say the only thing that can really shrink a stomach is surgery; Although it is possible to lose weight around the stomach (belly fat) or other parts of the body by diet, it is toning muscle by exercise that reduces the size.  It is possible, however, to change the feeling of 'full' in the tummy by eating foods high in dietary fiber and drinking enough water.

I also note that I have to up my physical activities just a bit . I have not been making enough time to complete my own preferred exercise routines. I especially care about this because maintaining muscle strength is so important in aging.

I am a firm believer that lifestyle changes that can be permanently maintained are the only way to successfully succeed in long term weight loss. I have become too lax in performing my own physical activities and dietary monitoring.    The good thing is by making myself aware of this lack, I can address the changes that need to be made and get back on track.  I plan on keeping to my personal pledge by making sure I place my physical needs as a priority. I do find I am making time for things that are not as important as my own health. Now to get busy doing my exercise routine before I do anything else!!

Have a great day..........Geneva.................Rockmyages@aol.com.......  

Mature Fashion: Optimal Weight Loss, etc.

Greetings;

Well, this post is all about dieting frustration!!  My last post griped about scale problems while trying to keep to an on-line diet journal; either I gained 2.8 lbs during the week while on the "diet,"  or as more likely, the beginning weight of 134.4 was not correct.  My new scale records me as 137.2......guess that means I have to lose 12.2 pounds to get to my targeted 125!! blah!!  When I weigh in on Monday, I will let you know the results.  This has now become a real and personal challenge!!

I did continue  to post to a written journal, but once again on day two I forgot to log in exactly what I ate for one meal and had to re-construct it after the fact. I hate to do this because I cannot be sure what I recorded is exactly accurate.  (I have attached a post-it to the refrigerator to help me remember)

For whatever reason, I am having all sorts of trouble getting this post off the ground; as you can see, the picture to the left has too much sunlight and I am unable to retrieve a replacement, so we are going ahead with it as is.  Please excuse the poor photography.

Speaking of diets:  For those of you who have access to the March edition of Elle magazine, I heartily recommend the article (quote) "This is Your Brain on Sugar", page 376.  Recent studies confirm that sugar can be addictive.  Sarah Elizabeth Richards reports on its not-so-sweet side effects." The article divulges the results of several studies with varying results but certainly concludes that the average American woman is eating almost 3 times the amount of sugar that is recommended by the World Health Organization.  Of particular interest to me was that Overeaters Anonymous seems to have had knowledge that sugar was possibly as addictive as drugs such as cocaine, etc. and yet, little or nothing has been done to regulate its use in our foods.  It is interesting that we spend so many legal resources on "pot" use but do nothing about the contents of our everyday foods!!.....and the evidence based on studies is there!!

In the meanwhile, wish me luck on getting back to my starting point on Monday's weigh in..

..................................Geneva................Rockmyages@aol.com

Mature Fashion: On-line journal exercise 2/08/16

Greetings to all;  

I am currently involved in keeping an online journal to lose the last ten pounds to reach my weight goal. (Many thanks to Tonya for her inspiration) I have been putting this exercise off for some time.  Putting the journal out there for all to see may strengthen my resolve to "stick to it"; it would be so easy to say it really doesn't matter,.......but it does...........: 

Monday:  Day to 10 lb loss (let's be optimistic) forgot bs before   breakfast                    

Breakfast @ 8:00 a.m      1 small ruby red grapefruit with 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt with 1 tbsp flax seed, 8 almonds, and two drops of liquid Stevia.  One large cup EG tea with 2 tbsp 1% organic milk and 2 drops Stevia.

Exercise: 5 push ups

BS level 108  11: 30 (that's blood sugar!.. not BullS#!!...)
Lunch@ 12:00:   2 cup mixed green salad (artisan lettuce, 1/2 tomato, onion, (both red and green) 1/2 small avocado, garlic,   blue cheese dressing (home made with mayo, buttermilk, sour cream; (about 1 tbsp total). 1 round artisan Mediterranean olive bread (NH), and 1 regular cup green tea.

Exercise:                            2/3 AARP+ series (post  11/16/15)

Dinner: 5:00                      Small whole bean burrito with avocado, cheese, salsa
                                          Mixed blackberry/kiwi fruit salad, 4 oz rose wine

Snack   7:30                      1 cup mixed spinach and artisan lettuce greens
                                           1/2 organic carrot
                                          1 small cremini mushroom, broiled
                                           2 squares 82% dark chocolate,  remaining 1/3 AARP

Bedtime 12:05  (Too late, need to be in bed no later than 11:00 p.m., 10:00 better)
                         reason: too long on phone, got home too late, need to plan better

Tuesday, bs taken at 7:45; Hooray, 107!! Put battery in scale..weight 134.4

Breakfast@8:30: 1/2 cup Cajun fried jicama (1 tbsp olive oil), 1 free range whole egg with 1 cremini mushroom, 2 tbsp packed baby spinach, 1 tbsp green pepper, 1 scallion, 1 oz MJ cheese, all topped with 2 tbsp mixed raw onion, cilantro, and fresh tomato.  One large cup IB tea, 2 tbsp 1% organic milk, 2 drops Stevia

Exercise;  2 sets AARP Marching

Mid-morning break: (elevenses?) 11:00 (behind on exercise, morning routine, why?)
1 round of Mediterranean olive toasted with 1'2 avocado, glass of lemon
Exercise: 1 set AARP marching, 1 set high kick

(it is one of those mornings where I cannot complete any task; something interrupts)

Lunch:  1:00    1 cup Geneva Pumpkin Soup, 1 slice ww euro bread,
Break    2:30    1 cup Broccoli salad (pecans, apple, onion, cranberry, o/bv, green tea

Exercise: Remainer of AARP routine

Dinner: 7:00 2 cups Perry wet salad (lettuce, tomato, onion, radish, garlic, mayo),
2 4 inch hashed vegetable patties (potato, zucchini, carrot, bell, egg, flour, herbs)
4 oz steamed/fried cod, 1/2 cup mixed berries, 2 sq dark chocolate, 4 oz red wine.

8:00 Rice cake; 10:00 1 large cup chamomile tea


Wednesday: trouble sleeping, couldn't fall asleep until about 12:00 (too much green tea? caffeine? exercise too late?) BS 117

Breakfast@ 7:20 Small bean burrito with avocado, pico de gallo, water.
9:00, banana 

exercise:  2-30 second sets of running in place, 3 sets of 12 arm lifts, vacuumed and dusted house

Break:  11:00 Geneva mocha espresso (1 tbsp 100 cacao, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, pinch of red pepper, stevia packet, and 1/4 cup 1% whipped milk)

Lunch 1:30 2- 5 inch hashed veggie patties, 1round ww Euro bread, 1 cup cantaloupe
          
Break:   1 cup pumpkin soup

Dinner: 6:30 2 cups stir fried vegetables (jicama,squash, carrot, kiwi, 1/2 brown rice cake with 1 tsp almond butter

8:30 1 cup herbal tea 

Thursday:  BS 121 @ 7:00 a.m.  good sleep, would have liked numbers to have been a little lower but I was so tired (lack of sleep) that I did not do usual activities..went to bed. 

 Breakfast:  Quinoa Breakfast bowl (1/2 cup plain lf yogurt, 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup cooked quinoa, 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, 2 tbsp flax seed, 2 tbsp chopped nut, 1 tbsp dried cranberries (or raisins) 1 cup lemon ginger tea.


20 minutes housework aerobics

10.30  1 bag roasted edame 4 oz, cup water

1:00 lunch: 1 cup butternut squash soup; 1 rice cake with 1 tsp almond butter, 1 euro olive round with 1/2 avodaco, 1 kiwi, 1 glass water

30 seconds running in place

3:00 mini buckwheat pancake; 1 free range chicken thigh, water, 4 sq chocolate

Friday   bs 130 (?)  1 round olive bread; 2 tbsp walnut spread. 1 small grapefruit

10:15   large cup EG tea, 2 cups popcorn
30 seconds running in place, 5 pushups

1:15  bean burrito with salsa cup, 1.2 cup  mixed berries, glass water
AARP routine

3:00 small walnut tart (2 inch),  cup green tea

6:00  1/2 cup home cooked ravioli with 2 cups mixed salad greens (spinach, kale, iceberg)
1/2 roma tomato, 1/2 cuke, 2 radishes, 1/2 stalk celery, 3 scallions, OV

Saturday  bs 119

**Worked at girlfriends; did not keep track (forgot it) roughly, Peets Mayan Mocha, pastry,
chorizo burrito, late nite louie salad, chips, and fried fish

Sunday b/s 137 !!  yikes, that's the late nite eating on top of pastry and espresso drink;
also, left house on errand early, got side-tracked, did not eat until fast food at 6:00 (sausage egg mcmuffin with no cheese)

Monday:  bs level 132: too high.  Not a good start to diet evaluation day; (I haven't weighed since last Tuesday) I weighed 134.4, according to my digital scale; this morning I also weighed 134.4.  I put a 2 lb weight in my hand, weighed again, and it still read 134.4.  I think something may be wrong with my scale, don't you?  Looks like I have to buy a new scale, weigh in, and start over  !!  Blah!  I have found that keeping track on-line is harder than my pencil journal, so I think this will be the last on-line week.  I will, however, report on my success of losing 5 to 10 pounds (and keeping it off-goal: 125!! (first, it looks like I have to go buy a new scale)

Mature Fashion: Optimal Eating Plans

Greetings to all;;

I have been inspired by Tonya to take on the task of losing a little more weight to get down to my ideal weight, especially since I know a weight loss will help me control my blood sugar levels.; I need to lose between 5 and 10 pounds to get there (just tried to weigh myself and the blasted battery is dead, but I know it is no more than 10 and at least 5)

I really don't believe in diets, and as you can tell, I don't weigh myself very often; but I am going to pay more attention to my food and exercise choices until I reach my goal. (Tonya, if you have lost 50 pounds, surely I can lose 10% of that!)  Of course, I will start out by being even more conscious of food portions, especially in the foods that I know increase blood sugar levels (odd,  they are the same ones that cause one to gain weight, yet so many people still say they have no responsibility for their diabetes (type 2, of course)). All the breads are lethal to me, although my choices are always "healthy".  I will also be very frugal with pastas, rices, and all refined grains, although I will try and substitute quinoa, couscous, wild rice, etc. when I do eat the grains. (I actually like all of them, but I still have to consciously think of making the substitution-pasta is sooooooo good!)

I have found in my own life that processed foods also play havoc with both my numbers and craving for certain foods.  I have maintained a pretty good level of control, but I am going to be a bit more strict.  I do not eat such things as prepared breakfast cereals, toaster pastries, sodas (diet or otherwise), off the shelf bakery products of any sort, any thing that says "fat free", any processed cheeses such as Velveeta, meats processed with nitrates, reduced fat anything except some dairy products, or farm raised fish, or "healthy" crackers or chips. 

Occasionally, I do have espresso drinks, and an occasional hamburger or pizza, and I avoid anything with trans fats or corn sugars,high fructose, especially.  Unfortunately, it is in so many things, that it is almost impossible to avoid if you have to eat anything you have not prepared for yourself.  I am vowing to myself that I will avoid these things even more consciously than I do now, because I am not quite as vigilant as I should be. I am careful about sugar of all sorts, using Stevia or Monk fruit powders when possible.  I avoid any artificial sugar based on what I am continually reading about the results of reliable health studies.

I am also vowing (to self) to make sure I am eating walnuts or almonds every day and making sure I have at least two cups of dark greens, one cup of raw or steamed or stir fried vegetables everyday, and although I never drink fruit juices, I try to eat three servings of fruit every day.  I am also trying to make sure I have two cups of tea (1 green) every day, 1 cup of beans of some form, some cooked tomato and mushroom, and some raw onion and garlic in some form every day. I also have four squares of very dark chocolate (82% cacao, Trader Joe's) every day, which, sigh, I am going to try to reduce to 2 squares.  I also try to have 4 ozs of dark red wine every evening with dinner, if possible.

I also know that I have to limit my dairy foods such as cheese, yogurt, and ice creams (organic only) to minimum portions (I know I have them a little too often,) and additionally, limit a bit more the healthy fats such as avocado, nuts, and even my grass fed meats and free range eggs to no more than a combined total of 7 times a week (the average is 25 servings-the high cost makes this a bit easier to regulate!!).  Over consumption of these items always produce an increase in my blood sugar levels, plus, being a high risk potential heart patient, I try to forestall the possibility. I am not a vegetarian, but I strongly believe that most of us need to reduce our intake of animal products of all sorts.  I actually try to substitute eggs for meat when practical. I need to increase the wild caught fish.  Although I like fish, sardines, anchovies, etc., I do not eat them often enough.  I am working on that.

I'm sure you can tell I have really become a food Nazi; during the three years I have been following this style of eating, my overall health has improved significantly, and even my doctor's remark on the decrease in blood sugar and weight stability.  I still have not reached the exercise routine level that I desire.  I do exercise but I don't have the routine I want to the level I think I need.

Tonya's results have been astounding with A1C sugar readings in the mid 5.  I am not quite there yet (I also think she takes more medicine than I do) but I want to get below 6 just using food a exercise as my medicine.  I am so close and Tonya's success has me motivated;  I have tests in April, so that is my target date for stabilized weight and blood sugar.  Please wish me good fortune........

..............Geneva............Rockmyages@aol.com