100 Steps to Improving My Health

Weight Watchers..............again!

2006-04-25T13:15:00.000-04:00

Once again, I have joined Weight Watchers. It feels like the best choice for sensible eating and developing normal and healthy eating patterns. Wish me luck. This is probably the 10th time in my life I've joined.

24 pounds to lose - one day at a time.

I also made sure to park far from my destinations today and walk extra. I can use the points - help, it's only 1:16 p.m. and I only have 9 points left for the day.

Exercise adventures

2006-04-22T16:42:00.000-04:00

Yesterday morning I met a friend and her 1 and 3 year old boys at Sugar Sand Park. It's been a long time since I hung out with such little ones and it was a blast. I climbed a bit through the maze with the 3 year old . We stayed in the park for several hours.

After leaving the park I called another friend and met her at Sweet Tomatoes for a healthy lunch.

From there I ended up at Loew's and I had a blast looking at all the flowers etc. in the gardening deparment. I bought several different coloried purslane including the color you see in this picture.

I also purchased this carnivorous "pitcher plant".

And I was so blown away by the colorful leaves on the orange canna, I purchased 3 of these :-).

After unloading the car and tired from the blazing heat, I got in our pool and did some aqua exercises and later scrubbed all the tiles in the pool, got out and went to bed early!

Today I dug holes for the canna, planted the purslane, trimmed the front plant bed which was so overgrown (oops it's lopsided now) and cleaned up all the trimmings.

So that was my exercise in the last 2 days.

Pot addiction.

2006-04-18T19:20:00.000-04:00

I was up at 5:50 and woke Z and made him chocolate chip matzoh brei for breakfast. I woke S for school before I took Z to the bus at 6:33. When I returned home, S was almost ready for school and I packed her an apple and some water...she didn't want breakfast.

After I dropped her off at school, I drove to Home Depot and parked close to the garden department. It wasn't even 7:30 when I arrived. So I took a stroll to Dunkin Donuts and bought a small hot non-fat latte...and then strolled back to Home Depot and spent a good hour plus there. I bought yet another pot. This pot addiction is strong. Isn't the pot gorgeous? Made in Spain! Afterwards, I walked to PUblix and bought more egg...one can't have enough eggs over Passover.

Then when I got home I unloaded all the plants I bought and the newest pot. I shlepped everything through the house to the back patio, including a bag containing 2.25 cubic feet of potting soil. That was heavy! I dragged it most of the way on an area rug to make it easier. Then I potted 3 pots with beautiful flowers; red begonias in one, kolancho in another, and the white double impatiens in the pot from Spain. Then I moved all my pots around the pool so eventually it'll be surrounded by flowers/vegetables etc. I recognized the tomatoes needed to be staked so I grabbed some pruning shears and trimmed some palm fronds and made those as temporary stakes.

Later I spray painted an Adirondak chair for my bedroom after carrying that through the house to paint on the side of the house in the sun and away from anything that didn't want to get painted :-). That's now back in my bedroom.

So although I didn't "exercise", I worked today. Stay tuned...tomorrow will be another wonderful day...right after I fill out my application for grad school.

Drum Roll Please!

2006-04-17T13:54:00.000-04:00

I walked 4.5 miles today on the beach, almost all the time in the water below my knees. WAHOO. I was done by 1O:05...then went shopping and am home for a few minutes before picking up my daughter from school.

This 100 steps is starting to work!

I started from this point and walked 2.25 miles north and then back.

Help, I get tired so easily

2006-04-16T12:36:00.000-04:00

I did some vacuuming and steamed cleaned some of the floor of our house, did some dishes and laundry and am typing while on the elliptical. I'm typing to keep me going. After managing to go 1/4 mile I'm tempted to get off and do more later ....but will I? At this point I'm at the `1.5 x the 1/4 mile track. I had hoped to get on here and do 3/4 of a mile and feel great. UGH. But I'm not giving up on this quest to get in shape. I'll finish this 2nd 1/4 and then decide what to do.

I need livelier music to keep me going, James Blunt is too slow...have to find some Salsa.

Later: I'm back on the machine with the old Shakira "Laundry Service" cd in the laptop. I was so stiff when I got off earlier. I'll do 1/4 mile now and that's it for today.

Well I thought that was it for the day, but I did one more 1/4 mile.

Wearing the 1/2 mile smile

2006-04-13T11:28:00.000-04:00

I just did a 1/2 mile on the elliptical without stopping. The first few minutes I didn't think I could even go on...but I found a distraction...a wonderful article on elderblogging from the New York Times and I went to lots of links from there and read. It all went so fast. Who knows, 2 days from now, I may be able to go 3/4 of a mile without stopping. I have the tv remote here, the laptop, a cold glass of seltzer...and have to figure out how where to hang the cordless phone so I don't have to get off LOL.

Later I went outside and did gardening and gathered a lot of palm fronds and other leaves etc. and cleaned up behind the entire pool enclosure.

A little exercise goes a long way!!

1/2 mile on the elliptical trainer :-)

2006-04-11T12:22:00.000-04:00

Well I figured out how to keep chatting and exercise at the same time. 1/4 mile on the elliptical was a lot for me today but it feels good to have done it. Later I did another 1/4 mile. Maybe a little more later.

I didn't exercise today

2006-04-10T22:01:00.000-04:00

How often do people exercise? I had a very productive day and accomplished a lot at home and ran errands etc. but didn't put aside time to exercise. I'll do it first thing tomorrow morning.

Day 1 of Exercise - The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill

2006-04-09T19:35:00.000-04:00

A psychologist friend of mine learned of my declared "exercise resistance". She in turn treated me to a 3 month subscription to NetFlix with the proviso that I can only watch the movies while MOVING/exercising in front of the television.

I ordered the first movie on Thursday and it arrived on Saturday. It was popped into the DVD player tonight at 6:30 p.m.

For 50 minutes, I walked/marched in place, stretched, lifted 8 pounds weights (when did they get so heavy?), STRUGGLED on the elliptical for 2.5 minutes, cooled down and stretched some more while blogging about my experience.

Wow, I feel GOOD. It's a wonderful feeling to be over that first humongous hurdle of resisting starting to exercise again.

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill movie is a precious documentary. I highly recommend it.

Justification for the cookie diet

2006-04-05T08:15:00.000-04:00

I've been on way too much thyroid medication and have gained a lot of weight. Isn't that odd? Just got all the blood test results back (I asked the quack holistic MD's office to fax them to me. He never called to discuss the results.) So I've cut down the thyroid meds on my own and am sleeping a bit better which is great news.

I went to the "cookie doctor" to discuss starting their program of medically supervised rapid weight loss. While there, they discovered I have an abnormal ECG and said I couldn't start until I saw a cardiologist. I've since seen one and had an echocardiogram. Both showed nothing to worry about. The stress test will be performed at the end of the month. I know the diet is crazy, but yesterday I read the following article and it may justify starting on the plan:

Severe calorie restriction reduces aging-related cell damage
Tuesday April 04, 2006
By LINDSEY TANNER
AP Medical Writer
CHICAGO (AP) Longevity researchers say they've shown for the first time that following a strict low-calorie diet can decrease DNA damage linked with aging.

Some people who took part in the six-month diet study ate as little as 890 calories a day. Their insulin levels fell and metabolisms slowed changes that are thought to increase longevity.

The findings are provocative, but preliminary. Longer-term research will try to sort out whether such changes can meaningfully extend people's lives, said senior author Eric Ravussin of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University.

``They are the first proof that what has been observed in rodents seems to be also working in humans,'' Ravussin said.

The results are from the first phase of research at the Baton Rouge center sponsored by a $12.4 million National Institute on Aging grant. They follow unrelated research reported in January which suggested a very restrictive diet seemed to help the heart age more slowly.

The latest study appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

``It's very exciting,'' said Dr. Evan Hadley, director of the NIA's geriatrics and clinical gerontology program.

``It's a step forward but not the whole journey,'' said Hadley, whose agency is part of the NIH.

The 48 participants, all slightly overweight, were randomly assigned to one of four groupsts that run in her family, including diabetes and heart disease.

Assigned to the exercise group, Collins said the hardest part was eliminating most sweets and exercising daily. But she said eating up to seven servings of fruits and vegetables daily kept her feeling full. She has stuck with the new habits and kept off most of the nearly 30 pounds she lost since the study ended almost two years ago.

Collins said it will be a big bonus if the changes help her live longer, too.

On the Net:

JAMA: http://jama.ama-assn.org

Pennington research: http://calerie.pbrc.edu/pressrelease.html

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Another New Beginning

2006-03-31T14:02:00.000-05:00

While at the Women's Center waiting for an ultrasound of the left breast, a dear friend called and asked me to meet her at the beach. Ultrasound is over - all is fine. I met my friend at the beach and we walked for 40 minutes and sat around and chatted and had a great time. So today is another new start in my quest to cure my exercise resistance.

We walked starting one mile north of this spot.

I also need to get the eating under control. I've put on 25 pounds that MUST come off. I wish theyd come off before the cardiologist appointment on Monday.

Day 3 - One step forward, two steps back

2006-03-11T17:41:00.000-05:00

One step forward, two steps back? I'm living proof. Johnboy, I've been thinking of how to admit the clothes are still dressing the elliptical. The eating has not been healthier, but I have increased the amount of water I'm drinking so I'm less dehydrated.

I suffer from insomnia. I've been reluctant to try medication. I've tried Ambien (1/2 the smallest pill) and felt groggy the whole next day so I abandoned those pills. Last night, I tried a new sleeping pill - Sonata. It is only supposed to last 3 hours. Nearly to the dot, I woke up 3 hours after taking it. But I was able to fall back to sleep easier.

I woke at 6:10 a.m. because Z needed to be at a debate tournament and I didn't have any bread in the house. I made him breakfast, and lunch to take with him, and stuck a load in the wash. I put on exercise clothes with every intention to exercise today. Later I ran a carpool full of kids and 2 surfboards and dropped off my daughter and friends at the beach. I went to my cousin's house afterwards and read to his children and went out to breakfast with the family. We brainstormed a business idea. After the meal, I headed home and managed to buy some iron bar stools at a consigment shop and a bright orange bread box at Home Goods. Got home and watered the plants and made a no-sew blanket for my mother's friend's 3 year old.

So I have not exercised, and I have not made good food choices, but I have had a productive day and feel good about that.

Because We Believe

Guarda fuori e gia mattina
Questo e un giorno che ricorderai
Alzati in fretta e vai
C'e' chi crede in te
Non ti arrendere

Once in every life
There comes a time
We walk out all alone
And into the light
The moment won't last but then,
We remember it again
When we close our eyes

Like stars across the sky
E per avvincere
Tu dovrai vincere
We were born to shine
All of us here because we believe

Guarda avani e non voltarti mai
Accarezza con i sogni tuoi
Le tue speranze e poi
Verso il giorno che verra'
C'e' un traguardo la'

Like stars across the sky
E per avvincere
Tu dovrai vincere
We were born to shine
All of us here because we believe

Non arrenderti
Qualcuno e' con te

Like stars across the sky
We were born to shine
E per avvincere
Dovrai vincere
E allora vincerrai

Day 1 - Kolanchoe and "Feeling Good"

2006-03-09T10:00:00.000-05:00

Day 1 at 10:02 a.m. I've already planted two containers of kolanchoe and added flowering plants to other containers, watered almost all of my plants and managed to do 3 loads of laundry. For me, this in itself has been a marvelously productive morning.

KOLANCHOE

What can be better than Michael Buble singing this song today?

Feeling Good

Birds flying high
You know how I feel
Sun in the sky
You know how I feel
Reeds driftin' on by
You know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

Fish in the sea
You know how I feel
River running free
You know how I feel
Blossom in the tree
You know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don't you know
Butterflies all havin' fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when the day is done
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me

Stars when you shine
You know how I feel
Scent of the pine
You know how I feel
Yeah freedom is mine
And I know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me

And I'm feeling good