This is short and sweet. I meant to post this simple recipe earlier in the fall, when I first heard about it, but decided to take the opportunity to share it now....
This recipe was recommended by one of my personal trainers. He said these brownies are healthy for you and taste better, on average, than those with high fat and added cholesterol. My colleages at work and I tried them, and agree, they are a good replacement. Not bad at all! And if you ever crave a "chocolatey" treat, you might consider this healthy alternative?
Use a box of brownie mix and stir in one can of black beans (pour in everything from the can, including the water). The black beans and water actually replace everything that was to have been added to the brownie mix - such as eggs, water, etc. Follow the directions for baking on the package. And VOILA, simple Black Bean Brownies that are full of fiber and much healthier than traditional brownies.
Submitted on Monday, December 20, 2010.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
My Doctor's List - A Prescription for Exercise
Last Friday was my 4th visit to my doctor since beginning this new exercise journey in early April 2010. According to my doctor's records I had lost 27 pounds (over 30 pounds at Lifepointe) since she started tracking the impact of exercise on my health. And I must admit, I feel pretty good. I tell her that even though I am still quite heavy, I don't feel as winded or tired after exercise. She says that the exercise has most likely impacted my endurance. I feel certain she is experiencing this journey with me. (I feel fortunate that we have such a good relationship.)
As my doctor began reading and checking off each medication regulating cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, heart health, kidney function, and more, I could see that one more medication had been added to the end of her list. It made me smile out loud. Here is how the list of medications read in my chart:
Metformin 500
Niaspan (and an aspirin) 1000/day
Fish Oil - 3 1000
Lantus - 50 units at night
Valturna - 300/day
Coreg - 625 twice daily
Welcohl - 3 pills, twice daily
Vitamin D3
Exercise
When she got to the end of the list, she asked about my prescription for exercise. I told her about my workout schedule and commitment to exercising 5 times per week - Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I mentioned the importance of my work with a trainer two nights a week because "he pushes me in ways I cannot push myself." I told her about the water aerobics that I plan with my friend/colleague Deb, and about the strength training using the Human Sport machines and and cardio exercises I work on individually, two times each week.
I have spent these last 6-8 months getting a sense of this exercise plan, with the help of very capable health coaches/trainers, and it is obviously making significant difference in my life. I celebrate (a happy, happy dance inside my head) and think to myself "there's no doubt about it, I have come a long way, baby!"
Submitted on Sunday, December 12, 2010.
P.S. Happy Birthday daughter Catherine. I love you!
As my doctor began reading and checking off each medication regulating cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, heart health, kidney function, and more, I could see that one more medication had been added to the end of her list. It made me smile out loud. Here is how the list of medications read in my chart:
Metformin 500
Niaspan (and an aspirin) 1000/day
Fish Oil - 3 1000
Lantus - 50 units at night
Valturna - 300/day
Coreg - 625 twice daily
Welcohl - 3 pills, twice daily
Vitamin D3
Exercise
When she got to the end of the list, she asked about my prescription for exercise. I told her about my workout schedule and commitment to exercising 5 times per week - Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I mentioned the importance of my work with a trainer two nights a week because "he pushes me in ways I cannot push myself." I told her about the water aerobics that I plan with my friend/colleague Deb, and about the strength training using the Human Sport machines and and cardio exercises I work on individually, two times each week.
I have spent these last 6-8 months getting a sense of this exercise plan, with the help of very capable health coaches/trainers, and it is obviously making significant difference in my life. I celebrate (a happy, happy dance inside my head) and think to myself "there's no doubt about it, I have come a long way, baby!"
Submitted on Sunday, December 12, 2010.
P.S. Happy Birthday daughter Catherine. I love you!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
It's a Holiday Weekend and We're Having a Heart Healthy Seminar!
My husband assures me that he knows of no other family like mine. When all family members and spouses gather at my parents home in the Midwest for the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays, spontaneous and planned seminars occur each addressing different health oriented topics. We might talk about new recipes involving spinach, changes in daily vitamin regimens, exercise routines, each family member's latest blood test results, symptom diagnosis, and more! I grew up with these health talks as a part of life, so I am never surprised by them or the frequency with which they occur.
I'm quite certain, however, that all this "blood talk" drives my husband absolutely crazy. One day after taking a walk in the neighborhood, my husband returned to my parents home only to find every adult woman in the house laying prone and still, impaled with multiple acupuncture needles. I'm sure this sight would shock anyone, let alone my unprepared husband!
Besides the regular holiday chatter/chats, games, workouts, morning coffee, walking tours of the local Reiman Gardens, football games, and/or antique shopping, there are also numerous "bodily function" discussions. Indeed "bodily function" discussions are standard fare! What do you expect when your family includes a Pain doctor with credentials in Acupuncture, a physiologist, a nurse and a doctor-to-be?
Of course this Thanksgiving holiday was no different. Led by my brother - the Pain Doctor - one central image was used to center our discussion. Taken from Life Extension's magazine was the image of a heart with 17 daggers of arterial disease. Our conversation focused on a variety of medical remedies, including exercise, important to maintain heart health. The image is below.
While all of the complex medical explanations made sense in context, I did take notes, mostly of my brother's recommended regimens. These notes are included below:
- Fat Soluble K2 regulates proteins
- Vitamin D3 - take 5,000-8,000 units per day
- Metformin good for the body and for people with diabetes
- Exercise keeps cholesterol from oxidizing
- Irvingia, Resveratrol, Isofavinoids lead to artery flexibility
- Nitric Oxide keeps coronary arteries dilated and lets cells use energy
- Omega 3's such as Lovaza (465 EPA and 375 DHA) take 3 times this amount
- Vitamin B6 turns down Homosystine (which is an inflammatory marker )
- Folate drives down Homostytine and keeps heart from having oxidizing stress
- Vitamin C and Lysine may lower Lipoprotein A
- 1000 units of Vitamin C are great anti-oxidents
- Vitamin E Tocotrienol is another antioxidant that turns down cholesterol in the Liver
- Hormone Estrogen may protect the heart in women but excess Estrogen is not always good
Whew...that was one, big chock-full-of-information family seminar! And now its time to let it sink in, like osmosis....
Submitted on Saturday, December 4, 2010.
P.S. What a string of birthdays! Happy Birthday Walter, Phillip and Susan!
I'm quite certain, however, that all this "blood talk" drives my husband absolutely crazy. One day after taking a walk in the neighborhood, my husband returned to my parents home only to find every adult woman in the house laying prone and still, impaled with multiple acupuncture needles. I'm sure this sight would shock anyone, let alone my unprepared husband!
Besides the regular holiday chatter/chats, games, workouts, morning coffee, walking tours of the local Reiman Gardens, football games, and/or antique shopping, there are also numerous "bodily function" discussions. Indeed "bodily function" discussions are standard fare! What do you expect when your family includes a Pain doctor with credentials in Acupuncture, a physiologist, a nurse and a doctor-to-be?
Of course this Thanksgiving holiday was no different. Led by my brother - the Pain Doctor - one central image was used to center our discussion. Taken from Life Extension's magazine was the image of a heart with 17 daggers of arterial disease. Our conversation focused on a variety of medical remedies, including exercise, important to maintain heart health. The image is below.
- Fat Soluble K2 regulates proteins
- Vitamin D3 - take 5,000-8,000 units per day
- Metformin good for the body and for people with diabetes
- Exercise keeps cholesterol from oxidizing
- Irvingia, Resveratrol, Isofavinoids lead to artery flexibility
- Nitric Oxide keeps coronary arteries dilated and lets cells use energy
- Omega 3's such as Lovaza (465 EPA and 375 DHA) take 3 times this amount
- Vitamin B6 turns down Homosystine (which is an inflammatory marker )
- Folate drives down Homostytine and keeps heart from having oxidizing stress
- Vitamin C and Lysine may lower Lipoprotein A
- 1000 units of Vitamin C are great anti-oxidents
- Vitamin E Tocotrienol is another antioxidant that turns down cholesterol in the Liver
- Hormone Estrogen may protect the heart in women but excess Estrogen is not always good
Whew...that was one, big chock-full-of-information family seminar! And now its time to let it sink in, like osmosis....
Submitted on Saturday, December 4, 2010.
P.S. What a string of birthdays! Happy Birthday Walter, Phillip and Susan!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Loss, Lutefisk or Life?
For most of 2009/2010 I have felt like something was missing. I didn't realize the depth of my emotion until a recent visit to my doctor in October. While talking about my exercise program and weight loss I started crying. My doctor immediately responded, wondering if these expressed emotions may have some relation to my weight loss, and suggesting we meet monthly to touch base. I began to dwell on the questions: Is my sadness affiliated with a physical loss of weight? Could exercise trigger hidden hormones that elicit "sadness?" Is loss a part of aging? Could I be sad because I did not pay as much attention to my body, and to living a more healthy life? Or was this sadness related to other kinds of "losses?"
I started adding up the events in my life and found a long string of "losses:"
• A very significant loss this year was the death of my very good friend and colleague Marcia McVay. It was sudden and not so sudden. She had been treated for cancer, recovered, and then the cancer was back with a fury, and she was gone. I still run across recent emails from her and just weep. I weep that she will not be around to lament about budget woes, to chuckle knowingly about the crazy things the students have done, or to laugh hilariously at my recent travels into Northeast Nebraska. Many of my colleagues in the College of Education attended Marcia's funeral on March 18th in Auburn, Nebraska. I weep as I write this - still deeply sad - but feel fortunate in knowing Marcia and her ever present laughter, for over ten years. She no longer has to deal with cancer craziness, and she is most certainly resting in peace. Good night Marcia.
• Within the last two years, significant friends and colleagues have left my community to start rich new lives and careers in other communities throughout the United States - Michelle in New York, Daniela in Florida, Tammy in Colorado and Charles in Pennsylvania. As a newcomer to my community just over 10 years ago, I had come to rely on the camaraderie of these special friends/colleagues - as we all had the status of "newcomer" in common! Each of their moves "out of my life" were traumatic. At the same time, I am grateful for their enduring friendships, cherished memories and good times, and that each were rewarded with great career moves!
• During this year, the outspoken and courageous Commissioner of Education, Doug Christensen (who had also become a personal friend) resigned his position because of a difference of opinion with other state leaders. I had come to respect and admire Doug as a personal hero. Indeed he was a personal hero to many across the United States. It has made me sad to realize that I no longer have someone with such great convictions and ideas - to consider a mentor - in a leadership role in this state. It is a huge loss for our state. I will find ways to continue to connect with Doug.
• My cousin Terri, with two young children at home, has been diagnosed with Lymphoma, and while all family members have been sending our thoughts and best wishes to her and her family, we have been scared about recent PET scans revealing a potential re-growth of the lymphoma. So far no news on the recurrence, so we are all in limbo.
• My mom, who founded The People Place, in Ames, Iowa, decided to retire. The People Place was founded in the basement of our home over 30 years ago. Every member of our family, down to the grandchildren, have had a role in supporting this local parent resource center, whether helping with the Call-A-Thon (the annual fundraiser), supporting the organization at City Council meetings, creating brochures, preparing mailings, helping out at the child-care center, giving annually, dropping food off at people's homes during the holidays, writing grants, and more! Mom's retirement from The People Place feels like the death of a family member; I will most certainly miss this one constant in our future family gatherings.
• Just as I was beginning my new exercise routine last summer, my husband was in a serious, life-threatening horse-back riding incident. He was life-flighted to a major university hospital, hospitalized in the ICU and general hospital for two weeks with a flailing lung, broken collarbone and all the ribs on his left side broken/crushed. When the priest met me in the emergency room, I flushed, in shock, and quickly realized that Dave's situation was worse than I originally thought. In mid-July he began a long recovery at home. I learned to juggle exercise with the need to care for my husband and his doctor's appointments, while also making sure my daughter was well cared for. I wasn't always successful. Fortunately we had very good friends who offered to take Catherine in while my husband was recovering and brought us food that lasted for nearly a month. And we were also fortunate that our work allowed us to take family medical leave during this trauma. We both breathe much easier these days, since he has made excellent progress!
• My work was very stressful in 2009, and I have a sense of "loss" related to it. I still haven't figured out "the sadness" part? Perhaps it was a sense that nobody cared to look out for me? Perhaps it has to do with unresolved conflict? Because these stressful events occurred at the same time as my heart attack, perhaps I blame my work stress for the two stints now lodged in my heart? I've decided to let this one go. Let it hang out there on a limb of its own, and eventually fall to the ground to decompose like fall leaves. This image helps me to get beyond the pain, and honestly, it isn't worth the extra energy.
• People have gone in and out of my exercise life. The trainer who originally encouraged me to make a stronger commitment to exercise left to pursue a graduate degree in another state. Not only did this leave me with less support at Lifepointe at a time when exercise was very "new" to me, but it also broke up a group of "exercising" adult women who I was just getting to know. As always, I adjusted, found a new trainer and forged new relationships, but not without initially feeling a sense of great "loss." These initial feelings led me to these weekly writing efforts. And my new training group grew out of the initial exercise class. We have become exercise colleagues - each member appreciating each others' strengths, and appreciating the strengths of our new trainer.
Are these losses, or is this life? Are these changes that one eventually recognizes as significant, yet also events to suffer or persevere through, make adjustments to, in order to "live?" In some ways, the feelings of sadness and loss are essential for change to occur. Garrison Keilor, NPR's Saturday evening radio talk-show host/humorist of Prairie Home Companion, tells the story of how Scandinavian men and women in his made-up home town of Lake Wobegon eat Lutefisk every Thanksgiving and Christmas Season in order to physically remind themselves of the suffering...it is what gets them through the dark nights and tough times of the Holidays. (If you never experienced Lutefisk, it is a pretty disgusting fish...soaked in lye for years!) Now granted, this is a humorist speaking and it's a made-up story, but this familiar theme is found in many similar tales - Suffering/Loss = Life, and it is definitely worth much more thought as the 2010 Holiday Season swiftly approaches!
Submitted on Sunday, November 21, 2010.
P.S. Back to the posting - this post counts as three! Happy Birthday Mitchell!
I started adding up the events in my life and found a long string of "losses:"
• A very significant loss this year was the death of my very good friend and colleague Marcia McVay. It was sudden and not so sudden. She had been treated for cancer, recovered, and then the cancer was back with a fury, and she was gone. I still run across recent emails from her and just weep. I weep that she will not be around to lament about budget woes, to chuckle knowingly about the crazy things the students have done, or to laugh hilariously at my recent travels into Northeast Nebraska. Many of my colleagues in the College of Education attended Marcia's funeral on March 18th in Auburn, Nebraska. I weep as I write this - still deeply sad - but feel fortunate in knowing Marcia and her ever present laughter, for over ten years. She no longer has to deal with cancer craziness, and she is most certainly resting in peace. Good night Marcia.
• Within the last two years, significant friends and colleagues have left my community to start rich new lives and careers in other communities throughout the United States - Michelle in New York, Daniela in Florida, Tammy in Colorado and Charles in Pennsylvania. As a newcomer to my community just over 10 years ago, I had come to rely on the camaraderie of these special friends/colleagues - as we all had the status of "newcomer" in common! Each of their moves "out of my life" were traumatic. At the same time, I am grateful for their enduring friendships, cherished memories and good times, and that each were rewarded with great career moves!
• During this year, the outspoken and courageous Commissioner of Education, Doug Christensen (who had also become a personal friend) resigned his position because of a difference of opinion with other state leaders. I had come to respect and admire Doug as a personal hero. Indeed he was a personal hero to many across the United States. It has made me sad to realize that I no longer have someone with such great convictions and ideas - to consider a mentor - in a leadership role in this state. It is a huge loss for our state. I will find ways to continue to connect with Doug.
• My cousin Terri, with two young children at home, has been diagnosed with Lymphoma, and while all family members have been sending our thoughts and best wishes to her and her family, we have been scared about recent PET scans revealing a potential re-growth of the lymphoma. So far no news on the recurrence, so we are all in limbo.
• My mom, who founded The People Place, in Ames, Iowa, decided to retire. The People Place was founded in the basement of our home over 30 years ago. Every member of our family, down to the grandchildren, have had a role in supporting this local parent resource center, whether helping with the Call-A-Thon (the annual fundraiser), supporting the organization at City Council meetings, creating brochures, preparing mailings, helping out at the child-care center, giving annually, dropping food off at people's homes during the holidays, writing grants, and more! Mom's retirement from The People Place feels like the death of a family member; I will most certainly miss this one constant in our future family gatherings.
• Just as I was beginning my new exercise routine last summer, my husband was in a serious, life-threatening horse-back riding incident. He was life-flighted to a major university hospital, hospitalized in the ICU and general hospital for two weeks with a flailing lung, broken collarbone and all the ribs on his left side broken/crushed. When the priest met me in the emergency room, I flushed, in shock, and quickly realized that Dave's situation was worse than I originally thought. In mid-July he began a long recovery at home. I learned to juggle exercise with the need to care for my husband and his doctor's appointments, while also making sure my daughter was well cared for. I wasn't always successful. Fortunately we had very good friends who offered to take Catherine in while my husband was recovering and brought us food that lasted for nearly a month. And we were also fortunate that our work allowed us to take family medical leave during this trauma. We both breathe much easier these days, since he has made excellent progress!
• My work was very stressful in 2009, and I have a sense of "loss" related to it. I still haven't figured out "the sadness" part? Perhaps it was a sense that nobody cared to look out for me? Perhaps it has to do with unresolved conflict? Because these stressful events occurred at the same time as my heart attack, perhaps I blame my work stress for the two stints now lodged in my heart? I've decided to let this one go. Let it hang out there on a limb of its own, and eventually fall to the ground to decompose like fall leaves. This image helps me to get beyond the pain, and honestly, it isn't worth the extra energy.
• People have gone in and out of my exercise life. The trainer who originally encouraged me to make a stronger commitment to exercise left to pursue a graduate degree in another state. Not only did this leave me with less support at Lifepointe at a time when exercise was very "new" to me, but it also broke up a group of "exercising" adult women who I was just getting to know. As always, I adjusted, found a new trainer and forged new relationships, but not without initially feeling a sense of great "loss." These initial feelings led me to these weekly writing efforts. And my new training group grew out of the initial exercise class. We have become exercise colleagues - each member appreciating each others' strengths, and appreciating the strengths of our new trainer.
Are these losses, or is this life? Are these changes that one eventually recognizes as significant, yet also events to suffer or persevere through, make adjustments to, in order to "live?" In some ways, the feelings of sadness and loss are essential for change to occur. Garrison Keilor, NPR's Saturday evening radio talk-show host/humorist of Prairie Home Companion, tells the story of how Scandinavian men and women in his made-up home town of Lake Wobegon eat Lutefisk every Thanksgiving and Christmas Season in order to physically remind themselves of the suffering...it is what gets them through the dark nights and tough times of the Holidays. (If you never experienced Lutefisk, it is a pretty disgusting fish...soaked in lye for years!) Now granted, this is a humorist speaking and it's a made-up story, but this familiar theme is found in many similar tales - Suffering/Loss = Life, and it is definitely worth much more thought as the 2010 Holiday Season swiftly approaches!
Submitted on Sunday, November 21, 2010.
P.S. Back to the posting - this post counts as three! Happy Birthday Mitchell!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Death Rolls
Early one Saturday morning, I was reading my cousin Julia's personal blog Life with Julia, and chuckling about her most recent post called Death Garden. It it, she describes how an old abandoned garden had become a meeting place for the neighborhood kids in Evanston, Illinois. (Click here to access Julia's blog at http://lifewithjulia.wordpress.com/.)
So death gardens were very much on my mind later that same Saturday morning as the smells of sweetness and baking wafted up the stairs. Curiosity got the best of me as I headed down the stairs and into our kitchen where my daughter Catherine and husband Dave had just finished frosting a pan of freshly baked, home-made cinnamon rolls. They looked and smelled absolutely delicious, but all I could blurt out was "DEATH ROLLS," and it spilled out of my mouth as the pan was set on the cooling rack, just in front of me.
All I could think about was the high carbohydrate-drenched bun, with the sweet glucose-laden frosting, and what these ingredients would do to my body! One thing was certain, after blurting out "DEATH ROLLS" there was no way I could legitimately eat one of those cinnamon rolls, no matter how sweet-smelling, or how delicious-looking! This slip-of-the-tongue provided me with a shield against a potentially harmful food.
Catherine and Dave were initially offended by my new name for their cinnamon rolls; but the dissatisfaction didn't last long! Several days later while driving around trying to find a restaurant with a great salad, I laughed out loud! Catherine had begun singing a new DEATH ROLLS song, sung to the tune of Daisy Daisy, Give Me Your Answer Do (AKA, Bicycle Built for Two). "Death rolls, death rolls, give me your answer do. I'm half crazy, all for the likes of you!" In the same week a "Death Candy" sign showed up on the side of our Halloween Candy bowl, and a skull and crossbow, entitled "Death Ice Cream" mysteriously appeared on the side of the ice cream box in the freezer. What next?
Submitted on Sunday, October 31, 2010.
P.S. Happy Birthday Dad! And Happy Halloween!
So death gardens were very much on my mind later that same Saturday morning as the smells of sweetness and baking wafted up the stairs. Curiosity got the best of me as I headed down the stairs and into our kitchen where my daughter Catherine and husband Dave had just finished frosting a pan of freshly baked, home-made cinnamon rolls. They looked and smelled absolutely delicious, but all I could blurt out was "DEATH ROLLS," and it spilled out of my mouth as the pan was set on the cooling rack, just in front of me.
All I could think about was the high carbohydrate-drenched bun, with the sweet glucose-laden frosting, and what these ingredients would do to my body! One thing was certain, after blurting out "DEATH ROLLS" there was no way I could legitimately eat one of those cinnamon rolls, no matter how sweet-smelling, or how delicious-looking! This slip-of-the-tongue provided me with a shield against a potentially harmful food.
Catherine and Dave were initially offended by my new name for their cinnamon rolls; but the dissatisfaction didn't last long! Several days later while driving around trying to find a restaurant with a great salad, I laughed out loud! Catherine had begun singing a new DEATH ROLLS song, sung to the tune of Daisy Daisy, Give Me Your Answer Do (AKA, Bicycle Built for Two). "Death rolls, death rolls, give me your answer do. I'm half crazy, all for the likes of you!" In the same week a "Death Candy" sign showed up on the side of our Halloween Candy bowl, and a skull and crossbow, entitled "Death Ice Cream" mysteriously appeared on the side of the ice cream box in the freezer. What next?
Submitted on Sunday, October 31, 2010.
P.S. Happy Birthday Dad! And Happy Halloween!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Visiting the Doctor - Exercise is My Medicine
I remember my first doctors appointment since starting Trim & Fit in April, and since starting the new exercise "five-times-a-week" routine in June. It was July 8, 2010. This day remains one of the biggest motivators for continuing exercise, and also the basis for this blog - Exercise is My Medicine.
Since my heart attack last summer, my doctor has worked with me to regulate blood pressure, blood sugar levels and cholesterol involving over 10 different types of medicines. It has been a regular medicine juggling act. Today's quarterly visit was several weeks into my new exercise routine and I suspected there were some legitimate physical changes (heck, I felt pretty good), but had no giant expectations. My doctor confirmed these changes, walking into the examination room saying "you look great, your blood pressure and blood sugars are good, and according to our records, you've also lost 8 pounds!" I told her that the biggest change was adding regular exercise to my life. This started a long discussion - and a new doctor/patient relationship - about my new exercise-full life. She reinforced that exercise had definitely impacted my health, and it showed in my bloodwork. She also suggested that we meet every one-to-two months, instead of the every-three-month appointment to which I was accustomed.
I was shocked! Still morbidly obese, how could exercise have had such a big impact on my health? By the end of the first visit, my doctor had discontinued two medications (one insulin-related medication and one blood thinner). Together we created a plan to adjust insulin down as my exercise routine continued, and as my blood sugar levels improved. (My morning glucose levels were pretty low.) The next day the nurses called with the results of additional blood work, also confirming my doctor's advice, and validating that exercise really is my medicine!
Submitted on Sunday, October 24, 2010.
P.S. Happy Birthday Mallory!
Since my heart attack last summer, my doctor has worked with me to regulate blood pressure, blood sugar levels and cholesterol involving over 10 different types of medicines. It has been a regular medicine juggling act. Today's quarterly visit was several weeks into my new exercise routine and I suspected there were some legitimate physical changes (heck, I felt pretty good), but had no giant expectations. My doctor confirmed these changes, walking into the examination room saying "you look great, your blood pressure and blood sugars are good, and according to our records, you've also lost 8 pounds!" I told her that the biggest change was adding regular exercise to my life. This started a long discussion - and a new doctor/patient relationship - about my new exercise-full life. She reinforced that exercise had definitely impacted my health, and it showed in my bloodwork. She also suggested that we meet every one-to-two months, instead of the every-three-month appointment to which I was accustomed.
I was shocked! Still morbidly obese, how could exercise have had such a big impact on my health? By the end of the first visit, my doctor had discontinued two medications (one insulin-related medication and one blood thinner). Together we created a plan to adjust insulin down as my exercise routine continued, and as my blood sugar levels improved. (My morning glucose levels were pretty low.) The next day the nurses called with the results of additional blood work, also confirming my doctor's advice, and validating that exercise really is my medicine!
Submitted on Sunday, October 24, 2010.
P.S. Happy Birthday Mallory!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Seriously! EXERCISE 4 TIMES A WEEK!
From the beginning of Trim & Fit, we were encouraged to exercise at least four times a week. This meant two additional hours of exercise in addition to the Monday and Wednesday workout classes. Because I was not a Lifepointe member, I could not take full advantage of the exercise facilities on-site. I planned to add two exercise sessions per week by walking at our family health center, or around the nearby lake, or in the neighborhood. I could also use the recumbent bike at home. Though these planned exercise efforts did not involve the same routine as Trim & Fit, they at least provided good aerobic benefit.
Monday nights the instructor evaluated our exercise diaries, leaving comments or suggestions for the upcoming week. The comments were usually gentle reminders, but the message left during the final week of Trim & Fit was different! Written in capital letters was EXERCISE 4 TIMES A WEEK!!, and then it was signed in cursive with the instructor's full name. I admit, most weeks I did not exercise four times per week, and this message guilted me - especially for not committing to myself 100%! Though improving physically and mentally, the lack of weight-loss was enough evidence that I was commitment-challenged!
Around the same time, I ran into my friend and colleague Deb, the first person to tell me about the difference Lifepointe was making in her life. She was working with a trainer and participating in regular water aerobics classes. She offered to meet me at Lifepointe one Sunday afternoon, and show me around the facilities. Since Trim & Fit takes place primarily in the gym, I had no idea of other services, the facilities, or how they could benefit me? Deb's tour was very beneficial, especially since she has similar health concerns. As we walked through the pool areas, the family rooms, the spas, the kitchens where cooking classes are taught, and the wide open exercise areas with treadmill, elyptical, nustep and weight-training machines, Deb talked about how her doctor had told her she needed to be on a different path. In this short tour, I realized that Deb had made a different sort of exercise commitment! I was in a class that met twice a week; she had made a daily commitment, was exercising at least four times per week, and was doing this for life!
Ten weeks into Trim & Fit - toward the end of class - I began wondering how to overcome my commitment-challenge? Like Deb, how could exercise become a priority? How can my health take priority? Deb messaged me one day "Make yourself a priority." The Trim & Fit instructor made a similar comment. Deep, deep in my heart, I knew this was a personal choice that only I could make, and that a long-term commitment was the only true path to health.
It didn't take me long to move from non-member to member status by joining Lifepointe. In doing this, I was agreeing to commit to four to five workout sessions each week and most importantly....committing to myself.
Post Note: I'm a reflector. It takes a long time for things to sink in. Ten weeks into the exercise class - almost at the end - only then do I start reflecting on my commitment to exercise? My hopes are that this weekly blog helps shorten the distance between reflection and action! And as I write this post, having exercised five times a week for past four months, I HAVE made a commitment to myself, and this weekly post has indeed provided time to reflect, and contributed to my success!
Submitted on Saturday, October 18, 2010.
Monday nights the instructor evaluated our exercise diaries, leaving comments or suggestions for the upcoming week. The comments were usually gentle reminders, but the message left during the final week of Trim & Fit was different! Written in capital letters was EXERCISE 4 TIMES A WEEK!!, and then it was signed in cursive with the instructor's full name. I admit, most weeks I did not exercise four times per week, and this message guilted me - especially for not committing to myself 100%! Though improving physically and mentally, the lack of weight-loss was enough evidence that I was commitment-challenged!
Around the same time, I ran into my friend and colleague Deb, the first person to tell me about the difference Lifepointe was making in her life. She was working with a trainer and participating in regular water aerobics classes. She offered to meet me at Lifepointe one Sunday afternoon, and show me around the facilities. Since Trim & Fit takes place primarily in the gym, I had no idea of other services, the facilities, or how they could benefit me? Deb's tour was very beneficial, especially since she has similar health concerns. As we walked through the pool areas, the family rooms, the spas, the kitchens where cooking classes are taught, and the wide open exercise areas with treadmill, elyptical, nustep and weight-training machines, Deb talked about how her doctor had told her she needed to be on a different path. In this short tour, I realized that Deb had made a different sort of exercise commitment! I was in a class that met twice a week; she had made a daily commitment, was exercising at least four times per week, and was doing this for life!
Ten weeks into Trim & Fit - toward the end of class - I began wondering how to overcome my commitment-challenge? Like Deb, how could exercise become a priority? How can my health take priority? Deb messaged me one day "Make yourself a priority." The Trim & Fit instructor made a similar comment. Deep, deep in my heart, I knew this was a personal choice that only I could make, and that a long-term commitment was the only true path to health.
It didn't take me long to move from non-member to member status by joining Lifepointe. In doing this, I was agreeing to commit to four to five workout sessions each week and most importantly....committing to myself.
Post Note: I'm a reflector. It takes a long time for things to sink in. Ten weeks into the exercise class - almost at the end - only then do I start reflecting on my commitment to exercise? My hopes are that this weekly blog helps shorten the distance between reflection and action! And as I write this post, having exercised five times a week for past four months, I HAVE made a commitment to myself, and this weekly post has indeed provided time to reflect, and contributed to my success!
Submitted on Saturday, October 18, 2010.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Just Like Me - The Drew Carey Story
Parade Magazine recently ran the story No More Mister Fat Guy, about the incredibly shrinking Drew Carey. Boy, I want to be like Drew! Actually, I am like Drew!
• Like Drew I am way overweight (more overweight than he was) and feel uncomfortable in my body.
• Like Drew, I got used to my gradual "bigness;" it didn't occur over night.
• Like Drew I developed Type 2 diabetes, and complications that go along with the disease.
• Like Drew, I have an active daughter who I want to keep up with. Who I want to see graduate from high school and college, and go on to have her own family.
• Like Drew, the big heart attack scare and two (instead of one) stents in my heart, were a wake-up call!
• Like Drew, my life was at a cross-roads, between health and death.
• Like Drew, I experienced exercise and healthy eating as literally "life-saving."
• Like Drew, I have come to look forward to my exercise/workouts. (I really miss them on the "off" days.)
• Like Drew, I have learned that "eating crappy food is not a reward - it's a punishment."
Of course there are differences in our experience(s). For instance, my weight loss and commitment didn't happen over night. It took me a long time to start loosing weight, and to realize that I needed to commit 100% in order to accomplish these goals. I continue to struggle with weight loss. And it took me a long time to commit to exercising more than two times a week. I also experienced considerable medical benefits early on, which thrilled me and my doctor; together we tried a lot of different remedies in the last ten years, so it was thrilling when the medical improvements started to emerge! (These medical benefits are the subject of a future blog entitled "exercise is my medicine.") And while I didn't go through a complete eating transformation - did not have a detox period, did not go cold turkey on food, did not start drinking 8 cups of water/day - I have slowly emphasized more healthy eating habits.
Personally inspiring is that Drew Carey sees "a long and healthy future" as his most profound triumph. He doesn't want to attend his own funeral at a young age. Like me, he isn't as concerned about a number on the scale or the size of his waist, or the number of fitness points on a chart, he's most concerned with his and his family's future. Just like me!
To read the article on Drew Carey click on No More Mr. Fat Guy
Submitted on Sunday, October 10, 2010.
• Like Drew I am way overweight (more overweight than he was) and feel uncomfortable in my body.
• Like Drew, I got used to my gradual "bigness;" it didn't occur over night.
• Like Drew I developed Type 2 diabetes, and complications that go along with the disease.
• Like Drew, I have an active daughter who I want to keep up with. Who I want to see graduate from high school and college, and go on to have her own family.
• Like Drew, the big heart attack scare and two (instead of one) stents in my heart, were a wake-up call!
• Like Drew, my life was at a cross-roads, between health and death.
• Like Drew, I experienced exercise and healthy eating as literally "life-saving."
• Like Drew, I have come to look forward to my exercise/workouts. (I really miss them on the "off" days.)
• Like Drew, I have learned that "eating crappy food is not a reward - it's a punishment."
Of course there are differences in our experience(s). For instance, my weight loss and commitment didn't happen over night. It took me a long time to start loosing weight, and to realize that I needed to commit 100% in order to accomplish these goals. I continue to struggle with weight loss. And it took me a long time to commit to exercising more than two times a week. I also experienced considerable medical benefits early on, which thrilled me and my doctor; together we tried a lot of different remedies in the last ten years, so it was thrilling when the medical improvements started to emerge! (These medical benefits are the subject of a future blog entitled "exercise is my medicine.") And while I didn't go through a complete eating transformation - did not have a detox period, did not go cold turkey on food, did not start drinking 8 cups of water/day - I have slowly emphasized more healthy eating habits.
Personally inspiring is that Drew Carey sees "a long and healthy future" as his most profound triumph. He doesn't want to attend his own funeral at a young age. Like me, he isn't as concerned about a number on the scale or the size of his waist, or the number of fitness points on a chart, he's most concerned with his and his family's future. Just like me!
To read the article on Drew Carey click on No More Mr. Fat Guy
Submitted on Sunday, October 10, 2010.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
My Second Exercise Challenge - Sitting Down and Standing Up
In my first blog entry, I write about this overall exercise challenge - to exercise regularly and to reflect on the personal struggles and triumphs of my exercise journey by writing. I'm "morbidly obese" and dealing with several serious health conditions simultaneously. Each weekly post reflects my experience in bringing exercise back into my life: Exercise is my friend...Make room for exercise...The language of exercise...What is a health trainer?... In today's writing I share my utter surprise....utter surprise at how my second exercise accomplishment almost passed by unnoticed!
Early on in the fitness class, I insisted on "standing only" types of exercise; any type of work on the floor was simply not possible. Though I might be able to help sit down, I would definitely need a fork-lift to get back to standing. So after two months of regular circuit training on Mondays and Wednesdays, I was not surprised when the instructor asked if I would try getting down on the ground because our group was now doing "planks." (Other class members forewarned "You will be down on the ground, and up, before you know it.") With this encouragement, I agreed to try, but only if someone would first help me down and then help me back up.
With the help, I sat down on a mat, then rolled over to my stomach, and then pushed myself up into a "plank" position. I held the "plank" for 3 seconds. Indeed, I tried it a couple of times; already having made it to the "ground," I didn't want to waste good exercise time! The instructor then helped me maneuver over to the side, gave me a hand, and "yanked" me back up to standing position, while I frantically grabbed for the nearby wall. The picture in my mind was of a fat dog trying to roll off its back - wiggling back-and-forth. It was crude, and I needed considerable assistance, but I had gotten down on the ground and stood back up!
It was the second time we tried "planks" that I actually helped myself sit down and perform a couple of feeble "planks;" then before I knew what was happening, the instructor noted "See you practically 'jumped up' from the ground on your own!" No rolling fat dog! For the past 8-9 years I avoided sitting on the ground, so this was the closest thing to a miracle for me. It may not have been pretty, but I relished in this new-found independence! Now, there's no going back. I am up and down, performing planks, stretches, cobras, push-ups from the knee, stretching to my legs, and many other types of floor exercises. Helping myself both up and down. Even now, the favorite part of my new exercise routine are the stretches on the floor after 45 minutes of grueling workout.
This was my first real exercise accomplishment! I now comprehend the wisdom of the yoga master who once said that being able to get up and down from the ground is one of the most elemental and beneficial activities for both mind and body. I feel that way about my own accomplishment of getting down on the ground and then standing up. Like the Yoga Master, for me, this accomplishment is most profound.
Submitted on Sunday, October 3, 2010.
Early on in the fitness class, I insisted on "standing only" types of exercise; any type of work on the floor was simply not possible. Though I might be able to help sit down, I would definitely need a fork-lift to get back to standing. So after two months of regular circuit training on Mondays and Wednesdays, I was not surprised when the instructor asked if I would try getting down on the ground because our group was now doing "planks." (Other class members forewarned "You will be down on the ground, and up, before you know it.") With this encouragement, I agreed to try, but only if someone would first help me down and then help me back up.
With the help, I sat down on a mat, then rolled over to my stomach, and then pushed myself up into a "plank" position. I held the "plank" for 3 seconds. Indeed, I tried it a couple of times; already having made it to the "ground," I didn't want to waste good exercise time! The instructor then helped me maneuver over to the side, gave me a hand, and "yanked" me back up to standing position, while I frantically grabbed for the nearby wall. The picture in my mind was of a fat dog trying to roll off its back - wiggling back-and-forth. It was crude, and I needed considerable assistance, but I had gotten down on the ground and stood back up!
It was the second time we tried "planks" that I actually helped myself sit down and perform a couple of feeble "planks;" then before I knew what was happening, the instructor noted "See you practically 'jumped up' from the ground on your own!" No rolling fat dog! For the past 8-9 years I avoided sitting on the ground, so this was the closest thing to a miracle for me. It may not have been pretty, but I relished in this new-found independence! Now, there's no going back. I am up and down, performing planks, stretches, cobras, push-ups from the knee, stretching to my legs, and many other types of floor exercises. Helping myself both up and down. Even now, the favorite part of my new exercise routine are the stretches on the floor after 45 minutes of grueling workout.
This was my first real exercise accomplishment! I now comprehend the wisdom of the yoga master who once said that being able to get up and down from the ground is one of the most elemental and beneficial activities for both mind and body. I feel that way about my own accomplishment of getting down on the ground and then standing up. Like the Yoga Master, for me, this accomplishment is most profound.
Submitted on Sunday, October 3, 2010.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Pushed to Save My Life!
Committing to exercise has been a "process" for me. I start in one place, and end up in another, with lots of adjustments in between. And really, nothing "ends;" it only changes, and then keeps changing again. With each experience, my attitude or perspective also changes, evolving in big ways, or as minute, small, adjustments, sometimes even set-backs. At times, I'm flabbergasted by my accomplishments, other times lead to disappointment, and some times I just don't know what to feel? Everything that happens along the way influences my commitment, though I cannot predict the outcomes at the start! Enough of the esoteric!
After getting through the fear of signing up for class, showing up that first day, I still had to exercise from 6:15-7:00 pm every Monday and Wednesday for three months. Stepping on the scale that first Monday, was shocking, disgusting and motivating. YIKES, I "weighed in" at the highest weight of my life! And being used to a sedentary lifestyle, I soon learned that moving this huge body was extremely painful. The instructor would individualize the exercise, pushing us to reach our own personal goals. And that is what ultimately became my biggest challenge - pushing myself.
Every workout, the instructor would challenge us to "raise the bar" on what we each were able to accomplish through exercise. This "pushing" was done with respect...and I never felt "forced" or "coerced" to follow through. Indeed, I had a schizophrenic response to the "pushing," often expressing my complete displeasure while equally making full-fledged, mostly failing, attempts to reach the goal. Each workout, I could feel my face getting red, the sweat dripping around my face and off the tip of my chin. The neckline and sleeves of my workout clothes became soaked with sweat, and my hair was drenched... curling up and under into it's own new "shape." Beads of my sweat dripped from one end of the gymnasium to the other, just like the crumb path left by Hansel and Gretel to find their way home. I would hobble out to my car, leaving the exercise session with leg and torso pain. I would collapse at home...immobilized...and yet wanting to move so that it wasn't even more painful when I stood up.
Each day was different and my learning curve slow. In these early days, most of my learning centered on "pain." Some days I would return home with a pounding headache that would last for days. On occasion, I did not attend class because of "pain avoidance." I also learned to ignore other class members who joked "stop trying so hard - you're ruining it for the rest of us. He'll [the instructor] just work us harder!" I have always tried to do my best, whatever new "project" I take on. Why would I approach exercise any differently than other aspects of my life?
One day, after returning home from a particularly difficult workout session, we had a poignant family conversation around the dinner table.* I hadn't shared much about the exercise class with my family, but today my husband said "You look wiped out!" This opened the door, and for the first time I began to whine about the "severity" of my fitness class, the difficulty being a large person in a "workout" class, and complained that the instructor was "killing me." (Was I making excuses for missing classes? Who knows?) I'm usually not one to complain, but my husband, Dave, cut me off with his usual quick response "He's not killing you, he's saving your life!"
Several seconds passed before I fully grasped, comprehended his statement. That is when I experienced one very large perspective adjustment, probably the biggest perspective hiccup in my life. That is when I both lost and caught my breath.
Submitted on Monday, September 27, 2010.
* I have learned not to eat before exercise. No matter how small or big the meal, I always experience some sort of discomfort, ill feeling, dizzyness, exercise fatigue, or slowness.
After getting through the fear of signing up for class, showing up that first day, I still had to exercise from 6:15-7:00 pm every Monday and Wednesday for three months. Stepping on the scale that first Monday, was shocking, disgusting and motivating. YIKES, I "weighed in" at the highest weight of my life! And being used to a sedentary lifestyle, I soon learned that moving this huge body was extremely painful. The instructor would individualize the exercise, pushing us to reach our own personal goals. And that is what ultimately became my biggest challenge - pushing myself.
Every workout, the instructor would challenge us to "raise the bar" on what we each were able to accomplish through exercise. This "pushing" was done with respect...and I never felt "forced" or "coerced" to follow through. Indeed, I had a schizophrenic response to the "pushing," often expressing my complete displeasure while equally making full-fledged, mostly failing, attempts to reach the goal. Each workout, I could feel my face getting red, the sweat dripping around my face and off the tip of my chin. The neckline and sleeves of my workout clothes became soaked with sweat, and my hair was drenched... curling up and under into it's own new "shape." Beads of my sweat dripped from one end of the gymnasium to the other, just like the crumb path left by Hansel and Gretel to find their way home. I would hobble out to my car, leaving the exercise session with leg and torso pain. I would collapse at home...immobilized...and yet wanting to move so that it wasn't even more painful when I stood up.
Each day was different and my learning curve slow. In these early days, most of my learning centered on "pain." Some days I would return home with a pounding headache that would last for days. On occasion, I did not attend class because of "pain avoidance." I also learned to ignore other class members who joked "stop trying so hard - you're ruining it for the rest of us. He'll [the instructor] just work us harder!" I have always tried to do my best, whatever new "project" I take on. Why would I approach exercise any differently than other aspects of my life?
One day, after returning home from a particularly difficult workout session, we had a poignant family conversation around the dinner table.* I hadn't shared much about the exercise class with my family, but today my husband said "You look wiped out!" This opened the door, and for the first time I began to whine about the "severity" of my fitness class, the difficulty being a large person in a "workout" class, and complained that the instructor was "killing me." (Was I making excuses for missing classes? Who knows?) I'm usually not one to complain, but my husband, Dave, cut me off with his usual quick response "He's not killing you, he's saving your life!"
Several seconds passed before I fully grasped, comprehended his statement. That is when I experienced one very large perspective adjustment, probably the biggest perspective hiccup in my life. That is when I both lost and caught my breath.
Submitted on Monday, September 27, 2010.
* I have learned not to eat before exercise. No matter how small or big the meal, I always experience some sort of discomfort, ill feeling, dizzyness, exercise fatigue, or slowness.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
It's Like Cheers!
Earlier that day, I had grabbed purse, keys, cell phone and work bags, peeked into my boss's office to say I was leaving for the day, heading out immediately. He wanted to chat, but I really had to go. I'd left a grant unfinished, in a "messy" state on my desk. (Everything on my desk is unfinished and messy...it's how I work.) All of it would just have to wait. My daughter was expecting me to pick her up in 15 minutes, and then I had to race home to change into workout clothes, before driving south toward Lifepointe to make it on time for my fitness class.
As I got into my car and left the parking lot, I began to feel the pressures of the present peel back or fall away. I slowly forgot about the grant, forgot about my job, and shifted focus forward. My daughter, Catherine, and I got caught up, as we drove home. She asked about a possible sleep over with her best friends Caroline and Leslie, and began to list all the activities they might engage in - swimming, horseback riding, making Eggkaka (a unique Scandinavian egg breakfast), just as we entered our driveway.
Once home, Catherine and her dad continued the overnight planning, as I "raced up the stairs" to change into workout clothes for a record-breaking 5-minute costume change! (My "race up the stairs" is more like a "hobble.") Back in the car and heading south again, I began to anticipate the workout, and to prepare myself for the "good" pain and a little "limit-pushing." (A preparation routine that involves taking Ibuprofen.) And then I started to think about all the "greetings" that were to come....
Walking in through Lifepointe's huge front doors, Kris, who works at the reception desk smiles and asks "Hi Nancy! How are you doing? How's your family?" Paul, (my first trainer) smiles wide, and jokes about my tardiness while motioning to "get to work now!" He's very serious. My next trainer, Rob, casually shouts my name putting an emphasis on the opposite syllable - NAN-SEE - just like I was Norm walking into Cheers for the 105th time! The fitness session, while grueling, emphasizes my personal capacity or needs, not in competition with anyone else. The staff person who registered me waves and smiles as she casually walks by our class. A fellow class member encourages, no pushes, me to reach a goal in a weight-lifting exercise. My colleague Deb, a good friend battling some of the same health issues, welcomes me with a smile and a special "treat" such as water, or some new medical report or remedy. And every time our paths cross, the Governor's wife gives "two thumbs up" and a smile as I sweat, huff and puff on the rowing machine. I wonder what she sees? How hard I push myself? My drippy, sweaty effort or the pile of sweat water on the floor?
This is corny but the catchy High School Musical theme song is going to roll out anyway.... We're all in this together I hum to myself, and continue driving south toward Lifepointe. I can't wait to walk through the front doors of Lifepointe, a place where everyone knows your name and they're always glad you came!
Click to hear Cheer's Theme Song on You Tube!
Submitted on Sunday, September 19, 2010.
Complete lyrics to the Cheers Theme Song
Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got,
Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?
All those nights when you got no lights,
The check is in the mail.
And your little angel hung the cat up by it's tail,
And your third fiance didn't show.
Sometimes you wanna go. Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same,
You wanna be where everybody knows your name.
Roll out of bed, Mr. Coffee's dead,
The morning's looking bright, (echo: looking bright)
And your shrink ran of to Europe and didn't even write.
And your husband wants to be a girl!
Be glad there's one place in the world,
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came.
You wanna go where people know,
People are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows your name. (piano solo)
Where everybody knows your name, where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came.
Where everybody knows your name, where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came.
Where everybody knows your name,where every body knows your name,
And they're always glad you came.
As I got into my car and left the parking lot, I began to feel the pressures of the present peel back or fall away. I slowly forgot about the grant, forgot about my job, and shifted focus forward. My daughter, Catherine, and I got caught up, as we drove home. She asked about a possible sleep over with her best friends Caroline and Leslie, and began to list all the activities they might engage in - swimming, horseback riding, making Eggkaka (a unique Scandinavian egg breakfast), just as we entered our driveway.
Once home, Catherine and her dad continued the overnight planning, as I "raced up the stairs" to change into workout clothes for a record-breaking 5-minute costume change! (My "race up the stairs" is more like a "hobble.") Back in the car and heading south again, I began to anticipate the workout, and to prepare myself for the "good" pain and a little "limit-pushing." (A preparation routine that involves taking Ibuprofen.) And then I started to think about all the "greetings" that were to come....
Walking in through Lifepointe's huge front doors, Kris, who works at the reception desk smiles and asks "Hi Nancy! How are you doing? How's your family?" Paul, (my first trainer) smiles wide, and jokes about my tardiness while motioning to "get to work now!" He's very serious. My next trainer, Rob, casually shouts my name putting an emphasis on the opposite syllable - NAN-SEE - just like I was Norm walking into Cheers for the 105th time! The fitness session, while grueling, emphasizes my personal capacity or needs, not in competition with anyone else. The staff person who registered me waves and smiles as she casually walks by our class. A fellow class member encourages, no pushes, me to reach a goal in a weight-lifting exercise. My colleague Deb, a good friend battling some of the same health issues, welcomes me with a smile and a special "treat" such as water, or some new medical report or remedy. And every time our paths cross, the Governor's wife gives "two thumbs up" and a smile as I sweat, huff and puff on the rowing machine. I wonder what she sees? How hard I push myself? My drippy, sweaty effort or the pile of sweat water on the floor?
This is corny but the catchy High School Musical theme song is going to roll out anyway.... We're all in this together I hum to myself, and continue driving south toward Lifepointe. I can't wait to walk through the front doors of Lifepointe, a place where everyone knows your name and they're always glad you came!
Click to hear Cheer's Theme Song on You Tube!
Submitted on Sunday, September 19, 2010.
Complete lyrics to the Cheers Theme Song
Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got,
Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?
All those nights when you got no lights,
The check is in the mail.
And your little angel hung the cat up by it's tail,
And your third fiance didn't show.
Sometimes you wanna go. Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same,
You wanna be where everybody knows your name.
Roll out of bed, Mr. Coffee's dead,
The morning's looking bright, (echo: looking bright)
And your shrink ran of to Europe and didn't even write.
And your husband wants to be a girl!
Be glad there's one place in the world,
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came.
You wanna go where people know,
People are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows your name. (piano solo)
Where everybody knows your name, where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came.
Where everybody knows your name, where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came.
Where everybody knows your name,where every body knows your name,
And they're always glad you came.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Sick As a Dog - A Side Note
While most other posts have noted past "Aha's" involving exercise, this side note is current. I am still recovering from this cold as I feebly write.....
This week I have been so sick. I can't imagine putting my body to any type of exercise test, except for the "laying prone" kind. Indeed, by the end of the week, I couldn't think, work, or move, EXCEPT to lay prone! What started out as escalating fall allergies in one week morphed into one big bad cold and ultimately crushing sinus infection the next.
Last weekend I had started to feel these interacting effects. Even with the dull tiredness and nasal congestion of seasonal allergies, I pushed myself over the holiday weekend, working out on my own on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. By Sunday afternoon I felt some very deep muscle aches in new places - my biceps and triceps, knees and wrists, near my thumbs. (Nothing to be proud of..but even a couple of months into this exercise adventure, I still was unsure which muscle groups were biceps and which were triceps?) I didn't attribute these odd aches to an oncoming cold, but felt they were regular aches and pains that come with hard, repeated exercise, most-likely fall-out from the 20-minute "interval" treadmill workout that my trainer, Rob, prepared, an exercise protocol designed to move me to the next level.
After the weekend, on Monday, I was dizzy all day. Couldn't stand up or sit down without the world swirling around me. This clearly was not fall-out from a treadmill workout! In the meantime while I had excellent results on my blood-work (cholesterol, A1C, blood sugars), my blood pressure had increased uncharacteristically, and my doctor had taken me off the 24-hour Allegra D because she suspected the decongestant, that I was taking to clear nasal passages and allergy symptoms, was also raising my blood pressure beyond the safe zone. (She had told me that it was not good for a person with "heart" issues to take decongestants.)
By Tuesday and Wednesday, the cold was in full force, including blinding headaches (the kind that Vitamin I - Ibuprofen - doesn't cure), facial and neck pain, body aches, cough and multiplied drainage/mucus from the newly forming sinus infection. I stayed home from work for two straight days - and attempted to sleep it off. There is only one thing that will bring me down for two days at work, and that is a raging bull sinus infection. By Friday morning I was back visiting my doctor again, seven days after the initial muscle aches. She prescribed an antibiotic that took immediate effect. I have now gone without exercise for seven days. Even though I mentally missed the exercise, I must admit that this illness - this sinus condition - "arrested" me both physically and mentally. I also realize that exercise and illness (especially of the sinus variety) don't mix well for me.
My primary concern now is that I will actually miss two weeks of exercise; this past week of sinus arrest, and the upcoming week when I travel to Indianapolis for work. For the first time in my life, I may have to try the fitness room at my hotel? Another potential story for a future blog post?
Submitted on Saturday, September 11, 2010
This week I have been so sick. I can't imagine putting my body to any type of exercise test, except for the "laying prone" kind. Indeed, by the end of the week, I couldn't think, work, or move, EXCEPT to lay prone! What started out as escalating fall allergies in one week morphed into one big bad cold and ultimately crushing sinus infection the next.
Last weekend I had started to feel these interacting effects. Even with the dull tiredness and nasal congestion of seasonal allergies, I pushed myself over the holiday weekend, working out on my own on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. By Sunday afternoon I felt some very deep muscle aches in new places - my biceps and triceps, knees and wrists, near my thumbs. (Nothing to be proud of..but even a couple of months into this exercise adventure, I still was unsure which muscle groups were biceps and which were triceps?) I didn't attribute these odd aches to an oncoming cold, but felt they were regular aches and pains that come with hard, repeated exercise, most-likely fall-out from the 20-minute "interval" treadmill workout that my trainer, Rob, prepared, an exercise protocol designed to move me to the next level.
After the weekend, on Monday, I was dizzy all day. Couldn't stand up or sit down without the world swirling around me. This clearly was not fall-out from a treadmill workout! In the meantime while I had excellent results on my blood-work (cholesterol, A1C, blood sugars), my blood pressure had increased uncharacteristically, and my doctor had taken me off the 24-hour Allegra D because she suspected the decongestant, that I was taking to clear nasal passages and allergy symptoms, was also raising my blood pressure beyond the safe zone. (She had told me that it was not good for a person with "heart" issues to take decongestants.)
By Tuesday and Wednesday, the cold was in full force, including blinding headaches (the kind that Vitamin I - Ibuprofen - doesn't cure), facial and neck pain, body aches, cough and multiplied drainage/mucus from the newly forming sinus infection. I stayed home from work for two straight days - and attempted to sleep it off. There is only one thing that will bring me down for two days at work, and that is a raging bull sinus infection. By Friday morning I was back visiting my doctor again, seven days after the initial muscle aches. She prescribed an antibiotic that took immediate effect. I have now gone without exercise for seven days. Even though I mentally missed the exercise, I must admit that this illness - this sinus condition - "arrested" me both physically and mentally. I also realize that exercise and illness (especially of the sinus variety) don't mix well for me.
My primary concern now is that I will actually miss two weeks of exercise; this past week of sinus arrest, and the upcoming week when I travel to Indianapolis for work. For the first time in my life, I may have to try the fitness room at my hotel? Another potential story for a future blog post?
Submitted on Saturday, September 11, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Introducing the Circuit, Squats and Pushups
OK, so it's the first day of Trim and Fit and I've arrived ready to exercise and a little late. I get in line last, waiting for the first session with the instructor, Paul, who had just finished measuring the hip and waist circumference, flexibility and weights of class members who had arrived early. I soon discover that some participants are like me, brand new to Trim and Fit, while others have been enrolled previously. While we wait, those with the most experience, are giving the newbies advice - "be prepared to hurt," one says, "but you will be amazed at the results."
Rather than finishing the measurements of the late arrivals, the instructor signals the group to quickly follow him down a set of stairs and into a combined basketball court/weight training room. Items line the gym walls, laid out on the wood floor. We're told to start exercising immediately and to circulate through the different "stations." (In my field of education, we would call these "learning centers.") There are 2-3 floor mats for push-ups and sit ups, several small weighted balls and bars are laid out on the floor along the gym wall. As the large group begins filing down the stairs and into the gym, several large colorful bouncy balls roll out of a big closet and are placed along the gym walls by the instructor.
Paul begins demonstrating the movements required for each station. Some are directed to do sit-up movements while sitting on the large balls with toes braced against the wall. Others are directed to do sit-ups AND push-ups on mats, 15 each. Some are to throw the small weighted balls at a targeted height on the gym wall, again 15 times. Some are to lift the weighted bar from the ground to waist 15 times. Others are instructed to do 15 "squats," a move where you "first sit in the air and then stand straight up." As Paul demonstrates the proper form, some are instructed to take two trips up and down the stair case. (Seeing the stair exercise elicits a loud groan out of me. I have avoided stairs the last 15 years.) We rotate or circulate through the exercises at our own pace. Some waiting for others. I am either a slow learner, or a perfectionist, because I seem to need multiple demonstrations of the exact movement or form required at each station. I feel quite comfortable asking anyone around me for help, including the instructor.
I begin at the first station thinking that I can at least "catch my breath" when moving from one station to the next. Not true, Paul moves us rapidly through each "break." I finally have circulated to the mats/push-up and sit-up station and blurt out adamantly "There is NO WAY that I can sit or get down on that mat. It will hurt my knees!" A more experienced participant shouts "You will be sitting down and standing up on that mat before the end of class!" Meanwhile, Paul has already pointed out alternative movements simulating sit-ups and push-ups and I am on to the next station with sweat dripping down my face and eyes, and a soaked t-shirt. I check the clock to gauge if I can make it through the 45 minute period. Yes, if I ignore the pain, I can just make it. Even before I start the long huffing and puffing climb up the stairs, I'm pooped, exhausted, worn out, beat, dog-tired. (Honestly, I may as well use all the synonyms for dead-tired.)
We finish two rounds of "stations" and head back up the stairs to the "cardiac" room for another 10-15 minutes of cardiovascular workout on bicycles. (We're all on different machines. I'm on one that is "easy on the knees.") I soon realize that no matter what, I can't avoid exercise, but that Paul seems to be OK with adjusting or adapting to the comfort level of each participant. I've decided to be patient with myself, after all, this is a whole new language, and I am carrying around a lot of weight! As I finish the "cardio" part of the workout and stumble down the hall to the 30-minute Nutrition Class, I think to myself "Next time, I'm taking Ibuprofen 15 minutes before the workout starts!"
P.S. To show my fitness ignorance, I didn't know that this was considered a "circuit" until the three-month class was over. And it took me nearly four months to figure out that the "instructor," Paul was also considered a "fitness" or "health" trainer, and that you utilize the skills of a "trainer" much like that of a "doctor." Obviously I still have a lot to learn! (The exercise assessment is not included in this description.)
Submitted on Saturday, September 5, 2010.
Rather than finishing the measurements of the late arrivals, the instructor signals the group to quickly follow him down a set of stairs and into a combined basketball court/weight training room. Items line the gym walls, laid out on the wood floor. We're told to start exercising immediately and to circulate through the different "stations." (In my field of education, we would call these "learning centers.") There are 2-3 floor mats for push-ups and sit ups, several small weighted balls and bars are laid out on the floor along the gym wall. As the large group begins filing down the stairs and into the gym, several large colorful bouncy balls roll out of a big closet and are placed along the gym walls by the instructor.
Paul begins demonstrating the movements required for each station. Some are directed to do sit-up movements while sitting on the large balls with toes braced against the wall. Others are directed to do sit-ups AND push-ups on mats, 15 each. Some are to throw the small weighted balls at a targeted height on the gym wall, again 15 times. Some are to lift the weighted bar from the ground to waist 15 times. Others are instructed to do 15 "squats," a move where you "first sit in the air and then stand straight up." As Paul demonstrates the proper form, some are instructed to take two trips up and down the stair case. (Seeing the stair exercise elicits a loud groan out of me. I have avoided stairs the last 15 years.) We rotate or circulate through the exercises at our own pace. Some waiting for others. I am either a slow learner, or a perfectionist, because I seem to need multiple demonstrations of the exact movement or form required at each station. I feel quite comfortable asking anyone around me for help, including the instructor.
I begin at the first station thinking that I can at least "catch my breath" when moving from one station to the next. Not true, Paul moves us rapidly through each "break." I finally have circulated to the mats/push-up and sit-up station and blurt out adamantly "There is NO WAY that I can sit or get down on that mat. It will hurt my knees!" A more experienced participant shouts "You will be sitting down and standing up on that mat before the end of class!" Meanwhile, Paul has already pointed out alternative movements simulating sit-ups and push-ups and I am on to the next station with sweat dripping down my face and eyes, and a soaked t-shirt. I check the clock to gauge if I can make it through the 45 minute period. Yes, if I ignore the pain, I can just make it. Even before I start the long huffing and puffing climb up the stairs, I'm pooped, exhausted, worn out, beat, dog-tired. (Honestly, I may as well use all the synonyms for dead-tired.)
We finish two rounds of "stations" and head back up the stairs to the "cardiac" room for another 10-15 minutes of cardiovascular workout on bicycles. (We're all on different machines. I'm on one that is "easy on the knees.") I soon realize that no matter what, I can't avoid exercise, but that Paul seems to be OK with adjusting or adapting to the comfort level of each participant. I've decided to be patient with myself, after all, this is a whole new language, and I am carrying around a lot of weight! As I finish the "cardio" part of the workout and stumble down the hall to the 30-minute Nutrition Class, I think to myself "Next time, I'm taking Ibuprofen 15 minutes before the workout starts!"
P.S. To show my fitness ignorance, I didn't know that this was considered a "circuit" until the three-month class was over. And it took me nearly four months to figure out that the "instructor," Paul was also considered a "fitness" or "health" trainer, and that you utilize the skills of a "trainer" much like that of a "doctor." Obviously I still have a lot to learn! (The exercise assessment is not included in this description.)
Submitted on Saturday, September 5, 2010.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Muscles Have Memory - Of Forts, Baseball and Tomboys
Every week, I hear something different that connects me to exercise! This week was no different when National Public Radio announced an upcoming news story entitled "No More Gym? Don't Worry, Your Muscles Remember!" (A link to the story is included below.) As NPR promoted its "muscle memory" story, I began to think about how little I know about exercise's impact on my health? Or the science of exercise? Or the impact of exercise on disease? My mind flipped through these thoughts and then settled on an image - a mental flashback to my early childhood and growing up years. I began imagining the physical activities I engaged in as a young child, and became especially curious how these experiences may have influenced my agility, strength and exercise performance today?
Indeed this particular story took me back to my early childhood, and the quality of life in our neighborhood, school and community. Growing up in Ames, Iowa was like a dream. As a child, and somewhat of a tomboy, I lived outdoors in the summer and after school. I played baseball and football with the neighborhood boys, explored the curves and currents of the Skunk River with best friend Ruth, and raced around the Edwards, Sawyer and Whittier School playgrounds - the second fastest racer in my class! (No one could even get close to my other best friend Linda.) I balanced precariously on train trestle tracks and bridges, built forts under bridges, tunneled into caves like an explorer, hung out with neighborhood kids on walkie-talkies all night, and bicycled everywhere, throughout high school, college, graduate school and into my family life. When I was young, every aspect of life was both physical and outside! Indeed - surprise surprise - I now realize that "exercise" and "outdoors" had been essential ingredients in my life for almost 30 years!
As I grew up, every member of my family - myself, mom, dad, brother and sister - became more interested in regular, daily physical exercise. Partly, we watched my father, an Iowa State University professor, running, playing handball and racquetball every day (habits he continues to this day). And partly, physical activity and participating in sports was emphasized in my schooling and in a Presidential Fitness Program. From these early years on, until I turned 30, I indulged in/plunged into regular daily exercise, whether it was outdoor play, swimming, canoeing, biking, modern dance, or team sports like girls softball. In the future, I'll write about the family dogs and racquetball, how swimming rules, a college modern dance troupe, and my love for the hot/cold of cross country skiing and canoeing in the Minnesota Northwoods. But this is another blog.
So it is with great anticipation that I finally was able to listen to this news story about muscles' having memory. Maybe this is why I have had such success in the strength building and weight exercises that are part of my routine/class at Lifepointe? Maybe this is why I have made this commitment to exercise and to this blog? Maybe this is why I close my eyes to concentrate fiercely, and to relish in the "deep goodness" of the feelings I get when exercising? It gives me hope that my muscles are remembering and embracing their old selves, embracing me....and that they, and I, feel so very good.
Indeed this particular story took me back to my early childhood, and the quality of life in our neighborhood, school and community. Growing up in Ames, Iowa was like a dream. As a child, and somewhat of a tomboy, I lived outdoors in the summer and after school. I played baseball and football with the neighborhood boys, explored the curves and currents of the Skunk River with best friend Ruth, and raced around the Edwards, Sawyer and Whittier School playgrounds - the second fastest racer in my class! (No one could even get close to my other best friend Linda.) I balanced precariously on train trestle tracks and bridges, built forts under bridges, tunneled into caves like an explorer, hung out with neighborhood kids on walkie-talkies all night, and bicycled everywhere, throughout high school, college, graduate school and into my family life. When I was young, every aspect of life was both physical and outside! Indeed - surprise surprise - I now realize that "exercise" and "outdoors" had been essential ingredients in my life for almost 30 years!
As I grew up, every member of my family - myself, mom, dad, brother and sister - became more interested in regular, daily physical exercise. Partly, we watched my father, an Iowa State University professor, running, playing handball and racquetball every day (habits he continues to this day). And partly, physical activity and participating in sports was emphasized in my schooling and in a Presidential Fitness Program. From these early years on, until I turned 30, I indulged in/plunged into regular daily exercise, whether it was outdoor play, swimming, canoeing, biking, modern dance, or team sports like girls softball. In the future, I'll write about the family dogs and racquetball, how swimming rules, a college modern dance troupe, and my love for the hot/cold of cross country skiing and canoeing in the Minnesota Northwoods. But this is another blog.
So it is with great anticipation that I finally was able to listen to this news story about muscles' having memory. Maybe this is why I have had such success in the strength building and weight exercises that are part of my routine/class at Lifepointe? Maybe this is why I have made this commitment to exercise and to this blog? Maybe this is why I close my eyes to concentrate fiercely, and to relish in the "deep goodness" of the feelings I get when exercising? It gives me hope that my muscles are remembering and embracing their old selves, embracing me....and that they, and I, feel so very good.
Click on this link to hear the NPR story "No More Gym? Don't Worry, Your Muscles Remember!"
Submitted on Saturday, August 28, 2010.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Signing up for Trim & Fit
In January/February 2010 (just after the holidays), I received a flyer in the mail from a health center called Lifepointe. I had previously completed 18 cardiac rehabilitation sessions in early fall 2009 at Lifepointe, so I knew it had a reputation for working with people in recovery. My experience had been good. I especially appreciated the focused attention from nurses and health care professionals who gently guided me through the rehab plan. They concentrated on me...what were my needs? This attitude of service seemed promising, and one to which I was not accustomed.
The spring 2010 flier described many different classes: Tai Chi, Arthritis Clinic, Cancer Recovery, Mind-Body, Group Cycling, Aquatic Aerobics, Healthy Kids, Diabetes Education, and a class called Trim & Fit. The Trim & Fit class description reads: Twelve weeks of dietary consultation, exercise and motivation! You receive a 30-minute nutrition consultation and two 45-minute specialized circuit training exercise classes each week! Get Trim & Fit by working with exercise and nutrition experts. $270 for non-members. I kept the flyer around the house for a couple of weeks, hauled it around in my work-bag, called Lifepointe to check on availability and cost, talked with a friend/colleague, talked with my husband, but didn't commit.
Though getting trim and fit is certainly a worthwhile goal, my initial mind-set was not even close. I couldn't imagine registering for the class! First, it was going to cost money, but that was not really an issue. I knew my health is worth it. Second, being morbidly obese makes walking up stairs and getting around quite difficult. I had no sense of my own capacity to "work out" or even to "get trim and fit?" Third, even though exercise had been a daily occurrence during my childhood and adolesence, there was no place to fit exercise in my current work or family life. My nine-year-old daughter goes to piano and swimming lessons outside of school, and participates in many different social activities. Both my husband and I are full-time professionals, sometimes working 50-60 hours/week with lots of travel, and an accompanying lifestyle and social commitments. The time for exercise in this schedule had been wiped off the white board a long time ago.
However, most disabling were my own emotions. The initial feelings of inadequacy and the mental pictures I conjured up were holding me back. I pictured myself as the largest person in the class, the slowest turtle, the one for whom everyone "waits." I pictured the first day; all others would be "trim and fit" and I would be "fat and fat." These "mental images" were my biggest hurdles, keeping me from getting to the first class. What would I be getting into?
Somehow though, despite all the hesitation, I registered for and showed up at Lifepointe for the first class on April 5th, 2010. Indeed its been almost 5 months since that first class, and a lot has happened in this short time. The biggest of which was this commitment to exercise for life. But that, as they say, is the rest of the story!
Submitted on Sunday, August 22, 2010
The spring 2010 flier described many different classes: Tai Chi, Arthritis Clinic, Cancer Recovery, Mind-Body, Group Cycling, Aquatic Aerobics, Healthy Kids, Diabetes Education, and a class called Trim & Fit. The Trim & Fit class description reads: Twelve weeks of dietary consultation, exercise and motivation! You receive a 30-minute nutrition consultation and two 45-minute specialized circuit training exercise classes each week! Get Trim & Fit by working with exercise and nutrition experts. $270 for non-members. I kept the flyer around the house for a couple of weeks, hauled it around in my work-bag, called Lifepointe to check on availability and cost, talked with a friend/colleague, talked with my husband, but didn't commit.
Though getting trim and fit is certainly a worthwhile goal, my initial mind-set was not even close. I couldn't imagine registering for the class! First, it was going to cost money, but that was not really an issue. I knew my health is worth it. Second, being morbidly obese makes walking up stairs and getting around quite difficult. I had no sense of my own capacity to "work out" or even to "get trim and fit?" Third, even though exercise had been a daily occurrence during my childhood and adolesence, there was no place to fit exercise in my current work or family life. My nine-year-old daughter goes to piano and swimming lessons outside of school, and participates in many different social activities. Both my husband and I are full-time professionals, sometimes working 50-60 hours/week with lots of travel, and an accompanying lifestyle and social commitments. The time for exercise in this schedule had been wiped off the white board a long time ago.
However, most disabling were my own emotions. The initial feelings of inadequacy and the mental pictures I conjured up were holding me back. I pictured myself as the largest person in the class, the slowest turtle, the one for whom everyone "waits." I pictured the first day; all others would be "trim and fit" and I would be "fat and fat." These "mental images" were my biggest hurdles, keeping me from getting to the first class. What would I be getting into?
Somehow though, despite all the hesitation, I registered for and showed up at Lifepointe for the first class on April 5th, 2010. Indeed its been almost 5 months since that first class, and a lot has happened in this short time. The biggest of which was this commitment to exercise for life. But that, as they say, is the rest of the story!
Submitted on Sunday, August 22, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
The Ratatouille Garden - A Side Note
Today, I picked up our vegetables from the Robinette Farm, one of the many local Community Supported Agriculture Farms (CSA) just getting established in the midwest community where I now live. We bought a half-share for the summer, and each week it's like opening Christmas presents as a six year old; I can't wait to rip open the box and see the bounty! This week's box was beautiful, a real Ratatouille treasure of eggplants, zucchinis, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, as well as some basil and lettuce. All these luscious vegetable colors blending in our box, just like the oils, flavors and spices in Ratatouille.
In between the daily weekend workouts, running my daughter to piano lessons and school clothes shopping, I'm making my favorite recipe that combines all the ingredients in our box. The following recipe for Ratatouille is my "seasoned" version, long ago borrowed from Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook.
Ratatouille
Mediterranean Vegetable Stew
2 onions - chopped
1 bell pepper - strips or cubed
2 small or 1 medium zucchini - cubed
1 eggplant - cubed
5 cloves of crushed garlic
2 tomatoes, in chunks, or one large can of canned stewed tomatoes (no salt/organic)
1 bay leaf
2 tsp basil
1 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp oregano
dash of rosemary
1/2 cup tomato juice (I buy the small cans of tomato juice, choosing the brand with no salt)
1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 teaspoons of sugar (I also use fructose, orange juice or wine to add a slight sweetness)
Black pepper and salt to taste
First, slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch slices and run each slice under water, applying a little salt to each side after wet. Let them soak in a drain or strainer. (I think this helps eggplants to soak up flavor, but this is not part of Mollie Katzen's recipe. I don't know where I learned this? It does seem to help the eggplants absorb the garlic and spices!) After 10 minutes rinse the salt off each eggplant slice, and cut the eggplant into quarter to half-inch cubes.
Heat olive oil in a large cooking pot. Crush the garlic into the oil. Add bay leaf and onion, and lightly saute over medium heat until the onions turn transparent. Add the cubed eggplants to the onion mixture, along with 1 small can of the tomato juice. (Add juice until all the eggplants are covered, and it makes a sort of eggplant sauce.) Add the remaining herbs. Stir to mix well and let the mixture simmer for 10-15 minutes over low heat.
When the eggplant is tender, add the zucchini and peppers. Again, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. (You may need to add a little more juice.) After the zucchini is tender, add the tomatoes or canned tomatoes, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!
P.S. Eating healthy foods, especially increasing fruits and vegetables, was a personal goal recommended by my Trim and Fit instructor. It's certainly something I already know - that fruits and vegetables are good for you - and a rule fully embraced when the Ratatouille vegetable garden makes its way to my kitchen.
Submitted on Sunday, August 15, 2010
In between the daily weekend workouts, running my daughter to piano lessons and school clothes shopping, I'm making my favorite recipe that combines all the ingredients in our box. The following recipe for Ratatouille is my "seasoned" version, long ago borrowed from Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook.
Ratatouille
Mediterranean Vegetable Stew
2 onions - chopped
1 bell pepper - strips or cubed
2 small or 1 medium zucchini - cubed
1 eggplant - cubed
5 cloves of crushed garlic
2 tomatoes, in chunks, or one large can of canned stewed tomatoes (no salt/organic)
1 bay leaf
2 tsp basil
1 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp oregano
dash of rosemary
1/2 cup tomato juice (I buy the small cans of tomato juice, choosing the brand with no salt)
1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 teaspoons of sugar (I also use fructose, orange juice or wine to add a slight sweetness)
Black pepper and salt to taste
First, slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch slices and run each slice under water, applying a little salt to each side after wet. Let them soak in a drain or strainer. (I think this helps eggplants to soak up flavor, but this is not part of Mollie Katzen's recipe. I don't know where I learned this? It does seem to help the eggplants absorb the garlic and spices!) After 10 minutes rinse the salt off each eggplant slice, and cut the eggplant into quarter to half-inch cubes.
Heat olive oil in a large cooking pot. Crush the garlic into the oil. Add bay leaf and onion, and lightly saute over medium heat until the onions turn transparent. Add the cubed eggplants to the onion mixture, along with 1 small can of the tomato juice. (Add juice until all the eggplants are covered, and it makes a sort of eggplant sauce.) Add the remaining herbs. Stir to mix well and let the mixture simmer for 10-15 minutes over low heat.
When the eggplant is tender, add the zucchini and peppers. Again, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. (You may need to add a little more juice.) After the zucchini is tender, add the tomatoes or canned tomatoes, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!
P.S. Eating healthy foods, especially increasing fruits and vegetables, was a personal goal recommended by my Trim and Fit instructor. It's certainly something I already know - that fruits and vegetables are good for you - and a rule fully embraced when the Ratatouille vegetable garden makes its way to my kitchen.
Submitted on Sunday, August 15, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Scared to Death! What Got Me to This Place...
I'm sure there are many others like me, who haven't paid attention, deny, or do not understand how we got to this place. So, what got me here anyway? The old adage "hindsight is always 20/20" is applicable, so here's my 20/20, "journal" version:
• Twenty years of increasing weight gain leading to diabetes, severe arterial sclerosis, high blood pressure, angina and finally heart attack. (I have a familial/genetic predisposition to arterial sclerosis.)
• Twenty years of different medicines, eventually leading to oral medicines to control blood sugar, high blood pressure and cholesterol, more recently with unacceptable blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
• Failed attempts - a lack of commitment - to loose weight. I understood and wanted to loose weight but it never became a priority. (I tried them all - weight watchers, nutrisystem, etc. I tried them with my husband...we both failed.)
• Lack of consideration for or focus on my own health needs. Something else and somebody else (family, friends, students) was always more important.
• Increasing focus on personal work goals, and making a difference in the world; and less focus on my own health needs. As an educator I give full attention to the students with whom I work, and these same adult students have always scolded, telling me to take better care of myself.
• Most of my immediate family members work as health care professionals. For years they have lavished me with new research on diabetes, ideas for preparing quality foods, conversations about portion control, and more. Obviously others were paying attention to my health needs! I seemed to be letting it go into one ear and out the other? (My brother is one of the most prominent Pain Docs in Denver! If I listen to anyone, it should be him?)
• Difficulty balancing all the demands of work with my family life, which is critically important.
• Years of hiding emotionally behind BIGNESS....finding comfort in eating, loving great food, and having a family who loves great wonderful-tasting food. (A story to be told in another post.)
• A huge scare - an extremely stressful work year (2009) leading to a heart attack, cardiac catheterization, and two new stents in my artery. ("Too young for a heart attack," the doctors said.)
• Cardiac Rehabilitation at a local personal health and fitness center introducing me to regular exercise, good nutrition, people who were interested in my health and fitness, and a focus on permanent life changes.
• It helped that my colleague and friend Deb was there to commiserate with, and to learn alongside. Indeed, she was experiencing similar health concerns, and contemplating similar life changes, and there's nothing quite like this kind of sharing.
• It took seven months, from the end of Cardiac Rehab, to return to the health center and sign up for an exercise class called Trim and Fit. (Signing up for an "exercise class" is a huge hurdle for someone who is morbidly obese - another future post.) But signing up for this class begins "the rest of the story" about my new challenge and commitment to exercise.
• Most importantly, I disregarded how physical health impacted my mental health, ignored medical research showing these diseases to be killers, and finally, must not have felt myself worthy of being healthy? It is my goal, with this blog, to reiterate, reinforce, and rally around this lifelong commitment to exercise. Indeed, it appears to be the only thing that will save my life.
Submitted on Sunday, August 8, 2010
• Twenty years of increasing weight gain leading to diabetes, severe arterial sclerosis, high blood pressure, angina and finally heart attack. (I have a familial/genetic predisposition to arterial sclerosis.)
• Twenty years of different medicines, eventually leading to oral medicines to control blood sugar, high blood pressure and cholesterol, more recently with unacceptable blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
• Failed attempts - a lack of commitment - to loose weight. I understood and wanted to loose weight but it never became a priority. (I tried them all - weight watchers, nutrisystem, etc. I tried them with my husband...we both failed.)
• Lack of consideration for or focus on my own health needs. Something else and somebody else (family, friends, students) was always more important.
• Increasing focus on personal work goals, and making a difference in the world; and less focus on my own health needs. As an educator I give full attention to the students with whom I work, and these same adult students have always scolded, telling me to take better care of myself.
• Most of my immediate family members work as health care professionals. For years they have lavished me with new research on diabetes, ideas for preparing quality foods, conversations about portion control, and more. Obviously others were paying attention to my health needs! I seemed to be letting it go into one ear and out the other? (My brother is one of the most prominent Pain Docs in Denver! If I listen to anyone, it should be him?)
• Difficulty balancing all the demands of work with my family life, which is critically important.
• Years of hiding emotionally behind BIGNESS....finding comfort in eating, loving great food, and having a family who loves great wonderful-tasting food. (A story to be told in another post.)
• A huge scare - an extremely stressful work year (2009) leading to a heart attack, cardiac catheterization, and two new stents in my artery. ("Too young for a heart attack," the doctors said.)
• Cardiac Rehabilitation at a local personal health and fitness center introducing me to regular exercise, good nutrition, people who were interested in my health and fitness, and a focus on permanent life changes.
• It helped that my colleague and friend Deb was there to commiserate with, and to learn alongside. Indeed, she was experiencing similar health concerns, and contemplating similar life changes, and there's nothing quite like this kind of sharing.
• It took seven months, from the end of Cardiac Rehab, to return to the health center and sign up for an exercise class called Trim and Fit. (Signing up for an "exercise class" is a huge hurdle for someone who is morbidly obese - another future post.) But signing up for this class begins "the rest of the story" about my new challenge and commitment to exercise.
• Most importantly, I disregarded how physical health impacted my mental health, ignored medical research showing these diseases to be killers, and finally, must not have felt myself worthy of being healthy? It is my goal, with this blog, to reiterate, reinforce, and rally around this lifelong commitment to exercise. Indeed, it appears to be the only thing that will save my life.
Submitted on Sunday, August 8, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
My First Challenge - Making the Commitment
The other night my nine-year old daughter showed me a diary entry she had written in April. She noted specifically how her style of diary writing differed from her journal writing. "See mom, this diary shows how I was scared in Girls on the Run, when those kids chased me and Megan around my school. And how we told the teacher. It's the 'secrets' or feelings inside my head." She went on to say that the difference between writing in a journal and writing in a diary has to do with emotions and personal feelings. "In my journal I just write down what happens each day. There's no feeling." In my daughter's mind, the addition of "feelings" or "emotions" makes the difference between a diary and a journal.
Inspired by my daughter's daily writing efforts, I hope to merge diary and journal in this blog - conveying feelings about my personal experiences while also "writing down what happens." Writer Natalie Goldberg calls this "writing down the bones." (Though I'll never be able to write like Natalie Goldberg.) In this journey of writing down the bones, I'll explore how exercise changes my life; but also how my life impacts exercise. I'm making a commitment to this conversation for at least one year. To commit to posting at least one entry per week for one year....my own version of Julie & Julia!
Actually, I am making two commitments. The first commitment is to exercise regularly and the second is to reflect on the personal struggles, challenges, victories and hopes that emerge over the course of this journey, through this blog.
You see, I am severely overweight - "morbidly obese" is the terminology used in medical nomenclature. I embarked on an intense exercise journey in April 2010, and there have already been some remarkable outcomes that I can't wait to share. I began this journey without any knowledge of the exercise world, and though I'm still a neonate, my reflections and feelings are real. This is my first entry.
Submitted on Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Inspired by my daughter's daily writing efforts, I hope to merge diary and journal in this blog - conveying feelings about my personal experiences while also "writing down what happens." Writer Natalie Goldberg calls this "writing down the bones." (Though I'll never be able to write like Natalie Goldberg.) In this journey of writing down the bones, I'll explore how exercise changes my life; but also how my life impacts exercise. I'm making a commitment to this conversation for at least one year. To commit to posting at least one entry per week for one year....my own version of Julie & Julia!
Actually, I am making two commitments. The first commitment is to exercise regularly and the second is to reflect on the personal struggles, challenges, victories and hopes that emerge over the course of this journey, through this blog.
You see, I am severely overweight - "morbidly obese" is the terminology used in medical nomenclature. I embarked on an intense exercise journey in April 2010, and there have already been some remarkable outcomes that I can't wait to share. I began this journey without any knowledge of the exercise world, and though I'm still a neonate, my reflections and feelings are real. This is my first entry.
Submitted on Wednesday, August 4, 2010
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