Minor Injuries

I messed up on my goal #1 of my transformation program at the gym. Goal #1, as I explained in another post, was to avoid injury. On Monday, about 40 minutes into my first aerobic step class in at least 10 years, I got a pain in my knee and in the front of my ankle.

The good news was that I did survive the class. There was no need to call an ambulance. The pain in the knee and ankle was not too bad, but I knew I needed to take action to get it to heal as quickly as possible.

What do you do when you have such pains – not bad enough to call the doctor but, still, you know that you are definitely in some pain, and you certainly do not want to make it worse?

Fortunately, I have more than a few things up my sleeve. Tuesday, I did not exercise and gave my knee and ankle a rest. I did a bit of Reiki on myself (I had taken a course to learn how to do this last year). I also drank plenty of water – I have gotten rid of some pains just by this alone, believe it or not. I avoided sugar except for a smidgeon of cake that I had at a social get-together. (It would have been better if I had totally skipped this, I’m sure.) Throughout the day, I chose alkaline foods, which are helpful in reducing inflammation, including raspberries, collards, quinoa, and kombucha (a therapeutic beverage). These sensible ideas anyone can do without an appointment or a co-pay.

Another therapeutic measure I like to do on such occasions is to use some arnica gel on my sore joints and muscles. You see, sometimes I indulge in some activity for which I really am not properly conditioned, someone else’s idea for the “exercise du jour”, for which I acquiesce. Whether it is cross country skiing, hiking, or the squat machine at the gym, I end up paying for it afterwards.

Arnica: a liquid preparation made from the dried flower heads of a perennial herb. Use: treating bruises and sprains in alternative medicine. – Encarta Dictionary

I was introduced to arnica gel a few years back when my son was taking tae kwon do. Often on Board Breaking Day, some kid or adult would manage to hit the board or cinder block improperly (if you can imagine that). Anyway, the tae kwon do master would always spray the badly bruised hand or foot with arnica. It worked well enough that the injured student would be “just fine” the next day. It was impressive.

I like to use the clear arnica gel which is available in health stores and some drugstores. At the health store that I was in yesterday I could not find it, so fortunately I asked the clerk if they had it. As a result I got a short tutorial on the various products and learned some helpful tips.

The clerk told me to definitely stay with an arnica gel that is paraben-free. Then he asked if I needed the gel for trauma or chronic pain. Since normally I do not have pain, and this problem had come from a sudden change in direction while trying to keep up with the aerobic step instructor who is probably half my age, I decided it was “trauma”. So the store clerk directed me to the Boiron Arnicare gel with blue tube. The “blue tube” contains homeopathic medicine that you take by letting it dissolve in the mouth. (You aren’t supposed to outright swallow it.) I never knew about this option to ingest “Arnica montana” before. Great, yet another trick for my holistic tool bag! (Moral of the story: Ask questions at the health food store, and you find out some helpful tips.)

Today, Wednesday, the pain is almost totally gone so I decided to see how it was on the treadmill. I walked or jogged through 3.5 miles in 50 minutes without pain.

The more you know about natural supportive measures for health – through food, exercise, supplements, relaxation, meditation, etc., and the more you incorporate them in your daily life, the healthier you will be. And then, when you do have a health problem – be it caused by illness or accident -- the more prepared you will be to restore yourself to wellness.

Nonetheless, next time I think I will try an “easier” exercise class.

The Bok Choy Salad Makeover

We often have potluck dinners at my church. A couple of years ago, Sally and Craig brought a bok choy salad that so many people liked that everyone clamored to have the recipe published in the church newsletter. Being an easy to make “crowd-pleaser” salad, I kept the recipe because I relished the thought of sharing it with others, and if truth be told, getting a bit of glory for bringing it to a party.

Since then I have had conversion about what constitutes a healthy diet. So when I recently went to make the recipe, I ran into a few issues.

The first problem was that the recipe called for Chinese chow mein noodles. You see, I had read the label on the noodle can and to my chagrin, there it was: partially hydrogenated soybean oil, also known as a Trans fat! Uh-oh, Trans fat! Can’t have that in my salad!

I searched several food stores including a health food store for healthy Chinese chow mein noodles without Trans fat, but alas, there were none that I could find. What to do?

Well, I thought, the Chinese noodles were crunchy. Maybe I could use carrots or water chestnuts instead. It wouldn’t be the same, but I decided it would still taste good. So I decided on water chestnuts, hoping that the can did not supply BPA which is linked to cancer. To be safe, I probably should have just gone with the julienne carrots. Maybe next time.

"Most canned goods are coated with a resin lining derived from Bisphenol-A (BPA). A component of polycarbonate plastic, BPA may be linked to certain cancers, fertility and behavioral problems in children. The risk is especially great when exposed in the womb; women who are pregnant or are thinking of becoming pregnant and young children should be especially careful of their canned-food intake." From “Nine ways to Avoid Household Toxins” by Christina Gillham, Oct. 1, 2008.

The next hurdle was the butter. You see, the recipe called for sautéing the sliced almonds and sesame seed in ¼ cup of butter. Too much butter, I thought. Better make that olive oil, and cut it drastically. I have toasted almonds before without any oil, so the one tablespoon of olive oil is plenty if the heat is not too high.

The sugar in the original recipe was a little much for someone trying to be healthy so I went with agave syrup, in a much smaller amount.

Here is the recipe. Enjoy it in health!

Healthy Bok Choy Salad
- Thanks to Sally and Craig for their original recipe!

Serves 8

1 T olive oil
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1.5 oz. sliced almonds (slightly less than ½ cup)

Heat oil. Sauté sesame seeds and almonds until golden, being careful not to burn.

1 lb. Bok choy, sliced
1 package Ramen, broken up into tiny bite-sized pieces. (Discard the seasoning packet.)
1 cup sliced water chestnuts (or sliced carrots)
2 scallions, chopped.

Toss all the above together.

3/8 cup canola oil (organic is best!)
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon agave syrup/nectar
1 Tablespoon soy sauce

Mix together and toss with salad just before serving.

Do It Your Way

To change your habits, it is important to do it your way. So for my transformation program I have made a version just for me. It is more fun that way, and I am most likely to stick with it if it has my personal touch.

Today, I did a 10 minute warmup on the treadmill. About half way through I increased the incline to a whopping 1%. (LOL) Anyways, I proceeded with 12 minutes of jogging, going somewhat faster than usual, but never feeling like I was overdoing it. (Remember my goal #1 is "do not get injured".) In the end, the result was 1.06 miles in 12 minutes. This is the bottom of the "good" category for my age.

I continued to jog and walk on the treadmill until a total of 45 minutes elapsed, overall walking 3.3 miles. Then I did some free weights and my favorite stretches. It felt good.

You may be more advanced in your physical fitness level, or you may be less physically fit than me. It doesn't matter where you start. It matters that you start and keep going at a pace that is comfortable for you. There is no health benefit to burning yourself out or getting injured. Small steps are a great way to get more fit.

I hadn't done a running test in decades. I really don't know what is reasonable to set as a goal. I'm guessing moving into the middle of the good category, say 1.10 miles in 6 weeks is doable. So that is my goal for now as far increasing my jogging endurance, but the important thing is to listen to my body. It will tell me what is possible without needless strain.

What is your body telling you?

Goals I Can Believe In

I signed up for the Transformation program, had my “before” picture taken, and looked over the official program handbook. What do I do next, besides start exercising?

Actually, I have been exercising, usually 3 to 4 times a week – mostly walking. But now, with this program, I have motivation to set some new goals so that I see a transformation of some sort in 12 weeks. To be honest, it sounds a bit ambitious to me, but I’m game…

The handbook suggests focusing on either gaining lean body mass (muscle) or losing body fat and firming muscle. I have trouble figuring how these goals are different because I have an understanding that says you will burn body fat as you get more muscular. So I don’t know exactly which program to follow. I think I will just make up some of my own goals.

Goal 1. Do not get injured. This is very important to me, and if I am not careful I could easily hurt my knees, back, shoulder, get shin splints, or “who-knows-what”. Don’t want that! So, first off, I am going to work at not overdoing it.

Goal 2. Improve my endurance. Funny, but the handbook doesn’t really seem to address this, even though the program slogan includes “Endurance, Strength, and Structure”.

I decided to search the Internet for an endurance test. I will take the 12-minute test on the treadmill within a couple of days to set a benchmark, and try to see improvement in my results when I repeat the test in 6 weeks or so. (Warning, since I already do a fair amount of aerobic exercise, and know I can slow jog for 12 minutes, it is reasonable for me to do this test. If you haven’t been exercising don’t take the test. As always, consult with your physician before starting any new exercise program.)

Goal 3. Get stronger. Hopefully, become a little more chiseled. (OK, “chiseled” is a stretch, maybe I should say “toned”.)

Goal 4. Tweak my diet. I do have a fair amount of energy, but with the added exercise of strength training I think I may need slightly more protein, and maybe more calories. I’ll have to monitor this and eat mindfully.

I must say that the nutrition program in the handbook is not appropriate for me. As a holistic health counselor I believe that there is no one diet that is right for everyone , and the 16 oz. of milk they suggest a day would be definitely be a problem for me. I’m lactose intolerant! (Experts estimate that as many as 50 million American adults are lactose intolerant.)

Also, I have concerns about consuming even the 100% lactose-free version of milk. I have found that a small serving of organic yogurt and, occasionally, a tiny bit of cheese for flavoring is enough daily dairy for me, so I’m going with what I know works for me.

Goal 5. Have fun! Try some new classes, some new exercises, meet some new people, and try some new healthy recipes. Enjoy the journey!

These are my goals: they are goals I can believe in. They are reasonable, and I’m psyched to work on them. I'm ready to persevere because I think overall it will be fun. I am grateful to Gold's Gym that they have inspired me to do this program.

Go ahead. Why not rethink your goals to recharge your fitness program and make some healthy improvements in your life this year?

Day One

Today was the first day of Barack Obama’s term. It was also the day of my start of the 12 week Transformation program at Gold’s Gym. So as we begin to remake America, I also begin to remake my endurance, strength and structure or "ESS" as the Transformation program calls it. I love new beginnings!

All I had to do today was show up for my photo and measurements clad in my bikini bottom and sports bra. It went pretty well except they had me sign my measurement records, and without my reading glasses, I had no idea what I was signing. It wasn’t until I got home that I read my body fat was 31.1 % -- higher than I expected, and even more disappointing, according to them my waistline is 35 inches. Good grief! I don’t think so!

I grabbed my tape measure. I get 31 inches, which is nothing to brag about, but it certainly is better than the 35 inches that has been recorded. I think what the guy who measured me did was to measure across the belly button and not across the narrowest circumference point between the rib cage and hip (which most women would think of as the waistline). Oh well, details.

The good news that I stayed after the picture taking and actually exercised! I did my circuit and even added a couple of machines that I had been skipping in the past months (read year or so). Small steps toward progress makes for a great beginning!

Food that Saves Lives

It was a spectacular rescue. Yesterday, when a US Airways jet crashed in the Hudson River, rescuers from numerous agencies responded with speed and proficiency, and despite the odds, none of the 155 people aboard was seriously injured. It was wonderful wasn’t it? Such an event lifts our spirits, gives us hope, and fills us with joy.

For a moment, let’s contrast this to the 159 people who are diagnosed with cancer every HOUR. Or how about the 1500 people who will die every day from the disease? (Note 1.) How could we save them?

You and I probably will not ever be involved in a dramatic rescue, but when it comes to helping save lives by lowering the risk of degenerate diseases, that is something we can all do.

If you’d like to save your own life, you can start by eating your “five a day”. That means five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. How hard is that? (Not very!) You will find that your body will respond positively if it has the nutrients it needs, and you will lower your risk of many diseases. Isn’t that a rescue you’d like to pull off?

But don’t take my word for it. Here are a few ideas from others in the know:

“If everyone in the U.S. ate at least five servings of vegetable and fruit a day, cancer rates could fall by as much as 20 percent.” - American Institute of Cancer Research

“Each time you sit down to a meal, you’re making life-and-death decisions.” –Steven Pratt, M.D. and Kathy Matthews, authors of SuperFoods: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life.

“Virtually every disease of aging – including heart disease, diabetes, and many common forms of cancer such as breast cancer and prostate cancer – result from damage to DNA, which can be prevented by the substances found in fruits and vegetables.” – David Heber, M.d., Ph.D., author of What Color is Your Diet?

Dr. Mark Hyman, M.D., a well-known wellness expert and author of Ultrametabolism and Ultraprevention, explains that we need a diet rich in fruits and vegetables because these are loaded with phytonutrients. (There are many different types of phytonutrients and researchers continue to discover more. A single tomato is estimated to contain 10,000 different phytonutrients.) These “hidden medicines” found in the color pigments of fruits and vegetables turn on genes that promote health and reverse disease. Without them one’s health deteriorates, aging advances, and diseases result.

Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables will assure you get your rainbow of phytonutrients which in turn will allow for vibrant health. Go ahead, eat well and begin to liberate yourself in wellness. Save your own life!

Note 1: Source for cancer statistics: “Winning the War on Cancer” from www.mercola.com, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/11/20/winning-the-war-on-cancer.aspx

Moving beyond Obesity in America

Thirty-four percent of Americans are obese and another 32% are overweight, but not obese. This week, I heard Jack Cafferty on CNN label this situation as a national disgrace.

I have compassion for overweight people. I see them as victims of a food system that is more concerned with profits than health, and of a healthcare system that hasn’t adequately done its job. Overweight people have not been sufficiently supported to put a healthy lifestyle into practice. If a person eats a typical American diet and follows a typical American lifestyle, it is very likely they will become overweight. In general, our food and our stressful way of living are wrong for wellness. Being healthy in America requires you to go out of your way to choose a lifestyle and diet that diverge from the mainstream.

There are nurses, doctors, nutritionists, and dietitians who are overweight. Surely they know better. They work in healthcare, for goodness sake. Yet, they don’t see the light clearly enough to take action. Too often, they don’t take care of themselves, nor do they stand up to act consistent with their knowledge. Too often they play along with the poor food choices and the sedentary and stressful American lifestyle. Sometimes, I would guess, they just do not realize how critical food and exercise are in the equation. What a shame.

The national disgrace is not the abundance of behemoth people, but the dearth of following through on our knowledge if we have it, or not seeking the knowledge, if we don’t. Instead, we need to lead lives as individuals and a society that makes smart choices for our health.

The national disgrace must also include the food industry that has promoted high fructose corn syrup, chemical additives, and Trans Fat, etc., as well as supersizing. These do the body no good, but make the food cheaper, more convenient, and more fattening.

One simple example is our overconsumption of soda and refined sugar. We know soda and sugar are detrimental to our health. When you have too much refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup, more that 1 – 2 teaspoons of sugar in your blood, the body has to treat the situation as an emergency, and produces insulin that ushers the excess sugar out of the blood and into your soft tissue where it changes to fat. If you consume too much sugar on a regular basis, the body cannot keep up with repairing the damage, and your health deteriorates faster than it otherwise would, increasing your risk for disease.

So why does a local medical group have vending machines full of soda and candy? That’s right. Last August, when I took a family member to the doctor I took this picture in the waiting room. When I went to another facility in November, guess what, they, too, had vending machines in the lobby with similar items – candy, chips, and soda - but with a few healthier choices also available such as yogurt.
It just doesn’t seem right that doctors, who have taken an oath to “do no harm” would provide access to such unhealthy food to their staff and patients right there at their office building.

Americans must stop living in an “evidence free zone” where evidence and the eventual consequences are ignored. We must avoid unhealthy practices that we know cause health problems. We must have the backbone to support our brain, and do what we know makes sense when it comes to food choices – as individuals, healthcare providers, and food suppliers. Let us embrace a vision of America where our food habits are not a disgrace, but source of national pride.

What to Wear for the Before Picture?

I signed up for a “transformation” program at Gold’s Gym. Twelve weeks to get my ESS in shape, as they say. ESS stands for endurance, strength and structure. I don’t need to lose weight, fortunately. That, I already did. I’m interested in bringing up my physical fitness a level or two. I figure it will be worth the effort because even a minor difference would be most welcome!

Actually, I don’t officially start until Jan. 20th. That’s when I get my “before” picture taken. So yesterday I decided to shop for what I was going to wear for the picture. I have some decent looking sports bras so that is not a problem, but, what was I going to wear on the bottom? The instructions for the program say “women – bikini or shorts”. And the shorts have to be short shorts, exposing most of the thigh.

A bikini or short shorts? I had to go shopping. Unfortunately, not many stores in upstate NY where I live are selling bathing suits quite yet. I’m sure they will show up soon, but I decided I needed to find something now, so I was determined to make a selection on this one shopping trip. After going to Kohl’s, Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, JC Penney, Sears, and Macy’s, I went back to Target. Funny, I don’t remember ever buying clothing for myself at Target before, but today they had the best selection of swimwear. During the afternoon I tried on 14 possible choices including some shorts. I finally talked myself into a bikini, size: extra large.

Me in a bikini? Jeeze Louise! A bikini at my age? I’m 58. This is insane. I had gotten rid of my last bikini in my 40’s when I realized that I really did not look good in it.

Do I look good in the one I bought? Short answer: no. Long answer: No, but given that the gym’s photographer will have me show my midriff in the photo anyway, it will be preferable, I think, than having the bulkiness of the rolled down hipster style swim suit or shorts. At least the bikini will be one thickness of material. My “muscle-at-ease” (flab) will show, but hey, I’m taking comfort in the fact that you aren’t supposed to look fabulous in a “before” shot!

Finding Motivation for Self Care

The week I decided to create this blog I went to hear Dr. Eric Plasker, author of the book, The 100 Year Lifestyle. Dr. Plasker’s message reminded me why I had lost weight a few years ago. He recommended that if we were not motivated to do the things we knew we should, such as losing weight or exercising, to visit some nursing homes and observe what life is like for the residents. That would surely do it.

For nine years before she died, my mother had been in a nursing home. Actually, two nursing homes, as my sister and I moved her to a second nursing home so that we could more easily visit her. Both nursing homes were similar in that the residents were mostly incapacitated, frustrated, and unhappy.

I don’t fault the nursing homes. They tried to make life interesting and good for these people. But when you are ill with no hope of improving, when you are in pain that even medicine cannot assuage, when you are alone, away from loved ones, and when your reality is greatly removed from your understanding and expectations of what life should be, it is nearly impossible to make a someone happy, even momentarily.

Several years ago, I was overweight by 12 – 15 pounds. Even worse, I was in pain. I had joint pain that flare up in different parts of my body. From the least provocation it might appear in the lower back, shoulder, wrist or, chronically, the elbow. It was not until my orthopedic surgeon told me that he had exhausted the treatment options for me before I looked for natural ways to fix the problem.

I decided to do something about it! Surely, making an effort to live a healthier lifestyle would help.

Total healing of my joints came over time. I cannot say one thing was the “charm” that made all the difference. Instead it was a combination of multiple lifestyle improvements including supplementation, yoga, healthier food, and exercise. With all of these changes – particularly an increase in fruits and vegetables and with a severe reduction in sugar consumption - I automatically without effort lost 14 pounds over several months. Furthermore, my new weight has remained stable because I continue to eat, exercise, and live in a healthy manner. Everyday.