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But here is the kicker. I have not been walking for about a week and a half because I am building a pergola on my deck. From 9AM when I wake to about 8PM when I get tired of it all, I am hauling wood, sawing, measuring, painting, fitting, raising posts, lowering them, re-sawing, re-painting, going back to the lumber store to get more wood, etc. I didn't feel like it was a lot of work at first, but as the days went on, I started getting more and more tired. My muscles were aching, and when I hit the pillows I was zonked.
During the longest days, working directly in the sun, I started snacking a bit too much and drinking too many sugary drinks again - including a couple cans of coke a day and sweet tea. During the evening when I tested my blood, expecting to see the tell-tale 200 mg/dl or more... I was more than a little shocked to see that going from walking and no sweets to no walking, but building the pergola and having sweets that would normally spike my blood sugar, I found that my sugar levels are measuring out at about 109 with the lowest measured at 87.
The point of all that is that although I thought I was being active - with 10,000 steps, apparently the actual WORK I am doing eclipses those steps by far - and here is the funny part, during the day, I still don't really feel that I am being that active. If you think you are being active, look again. After I finish this project, I will definitely have to find another physical workout project.
Don't discount the benefits of being in the natural sunshine too! Way to go!
That's a great story! Maybe after you finish your pergola you can embark on "forced" activities that mimic that sort of work. To me, it seems like using your muscles as well as being upright played a big part in this. You could do some bodyweight exercises through out the day (drop and do 10 pushups here and there), some squats, resistance band exercises. While I think everyone being obsessed these days with step counts is a good thing because it gets people up and at least moving, I think it is overly relied on for physical fitness.
Actually, I've been thinking it is time to go back to H4H.
I did the same about 6 years ago, cut way back on carbs and became more regular with exercise. Lost 20 lbs and my labs improved dramatically. And I felt so much better without the extra weight. Bottom line, a healthy lifestyle and keeping your body weight down to the recommended level does wonders in so many ways. And you're right, it's not hard to do with a little self control. You just have to make your health a priority.
I did the same about 6 years ago, cut way back on carbs and became more regular with exercise. Lost 20 lbs and my labs improved dramatically. And I felt so much better without the extra weight. Bottom line, a healthy lifestyle and keeping your body weight down to the recommended level does wonders in so many ways. And you're right, it's not hard to do with a little self control. You just have to make your health a priority.
RIGHT ON.
I realized that in many ways, food had become a source of entertainment rather than simply nourishment to me. Special occasion? Go out to eat and eat half an appetizer, a full meal, split dessert, and have a drink. OMG - I can't imagine the calories. Holiday? Host a HUGE meal at our house. Going somewhere for a get together? Make a big, homemade dessert. Date night? Movie AND popcorn - the popcorn was part of the whole experience. Road trip? Stop for what we call "pogeybait" and that was always something fattening. Rough day taking care of elderly parents? Stop and get a blizzard from DQ. Rainy weekend? Make homemade pasta and some sort of fabulous sauce with the hubby. Or banana nut bread. Or both. Romantic evening with great weather? Sit outside on the patio and have a couple of glasses of wine.
OK, I still do that last one.
But the rest? Unnecessary. Now that's not to say we quit going out, quit hosting holidays, quit going to movies or on road trips or whatever. But we had to first of all recognize how important food had become in these scenarios, and how fattening that food usually was. Then we had to substitute something else or make some other element the focus. This takes some mind work and some planning, and discussion. We were changing habits that had been built over a lifetime and throughout our marriage.
So now, we still eat out and cook together, but we research recipes and options that are healthy and we rejoice in those. We get a very small popcorn at the movies and share it - or bring a sucker that lasts the entire movie and keeps our hands busy (and drink bottled water instead of sodas). On the road, we get bottled water, and instead of fattening snacks we bring fruit, we make playlists and crank them up and sing along, etc. We just drive past Dairy Queen - once we're past it we don't want it any longer.
When we drink, it's one drink or at the most two over the course of an evening, interspersed with lots of water. It's not the focus, it's a splurge. We savor a good glass of wine.
Anyway, like I said, it is a mind set and it really helps if both partners embrace it.
I freely admit that food gives me pleasure. I am always happy when I'm eating. Food will always be more than just mere sustenance for me. I really enjoy the social aspects of eating. I like preparing and consuming food. I envy those who have a normal relationship with food. Severe restriction of food triggers binge and guilt. All I can do now is try and manage. I cook healthier things and my body has become accustomed to feeling happy with less food. I try to do other things besides eating. Even something as simple as sipping water keeps my mind from putting images of food into my conscious thought. When I go out to the movies, I don't eat. When I have fun with the kids, I don't eat. I try to keep eating out to once or at most twice per week. Unfortunately I think it sucks for the rest of my family, especially for the kids who have no issues whatsoever with weight or weight management. But my husband is trying to lose weight himself so it makes it no as hard as it could be.
OK, a few months ago I was headed toward a midlife crisis, and not a psychological one. I just thought that being fluffy and inactive and not sleeping all that well, aches and pains, and being prediabetic was part of typical middle age.
But I didn't want to become diabetic and since I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant, and my blood sugar was creeping upward and now into the prediabetic levels, I felt like it was inevitable unless I took some action.
So I cut out carbs and sugar and unhealthy fats, and began exercising more regularly. Long story short, I have lost 22 pounds since February 1. And the other day I had my yearly physical.
My blood pressure was 106/66! My fasting blood sugar was back down to 88 when it had been over 100! ALL my labs were within completely normal range, except that my healthy HDL was high. I take that back - I had had a slight uptick in triglycerides but I think that is due to eating more red meat than I usually do while cutting back on other stuff, so that's easy to address. My doctor wasn't concerned about this and in fact was very impressed overall. I am 56 and feel better than I have in years!
I just wanted to post this to encourage others to lose some weight. Even a little weight loss can have a pretty immediate and positive impact on our health.
WOOHOOO!
Katheryn,
Very encouraging results. I've had an on again, off again issue with my weight and blood pressure. At times I've lost 50+ lbs and kept it off for years. I know how to get the weight off and keep it off for a while but eventually life creeps back up on me and I find myself not sticking to my workout and eating poorly.
Over the course of about 5 yrs I've put back on about 40 lbs that I once again need to get rid of. Unfortunatly I'm back on BP meds and my goal is to get off them as soon as humanly possible.
I too have seen the improvements that just a little working out and weight loss can have on your body.
OK, a few months ago I was headed toward a midlife crisis, and not a psychological one. I just thought that being fluffy and inactive and not sleeping all that well, aches and pains, and being prediabetic was part of typical middle age.
But I didn't want to become diabetic and since I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant, and my blood sugar was creeping upward and now into the prediabetic levels, I felt like it was inevitable unless I took some action.
So I cut out carbs and sugar and unhealthy fats, and began exercising more regularly. Long story short, I have lost 22 pounds since February 1. And the other day I had my yearly physical.
My blood pressure was 106/66! My fasting blood sugar was back down to 88 when it had been over 100! ALL my labs were within completely normal range, except that my healthy HDL was high. I take that back - I had had a slight uptick in triglycerides but I think that is due to eating more red meat than I usually do while cutting back on other stuff, so that's easy to address. My doctor wasn't concerned about this and in fact was very impressed overall. I am 56 and feel better than I have in years!
I just wanted to post this to encourage others to lose some weight. Even a little weight loss can have a pretty immediate and positive impact on our health.
WOOHOOO!
Its amazing what can happen when you eat right. For the last week i've cut out almost all carbs and substantially upped my intake of vegetables reduced meat and the result is i'm down 10lbs my blood pressure is now normal and my blood sugar readings are normal.
Its amazing what can happen when you eat right. For the last week i've cut out almost all carbs and substantially upped my intake of vegetables reduced meat and the result is i'm down 10lbs my blood pressure is now normal and my blood sugar readings are normal.
Yep, my husband lost 25 pounds and his lab work, which was getting to be really problematic, is getting back to normal ranges and he feels GREAT. But he and I both were already feeling substantially better after losing only 10 lbs.
Update - I'm 2 and a half months in, have lost 26 pounds, and 50 inches overall and feel fabulous! We are finally taking that beach vacation we kept putting off because we were overweight!
Congratulations!! I just started this journey..I am trying to lose 20-25lbs.
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