Health Update!

Woo hoo!

I have lost over 20 lbs (22-23 to be exact) since having my gall bladder removed! I am so stoked! I spent about a year trying VERY HARD to lose some of the baby pounds and was discouraged that nothing I tried worked at all. I knew something was wrong and went to a Dr about it, but since it was not a thyroid problem he didn't know what to tell me and didn't seem to believe that there was something wrong. I guess that is understandable, I am not sure that it is actually something that can be explained medically. I wish I knew more about my body because I am so curios what caused this change that I can hardly stand it! It is like having massive gall stones (which were likely caused by either my pregnancy or losing about 60 lbs in 2005) threw off my whole body.Before the surgery I had not lost more than a pound in over a year, even with enormous effort. It was really discouraging, and it was also frustrating when everyone would give me their best dieting tip because I knew I was already doing everything right.

People like to argue that one must have made some change in their lifestyle when this sort of thing happens. I did make a few changes, I started eating more, and stopped eating corn syrup. It is probably good that I started eating more, and allowing myself to eat foods that had more protien like meat and cheese because I am pretty sure that my 1300-1500 calorie diet was quite unhealthy for the aproximately 15 hours of intense activity I do a week.

I still have a good 30+ pounds to lose to get back to my base weight, but I am starting to fit into some of my looser pre-baby clothes. It is awesome. Being able to wear old clothes is a little like getting a new wardrobe, which I desparately need since I almost refused to buy new clothes while I was struggling to lose weight.

I also started taking prozac recently, and I feel pretty awesome about that. I am not sure that the dosage couldnt be raised, but I will talk to my doctor about that next chance I get.

I also finally feel like I am making the improvement in my skating that I had expected to make over the course of last year.

I guess everything is coming up milhouse!

Xoxo

EtsyBloggers Blog Carnival

I hope everyone had an excellent weekend! Mine was ok, but unexpectedly cut short when I was called in to work today.

I am on an etsy street team, etsy bloggers. I am participating in a blog Carnival hosted by FoxyGKnits. This is my first one, so I hope I do it correctly!

Here are a few Beautiful items from her store:




You may click on the picture to go to either listing in her store.

These are the themes:
1) February 14th is Valentine's Day. What is your best childhood memory of Valentine's Day or What childhood tradition do you now carry out with your children.
2) February is Heart Health Month. What is your best heart healthy recipe. What do you do to stay heart healthy. How do you promote heart health?

This is a difficult choice because I do many things that keep my heart healthy, but valentines day sounds like more fun... the only problem is that I don't really remember much from my childhood. I remember that my mom would give my brothers and I valentines, but that is hardly an exciting memory and Autumn is too young to be given a box of chocolates :)

(my own sketch of a heart)

I think I will go with heart health.

There are a lot of things you can do to improve your heart health, and fortunately they are things that are good for your whole body, they will not only help keep your heart healthy, which is especially important if heart disease runs in your family as it does mine.

No real surprise, one very important thing that everyone can do to have a healthy heart is QUIT smoking, or never start. I can not say this is something I do well. I smoked before autumn was born and I quit during my pregnancy. I do not really smoke anymore, or I am not addicted any more so I have no real excuse to do it. Every now and then I will smoke. It is a very bad habit, it is bad for me, and I do not want my daughter to grow up thinking it is OK.

Another thing that is very good for your heart is Aerobic exercise. Exercise is where I am a viking :)

I was on a short mandatory break from exercise last week after having my gall bladder removed, and oh boy am I glad to be back in action. My routine is still restricted for a little while, but this is what it usually looks like:

Sunday: roller derby practice (1/2 hour of off skates circuit training, 2 hours skating) and I usually bike to and from practice (about 12 mi round trip)

Monday: off or very light workout

Tuesday: Bike to and from work (7mi round trip) Roller derby practice (2 hours skating)

Wednesday: Bike to and from work, Roller Derby Scrimmage

Thursday: Bike to and From work, Roller derby practice (2 hours skating)

Friday: Bike to and from work, climbing at the rock gym (about 2 hours)

Saturday: Roller derby practice (2 hours skating) , usually bike to that one (only about 8 mi)

I also really enjoy hiking, which I don't have time for right now and a few other random activities. When I was young I never considered myself to be athletic, and spent most of my life somewhat sedentary. I became active when I started playing roller derby and after that I discovered many other activities I really enjoy! Before I had Autumn I considered myself to be highly athletic and in very good shape. I highly recommend roller derby to anyone who is looking for a fun sport to get fit and meet awesome women! (or like me, you could meet your husband ;) )

This is very possibly much more than many people are willing to do, but exercise really is important in so many ways! Walking for 30 min to 1 hour a day at a pace that causes you to perspire and increases your heart rate is enough to strengthen your heart, help you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight and make you feel wonderful! For so many people the hard part is motivation, so work out with a friend so that you are encouraging each other and making each other accountable. Plus, it is more fun to walk, bike, run or even go to a gym with friend.

Finally a healthy diet high in lean proteins and fiber and low in fat will do wonders for your health. In our family we make sure all meals include a starch/grain, a protein, and a meat, usually lean. Whole grains are great too, for example, you can use whole grains pasta instead of regular pasta.

For example, for dinner tonight we are having baked chicken, rice and a really yummy veggie mix we got at trader Joe's. Fill half your plate with veggies 1/4 with meat and 1/4 your starch. If you need help making your portions smaller it helps sometimes to use smaller plates. You can make this meal even healthier by using brown rice or a whole grain mixture (trader Joe's also has a few of these) Also, though my husband is not a fan of it, we try to have one vegetarian meal a week. It is also good to mix things up, don't eat the same thing all of the time. I don't eat pork so we have fish one meal a week, chicken 2-3 meals a week, vegetarian protein like beans once a week and lean beef once a week. Be careful with soy, some of it actually keeps your body from absorbing protein, and you also need more vitamin D if you are eating soy. Look for soy products that are "whole soy". It is just as important to eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and grains. Good soy products are a great way to lower cholesterol which is great for your heart! I also just read today that eating family dinners is a great way to reduce chances of child obesity (which leads to adult obesity).

(this is my favorite vegetarian meal: portobello mushrooms, onion and garlic sauteed in olive oil with a little liquid smoke and soy sauce, mix in whole grain pene, black beans and fresh broccoli. This meal would be vegan EXCEPT that I garnish it with Parmesan cheese)

Breakfast is a great way to get a good dose of fiber. A really delicious cereal that Adam and I recently discovered is Kashi Island Vanilla shredded wheat. It has 24% of your daily fiber and if it is paired with skim milk it is a very low fat meal. Adding a piece of fruit will make it complete.

I think lunch can be challenging for working people. The best way to combat the temptation of really unhealthy fast food is to bring your own lunch. You totally have time to do that, especially if you are already making lunch for your kids (packing a healthy lunch for your children is an excellent way to help them learn nutrition) it is pretty easy to make yourself a lunch too. You will also save some money, and who cant use a little extra money these days. Good options for lunch would be: a sandwich on whole grain bread with veggies (hold the mayo, it is packed with fat and cholesterol) and some yogurt. Also, if you want a hot lunch Healthy Choice makes these really wonderful, balanced, low calorie meals that are very filling, though they could use a little less sodium.

These are all pretty basic things that will make your whole body healthier, including your heart. These are guidelines that I follow and have been for the past 4+ years. I was not raised with these habits, I had to learn them myself (with some help from my husband) , but am much happier and healthier now that I do. You would think I would be thin, but I guess that is why I am going to the DR regularly.

here are some other ways to reduce your risk of heart disease(from healthy-heart-guide.com):

Lowering Your Risks
Specific Ways to Promote a Healthy Heart
Cholesterol Ratio
CRP Blood Test
Diet For Lowering Cholesterol
Homocysteine and Heart Disease
LDL Cholesterol Heart Disease
Lowering Triglycerides
Natural Blood Thinners

For more great info on heart health here are some links:

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200000

http://www.webmd.com/heart/default.htm

http://www.health-heart.org/

http://www.healthy-heart-guide.com/

Share the Road

Biking to work has harbored many peeves, and I wish drivers had to be more aware of not only bicycle law but also courtesies. I agree that bikers do some annoying things too, like not obeying traffic signals, especially stop signs.

These are the top five most obnoxious things that drivers do to bicyclists. Also keep in mind that I tow a baby behind me when I ride, making some of these offenses just appalling.

5) When drivers do the right thing, follow the law, be courteous, whatever, but then act like it was a huge burden and they are doing you a huge favor. For example, a driver pulls out in to the street too far from a parking lot so they reverse. I smile and wave and then they sigh and roll their eyes.

4)When drivers do not know that bicycles have to follow the same laws that they do and expect the cyclist to yield to them just because they are in a car. It is amazing how frequently I have to yield to turning cars to avoid getting hit by them, and how often cars at lights try to turn right before I can go straight! Motorists wouldn't do that with pedestrians, so why do they do it with cyclists?

3) When drivers do not see me because they are doing something else. They are usually talking on the phone, which is illegal here, but I have seen people do all kinds of things from eating to doing make-up that I have to watch for when I am biking.

2)When drivers use the bike lane to park in or pass turning cars in. Most of my ride has a parking lane AND a bike lane, but for some reason lots of cars cant fit their car into the parking lane and have to take up the bike lane too. I am also amazed by how many times I see cars sneak around leftboud vehicles by driving in the bike lane.

1)Dangerously reckless or aloof behavior. This has actually happened, while towing Autumn... I really hate it when cars drive in to the bike lane right next to me giving me about a foot of clearance and honk and yell trying to scare me because they think it is funny. Seriously? I know I look like a nerd with my orange safety vest, but get a life. That is dangerous. I also had a parked car open their door into us as we rode past. Needless to say Autumn learned some new words that day.

ok.
Thats all.