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No More Excuses

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I’ll be honest. I am an awesome, one of the best really, “excuse-makers”.

I can find a reason (read: excuse) for anything. I believe I honed this skill in my early college years where I earned a plethora of “W” (withdraw) and “I” (Incomplete) grades that still show on all my transcripts. I’ve used this skill to account for slacking on schoolwork, graduate papers, studying, housework, balancing my checkbook, sewing, beading, doctor’s visits (such as my annual mammogram), eating healthy, and working out. I’ve gotten by because I can usually pull something together at the last minute. I know my life is much simpler when I force myself out of my excuse-making tendencies, but that doesn’t keep me from making excuses consistently in order to enable my mindset. 🙂

This is a wellness blog. Yet my blogging is sporadic because I’ve come up with some of the best excuses for either not blogging consistently, or not practicing wellness habits consistently. Some of them were very valid at the time….I’ve had good honest reasons why I’ve fallen off the wellness wagon time and time again. But once those reasons or issues have been addressed and I still am not back on the wagon again…then they become an excuse.

So…in an effort to be brutally honest with myself….here are my best “reasons” for the past few years for not feeling like I was capable of practicing healthy habits. 2012 I remember as my last best year for wellness….I was running 5K races consistently and I felt great about myself. So let’s start there.

  1. Hip Osteoarthritis – this was a biggie. The OA diagnosis and the inevitable total hip replacement was huge. Mentally and emotionally it was tough…having to face the prospect on never shawl dancing again or running again. Then the actual hip pain made it hard to workout, and even harder to want to work out.
  2. Depression – this stemmed from the OA diagnosis, the unknown of total hip replacement surgery, not finding a good coping mechanism besides running, surgery recovery, marital issues, a pre-diabetes diagnosis, and job dissatisfaction. I often felt alone and lonely in my depression, which made motivation scarce and just about non-existent.
  3. Career Change – I wanted to get out of community health administration, and out of the 100 mile round-trip daily commute, and go back into clinical social work at a local agency. I needed to job search, study for my licensure exam, and get out of my comfort zone to follow my passion. That was all extremely stressful and daunting and I didn’t know if I could do it.

Those are the major ones. Every single one of them I allowed to take precious time away from me and what I wanted to do take care of me and my family. I was able to find a million excuses for not treating my body and my spirit well out of all of those 3 big categories. All 3 categories all fed off each other as well and just made things seem bigger and bigger and bigger, until I was overwhelmed on the regular.

So here is where I’m at now and where the excuses end.

  1. Hip OA – I’ve had one hip replaced and know exactly what to expect with my 2nd surgery. My recover was, upon reflection, fairly easy due to my age and my physical strength prior to surgery. My right hip has no more pain and normal range of motion. I got clearance to begin training to shawl dance last June, and I actually danced in a fancy shawl special at KU powwow last month. My left hip is still bad but I know with weight loss and supplements, and possibly a cortisone shot, I can put off surgery for another year or so. My arches hurt from the excess weight, but I have good shoes with arch supports for work and working out.
  2. Depression – I’ve been managing the symptoms with anti-depressant meds. I feel much more positive and self-sufficient than last year at this time. I am getting ready to start tapering off my meds now that things that overwhelmed me have settled down. We got a dog and he is the best thing for mental health. He is awesome and brings so much joy to us. My marriage is much better due to praying together daily. I am finding walking very enjoyable, especially with my big puppy. My sleep has improved and I don’t feel the food cravings often associated with a depressed mood. I went on a social media fast and that was an eye-opener…how the negativity on social media can permeate your brain and your mood. My now-elevated mood helps me feel motivated. I downloaded “The Secret Daily Teachings” app on my phone and it always has good positive words that I read every morning.
  3. Career Change – I successfully passed my master social worker licensure exam. I found an awesome job as a therapist at a local community mental health center. I work in a middle school so I work school hours. My job is 3.5 miles from my home. I love this work…the kids are awesome and so are the staff here. I worked through any internal difficulties I was having at my old job and I was able to leave on good terms….which felt amazing.

Yesterday was Mother’s Day and my husband and kids gave me gifts all designed to get me healthy and strong again….new runners, new running tops, phone armband. I can’t use time as an excuse because I am home shortly after my kids get home. So I have time to cook earlier, time to get housework done, and time to walk or do something with my kids. I truly have no more excuses. I’m sure I can find some, since I’ve gotten so good at it over the years. I need to use my powers for good and not idleness. Lol. I should turn it around and make excuses TO BE HEALTHY for once.


So TODAY is the day of “No More Excuses”. It’s Day 1. I got my baseline info for Day 1 in the form of weighing myself and taking a picture. 🙂 I overslept this morning and ALMOST caved and said “Day 1 can start tomorrow.” Hahahaha. But I didn’t. That’s a good sign. See, I could have easily used that as an excuse to delay Day 1 but I did not.

I made myself take a few minutes for breakfast instead of running out the door since I was running late. My vanilla strawberry smoothie with cashew milk, vanilla Weight Watchers smoothie mix and 1 cup of fresh strawberries was only 1 carbohydrate serving.  My plan today is either to walk Mickey or ride the new bike my dad got me for my birthday (lack of a bike was a prior excuse to not exercise when my joints were hurting). I have a place to workout at the Sports Pavilion if the weather is bad. They have a nice indoor track and good cardio equipment.

I need to make myself accountable, so I will do my best to jot something here each day. I want to document this new journey. This is more for me than for you, but if you get something positive out of it as well, then that’s a bonus.

Here we go. Day 1. I’ll write later how it goes. #Letsdoodis

 

8-Week Wellness Challenge

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First of all, I want to say right off the bat that I have succeeded at losing 17 lbs since my highest weight post-total hip replacement surgery!! That means I lost the 15 lbs I gained post-surgery, plus an additional 2 lbs. I have 5 more lbs to go to hit my 1st major goal. My youngest told me today, “Mom, you’re getting skinny.” Lol. Even though “skinny” isn’t my goal, regaining my health is, it was still nice to hear that someone noticed some progress.

My eating and workouts kind of went up and down over the summer, as those who powwow understand the disruption of routines, driving for hours, dancing all weekend, not always having access to the healthiest of foods, packing a cooler, etc. The healthy habits could have been better, they could have been much worse. I concentrated this summer on not beating myself up over slip-ups and just trying to get back on as soon as I can.

My sister got me in the habit of walking for 45 minutes every morning at work. When she isn’t at work, she texts me to ask me if I went out for my walk yet. Lol. That got me going on the consistent activity. But today I want to write about a wellness challenge that has really motivated me.

Tracy is a woman I went to graduate school with and we both earned our MSWs at the same time. Our kids go to the same school, have played on the same teams, and she is friends with one of my nieces. She encouraged me after learning about my hip osteoarthritis back in 2012 to take her cycling class (which, by the way, was a killer workout) to give my joints a break from running, and she has conquered her own health challenges and surgeries. She is inspiring.

My sister-in-law invited me to participate in an 8-week wellness challenge that Tracy was organizing. She had participated the 1st time Tracy did the challenge and encouraged me and my sister to join. The details of the challenge and the structure really intrigued me, which are explained below.

For 8-weeks, each person can earn a point per day in the following areas: 1) Journaling/tracking food intake and following a safe, healthy and nutritious eating plan of our choice, 2) drinking half your body weight in ounces of water, 3) exercising (and she leaves it to us to determine what we think is a workout, there is no minimum number of minutes required to earn this point) – and with exercise one can only earn a maximum of 5 points per week to encourage rest days, 4) getting at least 7 hours of sleep per night. We all took a picture of our scale with our starting weight and sent it to Tracy, and at the end of the 8 weeks we will take a picture of our scale with our ending weight. We can earn 1 point for each percentage of total body weight we lose. For example, if someone starts out weighing 200 lbs, they would earn 1 point for every 2 lbs they lost by the end of the challenge. We have sheets were we can record our points daily. One can earn a maximum of 26 points each week, and then additional points at the end with our final weigh-in. The people who did this challenge the first time don’t mess around. The previous winner didn’t miss ANY of their weekly points and lost weight. There is a $25 buy-in which is given to the winners at the end of 8 weeks. And she set up a FaceBook page for the members of the challenge so we always get little reminders, or encouragement, or ideas for meals and snacks.

I am used to keeping a food journal, and when properly motivated I can exercise 5 days per week. I was really intrigued with the sleep requirement. My sleep routine has been non-existent for almost a year and I’ve never given it much deliberate thought. I go to bed early when I am exhausted or I push myself and don’t get rest. There is no consistency.

We just finished up Week 2 of the challenge. I think I’ve missed only 1 sleep point each week so far when my schedule was a little off on that day. I have been tracking my food faithfully and paying attention to my calorie goals. I even track my “free days” or free meals. There is nothing like seeing that you ate a DQ Blizzard, or 4 slices of pizza from Rudy’s to make you more conscious of your food choices. I make my water intake daily. I’ve earned 5 exercise points per week. I started using MapMyWalk and synched it to my MyFitnessPal so it automatically posts my workouts and calorie expenditure to my food log. Although I began the challenge intending to do the Metabolism Miracle, my actual eating has turned into more of a carb counting routine. I keep my breakfasts and lunches to anywhere between 5-15 grams of carbs or less, I eat many vegetables, take my vitamins, and if I feel like eating some popcorn or a small handful of chips, or 2 soft tortillas in the evenings, I do it. I usually keep dinners to 2 carb servings or less. And guess what…..my weight seems to be just dropping off!! I believe it’s because the structure of this challenge encourages several healthy habits, not just food and exercise. I think it’s the sleep requirement that’s made the difference with me as well as being mindful of my carb intake and not restricting myself as much as before. My energy is evening out more each day…I don’t have as many dips and my energy lasts longer. And I feel smaller already.

So if you haven’t guessed it at this point, Tracy is amazing!!! This was so needed at this point and time and I’m having fun AND improving my health. Thank you again for organizing this!!

My Typical Day Now

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I am trying to practice consistency in all areas of my life…nutrition, physical activity, stress management, time management, studying for my LMSW exam….and my blog. To help facilitate making the blog portion of my daily life more consistent, I’ve created a Facebook page just for my blog. https://www.facebook.com/wozaniwaste/

One of my biggest decisions in the last few weeks was to give up trying to make deadlines for powwows. My friends and family know that I love to sew. It’s a form of stress relief. I sew for my entire family and I take orders for friends and families. Over the years I’ve developed a habit of what I would refer to as “binge sewing”….meaning I get frantic about meeting a deadline and I end up spending all my time trying to get an item done for a specific powwow, either for my family or for an order. Powwow beaders and seamstresses are well acquainted with this. Lol. It is anything but “stress relief”. What occurs in those instances is that my cooking and healthy eating go out the window. My sleep is little to non-existent. I don’t take the time to exercise because I’m too focused on getting something finished. And my time and attention is taken away from my kids and family. I decided two weeks ago that I am no longer going to do it. The cost to my health and my family’s health isn’t worth wearing a new item immediately at a powwow, or even fulfilling an order. I will have to get used to giving a much more generous estimate on completion dates for orders. My family will understand if I don’t get something done. And I can deal with my own impatience of wanting something done right away. At least I think I can…..haha.

I also asked one of my former students, and recent MSW graduate, to be my study partner so I can finally sit for the LMSW test. Leaving myself to my own devices has resulted in no studying getting done. So I reached out and we have made arrangements to meet once per week to study together. I even downloaded an app she sent that sends me one practice exam question everyday. I am proud to say I got my first question right today. Lol.

So….my typical day consists of the following:

I try to get at least 6-7 hours of sleep. When I wake up I drink 2 big cups of water and have my beloved coffee. I just drink it straight up…no creamer or sweetener. I have to take a synthetic thyroid pill every morning on an empty stomach to treat hypothyroidism (was diagnosed in my early 20’s), so I have to wait an hour before I eat anything. My breakfast after the hour is either a smoothie made with unsweetened cashew milk, natural PB, whey protein powder, a handful of spinach and ice cubes, or I poach an egg and eat it on a slice of low-carb toast. Or low-carb toast and PB. It’s rare that I have the time and alertness enough to make a veggie omelet. The Metabolism Miracle book has a good “hot cereal” that I like to make as well on occasion. On days where I am really rushed I just use a shaker cup and throw some cashew or almond milk and a heaping scoop of protein powder and run out the door.

I pack my lunch every day to take to work. My lunch box today consists of leftover steak and pepper stir fry, an Atkins protein shake, celery and natural peanut butter, and a bag of mini sweet peppers. There’s a water cooler at work so I keep a 32 oz water bottle at my desk and I try to drink 2 a day. This sames me money and I’m not tempted my restaurant food that’s not in my eating plan.

I have a membership to the wellness facility at my work. Costs me less than a dollar a day and they have an indoor track, weight machines, free weights, cardio equipment, basketball court, racquetball courts, and a small pool. I pack my workout bag every time I go to work (45-50 min drive from home) even if I don’t use it everyday. When I do use it, I use a combination of the cardio equipment, and yesterday I started in on the weights. I need to use the pool more but it’s a pain washing the chlorine out of my hair and trying to get back to the office within my allotted wellness leave time. If I run out of time to workout at work, I make sure I do something at home. Usually walking in my neighborhood with my girls. I’ve also been trying to do something during commercials if I’m watching TV, like squats or push-ups. Lately I’ve added the stadium steps once per week. That’s a killer so I don’t see myself doing that anymore that once every 7 days anytime soon. I try to do any activity for 45 minutes, the very minimum of 30 minutes per day, 6 days out of the week.

I may have mentioned in a previous blog entry that I have battled depression in the past. It’s something I try to stay on top of because I don’t like taking medication. I mean I will if necessary, I just try to manage things so that it doesn’t get to that point. Exercise can change and lift your mood in as little as a 15 minute walk. So not only is exercise important to my goal of getting rid of pre-diabetes, it is a powerful tool in my efforts to combat depression. I’ve also started a gratitude journal and I have my girls keeping a gratitude journal of their own. Staying optimistic is very important to health. Writing things down and practicing gratitude will change ones outlook for the better. Which is also very important to preventing depression and staying motivated on this health journey.

I try to cook as often as I can. I like to make extra of whatever I cook so we can have leftovers the next day. That saves me at least 3 nights of cooking every week. Lol. Once in awhile I would prep several meals in one afternoon and I haven’t been able to make the time to that in a long time. Something I need to prioritize because it was really nice to have a full meal that I just had to thaw and re-heat on very busy days, or post-powwow travel days.

We are in softball season now, so Joe B and I run practice or coach games 3 nights per week. Time management and prioritizing are essential. It has been testing my resolve from the 1st paragraph daily….do I cook or sew some more shells on the dentalium cape sitting on a table in front of the TV???? Of course I cook. But the answer even one month ago would have been “Are you kidding? SEW SHELLS ON THE CAPE!!!”

The biggest differences for me between now and 2 months ago are the daily activity and keeping my grams of carbohydrates to less than 5 net grams per meal and if I eat a snack before bedtime. And not obsessing over getting sewing done. That’s huge.

I try to patient with myself, reminding myself daily that it’s a journey, not a race. Which is why I don’t step on the scale anymore and just focus on today, and when I need extra motivation, I focus on my next A1c in August. Daily gratitude and daily focus. 🙂

New Health Challenges To Conquer

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I just re-read my last blog entry from April 8, 2016. I have a topic that’s been weighing on my mind since Monday April 25 – which is truly the day I have been referring to as the “first day of the rest of my life”.

Most of the people that are acquainted with me, know that I teach a culturally tailored diabetes class for a college with a student population that is 100% American Indian. I also teach Basic Nutrition. Type 2 Diabetes in American Indian populations has been my area of expertise since 2005. I love it and have a passion for it because of the strong family history of the chronic disease in my family and because I truly believe culturally appropriate education and family-based interventions can make a difference.

I get my blood glucose tested every year, as recommended by Indian Health Service. I know that preventive care is the only way to not get the chronic disease of diabetes. I’ve had a couple of hemoglobin A1c tests done and my results have always been within the normal ranges. I try to eat healthy and exercise has been a regular part of my life for years. Although sweets and homemade popcorn have also been regular parts of my life as well. 😛

So imagine my surprise when on a Sunday at home, April 24, I realized that my feet were tingling. They felt like they were falling asleep. I knew this would happen if I sat in an unpadded chair for too long, but as I was resting on the couch, I thought back to when I felt my feet tingle at other times. And I recalled that they had felt like that for a few days…no matter what I was doing…sitting, standing, laying down. My immediate thought was “diabetic neuropathy” and I wondered when my last fasting plasma glucose test was. So I called my doctor’s office the next day. The receptionist looked in my patient portal and was able to tell me that my last blood glucose test was during my pre-surgery physical at the beginning of December that is was “out of range”. She didn’t tell me how far out of range, she made me wait until my doctor’s nurse called, which wasn’t for another hour. I spent that hour freaking out and working out my anxiety on the recumbent stepper at my work’s rec facility.

When the nurse called she told me that my last fasting plasma glucose was 102 (anything above 100 could be considered the pre-diabetic range, diagnosed with further testing), which she said was a little high but my doctor wasn’t worried about it. I really like my doctor. I think she is amazingly skilled and I trust her completely. I can only assume that she wasn’t concerned because she knew my my lifestyle and felt it was a healthy lifestyle.  I told the nurse that I knew that was in the pre-diabetic range, and with my family history, I was concerned. So my doctor ordered an A1c that afternoon and I headed to the lab as soon as I left work (you don’t have to be fasting to take the A1c, and it measures a person’s average daily blood glucose levels for the past 2-3 months). I prayed my A1c would be below 5.7, which is the normal/healthy range – it means no diabetes or pre-diabetes. I had 5.5 or lower in my mind. I asked the lab tech if I could wait for my results (I know the test takes about 5-8 minutes to run) and she said I could. I waited and prayed for about 10 minutes after the finger stick. Then a nurse holding a baby and piece of paper with my lab results appeared and told me my results. An A1c between 5.7 and 6.4 means you are pre-diabetic. 6.5 and over means you could have Type 2 Diabetes. My A1c score was 6.1….which is right in the middle of the pre-diabetic range. Imagine the irony….the only thought flooding through my mind on the drive home was “The Diabetes Teacher has pre-diabetes.” I laughed to myself but it was a very bitter laugh. I was upset and disappointed in my myself and everything around me.

I came home and told my husband and children. I told my girls that I needed their support in getting my health back on track. I needed them to walk with me or do some type of activity everyday. I needed them to not complain about my meals being “too healthy” and that they needed to eat more vegetables with me. I told them I didn’t want to develop diabetes, but that I was headed in that direction and I needed to make changes NOW. They asked me if I made healthy changes if the pre-diabetes would be gone. I said yes. They were immediately all in. I won’t lie, it was a tearful conversation on my part. Sara just hugged me for a long time while Shelby told me she would walk with me everyday.

Joe B took them out to practice softball to give me more time to calm down. I started researching to find out if stress was the main cause of high blood glucose in otherwise healthy patients (this was me looking for something/someone to blame…lol). And I found some information that surprised the diabetes teacher.

There are 6 factors that can contribute to high blood glucose (high blood sugar). After reading the 6 factors, I realized that I had FIVE of those factors. The 6 factors are as listed, as well as how they fit in my overall health picture.

  1. Hormonal changes, such as pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause. I have this, I am perimenopausal and have been on a progesterone replacement for a year.
  2. Serious illness or major surgery. I have this, as my  hip replacement was a major surgery and occurred within the last 4 months.
  3. Stress. Always a part of life, but my stress since last October has been much higher than normal. I would describe it as “through the roof”. It’s getting close to being back to what I could consider a more normal level, but the stress was hell for over 5 months without relief.
  4. Use of corticosteroid medications, such as Prednisone. This is the ONE factor I do not have.
  5. Being overweight. Remember, I gained about 15 pounds after my surgery.
  6. Being sedentary. This was me as well. Once my physical therapy ended, I was so frustrated with how hard walking was that my activity levels were hit or miss. Mostly miss.

Finding this information had a very calming effect on me. 3 of the factors were out of my control (the stress I felt was inflicted on me, it took awhile to be able to deal with it), but they were either over or they could be managed. I knew I could change my eating habits and make myself do something most days out of the week. I felt calm enough to start to plan how to deal with this and take control of my health again.

The first thing I did was break out my copy of the book “The Metabolism Miracle” which is a low-carb eating plan designed for people that have what the author describes as Metabolism B (see Diana Kress’ blog page, twitter page, and Metabolism Miracle FB page for some preliminary information and how to order the newest version of her book). Joe B and I did this back in 2013 and we had good results, we just didn’t stay with it. I wanted something that will bring my A1c down in a healthy and efficient manner. I started with dinner that very same night of baked chicken and non-starchy vegetables, and started my next morning off with lean protein and vegetables.

The next thing I did was make a plan to move every day. I packed my workout clothes on the days I did my commute to KC. I walked when I worked in town or got on the elliptical machine at Thorpe Fitness Center. The day after my diagnosis I got on the elliptical for the first time a few months. I stayed on for 45 minutes and it was brutal. I did something every day for 6 days in a row. I was more sore than I could remember in a long time….just general muscle soreness as the new hip joint felt great.

(*By the way, my doctor followed up with me  the next day and told me she felt that my blood glucose was high because of all the changes to my diet and activity stemming from my surgery and recovery. She referred me to a dietician and felt that I wouldn’t have any problem bringing it back down with some changes to my diet and exercising more. She has a lot of faith in me. Lol).

My primary focus is on bringing my A1c score down. I feel like the weight loss is a secondary benefit. If I had trouble staying on the Metabolism Miracle plan before, or if I didn’t have the will or energy to walk, let me tell you this….there is NOTHING that will motivate you more than a diagnosis of pre-diabetes. I have been consistent. I have been diligent. I have been mindful. I share my daily progress with those closest to me. My diet consists of lean protein, non-starchy veggies, healthy sources of fat and LOTS of water. I’m doing all the things I’ve taught and recommended to my students to deal with or prevent diabetes. This was truly the kick in the butt that I needed to get me living healthy again instead of wallowing in my disappointment in how different my life has felt post-surgery. And I have my own cheering section of all 3 of my daughters, my husband, my family and extended family, and my best friends.

I’ve given up weighing myself every other day in order to eliminate potential sources of frustration. My focus is my blood glucose, not my weight. But when I did weigh myself almost 2 weeks ago, I had lost 11.5 pounds and I can fit back into the all the new work and summer clothes I bought last summer. I danced at a powwow last weekend and I had to move my dance belt back in to its original size. Before this, in April when I danced I had to move my belt out to its largest size. I can tell I’ve lost inches but I haven’t measured myself yet to see how many. I have more energy. That darned elliptical and my walking route with all the steep hills is finally getting easier. I tried out the stadium stairs once (they were as brutal as I remember them and I was only able to do one full set) and I am going back again with my daughter as soon as I finish this blog entry.

My good friend Kevin told me that this was all going to be a blessing. That I would be able to use my experiences in my teaching…showing my students and others that I’ve dealt with the beginnings of this disease, and showing them how I managed it. That it can be done. Sharing this experience is the first step.

I am counting the days (64!!!) until I go back for my follow-up A1c. 🙂  I didn’t want to share this at first because I was embarrassed. The diabetes teacher has pre-diabetes. But my maske’ Erica told me that it was nothing to be embarrassed about, it would just show people how hard this disease is to fight….for anyone.

16-Week Follow-Up Post-THR + Recovery Frustration

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Tuesday marked 16 weeks since I had total hip replacement on my right hip. This time I went to the appointment in workout pants that didn’t have any zippers so I wouldn’t have to change into the beautiful mesh shorts the doctor’s office provides to get the x-rays on my hip. The x-rays showed that my hip is healing nicely. There is no loosening of the device from the bone….he noted that my left hip looks bad (as it has since 2012) but he would leave it up to me as to when I wanted to get that hip replaced.

I was looking forward to having my non-impact exercise restrictions lifted and possibly be given the green light to get back to shawl dancing. He did reduce several of my restrictions. I can now squat or leg press up to 100% of my body weight (I was at 50% at my 6-week follow-up), I can pick up or deadlift up to 90 lbs (up from 40 lbs), and I can now do low-impact activity, such as Zumba or the modified T25 workouts, and continue with the walking, elliptical, stationary bike, swimming. I can also get back to pushing a prowler with weights, using my judgement on how my hip and muscles feel. But no attempts at returning to shawl dancing until I am 6-months post-surgery, which puts me at mid-June.

I’ll admit I was a little disappointed to hear that. But I’m realistic enough with myself to know that even in mid-June, had he given me the green light to return now, I wouldn’t be ready. I gained approximately 15 lbs since having my surgery. I feel like my muscle tone is zero. I’ve dealt with weight issues during my adult life, twice gaining and losing 30-36 lbs (NOT including pregnancy weight gain for my 2 daughters), and what feels different this time is that I always felt like I had a base to work from…even if I was overweight and out of shape, I still had a base of conditioning to build on. I don’t feel like I have that base in this instance.

I’ve said this to a few people…coming back after this surgery is harder than coming back after having 2 babies. After having both C-sections, I remember returning to the track to walk….and I couldn’t get my heart rate up enough for walking to feel like a workout, so I started walking the stairs. Not this time…even walking for distance is challenging. My muscles hurt. My arches hurt. None of the work clothes I bought last summer and fall fit me. I had to move my dance belt out when I danced traditional at KU powwow last weekend. And when I weighed and measured myself on Monday, I realized that I am the heaviest I have been in my adult life, not counting how much I weighed post-pregnancy.

This week was tough. I was beyond frustrated. I know now what people mean when they say they “raged inside”. Lol. That’s how I felt. I struggle with having patience, I want stuff to happen RIGHT NOW. So I started using my weight watchers app again on Monday, tracking my points, and my husband got all of us out for a walk after work. Wednesday I felt like I was coming unglued…my frustration with myself was hitting its peak, work stress piled up….I texted my adopted sister, letting her know how unglued I was becoming….lol. Then I grabbed my workout bag and headed for the rec center at my work. When I walked in I saw the recumbent step machine, just like the one they had at my physical therapy place. I used the 15-Minute Rule on myself, saying I would only get on that thing for 15 minutes then I was out of here. I listened to some Queen & David Bowie, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Steve Winwood while I pushed the pedals. Felt my nerves start to soothe. I did 20 minutes on the stepper and then set the machine for another 20. I felt so much better after. I felt like I got a good workout. I broke a sweat and I could tell my muscles did good work without anything else hurting. I felt calm. I felt optimistic. I was able to return to my work station and get a bunch of work done.

Yesterday I woke up not feeling much better than Wednesday. Some good talk about nutrition with MPH students and interns while working a career fair brightened my day. And then I got my family out for a walk while our dinner cooked. And once again, I returned feeling calm. Feeling optimistic. And I slept really good both nights.

Some people operate well by telling themselves “I HAVE to do this. I have no other choice.” I don’t do well with that type of self-talk. Telling myself that only increases frustration. I do believe I can do this now. I believe things are going to be ok. I’m getting back into the habit of tracking my food and generating ideas for healthy meals for my family. I feel like I’m finally ready to return to weight training, which always gave me good results. I am back to believing that walking will do me a world of good until I am ready to do more. I am looking forward to using that recumbent stepper more frequently until I feel like doing the elliptical. I have had several people tell me, “If anyone can come back from this strong, it’s you.”

I just need to keep telling myself that. Each and every day.

6 Successful Vegetarian Days

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We did it. We ate like vegetarians for 6 whole days. I’ve often wondered what it would be like and now I know.

I actually enjoyed my meat-free 6 days. I found myself eating a variety of grains and vegetables. I ate a little more dairy than I usually do, but I look at that as a good thing because of all the calcium and the protein found in dairy milk (I usually stick to almond milk which has little to no protein). The timing of the class I teach was awesome because we covered protein last week.  We looked at the benefits and some of the potential risks of vegetarian and vegan diets, such as becoming deficient in B12, and non-heme iron being harder to absorb than heme iron. I did some research on food combinations and saw the controversy from the plant-based diet people who don’t believe you need to combine different plant-based foods in order to complete the amino acid chains and get a complete protein. I reviewed my own nutrition course notes that says combining whole grain rice and beans, or grains and legumes, or grains and dairy, gives you a meal that has all the essential amino acids. Whatever side of the fence you fall on with the food combination argument, the idea that you need a variety of plant-based foods to create a healthy diet was just reinforced.

I have been trying to convince my husband for awhile now that we don’t NEED to have meat at every single dinner. I have proposed the idea of having one or two meals every week that are vegetarian, and that didn’t go over very well. However, now that he has seen that he can survive an entire 6 days straight with no meat, he is now open to the idea of a “Meatless Monday” or whatever day of the week we decide to this. Maybe now I can get my family to cut back on meat consumption by substituting more vegetables in meat dishes and by having the weekly vegetarian dinner. I am a bit more relieved about how my kids eat, that they actually will get a sufficient amount of protein from combining different plant based foods with a healthy and non-factory farmed source of dairy.

I weighed myself to see if I would lose any pounds during our week. I did not. Just goes to show you that eliminating meat from our diets (meat is very calorie dense) doesn’t necessarily mean you will lose weight. Different forms of dairy can be very calorie dense, as well as nuts and legumes. Also, eliminating meat from your diet doesn’t automatically mean all your food choices are healthy. Like one of my students said recently, “Chips don’t have meat in them.” Losing weight on a vegetarian diet is just like losing weight on the standard American diet: portion control, plenty of non-starchy vegetables & whole fruit, no sugar-sweetened beverages, limiting processed foods, being mindful of your sodium intake, and most importantly – paying attention to how you feel when you eat and stopping when you are either satisfied, or when you are no longer hungry.

This past week as also reinforced my motivation for another venture. Learning how to garden. The seeds Sara planted are sprouting and we are keeping them alive….if you knew how I have failed to keep house plants alive in my adult life, you would understand what a big deal that is. Shelby convinced me to buy a small mint plant awhile back and we have had to replant it in a bigger pot because it’s growing and growing. She wants to make her own mint tea and have mint for infused water and to put in lemonade. I am reviving the jade plant given to me as a gift. I am starting to believe that I will actually have a garden this summer and I am excited for me and my girls.

Being a vegetarian or wanting more plant-based foods in our diets isn’t just about health, it’s about sustainability. It’s about reconnecting with where our food comes from. This week was beneficial to me and my family in a multitude of ways. Now we just have to keep the momentum going.

Day 4 Vegetarian Meals & Reflections

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Day 4 Veg Meals

Yesterday was Day 4 and we are hanging tough. I’m actually enjoying this, but Joe B is starting to miss meat products. He keeps talking about the bacon and egg sandwiches and double cheeseburgers he plans to eat on Sunday.

I found out that instead of 7 days of vegetarian eating, it’s only 6 days. So we have today and tomorrow to go, then Sunday we are free to resume our omnivore ways.

My husband is reporting some mild stomach upset during the past 4 days. His explanation was, “Too many plants. Too much xylem and phloem.” That made me laugh. I want to give a shout out to my 7-8th grade science teacher Mr. Bertram and my high school science teacher Mr. Flak because I actually could recall what xylem and phloem were after more than 30 years and I was able to get the joke right away. That’s some good teaching right there.

I feel lighter after Day 4. Not lighter as in I think I’ve lost weight, but lighter as in all the vegetables, fruits and grains don’t feel as heavy settling in after a meal. This really hasn’t been that difficult for me, which has my husband worried because he’s afraid I will try to turn our family into vegetarians. Fear not, because again, I come from hunter-gatherer people….not just gatherers.

I’m surprised at the timing life has…yesterday my 11-year old came home after play practice and said “Mom, I want to be off chicken for at least a month. Maybe longer. I’m ok with meat like venison or bison, I just don’t want to eat any chicken.” She had watched a film at school about factory farm chickens and how they are treated as they are raised and processed for meat to be sold. It bothered her enough that she doesn’t want to eat anymore chicken or eggs. She said she’s not quite ready to see how feed lot cows are treated. I’m glad her school showed something like that, to help students understand where the majority of the domesticated meat in our diets come from. I think it will give me an opportunity to find a local farm that raises chickens, so I can take my girls for a visit and they can see what a local, sustainable part of our food system looks like. I’m hoping that if she decides to consume chicken and eggs in the future, that she will understand the need to find a local source for these things, and why I want to encourage my family to cut back on meat a little. It all starts with one person changing their view….lol.

Yesterday for breakfast I had a poached egg plus 1 egg white, on toast made from homemade honey whole wheat bread with organic butter, plus a whole orange and my black coffee. I had an avocado to put on the toast instead of butter, but I wasn’t feeling it yesterday. For lunch I made a big salad with romaine lettuce, celery, cucumber, diced apple, and I made my own vinaigrette dressing out of white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, honey, and some salt & pepper. I also tried something called a Root Vegetable Pot Pie from The Merc and it was the best vegetarian thing I’ve tried so far. It was just like a chicken pot pie but from what I could see, it just had potato, onion and mushrooms in it. For dinner I made vegetarian lasagna from a recipe I found online. It was amazing!!! I was so anxious to eat it that I didn’t even bother to plate it with my salad and make it look pretty, I just took a snap of the pan after I cut some pieces out of it. Joe B liked it and said he didn’t even notice the lack of beef….and if you knew my husband you would know that this a quite a remarkable thing for him to say.

Today we have plenty of leftovers from Wednesday’s pizza and the lasagna last night, and my big bowl of salad, I just need to make some more dressing. And I still have some black bean quinoa salad to take to work. All in all, our vegetarian week is going well!

Vegetarian Week – Day 3

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Day 3 Vegetarian Meals

We are winding down on Day 3 of our vegetarian week, in support of our daughter Samantha and her nutrition course assignment. I wanted to post our meals today since I am feeling better and actually cooked a vegetarian meal (last night I made egg salad, which to me isn’t really cooking….it’s more like assembling).

Today for breakfast I had a slice of homemade cinnamon raisin bread (my first try at making homemade whole wheat raisin bread) with some organic butter, a full cup of blueberries, and black coffee. I was very surprised at how long it held me. I thought I would be hungry within an hour.

For lunch I had a bowl of what is called Caribbean Quinoa Salad from The Merc. It has quinoa, black beans, sweet potato, pineapple, limed red onion with a vinaigrette dressing. Again, very filling and I loved the taste.

My snack….my favorite Girl Scout cookies. They count as a vegetarian food. 😛

For dinner I made homemade pizza on a whole wheat crust that I prepare in my bread machine. The recipe makes enough dough for 2 pizzas so we make one pizza for the girls and one for the adults (we always have leftovers for lunches the next day). My girls had chopped spinach mixed in with the sauce, and they just like cheese for their topping. My little one now likes the Applegate Uncured Turkey Pepperoni so she put some on half of their pizza. Our pizza had the chopped spinach as well, and the toppings included mushrooms, red onion, and red bell pepper. I thought for sure I would hear from my husband, “It was good….it needed some sausage though.” But I didn’t. He actually said what I was thinking….he was surprised how tasty it was and how filling it was.

I wasn’t even really hungry, but I snacked on some mixed nuts while watching one of my favorite TV shows. That was really mindless eating….I wasn’t even hungry. I need to work on that habit.

Some observations 3 days in:

  1. I am surprised at how filling plants can be. I haven’t felt hungry between meals and I feel satisfied after I eat a plant-based meal, even if it doesn’t include dairy or eggs.
  2. I have not felt sluggish after a meal – except for the overall fatigue and yuckiness I felt from being sick. I was worried that upping my intake of complex carbohydrates and cutting down on the animal-based protein might result in feeling sleepy after I eat, but it hasn’t.
  3. I have not missed meat. I haven’t craved it, nor do I feel like I’m missing out on anything.
  4. Our local Co-op, The Merc, has come to our rescue a couple of times with their delicious vegetarian/vegan food offerings at their hot bar and deli.

All in all, it’s going very well. Tomorrow I know I will feel even better, so I have all the ingredients to fix vegetarian lasagna. If I can pull that off and my little crew likes it, I will consider the entire week a success.

 

7 Weeks Post-THR

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Originally posted to my Facebook page on February 5, 2016

I am just a little over 7 weeks out of my hip replacement surgery and I’ve hit a wall. I’m still progressing, I just feel physically like I got run into a wall. Physical therapy is hard. The past 3 sessions have left me exhausted and sore. I feel fine while I’m doing it, I don’t feel like I’m overdoing it….I’m very careful about that. But when I leave, within an hour of my session ending, I feel like like crud. Yesterday was the worst. I almost didn’t go because I had muscle soreness from Tuesday’s session, but I thought I would feel better after I went. I did feel better for about 45 minutes. Lol. The joint feels fine, there isn’t any pain in the joint itself. It’s all muscle soreness. But it feels different than before my surgery…it feels achy….almost like when you are getting sick.

My kids have had a couple of viruses the past 2 weeks. Maybe I’m just fighting those off. Also I feel like I’ve been super busy at work ever since going back full-time last Wednesday. Maybe I’ve just run myself down. Either way, I’m home today and resting and recuperating and trying to get better.

After my friends saw my Facebook post, they answered with much encouragement, and a suggestion that I may not be eating enough protein to fuel the tissue growth that is occurring in the recovery from my surgery. I was already starting to look at my protein intake as one of the reasons for the muscle soreness and fatigue. So I started a protein shake…and if anyone knows me, they know how I hate having to default to a shake, I would much rather get it from real foods. But I needed to do something quick, and the shakes actually helped!

Bringing Back an Old Pow-Wow Traveling Tradition

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Powwow Food Prep

When I was little and my mom took us on vacation, she would always pack a cooler. Sandwiches, fruit, crackers, chips, etc. We looked forward to stopping at this rest area north of Grand Rapids that had a creek, lots of trees, and picnic tables. We had our lunch there and then continued on. When we started traveling to powwows my mom would bring a cooler as well. She would surprise us at some powwows by bringing out a package of ring bologna and crackers and some sliced cheese.

Over the years as we camped less and stayed in hotels more, we relied less on coolers and more on food available at powwows. The usual fair: Indian Tacos, soup with none of the fat trimmed off the meat, and Ndn dogs. Now we have walking tacos, cheeseburger, Ndn burgers (cheeseburger in a piece of fry bread instead of a bun), funnel cakes, chicken strips. A plethora of fried foods, white flour, and saturated fat. And not to mention the casino buffets that we frequent now that casino powwows are well-attended. I know from research that the reason many people gain weight is because they overestimate the calories they burn through exercise and they underestimate the calories they consume. I think this is common during powwow weekends where we think we are burning more calories that we actually do when dancing. I know several people who feels its challenging to maintain their healthy habits during powwow weekends.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, preparing for powwows this summer is my priority. I wanted to get back to bringing my own food like my mom used to, and when we used to camp. There was nothing better than a sandwich and fruit (and maybe some chips) at our camp after a session, and fresh fruit always helps during the hot afternoon sessions. I did my powwow prep a few weeks ago when we traveled 7 Clans Casino Powwow in Thief River Falls, MN and it worked out great. I made smoothies and the kids had all kinds of fruit. No one gained weight that weekend and we actually saved some money.

So here is my #HealthyPowwowFoodPrep for this weekend. Shelby and I stayed up late last night making whole grain muffins and shredding chicken I cooked in a crockpot. We are staying in a hotel where all the rooms have refrigerators. I’m packing the following in my cooler.

  • Lunchpail Muffins
  • Lean deli turkey
  • Diced chicken cooked in a crockpot
  • Chicken salad with diced celery, apples, almonds in low-fat olive oil mayo
  • Boiled eggs
  • Sliced apples
  • Grapes (in 1-cup portions in zip-lock bags)
  • Whole wheat sandwich thins
  • Nonfat vanilla yogurt
  • Plain nonfat greek yogurt
  • celery
  • What is left of the blueberries and strawberries in my fridge
  • Thin sliced Colby-Jack cheese
  • String cheese
  • I have cherries washed but they didn’t make into the picture. They WILL be in the cooler

My girls are learning nutrition through Kurbo Health (I’ll write about our experience in a separate blog entry) so making these preparations has become even more important. If we can make 90% of our food choices over the course of a powwow weekend healthy choices, then I won’t have any problem with splitting a piece of fry bread with someone and enjoying.

Our friend Grace Pushetonequa asked for suggestions on healthy food to bring to powwows on FaceBook and then she posted a picture of her food prep today. I’m going to encourage people to do the same….take pictures of their healthy powwow food prep and post them on their social media. You never know who you will positively impact just by sharing your experiences.