Making time for fun!

Last week was another crazy week so I only made it to the gym Sunday and Monday. I did do home exercises to try and stay limber but not having the extra aerobic exercising did cause some stiffness in the low back and legs.

Since I had taken off Thursday for a doctors appointment and didn't need to return to work till today, Tuesday, I decided to make sure I had fun with my days off. Many times when we are dealing with our health we can have a tendency to stay home more or not entertain friends like we use to. Perhaps we even have unfinished craft projects kicking around. So it is important to make the time to have fun and make it meaningful.

Thursday, despite having a doctor's visit, I arranged to meet with my eldest sister. She picked me up at the hospital, leaving my car there, and we went out for lunch. The rain had finally stopped so after lunch we went for a very enjoyable walk and even had a good hearty laugh. We then stopped to have tea and sat in rocking chairs looking out at a lake. It was very relaxing and we were able to catch up on each others lives. Then we rode back to the hospital and parted our ways.

Friday morning I got up early and went fabric shopping as one of our quilting stores was closing. They carried such a nice variety of fabric. I had received an invitation to their close out sale so since my quilt which is still not finished needed material for the back and border I decided to see what I could find. I am hoping I have enough to do everything.

As I was in the store my son calls and we decided to meet for a quick lunch. We had a very nice time and then I went to pick up my paycheck and then went to see my massage therapist. That was a 90 minute session and was what I really needed after all of the in and out of my sisters car. It has taken several days to recoup from that as I have a problem with my low back and getting in and out of a car on the passenger side and it being a low vehicle just does me in. So I really needed this session.

Saturday morning I again went to the fabric store and picked up a few more pieces of material for my quilt. I then went home and did some house cleaning which that made me feel good and then worked at sewing one of the strips for my quilt that I had finished a few months ago onto the quilt.

Sunday was a fun day as a friend came in from out of town and I treated her and another friend to lunch. Sometimes just doing something nice for someone else is a great treat for the soul. I then later went to see my son and visited with him for a while. Later at home I worked on trimming up some squares for the other end of the quilt which would then mean I could do some sewing on Monday.

Monday was another beautiful day. No one can blame the weather man if they didn't have a good day that is for sure! I met my younger sister an hour away for lunch. She also had an hours drive so we could meet up. Had a very nice visit with her. Once back home I got busy with cutting strips and sewing the pieces together so I could put the last row on the quilt. Now I am ready to figure out what type of border I am going to use. My dinner was a pot roast that I had put in the crock pot prior to leaving to have lunch with  my sister so it was nice not having to fuss with making dinner. I finished the evening with a very nice walk around town. Such a beautiful day!

It is important to find things to do that have meaning in your life and there is a sense of accomplishment when we work on those old projects that we set aside. My visits and working on my quilt gave me much satisfaction and sharing time with family and friends has always been important to me. So remember to make time to have fun!

Weekly Update

I haven't done much over the past week as I have had to work extra shifts and the last two Saturday's I had work related adventures to go on. One was to Whitesboro, NY to see the New York State Merci Train boxcar. Unfortunately there are a number of shields with incorrect spellings or are completely incorrect. I am working with France to help see about getting this corrected. Each state received a boxcar with thank you gifts from the people of France, Italy, and Asia in 1949 as their way of saying thank you for the many train loads of supplies that Americans had sent. The New York Boxcar carried gifts for different cities/towns that sent clothing and other supplies. This was all new to me and now they have asked me to assist them in getting the above corrected so they can consider the boxcar for a possible documentary.

My other adventure was to see a Genealogy Story Slam. This was put on by the Central New York Genealogical Society. It was held in DeWitt, NY so I had a little driving to do but got there just in time. It was really enjoyable as people shared a little portion of their family history. Some talked about how they found their information others spoke about writing and getting a book published, one woman would get calls from Thrifty Shopper as they sometimes received boxes with old letters, birth or death certificates and photographs. They would contact her to put together information of what is the the box and then start searching for the next closest relative which she shared a couple experiences in finding family. One gentleman was 99 years old! It was all very interesting and very enjoyable and I hope we can do a program like this at our own library.

I didn't get to the gym at all this past week with all the working I had to do but I did do one hour every day of my floor exercises, mostly for the core but also some weight training too. Finally yesterday I did get to the gym to "play" and was there for an hour and a half and also had done an hour in the morning at home for my floor exercises. I can do two sets of twenty five reps. There are two exercises where it is still a struggle in making the twenty five but I get them done!

This week I will be concentrating on getting back into going to the gym  for my aerobic and weight training workouts. I have put on a few more pounds which I am a little discouraged about but I will prevail. Now that warmer weather hopefully is here I will be eating lots of salads. I am trying to take only soup to work with me to help keep my calories down yet getting enough protein and fiber in my diet.

I have also inquired of a few friends that have diabetes and who are on insulin as to whether or not they have been tested for Chromium and they all said no and are going to ask to be tested. One does not have any feeling in his finger tips and he says this makes doing any fine work difficult like opening a bag or putting a button through a button hole. It will be interesting what they learn and I also will ask my doctor when I see her next month about getting tested as well.

That is all for now. Enjoy your week!

Chromium vs Diabetes and weight loss

I had never heard of Chromium until I read the book, The Natural Fat-loss Pharmacy, by Harry Preuss and Bill Gottlieb (2007). It has been a very informative book and I have learned a great deal from it.

Chromium is a mineral that we cannot live without. It can literally mean life or death. This mineral helps to regulate our insulin system and if we are deficient in this mineral it can ruin our health. This hormone insulin is what oversees our digestion and distribution of glucose. It helps to move blood sugar out of the bloodstream and into the cells for either instant energy that comes from using our muscles, into the liver cells for short term storage or into our fat cells for layaway.

Chromium helps insulin to do its job of keeping the blood sugar levels balanced.

The daily value for Chromium is 120 micrograms but we usually only get 25 to 35 mcg's in our diet. I even checked some multivitamins w/minerals and they list 35 mcg for Chromium which isn't even near enough of what we need.

How many pre-diabetics or those with type 1 or type 2 diabetes have had their chromium levels checked. I know my doctor hasn't checked this and those that are also taking steroid medications and are over weight should also be tested. Steroids deplete chromium from our bodies and I have been using a steroid inhaler for many years and because of my MS I have also had to take steroid infusion treatments and even pills.

The neuropathy that diabetics get is usually from a chromium deficiency and once chromium is added back into their systems the numbness, tingling or burning sensations improve or completely go away. So why do doctors take so long before testing their patients!

I have started taking a chromium supplement called Chromax Plus which is a 500 mcg capsule that has a fast acting and a slow acting chromium. 250 mcg as chromium picolinate and 250 mcg of chromium histidinate. There is no yeast, starch, gluten or preservatives added to it which I always check for. I just take one before my first meal everyday. I hope this will aid me in better insulin health, and help in my weight loss as it also helps the body break down fat and build muscle.

It is always good to do research before trying something new and speak with your doctor about being tested for chromium deficiency. Doctors usually have to watch closely their patients when they start taking chromium as they will need their insulin dosages changed as things start to improve. Proper exercise also helps with regulating insulin as I have seen personally in trying to keep my diabetes in check.

I thought this was something that needed to be shared because if I was not aware of Chromium and how it impacts my life, I am sure there are others as well that never heard about Chromium either. We are never to old to learn new things specially if they can benefit us in  living well.

Until next time.......

Negative Doctor vs Patients Positive Attitude

I am sure I am not the only one who will have a doctor not believe what the patients says nor does the doctor commend but instead does his or her best to try to demean the patient into thinking they do not know what they are talking about nor are they doing what they say they are doing to gain back better health.

Monday of this week I had an appointment with my back specialist. My pain level has been through the roof and I have not been sleeping nights because of the pain. I have continued to exercise but I only do 30 min. cardio and stay away of the leg machines. I also do my floor exercises which most are for strengthening my core and stretches for legs and lower back as that area is so tight.

Anyways this doctor would not prescribe anything to help with the inflammation in my lower back so I can get some sleep. He also cross examined me about what exercises I was doing to strengthen my core. I told him that I do planks, bridging for trunk stability, I do the opposite arm and leg lift both on my hands and knees and while laying flat on my stomach on the floor, combination bend leg lift and arm over head and regular leg lifts. All of these are excellent for tightening the core muscles and I will combine them also with hamstring stretches, weights and stretch band exercises. I am up to two set of 20 for each so it takes a good hour to do all of the above and the extra ones that I do.

He said, "you are not doing enough! You have to do more core exercises to strengthen your back." If I spend 1 1/2 hrs to 2 hrs at the gym and another hour at home everyday when will I have time to do anything else? I was quite upset as I could tell he didn't care to hear about my success with the body comp and that I was due to have another one done here soon. He wants to see the number on the scale go down which he even admitted that muscles weights more than fat. Just the same, I am not doing enough!

I left feeling as though all that I have done has been for nothing, but I quickly told myself, no that was not the case. This doctor only sees me twice a year and does not know me. I also know what I have accomplished and was not going to let this doctor make me feel like a failure because the way I see it I have been a winner! I know I have been strengthening my core as my posture is better, I hold my abs in a lot when I am sitting vs relaxing them and I sit up straighter.

My goal is to continue doing what I am doing and maybe in two weeks I can do 25 reps for the two sets of each exercise. It will take more time but that is ok. I might have to do certain ones in the morning when I first get up and then do others at night to break up the time.

Always keep a positive attitude. Do not derail your hard work by giving up by saying, "why should I keep trying!" When you give up because of a doctors negative comment they win. By continuing to do what you have been doing and keeping the goal in front, you win and will prove to them the next time you see them that they are the loser and that they had nothing to do with your success. A negative doctor breeds negative patients but a positive patient can change the attitude of that negative doctor and other naysayers!

The Gluteals - Keeping Flexible

Last week I wrote about the hamstring muscles and the need to keep them flexible so it seemed only fitting to continue in that area and consider the Gluteal muscles. The Gluteus Maximus, Gluteus Midius, and Gluteus Minimus are three important muscles. These muscles can tighten and cause pain in the lower back, buttocks and even the thigh area. Taking a very hard fall or even trying to protect yourself from falling can cause a sudden tightening where these muscles join which we call trigger points.

I took two very bad falls, one when I was a teenager. I was roller skating and an overweight boy started to fall and he grabbed me and locked one of his skates in with my wheels of a skate and the rest was history. I fell so hard I had no feeling in my legs nor could I move them. I also wound up with a sprained ankle. The second time I was in my twenties and was walking to the babysitters to pick up my son after work and slipped on the ice. Again it was such a hard fall that I lost the feeling in my legs for several minutes. Since then I have had an extreme tightness on the right side of the lower back and buttock area and for years I have had to do exercises and even different forms of therapy to try to loosen things up when it becomes too painful to handle on my own.

The gluteus maximus attaches to several areas in the pelvis area, sacrum, coccyx, the femur of the long thigh bone and the broad thin band of facia called the iliotibial band. That band runs from the top of the thigh to the knee. This allows us to perform many activities like climbing stairs, walking up hills, we can rotate the thigh and turn the knee outward, running, jumping and rising from a seated position. The contraction of the gluteus maximus helps in controlling movement like sitting down, walking downstairs, bending and stooping to name a few.

When we are standing or walking the gluteus maximus covers our sitz bones but when we sit down in a straight back chair, the muscles slide above the sitz bones so we don't sit on the muscle. If we slouch just a little in the chair then we are sitting on the gluteus muscle. To understand this better I was told to sit in a chair and sit on my hands to find the sitz bones. This allowed me to feel the muscles move away and then if I slouched I could feel the muscles move back over the sitz bones. Lower back pain or pain in the buttocks is an indicator that one is not sitting correctly. Many of our furniture allow our lower backs to shift in such a way as to cause our gluteus maximus to cover the sitz bones which can over time increase stiffness and cause trigger points.

To stretch this muscle I found that laying on the floor and pulling one leg toward my chest and extending the other leg straight can help. If I am super tight I keep my knee bent on the leg I would extend until things loosen.

Another stretch I do is to bring the leg over the opposite leg bending at the knee and then gently pull toward the opposite shoulder and hold for thirty seconds.

To stretch the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus I stand, cross one leg behind the other and lean to the side that has the leg in front. I hold this for thirty seconds and switch sides. More can be found online for different stretches but these work well for me.

Update: My goal for this week was to work at stretching my hamstrings and I have been very pleased that I can now touch my toes both while standing or when sitting on the floor with my legs out in front of me. I have a couple of days where I felt less tight in the low back and buttock area and my walking felt smoother and less painful.

I also did "recess" every morning and most evenings which I can tell has helped with my posture and easier movement in the hip and legs. I "played" at the gym, Monday and Thursday and hope to get there Saturday and Sunday. Today I have a lot going on but who knows maybe there will be at least a half hour that will open up so I can scoot over to the gym. It has been very hard to get that 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise in every day but I do try to move around more if I can't get to the gym on a certain day.

Next week I see my back surgeon and we will see if there are any changes in my lower back. I have been putting off having injections as I feel that exercise is the best medicine and it doesn't cost anything but my time.

My goal for this week is to continue with the hamstrings and work at getting more stretching in of the three different gluteus muscles. I also will aim for the 30 - 60 minutes of aerobic activities. I have been having two massage appointments for the last couple of weeks and might do one more week to continue to combat the pain in the low back from the leg machines that I had tries.

I hope you are enjoying the daffodils that are blooming all around. Spring appears to have finally sprung! Till next week!