Despite lower back pain and knee pain I have stayed true to trying to do 5,000 steps everyday. Here are the numbers M 5,614; T 6,120; W 4,304; Th 4,888 and F 2,600. Yesterday was not a good day to go out and walk as it was just to hot and humid. With my asthma and MS it would not have been wise to push things. Today is a new day so I will continue to strive for that 5,000 steps or more.
I do work a sedentary job so I do not get in as much walking as I would like. I do get up and walk around some but sometimes I end up sitting for long periods which isn't good. At home my small apartment does not lend me to take many steps so the only alternative is to go outside to walk. I could walk the halls of the apartment complex but that gets really boring even walking both upstairs and down. Yesterday I made sure I got to a store and walked around as I only had maybe 600 steps logged when I was home.
I also am doing well with my meal prepping and that has made things real easy with all of this heat. I made up a tossed salad which I can add other items if I choose. I also made up some egg salad and some deviled eggs (only used two eggs). Slicing up raw veggies is also been helpful as I can easily grab a few pepper slices and cut them up to throw in stir fry or any other dish that they might go with or just eat them raw.
I have purchased the book, Skinny Liver by Kristin Kirkpatrick, MS, RD, LD and Ibrahim Hanouneh, MD. This is a book that has really opened my eyes as to the seriousness of Fatty Liver Disease. So many people are diagnosed with this disease but are truly unaware of how ignoring this disease could mean their lives.
The liver is quite fascinating as it has quite an effect on how our bodies function. If you have a thyroid problem this can start the change of events as the thyroid can affect how the liver operates. If a person is eating an unhealthy diet the liver has to work extremely hard to process what is being sent to it to filter. Add any wine or other substances and it works even harder and even has some cell die off.
To add further problems, being sedentary means the body isn't burning the calories that are being taken in and then that leads to fat getting stored in the liver and in other areas. If fat starts to infiltrate the liver then the liver cannot regulate the glucose in the body which then makes the pancreas start to pump out more insulin.
If a person doesn't change to a healthy diet and start to exercise to use the built up energy store of fat the liver will continue to enlarge with fat deposits and can eventually cause cirrhosis or even liver cancer. You do not have to be an alcoholic to develop cirrhosis of the liver.
The liver is resilient so if a person takes to eating right and exercising to lose fat and can get to losing the fat in the liver the liver an heal itself but only if you are consistent. I have been told it can take up to three years to fix my liver and since I have gotten to the point where so many things are going wrong health wise, this is a condition I cannot ignore. That is why I am on this journey to living well and hope to keep motivated and moving forward in this battle.
Since doctors do not educate their patients about fatty liver, they usually say just eat a low fat diet and exercise, many patients do not see the urgency about doing something before things start to get out of control. Waiting means that it will take longer to rectify the problem and other health issue can get in the way of making progress. I find that I have to take my health into my own hands and when I see my doctors I am not afraid to question them. Some do not like to have a patient question, as in my case, I have found some of my doctors do not even have knowledge about the problem, so how can they advise me. I prefer that if a doctor doesn't know much about a condition he/she should refer the patient to a doctor that specializes in that field. That way a patient can get the knowledge and care that they need to gain back their health.
This book has a lot of good research information and gives good advise on how to get moving in the right direction. There are also recipes in the back and ways to start moving and getting more exercise in. Just remember exercise as going out to play or recess to keep it enjoyable. That mindset has been helping me out in being as consistent as I can with getting movement in.
I hope this post will help someone else out there dealing with this same problem. Feel free to comment if you find this information helpful.
Have a great week!
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