Had a great walk in the woods yesterday with the pooch! I treated a broad-rimmed hat with some pyrethrin to deter the mosquitoes and sprayed some deet around my ankles to keep the ticks at bay. The weather was perfect, and I wasn't bothered at all by the bugs. I don't know if it was the weather, the repellent, or the fact that the dragon flies have come into their own, but it was like night and day from my last bug-filled foray into the woods.
Last night, DH and I ate out at a favorite place of mine (we were actually biding time while DD attended a concert). Dinner was healthy choices, but just what I wanted. More walking around, which included dessert (NOT a healthy choice ).
This morning, I don't know if it was just random or due to all the walking, but I'm back down slightly under 140.
I'm just curious if anyone else has this kind of issue. Because of bone health issues, I take a lot of calcium supplements. Because of protein absorption issues, I eat high protein/low carb. I don't eat much fruit, but it's usually berries. I eat a lot of Swiss chard when in season and salads. Two doctors have told me to eat more salt because my low blood pressure makes me dizzy when I stand.
Now it appears that I have calcium oxalate crystals in my urine, which, I believe, is the precursor to kidney stones. My sister just had a really bad time with kidney stones that included an infection and a stent. What's the diet to prevent kidney stones? No strawberries, no chard or spinach, reduce meat consumption, get calcium from dairy, reduce salt intake. Everything I was doing to be healthy, following doctor's orders, has now caused me to have another health issue. I feel kind of d*amned if I do and d*amned if I don't.
Kind of whining--sorry. I'm just frustrated. Said frustration will not be soothed with a quart of ice cream no matter what my brain is telling me. . .
Sheila, recently my doctor told me to discontinue calcium supplements as they raise your danger of heart attack or stroke. He said to eat more vegetables that are high in calcium and to eat more dairy. I have the opposite problem with my blood pressure--too high. He wants to monitor it for a while to see if any dietary changes make it drop by itself. I know what you mean by the d*amned if you do, d*amned if you don's. It is frustrating. I've doubled my vegetable intake (with those really high in potassium). I don't eat a lot of meat anyway, prefer to get my protein from meats. Two months in and my weight is higher and my blood pressure is the same. I really had never heard to stop eating spinach, chard and strawberries to reduce kidney stones. I have heard that you have to drink filtered water, though.
Hi, Sheila. I have had three kidney stone attacks, and I doubt it was because of too much chard and spinach or calcium supplements. The main reason was that left to my own devices, I don't drink enough water.
My kidney doc said that by definition, people who get kidney stones aren't drinking enough water. The rest of it seems to be incidental.
Spinach and chard have high levels of oxalic acid, and most people who get kidney stones have stones of calcium oxalate. Not all, though. Maybe cutting down on spinach will help, but I haven't seen anything definitive about it.
I have to remind myself to drink a glass of water for every hour I'm awake. Not a huge glass--just 8 oz. And other liquids count as well. Still, I'm lucky to get in 64 ounces. It just doesn't occur to me to drink water, and I don't particularly like it. It's a perfect setup for stones. Also, being a stone former runs in families sometimes. My brother and his daughter have both had kidney stones.
If I have to get up in the night I know I'm drinking enough. TMI, but my urine is often dark in color--another sure sign of not enough water.
So I'd say, increase your water intake as a first step.
I also am not a voluntary water drinker but I seem to get enough of it by forcing myself to have 1/2 litre when I get up (I chug a bottle at a time), one during the day with my lunch or snack, and a last one at dinner. if there is a bottle left in the kitchen where I've lined up my daily quota I force it down before bed.
I am getting up to pee in the wee hours and that makes for never getting enough sleep. Being tired or getting kidney stones? I'll opt for
Sheila-- perhaps a trip to dietician would be helpful? They might be able to help you sort through the goods and bads in your diet as it pertains to your health. That sounds very frustrating!
During the work week I have little to no problem drinking enough water as a water bottle sits on my desk all day. It has to be refilled at least 4 or 5 times during the day. That and the water I drink at home means I get much more than 64 ounces. Probably close to 100. That said, weekends are different. I'll take a bottle with me in the car when I run errands and try to make it stretch through all the errands. Often I get home and it's not empty and I'll set it down, thinking I'll finish and refill it later and never get around to it. It's only later when I start to feel listless that I realize I need water (otherwise I need a nap!).
Oh, the stress today! My office assistant has called in sick three Wednesdays in a row. Wednesday is payroll day. I rarely do the payroll. The first day I was given a heads-up about her absence and was able to do it Tuesday night before I left for home as I had an appointment scheduled Wednesday morning. The following week, I had no warning. DH texted me as I sat at the doctor's office awaiting my mammogram and told me. Yeah, instant stress on top of the mammo stress! I had to scurry into work and complete it by the deadline. Then she was out sick the rest of last week, calling in daily promising to be in Tuesday of this week to make up time and certainly would be in today. Not. I always use Wednesdays as my day to schedule appointments, today also being one of them. Thankfully I was able to get it done before I need to leave but the stress is killing me. And next Wednesday is no different as I'm having my carpets cleaned. Lord, help me!
Thanks for the sympathy and advice. I am a big water drinker so that's never been an issue. I did try to drink more yesterday afternoon and ended up getting up three times during the night--sheesh! Also had muscle cramps, which I haven't had for a while. Makes me wonder if the water is flushing out electrolytes?
Good idea about seeing a dietician, Michele. The one good thing I read is that eating dairy is helpful, and I love my Greek yogurt.
Down just over two pounds today. My hectic week of commuting into the main office has led to a weight loss. Probably because I've been home so little. I feel like a speeding plane that rarely lands.
I get up anytime from 4:15 to 4:30 AM, I'm on the road to the CT by 6:30 AM, spend the day inside, eat only fruit or handfuls of nuts that I bring with me and salad bar lunch. Head home anywhere from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM, change, straight to gym, dinner at 8:15 PM, just an hour to myself before bed.
This streamlined life means the week sped past and eating happened but was an afterthought.
I could do this for extended periods, it would get my weight lower, but I believe after a time I'd feel depleted and crash hard.
Saef, hope you can land that plane and enjoy the destination a little more! It's great that your hectic lifestyle is compatible with weight loss, though. I tend to skimp on exercise time when life gets busy.
I'm just not a water drinker. I drink a lot of tea (and coffee). We keep a pot of hot tea (mix of black and green) ready for the fambly and refresh throughout the day as well as a pitcher of iced tea in the fridge. I drink decaf/herbal in the afternoon (I <3 rooibos! It tastes a lot like black tea without the tannic acid). My pee passes the color test (pale), so I'm not worried about being dehydrated.
I still take calcium, but I take calcium/magnesium because I've heard the balance is important. For strong bones, I've heard it's important to stress your bones and we should all try to jump a few times throughout the day. I tried to develop that habit, but it sort of fell off my radar screen. Maybe that's a new goal for me...
My weight has been bopping around a bit, but it's at 139.4 this morning. DH and DD are away for a week, so I'm hoping to dig into the 130's for real.
Summer "officially" started yesterday. The weather here concurred. My shorts are still tight. I'm having family over for dinner tonite and will have just a small piece of pie as an indulgence and then the dieting starts for real. I hate being this heavy in the hot weather.
Speaking of I better get on the scale and confirm what my big breasts and belly are telling me. I'm pretty sure I've gone over 140 lbs.
I know what to do to get back down under 140 and to go down to under 135 which is the final goal.
Lots of salad and lean protein dinners in my future. One serving of fruit for dessert.
Thought I should check in for accountability. Back to 127 and change last time I weighed a few days ago. I haven't been eating in the evenings for months now (which is how I got back down from 133 to 126), but I'm definitely allowing a few extra nibbles and bites the last week, which also explains the uptick to 127. I just HATE how unforgiving my metabolism is: weeks of 1400 cal days to lose 2 pounds, but I can regain it in 2-3 days of 2000 calories.
So, here's to all of us losing the "fluff" this summer by whatever means we find most effective.