Good morning all,

Busy weekend, Hope everyone is doing well!

Walked with my mom Saturday in the race for the cure, she is a 25 year breast cancer survivor, my hero. My dad told me he has an abdominal aortic aneurysm, so now have that to occupy my worry center. He has an appointment today with his family doctor to go over test and strata path forward, so will see how that goes. Then a sort of family reunion at my in-laws, everyone is getting along at the moment, so that went well, going to enjoy that for as long as it lasts...

Anyhow, back on track yesterday, back to routine today. My niece told me about a youtube series yoga by Adrienne, going to try that tonight, I think one is called yoga camp, she said she teaches you one pose at a time, she really liked it.

Ok, better continue getting ready for work...

Best to all

Good morning all!
Sorry for the double post, it was still in safari as if it didn't post, but I can see people responded so it had to post...I also see there have been some issues

We made stuffed peppers with peppers from the garden and sauce with tomatoes my mom grew, it was awesome. I dropped off my gain from the weekend, hopefully it stays off.

Diana Thanks for the good wishes and prayers for my dad, he had an appointment with his family doctor yesterday, both him and my mom feel better about things, they are scheduling an appointment with a specialist, then probably more tests to see if it's getting bigger, smaller, whatever. Scary stuff.

waving hi all around

Hope everyone has a great day

9/19

Weight - 143.3
Calories - 1194
Exercise - 8596

Chunkahlunkah: You made me think, mostly because lately I was wondering if there's something going on with my iron levels in particular. But I don't know... I'm regularly donating blood (well, OK, I skipped the most of past year, but August I was back and plan to come again soon) and they're generally quite meticulous, so I think they'd find out. It is true that after the last time I was unusually tired for about a week and had the strangest craving for cucumber for two weeks to the point when people started asking if I'm pregnant - I'd eat at least two a day (incidentally, that was about the only thing that helped the weird near-constant thirst) - but I was also terribly overworked and put the final nail in the coffin by ending the week on a music festival. Mental fatigue never really capped my physical abilities, but I was definitely dancing at half my usual speed and couldn't get enough air. I guess it could be I just didn't allow the body to regenerate properly so it was dragged out, though. Also my level of fitness does leave something to be desired. I considered iron is at play recently because of how the multi-vitamin fortified with iron helped my tired spells as opposed to regular multi-vitamin (I got both after the donation). And also after years of being practically vegetarian (I always hated meat ever since I was a child) I suddenly started craving and enjoying red meat in the past 10 months or so, especially rare. I don't know, is it normal for people to enjoy the smell of raw meat? I'd found it repulsive since I remember, but the past few months... Maybe I'm not getting older and not able to handle the same workload after all, that'd be great. I'll try to ask when I get to see my doctor.

Edit:
Just now I've read how drinking tea with and around meals can lower iron absorption, especially from non-meat sources. That is quite something, as I'm doing exactly that with increasing amounts of strong tea. I might try doing something about this first, as well as including more sources of vit. C

Good Morning, Everyone!

I also had issues with the slow typing and words showing up. The ad blocker resolved the issues.

Last night I added on: Tamilee Webb's Total Body Stretch (sitting)
This Morning: Oxycise in the Office 2

Calories for yesterday: 1495 +
Weigh In: 172.4
Down: 1 pound

Have a great day

Monday Check In
Breakfast - egg & sausage burrito
Lunch - pork pot roast, potatoes, carrots
Dinner - monteray jack bacon burger on onion bun, tomato & basil crackers
Snack - protein shake, red velvet cake (no icing)
TOTALS - 1749 cals
EXERCISE - 100 minutes 5x5 B workout

I've been having the same issue with the site when I'm on my home computer, and it is definitely the video ads. It has gotten so bad I pretty much only post from work, but I'm going to give the ad blocker a try when I get home tonight.

Chunkahlunkah - I was reading your post very late at night, and it took me an embarrassing long time to determine whether your joke was about drinking blood, or getting use to the taste.

Hi Everyone,
I noticed the same issue with the slow website whenever I turn off my ad blocker. When Adblocker is one, the site functions normally.
Today is second of long shift, so I'll just wave hi & account for yesterday.
B protein shake, tofu roll ups
L spaghetti squash spaghetti with ground turkey marinara
S golden beets in vinegar, carrot & celery sticks
D protein shake, broccoli, bone broth, more like gravy
S tofu roll ups
About 1500 calories.

Hi everyone, hope you are all doing well!

Nicoley - thanks for comments. I think I might do better elimating snack foods altogether, like you are doing. Popcorn is a great idea!

Chunk - thanks for comments. I might give my snack food to my roommate and have him keep it out of sight. Loved your comments about the bunny grahams!

Diana - thanks for comments and support. Kickboxing sounds fun! Great job on your food and exercise.

Flower, kelijpa, Ameline, Monte, Sundove - hi and best wishes to you! Greetings and support to anyone I missed!

Daily accountability - WI 206.2; down 2.2 from last Monday. Plan for today, calories 1,186; carb 79, fat 56, protein 94, sodium 1,967; sugar 32.

Exercise none, recovery day.

Have a great day and stay strong!

Ameline - With that info, I think it's even more likely that you're low in iron. Definitely get it tested before taking supplements though bc as you probably know too much iron is dangerous. The amount in a multivitamin is probably small enough though that you'd be safe taking it but, still, a test would be best in both cases.

Yep to tea hurting and Vitamin C helping. Dairy also impairs absorption. I was a vegetarian too for a few years! I remember vegetarian lit talking about how much iron is in plant based foods, but the truth is heme iron (the kind in animal products) is absorbed massively better than non-heme iron. I don't remember vegetarian lit stressing that enough. I've been tracking my food on MFP the past 10 days. Even as a meat eater now, I didn't come close to the recommended amount of iron on even a single day. It can be hard to get it from diet alone, especially when eating low calorie. Also, if you're deficient you need vastly more than what you can get through diet to raise your iron stores.

A friend of mine is a nurse, and a doctor colleague of hers is on a mission against iron deficiency. He said it's so common among women, yet is not looked for and treated enough. I know that was the case for me. I'm disappointed that none of my doctors tested my iron after seeing low hemoglobin levels until it got debilitatingly bad. I've had fatigue issues since I was a teenager -- usually not severe, but lower energy than my peers and family - and I believe now iron deficiency greatly contributed.

I think it's worth noting that individuals seem to have their own set point where they feel well regarding their hemoglobin and iron levels. So, even at the same numbers, one person may feel a little tired or fine, and the other is exhausted, weak after little effort, and feels like they're not getting enough air. It's important to pay attention to what our bodies are telling us.

Anemia can be an insidious disorder though because we get used to its negative impact on us and adapt to our lowered energy capacity. It becomes our new norm, when it's not really normal. That's why I think it's so important that anyone who thinks they simply have low energy get their iron measured to see if that's the real cause.

I think your body is definitely recovering from your blood donation. It can take nearly two months! And if your numbers were already on the low side, a donation can trigger a deeper drop into anemia. That's exactly what happened to me! I donated for the first time this past June.

I also wouldn't put 100% faith in the blood donation center being meticulous. Some workers are, but there can be some who aren't. My guy couldn't even get a blood pressure reading on me and still let me go through. Also, they test just your hemoglobin (not iron) and you have to be at a minimum level before they're supposed to let you donate. Well, I found old blood results of mine done 3 years ago at a time when I wasn't even feeling major fatigue yet (I've been exhausted for two years), and even when I felt my version of "normal" back then my hemoglobin number was below the cut off. There's no way my hemoglobin was higher at the time of the donation. I would've liked if my donation center was very transparent about the hemoglobin minimum and had it written on a sign upon entrance. If I'd known beforehand that the cut off for women is 12.5, then I would've not even bothered. I've been below that in every blood test since my teens.

So yeah, an iron test may be just the thing to get you on a recovery plan. Like you, I had also thought the pronounced shift I'd felt in my energy the last two years was due to getting older. I regret that I suffered when I didn't have to.

Thank you for reading my anemia exposé.

Ha, I love that! I'm sure my fatigue when writing also contributed to the lack of clarity.

Diana - I think I'll defrost some shrimp and have the same dinner!

kelijpa - That's wonderful you and your mom did the walk. I'm sorry to hear about your dad. I hope he's ok.

Zonie - I bet your roommate will be happy!

Today I'm down exactly 15 pounds from my SW.

B: whole wheat bagel w/butter, blueberries, Tazo apricot tea w/half and half
L: salad w/chicken white meat, sunflower seeds, and a mayo based dressing
S: little bag of nuts (Trader Joes)
D: homemade chicken soup w/lot of veggies, penne pasta

I started drinking tea in the morning and have found that I feel a lot less bloated and more energized than when I drink coffee. I’m weaning myself off coffee again for like the third time in a year, but have decided that I might still occasionally have a little in the afternoon. It doesn’t seem to bother me if I drink it in the afternoon.

I did my walking yesterday. I’m up to one full mile at a brisk pace. I’m going to try to add another half mile sometime this week. If I can get up to two miles at a brisk pace, I will feel confident about trying out an easy hike. I hope to be hiking every weekend by about mid-October. The weather should be pretty nice by that time.

Hope everybody has a wonderful day!

Hi Everyone!

Syckgirlsfv I know you watch movies on a regular basis. Have you watched War Room?

Anyone else watch War Room? I watched it this past weekend and I loved it.

Flower Hi It's good to see you!

Kelijpa Wow! I just had a "moment". I was trying to figure out your posts and thinking that I thought I had already seen it yesterday, it was one of those Sci Fi moments,

Nicoley Good job on your day.

Ameline Hi

MonteCristo Definitely try the ad blocker plus. I have no problems now. Ha! I probably just jinxed myself.

Sundove Don't work too hard.

Zoniegirl Great job on your day.

Chunkahlunkah I challenge your anemia expose with my angioedema expose. Did you have shrimp for dinner? Congrats on the 15 pound loss!

Magistra Great job on building up your endurance.

Waving Hi all around! Enjoy your evening!

Total Approx 1495 Calories +

Breakfast (400 Calories + coffee)
spritz olive oil in pan
XL egg 80 cal
egg whites from carton 60 calories
300g. Mediterranean Blend Veggies 90 calories
14 g. Organic Valley feta cheese 30 calories
1 T. tomato paste 10 calories
1/2 Rudi's 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Flatz 45 calories
1 T. pumpkin butter 25 calories
juice equivalent to 60 calories
coffee w/sugar/stevia blend and cream

Lunch (395 Calories)
Rudi's 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Flatz 90 calories
2 slices Applegate Farms Black Forest Ham & lettuce 50 Calories
Laughing Cow spreadable cheese wedge 35 calories
Greek Yogurt 120 calories
1 Apple 100 calories

Dinner (700 Calories)
Salad w/grilled chicken & BHF's ranch 700 calories

Exercise:
KCM's Amped Up Cardio - combined workouts

Diana - I would love to learn the scoop on angiodema from you! No shrimp today. I had a yummy salad instead, had some veg and cold cuts I realized I should get to. Soon though!

magistra - Great progress with your walking! Those hikes next month sound lovely.