an expensive day

Last night I did a last chance workout on the hills of Fountain Hill to burn off some weight. I walked up Bishopthorpe, Findlay, Benner, Bergen and Fredrick. The shocking part was that each hill registered the same on the Fitbit 8 or 9. Those hills are not created equal! Especially Frederick which registered 8. All in all I got 56
for the whole day. My goal is 25.

In anticipation of the weigh in, I weighed myself at home this morning: 224. Yikes! I broke the rule about not going back to another set of 10 after I was out. Not good.

At the weigh in I was 222. AND I gained inches. Except in my waist.

I broke my sunglasses when I fell at the recycle center. All the kings horses and all the kings men could not put those glasses back together again. And it was time to make an appointment. Today was the day. Bonnie joined me. Apparently I have had the same basic style of frame since the bronze age. It was time for a change. (What I really want is to be rich so I could have several pairs!)

The exam went well—none of the evil eye diseases are present. Thank goodness. Do not want to do that needle in the eye or drop thing forever like my sister. And my vision really didn't change so I could have saved the $100 on the exam. Oh well. Two new pairs of glasses set me back a little more than a grand. Ouch. Of course we picked the second most expensive frames in the store. I always do.

Afterwards Bonnie and I went to Full Of Crepe for breakfast. Bonnie's was gluten free (vegan also available). They didn't come on a plate. They are street style and come in a paper and cardboard cone that you peel. Yummy but very messy.  Since we were there at 10:30 it wasn't busy. The chef said when the students get back lunch rush starts about 11.

The crepes were huge. It had three different berries, mascarpone cheese and lemon curd.  You can choose sweet or savory and even make your own.

After lunch I walked with Betsy. Since Barb arrives today Bonnie's family stayed home. We did the typical 3 miles in her surburban 'hood.

Then I went to Patient First for BP meds. My doctor is MIA and I have no refills left. When I first started this adventure I went to a Dr. Jones at the doc-in-the-box.  4-5 years later she has landed at Patient First. Their website said she'd be on duty at 3. It's right by Betsy's.

I weighed 224 there. And my BMI is 33. My blood pressure was 126/65. Whooo Hoo. She also gave me the mamogram / dolonoscopy / ect lecture. Patient First is like a little hospital. They do blood, RX, xrays, the whole 9 yards. They are also sick expensive—$148. And that's without my RX. Yowza.  Need to find a regular doctor....again.

Tomorrow is the Moon Walk. Still on the fence about going. I posted the problem on FB. Clearly nobody cares. Only 2 people gave me feedback.

Regardless, Lydia and I will be doing one of the Bethlehem Volkssport walks tomorrow.

the week so far

Monday kicked off with a walk with Bonnie. Since the heat wave broke, we did about 3.5 miles around her neighborhood. Lots of hills to burn and extra calorie or two. When we got back to her place she made smoothies for breakfast—sweeten coconut milk, strawberries, bananas, protein power and something else. They were thick like milkshakes and delicious. Alas, I can't have another until September. Today I started the diet for Preventions sugar cravings diet test panel.I also bought dumbbells for the program.

Tuesday, was doctor day. It was totally uneventful. She didn't complain about my weight, blood pressure, numbers, nothing. It was oddly refreshing. My weight was 228.5. Last Wednesday it was 225.5. Three pounds in one week? I doubt it.

Lydia came after work for supper, then we walked Big A. After giving him to Pat, we hopped in her car and went to Emmaus. We did her Passport To Fitness rubbings at South Mountain Park and the Wildlands Conservancy. The path on South Mountain was about 1.5 miles round trip. I'm thinking the Flood Plain Trail at the Wildlands was just over a mile. Half mile with the dog. We probably got in 3 miles. We probably would have walked longer at the Wildlands, but it was getting dark.

I decided to try the exercises for the program at 10 pm at night. Not a wise idea.  I woke up Wednesday with aching shoulders, neck and knee. My knee still hurts, but it is better.

Wednesday, my colleague and I walked downtown for lunch. It's restaurant week. My last supper, so to speak before this wacky diet. I had a 1/2 fried artichoke sandwich and a salad. Have you ever had fried artichokes? OMG. Good thing I had to walk back up that hill.

After dinner I headed down to ArtsQuest for the Musikfest 30th Anniversary volunteer photo. There are 24 original volunteers left. They gave us the blue shirts there for the photo. Then we had to give them back. They forgot to embroider 30th anniversary on them. Oops. Sitting on the right is Mary Pongraz. She was my teacher at Broughal back in the 60s. I was the only one there that called her Miss Pongraz. Mary just doesn't sound right.

 

I remember when this skirt had one tshirt on it. What is amazing is thirty years later it still fits. As a graphic designer I see the evolution of the logo.

I left The Steel and headed over to the D&L for the Wednesday Walking Workshop. 

Over the weekend they were trimming the trees on the canal path. To me, it looked like a tornado blew thru and destroyed everything. Glad to see the PPL tree trimmers prune just as badly in the forest. One of the workers was killed when he cut the line and they closed the path for a couple days. My hope is that is why nothing is cleaned up. The canal is dammed with fallen branches. I could have cried. There is no shade on the path, but the power lines are free. I don't like the trade off.

We walked from The Wooden Match to the Minsi Trail Bridge and back. When we got to the Minsi we climbed the stairs and came back down. On the way back, we used resistant bands. I was drenched by the time I got back.

Michele, the walking coach, is the workout coach  for the Sugar Cravings Program. After the workout, she went over the exercises with me, and showed me adaptions. Hope I remember them all. Maybe I'll try them tonight. Should have had someone videotape it.

The rain is back, so I'll be doing a Leslie walk tonight.

Tomorrow Bonnie, Pat from the Liberty Bell Wanderers, and I are going to test the new South Bethlehem 10k walk. It will be my first official trail design. If it goes well, and the board approves, paperwork will be submitted to have it sanctioned by the AVA.

Remember the weights from above? Wednesday 225.5, Tuesday 228.5, tonight 224.5. WTF?

Oh, if that isn't enough, sometimes this week I earned my 1000 mile badge on FitBit! 

looks like i am my mother's daughter

Mom had high blood pressure early. Maybe late 20s, early 30s. In turn, all the girls have high blood pressure. I haven't asked the boys. She ultimately had a stroke in her 80s.

Looks like I'm on the same path and it sucks.

Today was the day I dread every six months. It was doctor day. Foolishly, I made the appointment at lunch time. It was 11:30. I left Easton at 11:15 and arrived back at 1:15. Yeah it was that kind of appointment.

When I was at Bonnie's Sunday I weighed myself. I was 225. Last time I was at the doctors I was 219. I was upset. I had gained 3 pounds since I had weighed myself for Prevention.

Today I was 228.5. Shit! That just shy of 10 pounds more than the last time. They must have gotten a new scale. Bonnie's scale and their scale used to be about a pound different. Thank goodness I skipped breakfast or I would have been another pound heavier.

So they took me in right away, did the vitals (BP Good 130/82) and then left me sit 1/2 hour. Then the resident came in, examined me, and then finally the doctor.

Because of the weight gain (why are my clothes too big if I'm gaining weight?) I got the full diet and weight loss lecture.

(At the rate I'm going I'm going have to move to a plant based diet. I can see the blog now. "Forced to be a vegan".  Life without cheese and sugar? That would be unbearable.)

Then she examined me. When she got to my neck she made a funny face. She turned to the junior doctor and asked if he hearded anything strange. He said no. She checked everything again, and another funny face. Then they checked together.

Because of my high blood pressure and my mother's stroke, she wants me to have a test on my right carotid artery. He typed up the Rx, and asked her if she wanted the 3 or the 4. She choose 3 because I have no insurance. Less test = less $.

So I think this test is called a doppler. Though I could swear that's what they use on the tv weather. Muhlenberg will call to set up an appointment. I'll ask them then what the cash price is. She thinks it's cheaper than the echo cardiogram. That was 5K.

At this rate, the kitchen will never get remodeled. Hope the holes in the floor don't open up.

(No I can't get a loan. The other owner of the house doesn't believe in loans and won't sign.)

goodbye old friend

Since the fall of 2007, I've been battling high blood pressure. That's no secret. Since 2008 I've been taking my blood pressures and writing them down. Eventually that morphed into a training book for the 3Day and beyond. Then I started writing 5K times in it.

Today I threw it away.

Without a goal in my future I was no longer using it. The BP is under control. I write the times in this blog.

2008 has 13, mostly 2 column, pages.
2009 has 6, mostly 2 column, pages. written really small and crammed on the page.
2010 has 7, 2 column, pages.
2011 has 4, 2 column pages double spaced, and 1.5 single column pages
2012 has three entries. All the same week.

Clearly 2008-09 were the banner years for this journal. By 2010 my interest in the book dwindled, and now it has clearly vanished. So today I am recycling it.

Goodbye old friend. You served me well.

national walk at lunch day

Today is National Walk at Lunch Day, and the Wellness Fare at Lafayette. Being the celebratory people we are, we combined the two events into one.

My office is off-campus so we headed to the Wellness Fair first. High point? Free food. We had a wild rice and apple salad, and a grain that looked like barley. I think it started with an F. There was also spinach wraps with white and black beans. All the food was very good.

Food services was promoting Meatless Mondays. I'd like to do this, but I'd like meatless two or three times a week. Think the roomie will be resistant.

There were heel checks, blood pressure and sugar checks, and skin scan. We didn't participate in anything. My blood pressure was high this morning. I wasn't going there. And I sure wasn't going to the face skin scan. Ignorance is bliss and I'm lousy about sunscreen. But mostly all health decisions are made by money and I have none to spend on fancy skin treatments or any type of cancer.

We left the event, and walked all over campus, did a couple set of stairs cut into the hillside and came back to work.

Saturday is the 50K. It's supposed to rain. It didn't rain/snow for most of the winter and spring so far. The one weekend I have outdoor plans it rains. Crap.

I think I'll need to eat like a bear storing up for the winter. I hear my walking buddy eats very little. He does the model diet—cigs and coffee. terrific for him. I need food. I also hear he gets quiet for long periods of time. Ut oh. It might be a very long hike.

holy sh*t

I got picked for an after photo for the Walk Your Butt off program. Didn't see that coming. The notice arrived in this mornings email. I'll have to change my work schedule to go.

"Hello!
Congrats on completing the Walk Your Butt Off test panel! You’ve really inspired us with your great results, tips, and stories, and now I’d like to invite you to come back one last time for an “after” photo shoot at our North Street building."

Clearly they see something I didn't. I don't see the 20 pound weight loss. I don't feel and different. But I'm delighted about the drop in the BP. Maybe if this keeps up the doctor will reduce my medicine. That would be sweet.

So I had my after weigh-in burger, fries and pizza. So now I need to be really good diet wise. And be sure to exercise every day until the photo shoot.

This morning I did 3 miles of hard hills, including Dotson Street. Mostly I was training for that 50K.

kicked treadmill today

Today was the weigh-in for the Walk Your Butt off program. I have no illusions that I'll be in the book. From conversations around the room I could tell that some people lost a lot of weight, and did super on their walking test. They'll be in the book. But that's okay.

I did okay. Average. But that's who I am. And that's okay too.

On average I lost about 3 inches from each thing they measured, except the girls. They were closer to 5. My weight on their scale was 219. I started at 239. But I weighed in about 5-6 pounds heavier on their scale.  Fifteen more pounds and I can finally pass Sharon. Do I look any different. No. Do my clothes fit any different. Not really. Do I feel any different. No. Oh well. As Lydia would say "It's all good".

Textbook perfect blood pressure—120/80.  That's two great reading in a row. Hope it stays that way for the doctors visit! Maybe that beast has been tamed? Now what can I do to help the cluster headaches?

The treadmill test. The first time I was at 17:33 for a mile. This time I burned rubber at 14:22. Now several of you use treadmills all the time so this is small potatoes for you. But for me, it was the best part of the day. Please don't comment that you can do a mile in 10 minutes. Please. It will burst my very small bubble.

Next challenges:

• February-March the Iditawalk
• March Arena climb. Fundraising minimum too steep for the 54 floor stair climb now.
• April, the 10k. 6 miles fast. Hope I'm ready.

Then the big decision. Registration is $45 for the 50K. Do I do it or not? Have to decide by February 1

bethlehem to bethlehem (and back!) wrap up

This morning was the wrap up breakfast for the Bethlehem to Bethlehem walking challenge. My last report had us treading water 2000 miles off the coast of Jersey. We made it back to land, just not quite back to Bethlehem.

There were 89 participants and we walked a combined total of 10, 540.8 miles! Yeah us. That works out to an average 118 miles per person. This was a family project so we had children, teens and adults walking. Forty people averaged more than 100 miles. Eight 200-299 miles, and two over 500 miles! The top walker was Linda M who walked 581.1 miles. Chelsea M. came in right behind her at 572 miles. Both Sharon and I came in over 200. Barb and Dave were just under 200. As a family we rocked!

They were also talking blood pressures. Mine was 128/76. I was doing a happy dance in the lobby!

This virtual walking is taking me places I'll never go. So it's on to Alaska and the Idita Walk!

expensive medical week continues ...

Please let me be clear before you read this. I am not complaining. Whining a bit, but not complaining. My brother Dave has serious and expensive dental issues. My friend Angel has serious dental issues due to an accident. Mine are small potatoes compared to them.

Today was dentist day. If you want to have a really bad week, just have two medical appointments in the same week.

About a week ago I noticed two rough teeth. That's usually a sign of trouble. She warned me last time to save my pennies it was x-ray time. True to her word we had x-rays today.

A bit of a backstory. My dad had no teeth. Lost them when he was young. My brother Henry had no teeth. Don't ever remember him with teeth, don't know when he lost them. Crappy teeth run in the family.

When I was in high school I hated our neighborhood dentist. I had stopped going in 8th or 9th grade. I thought the man was incompetent. The straw that broke the camels back was when he talked on the phone while working on my teeth. He told me my teeth had soft dentin and I would be toothless at 40. I figured why bother going if I was going to lose them anyway.

In high school and after, the cavities formed. I ignored them. Until the fateful date when they developed in my front teeth. I went to the dentist because I was vain. A different dentist. An apparently competent one. I trusted him....as much as I can trust anyone with a medical degree. I don't know how I found him.

It was the mid-seventies and he had his work cut out for him. I spent a small fortune. He filled to some degree probably about a dozen teeth. But as soon as my mouth was healthy again I fell back into the old pattern of only going when I was in pain.

Then I got the gift of high blood pressure. Apparently oral health is linked to it somehow and I've been a good girl for the last two or three years. Too little, too late.

When I called the dentist office to make that first appointment, I had found out the my dentist was gone and a woman had taken his place. Surprise. I didn't get the letter because I was inactive.

For the first time in fifty some years I had a dentist that I mostly trusted and more importantly liked. She told me that first day that I could be running into problems. Most of my fillings were close to 40 years old and they could begin to fail.

They are failing.

Bottom line. The molar in the top back can be repaired. There's enough tooth.

The one in the front is failing and quickly. Since it was repaired at least twice, repairs aren't an option. It's gotta be capped (Cha-ching!). And quickly. Or I could wake up one day looking like a toothless hillbilly.

She's strongly suggesting that I have the other front tooth done at the same time. She might be able to replace the filling. But ultimately the repair has a good chance of failing. If we cap it latter, the two teeth won't match. How vain am I?

I choose matching. It's going to cost (gulp) $1800. It will be all done by Christmas. All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth takes on a whole new meaning.

my big, expensive mistake

I am not an optimist. I am a realist. And today is the anniversary of my brothers death from heart disease. What the hell was I thinking going for tests today?

Friday I go to the family doctor. When I was there the last time she wanted a BMP and an electrocardiogram. Or so I thought. I looked online and EKGs ran up to about $200. Doable. The doctor wanted baseline test because of my high blood pressure.

I delay everything as long as possible and today was the big day. I went and got the blood work done this morning. I signed up for their cash payment card. it cost $10 and the test was $20. Without the card it was $55. Pretty much a no-brainer. Now all that was left to do is wait and worry about the results. Did I mention I don't do well on tests?

When I returned home I looked at the slip for the EKG, and called the number. I wanted to schedule an EKG. They told me it was drop in, and where to go at Muhlenberg and where to park.

I left for work an hour early, headed to the hospital, walked up to the second floor. One nice thing about the Lehigh Valley Hospitals is there is art in the hallways. Of course I took took way too much time looking at art. I signed in. They gave me a beeper. The last time I was anywhere like that you had a pick-a-number, like at the deli. There was a lot of people, but they called me quickly. I did the paper work and she sent me and my beeper out to wait again.

Five minutes later the girl that registered me came out and said, this isn't an EKG, it's an ECHOcardogram. An ultrasound. Shit.  I had the choice to stay and take the test in a half hour or schedule an appointment and leave. I decided to stay because there was no way in heck I was ever going back. It would give the doctor one less thing to lecture at me about which is a plus. But as I waited I thought that sounds expensive. I was trying to squash my bolting instinct.

I walked in the room and saw this machine and the dollar signs started dancing in my head. My heart was racing. I was almost crying. I wanted to run out of the room topless. The realization of what was about to happen hit. I bet she took a 100 pictures in 15 minutes. At places I didn't even think were heart related. Maybe I should have paid attention in science class. I was there less than a half hour. I have no idea what was in those pictures but I'm terrified.

Online I've read the test costs anywhere from $250 to almost 5  grand. With my luck it will be the high end, not the low end. I have no idea how I'll pay a large test bill AND fix the hole in the kitchen floor.  Not to mention what happens when they find something.

I'm fat, halfway to 60 and have high blood pressure with a history of bad luck. The fatalist in me knows that they will find something. I have no medical insurance. I can't do disease. Every time my cell phone rings I'm going to panic. I called Bonnie on the way to the car hoping she'd calm me down. Got voice mail. I nearly cried.

Friday terrifies me.

20 flights, 1 mile

Today I did walk up to St. Luke's and did all the stairs in the parking deck. Both up and down.

How many there was was open to debate. Most of the floors had two sets of stairs. However, the first floor to the second floor was four sets. Hense, I counted them as two. Then there was a flight outside, and the flight from the parking lot to the main entrance. I returned up the hill that runs by the PPH entrance. It's steep. Almost lost mama in her wheel chair on it once.

I was happy. I wasn't exhausted and gasping for air when I was done. Water would have been nice at the hospital. Guess I could have gone inside, but didn't.

But it got me thinking. Gotta do something when your walking that many steps.

I always think about having a stroke. I guess it goes with high blood pressure. A friends 104-7/8-year-old father just had a mini one, so stroke is back in the front of my thoughts.  Some people can't walk one or two flights of stairs without getting in trouble. And there are lots of inherent dangers in parking decks...I watch television. So how do you get help?

So as I came out of the stairwell I looked at what was attached to the wall. At this point there was a fire alarm and an extinguisher. Well, I thought to myself, I guess you could pull the alarm, but the fire department would be really pissed when they got there.

When I came out of another stairwell they had an emergency phone. That might be good but it looked like a PIA to enter it.

Can't they invent an emergency button kind of like the fire pull? Simple. Easy. Efficient.

the new doctor

Yesterday I bit the bullet and went to a real doctor, not the doc-in-a-box. Hopefully this will work out well. We seemed to be on the same page yesterday, but it was an initial visit so things can change.

I've been doing research for awhile on doctors. I didn't want a pill-pusher. The pharmaceutical industry is rich enough without my money, thank you.

I discovered this doctor during a conversation at a bar. Who knew? I did some research on the net and found this on her LV hospital page: "Medicine is not an exact science, I am open to learning from my patients. I want to know everything about my patients, and I let them know where I'm coming from. All of our decisions are a negotiation. I want my patients to feel like they are also in charge." Amen.

I have to tell you my first impression wasn't good. Sunday I got a robot-call to confirm my appointment. Maybe that's how all doctors are now, but it took me by surprise. I arrived 15 minutes early to fill out all the paper work. Fun. I was surprised not only at some of the questions, but by what questions weren't there.

My BP was sky-high when the nurse took it. 156/88. But I was two pounds lighter, after lunch.

The doctor is very nice. She appears to listen. I was probably in there 45 minutes.

One question on the form was a history of mental illness, and I wrote none. One of her questions was about my living arrangements and I told her briefly about Pat. She flipped back over and said "you wrote there was no mental illness." I said I guess I should have wrote, "none diagnosed". She laughed. She said to dump the roomie and get a pet. I told her the roomie was my pet and she came with the house. I'm stuck with her.

Under heart disease I wrote "uncles, brother, father, maternal and paternal grandfathers". I totally forgot about Elin. On the page she was writing on she circled heart disease and put stars on it. Bad tickers are a Hendricks hallmark.

I told her my goal was to be off the BP meds. Like some of my siblings, she told me that might not be possible. Genetics. (See previous paragraph.) She told me about a patient who lost 125 pounds and exercises, and she is still on some because of genetics. It was disheartening.

We talked a lot about food and diet and exercise.  She seemed impressed about the amount of research I've done. My problem is putting it all together that it works. She encouraged me to see the nutritionist. She asked me if I ate "diet" food. I said no. If I can't have the real thing, I don't eat it. I try to eat low on the food chain. She seemed please by that.

She also understands the money thing. She knows and will write for the $4 Rx when possible. She wants me to have a baseline EKG so that she has a reference point when I'm "young" and healthy. That whole "heart disease" thing. She even wrote the Rx. But it isn't mandatory. She kept my prescriptions the same, but switched when I take them. She's going to get my blood work from Health Network, so that doesn't need to be redone. Bonnie, I had lipids done, right? Didn't I ask you what they were?

She is not happy that I haven't had a gyn checkup, pap, or mammagram in at least 10 years. Nor have I had that colon test you're supposed to have at 50.

She encouraged me to take the following supplements to bring down my cholesterol from the high end of normal—fish oil or flax seed, red rice yeast, and 25 mg of fiber. Hmmm. Instead of supporting the pharmaceutical industry I'll be supporting the supplement industry. And that's not controlled by anybody.

All that talk about money brought up the subject of the health care bill. She asked me my feeling about it. I told her I don't know. Everything I've seen is hard to read or slanted to one side or another.  I do know the current system doesn't work.

So that's it. I guess it went well. I didn't go running out screaming. I have another appointment in six months.

obsessed with food

I had blood work done last Sunday in anticipation of my doctors appointment Thursday. Yes, I did flunk my BP test....again. I took it at home before I left and it was 138/66 with a HR of 59. At the doctors office it was 150/80. It was 40 minutes between the tests. Crazy. My weight was 236. I think I lost 2 pounds.

Now I've been trying to watch my sodium, keeping everything under 10%. I've been doing fairly well, but I can't say it hasn't been difficult.

The week before the blood work I tried eating the best I could. Drank lots of water, went meatless three days, tried to stay away from sugar, didn't eat at night...the whole nine yards.

Monday late afternoon the doctors office called with my test results. They weren't happy with any of them.  An neither am I.

• Sugar 107 should be under 99
• Liver 1.8 SB 1.3 and 47 SB 60
• Blood, 11.8 SB 12, 34.9 SB 36
• White count 4.1 SB 4.5
• Red count 3.92 SB 4.20
• Chol Total 194 SB under 200 Bad 141 SB under 150; Good 44

Sorry for the language but what the hell is going on? I'm eating better, drinking substantially less Coke, exercising my butt off, WTF? I was in better shape before I started this adventure two years ago. I do not understand.

They'll repeat the tests in about a week. Like I have an extra $200 siting around. Such is life without insurance.

The liver one freaks me out. Anyone who knows me knows I have maybe 6 drinks a year. It must be the drugs. I rarely take O-T-C pain relievers. They are know to cause liver damage with overuse. So when I had my RX filled I checked the side effects. Liver damage not on the list. Cold feet is. A mystery solved. The only other thing it might be is the toenail fungus medicine. I'll have to look it up online, don't have the insert. In the mean time I stopped using it.

selected food in my cupboard.

The doctor was concerned about the sugar, chol., and blood he said nothing about the liver. He even mentioned impending diabetes. That will not be allowed to happen. I forbid it.

So I've launched an attack against sugar, saturated fat, and salt. Leaves pretty much veggies. I've started reading everything. A serving of Cherrios is only a cup and counts as 2 carbs. (15 grams is 1 carb.). Betcha I eat 2 cups. I use up all my carbs (six) before I even start the day. (1 breakfast, 2 lunch, 3 dinner)

Friday I tried to eat breakfast. I was defeated. A cup, or 3/4 cup of cereal won't do. If I put a banana on it it's another carb. Three for breakfast. One slice of bread has one, peanut butter has a bit, and jam, honey, maple syrup or Karo, all have carbs. I can't cook breakfast every morning.

I can't cook worth a damn...ask anybody I've invited for dinner...but I'm a bit of a foodie. I'll try anything once. If it's from another country, I'm so there.  Food has changed from a pleasure or joy into yet another responsibility. One that's a big of a pain as my roommate. I don't need another stresser. Cooking meals are now a burden.

I need to stop thinking about food 24-hours a day. What I can eat, and more importantly what I can't eat. After walking this morning, I made an omelet for brunch and gave two people what I'd call a "portion", and I took about half of that for myself. It had eggs, cheese, leftover roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli. Tomatoes on the side. Carbs, protein, and saturated fat. I wanted more when I was done, and have been watching the clock for dinnertime since noon.  This is going real well.

My friend Angel is a nutrition guru and has been trying to help. But it's hard for me to talk to her about this stuff. I get defensive. When I was looking at community centers websites the other day, I saw this on Bethlehem Townships:

"Nutrition Counseling—Come meet with our Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant to develop a program specifically to meet your lifestyle. This program is on an individual basis or can be a parent/child session. Example of the topics to be covered include: the relationship between nutrition and exercise, components of a healthy diet and much more. 5 Sessions: $145"

Maybe I should spend the money and do it. But before I do, I need to keep a food journal. I need to make a list of things I know, and things I know I should do. Also make a list of things I won't do. (Don't give me "fake sugar, or fake/GMO food. And you'll have to pry the cheese from my cold dead hands.)

Hopefully the next set will be better. But I think it will be the same.

blood pressure day

I ran out of blood pressure meds so I had to darken the doc-in-a-boxes doorstep yesterday.  I'm sure they were thrilled.

I did a couple of things hoping to tip the odds in my favor. First I went with Sharon to Planet Fitness and worked out an hour.  It was Sunday; I would have done that anyway. I also had a huge glass of water before I left.

Then I took a 32 ounce water with me. I finished that by the time I got home. Then I had another. I didn't eat at all. I literally fasted for about 15 hours.

When I took my BP at home it was 137/70. Terrific for me. At the doc-in-a-box it was 114/83. Say what? It usually goes up, not down. Personally I don't think the nurse did it right. But who am I to argue. She didn't weigh me either, which was odd.

The doctor was delighted with my numbers. No lectures at all. Since my BP is now "under control" he gave me a script to have blood work done so he could see where my other numbers are. He would have done it yesterday but he was sure I had eaten. (I didn't tell him otherwise.) That's fine. With diabetes and high cholesterol in the family, I need to be careful. Having two sibling die of heart disease in a month is also another good reason. But it's what he said next that pissed me off. After we get the numbers back we can see "if you need more medication."

Excuse me. Haven't I told him enough times that more medication is not an option? Apparently not. The goal is no medication. I really believe that this is a situation that can be controlled with diet and exercise.

I don't go back for three months. I'll have the blood work done about two weeks ahead of time. Last night when we we walking, Bonnie said she'd draw it, that way she'll get the results before me. No surprises.

Now that school is almost over, I can go back to cooking. I've already turned into the salt police.  Whole grains are next. If the roomies don't like it, they can dine somewhere else.

---
image from sxc.hu; Bill Davenport

a 5K in sneakers

Today was the Race Against Racism 5K. Bonnie (r) and I did it together. It was so much fun having someone to hang with before, and during the walk. This was Bonnie's first 5K. I'm sure she could have walked faster without me. (more pixs)

I wore my pink sneakers. How do people wear them so long? My feet were hot and felt like they had 10 pound weights on them.

We played around with power walking a couple of times to boost our speed. We finished in 54:37. Next time we're going to do the power walk intervals from the get go. Goal, 4 MPH.

We'll see how it goes. Next week we have another 5K. Maybe I'm finally finding some motivation to keep moving. Dr. tomorrow. No doubt I'll flunk my BP test again.

---------

The trees noted in my April 18 post are now all gone. The landscape is totally different. It now looks old, worn out, without charm. Makes me sad.

sodium?

Yesterday at the Doc-In_A-Box, the doc asked me if I used salt. I said no.

My dad had heart disease back in the early 70s, maybe late 60s. My mother never used salt or cooked with salt except in pasta water. That's how I grew up and it's pretty much how I live today. I have a table salt shaker and fill it maybe once a year.

But last night after my binge I got to thinking. Some foods are salty. Like ham. Or potato chips. But is there that much hidden salt out there? Perhaps. It might be the key to my BP issue.

Today I was at the nail salon and they were going to Panera for breakfast sandwiches. I said sure. I got a power sandwich. I had no idea what was in it. It was multigrain bread with all kinds of nuts and seeds in it, an egg, and ham. I said to Beth, oh this is going to be high in calories and in salt. When I got home I looked it up.

The calories weren't awful. About 360. That's in line for one meal. But the salt was over 800 mg. When I looked at the chart I thought the ham was the culprit. It wasn't it was the bread!

Earlier in the week I noticed that the can of black beans was 18%! I'm going back to soaking beans. The convenience isn't worth it. I'm going to see if maybe I can freeze them.

So for the next week I'm reading the sodium content on labels. I'm going write it all down. Add it up. Could hidden salt be the simple solution to my big problem?

Hunting hidden salt will be more fun than taking my BP twice a day.

fat girl binging

Went to the Doc-In-A-Box today for my blood pressure check. Again, I failed. It was 132/88. That 88 will kill me some day. But it's no longer in the 90s. I guess I should be thankful.

He told me to eat better, lose weight and exercise. Duh? Is nobody there listening. I am eating better (not perfect, but better). And I am exercising. But all the walking, all the stairs, all the diet changes are doing squat for my blood pressure and it's really pissing me off. What more do I need to do?

Oh, yeah, lose weight.

That's a losing battle. I been fighting this beast for nearly 2 years and I've only lost 12 pounds and three dress sizes. Please don't tell me muscle weighs more than fat. That worked for the first six months. Not anymore. I guess regular meal times, proper portions, and me cooking all the time instead of letting my roomie do some of it would help. But at this point I doubt if anything will help. And it won't happen anytime soon. I have 97 million jobs. Eating at regular times and doing all the cooking is impossible.

The wanted to increase the medication. I said no. The goal is to get off the medication, not take more.

He wants me to take my blood pressure every morning and every night and keep a journal. I wanted to laugh out load. The stress of doing that would drive kill me. I offered once a week. He said that's not enough. Well it will have to do.

So I came home and ate my relatively healthy dinner (chicken, baked potato and roasted asparagus) and stewed. Answered a few emails and stewed some more. The Girl Scout cookies started to shout to me....dessert. So I ate them. And drank a Coke. And it helped, but didn't help.

Tomorrow is another day. I'll start over. Again.

I've mostly done stairs this week preparing for the stair climb at the end of the month. At NCC I park in a very remote lot, go to the classroom center and climb the stairs to the 4th floor and back down. At each landing I see the young, able-bodied, healthy students waiting for the very, very, very, slow elevator and wonder what the heck they are doing. At 54 I walk to the top and am heading down the stairs and the door hasn't even opened yet. Sometimes they are still waiting when I see them again on the way down. back in the dark ages, when I went to school there, I flew up the steps two at a time. I want to shout at them, look at me, you don't want to become me. But they're young. They won't listen.

ready or not, here I come

I walked Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I'm back on track,  or at least I was. Thursday I started hacking, by Friday I had the chills, and Saturday I was congested. Oh it was a killer of a cold but it wasn't the piggie flu or the regular flu, so I don't mind. I did battle with OTC drugs and it worked. Monday was the worse. I think it was peak day.

Tuesday was better, but when I walked to Pfenning I felt it. It felt like I just did 15 miles. I walked across campus. Later (my office is in the basement of Watson) I needed to go upstairs, so I ran up the steps like usual and by the time I reached the upper floor I was panting. Say what? Clearly my lungs were not clear.

Today I feel better. And it's a good thing. It's the big day. Orientation at the College gym. 11 am, sharp. I'm both excited and terrified. Forrays into gyms have never been successful, and sometimes are painful.

The plan after today is to go after class at 6:30. But since I'll be there at 11 I'm going before class. Class starts at 3.

Hopefully I'm dressed for both. I don't want to lug a gym bag. Today I'm wearing yoga pants and a tank top, and my Finn Casual shoes. I have a nice sweater to wear for class. More under-dressed than the average day, but less under-dressed than some other faculty member who look like they just rolled out of bed in their sweats.

They told me to bring a lock for the locker. I'm not going to bother. If they want my sweater, they can have it. I'm keeping my keys with me. My handbag will be either in the truck of the car or the adjunct office. I'm not a big fan of locks, even after my GPS Flora was stolen.

Other updates from the week past
Friday I went to the Dr. after I walked. My BP was 145/90. Not great, hell not even good, but better than the last time. I take what I can get. At least he didn't yell at me. My weight was 236. So since I started this adventure two years ago I've lost 14 pounds and three sizes. Somehow doesn't seem fair. I don't think I lost any inches this year. My 199 goal gets further and further out of reach. At this rate it will be about 2020 and according to the Mayan calendar the world will end in 2012. So it's a moot point. Besides, hasn't someone predicted the end of the world every year of my life? I think so.

Shaku did walk the 3-Day in Dallas. It looks like she had a blast. I'm glad she could have a real 3-Day experience.

My training walk group is meeting at the Thai Kitchen for a celebration dinner Friday. (We need to pick someplace that had also had vegan food). I think we're going to further explore the idea of a walking club.

Fat lazy girl not walking.

I really have been hating myself the last couple weeks because I can not get my fat lard butt out walking or stair climbing. I don't know if I'm burned out or what. Any ideas on how to light the fire again?

I even had a great moment on Friday and it didn't motivate me. I was driving Lyds car. She was the passenger since she had a medical procedure. I was really far from her house, but my car was in front. So I left her car run, and went to move mine. I walked to my car, moved it another 25 feet toward the corner. Then for no apparent reason I ran back to her car. It was maybe a 1/2 block. I haven't run a half block since middle school. I hopped into the car and pulled into the newly opened spot. Then it hit me. I wasn't breathing hard. I wasn't panting. I ran and physically I was normal. I was excited. But not excited enough to get walking again.

Today it's beautiful out. I should have walked for hours. I had planned to go with a friend and she called and bagged out. So instead of going out alone I sat at this stupid computer and worked all day. And snacked. I have turned eating into an Olympic event the last two weeks. I've been grazing. And I don't normally graze! I'm eating like there is no tomorrow. And if I keep it up there isn't. My sweet tooth is in another universe it's so active. The timing is awful too. I need to go to the doctor at the end of the week. There will be no weight loss this time.I don't have a clue what my BP is. This will not be pretty.

I walked one day this week. Friday afternoon with Betsy and the pups. And last Sunday I did feel guilty enough to take the scenic route down o Aharts and back. Both times I wore my new pink shoes and they were comfy.

Yesterday I killed another pedometer. I was helping Elin move. It was fine at the old house with all those steps. (So was I come to think of it.) I will not miss the steps at Elin's old house. The front ones are horrible. The ones to the second floor are really horrible (and they've been fixed. They were insane before!) And the attic ones are beyond description. Of course those I did about 50 times. I got Elin and her broken leg up to the second floor (first time in 3 months) and then I shuttled boxes from the attic. Later, Elins friend Charlette came and helped me. It broke at the new place. Walking in the back door carrying nothing. Doesn't really matter. Since the 3-Day I think I've had one day over 10,000 steps. Most average 5,000. I haven't even bothered writing it down on logging it on beewell.com.

I'm thinking of signing up for a stair climb in February, but am not sure if my knees could take it. I have the form here for the Jingle Bell Run/Walk. It's a 5K. I've sworn off 5Ks but it's for arthritis, so maybe I should reconsider. Will it be enough to get me moving again. The Turkey Trot is Thanksgiving weekend. Again, a 5K.

What to do, what to do? This fat girl needs to stop grazing and start walking again. Any ideas to motivate me would be appreciated. "Just do it" won't work.

Sunday off?

I've been training for the walks since about April. neither went exactly according to plan. Such is life. Today I was going to train for the marathon with my GS friend Betsy, but she's ill. So I decided to take the day off; at least for now.

The sun is out and it's warm. I did the laundry and hung it outside to dry. I cleaned out some of the garden and picked the volunteer pumpkins and cleaned up the vines. I had extended pumpkin picking invites to all my friends and family in town with wee ones. Nobody came. So now I have 5 beautiful pumpkins to process with the Kitchen Aid.  If you need pumpkin for your Thanksgiving pies, let me know. The puree gets so beautiful in the Kitchen Aid that all you need to do is add cream, spices and call it soup. If only I liked pumpkin.

So now I'm getting caught up on paperwork, getting Sharon's address book updated, and her Christmas labels printed out for her client Christmas cards. It almost sounds like a average day.

Today on the CBS Morning show, yep I watched tv too, it was all about obesity.  It did not inspire me. Usually that kind of stuff does. Maybe taking a little time off is good. But not too much. I have to go back to the "doctor" for my blood pressure by Thanksgiving. If I slack-off too much it will skyrocket back up, he'll get angry, and give me more drug. I don't want more drugs. I want less. Actually I want none.

I don't think I'm even going to try the marathon. I can't walk fast enough and I'm not that motivated to train. Back to back breast cancer walks have burnt me out. I haven't had my pedometer on in about a month!

Maybe I'll go walking later today. It's only 10:30 am and already I'm feeling guilty for not get my lard-butt moving. I really do want to break in my new sneakers.