Category: Health and Fitness

Week 31 – Fitness Update

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, September 2002

It has been thirty-one weeks since I started working on improving my health and getting fit. It is not so much a goal anymore, as a new lifestyle that I have embarked on.

When I started on this mission, I was sixty-six years old, exhausted, miserable, weak, cold, and overweight. I was struggling to breathe. My blood pressure was high and my pulse was faster than it should have been. Now, at sixty-seven years old, other than still having a few pounds to lose and some muscle toning to work on, I am doing pretty darn good. I am looking better, my numbers are better, and most important – I am feeling way BETTER.

There are only a couple of things to note this week – is that I have days when I really struggle! Mentally, physically, and/or emotionally, there are days when I am not up to the challenge. But… I have come SO far in seven months! There is NO turning back. I know there are amazing benefits to be had by pushing through and going forward and I know there will be negative consequences for slacking off – so forward it is. Even on the hard days. I have never regretted pushing through.

First – I have days when I really struggle! Mentally, physically, and/or emotionally, there are days when I am not up to the challenge. But… I have come SO far in seven months! There is NO turning back. I know there are amazing benefits to be had by pushing through and going forward and I know there will be negative consequences for slacking off – so forward it is. Even on the hard days.

Second – I have overcome most, if not all, of the excuses that kept me from doing this sooner. My biggest excuses were I did not feel well – that ended when I realized I was never going to feel better if I did not get pro-active and start working on getting ‘better’. I did not have enough room to work out – that ended when I started dancing and following Zumba lessons on You Tube. Activities that didn’t take much room! Finally, I overcame my Exercise doesn’t work excuse and developed an attitude of ‘find the exercise that does work for me AND do it… AND keep doing it!’

So thirty-one weeks down, and the rest of my life to go, and I am still on track! Yay me – especially the me that started this mission in mid February. The first step is the hardest, but the weak, sickly, flabby, cold, exhausted me took that step. Now, I am stepping out every morning with my Molly dog, doing my dance workout when we get home, and lifting (light) weights every evening. (Except on my rest day Sunday, when I just walk Molly) How cool is that? 😊

On the path to health and wellbeing. 💞

That’s it for today! Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞

Week 30 Fitness Update

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, September 2002

It has been thirty weeks since I decided that I needed to get more active and serious about my health. I would never have believed that this fitness journey of mine would become such a priority in my life.

It is sad that those of us over a certain age, whatever age that is to us personally, often buy into the idea that fitness is for the young and that our health issues are irreversible and due to a natural aging process.

Some of my personal health issues are chronic and irreversible – a genetic collagen issue I was born with, asthma, COPD, and Bronchiectasis. But, the problems relative to these conditions have been mitigated immensely since I have been working out. And, there are countless other issues which I was led to believe we’re due to aging, that are no longer the issue that they were seven months ago. My heartrate and blood pressure are good, I have less fat and more muscle, my circulation is much better, my balance is better, my flexibility has improved, my mind is clearer, and my mood and attitude are far more positive. That is not to say that I will or want to live forever. But I have a better chance of dying with my boots on than languishing in a nursing home bed for decades so that’s good!

There are two things that I found super positive this week. First… I added one more set of lifts to my dumbbell exercises and I crushed it! I felt the muscles work, in the right way, but I pushed through every night without feeling that I was having to push past a safe and reasonable level. Second.. I started eating a serving of baked oatmeal every morning before walking Molly, and while my version wasn’t great, I ate it and it did wonders for my digestive health, bloating and the like. So yay! I did get a new recipes for Baked Apple Oatmeal from a WordPress friend and I have a Cinnamon Roll Baked Oatmeal recipe to try, so for sure I will keep this as part of my routine.

That is about all I have for this week! Life is good. Time to get outside and put some of this improved health and fitness to work cleaning up the yard and picking some tomatoes and peppers.

I was actually able to take one photo while I was out walking Molly yesterday. I don’t know what happened to this tree (it looked like beavers got it?) but the leaves were a beautiful cream color.

That is it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞

Week 29 – Fitness Update

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, September 2002

I am comfortably into the second half of my first year as a dedicated health conscious, working out, active senior. 🎉

Right now I am focusing on walking, dancing, and weights – with a once a week You Tube Zumba class and Sunday as a dedicated day of rest (except for walking).

I have been seeing encouraging results from all of my efforts, but I have to say, I am particularly impressed by the walking lately. Not because of my accomplishments, but because Molly is doing SO well. I also have to say that the most surprising thing about walking Molly has been the neighbourhood support. It is unreal. She has a regular fan club going and we meet new members every day. 😂

I am just BEAUTIFUL – and so well behaved. People can’t keep their hands off me. 🤗

My dancing was a struggle today. I didn’t notice Molly run outside with Dan’s favorite pillow but I did see her run back in with just the pillow case.

Yesterday’s score.

Fearing the worst, I paused my dancing to run outside and ask Dan if he had seen his pillow run by. He called Molly, who turned around and followed me back into the house. I un-paused my music and resumed dancing until Molly started chasing me around the house nipping at my butt. Dan came to get her off me, she panicked and ran between my legs. For the record, Molly is now taller than my legs are long. She managed to get through without toppling both of us, and Dan hustled her out the door. Unfortunately, they left three wasps behind in their wake. So, I am dancing around the house, swinging a fly swat at the wasps. I missed them several times but did manage to get them mighty worked up in the process. Final toll – 2 dead wasps and 1 still lurking around here. 👀

I finished my dance set and went out to water the garden. There are onions to pick for supper, lots of tomatoes and peppers to pick, and I picked a carrot and a strawberry for Dan while I was out there.

The only thing I have left to do to complete my fitness schedule for today is my weights after supper. And I am adding an extra set tonight. 💪

That is it for today. Take care and have a great day💞🌞

Week 28

by annemariedemyen, posted in August 2022, Health and Fitness

It has been 28 weeks since I started living my ‘better’ life. I am pretty sure I haven’t peaked yet so I am still working up to my ‘best life’.  ☺️

There isn’t a lot to report this week but I did drop a pound YAY and having added a dumbbell workout in the evening, I think I am ready to move up a size this week.  Three pound weights it is!  My next biggest size are five pounds so that might take a bit.

Since I started getting more active and eating better, I have been feeling progressively better.  I am also trimming down and looking healthier.  All of this is good, and it is nice that others are noticing, BUT…  The most frequent ‘compliment’ I get – and have received often in my life is “You look too young – to be, to have, to do…whatever” or “You don’t look that old”. 

Seriously!  Why are  people so surprised if anyone is healthy or in relatively good shape AT MY AGE.   At any age?  Why is age a factor to be judged by?

How am I supposed to look?

I even did an internet search for “women who are 67 years old”, just to see what a typical 67 year old woman was supposed to look like.  There were dozens of photos of women  and the only thing they had in common was that none of them looked ‘typical‘. 

What’s more, each photo had a headline  and none of those were what many people would consider typical for a sixty seven year old woman – one had just given birth (having conceived naturally), one had just been sentenced for a DUI hit and run, one had a black belt in martial arts and had  taken down an intruder with her bare hands, and one had been found after wandering away from her home.    If the photos and headlines had been separated and I had to guess which woman did what, I never would have guessed any of them.

There are so many memes and posts around about seniors – and so many of them normalize negative aspects of aging.   This is one I  received recently…

I get this is supposed to be funny,  but why? Why do we portray ourselves like this at any age?
 

And this gem…

Apparently 75 is our expiration date 🤣🤣🤣

I don’t know anyone who is  seventy five.   I do  have a sister who is seventy eight.   She is not sitting around worrying about whether she ever “embraced the sun on the beach” (Nor did she ever sit around thinking about whether her thighs jiggled 😂😂😂 –  although  I doubt that her thighs ever jiggled).  At seventy eight, she is still running circles around me, living her life, taking care of her home, taking care of the people she loves,  and no doubt anyone else who needs her.  She is driving herself and her loved ones anywhere they need to be on any given day.   And she is as perfect now as she ever was.  

What’s more – I know any number of people even older than my sister who are happy, healthy, strong, capable, intelligent and perfect who are living life to the fullest. I have met many of them here on WordPress. Age defines nothing.

I have no desire to look or be younger. I have no desire to live indefinitely. I just want to live the best life that I can, regardless of my age. That is why I make health and fitness a priority – physically, mentally, and emotionally. Quality of life matters – at any age. I realized that 28 weeks ago and I am committed to that 28 weeks in.

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🤗

Week 27 💪

by annemariedemyen, posted in August 2022, Health and Fitness

Twenty seven weeks in and I am still working it, getting fit and staying healthy. Things were getting a bit ‘routine’ for a bit, but with some encouragement, support, and solid advice from my Volly workout friends I am back on track. I have gone from my Zumba routines back to my freestyle dancing after my morning walk and I am doing some meditating and a bit of work with light weights and it is going good. Between that and the beet juice, sauerkraut, and cold showers, I am feeling pretty good these days.

Molly and I had a pretty good walk this morning. (Molly was good but I did accidentally swallow a bug) We are averaging about 2.5 k (1.5 miles) which isn’t where I would like to be, but it is what Molly can handle right now. In a few weeks, our temps will be cooler, the mosquitoes will hopefully be gone, and Molly will be a little more mature. And 2.5k is a LOT further than I would be going if I had never taken that first step on this journey back in February. I think about that quite a bit lately. I am so grateful to my old flabby, tired, sickly self that made the effort to get up and get moving. 💗

I have a few photos that I took, to share today…

I loved the sky when Molly and I set out this morning. It was so steel grey and silver! My photo doesn’t do it justice.
I picked a bowl of little salad tomatoes when we got home. They taste so amazing!
There are some Hungarian hot peppers ready to pick.
We still have a few petunias that have survived Molly and Dan cleaned the pond (again) this weekend. 💞
My special red petunias are not as dark as they were in the spring but they still look nice with those little white flowers.
Official annual tree shot. It is getting harder to get a somewhat full shot of it. 😯
Obligatory dog shot. 🙄
Jalapenos

That is it for today. Take care and have a great day!

Here & There

by annemariedemyen, posted in August 2022, Health and Fitness

I just got a notice that it has been three years today since I joined WordPress. I didn’t have a plan when I joined. If anything, I thought it would keep my brain from turning to mush if I started writing on a regular basis after I retired, but it has become so much more than that for me.

I have met and ‘connected’ with so many people that I would never have met otherwise – often people that I would never have expected to find any common ground with. Yet I do! I have had my eyes opened to so many different interests, opinions, and just general knowledge. I find it fascinating that in some ways our lives are so similar, regardless of where we live in the world. Yet, in other ways, we do things so differently, that it is equally fascinating for the opposite reason.

I also find it amazing how my life has CHANGED in the past three years. I don’t think anyone was seriously planning a pandemic or could have imagined how that would play out, but here we are three years later and life has changed.

Anyway, I am so glad that I happened upon blogging and WordPress. I have enjoyed my time here and have no intention of leaving anytime soon. Thank you to all who read my blog, regularly or occasionally and thank you to all who provide me with blogs to follow. I appreciate you sharing your lives and interests and photos. 💞😊

On to Genie news… The girls made it to Toronto yesterday. Genie and Chelsea switched off driving so they only made one overnight stop. They stayed at a hotel in Sault St. Marie on Tuesday night, where they met up with others from the exhibition group who were travelling from Saskatoon to the CNE in Toronto. Genie sent me photos from the last couple of days that I will share in the coming days. Today, I will just post a couple that cracked me up.

Dan and I occasionally watch a show on TV about border crossings. One situation that I could never quite grasp was how people could ‘accidentally’ cross borders (at major controlled crossings). They are pretty obvious with all the lights, signs, border guards and the like.

Apparently it can happen to anyone… 😂

In their defense, I did check things out on Google Maps and I can see how that could happen in Sault St. Marie. Still funny tho 🤣

And back here… So, it has been six months since I started my mission to get fit. I have come a long ways and most of it has been really good and I have had a lot of positive results from this experience. This last little bit, things have been less inspired. It happens. With a little help from my friends, I am in a better headspace today. After I walked Molly this morning, I came home and instead of doing one of my regular You Tube Zumba workouts, I went back to the days of putting in my earbuds and dancing to my own dance mix. I just freestyle danced my butt off for an hour and it felt great!

This is one of the new (old) songs in my mix. It was shared with me this morning. I just had to share it with anyone out there who needs a good reason to get up and dance today. 💗💗💗

“It’s my life, it’s now or never. I ain’t gonna live forever. I just wana live while I’m alive! 🎶 Bon Jovi

That is it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞

Week Twenty Six!

by annemariedemyen, posted in August 2022, Health and Fitness

It has been 26 weeks since I started my fitness plan.    It was exactly six months yesterday.    I am halfway to a full year of working to get and stay as fit and as healthy as possible.  With all of the benefits I have discovered and all of the encouragement that I have received, I have no intention whatsoever of slacking off. I have no doubt that I will be celebrating a full year of fitness  six months from now. 😊

This morning, Molly and I started our day with  a 3 km walk.  We began going on daily walks on July 1st – two and a half months ago.

Molly’s 1st Official Walk

Molly was a big, rambunctious puppy,  so I was concerned about what would happen if I failed to control her.   I decided THAT would never happen.  In my infinite wisdom, I decided to take the easy way out.   As we set out on our first official walk, Molly was securely strapped into her harness and I had a death grip on her leash.

Needless to say, that did not go well for either of us.   Molly did everything in her power to make our walks a daily battle.   I tried a clicker, I tried treats to reward (and occasionally bribe) her.  I finally resorted to a special training harness.  All had limited success.  Finally a few days ago, I was watching a video of a dog trainer working with people who had dogs with particular issues.  One woman came out with a little dog that was always straining at her leash and trying to attack other dogs.  The dog trainer looked at the woman and told her to stop engaging her dog in a game of Tug of War.   The woman  looked so much like me.   She had the leash wrapped around her arm six times  AND had a death grip on it to boot.  I was embarrassed for her – and for me!  The next day I loosened my grip on Molly’s leash and she was WAY better.  This morning, I extended her leash about three feet (it has different metal rings that I can clip on to).   That made ALL the difference.     Molly and I walked along at a comfortable pace without a single incident.

As we were trucking along, it occurred to me how often we try to take the ‘easy’ way when dealing with challenging situations.  I don’t know if everyone does, but I am sure it is pretty common for people in my age group (baby boomers).   We watched our parents work SO hard that it just didn’t seem right.  We decided we would have easier ‘better’  lives ( and that our children and grandchildren should be equally blessed).   Except life does not  work that way.  We are challenged in order to grow stronger and healthier –  mentally, emotionally, and physically.   Taking the easy way out just doesn’t cut it.  (Nor does trying to pave the path for our children and grandchildren,  but that is a whole other chapter in my book on questionable infinite wisdom. 🙄)

The easy way, is particularly counterproductive when it comes to getting or keeping fit and healthy, especially as we age.   Collagen which is vitally important to every part of our bodies begins to decline in our thirties. (Unless we are born with a genetic collagen disorder – then it begins before we are born 😧) By the time we hit our sixties – and looking to retire and ‘take it easy’, it is a serious issue for many of us. At our age, even those who are healthy and strong can lose collagen in a matter of weeks if we do not keep active and maintain a healthy diet.

I found this article online and it explains in a better way than I could, what collagen is, what it does, and ways we can maintain and improve our levels of it even as we age. It does not mention how important physical activity is to maintaining and increasing our levels of collagen, but that is definitely an important part of the equation!

https://vibrancemedspa.com/what-happens-to-collagen-as-we-age/#:~:text=Your%20body%20begins%20to%20lose,habits%2C%20and%20poor%20diet%20choices.&text=While%20it’s%20possible%20to%20accelerate,possible%20to%20slow%20it%20down.

The great news is, we absolutely can maintain and improve our levels of collagen as we age, but there is no easy way to do this. We have to do the work and maintain a proper diet. The ‘work’ does not have to be unpleasant – walk, run, dance, swim, lift, hop, skip, and or jump. Find and do what works best for you. And the diet does not have to be bland or unpalatable. It has to be nutritious, although there are specific foods that are better at supporting collagen levels.

I walk less than one hour every morning, I do one thirty to forty five minute You Tube Zumba class when I get home. Other than that I do my housework and cooking, spend time in our garden, brush Molly and clean up after her. That is pretty much it. And I have never felt better and stronger. It is amazing. I am so glad that I am not still trying to take the easy way out, sitting around and hoping I feel better tomorrow so I am up to doing something. I know I would never have felt better going that route.

That is it for today. It is beautiful out and I am ready to get out there to enjoy this weather while it lasts. Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞

Ps.. the new header image on the website version of my blog is a modified version of a picture Prim sent me last night. 💞

Would You Buy This?

by annemariedemyen, posted in August 2022, Health and Fitness

Since I started working on my health and fitness in February,  I have searched You Tube for fitness videos, Amazon for workout clothes, and Googled low calorie healthy meals, nutritional facts,  and the like.  Naturally, I have been bombarded with advertisements for related products – most often diet pills.

This one has became a regular!

I do not take diet pills.  In fact, I don’t take ANY pills that I can avoid,  and most of the one’s that I cannot avoid disagree with me one way or another.  

My ‘stash’ and the Claritin doesn’t agree with me. 🙄 I have been taking prescription Siv-Rabeprazole (for excess stomachs acid) and I am occasionally prescribed Prednisone and/or antibiotics for my lungs. None of the prescription drugs agree with me. 😢

I find the claims made by this company (Keto Max Science) to be  particularly questionable.  How does anyone lose 79 pounds in three weeks and not have loose skin hanging off their body?  Do these pills automatically suck up excess skin?  Do these pills build muscle? Do these pills make one feel better – physically, mentally, and emotionally?  Do these pills lower one’s blood pressure or strengthen one’s heart? Do these pills lower cholesterol or blood sugar?   Do these pills improve one’s lung function?  Do these, or any diet pills actually make, or help, anyone lose weight?

It would seem unrealistic to think there is a pill out there that provides any of the benefits of physical activity and a reasonable, nutritious diet. The market is flooded with diet pills so they must sell. But do they work?

Just wondering. Take care and have a great rest of your day!

Molly for the Win!

by annemariedemyen, posted in August 2022, Health and Fitness

I am so excited today!  Molly and I went for a 2.5 km walk this morning and she crushed it! She walked all the way to the park (the long way) and just strutted along like a champ.  She even got a thumbs up from the ex dog sitter enroute.

Then…  we got to the park and one of her favourite crew members was working beside the path and a family was walking towards us.   I led Molly off the path to walk along the tree line and she just trotted along beside me.  The family smiled at her and the maintenance woman said she was doing GREAT.   It was so fantastic!

We did it!  Molly and I.    I am just so proud.   I did invest some money in harnesses – and finally a training harness, a clicker, and LOTS of treats.   And I have gotten tips from Dan, and my sister Lorraine, and the ex dog sitter, and the lady I met at the dumpster yesterday who watches Caesar Millan You Tube videos, and Donna with Myles from Mexico.   And I have gotten a lot of encouragement from too many people to mention. And it was all appreciated! But, it was Molly and I who put in the work and it all came together today.   I am not about to slack off on my vigilance or claim to have totally ‘tamed the beast’ but today was a win!

Molly, celebrating with a well deserved nap.💞

Getting to this point with Molly has not been  the easiest thing I have ever done and nobody would ever mistake me for a professional BIG dog trainer.  (Or a small one for that matter).   Molly has lived up to the Pyrenees reputation.  She is STUBBORN, independent, powerful, intimidating, loud, relentless, and can be more than a bit obnoxious. At (almost) six months,  she is still very much a puppy.  She has landed me on the ground twice on our walks. She has jumped up on me, scratched me, and scraped me with her razor sharp baby teeth. I have pulled some UGLY litter out of her mouth (a very flat, dehydrated, roadkill squirrel yesterday 🤢). She has lunged at other people and barked at other dogs. And.. she leaks a little when Dan comes home or Genie stops by for a visit. Easy does not describe her.

BUT… Molly is so intelligent and affectionate and gorgeous and beyond entertaining. She challenges me and she inspires me. She keeps me on track for getting fit and staying fit which is huge for me right now. I just want do much to be worthy of this amazing dog. She has so much potential in the right hands.

Way to go, Molly! 💞

That is it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞

Week 25 -More Challenges

by annemariedemyen, posted in August 2022, Health and Fitness

I have been working out and getting fit for twenty five weeks now. I started out in February hoping that if I put a bit of effort into it that, by spring (in Saskatchewan), I would feel a bit better, breathe a bit easier, and have a bit more strength and stamina. I can’t believe how that bit of effort has paid off.

This morning, like every morning Monday to through Saturday, I got up, washed down my B12, Vitamin D, and Lutein with half a cup of coffee and did my Advair inhaler for my asthma. This was followed by my breakfast, which this morning was a bowl of cereal. Next, I spent half an hour organizing Molly’s walking kit and getting her into her harness and myself into my sneakers and jacket. Then we headed out for a 1.5 mile walk. (That is not a record for us, but I do not want to push Molly too hard until she is used to her new training harness.)

We got home, Molly got her good girl treat and I took my Spiriva inhaler for my COPD and my bronchiectasis and followed that up with six ounces of beet juice. (Which I make a litre at a time from Salus Beetroot Crystals, the juice of one lemon and one teaspoon of ginger, plus filtered water). After a short rest, I did my favourite You Tube exercise video.

Now I am ready to move on with my day, being better, stronger and breathing easier than I ever have. The benefits of that bit of effort never cease to amaze me.

But, like everything else in my life, I have my challenges working out and getting fit.

This weekend I took Molly across the street to the ball diamonds to work with her and her new harness and I got attacked by mosquitoes – lots of mosquitoes! I was wearing yoga pants and the beggars bit right through them. My legs are covered with bites. I could not sleep on Saturday night so I took an antihistamine hoping that would ease the burning and itching, since nothing else had. The antihistamine did nothing for the bites but it did make me groggy and fogheaded, and feeling weak all day Sunday. I was able to get out for a short walk with Molly but the rest of the day was a write off. Last night, I went to make supper and found that I had wrenched something in my left arm (somehow?) and I could not lift a small pot of noodles to serve them out. My arm and back muscles are stronger than they have ever been, but one little tweak and it was gone. Rediculous! And so unfair! Life should not be so challenging when one is really trying to make it better!

Except… I need challenges – I need physical and mental and emotional and spiritual challenges. It is the challenges that make me better and stronger. If my fitness journey was too easy, I would start slacking off, going through the motions, until I drifted back to my old ways. Inevitably I would be back in my rocking chair, wrapped in a blanket and feeling weak and miserable.

So… Bring it on life. Bring the benefits and the challenges because while the benefits are a nice incentive, it is the challenges that really push me further and higher than I could possibly imagine.

PS – I finally came across a bit of advice from The Farmer’s Almanac that soothed my mosquito bites. Wet an antacid tablet (like Tums or Rolaids) and rub it on the bites. I have no idea who first thought “Let’s try this!” but it works. As for my arm, Who knows? but no noodles for supper tonight. They would be wierd on Taco Salad anyway.

Mmmm – Taco Salad

That is it for today and for this week’s fitness update. Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞