Category: Health and Fitness

Sixty Seven 🎂

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, July 2022

Today I turn sixty seven and I have to admit, I have never been so excited about growing older. 🤗

Every year of my life has brought joy and sadness, love and loss, challenge and triumph. This year has been no exception, other than that the past five months have been exceptional when it comes to personal growth, wisdom, and understanding.

It all started so innocently and easily. I felt miserable and looked worse. Physically, mentally, emotionally – I had drifted to a really blah place. One day, enough was enough. I got off my butt, cranked up some tunes from the sixties and danced. I started to eat better and I found ways to improve my diet and fitness level.

  • In the past five months I have:
  • Gone from basic dancing to Zumba (aerobics to music) using free videos on You Tube
  • Mostly given up junk food snacks
  • Spent more time planning and preparing healthy meals
  • Started drinking six ounces of beet juice, and eating a couple of tablespoons of sauerkraut a day. I also eat about a quarter of cup of sunflower seeds a day – which I buy raw and airfry with olive oil, lemon juice and hot sauce.
  • Started to take cold showers in lieu of hot baths
  • Started walking my Pyrenees pup every day
  • Meditated daily for the first three months – not so much lately – but I have been spending a lot of time out and about, enjoying fresh air and the sights and sounds of nature.

Everything I have been doing takes minimal time out of my day, the cost is negligible, and the results have been amazing. Physically, mentally, and emotionally, I have never felt better or stronger. Surprisingly, shockingly actually is that the one change that I have made, that I enjoy the most, is the cold showers. I go from cool water to straight ice cold. The initial discomfort is NOTHING compared to how much better I feel after a cold shower. My dry, itchy skin is gone! Even on a cool day, I am warmer getting out of a cold shower than a hot bath (because the air is warmer than my skin), and I just feel good. One can never imagine a cold shower as being a good thing but it is a game changer. ☺️

Now for the before and after….

July 2020 – Celebrating my birthday with Dan, Amanda & Family
July 2021 – Celebrating Dan & Amanda’s Wedding Reception 
July 2022 – Feeling better than ever and looking forward to turning 68 just so I can use this photo as another ‘before’ picture.

That’s it for another day – and another year. I have no idea what this next year has in store for me. It will probably be a mixed bag of challenges and blessings – BUT I am ready for both and everything in between. I am so glad that I took that first step five months ago. It is never too soon and never too late. 👍

Take care and have a great day!💞

Sometimes it is hard to tell a challenge from a blessing. 😂

Week 22 to Wellness

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, July 2022

I am still pretty much in a holding pattern as far as progress is going!  I am not terribly concerned or even disgruntled by this.  I am not losing ground, which is good and I figure for the time being the progress is just going on beneath the surface. 

My blood pressure is still holding really good.  I have been averaging 120/76 over the past month and that was with a couple of little spikes. I don’t know if the improvements is due to my daily workouts or the beet juice but I will keep doing both.

I am also still doing the sauerkraut.  I don’t know if it is helping my digestion any but it is sauerkraut and I love it and it came highly recommended so sticking with that as well.

I have been partaking in a cold shower every day or two and I can’t say how much I am enjoying them!  I don’t even like hot showers but I feel SO good after a cold shower.  It reminds me of a Mark Manson quote that Genie shared with me a couple of weeks ago..  “Wanting positive experience is a negative experience, accepting negative experience is a positive experience.” So much more profound than “No pain no gain.” 🙂

And the good news this week!  After a couple of ‘challenging’ walks with Molly this weekend, we had a great one this morning.   If she hadn’t gotten excited and jumped all over the hard hats at the Regent Park exit it would have been an A+ for her.  To be fair, I think they wait for her now and they do get as excited as she does when they see us coming,  so it isn’t ALL her.

Pathway in Patricia Park
We walked all three parks again and the only other visitors we met out and about were a couple of old crows. 😢
Molly was proud of herself today – and deservedly so.

The weather was perfect! The mosquitoes were tolerable. The litter was not too bad. All in all a beautiful way to start the day, and again not something I plan to drop from my daily routine.

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

Week 21

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, July 2022

It has been twenty-one weeks since I began my fitness journey. In those weeks, there has been a lot to celebrate. Every week there has been some notable improvement to my health and fitness. That is pretty amazing.

Unfortunately, I am in a place where the improvements are becoming harder to come by and less notable. That is not terribly surprising. Regardless of what you do, how you do it, or how well you do it, there are challenges along the way.

So… My thoughts on week 21

#1. Humidity – Our temperature has finally begun to rise, we have had frequent short spells of rain and our humidity has risen accordingly. That may be great for something, but not so good for my lungs. Activity indoors or out is a struggle. I have kept up with my Zumba every day (except Sunday, which is my ‘rest and recover day) – but the struggle is real!

#2. Walking – I cannot believe that Molly and I have been walking daily for two weeks. It seems SO MUCH LONGER. I was so excited about walking our new pup. It was such a long wait until she was fully vaccinated and cleared to go. Now we are walking and it gets worse every day! Molly is getting somewhat better at dealing with the traffic, but…. The warmer weather has brought out the people in our neighborhood. These people seem to be worse than ever for tossing their litter on roads and sidewalks. Molly is distracted by each and every piece. Walking the walks is one ongoing chorus of “Molly come on!” And “Molly drop it!”. Walking in the park is somewhat less distracting but the mosquitoes are brutal and Molly stops regularly to roll in the grass or….

… strike a pose. 💞

#3. Cold showers – I think that I have had three cold shower experiences. When I decided to add these to my fitness routine, the main draw for me was the possibility that cold showers could help me to develop some brown fat on my body. Brown fat is the fat that insulates one body and burns calories to keep a body warm. Living in Saskatchewan and facing the prospect of walking Molly this winter, brown fat sounds like a pretty good idea, well worth the effort it takes to produce it. So, how have the cold showers been going? The first one started as a regular hot shower until I felt ready to go for it . I turned off the hot water and the blast of ice cold water was more than I was prepared for. I got out as fast as I got in. I approached my second cold shower a bit more cautiously. I got into a hot shower and gradually turned back the hot water a notch at a time, until I was hit by the blast of ice cold water. Then, once again, I beat a hasty retreat. Last night, I tried another route. I got into a cool to lukewarm shower. Every few minutes I went a little cooler. When it was cold – but not ice cold – I settled in for a two or three minute chilly dousing. I don’t know that it was enough to start producing brown fat cells but there were a couple of things that I did notice. After exiting my chilly shower, my skin felt smooth and there was none of the typical hot shower, or hot bath, dry itch. Also, my hair was smooth and soft. I have spent a lot on hair products in recent years, some with better results than others, but my hair always seemed dried and fried. Last night, not so much. Obviously, it is too soon to tell if I am sold on cold showers, but I am definitely not ready to throw in the towel.

#4. Sleep – For some reason I am struggling to get any decent sleep – even now that Molly has become a solid sleeper. I sleep for an hour, then I am awake for two, trying to figure out why my sleep is so filled with disturbing dreams. It’s not even nightmares as such. I dream that I am back at work and freaking out because I can’t remember when I last paid the company’s payroll taxes, or some other such nonsense. It is annoying, exhausting, and frustrating.

That is it for this week. I sure that things will turn around and that I will find I have made a big leap in progress one of these days. In the meantime – it is about the journey, not the destination. 😉

Take care and have a great day!💞

Cooling off after a walk in the park.

Week 20

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, July 2022

It has been 20 weeks since I got out of my rocking chair and started getting fit for spring. It has been such a great journey, I have had no inclination to quit once spring sprang or at any other time in my foreseeable future.

As always, I noted a few improvements this week.

#1 – For the first time since I started working out, I noticed that when I am working out, I was really not struggling to breathe or to catch my breath – even on warm and humid days. That is amazing! With asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis, I used to struggle to breathe all of the time.

#2 – My hands look younger. My blood vessels are not as noticeable. I don’t know if that is because my skin is healthier or because my collagen levels (that affect blood vessels) is better. Either way, that is cool.

#3 – My stamina has improved considerably. On Saturday, I spent the entire first half of the day working to clean up our entire yard in anticipation of a visit from my sister, her husband, and their two German Shepherds – Heidi and King.

This was after they arrived. 🤣🤣🤣. I can hear Dan out back recleaning the back patio as we speak.
Heidi appreciated the nice cool sand.
King – The first pure black German Shepherd that I have ever seen and he is GORGEOUS!
Molly and King went hard.
And rested frequently!

Dan and I had a good visit while watching our dogs carry on. Dan barbecued us a delicious steak and shrimp supper Saturday night. On Sunday, I whipped up some pancakes and bacon, Dan and Jerry went golfing, and Lorraine and I got in a good visit while keeping an eye on the canines. It was a great visit and the weather was perfect – warm, windless, and absolutely bugless!

The dogs all got along great – especially King and Molly who are both still puppies (big puppies). Heidi has quite a few good years on her and struggles with arthritis, so she was more content laying back and watching the young ‘uns.

That’s it for this week’s report. I am still working out, planning to get in some good walks with Molly, and anxious to see how far I can take this fitness program that I am on.

Take care and have a great day!💞

Week 19

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, June 2022

It has been nineteen weeks since I started my current, and most successful ever, fitness journey.

I have three things of note on my weekly update!  🤗

#One – My husband came home sick a couple of weeks ago.   I don’t know if it was a chest flu or what,  but he was miserable.   I did feel so bad for him BUT for the first time  since I met Dan twenty-five years ago, I did not catch whatever he had.   Not a single sniffle!   Dan is back on his feet and feeling much better, so I can be happy for him now, as well. 🥰

#Two – I am shedding noticeably less hair this week than I have been for the past couple of years.    I don’t know if it is because my health is better or because I started using Dove hair fall rescue shampoo, but YAY!

#Three – Molly and I have started daily walks! 🌟

I am harnessed up and ready to go! (No idea why she looks so small.  She isn’t.)

On Saturday, we took a short walk around the block.  Molly did not appreciate the traffic, the people, and she was particularly taken aback by the other dog yards.  It did not go well.

Yesterday, I took Molly to the ball diamonds across the street and she did MUCH better.   By the time we returned home, she was walking beside me like a pro.

This morning, I decided we should go back to the ball diamonds to reinforce yesterday’s training. Molly did great until we got half way to the diamonds and a particularly raucous bird startled her.   🙄 She had almost pulled herself together when there was a loud BANG.   It was probably a vehicle but it really sounded like a gunshot.  WELL, that did it for Molly!  She spun around and decided to hightail it home.  The good news is, I stayed on my feet and managed to hold onto her.  

When we got out of the park, Molly calmed right down and decided she was ready to go for a nice walk afterall.  We walked to the end of our street and turned onto Sherwood.  It was about 8 A.M. and Sherwood is pretty busy at the best of times.    Molly didn’t mind the cars, SUVs, and half-tons. Then she saw a semi. She came to a screeching halt and sat trembling as it went by. This was repeated when she saw the bus. When the garbage truck rattled by, I think she upped the drama queen routine by experiencing a short fainting spell. 😞

We turned right on Elphinstone. The traffic was a bit less of an issue as there were vehicles parked along the side of street, between us and the semis, buses, and garbage trucks. Things were uneventful until we turned onto MacKinley. We met up with a few pedestrians and Molly wanted to be a little too friendly. I kept her in check and I was feeling pretty good about how well we were doing. Molly and me, walking down the street like pros!

Then, for probably the LAST time ever, Molly drifted right. I didn’t see her coming into my path and I stepped on her foot. Molly let out a high pitched YIPE and stopped dead in her tracks. I did not. I went head over tea kettle and did a totally imperfect faceplant. Fortunately, for me (not so much for her), I landed on top of Molly.

I scrambled to my feet (I can do that now, because I am in such good shape), Molly stumbled to hers, and we proceeded home – each on our own side of the sidewalk!

That is about it for week nineteen. I am still doing my Zumba workouts, drinking my beet juice, and eating my sauerkraut. I am looking forward to many more walks with Molly and can’t wait until we are ready to tackle some more challenging parks and hiking trails.

Take care and have a great day! 💞

Eighteen Weeks

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, June 2022

Anyone close to me in real life or online knows that in mid-February I went on a mission to improve my fitness.  My initial ‘program’ has evolved considerably as have my health and fitness and my ultimate goal.

I think this evolution can best be explained by posting the  TOP 10 benefits I have experienced in these past eighteen weeks. (Not in any particular order)…

#1 – I am stronger – I can easily  lift weights that I have not lifted for years.    I mean full, heavy garbage bags, rocks, BIG solid fry pans – on Saturday I even lifted our big dog  Molly into our pool!  Every part of me is stronger.  I opened a new pickle jar with my bare hands yesterday.   Seriously!  This is real life, everyday strength that makes my life easier.

#2 – My balance and flexibility has improved.  – Again, this is life changing especially when navigating around our garden or Molly and her toys. (Or Molly and our shoes, sofa cushions and anything else that she makes off with).

#3 – My husband has noticed and remarked on the noticeable improvement in my physical shape. That is great because I want to look good for my husband, even after 25 years, and because it isn’t just about how I look. He respects the effort and dedication that I have put into improving my health and fitness. Respect is huge in any relationship.

#4 – I breathe easier. I still have asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis. I always will, but getting fit has improved my lung function despite asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis. I breathe easier and in turn I sleep better!

#5 – My collagen levels have improved. I know this because I have a genetic collagen disorder and because collagen levels drop for everyone as they as age – making things even more noticeable for anyone with pre-existing collagen issues. For me, an improvement in collagen has meant healthier skin. It has meant muscle strength and joint stability. I can crouch/squat down AND get back up. And it is so noticeable in the connective tissue between all of the multiple little boney areas in my body. My hands are virtually pain free, the little bones in my middle ears no longer wobble around causing vertigo, AND when I get up in the morning my feet do not feel like I am walking on bags of marbles.

#6 – My mental health is stronger. My mind is sharper. My memory is better. Overall I am functioning better and it is just easier to perform any mental task.

#7 – My emotional health is better. My life isn’t perfect. Lately there have been some seriously stressful family situations. Sometimes I struggle to meet the challenges. But I do meet them! I laugh, I cry, and I function in a healthy way.

#8 – My clothes fit better. That isn’t the be all, end all of any fitness program but it feels so good to just feel good in ones clothes. For the past ten years it has been hard to get anything to fit right because nothing about me was proportional.

#9 – I am excited about my future health and fitness levels. That is a big one for me because I am turning 67 years old next month. But for me, I know my best fitness years are not behind me. I am in better shape now than I have ever been in my life and I know that I can and will keep getting better. I don’t know how much better and I am not looking for immortality, but I know that unless I get hit by a bus or stricken by some major disease, I will get better. I have found a system that works for me and I know I can adapt as I go to make it better.

#10 – I have inspired others to work on their fitness and well-being. I am not saying that to brag or anything, but people have mentioned it. I had a long talk with my sister-in-law yesterday and we got on this subject. She moved from Costa Rica to Canada last year and has been struggling with the same type of health issues that I have struggled with for years and we are the same age. I started telling her how well I was doing and it turned into such a good conversation. She was so excited about starting her own fitness program when she gets moved into her new house next week and I am so excited for her! Never in my life have I ever inspired or imagined that I could inspire anyone to improve their level of fitness. 🤗🤗🤗

Inspiration from my sister Elaine. 😉

Anyway that is it for today, and for how my life has been going for the last eighteen weeks. Take care and have a great day!

Seventeen Weeks

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, June 2022

Here I am, seventeen weeks since I started my fitness mission to get out of my rocking chair and into rocking my retirement lifestyle. 

  • Notable tidbits from the past week:
  • Feeling good physically. Every week is just that bit better. 😊
  • Feeling fine mentally!  On top of my game. 🙂
  • Emotionally, it has been a bit of a struggle.  Nothing that I can’t chalk up to a full moon and a deeply embedded habit of stressing out. 🙄
  • After seventeen weeks in I have FINALLY lost a solid TEN pounds.   That is at least twice as much as I have ever lost on a fitness plan, so will take it as a win.
  • After seventeen weeks of dancersizing and two weeks of beet juice, my blood pressure is back down to normal +/- 120/80.
  • A few days ago, I added a tablespoon of sauerkraut (before supper) to my diet. Hopefully it will help settle digestive issues. If it works, thank you sister Elaine for the suggestion. If not, it is all good – I love sauerkraut.
  • On the Molly side:
  • Two weeks until we can start walking the neighbourhood – And not a minute too soon. Molly is BORED. We went out and bought her some new toys this morning, to mix things up a bit for her. We did not buy her the $20.00 rubber stick. Seriously! Dan did find a stick a few weeks ago, cleaned the bark off of it and filed down the sharp bits. We tried to teach her to fetch it but she just wanted to eat it. 😋
  • GOOD NEWS! Molly FINALLY quit trying to bite and scratch my arms. They may be scarred for life but I am no longer covered in peroxide and bandaids.
  • BAD NEWS! Molly’s sheep herding tendencies have reached a new level. Now she has taken up head butting and butt nipping. Since we lack sheep, my butt is the target. I don’t know what is worse, when she follows me around nipping at my butt or when she charges full tilt across the yard and slams her head into my butt. Neither is pleasant or particularly elegant. 🙄

Photos of Molly:

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

Sixteen Weeks – The Struggle is Real!

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, June 2022

It has been sixteen weeks since my fight to get fit began. So far it has been going well and I have no intention or concerns about allowing myself to drift back to where I was when I started this adventure.

There have been positive results – surprisingly so, since getting in shape was never a winning proposition for me, unless you count ROUND as a shape – which was not what I was going for. This time there has definitely been improvements – physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Unfortunately, there are some issues that seem to defy my efforts. While my lung capacity and function has improved, I still get winded going up and down our basement stairs. Since our washer and dryer are in the basement, that mean several trips up and down those stairs on laundry day. It isn’t undoable, but it triggers that voice in my head that mocks me with a snickering “You are old and fat – and you cannot even breathe right!” 😋). That voice is so mean, trying to undermine all of the progress that I have made. 😧

Then there is the weight. Not just the weight, but the stubborn FAT that clings to my upper arms, waist, and thighs. I know from countless past experiences that cutting calories is not the way to go for me. I cut calories, feel like a dishrag, cut all unnecessary activity, and then snarf down a box of Smarties so I have the energy to change my socks. I have improved my diet – eliminating virtually all empty calories but replacing them with foods that provide the nutrients my body needs. But, cutting calories? No way! I am not a heavy eater, I eat healthy foods, I am gradually upping my activity level until the weight and fat eventually drops.

Despite the frustrating struggles, I am happy with the progress I have made so far. I know it has only been sixteen weeks since I started this journey. That is less that four months – and the first month was very tentative. So in three months – My strength, stamina, flexibility, and breathing have all improved. My muscles have toned up, so my clothes wear better and overall I am looking better and feeling better about how I look. Mentally and emotionally, I am noticeably healthier than I was. It is good, I am impressed and ready to journey on.

It is a nice day to sit back and enjoy the sunshine.

Here’s the link to a new You Tube video I tried yesterday. It is a bit longer than the last couple I shared but I enjoyed it and made it through to the end. 😉

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

Fifteen Weeks

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, May 2022

It has been fifteen weeks plus a couple of days since I decided to GET FIT! Do or die! (That may be a bit overly dramatic, but my quality of life was drifting downward and I wasn’t going down without a fight).

Three and a half months later, now into daily Zumba, spring yard work, and raising Molly (our Pyrenees pup), I am still seeing positive results – physically, mentally, and emotionally. Yay!

One issue that I have struggled with lately has been my blood pressure. It has been running high and last week when we went to spend a few days up north with son Dan and family it was way too high. When we came home, I started reading up on controlling blood pressure and read that beet juice was particularly helpful. I decided it was worth a try. 🤷

Dan bought me the liquid beet juice. After more reading (and seeing the price of the liquid), I decided to try the crystals.

I have been drinking six ounces of beet juice a day for six days. After the first day, I started adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to each glass. (Pure beetroot juice is VERY sweet). In the matter of a few days my blood pressure has dropped to normal, healthy levels. Not only is my blood pressure better but my lungs and sinuses are better than they have been in ages. Because I am breathing so much easier, I am sleeping much better (which is no doubt helping my blood pressure). At this point, I have no idea if any of this is due to the beetroot juice or coincidence but I am going to try using it for a while and see how it goes!

Molly – Fifteen and a half weeks – 36 lbs.

Meanwhile, I was back to the vets with Molly yesterday for her first Parvo booster. She checked out great, was exceptionally well behaved, and won the hearts of every vet, vet tech, and receptionist who fussed over her and her fluffy white fur coat. One more booster in three weeks and a week for it to take and YAY we can start daily public walks.

At home, Molly is less than exceptionally well behaved on a regular basis. This week she is in a battle with a clay flower pot that keeps stealing her collection of small rocks. It is too funny and worth the trouble of collecting the rocks and moving the pot each day to keep the battle going. Usually, Molly dumps the pot and carries the rocks into the porch. Last night, she came zooming through the house carrying the pot. 😂

Other than that, the biggest excitement we have had this week was having a Finch fly into the house yesterday. I tried catching it with a butterfly net. All the while, Molly tried her best to stay between me and our unwelcome guest. Eventually, the Finch got tired of our futile efforts and made its way out the back door.

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

Thirteen Weeks – Positive Results 👍🏻

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, May 2022

It is thirteen weeks since I began my fitness routine! I continue to see improvement and to stay motivated. This week I am impressed with the increased strength and flexibility in my joints that I am noticing. I particularly appreciate the notable difference in my knees and hips. You know those old ladies who crouch down to get something off of a shelf in a store and can’t get up without the assistance of their strong armed husband? Yea, that was me a few weeks ago. Even getting off of my chair at home was problematic. Not any more! 💃

My fitness level is not the only positive result that I am celebrating this week.

This is our front lawn…
And this!

It may not seem that impressive to anyone who has a manicured lawn but this is after the first good rain of the season and for the past number of years, we have been pretty much allowed our lawn to devolve into dried weeds and bare patches. Last year we decided that since I was home to give it some TLC, we would work at bringing it back to a semblance of lawn. We spread a couple of containers of hardy grass seed, applied lawn fertilizer a couple of times, I pulled weeds, and I waterer AND watered AND watered! It is a work in progress but I am loving the results so far.

Also, the training of Molly continues and we continue to appreciate the results. No inhouse accidents for two days! And… she will give a paw, touch her nose to a fist (without trying to eat it), and she knows her bed. She is such a quick learner and so anxious to please. 🥰

I am never going to pee on the porch mat again. 🥳

Here’s a link to another You Tube Zumba class I have been using. I still zig when I am supposed to zag and my leg lifts are a bit awkward. In my defense, it is rather more challenging with a growing pup walking around me and between my legs – especially when she is dragging her toys or blanket. 🙄

Last but not least…. One more result that I was super excited about yesterday.

I threw Molly’s disgustingly dirty toy elephant in the wash and he came out better than new! Totally impressed. 😊

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