Tag: health

Week 36 – Beyond the Physical

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2022, Health and Fitness

This will be a health and fitness update but I cannot blog today without mentioning Halloween.

So… Happy Halloween! TBH I am not a fan of holidays and Halloween competes with Christmas for my least favourite of the lot – but my greeting is sincere for all those who are into it. 😊

This year, with our eight and a half month Pyreneese (who has all the social skills of a ginormous rabid squirrel), I thought Dan and I had agreed to forgo the festivities, dim the lights, pull down the shades, and crack open a bottle of wine. It turns out, I was wrong. Last night Dan brought it up and was concerned about the influx of kids in our neighbourhood and how he hated to disappoint them. I was willing risk their disappointment, but okay we will partake.

Our dainty dog, pretending she will be all chill about this.

Since we had no plans until last night, we had no treats to hand out so my mission this morning was to go shopping. Easy, peasy as our Maddy would say.

I headed out at 9, started the Jeep, and was greeted by the dashboard drama queen carrying on about the lack of air in my rear passenger tire. This is a regular occurrence, so whatever. I headed off to Walmart. The last time I was in Walmart was sometime in July and they had shelves overflowing with Halloween treats. Today, nothing! I picked up a few things we didn’t need and made my way to the cashier. There were two women ahead of me. The first was a frazzled young woman trying desperately to stuff her overflowing cart as the cashier rang her groceries through. I felt for her. The woman behind her was an elderly woman with two packages of chicken breasts and a bag of salt. She kept her salt in the cart and set her chicken on the end of the counter. She told the cashier (who was still running through the previous customer) about the salt and then proceeded to push her cart to the end of the aisle, whipped out her bank card, and pushed herself right up against frazzled young woman – who couldn’t even pay for her stuff because elderly lady was blocking her access to the debit machine. WTF? I was so busy watching the drama play out, that I didn’t notice the cashier across the way trying frantically to wave me over to her til. It finally got painfully obvious, so I hustled on over there.

I got out of Walmart and made my way over to Freshco – dashboard queen getting herself into a lather of red lights the entire time (which matched all the red lights that I was hitting). Did I mention, I dislike driving? A lot? So I get to Freshco and surprise they have no Halloween candy. I consider going to our Dollar Store but decide to just whip over to the Wholesale Club on 4th Ave – which OH YEA is closed for construction. After navigating the detour through hell, I get to the Wholesale Club and find that my best option would be a couple of cases of single pack potato chips. Massive cases. I am NOT one of those elegant, sophisticated women at the best of times. Carrying two big ass cases of potato chips through a busy store and across the parking lot to our Jeep, is not happening!

On to Northgate Mall. I did run in and check out Dollarama. They had miniature chocolate Santas and individually wrapped Easter eggs. I headed down to Safeway but took a quick detour (because they’re my thing now) and I went to Shoppers Pharmacy. Hallelujah – they had shelves of Halloween candy.

Score!

I grabbed an assortment of goodies and hustled up to the cashier. FFS! What kind of fresh hell is this. Virtually, every cashout is self serve. (I haven’t been to Shoppers for years). I go up to the sole actual living, breathing cashier and she points across the aisle and offers to help me ‘over there’. Over where? She tells me she is pointing at the self serve counters. Why? You’re here. I’m here. Why would we go over there? I said “No, I would rather help you keep your job”. 🤦 Unbelievable.

So I make my victorious way home, stopping at a dozen red lights, and crawling through three or four school zones. Despite all the ballyhoo about the air in my tire, all is well. I am still driving on four round tires. I should be super pumped about my successful venture, but I am kind of struggling to get past the entire episode. Which brings me to this week’s health and fitness update!

Thirty six weeks in and I am still excited about the health and fitness regime that I started in February. I talk mostly about the physical aspects of what I am doing but health and fitness isn’t only about the physical. We are not just physical beings, but also mental and emotional. It is all so intertwined that what affects one system affects all of our systems.

So yes, I am still excited about doing the physical work – my Zumba lessons, walking Molly, and lifting (light) weights. This week I am finally up to ten sets of ten reps of four lifts and I am adding a few wall push-ups (push-outs). But…

I am also meditating every day, working on developing general coping skills, and I have started (re)reading self-help type books. In my journey to wellness, I have come across a number of authors whose works I find to be particularly inspiring. In the days to come, I am planning to write some blogs highlighting some of these authors and explain what it is about their ideas that I personally relate to and how they have helped me to improve my mindset.

In the meantime, I have to sign off for today. Molly is impatiently awaiting her walk and I really need some fresh air and some quiet time out in nature to re-centre and work off my earlier shopping venture.

Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞

Week 35 – I’m Back!

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2022, Health and Fitness

After a week or so of questionable health issues, I have finally shaken off whatever was bothering me. The timing could not be better as yesterday we had our first blast of Saskatchewan winter. It was wet. It was windy. Fortunately, it was not terribly cold, with the temperature hovering at about the freezing point.

It was a perfect day to get out and practice some serious snow removal and to watch Molly zig, zag, and zoom through her first snow of the year. Unlike our little Kat who was not a fan of the white stuff, Molly loves the snow. She loves to slide around on our icy patios. AND… She loves to race into the house soaking wet and grinning ear to ear from her adventure.

As for my thirty five week update – I am back to my full workout, my meditation, and my weights (starting with the nine sets – again!). I didn’t walk Molly yesterday and today may be the same. We did get lots of outdoor exercise yesterday and there is more snow to move today, as it snowed off and on during the night. I am not sure how icy the streets and sidewalks to the park are, so we will have to see before I decide on a walk. By tomorrow, it should be safe enough, as we are due to see some sun and warmer temperatures that should clean things up to a safe level.

Genie and I did take Molly for a walk a few days ago, and for a run in the park. Genie put together a short video of our outing. It is a first effort, but she did catch a few of Molly’s runs!

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

Week 32 – I’m On My Way!

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, October 2022

It has been thirty two weeks since I started making an active, healthy lifestyle a major priority in my life.   While I have enjoyed countless benefits from the improvements I have made to my lifestyle, there are limitations.

Physically, most of my limitations involve my respiratory system. I have asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis. These are all chronic conditions which have caused permanent lung damage. They are also conditions that are aggravated by dust, woodsmoke, frigid temperatures, and humidity. All of which happen in Saskatchewan on a regular basis.

Yesterday, I woke up to a city wrapped in thick fog. On days like that, it is hard to get up, get active, and basically get excited about doing much of anything. On days like that, I have two options. I can go the easy route, wrap myself in a fuzzy blanket, plant myself on the couch and wait for the congestion to get worse, the bronchitis or pneumonia to set in, and ultimately the trip to the health clinic or ER for x-rays, antibiotics, and oral steroids. Or, I can push myself to get dressed, get active, and work on improving (or at least maintaining) my lung function – and my waistline. 😊

Fortunately, I have built up a few foolproof means to help me make the right choice. I have my fiercely motivated Volley workout partners who inspire me every day – and keep me accountable, I have a library of dance music to get me moving, I have a library of Zumba workouts to push me through, and of course I have my Molly dog to get me out into the fresh air (once the sun burns off the fog).

Here are a few of my currently favourite inspirations…

Molly at the dog park

That’s it for today and another week of working my way to a fit and healthy lifestyle. 👍

Take care and have a great rest of your day. 💞🌞

Change of Season

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, September 2002

Despite our pool weather temperatures this week, it is obvious that our seasons are changing from summer to fall.

With my natural instinct to hibernate come mid-September, the pitch darkness when I let Molly out at 5:30 A.M. is less than optimal. My efforts to rearrange my schedule to optimize the sunlight that we do have is also proving to be a challenge. And… With everything falling,drying, decaying and generally turning to dust, my lung and sinus issues have been causing me grief. Autumn is not my favourite time of year!

Fortunately, even autumn has it’s redeeming features. Just as I am getting a bit tired of salads and barbecued suppers, we find ourselves in the season of comfort foods. Since we had a steak leftover from Sunday supper (Dan and I decided to share one) and a container of homemade beef broth in the freezer, I whipped up a pot of beef barley soup for supper on Tuesday. So good! I used the regular onions, garden carrots, parsnips, celery and cabbage and even tossed in a few (peeled) fresh San Marzano tomatoes and a couple of fresh hot peppers. 😯

And made a tray of homemade cheese biscuits to go with it!

With any number of soups and stews and casseroles reminiscent of my mother’s kitchen to choose from, I can work up a little enthusiasm for autumn and even for our up and coming Saskatchewan winter. Not a lot, but enough to keep me going on my health and fitness journey. 🙂

I finished my Zumba workout so it’s time to head out with Molly. This could be another dog park day. We have been there three times and Molly does enjoy it. Yesterday we played fetch for a while, but I got tired of going to retrieve the ball so that didn’t last long. 🙄

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

31 Weeks From Feeble to Fit!

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, September 2002

It is hard to believe that I have been working out and getting in shape for THIRTY-ONE weeks.

It is even harder to believe how far I have come in only thirty-one weeks.    In Mid-February I was exhausted, cold, sore, sickly, flabby, and feeble.    My mind was sluggish and I just felt blah. 

With spring coming up in two or three months, I decided I had to do something to regain some strength and improve my health.    I started gradually,  and have worked up to an hour of  dancing/Zumba every day (except Sunday), daily walks,  and working out with dumbbells each evening (except Sunday).    I drink six ounces of beet juice a day and take cold showers on a regular basis.  I have also joined an online Volley group for support and motivation.  Nothing I do is much of a time commitment and the only cost has been  in maintaining my Daily Walk companion Molly.

High maintenance Molly. 💞

The difference in my health and fitness has been amazing!  I feel good – physically, mentally, and emotionally. I look better than I have for years.  I keep active all day  and embrace new challenges!

This morning, Thirty-One  Weeks from spending my days in my rocking chair in front of our electric fireplace, I strapped a harness on Molly (our now +/- 70 pound Pyrenees), set off for a walk, met up with a stranger in one of our neighbourhood parks and WE DID IT!    Molly and I went to our first offleash dog park.

If anybody had told me seven months ago that I would be heading into an offleash park to hang with a group of strangers and a pack of BIG dogs, there is no way I would have believed it.   But there, I was, hanging with the other dog owners, while watching our pups race around an open field, having the time of their lives.  Occasionally, they would come back to check on their human, before racing off again tails flying and grinning eat to ear.  It was just one of those moments that make it all so worth while!

It was just one moment of many, when I am so glad that I decided to make this health and fitness change. Every day, I have reason to appreciate the choice I made, reason to appreciate ALL of the people who have supported and encouraged me, and reason to marvel at all of those random moments that have brought me to this place – be it a random meeting, a chance advertisement on Kijiji for a perfect walking partner, or coming across the right article at the right time. That first step has led to so many more – and in only thirty-one weeks.

That is it for today. It’s time to go finish prepping the porch so I can get it painted this week. Just one more thing that I couldn’t have imagined doing back in February. 😊

Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞

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! 💞🌞

TGIF 😂

by annemariedemyen, posted in August 2022

Yay it is Friday. Not that it matters what day of the week it is for me because I am one of those fortunate souls who is retired! And loving it. 🤗

I can celebrate that this has been a pretty good week for me. I don’t know if it is the walking I have been doing, or going back to dancing, or the weather but I have been feeling really well these past few days – exceptionally well. I will always have COPD and asthma, and bronchiectasis, and genetic collagen issues but being more active for these past few months and eating healthier is obviously paying off in lung function, muscle toning, and general wellbeing.

This has been a good week for (and with) Molly, too. She has been walking very nicely. Today, we even cut through a corner of Regent Park and met up with another young dog and she was very well behaved. Mostly she has been pretty good at home as well. 👍

Molly 💞

I haven’t spoken to Genie for a couple of days, but I assume she is gearing up for a few busy days working Guest Services at the CNE this weekend. She has been doing such work since she turned fifteen. She worked as a front-end supervisor at one of our biggest and busiest big box grocery stores for three years (including the worst of the pandemic). Then she moved to a pool company where she worked front counter sales and did customer water samples. Both jobs, she did pretty much full time while also taking full time classes. It is funny that no matter where she works, how busy it is, or how difficult customers can be ( especially during a pandemic 🤨), what excites Genie are the customers who are exceptionally kind and considerate and caring. Every time I talk to her this summer, she has a story about someone who made her day. It is so nice to hear about such people, especially when she is on her own, across the country from everyone she knows. ☺️

Genie also seems to find her way to any place where she can wander around making animal friends. These are just a few that she met this week.

Not a snake lover but I love this guy’s attitude. 😂
Cocky bastard! 🤣🤣🤣
Sheep shot for Molly
Bit of a poser 🙄
He’s so cute! 💞

That is 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!

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!