Tag: nutrition

Seasons Greeting 🎄

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2024, Health and Fitness

It’s been a while, but with holidays here (or around the corner) I thought this would be as good a time as any to check back in.

I’ve had a pretty good year and I hope the same goes for everyone out here in Jet Pack land.

To catch up…  I am mostly on track with my health and wellness journey.  Fitness wise, I have managed to stay consistent with my workouts – aerobics six mornings a week and light weights Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.   Health wise, I have been pretty decent.  Despite my chronic issues with asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis, I have avoided any major flare-ups and ZERO rounds of antibiotics or oral steroids this year!  I do use my three inhalers – two regularly and one as required, but they are just  for maintenance and prevention purposes.   Recently, I went for my COVID, extra strength flu, and pneumonia vaccines.  Unless I get hit by a bus, I should be good for another year. 👍

The one area that I have struggled with has been my diet/nutrition.  Last May (2023), I realized that yeast was causing my severe digestive issues that had been giving me grief for years.  Avoiding yeast wasn’t too painful – except for breakfast, which APPARENTLY sets the tone for the rest of one’s day. 

At first I did fairly well, eating bacon and eggs, potato cakes and the like for breakfast.  That got tiresome to deal with, so I switched to fresh fruit – which was fine for a while until I realized (remembered) that I don’t much care for fresh fruit. 😧 So.. I started mixing it up with waffles (and syrup), pre-sweetened cereal, crumpets (and jam), grapefruit (with sugar) or store bought muffins (basically sugar held together with a bit of bran or a couple of blueberries). 

As the weeks went by, the insidious “sugar creep” kicked in.  Ultimately, I would have my sugary breakfast, followed by a sweet  midmorning snack, lunch (with dessert), a sweet afternoon snack, happy hour consisting of a  mixed cocktail or a can of Pepsi or root beer, supper (with desert), followed by ice cream (with butterscotch AND chocolate sauce), and finally a bedtime snack of caramel corn.   It wasn’t that I would snarf down an entire cake in one sitting –  I was just indulging in bits and bowls of sugar  ALL DAY.

Obviously, that could and did not last.  A few weeks in and feeling miserable, I reviewed my diet and realized things had to change. 

I circled back to the traditional breakfast of eggs and bacon/sausages/ham and potato cakes.  Pretty much salt and saturated fats! 

About this time, I met with a nurse practitioner who sent me for a complete blood work up.  Surprisingly, my tests came back with a few borderline issues – glucose, salt, cholesterol…  My nurse practitioner set me up with a dietician.    She gave me some helpful advice for getting my diet (and bloodwork) back in order. 

The best advice I got for tracking cholesterol intake was to check nutritional value labels on food and choose food products with less than 15% DV saturated fat per serving.    ONE sausage patty contains 26% and I  occasionally (frequently)  indulge in two at one sitting. 🙄

If I haven’t lost you yet, this has led me to make a commitment to getting a better handle on my diet.  I decided the best way for me to do that,  is to keep a food diary for the next year.  AND to keep me accountable,  I  have decided to share said diary with anyone out there who chooses to  (or inadvertently)  reads my blog in 2025. 

Bottom line, you should be seeing more of me in the upcoming months.  

In the meantime, MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!  All the best to you and yours this holiday season and throughout 2025!

October 4th – Update

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2023, Health and Fitness

It has been nineteen and a half months since I took my first step to making my health and fitness my priority. Three severe lung infections and one broken arm later, I am still as committed as ever.

I am still following my doctor’s orders for managing my chronic lung conditions. I am still working out six days a week. I am still meditating on a regular basis.

Getting some fresh air and exercise with Dan and Molly (Waterfall Park – Regina)

Lately my focus has been on improving my diet. A few weeks ago, I decided I was tired of being bloated and nauseous and having sharp intestinal pains, heartburn and hiccups so I banished bakers and brewers yeast (an obvious culprit) from my diet. I started feeling better within days. Shortly thereafter, I started counting calories, practicing portion control, and seriously focussing on the nutritional value of the foods I ate.

Breakfast of champions. 😁

For the record – none of this has been easy. It has all been worth it, but it has not been easy.

The hardest thing I ever did (thirteen years ago) was to become a nonsmoker. I smoked off and on, a quarter to a half a pack a day, for thirty some years. Smoking was my way of coping with every stressful situation in my life. I knew all the reasons that I should quit, and I ‘tried‘ to quit countless times, but inevitably another crisis came along and I was reaching for a cigarette. When the crisis passed, I would struggle to start ‘trying’ to quit again.

Finally beating that devil has helped me on my current journey. It hasn’t made it easier – but it did make me stronger. Strong enough to get up and get started despite being sick and tired. Strong enough to stick with it despite setbacks. Strong enough to persevere and tackle my diet – even sacrificing yeasty favourites like KFC, Beef Dip, Donuts, Buttered toast AND red wine.

Every step I take in this journey gives me strength to take that next step, reach for that next level. With every level I reach, I anticipate what lies ahead, what challenges I have yet to conquer.

“Cause I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me.”. 🌞💞

September 1st Update

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2023, Health and Fitness

“Time flies when you are having fun!” Albert Einstein’s wisdom is obviously as relevant today as the day he coined this phrase. I have been having fun and this year has been flying by. 😁

I have been doing quite a bit of cleaning, yard work, and work on the spare bedroom. It is exciting to find that such tasks are so much easier, now that I am in better shape.

I took down ‘The Mirror’, polished it, and rehung it. It is one of those jobs that I have always dreaded but it went surprisingly easy this time. 😁

I have been upping the intensity of the Zumba workouts that I do and have been dancing almost every day. Or I was, until the smoke from the northern forest fires drifted back our way. It is supposed to clear up by tomorrow morning. We can only hope.

I splurged last week and ordered myself a new pair of dress boots. They arrived today and are a perfect fit. My wardrobe could use a bit of help these days too, but I would like to lose a few more pounds before I start investing in anything I will outgrow. (ungrow?). I’m not sure what the correct term is for that – when you lose weight and your clothes get too big for you.

These boots are made for dancing. 😊

Speaking of losing weight, that is one area where I have not seen a lot of progress. I have been working on this lately, by addressing my diet and eating habits. Deleting yeast from my diet has made such a huge difference to my health and well-being, that I have started to focus on what I eat in general.

Snacktime – fruit and nuts
Supper – homemade baked beans and salad

I have even, for the first time ever, started writing down what I eat, counting calories, and noting nutritional values. It has been interesting – and not that difficult. It has been very interesting seeing actual recommended portion sizes and adjusting accordingly, seeing how easy it is to cut calories without losing out on taste or being left wanting, and seeing how different foods affect my appetite – for better or worse. It isn’t really anything I didn’t know, but I just assumed I was doing ok diet wise. Maybe not!

When I began working out, last February, I was amazed at the benefits, and how quickly I noticed them. I have no doubt that being more mindful of what I eat, or do not eat, is going to be an equally exciting and beneficial part of my health and fitness journey.

Onwards and upwards – this one might stay on my fridge for another month – or two.

Take care and have a great day!💞🌞

Year Two – Week Six

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness

Spring has sprung (so they say), my broken arm is healed, and I am off to the races! Finally! This week I am going full on Goggins to get back to where I left off mid-January.

Since I received the good news on Thursday, I have been stepping up my workout plan. Nothing heroic yet, but steps in the right direction. Speaking of steps, I was out walking on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – over 24,000 steps (Nine Miles). That is about 24,000 more steps that I have taken outside since November when I came down with my brutal winter flu, which lasted until I ventured out and broke my arm. 24,000 steps is pretty impressive. 😏

I also, started the week out well nutritionally wise. I have our menu penciled in for the entire week – one nutritious meal after the other (at least supper wise).

  • Monday – Taco Salad
  • Tuesday – Stir Fry with rice
  • Wednesday – Chicken Alfredo, steamed broccoli, and Side Salad
  • Thursday – Chef Salad
  • Friday – Home made Pizza with Caesar Salad
  • Saturday – Barbecued pork ribs, baked potatoes, and Ramen/shredded cabbage salad

All home made! All include fresh vegetables! All delicious and nutritious! 🌞

Taco Salad…

This morning, I kicked off the day with a full two armed Zumba routine and a series of physiotherapy exercises to improve my range of motion for my left shoulder. This afternoon, I am heading outside with Molly for some sunshine and fresh (very fresh as in feels like -22C) air. And.. tonight I am getting strength training back in my schedule. That is my plan for this week – plus, with warmer temperatures expected Wednesday and my walking partner available Wednesday thru Sunday – there is a fair amount of Molly walking on the calendar for later in the week.

The rest of my days are filled with brushing Molly, cleaning house , laundry, dishes, and the like – all which is easier with two functional arms.

She was so little last summer!

That is my plan for this week. I am focused, locked in, healed, and ready to go!

Take care and have a great week! 🌞💞

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!💞

January 14th – Mexican Air Fry

by annemariedemyen, posted in Canadian Meal Options

This month on my blog, I am sharing a meal or a dish that we indulge in each day. I am not a professional cook by any means and it was never about creating a collection of recipes. This is simply me keeping it real. This is how and what we eat on a day to day basis – because that is a reflection of who we are. In words better than mine…

“Food is our common ground, a universal experience. – James Beard

“We all eat, and it would be a sad waste of time to eat badly.” – Anna Thomas

“Food may be essential as fuel for the body, but good food is fuel for the soul.” – Malcom Forbes

“Food is symbolic of love when words are inadequate.” – Alan D. Wolfet

That last quote reminds me of son Dan who has always loved food – eating it, preparing it, and serving it to family and friends. From the youngest age, he would say “It is always good because you put love in it.” (Unless it was fish sticks. There was never enough love to save fish sticks. 🙄)

Last night, we did not have fish sticks. I took out the T-fal Air Frier and made Mexican Air Fry. I began by cubing a couple of chicken breasts, sprinkling them with olive oil and taco seasoning, and air frying them for twenty minutes. I transferred the cooked chicken to a bown and moved on to step two.

For step two, I sliced a tortilla shell into strips, spread the strips in the air frier, sprinkled them with olive oil and a bit of taco seasoning. I air fried the seasoned strips for about ten minutes. I had to stop the process a couple of times to re-spread the strips. (They want to pile up.)

While the tortilla strips were cooking, I prepared the vegetables for step three – red onion, red pepper, fresh mushrooms, pickled jalapenos, and black olives.

Once the tortilla strips came out of the air-frier, I put in the vegetables with a little sprinkle of olive oil and a bit of taco seasoning. I cooked the vegetables for six minutes and then added the cooked chicken from step one and about three tablespoons of hot salsa. I cooked for a further six minutes, before transferring to a bowl and topping with crispy tortilla strips.

Ready to serve!

I cooked rice to serve with our main dish. I was concerned it could be a strange combination but it worked well – even with soya sauce on the rice. 👍

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