Again, Part II . . .
Yesterday I touched on two core issues for me.
Not core as in my body core, but core as in issues/things I have to face, and face, and face again because I have not yet learned to manage them.
They are: (1) Inflammation; and (2) the size of my ass.
I'm like that crockpot cookbook that I have: Fix It and Forget It. (there are a TON of them :-D)
I've spent my life thus far thinking that I can fix something and then forget it and go back to what I was doing before. Seriously. How long is it going to take me to get that I must make lifetime changes where these two issues are concerned?!
I have struggled with my weight forever because I never actually learned Maintenance when I reached my goal at Weight Watchers, lo these many years ago. And, I have inflammation throughout my body because I'm obese and because I like sugar and all the crappy junk food that is so prevalent in our Western society today. Really - I'm a walking talking ball of inflammation and it sucks.
Alrighty then . . .
Now what?
It's pretty simple, really - eat better, get more exercise, take my anti-inflammatory, use the damn Dreaded Foam Roller, continue to avoid added sugar (and seriously pick and choose when I really want to have something sweet knowing that if I choose to eat it I'm going to be in pain and likely suffer intestinal distress). Oh, and I'd like to develop a yoga practice to help with flexibility and hopefully also inflammation.
Is that all????
I suppose it's not as difficult as it sounds. I did live an ovo-pescetarian lifestyle for about a year - it was good, but it was not sustainable for me over the long-haul. However, living that way is easier than you might suspect and I am moving toward it again. There are some things in the house that need to get used up and not purchased again, and I am able to eat chicken again, which is going to make my life SO much easier than the last time. So, I won't be strictly ovo-pescetarian. I have a new label: flexitarian. :-D I suspect that cheese is going to have to be pretty limited again. I'm really not looking forward to that part, but it's one of the things I have definitely been eating more of this year so it could be part of the problem, particularly since I'm way down on the sugar and still experiencing such pain.
In the meantime, however, I'm cranky and mad and feeling really quite put upon. How come everyone else can eat whatever they want? Seriously - how come???
Maybe the answer to that is that not everyone else can. Maybe I just think they can . . . In any case, I'm not comparing myself to anyone else any longer. I have a serious reason to get my act together and strong focus to have the size of my ass be closer to Rhode Island than Kansas by the end of spring next year. It's a goal I've set for myself.
We'll see how it goes.
There will be field reports.
I did have a good conversation with the doctor today - I never got to ask my usual million questions on Monday. He thinks that starting a yoga practice will be a really good thing and will likely help. He would prefer that I not explore acupuncture at this time, not wanting to add another modality until we have a better handle on what's going on. He's firmly convinced that it's all lifestyle related and I'm sure he's right. Continuing with WW, eliminating sugar and highly processed foods again, and adding flexibility exercise are going to help probably more than anything else. One thing he is OK with, however, is my exploring the use of tart cherry extract. I'm not going to do the juice because it's full of sugar, but I ordered some gelcaps (no sugar!) and am going to hope that they help, too. Apparently they help a LOT of people.
I've hurt myself with that f-ing foam roller twice so far. I don't have the strength to accurately use it around my shins so now I'm also rolling a golf ball around on the front of my legs - all around my shin bones - just to get some relief there, too. Now the doc wants me to do it TWICE a day. I'm not sure I can . . . JesusHChrist I cannot even tell you how much I hurt yesterday. I'm praying that it's going to get better in the next week. I'm supposed to check back in with the doctor then.
Even though I am cranky about this mess I've gotten myself into, I am extremely grateful that I do not have arthritis. "No evidence of joint damage" are good words to hear. Many of my cousins have had it for years and they are all younger than I am. I keep telling myself that it comes from the other sides of their families ;-) That may not be true, though - my mom had three different kinds of arthritis. All the more reason why I am so grateful that I have none.
Enough! This song makes me smile - a good way to start the day, right? :-)
Not core as in my body core, but core as in issues/things I have to face, and face, and face again because I have not yet learned to manage them.
They are: (1) Inflammation; and (2) the size of my ass.
I'm like that crockpot cookbook that I have: Fix It and Forget It. (there are a TON of them :-D)
I've spent my life thus far thinking that I can fix something and then forget it and go back to what I was doing before. Seriously. How long is it going to take me to get that I must make lifetime changes where these two issues are concerned?!
I have struggled with my weight forever because I never actually learned Maintenance when I reached my goal at Weight Watchers, lo these many years ago. And, I have inflammation throughout my body because I'm obese and because I like sugar and all the crappy junk food that is so prevalent in our Western society today. Really - I'm a walking talking ball of inflammation and it sucks.
Alrighty then . . .
Now what?
It's pretty simple, really - eat better, get more exercise, take my anti-inflammatory, use the damn Dreaded Foam Roller, continue to avoid added sugar (and seriously pick and choose when I really want to have something sweet knowing that if I choose to eat it I'm going to be in pain and likely suffer intestinal distress). Oh, and I'd like to develop a yoga practice to help with flexibility and hopefully also inflammation.
Is that all????
I suppose it's not as difficult as it sounds. I did live an ovo-pescetarian lifestyle for about a year - it was good, but it was not sustainable for me over the long-haul. However, living that way is easier than you might suspect and I am moving toward it again. There are some things in the house that need to get used up and not purchased again, and I am able to eat chicken again, which is going to make my life SO much easier than the last time. So, I won't be strictly ovo-pescetarian. I have a new label: flexitarian. :-D I suspect that cheese is going to have to be pretty limited again. I'm really not looking forward to that part, but it's one of the things I have definitely been eating more of this year so it could be part of the problem, particularly since I'm way down on the sugar and still experiencing such pain.
In the meantime, however, I'm cranky and mad and feeling really quite put upon. How come everyone else can eat whatever they want? Seriously - how come???
Maybe the answer to that is that not everyone else can. Maybe I just think they can . . . In any case, I'm not comparing myself to anyone else any longer. I have a serious reason to get my act together and strong focus to have the size of my ass be closer to Rhode Island than Kansas by the end of spring next year. It's a goal I've set for myself.
We'll see how it goes.
There will be field reports.
I did have a good conversation with the doctor today - I never got to ask my usual million questions on Monday. He thinks that starting a yoga practice will be a really good thing and will likely help. He would prefer that I not explore acupuncture at this time, not wanting to add another modality until we have a better handle on what's going on. He's firmly convinced that it's all lifestyle related and I'm sure he's right. Continuing with WW, eliminating sugar and highly processed foods again, and adding flexibility exercise are going to help probably more than anything else. One thing he is OK with, however, is my exploring the use of tart cherry extract. I'm not going to do the juice because it's full of sugar, but I ordered some gelcaps (no sugar!) and am going to hope that they help, too. Apparently they help a LOT of people.
I've hurt myself with that f-ing foam roller twice so far. I don't have the strength to accurately use it around my shins so now I'm also rolling a golf ball around on the front of my legs - all around my shin bones - just to get some relief there, too. Now the doc wants me to do it TWICE a day. I'm not sure I can . . . JesusHChrist I cannot even tell you how much I hurt yesterday. I'm praying that it's going to get better in the next week. I'm supposed to check back in with the doctor then.
Even though I am cranky about this mess I've gotten myself into, I am extremely grateful that I do not have arthritis. "No evidence of joint damage" are good words to hear. Many of my cousins have had it for years and they are all younger than I am. I keep telling myself that it comes from the other sides of their families ;-) That may not be true, though - my mom had three different kinds of arthritis. All the more reason why I am so grateful that I have none.
Enough! This song makes me smile - a good way to start the day, right? :-)
Comments
Hope you feel better soon!
Just know I'm on your cheering squad way out here in NW Oregon, where I have cut back a lot on MY sugar intake after reading research results that show sugar is TOXIC . . . which, really, I already knew, I just needed someone to pound it home.
Sugar is in everything. Natural sugar - like in a piece of fruit - doesn't cause the same reaction in my body as added/cane sugar does. And I'm OK with dried fruit if I don't overdo it.
Have you ever had any food sensitivity testing? Sensitivities are different than allergies because they don't cause drastic reactions (like that issue you were having with poultry), but they can cause chronic issues. It was a sensitivity test that pinpointed for me that I was highly sensitive to cow dairy, but not goat or sheep dairy.
Failing that, an elimination diet can help you figure out what other foods may be causing all the inflammation. Starting with dairy is a good first step since that's one of the food types that many people have issues with. (I wonder sometimes if it's not so much the actual dairy as the other additives that may be associated with it, but that's a digression.)
You're so good at taking on personal challenges and making them a success, I'm sure you'll get through this most recent challenge with flying colors. :-)