Health Issue: Salt, Sodium and Exercise
Monday, April 28, 2008
During the winter I watch what I eat, yet I rarely exercise. I stop around the time I need to see a doctor regarding respiratory or bronchial problems. I was rather good at keeping my weight down. Yet, come Spring it jumps up a bit.
I've been walking since February, but haven't made much headway. Daily, or every other day, I strive to walk 1 hour and 45 minutes. I don't walk for speed.
I walk for distance.
As of late, I've been ingesting too much salt. It's because I
love soup. It's a great meal to me. I know exactly how many calories I've eaten. However, according to nutritionists I've read, soup is one of the worse foods to eat. It is high in
sodium.
Reluctantly, I have to find another
warm food substitute. I can't stand a lot of cold foods, and most "healthy" meals seem to be.
I try to drink a lot of water. Although I know I could never drink enough
water, depleted by daily walks, to replenish fluids, or dilute
sodium levels.
Salt intake should not exceed 1,500 milligrams a day.Salt is everywhere. It's in carbonated water. It's in seasonings. It's in my low fat fake milk, which also has a ton of sugar. It's in my oatmeal. I wonder if
Sea Salt makes a difference? Is vinegar acceptable? Oh well. Gotta research that. I'll write about
Sea Salt later.
I have an incredible craving and taste for acidic, salty, bitter and spicy foods. If I have any craving for sugar at all I just know I'm hungry. With the cravings for salt I'm not even sure what that means.
I can't play around with my health regarding this issue. High blood pressure runs in my family.
My remedy for this situation? Keep track of the salt, and drink more water. Overall, my goal is to get fit, then skinny without being rash, drastic, or harsh.
Labels: exercise, health, high blood pressure, salt, sodium, water, weight
posted by GoldenAh
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Peace: The Way Within and Without
Sunday, September 23, 2007
I am someone more fond of
hearing a joke as opposed to a
serious news story of the day. I didn't and don't want to know who got shot, stabbed, and died tragically. I got rid of my television set, so I could get a good night's sleep.
I enjoy my peace.
The news used to bother me so bad, that I found myself
crying after some stories. Why inflict that upon myself, then get ready for bed? Was it any wonder I was having nightmares?
That was years ago.
Can't rock my cradle now.Ever worked with people who spent the day trying to
work your last nerve? Based on the situation, I'd say: "I
document everything I say. I document everything
people say and do to me. That information is collected for a period of time, before I head off to HR."
It is
so effective, and the
work gets done stress free.
Stress is a component of life, but how much is too much? Too much is that
twitch in your left/right eye. Too much is that
stabbing pain in your chest, gut, back and shoulders. Too much is that
strain in your voice: have you been shouting lately? Is your hair coming out? Are you gaining weight? Are you losing weight?
Take a break.
Do it now. If you are being overwhelmed:
ask for help. If that wont do it:
take a sick day. If that wont do it:
take a vacation. If that really wont do it:
quit.
Taking a break doesn't only pertain to work, this applies to
everything dragging you down: toxic relationships, a bad habit you wont quit, refusing to make important decisions, etc.
When one is in search of peace,
it never hurts to run away as fast and far as you can. It's either
fight or flight. If you can't manage the fight now: Run! Come back later and fight those battles later, or not at all.
Seek peace: reward yourself. Labels: health, peace, peace of mind, stress
posted by GoldenAh
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Vanity Check: Hair and Body
Monday, September 3, 2007
When one is as vain (sometimes) as I am, I like to periodically do the head and body check.
Finally,
lost another inch, down to 39-30-39. I was able to
squeeze into a pair of Levi's size 12 (super stretcher!). Counting from my
highest weight (almost two years ago), I've lost
40 lbs.
Oh the
vanity! My hair is finally (sorta)
armpit length - if you
pull hard enough! Well, if I flat ironed (I'm tempted) it would be armpit length. But my hair is
soooo delicate, any heat and there would be immediate breakage. That's just the way it is. So most of the time I keep it twisted, bundled up, or under wraps.
The hard part begins when it gets cooler, I get
really really hungry. All the cold foods and drinks I had for the summer, I cannot tolerate even in late late summer.
Gotta find warm filling foods that are still low in calories. Boy, that's gonna be fun, especially during the coming
get fat holidays.
Labor Day is a funny concept. It's celebrated by people
not working. Just thought I'd toss that lame joke in here.
Heads up: the political season officially begins, I might start writing about it.
Labels: breakfast, hair, health, weight, weight loss
posted by GoldenAh
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Hair Confession: Nappy Head Check vs Relaxed
Thursday, August 16, 2007
I
do not believe that black women who do
not relax / perm their hair are
more politically or socially aware, or even
nicer / friendlier than those who do. Nope.
People are complex, complicated beings. A hair style doesn't tell me anything about them.
I think a number of people do make interesting assumptions. Think of the evening news after a mass murder has been committed.
What do the people usually say? "But he was such a nice, normal guy." My favorite is, "That doesn't happen
in this kind of neighborhood." I always want to slap the person who utters that kind of nonsense. They are so caught up in their idea of specialness. Anything can happen in
any neighborhood. Sheesh.
I do, however, make assumptions with regards to relaxed versus natural hair styles. My thoughts relate to
health and normalcy.
I read my share of magazines, and the first thing I do is seek out pictures of black women. I'm always curious as to
how the media is portraying us lately.
I'm moderately pleased to see that natural hair is quite popular. The hair styles range from nappy kinky coily curls in Afros to twist outs big or small. All of which I regard as
normal.
Yeah, I said it,
normal. My
internal programming says that a black woman with a natural hair style is normal. Whenever I see relaxed hair, I regard it as abnormal. I'll explain why.
A relaxed hair style makes me think:
Wow, I hope she's okay. I know that may be
out of the norm thinking. In fact, a
hair study shows that relaxers don't make black women sick. In an age where coffee is good for you one day and bad the next, I'll take that report with a truckload of salt.
This report comes about because researchers have found that a particularly aggressive breast cancer targets black women more than white women.
I'm
not making any assertions that
relaxers cause breast cancer in black women.I automatically think there is a connection: I can't help myself.
To recap my hair fixation, if I see a natural hair style I think:
she looks normal. If I see a relaxed hair style, in the back of my mind, I'm hoping that the woman lives a long and productive life.
Labels: breast cancer, hair, health, kinky, nappy, natural hair, relaxed hair
posted by GoldenAh
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Weight Loss: Getting a Digital Scale
Monday, July 23, 2007
I'm not sure if it will make any difference in losing weight, but I purchased a digital scale. It measures the level of: body fat, water, and muscle. I found the body fat amount similar to what I get from web site calculators.
The Digital Scale is a Conair Weight Watchers brand. The picture is similar to what I bought.
I like it already. You select a program level (to identify yourself), then enter height, age, and fitness level.
It gives my exact weight, plus any half poundage. As weight normally fluctuates throughout the week, I stick to weighing in on Sunday or Monday only.
Each time I lose about 2-3 I hover at that same weight for almost 2 weeks. So, I'm hoping for some weight loss by this weekend.
And yes, I have
crashed (see earlier posts).
Labels: digital scale, exercise, health, weight, weight loss
posted by GoldenAh
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Health Clubs: Why I Hate Them
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
I have joined a number of
health clubs over the years. Like anything that I've used out of necessity (at the given time), I've grown to
hate these places.
What's my beef with them? I expect service and cleanliness, yet I realize I want too much. That's a common theme with almost everything for me: I
pay more, I still
receive less.
1.
Too expensive - I'd like a pay-as-you-go place. Haven't found one yet. I know as a business model it wouldn't work for most health clubs, but I'm sure they can think of something innovative to make it work.
2.
Filthy - I have borderline
germaphobia. After I wash my hands in the ladies restroom, I take fresh paper and use it to open the doors. I even grab the paper first before I wash my hands. I use the paper towel to turn on / off the faucet.
I loathed using the health clubs' showers. I examine the tiles and remember every stain. I can tell you: they
NEVER clean these places. Don't even get me started describing my
nausea when my bare feet touches the floor.
3.
Those "strange" women - Look,
your lifestyle is your lifestyle. Not everyone goes to the gym for same sex hookups. Take that nonsense somewhere else, like those bars or clubs catering to your special needs.
4.
Chatterboxes - I understand, some people go to health clubs to widen their social circle, make new friends, network, etc. I'm
not one of them. I am downright anti-social. It's bad enough the place makes my
skin crawl, staying longer than necessary to talk doesn't work for me.
5.
Sweaty Exercise Machines - Yeah, we see the posted signs about wiping up after yourself.
How different is a health club from a toilet? Does anyone every really clean up after oneself in the public restrooms? (I have my doubts that they are scrupulously clean at home either.)
6.
Snotty Bitch Staff - What is this place? An exclusive upscale restaurant or someplace where I drop a few ounces of sweat, wash my ass, and then leave? So what's with the attitude? This place costs a lot of money and you aren't going to be here in 3 months, so watch the attitude!
7.
Grunting Man - You know this
clown. He comes in, arms akimbo, with belted waist, does some
posturing and
flexing before the mirrors before heading over to the weights.
What's the first thing he does? Bends down, does a clean snatch and jerk making the most disturbing grunts and yowls you've heard since you last went to the zoo. What
creature is making that noise? The
missing link?
8.
Commentators / Judges - Do they exercise or is it their job to note your progress? Do they have a life or is it spent all day in the health club? Do they ever exercise? They spend so much time watching others, and talking about them that've forgotten the purpose of the health club: exercise.
9.
It's Hard to End the Membership - Finally, you understand why the contract is so long, so convoluted, and they insist on an automatic payment plan.
10.
Someone is always on your favorite machine - That quick workout is never quick, because there's always someone on your favorite machine. She's taking her sweet time about it. No quick reps with this one, she's going to be there for a while. Frankly, that's how it is with all the weight machines, everyone likes them.
The health club is empty during working hours, and crowded during the "off" hours.
Although I hate them, I still
may join one. They have the machinery I don't. I need a complete and thorough workout routine with the weights - no matter the wait.
It would be nice if I could create my own custom workout and payment plan with a nearby health club.
Labels: exercise, health, health clubs, weight lifting
posted by GoldenAh
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Weight Loss: The Holding Pattern - Part 2
Saturday, July 7, 2007
There are many
emotional issues behind the holding pattern regarding weight loss. I've certainly had my share of them.
Why the weight comes back or more won't come off:
1.
Getting tired of it. The exercises become boring. The body is adjusting to the
torture, um, exercise and after a while I need to find new tactics. The incentive seems to fade,
why am I doing this again?
2.
Weather changes: Now, it's too hot / too cold to begin that exercise routine today. I put it off. Next thing I know, six months have past and I'm over 30 lbs overweight again.
3.
Emotional triggers: I get upset over something. Next thing I know, I'm wolfing down that salty snack I've been depriving myself of for the last few weeks.
Well
funk that, I'm eating what I want, when I want, so there! After the binge, I feel horrible and eat more.
4.
Unwanted attention: On some level (as an introvert) I
likes being
ignored as the "thick" or "fat" person. People accept me as I am.
I'm the same person in a new body. I start to wonder, why weren't these folks friendly before the weight loss? Shallow bitches.
5.
Unwanted attention: Yeah, I know I've lost a lot of weight. Did I require
your permission? (Some people don't like you changing on them.) How many effing damn times are you people going to talk about how I look now? Did I ask your effing opinion about my weight? No? Then shut up about it.
There are people who think if you lose weight,
you are doing it for them. WTF? Health is the number one consideration for weight loss.
6.
Unwanted attention: The worst (to me) is attracting the eyes of men I
didn't want even when I was "fat" or "thick." It makes me long for the days when I was chunky enough to be ignored by these guys. Hmmm. Maybe being 30 lbs overweight did have its advantages.
7.
Unresolved issues and keeping it off. If losing weight is the goal, when is it accomplished? The hardest part is keeping it off, because if the exercises have to be heavy duty strenuous to get to this itty bitty size, and the food has to be constantly monitored, it becomes self-defeating. It must become a consistent, everyday good habit.
8.
Unresolved emotional issues- Weight has been lost, yet if the "other" problems haven't gone away, then nothing has been accomplished. The weight will come back and with a vengeance.
9.
Don't care - at some point, the indifference (to appearance)
will return. So what, if I take an extra bite? So what, if I didn't exercise? What's the difference? And then the vicious cycle begins again.
10.
The injury - I lose count of the number of times I overdid it on the treadmill. I would stop exercising, and this stoppage turned from days into weeks and into months.
11.
Too much energy - when I start working out, I turn into this
hyperactive child. I am so "psyched" and full of energy that I need to exercise even more. It's similar to
drug addiction, I need to work out more to hit my next high.
If I don't, I may get so blue,
depressed and
down in the mouth that I stop exercising. So each time I work out, I have to up the ante. I've gone up to 90 minutes of walking, 85 minutes of running / walking on the treadmill, and stationery cycling at 13 speed for one hour. I do each exercise every day. For now, I never take a day off.
I know it's coming. I'm going to
crash when I reach my limit...
Labels: diets, exercise, health, weight, weight loss
posted by GoldenAh
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The blunt truth of a picture
Thursday, May 17, 2007
For a number of months (9+), I focused on getting my hair past a certain length. It grows fast, but
every winter I'd lose over 3-5 inches
.
Recently, I thought I was shoulder length until I did a stretch test: pulling a two-strand twist and seeing how far it would go.
To some people, getting their hair this length is not a big deal, to me it is a
big deal. My hair has never been longer than shoulder length, and maybe 1-2 inches longer.
I was pleasantly surprised by the length, but then I found something
else to be horrified with.
I need to seriously lose weight. The sad part is that I do work out (daily) and watch what I eat. Aside from the camera-adds-10-pounds-excuse, I need to change something.
Right away!
Labels: hair, health, two-strand twist, weight
posted by GoldenAh
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