Happy Birthday to Me!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Yes, it's true. Today I turn 48! My, that is starting sound old! Good thing I know that age is only a number. Mentally, I feel about 35 and physically? Well, some days, I feel 85 but today, I probably feel about 60 'cause my left knee is bothering me and the right side of my rib cage. But, hey, I'm only 48! So, that's got to be good, right?

I have a pedicure appointment scheduled for 10:30 a.m. and then I'm going to my dad's to get his present for me and then my husband is taking me out for dinner. Probably The Keg (a local steakhouse) but I may change my mind. The Keg is good because I don't have to worry about wheat items on the menu there.

He already gave me a present. He gave me long-handled gardening shears but they're steel and they're so heavy! I'm going to have to do more strength training just so I can use them. But, they're red and I really did want them so I really can't complain.

Have a good day, everyone!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

TITALADY 5/28/2008 10:07PM

Just saw this, sorry for the late reply but hey, congrats on the bday miss! You're merely a pup in the scheme of things! Those fancy shears sound mighty fine, red being my fave color and all! love love love! Report Inappropriate Comment

GEMMAJO 5/14/2008 4:01PM

hi i know its alittle late but happy birthday for monday pleased you had a nice day your doing agreat job as team leader we had agreat week last week Report Inappropriate Comment

KATHIEB923 5/13/2008 2:09PM

Happy Birthday!!! 48 is still young! Report Inappropriate Comment

ANDDAN243 5/13/2008 11:14AM

Happy Birthday! I just celebrated my 48th aswell (on May 3). It's a very busy birthday time in my family - Mom on the 2nd, me on the 3rd, Sis on the 7th, Stepson on the 10th and then Mother's Day to cap it all off. What a great way to kick off spring! 48 is a wonderful age! ... and yep ... you're right ... it's only a number! Hope your pedicure and supper out was wonderful. Happy pruning with your new shears! Report Inappropriate Comment

CDRAKEAK 5/12/2008 5:43PM

Happy Birthday! 48's just a young spring chicken! Report Inappropriate Comment

SUSIEQUILTS 5/12/2008 1:53PM

Happy Birthday Joanna! My nephew's bday was yesterday, my SIL is today and my husband's is tomorrow! Lots of birthdays going on here--- celebration time! Hope your pedicure was nice... was thinking about getting that done for Mother's Day treat myself! Thanks for being a host on this website! Susie Report Inappropriate Comment

STACEYT12878 5/12/2008 11:23AM

Happy Birthday!!!! Enjoy your pedicure that will start your day off well! I hope you have a great day and a wonderful year to come. Thank you for being such a great source of support and friendship. Report Inappropriate Comment

MOLLIEMAC 5/12/2008 9:22AM

Happy Birthday Joanna! Have a wonderful day, enjoy your dinner and think about working in your garden with those new shears. And hey, aging is only a figment of our imagination- I've been 39 for over 20 years, lol!....MJ Report Inappropriate Comment

I Need Help

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Today was my weigh-in day and I gained 1.9 pounds, which makes me heavier today than I was at the beginning of April.

I haven't exercised since Saturday because of sore knees but I've been eating okay (or so I think) so I'm not really sure why I gained.

Could people have a look at my food and exercise diary, which I have open for viewing purposes, and comment on what I might do to improve my stats? Is exercise the only way that I can consistently lose weight or is there something else that I can do?

TIA


FYI - my calorie range is 1530 to 1940

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

TRAINOF4 5/5/2008 11:40AM

Water is great exercise if you have any access. Mine is limited, but it is soooo much easier on the joints. call around to your local YMCA, contact local phyiscal rehab centers, etc., and find out what they'd recommend. Be sure to mention that $ is a factor (if it is for you like so many of us!) so they might be more realistic in suggestions. County, city, municipal parks etc often have websites or printed publications that offer water classes ... check wtih your local governmnent, especially your local healh centers. You know the condition of my knees so believe me when I say water is great exercise & virtually no stress on the joints! Goood luck & keep us posted! Report Inappropriate Comment

NURSEMOMTOTHREE 5/1/2008 6:48PM

I can't offer much else in way of advice, but I was thinking about water exercise. Is there a pool near you? It doesn't have to be an organized class, just walking in place would be something and maybe easier on your knees. Report Inappropriate Comment

CDRAKEAK 4/29/2008 7:09PM

Bkwerm, I agree with Sidneygirl's assessment on the food. One other thing to think about is the type of fats you are eating. "Prevention" magazine wrote an article about monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and their impact on weight. They've developed a diet called the Belly Fat Diet which focuses on eating 1 serving of MUFA with each meal. There are five categories of MUFAs: olives & olive oil, nuts and seeds, avocado, chocolate (preferably dark), and vegetable oils. You'd have to check out the website to find out the serving size on each of them. They recommend 4 100-calorie meals a day with 1 serving of MUFA with each meal. I modified their recommendation and keep my meals to between 350-500 calories with a 200-calorie snack. I make sure that I have 3-4 MUFAs a day - one at breakfast (12 dry roasted almonds), lunch (usually 10 small olives), snack (a 120-calorie serving of dark chocolate orange candy bar), and sometimes at dinner (using olive oil to fry something). It's been working for me, although I'm starting to slow down in my weight loss. Report Inappropriate Comment

SIDNEYGIRL 4/29/2008 3:53PM

Hey Joanna! you sound like me ~ I actually gained nearly 5 pounds in April, tho I'm back on track now. I looked over your food/exercise tracker and here are my thoughts: 1. are you staying within your calorie range that spark gave you based on your weight-loss goals? I find myself that if I vary my calories doing a high day/a couple low days ~ back and forth....that keeps the body guessing somewhat. I'm wondering if you don't need to have a couple more of the lower cal days in there. (I know, ICK lol) 2. Do you look at your carb/fat/protein ratio? you can see that when you are on the nutriton tracker near the bottom it says something like Full days report....generally, Spark recommends something like 55% carb/25-30%fat/15-20%Protein.....I couldn't tell just how your days were going, but some days looked lower on protein and fat. Personally, I find that keeping the Carbohydrate ratio Lower ~ like at 50% or even lower ~ maybe 45% SEEMS to help me some....and trying to get the good fats (nuts/oliveoil/fishoil) 3. About exercise ~ it's very easy to Overcount exercise calories burned...machines often report 20-30% higher cals burned, and even Spark reports higher number burned calories on some activities for me. The only way to really know is to wear a heart-rate monitor. I think they are Excellent for learning how hard you should work and also, they let you know when you aren't working hard eNough. I'm sorry your weight is up ~ I know it's really hard for me when exercise is limited....I have to be SO careful with calories then. I don't post my exercise on Spark because my computer is usually SO slow (you know that already lol)....but I try to log my food if I can get it in without getting too slow. Do you plan your food out the day before? sometimes that helps to get it all down and see how it works out...then you can go back and edit ..add more or take some away. My calorie range is 1210 - 1560. Geeze, that kills me!! I'm trying to work it out tho ~ I DO have a cheat day tho ~ otherwise I'd go nuts. I have my food tracker on my Sparkpage too so feel free to look at mine. Joanna, just try to change things up some ~ do SOmething different because obviously what you Are doing isn't working right now. Maybe shift your percentages Or have your calories high one day/low the next. If there was a "correct" answer, None of us would be here!! lol....big hugs! ps~ just wanted to add that nuts are Good fats, and generally, a serving of nuts (around 150-180cals) is fine everyday as long as it fits in with the TOTAL calories. Comment edited on: 4/29/2008 4:06:51 PM Report Inappropriate Comment

MOLLIEMAC 4/29/2008 3:46PM

I don't know what your daily calorie limit is but I went back 5 days on your tracker and some days are much higher than others (1800+ on one). Also, some of the foods you have chosen are very calorie dense (nuts) and should be enjoyed occasionally only. I know you have pain issues as well- are you able to exercise at least 3X a week for a shorter period of time than you did for the one day only? I hope you can see improvement over the next month, I'm sure this is so frustrating for you. All the best, MJ Report Inappropriate Comment

Lost Friends

Friday, April 18, 2008

In the past few weeks, I've regained old friends who I thought I had lost forever. One was a Spark Friend, who dropped out of sight last December because of computer problems and one is a work friend who was dealing with some personal issues and suddenly stopped talking to me.

The first friend is still having computer issues but I'm so glad she's back. She's such a nice and supportive friend. I really missed her when she was gone.

I renewed my friendship with the second friend this week at the conference that I was at. I didn't even know she was coming to the conference but I ran into her accidentally and we ended up sharing meals and sitting near each other during workshops and keynote speakers for the whole conference. I'm so glad that she's back in my life again. I really missed her and worried about her while she was gone.

Friends are the best! Here's to friends everywhere!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

TITALADY 4/28/2008 5:21PM

I know what you mean lady, sometimes I don't think I'd make it through this crazy journey without them! Report Inappropriate Comment

NURSEMOMTOTHREE 4/19/2008 7:06AM

I'm so glad for you that these people are back in your lives. It's truly a blessing. I had a friend stop speaking to me about 11 years ago ( they left our church too) and I still don't know why. We were best friends, call each other every day, friends. But it just stopped. I've moved twice since then, but I've always wondered what happened. I'm so happy that God has blessed you and that these people are back in your life. Report Inappropriate Comment

KAREN8241 4/18/2008 11:10AM

It's great that you were able to reconnect with your friends. I had a similar experience last fall for my 30th high school reunion. One of my old gang started trying to track us all down, and one by one we started to "find" people we hadn't been in touch with in years. A whole group of us wound up going and had a great time. Now we all have one another's contact info. and it's great to have these people back in my life. Old friends are precious! Report Inappropriate Comment

Water is Good

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

I've just returned from a 3-day conference where I didn't drink nearly enough water. I had a headache from about 4 p.m. yesterday until about 4 p.m. today. Since about 2 p.m. today, I've drank two cups of water and 4 cups of green tea and lo and behold, my headache is gone!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

SUSIEQUILTS 4/18/2008 2:28PM

It might be the water but it could also be the caffeine in the green tea! It is important to stay hydrated especially when you travel- airplanes and conference rooms will dry you out in no time! Susie Report Inappropriate Comment

Weekly Weigh-in and Other Updates

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Our Living With RA team started a new challenge last week and I lost 1.4 pounds in the first week. Woohoo! I hope I can keep up.

I also have recently discovered that wheat causes inflammation so I've been trying to cut it out of my diet and I feel so much better. It's actually kind of cool that something works that's not another drug to take.

And, speaking of other drugs to take, I'm going to be starting Orencia on May 7th. Orencia is taken through IV so I have to go to the doctor's office once a month for this and apparently, it takes six months to a year for it to start working, which I sincerely hope it does since none of the other meds seem to be doing that much yet.

Other than that, I'm really tired these days. I'm not entirely sure why other than the fact that I wake up to go to the bathroom about 2:30 a.m. every day and then have an extremely hard time falling back asleep. This is a new thing for me. Before, I always slept well. Don't know if it's related to the RA or if it's related to menopause.

I'm off work for the next couple of days so I can play bridge. I'm playing tonight, tomorrow night, Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon. And, then next week (M-W), I'm attending a conference for Administrative Professionals in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

And, spring is springing and I'm so glad because I really hate the cold and it's so nice seeing my flowers coming up and being able to sit on my deck and read my book.

And, that's it. My life is up-to-date.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

SIDNEYGIRL 4/16/2008 1:51PM

Hi Joanna ~ I don't know if I'll get this in before my stupid computer messes up again (grrrrr) but wanted to stop in and say hi! I was thinking of you ~ isn't your weigh in day Wednesday? then I checked back here and see that you're in a conference....hope it's going well. Something like that would throw my diet for a loop. Congrats on the 1.4 pounds in your first week of your challenge! How are you doing on the wheat free eating? I SO admire you if you can stick to that ~ that would just kill me. I don't think I could live without gluten ~ tho, I imagine if it makes you sick it can be done. Okay I'm starting to get hung up again ~ tell me, do you like the Mac computer? we can't get a new puter right now, but I think I've heard good things about Macs ~ anyway, hope it's nice and sunny and warm up north where you are. We are sunny here, but still yards are wet from all the rains. Supposed to rain tomorrow, but not like the flooding rains we've had the last couple weeks. take care Joanna! hugs, tracy Report Inappropriate Comment

WILLOE 4/14/2008 2:57PM

I hope the wheat free and gluten free diet works well for you. It is a lifesaver for me, and I've been doing it for a while. I have tons of recipes and alternatives, so please let me know if you are needing any ideas or recipes. Report Inappropriate Comment

NURSEMOMTOTHREE 4/9/2008 9:06PM

Thanks for the update ! I can't believe it can take 6 - 12 months for Orencia to work. I'm hoping it's the 6 for you. I hope cutting wheat out of your diet works wonders. My neice has fibromyalgia and she has cut wheat and other things out of her diet and feels much better. Hopefully, you can find a local grocery store that carries lots of wheat and gluten free foods. Report Inappropriate Comment