Since I've decided to add a fitness component to this blog - which fits very well with the whole health issue, obviously, I'm going to back-fill a bit, then continue on as I go. These updates will include health status, new tests, new results, etc. as well as the fitness regime.
To back-fill I have to go back a ways, but I'll just summarize that in this paragraph. In Dec. 2013, I decided to keep a monthly spreadsheet that kept track of meds, doses, doctor's appointments, blood pressure, etc. In Jan. I tried to begin a fitness program, but it made me feel unwell. Of course the problem is that exercising when you've gone for a long time without it will do that, but it sort of felt like some of the symptoms of my illness, which made me anxious, which made me stop. Long story short; vicious cycle. I didn't attempt it again until March, with the same results - lasted about 3 days, and stopped. If you've read my blog, you know that I had extreme symptoms while on vacation in April, and learned later that it was from a drug allergy reaction. Which pretty much brings me up to the serious fitness attempt, that started on April 25, 2013:
April 25 - 30:
Exercised 5 days out of 6
Strength/Flexibility x 2 (50 minutes w/10 min. stretch/warm-up, and 10 min. stretch/cool-down)
Lap Swimming x 3 (60 minutes, 5 laps which puts my pace at a pathetic 12.00 min./100 meters)
Weight Training x 1 (30 minutes)
Average blood pressure in April: 130/80
April weight loss: 2 lbs.
Note: I put the weight training and strength/flexibility class into the anaerobic category, while the recumbent bike and lap swimming fall primarily into the aerobic category. Both have cross-over, though, as clearly swimming builds muscle, and the strength/flexibility classes I sometimes take work to keep your heart-rate up to provide an aerobic component.
During this start up I'm working at a very easy/slow pace of course. For example, a very good swimmer could have a racing pace of just over 1 min/100 meters, and I'm more than 10 times that! My objective is to develop a habit of exercising 4-6 times a week on average.
At this point I'm not actively doing anything to change my eating habits for a few reasons:
1. I think trying to institute one new habit is challenging enough. I don't want to fail because I tried to do too much at once.
2. My eating habits and appetite have changed quite a bit since the transplant. I eat less, and crave sugary sweets less. Overall I have less room to make a dramatic change in this area.
The difficulty is that my thyroid essentially burned out during the six months when the three components of my illness (lymphoma, hyperthyroidism, pulmonary embolisms) when undetected. Between that and the sedentary years that followed, my weight has stayed high with a tendency to creep up, despite the lower caloric intake.
May, 2013:
Exercised 23 days out of 31 (~5 days/week)
Strength/Flexibility x 4: 50 minutes (w/10 minute stretch at warm-up and cool-down)
Weight Training x 2: 35 minutes
Recumbent Bike x 4 (30 minutes, ~ 4 miles)
Lap Swimming x 12 (45-50 minutes, started at 5 laps, worked up to 8 for a pace of ~ 5.00/100m)\
Nordic Walking x 1 (30 min. demo session)
Average blood pressure: 120/75
May weight loss: 3 lbs.
Total weight loss: 5 lbs.
Appetite:
Exercise seems to affect me two ways here. I'm hungry after, but ultimately seem to eat less overall by day's end. I try to eat before I exercise (usually a smoothie), and then tend to eat my primary meal of the day afterwards, and a smaller meal later. I try to avoid eating in the evening, just because I sleep better in general.
Here's my favorite smoothie recipe, which is good before exercising:
1/2 banana (I keep mine peeled, broken in 3-4 pieces and frozen)
1/8 c. fresh blueberries (frozen or semi-frozen works good with these, too)
1/4 c. plain, non-fat yogurt
1 c. vanilla almond milk
I read something recently about yogurt that's interesting. I have no verification of the validity of this claim, so take it with a grain of salt. It seems some researchers think they've found that many overweight people have an enzyme missing in their intestines, the lack of which leads them to more easily gain weight, and the presence of which helps in fat burning. I have no idea which is the chicken and which is the egg (did the lack of the enzyme cause weight gain, or did weight gain cause the lack of the enzyme, which exacerbated weight gain?). At any rate apparently this is part and parcel of the claim that yogurt, which has this living enzyme in it, is a good addition to your diet, especially if you're lacking the enzyme.
I don't know if it's true or not, but the things in the smoothie are good for you, and provide an energy boost, so it works for me. Blueberries and almonds fall into the super-foods category, and are good anti-oxidants, while providing high energy. If you're lactose intolerant, soy milk or almond milk is a great alternative. And if you have a problem with electrolytes, bananas provide potassium. I used to have severe problems with leg cramps at night, and since I started the exercise program they've been reduced considerably. I think that both the exercise and the potassium have played a part in this. 1/2 a banana a day is probably more than enough. Freezing them provides a great chilling/thickening element to the smoothie without having to add ice.
Of course last but not least, it's important to drink a lot of water every day. The rule of thumb is to drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces. So if you weigh 150 lbs., you should consume 75 oz. of water daily. For me it was important to carry a water bottle around at all times, otherwise I wouldn't drink the amount I should.
A final comment. I still get short of breath easily when just walking. I think that will continue to be the case until I've lost about 20 pounds and gained sufficient muscle mass. Those two things should increase the strength in my legs while reducing the over-all weight stress on them. It will be interesting to see when that point is reached.
June update coming soon.
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