Taking time out for some self-nurturing

: 'I'm Here Without You' by 3 Doors Down
: Rested

With the advent of the car, I've been running around doing all sorts of things that have been difficult to do without one. I put nearly 200 miles on the car in a week's time. :) With all the excitement and differences in schedule, though, I haven't gotten much rest over the last week. So today I intentionally slept late, then straightened up around the house, went to the gym and worked out, and basically took care of myself. I broke my every-other-day rule I usually keep for making sure I keep my stress down, but that's okay, since it was an unusual week. That rule isn't hard and fast; it's just a guideline I use so I don't find myself scheduled to my eyeballs. But I decided today I should take it easy.

I'm looking into making some changes. I enjoyed the workout today although I kept it simple since I hadn't been for awhile. Still, I was surprised how easy it was to get back into the swing of things. Unlike others, I tend to do best when I go to the gym by myself and workout at my own pace without distraction. I'm actually less likely to cancel the gym than, say, put off going with the idea of waiting to go with others. Don't get me wrong--I love an occasional workout buddy. But my friends who go to the gym have such wild schedules and health issues compared to mine that we just couldn't work out consistently together, and I found myself putting it off until I basically stopped going.

I got back the results from my annual checkup and my cholesterol, a1c (hemoglobin test for overall sugar control), etc. were all in the good range, although the cholesterol was on the high end of normal (diabetes wreaks havoc with lipid storage as well as serum glucose levels). My a1c was 6.0, which is up from 5.0 last year but is still in the normal range below what's considered good control for diabetes. Yay. Still, I'm about 270 lbs and although I've toned up, that weight isn't healthy, so now that I've proven I can exercise I'm thinking about tweaking my eating a bit for weight-loss.

I've been a vegetarian for 12 years. Well, actually a pesce-vegetarian (I do eat fish occasionally). So I probably eat a healthier diet than a lot of folks out there. I love Asian food in about any style (except, to be honest, anything with octopus or squid in it). I love the sheer variety you get with grains and vegetables--variety which some folks can't conceive if they only think of meat and potatoes as a meal. But I live alone and don't tend to cook much, so I do tend to eat too much 'convenience' food--not so much fast food but things that are quick and simple to make, like peanut butter sandwiches or processed foods. In the past, I've found the easiest way to lose weight is to use alternatives for the things I'm allergic to--wheat, eggs, and milk--mainly because that cuts out processed foods which are high in simple sugars.

Now, I'm not what you call a dieter. I watched my mom struggle with weight; at one point she looked terribly sick on Atkins' back in the 70s. That turned me off of those 'lose weight quickly' spiels. What little dieting I have done has been to follow the diabetic choices plan, where you have a lot of choice and just make sure your eating is distributed through the food groups. Rather than a list of 'do nots', I think it's better to have people just choose healthier lifestyles. Still, it helps to have some direction.

I talked a dietician I know and got the name of a diet I'd heard about on NPR, where they were talking about a study comparing various diets--Atkins, The Zone, etc. I couldn't remember the vegetarian diet's name that was discussed. It's called the Dean Ornish lifestyle programme, which advocates a diet akin to what you'd find in Asian and non-Western diets, moderate exercise, and reduction of stress through meditation and yoga. Basically, I already have the building blocks of this in my own life, so there aren't a lot of changes for me to make--I just need to work on my consistency.

Dr Ornish has two plans, one for those who are already diagnosed with heart disease (thankfully not my problem) and those who want to prevent it and have a good overall health improvement (I'm in the second category). I've reserved his book at the library. Since I'm not guzzling down cheeseburgers now, I'm not expecting huge results. I'll be happy if my test values stay steady or improve a little and if I lose enough weight for my joints, etc. to feel better. Also, it sounds like his programme would help my irritable bowel symptoms. I've already noticed that today, with the exercise, I don't seem to be having the problems I have been. I'll keep you posted once I've learnt a little more about it.

:4