The Battle of the Bulge has always been an issue for me - blame it on the genes, if you like. My parents have struggled, many of my extended family have struggled. One of my two brothers also struggles.
Health Complaints
Over the years, I have racked up a few health complaints. (I mention these things now in case they begin to clear up as I work to improve my weight and blood pressure, primarily.)
- Carpal tunnel syndrome - which flares up when I do too much cleaning (wink, wink.)
- Knee pain - my personal alignment plus bad shoes (i.e. the ones everyone else is told to wear hurt me.)
- Hip pain - thanks to a rough birth of my youngest.
- Seasonal allergies - since I was a child - grass pollen is not my friend!
- Hypothyroid - diagnosed in 2001. Now 100% controlled by diet.
- Chronic fatigue syndrome - diagnosed in 2006, but the symptoms go back quite a long ways before that. (This problem has quite a few different facets to it, it's not a simple thing at all.)
- Chronic cough - this is a new problem which started when I moved to Wyoming. I'm testing the hypothesis that it might be my bed that's doing that one - it's the only thing I can think of that changed when I moved here, but has remained constant ever since.
It was the cough that took me to the doctor yesterday as it's been noticeably worse since our trip.
Seeing the Doctor
Okay, I'm a bit of a medical-phobe - partly because I've had to fix my own problems before. (My son's asthma turned out to be food-related allergies. I treated my own underactive thyroid. Things like that.)
The first thing was taking all the vitals.
The weight was as I had feared 20 lbs gained in the past year and a half - and that was way up from the previous year and a half when I was doing a lot more physical work outside.
The blood pressure surprised me though. I used to run a little low as a young adult. Even when overweight and pregnant with my elder daughter - and a high-stress week - my blood pressure had remained healthy. But the first reading was 167/101!!! Not okay at all. (Just shy of a medical emergency, in fact.)
Okay, maybe a bit of "white coat hypertension" - i.e. stressed about being at the doctor. I had some of that when I saw the dentist for the removal of that loose wisdom tooth that I talked about last year. After the deed was done, the blood pressure was much, much lower. So, that may be something of an issue... so I guess I'm going to have to watch it at home and see how it's doing when I'm not worried about doctors. Awhile later, they took it again and it was down a little, but still too high at 158/94.
The annoying thing was that there was no sign of my cough while at the doctor. No sign of the wheeziness I'd been getting in my lungs (like asthma) - which is why I'm looking for a more acute cause within the home. (And why the bed is getting the attention next.) So, the doctor doesn't really believe that it's an allergy like thing...
However, the fact that the cough is the primary symptom - and I get the occasional bout of GERD (acid reflux, particularly at night) and snore, with possible sleep apnea, the doctor was quick to put me on ranitidine/Zantac. It's an acid reducer (which I'm slightly concerned about), but also an antihistamine - and given the possible allergy component, it may be a good thing. We'll see.
One day in, my cough is a bit reduced, but I also avoided sitting on my bed - where I do a lot of my writing...
But I'm not happy... (Actually, this appointment was seriously depressing!) I'm a solver of problems, not one to throw in the towel - even though getting old includes getting less healthy. My father-in-law is in his 80s and is as active as any 30-year-old! That's what I want to be like when I'm 80.
So, what to do...
Previous success
A few years ago, before life threw some more curve balls at me (which I didn't hit well at all), I went low-carb. Not quite paleo - closer to primal (Mark Sisson, if any of you have read Mark's Daily Apple.
The result was steady weight loss over the course of about a year - losing a pound a week. And that was before adding any new exercise for the first six months of the diet.
I have kept meaning to go back onto this diet when I moved to Wyoming, but then I met my husband and his diet is, well, not very compatible with a primal diet. But I have been warned. The shit will hit the fan (and soon) if I do not do what I know I need to do...
My Plan
One of the wonderful things about Mark Sisson's work is that he backs everything up with science. More importantly, even the "rules" of his diet are subject to bending. Such as - he mentions not really eating potatoes, but he also mentions how white potatoes are a great source of potassium - which helps lower blood pressure! So...
- Eliminate grains. Though I will allow occasional turmeric rice - according to Mark, white rice does less damage to your body than the other grains - even brown rice!
- Keep potatoes (maybe even plain potato chips as a sinful snack), occasional soaked oat porridge (great laxative) and (maybe) popcorn.
- Keep dairy, but increase my intake of cultured dairy. (Dairy helps with high blood pressure too - from one source I saw earlier - not sure which one now, sorry.)
- Increase proteins - including bone broth. Though I will not reduce animal fats which has been shown to be beneficial to the body - not your enemy.
- Increase vegetables - especially cultured/fermented vegetables - and sprouts - need sprouts.
- Replace bad snacks with healthier recipes - hopefully inexpensive ones!
- Pull my husband in with me - he will benefit too!
Caveats...
We are low-income (and hubby is currently without a job) - so, "organic" food isn't an option unless it comes from the food bank or is pretty much the same price as the standard fare. Grass-fed meat isn't an option either - though maybe we'll get some game in another month or two.
I'm also not great on leafy greens, but I'll try harder.
Accountability
I will check in with you after my next appointment (two weeks) and see how I'm getting on. I'm not going to write down absolutely everything I eat, but I think I can be reasonably honest about how well I've been eating. Maybe next time, I will share a new recipe as well. (Or maybe I'll do interim posts with food - don't know yet - depends on how I'm feeling.)
(Big breath - I will be sharing with you either my success or my failure... maybe it will spur me to keep on track! If you don't hear from me - ask me how I'm doing on Discord. I need you!)
Before Picture
This is the one I'm willing to share. I've never liked photos of myself, but when I know I'm letting myself down, it's even worse.
There is a family tradition of taking pictures of each other taking pictures... so my brother took this one of me - as I was taking one of him.
At the beginning of this journey...
(Image taken by my brother Chris, at the Clatsop County Fair in Oregon - August 2019.)
Health Stats
| Date | Weight | BMI | Blood Pressure | Pulse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10, 2019 | 251.38 lbs | 47.67 | 167/101 (retaken 1/2 hour later) 158/94 | 81 |
Crossposted at Steem, Whaleshares, WeKu, Hyperspace.
Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
verified author on Goodreads
find me on Twitter
blogging on: Steem, Whaleshares, WeKu, Hyperspace
Join us in the Official Whaleshares server in the text channel "the-phoenix-project"
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Thank you!
Good luck on your journey to better health. I inherited some bad genes so I suffer with hypothyroidism and have to watch my sugars. Mark Sisson is great btw. Just stay away from the processed crap and grains. Keto works for me but unfortunately I'm on a limited budget as well so the organic stuff can be tough.
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okay - a couple things about your thyroid.
What worked for me on that one... I cut out the things that were hurting my thyroid - so soy was no. 1 (turned out I was intolerant to soy anyway) - then things like the cruciferous/brassica vegetables (temporarily while I was healing my thyroid) ... fluoride, chlorine, bromine should go too - they compete for the iodine receptors. Then, I also supplemented with iodine at a therapeutic dose - I think I was taking 150 mg (not mcg as is normal) daily at that time (and became aware of the symptoms of hyperthyroid, just in case - though it was never a problem for me.)
Even now, I watch my morning temps. If it's below 98F, my thyroid cannot produce hormone. So, if my morning temp is below about 97.7, I will supplement with iodine again. BTW, any run-in with soy suppresses my temp 0.3F!
Anyway, some thoughts there - I have been producing correct lab results ever since - my doctor at the time (this was about 9 years ago now) was astonished. She really didn't think I could do what I did. Not possible. :-D
Yes, the grains are number 1 on my hit list - though, again, I will hang onto white rice sparingly.
I have a sneaking suspicion that grain problems are a cross allergy with grass pollen allergies... So, the ones that more closely resemble the problem grasses are the biggest problems - so wheat especially.
I still need to check out the differences between primal and keto, but yes, I love Mark Sisson's stuff - except for his reliance on supplements. I can't really afford those unless it eliminates the need for a prescription. I may check out a whey protein supplement though - depending on ingredients.
Thanks for stopping by and good luck on the thyroid!
Part of my issue is some sort of inflammatory process which doesn't help the old thyroid (at least it wasn't an auto immune condition like most hypothyroidisms) and grains are more inflammatory for me. Wish wild-caught salmon wasn't so $$$ because the omega-3 is great to reduce the inflammation from the omega-6 fatty acids. I stick with coconut and avocado oils for cooking, olive oil for cold dishes. Veggies are fermented if possible and dairy is cultured (homemade kefir is good). Like I said a low card/high 'good' fat diet seems to work for me so far. So much new data out there showing that saturated fats aren't really the danger to our health as we have always been told. I'm not sure on the iodine as some say it's good, some say bad-don't want to damage my thyroid more by mistake. Keep on posting your successes.
yep, inflammation is such a huge thing. It sort of changes the way one looks at obesity, doesn't it?
Totally agree on the fish. I wish I could afford the wild caught too - though I suppose the regular stuff is probably still better than no fish at all. I have to watch tuna too, most tuna "packed in water" is actually packed in vegetable broth (keeps it smelling nicer) - which is usually soy. There are a couple brands out there that are okay, but most aren't.
I have a cabbage ready to make into sauerkraut. I'll add some professionally-made starter this time because I haven't done it in a long time, and it produces better results when I do.
Fats - yep, I do butter, bacon grease, lard, coconut oil, olive oil. That's about it.
I make viili (a Finnish yogurt) - and will often add raw egg yolks and cream to this for a smoothie.
When I researched the iodine, the main danger was sending the underactive thyroid into overactivity - that's why I became familiar with those symptoms. Once my thyroid was normalized, I stopped. Now, I only supplement if my temp is low more than a couple days in a row, so not very often at all now.
I know it worked because I became pregnant while supplementing. The thyroid specialist I saw sometime thereafter told me that the fact I had been able to become pregnant and sustain it (I wasn't taking thyroxine anymore - it was contributing to my chronic fatigue) confirmed that I had corrected the thyroid myself. Yay!
But yes, it's an area that must be thoroughly researched, then tried carefully, cautiously, but it worked for me, helped me fire the doctors in that realm anyway. Now to fire them regarding my weight and other issues as well! That's the new goal.
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Hi, wishing you well on your journey.
Id like to recommend checking out Dr Eric Berg on YouTube. He has alot of great videos related to food and different ailments. Best wishes 🙂
I will check him out, thank you!
My diet isn't terrible, but I have become lazy and sloppy with it - time to clean it up again and take it the higher level.
💪
Best of luck with the new diet! You can do it; I believe in you!
Thanks. It's just hard when other people around you are eating differently. But I'm committed - that's why I posted so boldly - to make me do it! :-)
All the best @viking-ventures with your plans! It's a journey well-worth taking. By the way, have you heard of intermittent fasting? Combined with healthy eating habits, it seems to work wonders for people.
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I have, though I haven't tried to adhere to it. It is one of the reasons, however, that I don't panic about breakfast. If breakfast is later, that's fine. When I used to do morning Zumba, I found it worked best for me if I didn't eat beforehand. I had my morning tea, but that was pretty much it. When I got home, I would make myself a cooked breakfast.
Now, I am usually up several hours before my kids and husband are awake (ME time!) I usually only start cooking after they are up. If I'm not up to cooking, then my breakfast can be much later. Right now, I think that fixing what I eat is probably more important than when I eat it. :-) (#1 thing there is to fix snacks... so, back to nuts, jerky and pork rinds - I often make the pork rinds into nachos.)
Certainly, fixing what we eat is crucial to healthy weight loss. And with a busy family life it's not that easy to do!
For me intermittent fasting has been a very effective 'add-on' to my otherwise healthy diet. Now I've been doing IF for 3 months and can see very positive weight related results without much effort on my part, that's why I usually mention it to people who are on a weight loss journey.
All the best to you!
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Thanks.
I will probably drift that direction - I just won't stress over it. Stress definitely needs to come out! :-)
I wish you all the best luck at the doctor and hope that you report back with good news !! Please get healthy as soon as possible also it will be a hard way to go
Thank you! I will do my best.
I am sitting here with bone broth and a can of olives. I've also had some grapes this morning with my tea (just yerba maté so far this morning, but I will have something else later.)
I even made a snack for tomorrow - some marinated walnuts and olives that looked good... I'll share that recipe in the future if I like the result.
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Best of luck to you, @viking-ventures. I think you know I fought my own obesity battle and won. I do weight loss coaching now with one of my hats, and will be glad to help you anytime you ask.
What I do is:
Eat less crap
Eat more nutrition
I do not count calories. I count these essential nutrients:
When I work with people, I normally start with Vitamin C, Fiber and Iodine. Get those into your daily food at 100%of the RDA and shoot for 120%. There are many online and phone based trackers for nutrition. I advise getting one and seeing how you do. In my experience, most people get no more than 10-20% of any essential nutrient before they pay attention to it.
The "Crap" part is not the food - it's the chemical additives, pesticides, colors, flavors, gmo's and the like. The US food supply is filled with junk that causes all the troubles you mention and worse. I do not care what food you eat - just don't eat the additives. This is not easy but it can be done.
I found my food costs went down dramatically when I cut the processed food and went organic. Don't believe the hype and really look when you go in the stores. {{{Hugs}}}
Iodine is something I already watch very closely because I had an underactive thyroid. Read had. I treated it and corrected it. I still monitor my body temp closely, if it falls below about 97.8 for a morning temp (the thyroid cannot function properly under 98F), then I add iodine at a therapeutic dose (about 5x the RDA, I think I supplement with - after careful research when I was treating my thyroid, I discovered that you could dose about 9x as necessary.)
I do need to increase my Vit C for sure.
I'm also now closely watching my potassium and magnesium due to the blood pressure issue. Some of the things I was naturally being drawn towards were the healing things.
Just needed to drop the crap again. And the grains. As far as pesticides, etc, that's one of the worst offenders.
Plus, I have to avoid soy anyway because I have quite a bad intolerance to it - so that cuts out a lot of crap anyway.
I wish I could afford to go organic, but it's not a possibility.
I'm planning to add in some Zumba and swimming as soon as I can get a discounted Y membership. (We are low income - and that was before hubby got fired for being hurt on the job. No kidding. We're still fighting that one.)
I could not do Zumba when I was obese, and I cannot do it now! I never joined a gym and started by exercising 10 minutes a day - everyday. When I was losing - near the end, I was exercising an hour+ a day and now mabye 30 minutes. The key is to never miss.
Try stretching in bed morning and night. This was what helped me for free. I have a you tube playlist about it here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUv-15vAs5D85YhSmiNzoAw4BmBsZzzS5
I do not eat soy since it is 95% gmo - you are not missing a thing.
I advise getting a nutrition tracker for free on your phone or computer. Monitor those essential nutrients you are already watching. Once you get to 100-120% daily and reliably, add the next one.
Going organic while dropping the crap reduced my food bill dramatically. It takes more time, but less money. Don't buy processed organic. Go for the whole foods. In my local store at the time, the organic apples were cheaper than the regular (which are pure poison.) My produce guy said people would not buy organic even when it was cheaper since they are programmed to believe it is more expensive.
Once you start getting real food, you will eat less of it and your health will improve.