Yes, We're Back, But Here's Something Interesting

We're back from our Disney vacation (more on that later) and I'm back to my internet stumbling. I ran across an article on the Time website about diet and exercise with a novel slant. Researchers are finding that people who exercise don't necessarily lose weight! There are a few caveats, of course; the writer isn't saying stop exercising since it has significant health benefits other than weight loss, but they are rethinking the recommendations about using it as a weight loss tool. It seems that people who exercise more also wind up eating more calories than they burn off, which defeats the purpose. The type of exercise is also seen as a factor; the x-number-of-times-at-the-gym per week thing is less effective than having a generally active lifestyle. The article discussed several research studies, among them one where the test subjects in one group worked out and the subjects in another group didn't. The researchers found that the exercisers had their spurt of activity then spent the rest of the day chillin' and lazing around; the non-exercisers were more evenly active the whole day through, resulting in a net calorie expenditure that was about the same for both groups.Connect this with the recommendations of Dr. Perricone (I heard him once on a PBS special) who says you shouldn't exercise more than 40 minutes a day, 6 days per week, and my own personal success with walking 30 minutes (almost) daily, and I kind of agree with the article, with caveats. (After googling Dr. Perricone, I found an article that says he's pretty much a quack, and I have to admit his book was out there in terms of the supplements he recommends, but I think his ideas about exercise fall in line with the article in question so he might just be ahead of his time in that one respect.)

So, what does that mean? To me, it means that when you exercise you should do so with moderation and that you also have to be generally active throughout the rest of the day; take the stairs, park far from the building, etc. (Which is hard sometimes with fibromyalgia; I do the best I can!) Additionally, you have to be very careful about portion control. If exercising increases your appetite, then you have to really watch it and keep weighing and measuring for every meal. The combination of moderate exercise and eating wisely is what led to my weight loss. Continuing to walk, control portions, and make healthy food choices is what's keeping it off. (But we won't talk about what I ate at Disney World...)

True Confessions

Time to 'fess up. I gained weight on the trip. :( I came back seven pounds over my "top out" (goal) weight, but actually I started out two pounds below so that's nine pounds, even in spite of the massive amounts of walking and biking we did. Oh, the horror!!! I'm currently kind of in a holding pattern with it. I got a little off then it bumped up again, and now I'm back down a little so I'm at five pounds over. Sigh.

It was worth every bite.

But now it's back to business. I definitely notice a big difference in how I feel, so somewhere along the continuum of that nine pounds I hit a tipping point. DH says I'm snoring again and I don't get cold as easily as when I weigh less, which is neither good nor bad unless you look at our electricity bill. I'm having more bad days with the fibromyalgia so my energy level is down and my aches and pains are up. My clothes aren't as comfortable. Maybe I'm being hyper-aware, but when I gained weight the first time I was in total denial of any negative effects along the way, so hopefully awareness will work to my advantage. ;)

On the plus side, I've continued my (almost) daily walks and I've added bike rides a few times a week. Sometimes I only bike, which is easier for me when I'm having a flare up of the fibro. Probably doesn't burn as many calories, but it's getting out there and sometimes it's more important to maintain the exercise habit than it is to burn the calories. I don't keep a food diary but that's because I know how much of each category of food (fats, carbs, dairy, protein, and produce) I'm going to eat at each meal and over the course of the day. I have breakfast (usually a cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch, and I keep a one cup measure in the cereal container, a scoop of frozen blueberries, a few dried cranberries, and milk to fill the bowl), lunch with not more than two servings of carbs and 2.5 oz of protein plus some kind of produce, a snack which is usually a repeat of breakfast, and dinner which is usually a repeat of lunch. (Not the same food, just the same amounts of protein, carbs, etc.) (Although my snack is usually Kashi and fruit just like breakfast.) If I want an additional snack I usually eat fruit. I might munch on a few peanuts or nuts; I've started keeping a bowl of nuts in the shell on the kitchen counter. (You eat fewer if you have to crack them open; see "The Blue Zone" book review.) As for fat, we mostly cook with healthy fats like olive or canola oil in reasonable amounts. For dairy and protein I go for no or low fat, except for cheese which I use sparingly. We eat a vegan meal at least once a week, sometimes more, and I'm keeping an eye out for more vegan/vegetarian meals we can incorporate into our regular menus. We try to eat seafood a few times a week.

A couple of other things that really help me are keeping a journal about my weight where I've written about why I gained weight in the first place, my struggles with getting my eating under control, what I think went wrong when I let my eating get out of control, exercise challenges, and so forth. This post is similar to something I would write about, only when I was losing weight the first time around I wasn't blogging. I also WEIGH MYSELF EVERY DAY OF THE WORLD and record that weight in a little book I keep by the scale. I figured I gained the weight by burying my head in the sand and pretending I wasn't getting fat, so if I do nothing else but weigh in on a daily basis I'll stay aware of what I'm doing to my body and make healthier choices.

That's my diet plan in a nutshell! It worked to help me lose 45 pounds in 2007, so now I'm going to get focused and get back to it and lose the extra pounds I gained on my trip.

Exercise, Sunsets, and Shoe Shopping

Exercise & Sunsets

I took my (almost) daily walk today and it was absolutely gorgeous. I always try to walk around sunset, both for the cooler temperatures and for the joy of seeing the sky as the sun goes down. On a scale of 1 to 10, today's sunset was a 10, without a doubt! I consider it my reward for getting out there. ;) The past week it's been a little difficult to walk due to the heat, but the cold front came through so it was chilly enough to wear a jacket and scarf and it made the walk a breeze.

For my walk yesterday I wound up doing some unplanned sprints through the mall! I was shopping for our upcoming European vacation and had lots of things to get with limited time before kid pick up. It was crowded too, so people must've thought I was nuts! I try to avoid that particular mall during holidays and weekends since it's a giant tourist trap, but I forgot about Spring Break. One of the hazards of homeschooling; you forget what the rest of the world is up to.

Shoes

I was on a quest at the mall for the perfect shoes to wear in Paris since I hear sneakers are a no no, unless you WANT bad treatment. (Actually, Samantha Brown said you can wear jeans OR you can wear sneakers, but you can't wear jeans AND sneakers. We love her shows on the Travel Channel and we'll take her advice to heart, thanks.) I have a hard time with shoes. I have to wear orthotics (YUCK) due to heel spurs and plantar fasciitis, or basically really bad feet. Normally I wear either a pair of really hideous orthotic Birkenstock sandals, making everyone think I'm some leftover hippie or something, well, I probably am, but that doesn't mean I WANT to look that way, or sneakers with orthotic inserts. Neither of those options will work for our vacation but since I am ALSO cursed with really large feet in a size that shoe stores don't think exists, it's a challenge to find a shoe that I can 1. put my orthotic into 2. fits properly 3. isn't a sneaker 4. is at least somewhat cute. I found a shoe that covers 3 out of the 4, passing up on, you guessed it, the cute factor. Sigh. As for the size thing, I'm between 10 and 11. 10 and a half. I wear a 10 and a half. Try to find it in the stores. IT DOESN'T EXIST. Shoe stores DO NOT sell women's sizes in 10.5. It's so unfair. I hate the way my new shoes look, hate, hate, hate them, but I'm grateful I found them all at the same time. They are UGLY but they at least meet the not-a-sneaker-my-othotics-fit-them-they-fit-me requirements.

DH says I should try online like zappos or something, but when you have to try on 40 pairs of shoes to get one pair that fits properly, how the heck can you mail order shoes? At least they carry the elusive 10.5 size so I'll have to give them a try one of these days. My sister in law told me about them years ago, too, so it's a matter of time before I try them, but I don't have time to deal with mail order before our vacation. Sadly, the ugly shoes will have to do.

President's Day

We had such a lovely afternoon today! I picked up deli sandwiches and fruit from the grocery store (instead of the turkey dogs on the menu plan) and we ate a late lunch at a local park followed by a bike ride until the park closed. The weather was gorgeous although on the chilly side; I wore a jacket and was still a little cold. (I get cold easily; thank goodness we don't live up north!) DH and I bought bikes for each other for Christmas and we've been to this particular park a few times now. It's a smaller park and draws fewer people so it's perfect for bike rides with the kids. There are cars going through were we ride but the speed limit is very low and the visibility is good so it's safer than riding through our neighborhood. The worst part is packing up the kids and the bikes which takes, oh, at least half an hour or so on a good day. ("Where's my helmet? Do I HAVE to wear sneakers? I can't find them. Did you get water for me?" etc., etc., etc.) It was worth it though (especially since DH loads the bikes) ;) and I was so proud of us for being an active, outdoorsy family. Me, outdoorsy! Go figure. It feels so good, though, and I know we're setting a good example for the kids. "The family that plays together" as they say.

We have an extra bike The Niece uses when she's here; she takes it to work sometimes. I got a good deal on that one- I asked at the local bike shops if they had any used bikes to sell and we picked that one up for about a third of what it would cost new. (Good frugal tip for a troubled economy- check bike stores for used bikes!) It's a good brand all fixed up with new parts. Someone dropped it off for repairs and never picked it up and the store owner was tired of having it around taking up space so he sold it to me when I asked. I'm pleased as punch about it!