Stuck on Stupid

Top of the day folks!  Hope you each are well and continue to step towards a healthy way of living. 

 I really am stuck on stupid this morning.  I had written another whole blog but thought I would check to see what I last wrote….good Lawd!  Good thing I did and I’ll leave it at that.  Although, I want you to know that Big Guy and I are still “stepping” towards a healthier lifestyle; sometimes it feels like we have on concrete sneakers, but we keep stepping anyway.  It ain’t easy, but again I say, I’m stuck on stupid because I just can’t give it up.

 Some of my friends now call me a “health fanatic” because I continue to challenge them to exercise and eat right.  The church folks won’t let me near a menu and when our family comes to visit,

 like last week, they hide the sodas and potato chips so I don’t see them.  Talk about having a reputation!! 

 I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you that soon Big Guy and I will be faced with a change in routine that could possibly slow down our progression of healthy stepping.  We most likely will no longer be positioned to go to the gym and workout with our trainer; it’s a money thing, know what I mean?   It’s interesting because yesterday I came across a posted blog entitled “The Best Weight Loss Secret I Know” in which the author basically concluded that “The best weight loss method I know is wealth. Pure and simple. In America, it’s a luxury to be thin.”

 My response to that article is, “say it ain’t so Joe”!  I hope with all my heart that is not true.  What do you think?  Do you agree with that statement?  And finally, what advice can you offer to encourage Big Guy and me for this next part of our journey?

Big Guy, Lisamarie, and Darron - 3 generations

“Champions aren’t made in the gyms”

Still Serving H.A.M. and E.G.G.S.

Good morning!

I cannot believe a year has passed since I started blogging.  Some mornings or evenings I would think about the blog and thoughts would flow freely, while other times I would get stuck.  I often would get stuck trying to decide whether or not I should share the “blahs” associated with my “whine and no cheese” syndrome that comes along when I am not successful at reaching a goal, such as weight loss.

But I wanted to share with you this morning that I am still serving and consuming my portion of H.A.M. and E.G.G.S.  Matter of fact, I have been shopping at a variety of “markets”.  During the month of March, I was able to acquire some staples at a roundtable forum that was hosted by SCDHEC, which included a talk session facilitated by Dr. Gardziola.  Dr. G, as we fondly called him, is the director of the stroke program at GHS. In addition to his presentation, both Kathy Ebert and Lillie Hall facilitated a portion of the workshop entitled “Faithful Families – Eating Smart and Moving More” which included an awesome, awesome 3 ring binder filled with a plethora of info on exactly how to do just that, “eat smart and move more”.

I also attended a Power To Prevent Diabetes Focus Group Session which was again hosted by SCDHEC, GHS, and the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO).  This meeting was facilitated by Lillie Hall (SCDHEC) and Melinda Hudson-Gillespie.  It was well attended and provided some much needed dialogue as to how we can keep the H.A.M. and E.G.G.S flowing.  Many of the attendees and I have been busy delivering H.A.M. (health awareness messages) in our communities and churches;  some of these messages reached an expanded audience thanx to the news media’s partnership to help.

Because this is Easter weekend, I’m in search for some healthy meals to serve up to my family and friends; so if you have any, please share.  But rest assured, H.A.M. and E.G.G.S. are still front and center in my life.  Happy Easter!

Do U Think Weight Loss is a Black and White Issue?

Hey Folks!

I was in the kitchen this morning, making coffee, and my brain turned on.  It started me thinking in “black and white”.  As usual, my first train of thought is in the direction of weight loss and I was reminded of the many conversations I have shared with some of my more intimate friends; many of whom are women of color, but not all.  We have shared our weight struggles and the difficulty we are having trying to lose weight.  We, women of color (please note this is just a “general observation” of myself and some personal friends and by no way is a declaration) believe; in fact, we know that it really is more than “less in and more out”;  It really is not that black and white.

Most of my friends are amazed that I work out in the manner that I do.  That is by no means to say that I’m an athlete, but let’s just say I work out far more often than they ever plan to and more often than I have in my entire life.  However, both I and some of my friends that go to a gym to work out seldom expect to see any real sizeable number of people that look like we do there.  Why is that?  We often see people come in that look nothing like us.  That is to say, they generally are Caucasians, much, much smaller than we are, like sizes 6 -10; working like their life is at stake.  Hmm, I just said a lot there because I guess they are “working for their life”.

Someone from a newspaper called to interview me and asked if I thought women of color, particularly African American women face a greater challenge when it comes to weight loss and I think I might have spoken before really giving that question some thought.  Again, I really don’t think an answer is just a black and white issue.

Tell me…what do you think?  I mean seriously.  I’d be most curious to hear from others because despite the black and white of this issue, we all want to experience good health and long life.  Please share your comments.

Counted last….but still counted

Some of you already know that I participated in a winter triathlon that was hosted by the GHS Life Center the latter part of January.   Thanx to my, ever so patient triathlon partner, DD, in addition to the support and encouragement from staff, Big Guy, friends like Jamie  who also competed, and other smiling and caring competitors , I was able to complete this event; from start to finish.  Even though I scored the least amount of points and my name is listed as the last competitor to finish…the operative word here is “finish-ed”. Yeah!

I had planned to write about this much sooner, but I got caught up in the “is the glass half empty or half full syndrome and I still continue to find myself having the following conversation:”Last…you finished last! And the reason you entered was because??? You can’t even swim!”  The worst part of this is I wanted to do well; guess you call that vanity and I thought I did ok.  probably because each participant looked as though they had competed in a triathlon and were wearing the effects.  But the next day, I looked at the videos that Big Guy took during the competition and spent the day crying.  It really was and still is a challenge to stop the flow of tears….Talk about raw emotions.

Now the question becomes “why”?  Why the tears?  Why did/do I put myself through this?  I think the first answer is vanity; I want to lose weight, reshape, and physically be more attractive. However, I think the answer should probably be to experience a healthier lifestyle.  But it is what it is; vanity first.  I have to admit, it takes almost as much energy to get past the “do I look ok” part of this endeavor, as it does to compete in the event itself.  It was not easy to look back and take note that I was one of the oldest competitors and certainly the heaviest competitor. I mean really.  Think about it.  If you were 200 plus pounds, would you want to put on a bathing suit and or workout with someone that is or at least looks to be athletically fit and wears a size 10?  May not be an issue for you but it was and sometimes, still is an issue for me.  But I did/do this to prove to myself and all of you who think we’re too old or too fat that it really is “mind over matter” and the matter needs to be about you and me; our well being and our health.

Next…tears, just raw emotions that reflect my disappointment, frustration, and determination.   It took a lot to suck up the vanity and find the strength to compete in water; when I can’t even swim. Disappointment because I could not physically do better; after all, I was the last to finish. But my determination empowered me to be the victor by not letting the” why’s” and the “I don’t thing so’s” get the better of me and prevent me from experiencing the challenge and enjoying the flavor of being a winner .

I’ve decided my glass is half full because I was able to compete, of my own free will, in an event that is guaranteed to do more to improve my quality of life than to harm it. In addition, because I continue to work out with Big Guy several times a week, make better food choices, keep trying to learn to swim, I am empowered with the ability to smell the flowers in the garden of life and the beautifully  cut flowers that my guys give me. 

As our trainer says, “You got this!  Finish strong!”

Matters of the Heart

Hello Everybody!

It’s been a little quiet. You doing ok? I’m still kicking. Had planned on writing sooner, especially about the indoor triathlon that I competed in but got a little side tracked.

So….how is your year coming along? Hard to believe we have moved into February already. Speaking of February…..this is the month that we see lots of red hearts, cupids, and various messages reminding us not to forget to show our affection to those that we hold dear in our heart on Valentine’s Day. It is a perfect month to highlight “matters of the heart” because our “hearts really matter”.

It was especially heartwarming to see so many venues around town, not only to remind us about Valentine’s Day, but also to remind us how to have healthy hearts and healthy hearts are important for all ages. There are many tools online to help us identify the right foods to eat and how much exercise we should do.  Holidays can be especially challenging and if your Valentine, like my Valentine, is taking you out for dinner, make sure you use all available resources.

Big Guy and I really try hard to “practice what we preach”. That said, we are still taking steps to safeguard our health and we too are working at having healthy hearts. I’m proud to say, it’s been more than a year since we both stopped smoking. That was a big one….and it’s funny now how when a smoker passes us, we look at each other and say, “Wow; that’s what we smelled like”. When we first stopped, if we saw someone smoking, we wanted to get close to smell the smoke. Now….we run from the smokers like crazy people and we truly have no desire to smoke anymore. Yeah!!!

Wishing you lots of love and a Happy Valentine’s Day.

Hi Five – 5

Some Stuff I Really Can Do!

Where did the year go?  It’s already time to sing out with the “happy new year” greetings!  I guess Big Guy and I lost track of time while we were having fun working out at the gym.  Although, I must admit some days were more difficult than others because our “old” bodies were screaming for having to use “sleeping” muscles; those were the days when we had some, shall we say, not so kind thoughts of our trainer (just joking).   Buttttt, all in all we are truly blessed and looking forward to the coming year filled with continued blessings and successes.

Big Guy and I were talking this morning about our holiday cuisine, our weight, and eating habits, while noting some of the healthy changes we have made this year.  Especially with our committed physical fitness routines which included 45-60 minutes workout twice a week, my swimming lessons, and efforts to add at least 2 other days of physical activity for 30 minutes.   We even gave up our twice a week Chinese food and only have it once of twice a month.  It was during this conversation we both hit the giggle mode while reflecting on the creativeness of our trainer.  He’s quite good at providing us with “challenges” and when he introduces new exercises, I usually look at him like he has just taken a total leave of his senses. A good example is the TRX Plank that I can do, thank you very much; I actually like to do this one….don’t tell Jose.  I like this one because I’m in awe that I can do it!  When he first introduced this exercise to me, I thought the child had just lost his mind.  I tried to remind him that I am an “old, I mean matured lady” while informing him that I was unable to do that exercise when I was his age, let alone today.  However, just like the younger generations, he was not listening and assured me “you got this”. And you know what???  I did.  It was rough on the 1^st go round, but now I am able to “hold my own”, quite literally.

It’s been 6 monthss with this routine and Big Guy is down 25 lbs and doing a great job with his self management of diabetes.  Me….well…let’s just say I’m extremely disappointed in the weight loss arena because there has not been any weight loss.  Not even a half pound.  I know, it is what it is but I’m now in cry baby mode, tears and all – sorry. But… the good news is I’m not giving up.  I actually signed up for an indoor triathlon—go figure; guess I’m just a glutton for punishment.  The up side to this  is I have a gr-8 time working out with my hubby and seeing my many new friends (even the ones that through me under the bus and I’m not mentioning any names because Jamie will know I’m talking about him); I’m in reasonably good health; and I’m still around to wish you well in your endeavors; encourage you to keep going and to ask you to please help me to keep going.  Maybe you could strike a few keys and let me know what has worked for you this year or whether or not you are making plans to implement or continue healthy living choices.

Sending wishes from our home to your home for a very Happy and Healthy New Year!

Bloodsugarbasics.com

Hi! Hope everyone had a GREAT Thanksgiving! Just wanted to share this program with everyone. I have been involved with this project through the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE).

It is a fantastic resource with information on how to get the most out of your doctor’s visit, fun quizzes, how to recognize low blood sugars and a lot more. Check it out! Go to the website: bloodsugarbasics.com!

Use Your 20/20

How many times have you either heard or said, “Hind sight is 20/20” or “if I knew then what I know now”?  I have both heard and said it many times; usually with some regret.  Some things you can just shrug your shoulders and say, “oh well”, but usually if it’s a health related issue, it can be far more serious and the consequences could be life robbing.  So again I say, use your 20/20; especially when thinking about whether or not to get the flu shot.

The flu, a serious illness, is a viral infection that causes respiratory infections and impacts 1 in 5 Americans each year.  You can get the flu from another infected person; it is spread as simply as someone coughing or sneezing in your presence.   However, you should know that you can “protect yourself, protect your family, and prevent the flu” by getting a flu shot.

There are many options throughout our communities to get a flu vaccine. You can get them from your doctor, from local stores such as CVS, Publix, and your local SCDHEC office.  However, I must caution you about the cost of these vaccines because they vary greatly.  SCDHEC can provide the vaccine for a $25 fee, and most local stores cost approximately $30, while getting it in your doctor’s office can increase the cost by more than 100%—-I got a bill for $61 and my insurance is not paying for my vaccine.  Yikes!

Don’t be afraid to get the vaccine.  This year after attending community awareness workshops about the flu and encouragement from my primary care doctor, I took the flu vaccine for the first time.  Piece of cake!  Did not hurt and I did not get the flu!  I can also attest to having had a good portion of H.A.M. and E.G.G.S.  If you would like for me to facilitate a workshop about the flu, let me know on the comment page.  In addition, if you would like to receive a toolkit to share with your group, you can contact SCDHEC for more information

Bottom line, get the vaccine to prevent the flu; especially people over 50; people with diabetes; and other serious health issues.  Use your 20/20 vision to prevent any possible complications from the flu that could be the results of poor “hindsight”.