Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts

Friday, September 11, 2015

Nutrition counts with age


“If you don’t take care of your body, where are you going to live?”  ~Unknown

The oddest thing happened.  When I got home last night, my husband pointed out a HUGE box of overflowing fruits and vegetables, saying they were sitting on our doorstep.

My first reaction was it would be my wonderful, nutritious-oriented daughter because we had talked about having a bake or make day -- try making pies or I'd show her how I make my popular bruschetta from the tomatoes I grew in my very own garden!  She was not responsible, however, didn't hesitate to say she'd swing by to pick up some.

There were two bags of different apples, a big bag of oranges, about 7 zucchini, more apples, about 50 kiwi -- it was amazing!

My second conspirator I thought of was my best friend who had just returned from Victoria after dropping her son off to begin his first year of university.  After exchanged texts this morning, I discovered it wasn't her.

Hmmmm, the plot thickens.  Who is our guardian angel or fairy godmother?  

What was so fascinating about this was I had just said at work, after a colleague shared pieces of heavenly nectarine, that I had been craving fruit but with my crazy schedule, hadn't made it to the grocery store.  I had it on my TO DO list for today, my first day and only day off for a week.

I haven't really talked about the fact that I had been diagnosed with Type II Diabetes a year and a half ago.  I keep it firmly in the closet, keeping it private.  Sadly, I took it hard and a sign that my youth and vitality may be failing and a sign of imperfection, almost embarrassment.

I worked with a dietician referred to by my doctor, who said that I already had the basics of a good diet that just needed tweaking.  Basically, like any good nutrition plan, you have to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables and scale down sugar (obviously) and surprisingly carbohydrates.  

Stress and lifestyle can also impact your health dramatically.  My job is shift work and it seems to have impacted my blood sugar levels.  Before, I would get up by 7am, have a yogurt with fruit or a muffin with my Metformin and then another pill with lunch of usually a sandwich full of veggies.

Unfortunately, my schedule is really off kilter.  I can work from 1pm to 9pm, then the next few days 10am to 6pm, followed by 12:30-8:30pm.  It doesn't lend itself to a diet routine.

I'm not stressed by any means.  My kids have all left home and are smoothly sailing into adulthood with one moved to Vancouver, employed, nice boyfriend and living with my brother, safe and sound.  My other is starting her second year of university, a little turbulent because she was working 3 jobs to help fund her love to travel.  My stepdaughter is into owning her own condo, engaged and to be married next summer.  I do worry about my son and his lifestyle, with alcohol as a companion, a bit more than I'd like.



Overall, life is pretty balanced.  I've doted on my garden with my best friend, Buddy by my side.  I've been decompressing with painting and self-expression by blogging.

BUT, the big BUT.  I can't fool the meter that tests my blood sugar.  It has been higher than normal for the past few weeks.  It stands out to me that it is my diet that is causing things to go amuck.  I realize that it takes discipline to have a routine on your eating, not just what you eat.  Surprising, but revealing.

I've known and been aware, that when you don't take the time to plan your menu or have the proper supply nearby, it is easy to lean on a greater amount of carbohydrates.  Those are an enemy of balance.  

It takes me an hour to get home, so it's peanut butter toast for dinner.  Not a whole lot of calories yet mostly carbs.

I still am going to go crazy wondering who dropped off this huge box of goodies?  Is there such a thing as a guardian angel?  Or is it my karma:  what I've been thinking and saying lately?

Regardless of its origins, it emphasizes how important one's routine AND nutritional balance is.  Not many of us have the wakeup call a diagnosis like Diabetes is to realize that we have to watch what we eat and take the extra effort on balance.  




My dietician emphasized that I have the misfortune of genetics against me.  My father had diabetes and so had my younger brother and older sister - so that compounded the likelihood.  As she pointed out, I was pretty good at recognizing and following a balanced diet.  Her best advice was to visualize my plate where the carbs are balanced by vegetables.  So it isn't like you are going without anything in particular, it is more about offsetting it with more vegetables.

It was like a wake up call, that when you hit 50, it is more than ever important.  What was further surprising, was that my older brother recently had been diagnosed.  Similar to us, he and his wife follow a pretty disciplined diet.  The curse of genetics fell on him too.  He doesn't know that I know, my mother told me so I would feel better.  

I hazard a guess that my brother took it the same way I did:  a stroke of misfortune that is taken with embarrassment.  Especially to those consciously watching what they eat, how much.  He plays hockey every week with guys half his age.  Heck, his wife makes his lunch every day because she knows he is a bit of a junk food junkie and if she didn't, he'd be going through a drive-thru every day.  

We're of a generation now where so many are baby boomers hitting their 60s.  I'm a fair ways off, yet the reminder hit me flat in the face.  If I want to continue to be the vibrant, energetic person I'm reputed to be, I will have to pull up my socks and put any excuses aside, forget the blame on genetics and just get to it.

I realized writing this that one very important matter is exercise:  with the shift work, it hasn't leant itself to my walks with my dog for exercise.  You know, what they keep saying balanced diet + exercise = health.

I may take care of my appearance, love fashion, proud of my newling garden skills, and emphasis on balance.  I have to admit that I've slid some and need to smarten up.  My life depends on it.





"The best doctor gives the least medicine."
~Benjamin Franklin

p.s. my neighbour, who was my next culprit on my list of thoughtful, caring people who would have possibly dropped the treasure trove of goodies off on my doorstep, just came by with her wonderful homemade apple jelly (positive karma again!) did not give us them.  The plot thickens.  She did say I could make kiwi jelly.  Time to get off to get some fresh basil to make some bruschetta.  I'll share the recipe later.  Good times, good eats, good friends.  Lucky me!

p.s.s. It turns out that the fruit came from my lovely daughter and fiance.  I had pondered with hubby, neighbour, other daughter (while I was going through process of elimination), after wracking my brain, considering my sister.  I did think of her and her fiance but strongly considered that they don't each much fruit.  Never striking me that they would have gotten the fruit from someone from work, and BECAUSE they don't eat fruit, they'd give it away.  It wasn't meant as a surprise.  They simply dropped it off on their way from work, meaning to text us or tell us next time. It was a wonderful, beautiful gesture cloaked in mystery, landing squarely on fits and giggles.  All good for the soul.



Monday, June 22, 2015

Want what you have

As I write this blog it evolves.  Primarily experimental or experiential, depending on my writing and who is reading it.  What I include are items that strike my fancy weighed by my mood or circumstances. 

Where we live and how we live are important to many of us.  Creating creature comforts and having the best life has to offer is a priority for many, a reality for the lucky and dreams for others. 

There are destructive emotions we should avoid for our daily health and wellbeing.  They are emotions that can deteriorate and replace a positive outlook outside of events or occurrence that impact us that we cannot control.  For example:
  • Envy:  wanting what others have. 
  • Jealousy: anger at what others want to possess.
  • Resentment:  remorse for opportunities passing by.
  • Bitterness:  unable to let bygones be bygones.
  • Greed:  possessiveness without sharing.
  • Pride:  giving importance to others opinions
  • Arrogance:  smugness in accomplishments
  • Superiority:  thinking one is better than others
  • Vanity:  putting appearance before anything else
  • Ego:  destructive self perception
  • Emotional:  going from one mood extreme to another
  • Conceit:  self absorbed promotion, better than others
  • Cruel:  punishing other people or animals; heartless
  • Pretentious: braggart, opinionated, loud, boastful
  • Intolerant:  rigid boundaries that are limiting
  • Prejudice: biased, narrow judgment, racism, stereotype
  • Narcissism:  self-motivated by  the obstruction of others 
  • Difficult:  demanding, narrow, unrelenting
  • Selfish:  protecting opinion and possessions
  • Defiant:  Going against the rules, radical, aggressive

There are so many better characteristics we should aspire to replace or offset the destructive ones:
  • Humility:  putting others accomplishments ahead
  • Modesty:  non bragging on achievements
  • Forgiving:  allowing others wrongs to be undone
  • Charitable:  giving of self or possessions
  • Understanding:  open-minded, permitting others views
  • Accepting: allowing other's differences
  • Easy going:  flexible, liberal, adaptable
  • Admirable:  looked up to by others, a positive example
  • Generous: fruitfulness in actions and charitable giving
  • Humanity:  putting others first, caring about people
  • Philanthropic: using personal resources to gift others
  • Positive:  outlook, attitude, viewpoint, example
  • Balanced: composed, stable, adjusted, together
  • Compliant:  obedience of rules, embrace guidance
  • Inquisitiveness:  wanting to learn, accept new knowledge
  • Calm:  steady, understanding negativity, even tempered
We're not perfect by any means.  That is why, I imagine, religion, godliness is what some of us aspire to grasp onto when our personal resources are depleted.   I'm not saying having beliefs in religion is a cop out.  What I am saying is having those beliefs gives us permission to look for a better approach to living and life.

We should be careful not to sway too far the other way.  There are some qualities, held in check, that can be good for us.  In many situations, we should have one stabilized with another. Being too far in one direction can hamper or restrict one's life, be harmful to our health, or increase our stress levels:

Shyness:  anxious,  introverted, fearful, withdrawn
Timid:  passive, non-assertive, quiet, silent,
Submissive:  giving up, allowing others control, avoidance
Silent:  Mute, noiseless, inaudible, still hushed,
Intimidated:  allowing others control, afraid, soundless
Victimized:  harmed, casualty, fatality, prey
Rigid:  steadfast to position, belief, opinion, immobile
Placid:  docile, unfeeling, cold
Stressed:  out of control, inability to meet needs, crowded

Ride along with me on this journey. 
Don't tackle everything at once.  If you have heard or sense what others perceive in you, good or bad, right or wrong.  Take one destructive point and take an opposing quality.  By doing so, we will move towards fulfillment, contentment and wellness. 

I thought of this blog when originally thinking to consolidate some of the items I promoted because they attracted my attentions and desires.  I've noticed how well blogs that promote other brands, products, fashions.  So, I included them.  Then I got to thinking that wanting things, looks, materialism can be destructive and how it is all about balance.  For example, if you want a vacation, you may still have obligations or financial restrictions that won't allow you to just book it.  However, having goals are fueled by those desires that drive you to want to reach those things, places, looks.

I think it is healthy to admire things without allowing envy to enter the equation.  That also allows us to give permission to share ideas and embrace others' ideas.  It can bring acceptance or dissatisfaction. 

How we handle it individually is what makes our world open to new possibilities.  Don't beat yourself up because you bond with something pleasing to your eye or opens up new ideas. 

Here are some images that appeal to me:




Big windows where light can seeps in.  Lots of seating for lots of friends and family to hang out at.  I love the soothing blend of the calm colors with the stone and woodwork.
 


 
 
 
Sometimes you just have to get out of the house to be in a peaceful, quaint setting.  I like meeting new people and it is often in a setting with coffee and big comfy chairs.  Sometimes it is just reading the newspaper, a magazine, enjoying a coffee someone else made.
 

 
Solitude is beneficial.  Being extroverted with history of a hectic household, demanding job, putting demands on myself, it is just nice to get away.  A walk on this path is not far off and within reach of me.  Being reminded is healthy.  Being afraid of bears and animals intruding on my wanders is a reality even if it is not necessarily a risk.
 


I won't get into the drama (this time at least) surrounding my vehicle saga.  I've had a Mini Cooper S and a Mercedes and driving a practical Hyundai Elantra right now.  This falls under the "wouldn't it be great to have" category.






This reminded me of when I did the design of my back deck, drawing it out by hand, this was very similar and included a hot tub.  I was a solo-mom at the time and considered all the factors of how practical one would be.  Visions of a bunch of little kids jumping in and splashing around interrupted my image of quietness, glass of wine, soft music.  I was already accustomed to adding another plate or three for dinner.  I wasn't prepared to share something like this.  Then the reality of daily maintenance and ongoing upkeep eliminated it from my list.


I am an admitted clothes horse.  I tend to plan what I am going to wear in advance.  I imagine gaps in colors, accessories and the like to give me an excuse to go shopping.

I am not a grab anything throw it on type of gal.  I do spend time visualizing my wardrobe, accessories, purses and shoes to put together an outfit for usually the next day.  Even if it is just hanging around the house or running errands.  That sounds extreme as I write this.  Well, we all have our perks and quirks.

I rediscovered Polymore because it appeals to that part of me that likes to imagine looks put together.  The challenge is finding things I already have that can successfully be used to achieve these looks.    
 
Ramping up for the Calgary Stampede which will be upon Calgary early July, my focus has circulated around fashion must haves and fashion looks to go hand in hand with the Country vibe for the summer.