Day 27: Keto diet and other nonsense

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 27: Keto diet and other nonsense

It always amazes me how people are obsessed with their health. This is good for you and that is good for you, this is bad for you and that is bad for you. The various articles online don’t help either: healthy summer, exercise yourself to better health, lose weight and feel healthier … I get sick it!

These days it’s all about the Keto diet and how it can make you lose weight. Before trying this diet, one should read about the 7 dangers of the Keto diet. 

Those who want to lose weight should pay attention to what they eat, exercise on a regular basis or have their thyroid checked. Losing too much weight too fast can have a devastating effect on one’s health and physique.

As for staying healthy …

Many years ago I worked with a woman named Natalie. I didn’t know her well, I merely saw her every day in the company’s cafeteria. While the majority of the people were served soup and a main course and helped themselves to salad, fruit, and cheese, Natalie only ate the main course and salad.

She only drank water, she exercised regularly and a piece of candy never passed her lips. She looked great and stated that she felt great.

At the age of 37, she died. One morning she got up, got ready for work, collapsed and died.

Then there’s Mary. Mary didn’t feel well, went to the doctor and was diagnosed with diabetes. She came home, extremely upset. Mary loved candy, chocolate, ice cream, etc. and the prospect of never being able to enjoy these treats again had her very upset. While her mother made her a cup of tea Mary went to have a shower. She fell in the shower, her hair clogged up the drain and she drowned.

Next up, Margaret. After a hip replacement, Margaret still battled with walking and it was decided that she should go and live in a retirement community. Margaret wasn’t keen on it, she loved her house, her garden, and her freedom. Still, she saw the benefits of living with 24-hour assistance. 

When Margaret joined the retirement community, she was issued an alarm system that she was to wear around her neck at all times. She merely had to press the alarm button and a nurse would come running. One day Margaret fell, the alarm system got caught on something and Margaret was strangled.  

As for my family … they never paid attention to anything. They ate, drank and smoked whatever they wanted. Mom lived to be 84, dad died at 88. Their parents all lived to be 90+.

So tell me, who will live longer? Those who are obsessed with their health or those who enjoy life and all it has to offer?

  

Day 87: Suffering from back pain? Go bowling

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 87: Suffering from back pain? Go bowling

As some of you may remember, on November 4^th I hurt my back. It started with a tiny pinprick in my lower back, the pain progressed throughout the day and by 10:00 p.m. I was in agony. Everything I did, whether it was sitting down, getting up or moving around, I did slowly and with utter care as the slightest wrong move caused me excruciating pain.

Today, three and a half months later, the pain is much better, but my back has not completely healed. Standing for an extended period of time or walking a distance still causes me discomfort. Not just in my lower back but between and under my shoulder blades.

According to my doctor, I had to go see a physiotherapist. At this point I would do anything to get rid of this pain so off I went.

A short conversation with the clinic’s receptionist told me that a session with the therapist would cost me $90 for 40 minutes and every session afterward would be $65 for 20 minutes. Since I don’t have insurance, this would come out of my own pocket. Fine, if that’s what it took I would pay.

I looked forward to my appointment the next day, but it was all rather disappointing. The therapist asked me a lot of questions, followed by some stretching, pushing and poking. Aware of my discomfort she offered a 3-minute massage and a 10-minute heat treatment.

I must admit, my back felt better after the massage and the heat treatment but later that day everything went south. OMG, I was in so much pain I actually felt worse than before, much worse.

According to the therapist, this was normal. This was why she would have to see me 3 times a week for the next 10 weeks. I did a quick calculation … $65 x 3 x 10 would come to $1,950. That was quite a shock to my finances.

On Saturday morning I went bowling. I was more than a little hesitant given the state of my back, but I felt I had to try. If I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t do it, but I would at least have given it a shot. Rather than bowling full-out as I usually do, I threw my ball with care, ever conscious of my spine and surrounding muscles. After three games I called it quits though. The games had gone fine, but I didn’t want to push my luck.

Today, some 36 hours later my back pain has all but disappeared. No more pain in my lower back, no more pain between or under my shoulder blades. Price of the games … $6.

Conclusion … before you see a physiotherapist and spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars, GO BOWLING!!!

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Day 77: Hitting a snag

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 77: Hitting a snag

It’s day 77 of this writing project and some of you might have wondered what this is all about. What it’s about is simple, I have a list of 365 tasks. Tasks such as:

- The Professor: Write about a teacher who has influenced you

- Mirror, Mirror: What if your mirror started talking to you

- The Stars: Take inspiration from the night sky

- Fire Starters: Write about building a fire

- Fashion: Write about a fashion model

While some tasks work out, these five definitely did not.

For instance …

I can’t write about a teacher who influenced me because no teacher ever has. Actors, singers, and writers have influenced me, but definitely not teachers.

What if a mirror started talking to me … holy crap, I think I’d get a coronary right there on the spot.

Taking inspiration from the night sky … not really working for me. I see the same stars every night (everybody does) and in the event that something exciting is going on, like a super moon or a meteor shower, I miss it. If something is going on in the sky, the sky is packed with clouds.

Building a fire … I’ve never built a fire and if I were to start now the superintendent and the management of my building wouldn’t be too pleased.

Writing about a fashion model … give me a break. I have zero interest in fashion models.

So, there you have it. Even though these writing tasks are supposed to help to get the creative juices flowing, there are topics that just don’t work for me.

Yesterday’s task was to write about a dragon. Well, that didn’t work either. What I know about dragons would fit on a postage stamp.

Today’s exercise was geography: write about a country you’ve never visited and why you would never go there. Seriously, if I was to write about such a country (countries actually) I would offend quite a few people.

So, I’ll do the next best thing. Tomorrow’s task is: write about countries you’ve never visited but would like to. I can most certainly do that.

Stay tuned …

Now, in addition, I’ve taken on posting daily calendar quotes. These are not my ideas, these are quotes that I get from my 2018 calendar. 

Today’s quote:

Despite the many images of cats lapping up milk, most cats are lactose intolerant.

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Day 52: Pain management - Sciatica

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 52: Pain management - Sciatica

It happened on November 3^rd. It started with a tiny pinch in my back, by 10:00 p.m. I was in excruciating pain. Nine days of pain, pain and more pain. While sitting, standing and walking the pain is moderate, but one wrong move and the pain is so severe that for a moment my breath gets stuck in my throat, or I scream.

Even since I announced this condition, I’ve been getting advice from readers:

-      Rest

-      Walk

-      Apply heat

-      Apply ice

-      Exercise

While these comments are much appreciated, I wonder if any of these people have actually experienced sciatica pain. Come to that, I wonder if my condition really is related to the sciatic nerve. Sciatica pain is not like regular back pain or lower back pain. If you look at the diagram you’ll notice that the sciatica nerve radiates pain into one buttock, hip and down the left or right leg. With me, that is not the case. My pain is centralized at the coccyx and radiates in both buttocks.

As for the given advice … I’ve done everything. I’ve rested, I’ve walked, I’ve applied heat and cold. This morning when I went looking for how to alleviate sciatica pain, I came across an article that said ‘Go for a brisk walk’. I closed my eyes and shook my head in wonder … does this person have any idea what sciatica pain feels like? You could promise me a million dollars, you could promise me ten million dollars if I went for a ‘brisk’ walk and I would have to forego the money. On a good day I can walk slowly, on a bad day, I shuffle. Of all the advice received, this is what has helped me the most:

Let me explain what my days are like.

Showering – This happens with the greatest of care. As you well know, one doesn’t shower standing still, there is constant movement, with twisting and turning. A water dance so to speak. This takes its toll on the back muscles. Not to mention that one stands on a slippery surface. A healthy person has no idea how many muscles are at work to keep a body upright and balanced.

Drying off – This too is risky business. Drying face, neck and chest is no problem, but then it starts … drying arms, back, and legs must be done slowly and with caution. When drying your back, you’re technically doing a mini version of the twist and that can lead to shooting pains. As for drying my legs … I do what I can, but anything below the knee must air dry. I just can’t reach.

Dressing – With a little caution, slipping on my bra and shirt goes reasonably well, but stepping into my underwear and jeans … hm, this takes several attempts, usually accompanied by a lot of groaning with pain.

Face and hair – While I used to do this in front of the mirror, now I moisturize and brush my hair sitting down. I know my face, I don’t need a mirror to show me where the moisturizer goes and neither do I need a mirror to fix my hair.

The first walk - When I’m done, I get up (slowly) and walk to the living room where the couch and a thick pillow awaits me. As I sit down and lean back I let out a contented sigh and feel like someone who just climbed Mount Everest … ‘Aaaaaah, that’s over, I’ve done it!’

Making breakfast - After I’ve rested a bit and caught my breath it’s time for breakfast. I make coffee, tea or hot chocolate and slip a bagel in the toaster. As I wait for the beverage to get ready and the bagel to pop, I have to support myself on the kitchen counter. The pain sags and my coccyx feels like it’s being attacked by several hot bricks. After carefully walking back to the living room I enjoy the satisfaction of sitting down.

When I fire up my laptop and read advice about treating sciatica pain, I come across advice such as … ‘getting on with your day’, ‘doing everything you usually do’ and ‘go for a walk’. I wonder about the experience of these writers. Getting on with my day … walking … hm, I shuffle more than what I walk and a trip to the kitchen, bathroom or bedroom leaves me exhausted and often nauseous with pain.

I do get up from time to time, to get my blood flowing and my muscles from stiffening up, but every time I’m more than happy when I can finally sit down again.

I’m seeing my doctor on Monday. For this, I have to go all the way downtown Toronto and at this time, I have no idea if I’ll be able to make the trip. Fortunately, I have today, tomorrow and part of Monday to get better. To get from home to the station, take three trains and walk from the station to the clinic. Mount Everest, here I come.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Day 49: Losing weight

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 49: Losing weight

Everybody knows that carrying extra weight is not good. There’s the risk of heart attack or stroke, diabetes, certain cancers, gallbladder disease, and quite a few others.

For people, there are various ways of losing weight. They can change their diet, reduce their intake of sugar and alcohol, and start exercising. But how does one manage weight loss in animals?

I have two male and two female cats, and while the males are of a perfect weight, the females are overweight. I talked to the vet about this and he said that there’s little or nothing to be done about it. Females, especially after being spayed, tend to get chubby.

This is Holly as a kitten ...

But as you can see, now she is on the chubby side. 

When I took her to the vet, he suggested feeding her by way of the catmosphere. The idea is that if the cat wants the food that is inside, she has to roll the sphere around and nibbles will fall out. Well, that didn’t work. Not only did my cats not roll the sphere around, they wouldn’t even go near it. When I showed them what to do, they took off. They were scared of the ball.

Adjusting Holly’s diet is impossible too. I can’t very well let her go hungry or present her with a salad. Cats need meat. So, in addition to canned cat food, I started buying weight management nibbles. It didn’t have any effect. Holly’s weight stayed exactly the same.

So now I’ve resorted to exercising Holly. We play with toys and whenever possible we take walks up and down the 11th-floor corridor of the condo building. It doesn’t always work though, as my neighbor has a large dog with a frightening bark. One woof out of him and Holly runs back inside.

So now we’re exercising inside. Running, jumping, and of late … sit-ups. You don’t believe a cat can do sit-ups? See for yourself …

 www.connymanero.weebly.com

Day 27: How to cope with things you’re dreading to do

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 27: Dread – How to cope with things you’re dreading to do

We all have things we don’t want to do or put off for as long as possible. For some people it’s house chores, for others it’s a task around the office, for others still it’s simply getting out of bed every morning. How to cope with things you’re dreading to do often have a simple solution.

Waking up

Few things are worse than waking up early in the morning to an annoying bell of an alarm clock. For a more pleasant awakening experience, select a musical tune on your iPhone. Waking up to music is far more preferable than hearing beep beep beep.

Personally, I hate waking up at 6:00 a.m. in the morning and I think I inherited this from my father. One morning he got so annoyed by his alarm clock, he pitched the bloody thing out the window.

Doing dishes

Ask 9 out of 10 people what their most hated chore around the house is and they might say doing dishes. Why do you think automatic dishwashers became so popular ...

If you have no choice but doing the dishes by hand, make things a little easier on yourself by doing part of the dishes before sitting down to lunch or dinner. 

After dishing up, you can wash the pots, that way after dinner all that’s left to do are the plates and cutlery. 

Or better yet, have your partner or children do the dishes. Hey, you cooked the meal, it’s only fair that someone else takes care of the clean-up.

Ironing

Another much-hated chore is ironing. The iron may have become more sophisticated over the years and lighter to handle, but it’s still a boring activity that takes its toll on one’s lower back and leg muscles. 

In all my life, I’ve ever come across one woman who stated that she loved ironing. She loved it so much, she ironed everything, from her husband’s underwear to his jeans. 

If you’re like the rest of the population and think ironing is boring, watch something on TV while you’re behind the ironing board or listen to an audiobook. You’ll be surprised how much more enjoyable ironing is while your favorite author is whispering sweet nothings in your ear.

Around the office

Personally, I love filing, but a surprising number of people hate it. I used to too until I decided to change my routine. Shortly after I started with the company, my filing basket was groaning under a number of papers and it took me hours to create order out of chaos. 

When I was finished I vowed never again to let this happen. From that day forward I did my filing daily. Usually, it took me less than 10 minutes to have everything in its proper place.

Going to the gym

Many people know that they should go to the gym to lose weight or simply stay in shape, but they keep putting it off. They’re too tired, they have too much to do, they don’t have the right clothes, they hate going alone ... you name it and they’ll use it as an excuse.

Fact is, once you’ve been to a gym, you’ll want to go again and again. If you don’t like going alone, ask a family member, a friend, a colleague or even a neighbor to come along. They might feel the way you do and might just be waiting for an invitation.

If you don’t have anyone to accompany you, go anyway, chances are before long you’ll hook up with someone who is alone too.

Going on a diet

Most people have gone on a diet at one time or another in their life and failed spectacularly. In most cases, that’s because people tend to be way too hard on themselves. They make their diet so strict that within a matter of days their good intentions go out the window. Or they don’t see results quick enough and hurt their toes by kicking the scale in a dark corner.

The right way to go about a diet is to make an appointment with a dietician. These people are trained professionals who can advise you on losing weight the healthy way. They can also recommend the right book for your weight loss program.

For everything you dread to do there’s a solution. If you can’t think of anything practical, give yourself a reward once you’ve dealt with something.

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Day 4. Dancing

Day 4: Dancing. The benefits of dancing.

 

Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m depressed” or “I’m tired” or “I need to lose weight but I don’t know anything about exercising and I don’t want to join a gym”? There’s one answer for all those people … dance.

The next time you feel lousy or tired, put on some music, music with a beat to it and see what happens. Before long you will start tapping your feet. Instead of sitting there, feeling sorry for yourself, get up. Just get up, listen and feel the music. You don’t have to start dancing at full tilt, just sway your hips a little, or a lot, next put in some shoulder action and move your feet. Et voila, you’re dancing. If don’t exactly have the moves Michael Jackson had, who cares, you’re up, you’re moving, you’re dancing.

Dancing releases endorphins, also known as ‘feel good’ hormones. With the release of those endorphins, you’ll feel better, less depressed and less tired.

As for losing weight … what better way to shed those extra pounds than to dance. When you’re dancing you’re using every part of your body. Once you’re really getting into it, when you’re really letting fly (you know, dance like nobody’s watching) arms, legs and body are all over the place and you’re breaking a sweat. I guarantee you, if you do that a few times a week, you’ll lose that weight alright and you will like it.

Personally, I never liked the idea of going to the gym. Some people go to the gym before going to work, others go after work. I couldn’t do either. For starters, I’m not a morning person. When my alarm goes off at 6:00 a.m. I want to throw it out the window. Can you see me getting up an hour earlier to go to the gym? Not on your life. And after work … no way. Some days I feel fine, most days I drag my sorry ass home, collapse in a chair and don’t even feel like cooking. If I had to go to the gym, I would fall asleep on the threat mill or drop a dumbbell on someone’s toes.

Dancing on the other hand I can do at home. I can do it to my kind of music, either blasting it through the speakers or turning up the volume with headphones. 

Actually, always wanted to learn to tap dance, but I think my downstairs neighbor would object to that.

Anyway, next time, if you’re feeling less than perky or you’re feeling like the air has gone out of your tires, put on some music and start moving. You’ll feel better, you’ll see.

As for those who want to lose weight, don’t expect results after just one day, or one week. Give it a month and then step on your scale … you might just do a couple of high kicks of sheer joy.

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