meds suck!

I think at one point I wrote about all the medication I take on a daily basis. I'd have to go look to remember for sure. Not relevant. They suck! Not so much the meds themselves, but some of the side effects.

I apparently have a choice at this point, I can be awake and in pain or have less pain and be a zombie. Decisions decisions. The medication I take for my feet and legs puts me in a fog. Without it I feel like I'm on fire. It is very difficult, almost impossible, for me to find motivation when all I want to do is sleep. I feel numbed.

So, I've decided to try some acupuncture and see how that works. Have an appointment scheduled. Let's see if some eastern medicine can help what western can't seem to.

Feeding Your True Hunger

Sometimes I find an article so helpful or interesting that I copy and paste it into my blog. True, someday that may get me sued, but some things are worth spreading around. I thought that true of this article.

By carolyn_r on Mar 29, 2012 10:00 AM in Dieting & You

What leads you to eat beyond your appetite? Some point to emotional eating, boredom, or cravings, but a bigger umbrella for doing something you know you shouldn’t is the feeling of deprivation. There may be something you can’t have, and you may project feelings of lack by “treating” yourself to whatever you want to eat. It’s freeing to be in control, so why not rebel against what would be healthy for your body and pleasure your palate beyond hunger? The reason is, learning how to deal with feelings of lack is one of the most important parts of maintaining healthy habits beyond weight loss.

Food Restriction and Cravings
Multiple studies have shown that highly restrictive diets are hard to maintain long term, but a new study gives specifics as to what may be the principle issue. A study of 129 women were separated into three groups: dieters, non-dieters, and those watching their weight. Non-dieters had fewer cravings than those watching their weight, with dieters showing the most cravings. The difference between these groups was in levels of food deprivation. The key to eating within your appetite may start with disconnecting your hunger from your weight. Whether normal weight, overweight or obese, we all get hungry multiple times throughout the day. Despite multiple commercials to the contrary, a diet can not prevent hunger, so embrace the normal feeling of wanting to eat and you may feel less deprived in the long run.

Pain and Overeating

We’ve heard the old adage no pain, no gain, but the reverse is true. If you have pain, you may overeat in reaction to it which could contribute to weight gain. The journal Obesity just published a study that showed that obese patients with chronic pain have reduced weight loss success. Depression, shame, and self-efficacy are mentioned as barriers to controlling eating and participating in physical activity. The issue with lack of comfort and weight loss however is that losing weight and moving more may actually alleviate pain. Not only will eating more fruits and vegetables and less high-calorie foods help draw down daily caloric intake, but exercising is also known to improve mood. Increased self-efficacy has also been observed in subjects who move more. 
Stress and Overeating

It’s no secret that people are more stressed than they used to be. The April 2012 issue ofAppetite published a study that proves exposure to stress increases the drive to eat in normal and overweight individuals. What this means for those who are overweight is you’re not broken and your urge to eat more during stressful events is not the reason why you’re overweight. The issue comes down to finding your stop button. Not just for overeating, but also for stress. As you learn to be cognizant of what and how much you eat, you must also find the stressors in your life and try to remove them according to what’s under your control.

Trust a Try
All in all, your weight is not the reason why you overeat. We all overeat from time to time and there are similar triggers for both normal and overweight individuals. The key to losing weight and keeping it off is in understanding that deprivation is a part of life. You can’t always get what you want. You’re not always going to be full, happy, or pain-free, especially on the way to correcting years of inactivity and unhealthy eating. Learning to cope with this fact will help you accept who you are, move towards becoming healthier without a feeling that you're missing out on something. As you continue to make better decisions little by little, you'll gradually replace bad habits with good ones which will eventually lead you to feed your true hunger which only you, not food, can do. 

Weighing in

I've noticed lately that I'm feeling a bit worse. Things are a tad harder to do and I just don't have any energy. I stepped on the scale tonight and discovered that I have gained back the weight I lost plus another 15 pounds. So I'm currently sitting at 565.

I've decided to go back to counting calories and this time will be using caloriecount.com. The great thing about it is they have an app that works on my tablet so I will always have it with me. That way I can keep more detailed record of what I put in my mouth.

I plan to (I'm great at making plans) figure out a day by day routine that makes me get up and move. Start out slow and work my way up. I've got the damn exercise bike sitting here I need to use, a pool down the road, a nice park to walk to in the back yard. And not the motivation to use a damn bit of it.

But I can fix that. I've fixed so much in my life, I can do this too. One step at a time, one day at a time.

monday evening in the ER

Yep, me again, in the hospital, again. Had a great little scare, took a ride in the wha mbulance and all. Apparently I was having a case of vertigo. Let me tell you what, not fun, not at all fun. I couldn't figure out what was going on. Couldn't stand up, world was spinning, lips numb, nausea. Fun times.

So apparently, after them stuffing me in a donut and taking pictures of my brain, blood tests and all that, they decided I simply have rocks in my head. Seriously. Apparently my inner ear has some tiny little stones rolling around in it that cause dizziness.

I must do some research on this, I want to know how one gets rocks in the head.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common causes of vertigo — the sudden sensation that you're spinning or that your head is spinning inside.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is characterized by brief episodes of mild to intense dizziness. Symptoms of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo are triggered by specific changes in the position of your head, such as tipping your head up or down, and by lying down, turning over or sitting up in bed. You may also feel out of balance when standing or walking.

Although benign paroxysmal positional vertigo can be a bothersome problem, it's rarely serious except when it increases the chance of falls. You can receive effective treatment for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo during a doctor's office visit.

Vertigo occurs when there is conflict between the signals sent to the brain by various balance- and position-sensing systems of the body. Your brain uses input from four sensory systems to maintain your sense of balance and orientation to your surroundings.

• Vision gives you information about your position and motion in relationship to the rest of the world. This is an important part of the balance mechanism and often overrides information from the other balance-sensing systems.
• Sensory nerves in your joints allow your brain to keep track of the position of your legs, arms, and torso. Your body is then automatically able to make tiny changes in posture that help you maintain your balance (proprioception).
• Skin pressure sensation gives you information about your body's position and motion in relationship to gravity.
• A portion of the inner ear , called the labyrinth, which includes the semicircular canals, contains specialized cells that detect motion and changes in position. Injury to or diseases of the inner ear can send false signals to the brain indicating that the balance mechanism of the inner ear (labyrinth) detects motion. If these false signals conflict with signals from the other balance and positioning centers of the body, vertigo may occur.

Common causes of vertigo include:

• Inner ear disorders, such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV),Ménière's disease, vestibular neuritis, or labyrinthitis.
• Injury to the ear or head.
• Migraine headaches, which are painful, debilitating headaches that often occur with vertigo, nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light, noise, and smell.
• Decreased blood flow through the arteries that supply blood to the base of the brain (vertebrobasilar insufficiency).

Less common causes of vertigo include:

• A noncancerous growth in the space behind the eardrum (cholesteatoma).
• Brain tumors and cancer that has traveled from another part of the body (metastatic).

Immediate medical attention is needed if vertigo occurs suddenly with loss of function. Vertigo that occurs with loss of function in one area of the body can mean a problem in the brain, such as a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA).

Alcohol and many prescription and nonprescription medicines can cause lightheadedness or vertigo. These problems may develop from:

• Taking too much of a medicine (overmedicating).

With all my other health issues and the large number of medications I take on a daily basis I admit I feared the worst. Apparently it's the BPPV that affected me. 

Road trip

Welcome to wildlife safari, so says the sign. I haven't been there since I was my kids age and I honestly didn't remember much of it at all.

What a fantastic experience both as a parent and as an animal lover. Yes, it's pricey. But worth every penny to experience two giraffes walking past your vehicle like they haven't a care in the world.

amazing how many miles of road are in this park

 .

I would happily go back again for another trip through. It took us over two hours to meander through the miles of road contained within these fences and I think we could have easily spent more time going through again.

American Bison

This place has been around for many generation I truly hope it's around many more.

The following day was spent in Newport at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, one of my favorite places. And such a cool place to take curious kids. Again, they had a blast. So cool that they are now old enough to enjoy these things.

Do you ever take time to sit and ponder your life? The past, present and future. I do. More and more as I get older. I sit and think about the past, ponder what events in life made me the me that I am today.

I believe quite firmly believe that those persons who claim to have no regrets are either completely full of shit or deluding themselves. There is the third option of course, they've never left the house. I have many regrets. Burned bridges, lost friends, missed opportunities. Not to mention stupid choices, lots of those.

But then there is the positive side of things, that side I have such trouble seeing most days. I try and think about what I have done, what I have accomplished, the places I've been and the things I've seen.

I have to remind myself that I've earned my aches and pains. I have to remind me to be nice to me. So I've tried being nice to me this last week. I've done things I haven't done in many years. I bought clothes. I got comfortable shoes for walking. I'm doing everything I can think of to eliminate my excuses. And I have so many of them.

Motivation

What the fuck does it take to find and keep you? Fear of death doesn't even seem enough to keep me going. I find that I constantly and consistently fall back into old habits and patterns. And it pisses me off.

Stretching for us fat folk

Yup, I have got to start stretching. I feel like I get more stove up every day.

SAFE STRETCHES FOR OBESE PEOPLE

0 COMMENTS

May 26, 2011 | By Ramona French

Photo Credit Michael Greenberg/Digital Vision/Getty Images

Being able to move freely is essential for a healthy life, so you can manage your daily activities, work and recreation. Stiffness and inflexibility will develop if you lead an inactive life, making movement difficult and painful. If movement is difficult, it's hard to exercise. But exercise is vital for maintaining your health and lowering your risk for conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, risks that are higher if you are overweight.

CONSIDERATIONS

If you are overweight or obese, you can perform the same stretches as anyone else. However, if you have been inactive, you may not be very flexible and may not be able to stretch as fully as someone more fit. Begin with stretches you can perform while sitting or lying down, to reduce strain on your joints. Exercising in a swimming pool supports your weight, so that you are less likely to injure your joints when you begin stretching.

WARM UP

Begin your stretching exercises with a warmup. Any low-impact aerobic activity will do, such as walking. Warm up for five to 10 minutes before stretching. This allows your muscles, tendons and ligaments to increase in temperature, and tissue fluid will become more liquid, making movement easier. When you are warm, you can begin stretching.

STRETCHING GUIDELINES

Use good form, which means paying attention to how each stretch is correctly performed and trying to do it correctly every time. You may want to take a class or work with a trainer at first. Do static stretches instead of bouncing in and out of a stretch. Hold each stretch for 10 to 30 seconds, and repeat at least four times. Stretch every day, and pay special attention to your lower back, hips, legs and shoulders.

STRETCHES WHILE LYING DOWN

Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Press your lower back into the floor and hold the position for 10 seconds. Repeat four times.

Lying on the floor, bring both knees up to your chest and hold them with your arms for at least 10 seconds. Repeat at least four times.

Lying on your back, with one knee bent and the foot flat on the floor, pull the straight leg toward your chest, grasping it just above and below the knee with your hands. Hold for 10 seconds, repeat four times.

SITTING STRETCHES

Sit on the floor with the soles of your feet together and your knees out. Press gently on your knees with your hands, while keeping your spine straight.

Sitting on the floor with one leg straight in front of you, bring the foot of the other leg up to the knee of the straight leg. Hold that position while you bend forward from your hips toward the bent knee.

Sitting on the floor with both legs out in front of you in a V, lean forward from your hips as far as you can while keeping your back straight. Hold the position for 10 seconds and then relax. Repeat four times.

SHOULDER STRETCHES

Standing in a doorway, grasp the door frame with one hand and turn your body away until you feel a stretch in the front of your shoulder. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat four times. In the same position, turn your body so that you are pulling your arm across your chest, until you feel a stretch at the back of your shoulder. Hold as usual.

Raise one arm up over your head and drop your hand behind your neck. Use the other hand to push your elbow gently backward until you feel a stretch in your shoulder joint. Hold as usual.

REFERENCES

• University of Maryland Medical Center: Obesity
• Washington University School of Medicine: On The Move Exercise Program
• Mountain View Alternative High School: Safe Conditioning Exercises and Stretches
• Wilkes Wild About Wellness: Here Are Some Safe and Easy Stretches
• University of Michigan: Safe/Unsafe Exercises
• University of New Mexico: Flexibility Training

Article reviewed by Adela McKay Last updated on: May 26, 2011

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/390200-safe-stretches-for-obese-people/#ixzz1pwNXmqyK


Seems simple enough. Now to do it.

EXERCISES FOR OBESE PEOPLE WITH LEG PAIN

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Jun 14, 2011 | By Julia Michelle

Obesity can contribute to conditions such as degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis. Both are factors in sciatica -- pain in the lower back, leg and hip. Exercise can reduce the risk of obesity-related disease and facilitate weight loss. Obese individuals with leg pain often have difficulty exercising, but simple modifications can relieve pressure on the joints. Consult your physician before starting any exercise program.

STRENGTH TRAINING EXERCISES

Strength training can help relieve leg pain by strengthening the muscles that support the joints and stabilize the spine. Additionally, building muscle mass increases the resting metabolism and contributes to weight loss. Obese individuals with leg pain should avoid doing standing body-weight exercises, such as squats and lunges, as these can put additional stress on the joints. Gym machines, such as the leg press, leg extension and leg curl allow you to work seated until your muscles and joints are strong enough to support body-weight exercises. You may also benefit from seated or reclining body-weight exercises, such as triceps dips, crunches and push-ups.

AEROBIC EXERCISES

Aerobic exercise improves blood flow and helps with weight loss by temporarily increasing the metabolism. Unfortunately, weight-bearing aerobic exercises, such as running or walking, can aggravate leg pain. Many weight-bearing aerobic exercises can also be done in the water. Swimming laps is both aerobic and provides a degree of strength training as you need to work all the major muscles in your arms, legs and torso to move through the water. With water aerobics and water running, the natural buoyancy supports much of your body weight to allow you perform higher-impact activities. If you prefer land activities, seated aerobic exercises, such as stationary bicycles, raise your heart rate with less strain on the joints. For those with mild pain, walking, whether outside or on a treadmill, is a relatively safe activity.

STRETCHING EXERCISES

Stretching helps maintain mobility and range of motion in the joints. There are many stretches available and the only limitation is your own flexibility and level of leg pain. Additionally, yoga provides several modifications and variations depending on your physical limitations. For example, a forward bend stretching from the lower back to the calves can be done either standing or seated on the floor or a chair. Yoga has supine back bends, such as the cobra, sphinx and upward facing dog, kneeling back bends, such as the camel, and several standing back bends, including the crescent pose. The Arthritis Foundation recommends stretching all major muscle groups several times a week. Consider restorative or yin yoga classes, which focus on holding comfortable poses for long periods of time.

REFERENCES

• Arthritis Foundation: Introduction to Exercise
• Spine Universe: Back Pain and Obesity
• Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center: Osteoarthritis Weight Management

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/305672-exercises-for-obese-people-with-leg-pain/#ixzz1pwNxVgJf