Celebratory Coffee Date
Woohoo! Thrust that dumpster fire mug to the back of the cupboard- things are looking up. Get out your most cheerful mug and join me for a cup of delicious Earl Grey tea (or coffee, if you must.) I have some good news to share from my doctor appointment yesterday. But let’s back up. Four years ago I had my first bone density scan, and the results showed that I had osteopenia- ack! I was very surprised by this- I remember saying to my doctor “But I run and lift weights!” She wanted to prescribe Fosamax, but I didn’t want to take it. Instead I started taking a calcium supplement and increased my Vitamin D supplement. There, that should solve everything. Two years later I had another scan, and it was even worse. The numbers for both my hip and low back put me in the osteoporosis range (eek, so scary!) My doctor again recommended Fosamax (again I said no) but she also said she had heard good things about a supplement called Osteo Vegan. She didn’t suggest it because I’m vegan; it’s just a supplement containing every bone-building mineral you could imagine, and she thought we could give it a try. You take nine pills a day, and because it’s not a prescription drug, it’s not covered by insurance. But at this point I was scared enough to shell out the $77 a month, and obediently began swallowing my pills. This was also around the time I started lifting heavier weights, because I heard that helped with bone density. But I have to admit I was feeling pretty worried. I have a lot of risk factors- my mom had osteoporosis, I’m post-menopausal, and I have a very small frame. Oh, and in my teens and 20s I drank a LOT of soda. Strike four! Fast forward two more years. I had another bone density scan and honestly was afraid to hear the results. BUT GUESS WHAT. The osteoporosis is reversed, and I’m up into the osteopenia range- so far up that one of the areas barely showed osteopenia at all. ‘ My doctor was astonished. She was just hoping that it hadn’t gotten any worse- she truly didn’t expect improvement like that. We discussed the Osteo Vegan, and the heavier weightlifting, and she said “JUST KEEP DOING EVERYTHING YOU’RE DOING!” She said if I make the same improvement again in two years, I won’t have osteopenia at all. I’m not sharing this to brag about my bones, (Obviously, there’s still work to do there.) I just want to say that THERE IS HOPE. If I can get my bones this much stronger, think what else I could do. My muscles can get stronger, My ankle can get stronger! Things can actually get better- we don’t have to just deteriorate until our bodies crumble to pieces. Do you have any areas in your health where you’ve made improvements? Or are there any health issues you’re concerned about? Please share! You never know… I’ll bet there’s a solution out there. Top photo by Miska Sage on Unsplash
Reading and Eating
Alright, alright… if you read yesterday’s post you may be thinking “Uh oh, Jenny’s totally losing it!” But not to worry- I woke up today feeling more like my normal self. Of course, Tuesday is my Friday, because I don’t work on Wednesdays… it’s always easy to be happy on a “Friday.” ANYWAY. I am on a roll with my books! There are so many books I’m excited to read, which is a nice position to be in. I read two this past week. First up: This book got a rave review in this Modern Mrs. Darcy post. Granted, the post was about the best sci-fi/fantasy on audiobook, and I read the print version- but I didn’t love it. I LIKED it though. The main character is a “Sec-Unit”, half robot-half cloned human, and the main point of interest is how it interacts with the humans in the story. The rest of the story, which was billed as a “thriller,” was not very thrilling. This is the first book of a series, and I have a feeling it gets better and better- but there are too many other books to read for me to continue with this series. This book was another “like” but not “love.” The problem was, it felt like a mash-up of a great mystery and a poor romance novel. The main female character spends a lot of time thinking about weight watcher points, how much weight she’s gained, and whether or not to wear control-top pantyhose on her date. Now, I don’t mind a serious discussion about struggles with food and body image, but this was supposed to be funny. The book was written in 2010 and maybe this was the kind of BS we were used to back then, but it was annoying, and made me take her character less seriously. The male main character went on to solve the mystery (probably because he wasn’t wasting his brainpower on calories and pantyhose) so, good for him! Again, the mystery was very good, and this is the first book in a series. And again, there are too many great books I want to read to continue on in a series I don’t love. Eating. Oof. It was another rough week. I ate a tofu scramble for dinner three nights in a row. My husband was working and my daughter ate something else (offhand I can’t remember what! At least one night I probably got her sushi from the grocery store- an easy dinner I fall back on about once a week for her.) For this scramble (night #3), I used tofu and anything else I could find in the fridge- a little broccoli, a little cauliflower, peas, and some chickpeas. It was GOOD! By Sunday I was feeling guilty enough to actually make a nice dinner- baked ziti, salad and garlic bread. The baked ziti recipe is one I cut out of the newspaper about 20 years ago. Back then we actually had the paper delivered, and in the weekly food section there was always a vegetarian recipe, which was frequently vegan! The creamy sauce is made with tofu, and after all these years it’s still our favorite baked ziti recipe. We ate leftovers on Monday, and now I’m back to wondering what we’ll have for dinner. WHY IS THIS SO HARD??? Do you think I should try the next book in the Martha Wells series? What are you making for dinner this week??? – Give me some inspiration! Top photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash
Don’t Want To…
Do you ever have a morning where your alarm goes off and you’re like… “Nope!” That’s the way I felt this morning. There was nothing especially wrong- usually Monday is an optimistic day. There are new blog posts to read, new podcasts, a fresh start to the week- but this morning I just didn’t want to. There were even some things that were extra-good about this Monday. Dinner was already made (leftovers from last night!) I had a good trail run on Sunday, so I could stop worrying about my foot, at least temporarily. My daughter had a rehearsal after school, so I didn’t have to pick her up until 6:00. But I just didn’t feel like getting up and doing it all, all over again. It’s not like I do the exact same thing every day. Some days I run; some days I go to the gym; some days I do a strength workout at home. Some days I go to Starbucks after my workout where I drink tea and read blogs before work. It seems like I mix it up as much as possible, but still, sometimes it just feels like the same old grind. The only remedy I’ve ever found for this is to just get up and do it anyway. Having kids is great for this, because there’s not much of a choice. But let’s say I didn’t have to get my daughter off to school, and could sleep in, skip my workout, and get up barely in time to get to work. I would definitely end up feeling worse. I would also feel worse if I called in sick for no good reason, and I would feel worse if I ate candy for breakfast. All the things that seem like they would cheer me up would actually end up having the opposite effect, so I might as well get up and get moving. SIGH! Is it just a Monday thing? What do you do when you just don’t want to??? Top photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash
Weekly Rundown- Never a Dull Moment
Oof, what a week. My foot gave me some new drama, and I’m spicing things up with a new strength app (I’ll write about it in more detail later this month.) Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Let’s just see how it all went wrong… er, DOWN. How it all went down… Monday I started the day with a lower body strength session at home- squats, Bulgarian split squats, Knees Over Toes exercises (lots of lower leg and ankle strength) and finished it off with the Caroline Girvan deadbug workout.. After work I got out for a run. My race in May is going to be HOT, so I’m trying to run once a week during the hottest part of the day. Our mornings are still pleasant right now- low 60s- and I want to make sure I’m heat acclimated. In theory this is a great plan- unfortunately this run felt HORRIBLE! My legs just didn’t want to move, and the worst part was, my foot hurt. The foot with the ankle sprain, but it hurt in a new and different place. What the?… I have no idea why- I can only surmise that I was too aggressive with some of the exercises in the morning? It was a mystery. Tuesday Moving on. I’m trying a new strength program! I got Sally McRae’s app, and did one of her upper body workouts, followed by Caroline Girvan deadbug workout once again. Wednesday Sigh. The way my foot hurt on Monday’s run scared me enough to get back on the stairmaster instead of running today. 30 long minutes on the stairmaster, and then 30 minutes on the treadmill- the 3-12-30 workout (3 miles per hour, 12% incline, for 30 minutes.) Good workout- except I wished I was outside running. Thursday Another workout from Sally’s app- the Glute and Core Power Routine. Wow, hard workout. It had a lot of single leg moves that were very difficult on my left side- which means I need it, right? Followed by 100 deadbugs for a little extra core. Friday The moment of truth! All week long I was worried about my foot, and now it was time to try running again. GULP. It was okay! Something still feels a little “off”- I can’t explain it- but it didn’t hurt like it did on Monday. 4 happy miles! As a celebration, I gave myself a break from deadbugs and did some planking instead. I know- I really know how to live it up! Saturday OFF! A glorious morning of sleeping in till 7:00, before heading off to work. Sunday On tap- 7 mile run ON THE TRAIL. I’m looking forward to this! I’ve missed the trail so, so much. And I’ve missed doing long runs. Seven miles isn’t LONG, but it’s long-ish and I’ll take it. I’m heading to a very easy part of the trail- it’s dirt and gravel, no roots, no deep ruts, nothing my foot can’t handle. Hopefully. I have a great podcast cued up (the latest Choose Strong with Sally McRae) and I’m psyched. Let’s all say a little prayer to the foot gods for this run. How was your week? Any mysterious aches or pains? How was your weather? – Ours has been really nice- lulling us into a false sense of security before hurricane season begins! Top photo by Mitchell Luo on Unsplash