If you are interested in Health & Wellness education, and you live in the Phoenix AZ metropolitan area, I invite you to attend one of my Health & Wellness Workshops. Upcoming topics include:
12 Oils of Ancient Scripture – January 25 @ 7pm
The three wise men brought the Christ child three gives; two of them were essentials oils. Come find out why, and what they can do for you today!
Living Healthy in a Chemical World – February 22 @ 7pm Have you read your labels lately? There are 884 chemicals in personal care products alone. We will discuss the most common and dangerous, know as the Dirty Dozen, along with how you can Create a Healthy Medicine Cabinet for you and your family.
Top Seven Women’s Health Concerns – March 29 @ 7pm Would you like to dramatically ease PMS and menopause concerns? We will discuss how correcting these hormonal imbalances creates a cascade of other benefits that reduce the risk of such health concerns as cardiovascular disease and breast cancer, as well as chronic conditions like migraines, osteoporosis, and fibromyalgia.
Workshops are $5.00 each, however first time visitors may receive free admission. For more information view the current workshop schedule. Don’t forget to check out my Calendar of Events for future workshops.
Just about everybody’s head looks like batting practice.
I need a shower at least 8 times a day.
ALL my clothes have suddenly shrunk 2 sizes.
Yep, having my own personal summer…in the dead of winter. And the intensity of the heat seems to be increasing. I want to ride in the car with the windows down. It’s 20 degrees outside.
I’m trying to convince myself this phase of my life could have an up-side. The recent sub-zero temps really didn’t bother me. We may be saving on heating bills. Hmmmm, that’s about it for benefits. The rest is proving to just be one big, obnoxious irritation. If there’s a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow, there better not be any leprechaun guarding it. I may kill him.
Evidently menopause is not the process, it’s the end result…an actual calendar date. Perimenopause are the wonder years preceding this actual calendar date. Everything works backwards. Similar I suppose to being in the Twilight Zone. I’ll hit “menopause” as soon as I’m free of a monthly cycle for one full year. Everything prior to that is perimenopause. The prelude. The foreword. The pre-game show.
Honestly, I could probably deal with the hot flashes. They eventually pass. What I’m struggling with is the depression. I used to be considered a “steel magnolia.” No longer. I can dissolve into tears over anything. I anticipate the absolute worst scenarios in every situation. Happy times, sad times, lonely times all send me on an emotional roller coaster…without a seat belt. Outside of being around Peanut, I have to really work to feel any joy or laugh. I can cry myself to sleep over the stupidest things. I fully realize when it’s happening and am seriously working on it.
And then there’s the weight gain. Despite everything I do…exercising, eating right, better okay (if you don’t count December)…I still feel like I’m waddling through midlife. The more depressed I feel, the more I want to consume everything that even resembles chocolate. I have no motivation to move. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
Long passed around as a joke for PMS (premenstrual syndrome), the acronym could also accurately stand for Peri Menopausal Syndrome. I resemble most ALL of these remarks.
Psychotic Mood Shift
Puffy Mid-Section
People Make me Sick
Pass My Sweatpants
Perpetual Munching Spree
Pass My Shotgun
Pissy Mood Syndrome
Karate is an old martial art practiced for several hundred years on the island of Okinawa before it reaches Japan. Now Karate is practiced throughout the world in both the sporting versions only, Budo version only and Budo/sporting versions. No matter what version you are, learning is there any scientific research to show it is beneficially for you. Yes, there is and here is just a fraction of the studies conducted thus far.
In the British Journal of Sports Medicine April 2004; 38(2):143-7 a group of 40 to 60 year old was trained in Karate and they were matched with a like group who did not exercise. At the conclusion of the study the Karate group were found with 12% less body fat, superior aerobic capacity, significantly improved muscle strength, greater physical endurance and a greater sense of balance. Cardiac and respiratory health was also significantly improved in the Karate group. Regular Karate training will make you sleep better, maintain your weight, improve your resistance to fight infection, Lower your risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes and help your brain function better (Mercola, M.D. July 19th 2009, mercola.com) Other studies have shown that those who have big bellies after the age of 40 are at a much higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia in their seventies. Women who gain more than 20 pounds after menopause increase their risk of breast cancer by 20%. In addition, excess weight increases the chances of circulatory problems, like high blood pressure, as well as metabolic problems like insulin resistance, which leads to type 2 diabetes. (Obesity in the middle age and future risk of dementia: A 27 year longitudinal population based study, R.A. Whitmer, et al. BMJ 2005) Weight gain occurs just before menopause and after for woman as their hormone levels decrease and for men as they reach the age of 45 and on, they exercise less and their testosterone and human growth hormone levels drop. In addition, stress has a significant effect on body weight through the effects of cortisol, which is called the stress hormone. Not getting enough sleep and having negative stress in our lives raises our cortisol levels which has many adverse side effect on our bodies over time. (Lawrance Cheskin, M.D., Director of the John Hopkins Weight).
How about children? A study conducted on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) showed a significant increase in percentage of homework completion, academic performance and classroom participation. In addition there was a decrease in classroom rules broken, times inappropriately leaving their seat and call outs in class. Since there are approximately 3.3 million children afflicted with ADHD, martial arts would seem to be something that every parent should consider. It may remove the need for medications or reduce the dosages needed to control the child’s behaviors. Children with epilepsy have likewise been shown to significantly improve with Karate. In a study conducted by the Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, Ma. by Conant, Morgan, Muzykewicz, Clark and Theile with children in the age group of 8 to 16 years of age participated in a karate program and they report a significant improvement in memory function and quality of life. The children reported improved intellectual self-esteem and social confidence with improvement in parental stress levels. A hospital in Orange County, California is teaching autistic children karate so they can improve their social skills. It is reported by several of the parents their children have had significant improvement in self-esteem and social confidence.
In conclusion, Karate is not just for self-defense. Actually the biggest benefit of being involved in Karate as well as any traditional (And I emphasize Traditional because many of the positive effects of traditional martial arts disappear when the traditional way of teaching is removed.) martial art is better physical health, better mental health, loss of weight, improved physical fitness and increased energy levels. The emphasis in traditional martial arts is perfection of character and finding inner peace. Improved ability in Self-defense is really a side effect of karate training or any traditional martial art such as Aikido, Kendo or Judo. Note that they all end in “do” Karate is called karate-do just as the other traditional arts. The term “do” simply means the “way”. Each practitioner will experience his or her own enlightenment from many years of hard diligent practice but our goal is the same, we are seeking to be better people and to feel a sense of inner peace.
As Master Gichin Funakoshi states in his 20 precepts that Karate-do is a lifelong practice and can be done long into old age. Karate-do is not only for the young but it is more important for the old to stay young. Sensei Roger St. Pierre says that a body in motion stays in motion and a body at rest will always stay at rest forever.
I thought that before I get too far into this experiment, I should put to paper who I actually feel I am at this point in my 52 year journey on the planet, so that by the end, I’ll be able to compare my circumstances, attitudes and experiences to see if there’s been any measurable changes. That being said, where do I begin??
The reason I started this project was because it occurred to me that I haven’t really been living… I’ve just been getting by.. and that’s not how I want to feel about my life when I come to the end… I want to feel that I grabbed the bull by the horns and squeezed every drop of living out that I possibly could… god, could I be having a midlife crisis?? Is this what men are feeling when they buy shiny sports cars and have affairs with younger women? That’s so stereotypical of me, but it happens all the time! It just dawned on me.. this isn’t a midlife crisis, it’s pre-menopause!!
My wake-up call is that I don’t want to die feeling like I wasted any of my time. A challenge I face is that I’m basically shy and kind of a loner, homebody.. so putting myself out there in new situations, where I don’t know anyone causes me to hyperventilate a little! So, I keep myself busy with 2 jobs, raising 2 teenagers and manage to eek out a little bit of time at the end of the evening where I can allow myself to live vicariously through the pages of a great book or some silly reality show where everyone is desperately vying for their 15 minutes of fame.
Does really living mean I have to have alot of money? I don’t think so, but it would be nice and I’m holding out hope that big money is still in my future! I do like to fantasize about exotic travel, grand adventure, dozens of close friends (several of whom play musical instruments), who gather frequently at my large abode overlooking the ocean to eat, laugh, play music and just enjoy the moments together. We all need a great fantasy, right? Oh, and an affair with a hot young 30 something would be fabulous as well!
I do have to say that I’ve raised 2 amazing kids who will be heading off to start lives of their own soon enough… and I’ve done it on my own, without much financial support for the last 7 years…however the turn of the economy has affected so many of us and my ex and I decided to merge households until things pick back up again (2 kids in braces will do that to you!)
I’m challenging myself to participate more, instead of always being the observer…..so, step by step I venture outside the boundaries of who I am at the moment to become the person I fantasize about… Can shy, homebody types become less shy by putting themselves out there time and time again? Maybe… so what have I got to lose? Only more time…..so here I go!
Really? Wow 18 months to 2 years to get over this? That means on my 50th birthday, I should have a new perspective on life.
Other difficulties
The grief of empty nest syndrome may be compounded by other life events happening at the same time, including:
Retirement
Redundancy
Menopause
Death of a spouse.
The “M” word. So, menopause and empty nest all at the same time. Well at least the kids won’t be around to witness their mother standing in her undies with her head resting comfortably on a bag of peas in the freezer. Wow, pity my husband. If I wasn’t emotional enough from empty nest (reread first blog entry – baaaaaad day at the grocery store) add crazy hormones to the soup and we have a recipe for disaster. So, perhaps there is a good reason he is always at the golf course these days. I guess I won’t take a nine iron to him, as that would then lead to the last of these compounding factors.
1. Damn treadmill ( last 5 lbs not budging ) 2. Running out of closets 3. Need a job or some distraction of 7.0 on the richter scale.
…sometimes like corporal punishment. We brutalize our poor little muscles mercilessly in hopes they’ll shape up as fast as possible. We stress and strain them, often times beyond their capacity, and then wonder why they seek revenge the day after or the day after that. They’re smart little buggers. They can tie you up like a pretzel on crack.
Yes, they’re sneaky little bastards.
My last trainer’s favorite phrase was, “Do twenty more”.
I’d look at him with my best ‘fuck you’ glare.
Twenty more and they’ll be picking out a pine box for me. Twenty more and I might be picking out a pine box for him.
“My fat does not want to do twenty more” I’d tell him.
He’d glance at my gut knowing this would hit home. I’d cuss him under my breath but start counting.
“One, two, three…”
Bastard!
By the twelfth curl I’d feel that little candle like flame burning sensation building itself up to bonfire status.
“Why are we using such big weights,” I’d ask while trying desperately to suck in a breath.
“They’re only two pounds,” he’d say.
“Oh.” I’d say.
The thing about trainers is that they’ve already done all the work they need to on themselves so they’re well aware of the pain they’re inflicting. Do they emote any sympathy towards you as you struggle through each exercise? Hell no!
What I hated most about my trainer was, when I’d start moaning and grunting like a pig during our weight lifting sessions, he’d take his fingers and strum the fat on the underside of my upper arm like a virtuoso harp player just to make his point.
I’d try desperately to ignore his mockery of my fat flags and his snarky little grin. The whole time I’d be thinking, with very little effort I could probably make contact with the side of his head with the ‘two-pound’ dumb bell clenched in my sweaty palm.
Oh yeah, I’d picture him slowly melting towards the ground shortly after impact completely unconscious, in which time I could pour water over my head and down the front of my shirt then sit down next to him. When he’d come to all I’d have to say is ‘wow, that was a good workout, see you next week.’ Unfortunately, I could never actually go through with it because we worked out at a public park. There would be witnesses. I had to force myself to stay in control and out of trouble.
Of course by this time he’d gotten that underarm fat moving so fast it was actually creating a nice little breeze that kept me cool.
“…eighteen, nineteen, twenty.”
At that point I’d fain exhaustion then let the weights drop from my hands hoping one of them would meet with his foot, but he was too fast. He knew me too well. He’d step back, smile, then bark out what was next.
“Squats,” he’d say.
“How many?” I ask.
“Fifteen,” he’d say.
I hate squats. I like what they do for my butt, and I like what they do for my legs, but I fucking hate doing them but not for the reason you might be thinking. The word ’squat’ and the menopausal gastrointestinal system do not go together.
Once that word left his lips all I could think about was whether or not I’d taken my Gas X that morning.
He’d tap his watch and wait for me to spread my legs, square my shoulders, then raise my arms out in front of my body hoping to keep some semblance of balance. I’d start to lower my body ever so slowly. One inch, two inches, three inches. It’s then I’d remember that I DIDN’T take that little green pill. I’d meant to–I really did. I’d popped it out of its little vacuum sealed package but then I’d set it down on the kitchen counter while I went to retrieve a bottle of water.
OH NO! I knew right away this was not going to be good.
“Go deeper,” he’d say.
I’d feel my stomach starting to gurgle. It wanted to purge itself in a big way.
“NOW,” he’d say as he put his hands on my shoulders pushing me towards the failure position.
I’d close my eyes and put all my concentration on keeping my sphincter muscle clamped tight. This is where all those kagel exercises you learned during pregnancy come in handy.
I’d go down a few more inches as requested and as always I’d feel my knees starting to shake. I could also feel one of those humongous gas bubbles traversing around in my gut like a slalom racer looking for the gate.
OMG!
I knew I could only do about two or three more of these dips before this situation reached the ‘Houston, we’ve got a problem’ stage. I knew my limit.
“Two,” he says out loud as though I’ve lost my ability to count.
I suck in my lower belly as I rise hoping somehow to push this gaseous troublemaker back up to where it started. No dice my body tells me. This puppies gonna blow pretty damn soon.
My mind would be racing by this time. Maybe it’d be one of those polite silent ones, and if there is a God, it wouldn’t be one of those Chernobyl stinker’s that are bad enough to take out an entire neighborhood.
He’d move in closer to better control the depth of the squat and all I could do was concentrate on keeping my butt cheeks together.
As you can imagine, this is nearly impossible in this position.
Then it would occur to me that this strategy would eliminate the possibility of silence.
If the gas left my butt during the tightening of the cheeks it would likely come out sounding like one of those canned air horns. I’d have to think on my feet and make some kind of decision. Let her rip and take my chances it would just blow out like a soft gentle breeze or publicly acknowledge that I had a rip-roaring case of gas.
But wait, I’d say to myself. If I let mother nature take its course and let it blow in its full glory, the sound ringing out like a proud duck quacking with a cold, this might put an end to this particular exercise. Maybe he’d see that it was not in his best interest or mine to force my body into this ridiculous position.
Oop’s!
Too late. My bad!
Half way down on the second squat my body took control, my sphincter relaxed and justice was served. It was not polite, nor was it quite. As a matter of fact a few people passing by us during this assault actually looked up in the sky searching for the flock of ducks they’d just heard.
“Jesus Christ,” he’d say looking down at his legs to make sure I hadn’t left skid marks on his tight white workout pants.
“What are you talking about?” I say pointing to the people looking up into the sky. “Didn’t you see them, the ducks?”
He’d follow their gaze searching the clear blue sky for any sign of birds.
Then it would hit him.
The air surrounding us was so toxic it rippled the same way hot summer sun does over cool asphalt. It smelled so bad the end of his nose actually curled in such a way as to close itself off from the foulness.
Distraction is the best defense so I began to squat one more time.
“NOOOOOO,” he’d manage to squeak out while trying to hold his breath. “We’re done with those.”
“Oh, okay,” I’d say. “What do you want to do now?”
“Shower,” he’d say.
“Oh, okay. I’ll see you next week.”
“No…I think I’m busy next week.”
As I stood there digesting his comment I realized that we were done–forever–so I bent over to pick up my towel and delivered a parting prize.
I guess I should be grateful he dumped me. All the money I’d been spending on getting in shape has now been diverted to purchasing the big box of Gas X from Costco. My entire family is grateful to him now I work out at home.
New Year’s Resolutions
I have just watched the movie “Julia and Julia” its about a woman, Julia Powell’s 2002 challenge to cook all of Julia Child’s recipes in one year, and to blog about it.
I have decided to blog about my New Year’s resolutions for a year and try to document the struggles to actually keep them. I do not know of too many resolutions that are actually followed through to the end of the year so here goes let’s see if I can do what the young Julia did.
My New Year’s resolution.
Starting now. Day 1
1. I am going to return to my pre-menopausal weight and stay that way until the end of the year.
2. I am going exercise, end result I want to be able to participate in spinning, and a 75 minute exercise class period with having to call 911.
3. I want to be consistent about taking my vitamins and being good to my body.
4. Not only am I going to be good to my body but I am also going to be good to my financial side of the equation. By the end of the year I want be 10,000 in the black.
4. I am going to write everyday about my struggles to do this.
Now I think in order to be successful I need to tell you where I am starting from. I have always been a thin sickly kid. Never able to gain weight….not enjoying the time that it would take to consume food. In fact, there was one time that the winter winds would not allow me to walk out of my friend’s door. I had to call my brother to walk through a storm and pull me home like a kite blowing in the wind.
I am 5 feet 9 inches and when I got pregnant with my son I was 111 pounds. At the end of my pregnancy I was huge and had gain 57 pounds. Now I stepped on the scale this afternoon and I am 172 lbs. Are you kidding me? Do the math I am heavier by 5 pounds then when I was 10 months pregnant ( as a side note they say 9 months pregnant but 40 weeks is not 9 months anyway they slice it and if you add an additional 2 and 1/2 weeks on for being late that is 42 almost 11 months….just like an elephant’s) . This menopausal madness has to end. Okay to some of you this isn’t a problem, however, Menopause is packing on weight that I have noticed is going on at the rate of 10 pounds per year. This is where it begins. So if it is meant to be its up to me.
Part of the problem is that I met and married my husband, Henry, June 14th 2008 and as a result eat more appetizers, and consume wines and other calorie ladden beverages. I met him 3 years ago. I was 140 pounds. So that is 32 pounds that I want to lose. I get close to that and fit and I am happy… Dr Oz said the average woman is in danger of get diabetes if she is over 160 pounds Yikes. Anyway, when I stepped on the scale….after the heart attack and realized that the good life had added that much weight. I decided right there and then I was cutting out wine for 2 months. Further, No bread shall pass my lips ….bread substitutes yes, but none of that delicious bread with a generous portion of butter that melts into the cracks……stop it.
Okay tonight, will be my first test. I exercised and burned off 220 calories, I am going to increase that by 10 calories every day. I had only one small portion of Sheppard’s pie. No food or snacks after 7:00 I did mention that I was menopausal right and that every time you have a minute to think that thoughts go back to food. Anyway. Join me tomorrow to see if I have broken my NEW YEARS RESOLUTION.
PR: wait…
I: wait…
L: wait…
LD: wait…
I: wait…
wait…
Rank: wait…
Traffic: wait…
Price: wait…
C: wait…
Who I Am
