I've never mentioned it here but I was born in Massachusetts and lived there until I was eleven.
After travelling in many states and living in Wisconsin for 40 years I didn't usually mention New England unless I got to know someone fairly well and we were sharing life histories.
This past week, though, showed me that you never lose the bond with your childhood home. I'm a rabid fan of Reddit and my all-day TV channel is ESPN. I was browsing Reddit and had ESPN on in the background when the story about the bombing broke. Noticing quickly that a) reddit was way ahead of any news site and b) ESPN did an amazing job with their coverage, I stayed where I was.
I was pretty emotional but I was very pleased I had no immediate urge to hit the junk foods that used to be my kneejerk response to stress. My lifeline was something I discovered the next afternoon/evening, Reddit Real-Time. It was a group of people chatting online while gathering/sharing information, and one of the things shared was that you could listen to police scanners via the web. I am highly curious--that's actually an understatement--so of course I connected and was listening with great interest to routine communications.
I don't think I'd been listening 30 minutes yet when an officer reported a high-speed vehice had almost hit him head-on. Suddenly I found myself listening to a high-speed chase and then, the man who'd narrated events to that point reported guns fired and explosives. He was directing the officers on scene and said over the radio he was joining the fight--you could hear a mixture of danger-awareness and courage in his voice.
Very soon, as the command post was asking for an update, a different and flustered voice came on and reported "officers down." Oh, man. The new voice gathered itself and did an admirable job of pulling communications back together but I was burning to know what had happened to the first guy (a sergeant I think.) I was relieved to hear later that there were police injuries but, unlike the MIT officer, there were no law enforcement fatalities at this scene.
After that hair-raising experience, I spent the rest of the evening with the TV on but muted, following the Reddit Real Time chat and listening to the scanner. Instead of listening to talking heads speculate, I was hearing about events directly on the scanner and following the chat.
Last night I followed the same muted TV, Reddit chat and scanner routine and I was fascinated. Over and over, there were leads that came up empty so it was a surprise when an officer calmly reported they had the suspect located and under surveillance.
Again, I was profoundly impressed with the careful attention to detail the law enforcement group displayed in preparing and executing a plan to safely arrest the suspect.
I'm not sure of the timing any more, but somewhere in there I was also exposed to the devastation in Texas. Just as happened in Boston, heroes put their lives on the line to save others but in Texas a number of the heroes were killed.
Finally, this morning I choked up repeatedly during the Red Sox pre-game ceremony honoring heroes, volunteers, law enforcement and those injured at the marathon. It was my catharsis and I was able to release much of the emotion I'd retained during the crises.
This week brought the flaws and magnificence of humans into sharp focus for me in a way that hadn't happened since 9/11. On that awful day, I hit the junk food hard but this time I found my comfort in the online community and that's a very good thing.
Now I'd be really pleased to write a post about how bored I am because nothing's happening. If we could please arrange that, that would be great.
Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts
April 21, 2013
February 19, 2012
Making Lemonade ...
"If life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Dale Carnegie
Everything was going so great. I was sailing along, enjoying ancestral eating and looking forward to my physical since I've lost weight. Yes, there'd been moderate to high family-related stress for months involving my son and grandson but I handled it well--or so I thought. Well, okay, I'd noticed gradual increases in my blood glucose and blood pressure readings but they were still in the normal ranges, just creeping toward the upper regions of normal. I'd given some thought to how I might adjust my routines to encourage those readings to return to their previous levels. For the record, until last week at least half of my ongoing stress came from life/health issues my son was experiencing.
Then, as I was pulling into my doctor's parking lot for my physical, I got a call from the grand-kid's high school--he was being suspended for 3 days. It wasn't really a great surprise that I walked into the doctor's office and had the highest blood pressure I've ever had. It took almost 4 hours for my blood pressure to return to anything like my normal levels and my blood glucose readings were also unusually high that day and the next morning. I haven't had the follow-up tests yet but as far as I know I am in good overall health. Just very, very stressed. To be clear on the events, I was called to the school one day to take the boy home and had to return the next day for a disciplinary conference.
SO--I decided it was time to give top priority to me and to nurture me. I actively avoided anything likely to increase my stress levels (other than the afore-mentioned grandson and son) so I didn't read my usual list of web sites or join conversations on Paleohacks. I also decided not to do any blogging here until I "felt like it." Let's just call it what it was--I POUTED. But you know, I happen to think pouting can be a healthy reaction to excessive stress. And my pout only lasted about 24 hours anyhow.
Despite being very upset and physically out of whack, I didn't suffer a migraine attack and the only specific symptom of the incident was that I needed extra sleep after returning home from the conference. I rarely nap but I took a very long one and still slept all night.
To complete the background info before addressing the ancestral eating topic of this post, I have mentioned before that I have done a lot of intermittent fasting (IF.) My practice for months was to eat one large meal per day so that I was well nourished but my GI tract had periods of rest. I find IF calming and it served me well in the early months of this stressful period. There were some days where I casually skipped my meal altogether because I was busy. I had recently started eating yogurt and fruit as a small second meal, which I enjoyed but which gave my system less resting time. Because of mounting stress, 2 weeks ago I had discontinued the second meal.
Anyhow, to the business of "making lemonade." The day after the conference I sat down at my PC and started reading about non-prescription strategies people use to deal with blood pressure/glucose issues. It is important to me to avoid the need for prescribed medications as long as I possibly can. As I did searches and read both blog posts and research abstracts, one subject kept coming up over and over--fasting. While a somewhat scary concept for many Americans, fasting is actually a natural remedy that's been used all over the world throughout history. And while it's not a cure for the common cold--that's a joke, okay?--there are studies that have confirmed that fasting can in fact have a positive impact on both blood pressure and glucose levels. It's also supposed to allow significant healing and repair of the GI tract and joints which are also issues for me.
Without boring you with too many details, I'll just say that 2 types of fasting were explained. One was long-term fasting, 5, 10, 21 or even 40 days of water-only or juice-only. I was quite intrigued but that didn't sound like something I wanted to try on my own. I watched some YouTube videos by professionals and individuals and if I were going to try a long water fast I'd want to check myself into a clinic where I could be monitored. Since I can't afford that I decided against a long water fast. AND I couldn't imagine leaving the kid and the pets for 3 weeks.
However, another type of fasting also is backed by research and is safe to try at home: alternate-day fasting (ADF.) Several variations of ADF are explained and recommended by various studies and sites. The gentlest version involves eating at least one meal per day and skipping 2 meals every other day. Another version rules out full-sized meals on the "fast" day but allows one small meal of 20-25% of your usual food intake. The classic version requires a no-calorie approach every other day with a "whatever you want" allowance on the feeding day.
People who've been eating the usual American diet find ADF a radical change. They tend to go with the 25% fasting days and their first 2 weeks of feeding days are pretty much junk food binges. Those who adapt well start eating more sensibly but many stick with the 25% fasting days or the "have dinner every day" approach. Many people reported successfully following ADF for months or years.
In my case, after 9 months of ancestral eating and intermittent fasting I am already well adapted to skipping meals. I decided to try ADF for 8 weeks and to go with no-calorie fasting days; I start the fasting day with black coffee and drink water as desired. On my feeding days, I just eat my usual ancestral foods. So far, I haven't needed extra-large portions or extra meals. If I've had a problem, it's that I'm not particularly hungry for food on my feeding days but I assume that will change as I continue to eat only every other day. I've made sure I eat a large fruit-salad-meat-veggies meal on each of my feeding days and I also put cream and honey into my coffee on those days.
And here we are. The important news--the lemonade if you will--is that I've had amazing results so far. Day 1 of ADF, my first fasting day, was the day I was still stressed and pouting while searching for options via PC. On my first feeding day I felt better and my blood pressure and glucose were better but not ideal. On day 3, my second fasting day, I felt FABULOUS--my mood was great and I was high-energy all day. Nearly all my blood pressure/glucose measurements were down to my lifelong norms and I felt the last of my stress leaching out as my body and GI tract rested from dealing with food. This morning, my 2nd feed day, my waking blood glucose was 70--yes, 70! And I had bp to match. I also noticed that my gums look MUCH happier.
I've now completed two 2-day cycles of fasting/feeding. Frankly, I wish I'd tried this a couple months ago. I spend my fasting days happily using my extra time (not taken up by meal prep and cleanup) to do errands, chores and craft projects. My fasting days are also my exercise days since I've eaten the day before--although I've already learned this may not be important. I've always performed well fasted and I've found I don't have any low energy days on ADF. I just have more time on fasting days.
Right now, my plan is to continue with 7 more weeks of ADF. In mid-April, I will either continue ADF for a longer period or switch to a long-term pattern of 2 fast days per week. I haven't yet mentioned weight loss, have I? Losing weight is not my primary goal but I'm happy to report I'm noticeably losing fat on ADF.
The research studies reported that overweight/obese subjects had a start-up loss and then a slower continued loss throughout the study period. People of normal weight stabilized quickly and ate enough on their feeding days to maintain their weights--also, the normal-weight subjects were only on ADF for a short period.
Here's a link to a timely article on the subject of ADF.
Unlike Friday, I had a robust appetite today. I ate blueberries, grapefruit, banana, a leafy salad, beets and roast Cornish game hen. Yum! I was happily stuffed, but only for about 30 minutes and then I noticed a rapid clearing of my stomach. My 2-hour blood glucose was 112.
If you've tried or stayed on ADF, I'd love to hear from you.
Everything was going so great. I was sailing along, enjoying ancestral eating and looking forward to my physical since I've lost weight. Yes, there'd been moderate to high family-related stress for months involving my son and grandson but I handled it well--or so I thought. Well, okay, I'd noticed gradual increases in my blood glucose and blood pressure readings but they were still in the normal ranges, just creeping toward the upper regions of normal. I'd given some thought to how I might adjust my routines to encourage those readings to return to their previous levels. For the record, until last week at least half of my ongoing stress came from life/health issues my son was experiencing.
Then, as I was pulling into my doctor's parking lot for my physical, I got a call from the grand-kid's high school--he was being suspended for 3 days. It wasn't really a great surprise that I walked into the doctor's office and had the highest blood pressure I've ever had. It took almost 4 hours for my blood pressure to return to anything like my normal levels and my blood glucose readings were also unusually high that day and the next morning. I haven't had the follow-up tests yet but as far as I know I am in good overall health. Just very, very stressed. To be clear on the events, I was called to the school one day to take the boy home and had to return the next day for a disciplinary conference.
SO--I decided it was time to give top priority to me and to nurture me. I actively avoided anything likely to increase my stress levels (other than the afore-mentioned grandson and son) so I didn't read my usual list of web sites or join conversations on Paleohacks. I also decided not to do any blogging here until I "felt like it." Let's just call it what it was--I POUTED. But you know, I happen to think pouting can be a healthy reaction to excessive stress. And my pout only lasted about 24 hours anyhow.
Despite being very upset and physically out of whack, I didn't suffer a migraine attack and the only specific symptom of the incident was that I needed extra sleep after returning home from the conference. I rarely nap but I took a very long one and still slept all night.
To complete the background info before addressing the ancestral eating topic of this post, I have mentioned before that I have done a lot of intermittent fasting (IF.) My practice for months was to eat one large meal per day so that I was well nourished but my GI tract had periods of rest. I find IF calming and it served me well in the early months of this stressful period. There were some days where I casually skipped my meal altogether because I was busy. I had recently started eating yogurt and fruit as a small second meal, which I enjoyed but which gave my system less resting time. Because of mounting stress, 2 weeks ago I had discontinued the second meal.
Anyhow, to the business of "making lemonade." The day after the conference I sat down at my PC and started reading about non-prescription strategies people use to deal with blood pressure/glucose issues. It is important to me to avoid the need for prescribed medications as long as I possibly can. As I did searches and read both blog posts and research abstracts, one subject kept coming up over and over--fasting. While a somewhat scary concept for many Americans, fasting is actually a natural remedy that's been used all over the world throughout history. And while it's not a cure for the common cold--that's a joke, okay?--there are studies that have confirmed that fasting can in fact have a positive impact on both blood pressure and glucose levels. It's also supposed to allow significant healing and repair of the GI tract and joints which are also issues for me.
Without boring you with too many details, I'll just say that 2 types of fasting were explained. One was long-term fasting, 5, 10, 21 or even 40 days of water-only or juice-only. I was quite intrigued but that didn't sound like something I wanted to try on my own. I watched some YouTube videos by professionals and individuals and if I were going to try a long water fast I'd want to check myself into a clinic where I could be monitored. Since I can't afford that I decided against a long water fast. AND I couldn't imagine leaving the kid and the pets for 3 weeks.
However, another type of fasting also is backed by research and is safe to try at home: alternate-day fasting (ADF.) Several variations of ADF are explained and recommended by various studies and sites. The gentlest version involves eating at least one meal per day and skipping 2 meals every other day. Another version rules out full-sized meals on the "fast" day but allows one small meal of 20-25% of your usual food intake. The classic version requires a no-calorie approach every other day with a "whatever you want" allowance on the feeding day.
People who've been eating the usual American diet find ADF a radical change. They tend to go with the 25% fasting days and their first 2 weeks of feeding days are pretty much junk food binges. Those who adapt well start eating more sensibly but many stick with the 25% fasting days or the "have dinner every day" approach. Many people reported successfully following ADF for months or years.
In my case, after 9 months of ancestral eating and intermittent fasting I am already well adapted to skipping meals. I decided to try ADF for 8 weeks and to go with no-calorie fasting days; I start the fasting day with black coffee and drink water as desired. On my feeding days, I just eat my usual ancestral foods. So far, I haven't needed extra-large portions or extra meals. If I've had a problem, it's that I'm not particularly hungry for food on my feeding days but I assume that will change as I continue to eat only every other day. I've made sure I eat a large fruit-salad-meat-veggies meal on each of my feeding days and I also put cream and honey into my coffee on those days.
And here we are. The important news--the lemonade if you will--is that I've had amazing results so far. Day 1 of ADF, my first fasting day, was the day I was still stressed and pouting while searching for options via PC. On my first feeding day I felt better and my blood pressure and glucose were better but not ideal. On day 3, my second fasting day, I felt FABULOUS--my mood was great and I was high-energy all day. Nearly all my blood pressure/glucose measurements were down to my lifelong norms and I felt the last of my stress leaching out as my body and GI tract rested from dealing with food. This morning, my 2nd feed day, my waking blood glucose was 70--yes, 70! And I had bp to match. I also noticed that my gums look MUCH happier.
I've now completed two 2-day cycles of fasting/feeding. Frankly, I wish I'd tried this a couple months ago. I spend my fasting days happily using my extra time (not taken up by meal prep and cleanup) to do errands, chores and craft projects. My fasting days are also my exercise days since I've eaten the day before--although I've already learned this may not be important. I've always performed well fasted and I've found I don't have any low energy days on ADF. I just have more time on fasting days.
Right now, my plan is to continue with 7 more weeks of ADF. In mid-April, I will either continue ADF for a longer period or switch to a long-term pattern of 2 fast days per week. I haven't yet mentioned weight loss, have I? Losing weight is not my primary goal but I'm happy to report I'm noticeably losing fat on ADF.
The research studies reported that overweight/obese subjects had a start-up loss and then a slower continued loss throughout the study period. People of normal weight stabilized quickly and ate enough on their feeding days to maintain their weights--also, the normal-weight subjects were only on ADF for a short period.
Here's a link to a timely article on the subject of ADF.
Unlike Friday, I had a robust appetite today. I ate blueberries, grapefruit, banana, a leafy salad, beets and roast Cornish game hen. Yum! I was happily stuffed, but only for about 30 minutes and then I noticed a rapid clearing of my stomach. My 2-hour blood glucose was 112.
If you've tried or stayed on ADF, I'd love to hear from you.
February 10, 2012
Hope You Had a Great Week!
Before you ask, yes I did have a great week. I ate carefully, started my days with breakfasts of fat/protein, and I feel fabulous.
Here in the extreme southern tip of Nevada, we've had a balmy week so I was walking around at mid-day in knee-length pants. Pants, I might add, that were too tight to wear this time last year, wearable but needed to be worn for a while before going outside last summer, nicely snug out of the dryer last fall and are NOW beautifully loose.
Once again, after using recent cold weather as an excuse not to, I've started to do some walking. And, as I'd advise you to do, I started sensibly by walking briskly for only 20 minutes. At the end of my walk I felt no fatigue or soreness but when I got out of a chair a few hours later there were mild twinges--and muscle tone--that told me the walking did good things. Next week I'll look at going farther.
I've had upsetting things going on within my family this week and while I wouldn't have asked for such a test I'm truly pleased with my physical response. All my life I was "the rock" during a crisis but once things settled down I would collapse with anxiety, depression and migraine. During those past crises, I wouldn't be able to sleep or eat normally due to adrenaline surges although my conscious mind was strong and available to support others.
This time, I'm actually feeling the stress at a more conscious level although my interaction with my family is pretty "rock-ish." The good thing is that my robust appetite and great night's sleep last night appear to indicate I'm processing this stressful interval in a much more healthy way. I'll be able to report next week on whether or not a follow-up migraine attack occurred. So far, though, this week seems to confirm that the repair of my digestion and metabolism has also repaired some of my neurological processes.
Here in the extreme southern tip of Nevada, we've had a balmy week so I was walking around at mid-day in knee-length pants. Pants, I might add, that were too tight to wear this time last year, wearable but needed to be worn for a while before going outside last summer, nicely snug out of the dryer last fall and are NOW beautifully loose.
Once again, after using recent cold weather as an excuse not to, I've started to do some walking. And, as I'd advise you to do, I started sensibly by walking briskly for only 20 minutes. At the end of my walk I felt no fatigue or soreness but when I got out of a chair a few hours later there were mild twinges--and muscle tone--that told me the walking did good things. Next week I'll look at going farther.
I've had upsetting things going on within my family this week and while I wouldn't have asked for such a test I'm truly pleased with my physical response. All my life I was "the rock" during a crisis but once things settled down I would collapse with anxiety, depression and migraine. During those past crises, I wouldn't be able to sleep or eat normally due to adrenaline surges although my conscious mind was strong and available to support others.
This time, I'm actually feeling the stress at a more conscious level although my interaction with my family is pretty "rock-ish." The good thing is that my robust appetite and great night's sleep last night appear to indicate I'm processing this stressful interval in a much more healthy way. I'll be able to report next week on whether or not a follow-up migraine attack occurred. So far, though, this week seems to confirm that the repair of my digestion and metabolism has also repaired some of my neurological processes.
January 15, 2012
When Life Happens ...
I've been waiting for something to happen that triggered strong emotions.
It wouldn't have mattered whether the emotions were happy, sad, fearful or what--strong emotions can cause a desire to eat, particularly in binge eaters. In my case, the urge to eat was always for the junk foods I was usually trying to avoid.
And here I am tonight, pouting because the Green Bay Packers lost. Pouting angrily. I lived in Wisconsin for about 40 years so I'm deeply fond of the Wisconsin Badgers and the Pack.
I've been waiting for something emotional to happen to see how I would react now that I seem to be an ex-binger. And yep, it's pretty different. I had my usual morning of coffee with cream and a little sugar (out of honey--bleh even turbanado tastes awful to me now.) I also had my usual dish of home-made yogurt. Wow, the yogurt was fabulous! It's taken a while, but I've grown to love the taste of the yogurt by itself rather than needing to have fruit as the dominant flavor. I still add fruit--today it was an organic banana and a ripe persimmon--but I like a little pure yogurt with each bite of fruit.
Anyhow, I digress. My morning and mid-day were normal. I didn't eat before the Packer game because I was too nervous. I drank a pineapple water kefir and that was it. Now that the game's been over for a while and I'm calming down, I find I have no appetite at all. Unless something changes in the next hour or so it looks like I'll wait until tomorrow to eat.
No urge to binge at all. When eating loses it's importance as a stress management tool there's just no impulse to binge. Since I'm enjoying my whole foods so much, that's pretty weird really.
The next time you get emotional, find your "comfort" in something other than food--put eating in its proper place.
Update 1/16/12: As I suspected, I never became hungry last night and I'm no more hungry than usual this morning. I really believe the "weak from not eating" is either a mental belief creating reality or a symptom of inability to burn stored fat.
I do plan to eat a complete and healthy menu today but no extra portions.
It wouldn't have mattered whether the emotions were happy, sad, fearful or what--strong emotions can cause a desire to eat, particularly in binge eaters. In my case, the urge to eat was always for the junk foods I was usually trying to avoid.
And here I am tonight, pouting because the Green Bay Packers lost. Pouting angrily. I lived in Wisconsin for about 40 years so I'm deeply fond of the Wisconsin Badgers and the Pack.
I've been waiting for something emotional to happen to see how I would react now that I seem to be an ex-binger. And yep, it's pretty different. I had my usual morning of coffee with cream and a little sugar (out of honey--bleh even turbanado tastes awful to me now.) I also had my usual dish of home-made yogurt. Wow, the yogurt was fabulous! It's taken a while, but I've grown to love the taste of the yogurt by itself rather than needing to have fruit as the dominant flavor. I still add fruit--today it was an organic banana and a ripe persimmon--but I like a little pure yogurt with each bite of fruit.
Anyhow, I digress. My morning and mid-day were normal. I didn't eat before the Packer game because I was too nervous. I drank a pineapple water kefir and that was it. Now that the game's been over for a while and I'm calming down, I find I have no appetite at all. Unless something changes in the next hour or so it looks like I'll wait until tomorrow to eat.
No urge to binge at all. When eating loses it's importance as a stress management tool there's just no impulse to binge. Since I'm enjoying my whole foods so much, that's pretty weird really.
The next time you get emotional, find your "comfort" in something other than food--put eating in its proper place.
Update 1/16/12: As I suspected, I never became hungry last night and I'm no more hungry than usual this morning. I really believe the "weak from not eating" is either a mental belief creating reality or a symptom of inability to burn stored fat.
I do plan to eat a complete and healthy menu today but no extra portions.
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