Health

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Interesting week, in which I discovered a couple of things.

I'm working the detox and discovery part of "The Plan" and 2 things:

When you're in the discovery phase, you can plan to lose 1/2 pound a day (if you're sticking to the plan.) If you find a food that **you** are reactive to, you can bump up a pound.

Almonds (which are non-reactive for most) apparently give me a horrendous sweet tooth - and cause me to bump up a pound (although whether from the almonds or from the falling to forementioned sweet tooth, I'm not sure)

white bread - makes me feel icky and bloated and gives me insomnia leaves me to think (because of the 1/2 pound weight loss) that I'm not **reactive** but am sensitive to gluten.

Go figure.

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Purpose of the post: diet, exercise, injury

It was such a sucky diet week I didn't even weigh myself. I purchased the book "The Plan" and I'm shopping tonight for the 3 day detox. They say the "cranky stage" of detox last about 3 days and this is a 3-day weekend so hopefully I'll be good on it.

Sometimes it has felt like the healthier I eat, the harder it is to lose weight and if this book is right, it explains a lot. I'll try anything once...

This week I took about 3 short walks and none of them set off major achilles pain so that's good. The weather hasn't been very encouraging for walking outdoors, but I did take a group of students for a walk in the woods on a sunny day. One of them had surgery on her foot over Thanksgiving and is just now back at school (she's vision impaired and using a white cane; using that and crutches at the same time is...impossible so she was at home) - anyway, her good leg is about 30% larger than the one she hasn't been using (hopping and crutches at home where she knows her environment) so we want to get her up to speed and that means walk, walk, walk. Today we're going into the community and we're planning a shopping trip and I'd like to get about 3 geocaches in the Hobby Lobby area. 😉

My vicodin intake is less than it has been so I'm happy about that. At the worst of this I was taking 6 vicodin a day and I'm taking about 2 1/2 a day now (the lowest dose, 5mg.)

On the sciatica front, I haven't noticed major tingling so hopefully that means that piriformis swelling is getting a little better, although I feel like I'm chasing the pain down my leg. The main point of "big pain" remains on the outside point of my hip, with "pulling pain" at my tailbone. That pressure sets off my hamstring, which is tight as a drum, according to my massage therapist, and that (in turn) pulls on my Achilles' tendon.

I spend a major portion of my time at home leaning against my bad. (explanation: I have a tall bed with storage underneath and it's just the right height for me to put a couple pillows under my top half and stretch my hamstring and Achilles' tendon for my bottom half)

So I hit the three points and hopefully next week is better all around

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New Year's Resolutions for the year...

Health and fitness:

Weight Watchers for 3 solid months, to see if the plan will work (as opposed to hard core Atkins)
Exercise 3 days per week

Blogging:

6 book/movie/music etc. reviews each month
blog daily, giving myself 2 days each month "grace"
once blog post on sermon notes
participate in photo scavenger hunt one time per month
comment on another blog 5 time per week.

Christianity:

Finally getting through the "Bible in a Year"
Finishing 12 theology books in the year (one for each month)
Finishing 12 "Christian living" books in the year

Misc. Read a little each day.

OH...and Fly Lady...

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Colleen's Slow Cooker Jambalaya
INGREDIENTS
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound frozen cooked shrimp without tails
INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, onion, green bell pepper, celery, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.
2. Cover, and cook 7 to 8 hours on Low, or 3 to 4 hours on High. Stir in the shrimp during the last 30 minutes of cook time.

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Reason #3 - I'm not going back

My son was "Born With A Bomb" - he has this "thing" inserted into his DNA. It was there from birth, he inherited it from me. He went blind.

Everybody on the planet was born with a different bomb. We have this "thing" - a "sin nature" that we inherited from Adam. Because of this, we are blinded by the god of this age.

Tom cannot make himself "unblind." This is where he is. But there is hope. There's a physician (a group of them...best in the world) who have poured their lives into fixing this mess.

We cannot make ourselves unblind. This is where we are. But there is hope. There's a Great Physician who poured out His life, fixing this mess.

Tom's physician is the only one with the key to treating LHON. There is no other treatment available, and it is only available if you are chosen to receive the treatment.

The Great Physician is also the key to healing our sin nature. There is no other treatment other than Christ, and it is only available to those who trust Him.

But Tom cannot make himself unblind...

and just so, we cannot make ourselves unblind.

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I've been "easing" toward different eating habits over the last few years, but mostly playing with it.  Eating "Primal" for breakfast doesn't do much good when you throw in a Snicker's bar for lunch.  A couple of years ago I gave up wheat for Lent and was surprised at the difference.  Now, I go for a few days, then slip.  (Today is "day one" after lunch yesterday.)

The "Primal Blueprint" is the plan that I like best.  The author's blog is "Mark's Daily Apple" and I've gleaned a lot (including recipes) from that site.

There's also "Paleo" - the biggest difference is that Primal is a lot more flexible.  A little dairy, a little rice, morning coffee...

Both emphasize "clean eating" - but their basis is not my basis.  I read "Cultured Mama" who wonders if "paleo/primal" is Biblical?   Granted, they base their eating plans on the assumption that humans evolved into eating whatever they eat.  I believe that God created humans fully evolved.

However...God gave us food.  And it does seem to indicate that (in the beginning) humans were vegetarians.

Genesis 1:29
And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.

Not until Noah, did humans have the "green light" to eat meat.

Where does that leave primal/paleo?

1 - in order to answer that, you need to separate the eating plan and science, from the philosophical reasons for creating the plan.  If you take away "evolution" reasons, what you are left with is a basic "grain/legume/frankenfood-free" eating plan that encourages you to choose foods that have been raised cleanly and without hormones, additives, artificial fertilizers.

Remember - NOBODY  EVER DIED FROM NOT EATING WHEAT.

On the wheat topic - what kind of wheat?  What we know as "wheat" today is very different than even the wheat that was grown 50 years ago.

Well for starters, the wheat we eat today is not the same wheat of 50 or even 100 years ago. Since the demand for wheat is so high (second biggest crop in the U.S., second only to corn), scientists have been genetically modifying the plant to make it grow faster and produce higher yields. This means that wheat is not rich with nutrients and health benefits like it once was.

Wheat now qualifies as a "frankenfood" - also, check out this article on "wheatbellyblog"

I guess this turned out to be about wheat - and that's okay.  Every time I eat wheat, I cough.  And cough.  Clue bus?

 

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We had a very nice time at Joshua Tree, with a few new photos.

Tom's vision is stable, with an improvement in the results of the OCT (where they take a photo of the optic nerve.). Dr. Chicani said it's what they expected, and we don't go back for three months!

We borrowed a white cane for the airport - everybody we told said it's a good thing to help him navigate, and to help others identify Tom. The letter from the doctor also said that we can pre-board, so we won't have to fight for luggage space.

My pain is much worse, I'm blaming my eating today. The evidence is mounting that my pain is caused but diet, although I still want to nail down a diagnosis.