Cold, Cough, Congestion

On Christmas night, I started getting a tickle in my throat and a runny nose.

By the next morning, it had blown into a major cold. I had all the typical symptoms: cough, running nose, sore throat, sneezing, aches and chills.

I've spent the last few days lying around... I've been drinking tea and sipping soup, and watching bad daytime TV. It sucks... 'cause I really want to get out and go for a walk. The weather is super mild for late-December, and it's perfect "jog around the neighborhood" temperatures.

But I know better than to push myself when I'm feeling sick... since my top priority is ridding myself of this cold as fast as possible. I'm even going to skip a party tomorrow night because I know I need the rest!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

I'll be taking a break from blogging--at least 'til after Christmas, possibly until the New Year. I hope everyone has a happy and healthy holiday!

Christmas Parties

Fortunately for me, Hubby and I have few holiday events this year. We did his "work" party, which consisted of a nice buffet. (I had some steamed veggies, potatoes and salad. I admit to having a piece of dessert, too.) Since I'm on the wagon, I only drank water... which probably saved me about 500 calories, since normally I would have had at least 4-5 glasses of wine.

I expect Christmas Eve will be a relatively light meal. My mom's been sick lately, so she'll probably just throw together something small. I might bring a dish, too. And if I do, it'll be something healthy like a nice veggie casserole.

Christmas Day will probably be my biggest obstacle. We do a heavy breakfast, dinner and late supper... so I have to restrain all day long. Fortunately, the meals seem to come so close together that I'm pretty much stuffed by the time I reach the next event... which cuts down on my portions.

After that I only have to deal with a friend's dinner party--not a problem--and New Year's (I'll probably snack a bit).

Being "on the wagon" will be a lifesaver for my waistline this season. I usually drink alcohol at every holiday get-together... probably between 500-1,000 calories. By avoiding alcohol at just 4 events, I've saved myself a pound of weight gain. Pretty cool.

Light Lifting

My current health condition means I've had to kick back my cardio workouts to just walking... which isn't bad, but isn't great either. (I've decided to add some elliptical machine in at some point, perhaps.)

I'd also cut out strength training to be extra cautious, but then I started to notice a big difference in my upper body strength. I couldn't even really see a muscle when I flexed my bicep! So I am now adding some strength training back in to my routine. I'm just doing some upper body stuff--bicep curls, tricep extensions, military presses--with some light weights (8 lbs.). It's not much, but at least I feel like I'm doing something.

Overall, I'd call my exercise routine light but adequate. It's just enough to keep me from turning into a total couch potato, but not enough to see any gains. In fact, it's probably not even enough to maintain my current level of fitness. All it does it slow down my fitness loss.

Still... research suggests that a brisk walk most days of the week coupled with some light strength training is the minimum we need to improve our health. So even if I'm not in "athletic" mode, I'm at least doing something good for my heart, muscles, bones and body.

Rethinking My Diet

For quite a number of years, I've been a vegan. This means I've eschewed all animal products, including dairy, eggs and seafood. I became vegan mostly for ethical reasons, although environmental and health reasons were also considerations.

During the last few weeks, however, I've been seriously rethinking my position. Here's why:

• Fish: It's almost impossible to refute the evidence that certain seafoods are extremely healthy for humans. (And, from an ethical standpoint, Jesus ate fish.)
• Eggs: My biggest problem with eggs was always the treatment of chickens in large egg-laying plants. But obtaining eggs from a genuine free-range farm (local, so I can actually see the farm and chickens) eliminates that issue.
• Dairy: Again, the treatment of the cows (and the hormones) were always the sticking point for me when it came to dairy. Organic and local dairy products can help ease my mind.

The primary reason I've been reconsidering this, however, is because Hubby and I are thinking about having children (some day). And, in the event that happens, I won't be raising them as vegans. For one thing, raising a vegan child is a great way to have social services knocking on your door. For another, I don't think it's healthy to give children inordinate amounts of soy, which often happens in a vegan diet. And finally, I believe veganism is a personal choice of ethics, one that my child is free to make on his/her own when he/she is capable of intellectual reason.

And if I'm not going to raise my child as vegan, what's the point of eating vegan myself? I'm certainly not going to prepare three different meals--a vegan one for me, a vegetarian one for the kids, and a meat one for Hubby--at dinner!

I think I could be comfortable feeding both me and any future children a lacto-ovo-pescetarian diet. And Hubby would be willing to go along with that diet, too, I think.

Health Enemy

The TV is probably my absolute worst enemy when it comes to health and fitness. Here's why:

• After my workday, I am more likely to plop on the couch instead of going for a walk.
• I eat a lot of meals in front of the TV, which means I'm not really conscious about my portion sizes (and it takes more food to satisfy my appetite).
• When I watch movies and fun shows, I like to munch on snack foods.
• Watching TV means lying practically motionless on the sofa.

I'd like to combat my TV addiction and start doing smarter things for my health. So I've decided to try and:

• Limit the amount of TV I watch... down to 2 hours per day.
• Switch to healthier snacks such as air-popped popcorn and fresh veggies.
• Try to be "active" during TV time, even if I'm just knitting a scarf.
• Start eating meals at the dining table instead of in the living room.
• Give myself exercise rewards: If I workout that day, I get extra TV time.
  

It may take me a while to make all those changes, but those are my ultimate goals.

Treadmill

Back on the treadmill today! I dislike the treadmill, but it's sooooo windy and cold outside. I decided it was better to do a brisk walk inside than to bundle up and fight the bitter weather.

The one benefit to the treadmill is that I get to watch TV while I exercise. And now that I'm walking instead of running, it's a lot easier to concentrate on a show. I'm not a big fan of daytime TV, but I sometimes watch Discovery Health or TLC or the Style network.

I've definitely noticed that my pace has slowed lately... even my "brisk" walking isn't so brisk anymore. And it makes me sooooo jealous when I hear Hubby trotting away on the treadmill at a speedy run. But because of my health issues right now, I got to take it easy. So I'm trying to be as patient with myself as possible.

And I figure a little bit of exercise--even if it's just light walking--is better than nothing.