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Tag Archives: Health

Here To Better Health: The Nutritionist

01 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by kathyd65 in Change of LIfe, Nutrition, That's Life, Transition

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Education, Health, Life, Nutrition, Personal experience

Food background. Fresh vegetables, fruits and blank notepad on a dark background. Concept of healthy eating, diet and planningHere’s to better health: The Nutritionist

During 2018 I read Eat Right 4 Your Type by Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo. As I age my body responds differently to many of the foods I’ve been eating most of my life. After reading the book, it was suggested that I engage the services of a nutritionist to better understand which foods might be causing inflammation, joint pain, and intestinal distress.

I searched for nutritionists near me and reviewed websites of potential candidates, looking for someone who was qualified and whose mission resonated with me. The nutritionist I selected holds a Masters Degree in Nutrition Science from Cal State Long Beach and is a Registered Dietitian. This quote from her website was the deciding factor for me to make that first phone call:

“Together we will work on listening and honoring your body to restore and strengthen your health.  The end goal is for my clients to be an active creator of the lifestyle they desire.” – Amanda Sauceda

During our first phone conversation she outlined her program, which includes ordering a blood panel to determine how the body reacts to 140 different foods, beverage, flavor enhancers and food chemicals. Preparing for the appointment also included completing an extensive questionnaire about my lifestyle, health history, eating habits and concerns.

Today I met my new nutritionist face to face for the first time. She asked some clarifying questions about the questionnaire I filled out and I filled in the blanks. We discussed my life phase of peri-menopause, difficulties losing weight and keeping it off, and intestinal issues I’ve had. She then handed me a color-coded list of all the foods included in the blood panel and explained what each color represented: the green line items indicate non-reactive foods, yellow line items indicates a moderate reaction, and red line items items should be avoided (soybeans and rainbow trout are red liners for me).

Discovering that my body might respond adversely to certain foods based on my blood type was eye opening. Having a professional review the results of a blood test with me added some clarity to what I’ve read (it was suggested by more than a couple of people that I should use the Blood Type book as a guideline). For example, the Blood Type book suggests that for my blood type, which is A, I should consume more soy products and avoid beef, while the blood test results the nutritionist reviewed for specific sensitivities disagrees, instead indicating that soy for me is a BIG NO-NO, and beef is acceptable. (Lucky me – I was not a fan of the soy-based diet idea). Keep in mind, everybody’s results are different, and that’s why I sought out the guidance of a trained nutritionist instead of solely relying on a popular book.

After reviewing the results of the test with her, we determined a beginner’s game plan to see how I feel when introducing only the most non-reactive of the foods (the green line items) into my diet during a two-week period. She offered to send me some alternative recipe ideas and gave me the choice of when to begin this modified diet.

The purpose of this exercise, for me, is to help my body to function at its optimal level for my age. I want to live a long life and I want to enjoy and participate fully in that life.

I discussed the results of the test and the food plan with my husband, so we are on the same page.

During the first two weeks, I’ll be eating a limited number of items from the green liners:

Nutrition Week 1 and 2

Check back in for an update. I plan to start this food plan on Saturday, February 9.

Here’s to better health!

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Operation Transition & Truth

03 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by kathyd65 in Change of LIfe, Menopause, Peri-menopause, Perimenopause, That's Life, Transition

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Change of LIfe, Health, Life, Peri-menopause, Perimenopause, truth

Operation Transition & Truth

(Having read and re-read what I’ve written, I implore you to read it to the end, as you may find some useful information in my first – but not last – post on this subject. Please feel free to ask questions or leave comments. I, and many others, could use the wisdom of our collective experience).

June 5 – 14, 2018 – A very emotional week in the life of a 53 year old woman. Woke up at 8:00 am feeling ambivalent. Felt lost and uncertain about the course of the day upon taking those first breaths. Extreme irritability emerged as feet hit the floor. Sound of a trash bin lid slamming shut startled me beyond reason. Spouse entered the room with a loving smile and sudden rage at the intrusion overwhelmed my senses. Guilt for the rage followed quickly behind bringing on tears and great remorse. Logical desire to return to bed, pull covers over head and remain there for the rest of the day. It was 8:20 am. WHAT THE HELL?

I’ll tell you WHAT THE HELL, my friends. Peri-menopause. That’s WHAT THE HELL. Having talked to several of my girlfriends, some female acquaintances, and not a few strangers about this phase of life, I realize that although every single woman has or will experience this transition, not a lot of them understand that there’s a difference between peri-menopause and menopause. Nor do they often realize it when they are IN IT!

My first experiences with this transition were unexplained muscle spasms I thought were originating in my heart. Then I experienced two separate incidents of anxiety that I thought were heart attacks. They were not. These symptoms are directly related to the beginning phases of the Change of Life.

So – let’s start with simple: What is the difference between peri-menopause and menopause?

“Perimenopause, or menopause transition, begins several years before menopause. It’s the time when the ovaries gradually begin to make less estrogen. It usually starts in a woman’s 40s, but can start in her 30s or even earlier. Perimenopause lasts up until menopause, the point when the ovaries stop releasing eggs.”(1)

“Menopause is defined as the absence of menstrual periods for 12 months. It is the time in a woman’s life when the function of the ovaries ceases. The process of menopause does not occur overnight, but rather is a gradual process. This so-called perimenopausal transition period is a different experience for each woman.” (2)

During my recent emotional 8-day span, I experienced:

  • debilitating anxiety;
  • memory issues including short-term memory loss, an inability to focus or keep a thought, and confusion that led to anxiety attacks;
  • sudden, unexplained rage;
  • easily startled by unexpected, and expected, loud noises;
  • sudden, extreme fatigue;
  • slow-to-build extreme sadness; and
  • weeping uncontrollably, for no apparent reason.

Oh, and hot flashes, and night sweats.

I would gladly embrace hot flashes one moment followed by cold-to-the-bone the next, and difficulty sleeping, if it meant avoiding all that other stuff. Because, frankly, during that 8-day period I felt mentally unhinged. I felt insane – the thoughts that ran through my head were extreme, and the desire to take action based on those thoughts was STRONG.

“If I am experiencing theses many symptoms of peri-menopause,” I thought to myself, “then maybe other women are also experiencing this, too.”

September 2016: I overheard a couple of friends discussing women’s issues at a camp out and wiggled my way into that conversation. What I’d overheard was with regard to symptoms I recognized and possible remedies, and I wanted to hear what they were doing about it. This led me to a compounding pharmacist in February 2017, a saliva test, and several natural supplements that helped to manage the few symptoms I was having at the time.

October 2016: I began experiencing what felt like heart palpitations. Heart monitor for three weeks and not an inkling of a heart issue. My step-mom later told me that muscle spasms in the chest is an indicator of the hormones shifting.

November 2016: Realizing I may be entering what I thought was menopause (and discovered peri-menopause) I searched the internet for a book that could explain this transitional phase. I found one (ONE) out of print book titled Menopause & Emotions by Lafern Page. This book shed a lot of light on the emotional aspects of this transition, and a little more on the physiological aspect. I had hoped to find a LOT more written on the subject. There is the Internet, I know.

2017: Nothing major, Took supplements, rode minor roller coasters of emotion, had maybe three cycles (first one, in February, was very heavy and caught me by surprise; hadn’t had one in several months)

April 2018: Met with Women’s Issues Doctor to discuss a 3-day emotional roller coaster and the options I had to better manage the hormone change. The supplements were not working as well as they had been, or the change was increasing rapidly. I was offered Paxil or Bio-identical Estrogen and a synthetic Progesterone. I took the hormones. All my symptoms slowly improved.

June 2018: 8-day roller coaster and a cry for help. I searched on Psychology Today [Find a Therapist (3)] and made an appointment with a women’s issues therapist who was of an age that she’d probably already been through the Change of Life, and employed her assistance in providing strategies to weather the storm. I’ve had two sessions and here’s the most important thing I’ve gotten out of this so far:

“Women of our age were taught anger is not attractive, so we are unable to express anger. Bottled up for years, our only acceptable release of that anger is during PMS or during Peri-menopause. We blow up, then we blame the hormones.” I plan to return to deal with a lot of unaddressed anger.

All of this leads us to today, when I finally sat down and scratched the surface of a perfectly normal, natural transition that is rarely talked about. Well, I’m talking about it. I hope you found this first installment helpful. Please feel free to chime in.

In Upcoming Posts (not necessarily in this order): The Unsuspecting Spouse; Everybody’s Got a Remedy; Essential Oils – Hype or Help?; Those Who ‘Breezed’ Through It; What Mom Never Told Me; Supplements I Took, Still Take; Physical Exercise is Your Friend; Meditation for Relief

  • (1) https://www.webmd.com/menopause/guide/guide-perimenopause#1
  • (2) https://www.medicinenet.com/menopause/article.htm
  • (3) https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists?utm_source=PT_Psych_Today&utm_medium=House_Link&utm_campaign=PT_TopNavF_Therapist1

 

Nothing to Say

26 Sunday Feb 2017

Posted by kathyd65 in That's Life

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Health, Life, Personal experience, Reality, truth

Nothing to Say

If you read Sick, then you’ll understand this. I have bronchitis. I’m pretty sure that’s all it is. However, an aching head makes thinking more difficult, makes focusing a chore.

So today I did neither. We ate breakfast out and stopped by Costco, using all the energy I had in reserve. After we put away our groceries I dozed on the couch.

My loving husband and I played Cashflow 101. I got out of the rat race first, and I managed to increase my cash flow by $50,000 first to win the game.

More rest.

We built the remainder of a Lego Christmas train. The flatcar and the caboose. And all the tiny Christmas gifts. We ran it around the track a few times (we sprung for the motor accessory). It’s the coolest.

I coughed too long and too hard. I’m going to bed early. Too much effort to try and watch a movie.

Tomorrow I’ll visit Urgent Care at the request of my husband. Maybe the nurses can help speed up the healing.

And that’s about it. I’ll write something more entertaining tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by.

Sick

25 Saturday Feb 2017

Posted by kathyd65 in That's Life

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Health, Life, Personal experience, Poetry, truth

Sick

Fatigue. Stiff joints. Feeling cold in a warm room.

Deep in the ear canal, an itch I can’t scratch.

Dry, burning eyeballs. Nasal passages blocked.

Feeling the pressure build as the blood pounds in my temples.

Throat swelling shut, becoming difficult to swallow.

Benched indefinitely. Against my will. Without my consent.

So much to do. No energy to do it.

Snippity. Irritable. Cranky. Sorry.

Damnit.

Zzzzzzzzzz.

 

 

 

Driver Safety: Using That Turn Signal

10 Tuesday Jan 2017

Posted by kathyd65 in Driving Safely, That's Life

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Education, Health, Life, Personal experience, Traffic Safety

Driver Safety: Using That Turn Signal

Happy New Year! It occurred to me while driving home in my rental car that I have a few pet peeves about other drivers. I imagine many of us do. I also believe that I am a pretty good, safe driver. I also imagine that many of us do.

I have almost 35 years of driving in Southern California under my belt. In that time, I’ve been responsible for four accidents – once in the rain when I was 17; once on a freeway on ramp when I was 24; once turning against a red light when I was 34 or 35; and, last Friday, when I backed up in a turn lane, into the gentleman waiting behind me. An average of an accident every 8.75 years.

I see traffic laws violated on a daily basis, on the city streets and on the freeway. I thought maybe I’d share my two cents (my pet peeves) about traffic safety and how to be a safer driver for all those folks around us on the road. I imagine some people have become complacent and just follow the examples others set, and others somehow got their licenses out of sheer luck, and just follow the examples other set. Maybe, if more of us set a better, safer example, there will be less stress on the roads and less accidents.

Lesson One: Turn Signals

SAMSUNG

Every car comes with a set. I think the manuals that come with the vehicles – cars, trucks, motorcycles – call it an indicator light. As in “let me indicate to you that I am going to change lanes or turn.”

How does one use the indicator light? Usually it’s like this: Left Turn, push indicator stick down. Right Turn, push indicator stick up.  You paid for the indicator system when you bought the car. May as well utilize it.

When should one use the turn signal? Whenever one wishes to change lanes, or turn a corner. My son-in-law visited from a less populated city, and mentioned that most people in Southern California signal in the middle of changing lanes, as an afterthought, if they signal at all. He added that allowing the turn signal to blink three times before executing a lane change ensures better odds that the cars around me will see that I plan to change lanes, allowing for a warning to them and an opportunity to respond (either to let me in or speed past me). He was right – that three-blink moment of pause does wonders for my sense of peace, and as a warning to those around me.

I generally use my turn signal every time I am going to change lanes – whether there are cars around me or not. It’s become a habit, and I am less likely to run into another vehicle if we both know what I am about to do.

I get annoyed when another driver doesn’t use their signal and bolts into the lane in front of me. More often I see small, fast cars who think they are in the Indy 500 darting in and out of traffic, endangering themselves and those around them, without use of that turn indicator. I get a small amount of satisfaction when I meet them at the red light ahead.

So – use the turn signals to indicate a lane change, or when turning into a parking lot, or when planning to turn at a signal. Fellow drivers may appreciate it and may even pay it forward.

The Squash Garden Patio Project

18 Sunday Sep 2016

Posted by kathyd65 in Gardening, Photographs, That's Life

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Challenge, Garden, Health, Life, Personal experience, Vegetable

The Squash Garden Patio Project

dscn3139

June 21, 2016: Future Patio cordoned off

I had this grand plan over the summer – I wanted a patio area, so we could entertain. We live in a small house of maybe 900 square feet on a large lot of around 6,000 square feet – all the comforts without any extra interior space. Literally, the office, the living room, the dining room and the den are all in one room – about 16 feet by 18 feet. Having folks over for dinner or a visit is a bit of a challenge. So, the Grand Plan: cordon off some outside space, have a patio installed, build a cover and voila – Space to entertain!

dscn3140

June 21, 2016: Facing North. The Grand Patio Plan (15 feet by 17 feet)

But time was against it – another project held higher priority – and it didn’t get done. And because I had watered the area in anticipation of obtaining bids and going forward with that installation, some kind of squash volunteered to take up space.

dscn3227

August 7, 2016: Volunteers and Recruits

Seeing an alternative opportunity, my husband decided to supplement the volunteers with some recruits – having started seedlings without borders – and planted some corn, some pumpkins, some butternut squash, some acorn squash, some spaghetti squash, some zucchini and some yellow squash, and some watermelon. A seemingly innocent plan for some winter vegetables…

dscn3261

August 19, 2016: Volunteers are the larger plants, Recruits are smaller but catching up, Corn rises in the North.

dscn3567

September 9, 2016: Baby Pumpkin, one of many

Then we went out of town for 10 days during which time my son came by to water the plants so they wouldn’t die off. We came home to a small field of green leaves.

The garden just keeps growing…

dscn3573

September 13, 2o16: There are many immature fruit under all that leaf cover: butternut, acorn, spaghetti and pumpkin. Watermelon volunteer sports leaves in the foreground. (Can you spot the baby watermelon?)

This is the squash garden, with corn accompaniment, today:

dscn3574

September 18, 2016: Around 9:00 am this morning… and still it grows.

I’m not clear on how we are going to get the squash out of the garden – I picked two zucchini last night, found after a ten-minute search. Horticulture Professor Husband says that the winter squash plants die off when the fruit is ready, so that will make those easier to find, if the plants don’t cover the entire property first. We can walk behind. The watermelon and the zucchini squash … that’s a different story.

I am truly grateful that we have a place to grow such an abundance of food, that the soil is happy and healthy, and that the plants seem bountiful. I hope you enjoyed this snapshot of the fall garden. Patio project on hold until next Spring.

Recipe: Pumpkin Bread – Gluten-free

29 Friday Jan 2016

Posted by kathyd65 in Recipes

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Baking, Gluten-free, Health, Low Glycemic Index, Personal experience

This was my alternative to a pumpkin bread recipe I’ve made during the holiday for years. I searched for this one and made my younger sister VERY happy.  These are delicious but must be eaten within a few days MAX. Enjoy!

Once again: Cannot locate a photo of these.  I WILL take photos of baked goods and other stuff I make from now on, I promise.

Pumpkin Bread (modified* original recipe found on WellnessMama.com)
Breakfast, serves 4-6

Prep Time: 5 minutes

5 eggs
1 cup of pumpkin puree (pumpkin only – check the ingredients)
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened* (option was coconut oil)
½ cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground allspice
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ cup maple syrup, Grade B*

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  2. Put ALL ingredients in a medium sized bowl
  3. Using a strong whisk or immersion blender (I used the whisk attachment on my hand mixer), mix until smooth, fluffy and well incorporated. If batter is too thick, add a little less than a tablespoon of water or coconut milk. Batter will be somewhat thick.
  4. Put in to a greased (buttered) 8 x 8 baking dish, or muffin tin (1/4 cup of batter per muffin) [NOTE: loaf pans do not work well]
  5. Bake for 25-30 minutes (check center with toothpick for firmness, and lightly browned color. (Muffins – bake for 15-20 minutes)

 

Chocolate Chip Cookies – gluten-free

21 Thursday Jan 2016

Posted by kathyd65 in Recipes

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Baking, Cookies, Gluten-free, Health, Low Glycemic Index, Snack

I Like Cookies. Heck, I like sweets of pretty much any kind (except for those with TOO MUCH CHOCOLATE). As I have aged, however, certain ingredients (grains, legumes, processed sugar, processed foods, excess fruit) once eaten without concern now cause issues that I won’t discuss in this post. We’ll just skip over to my finding a different way to eat things that satisfy the sweet tooth. I wanted a cookie recipe that didn’t affect blood sugar or the G.I. tract, and also didn’t taste like cardboard or health.  That’s why I posted this recipe.  Also, I was testing a PAGE theory and I learned something new.  One blog page per title.  Many static pages per blog.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies (modified original recipe* found on Primalpalate.com)
Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies

Snack, makes 45 cookies (or more)
Prep Time: 10 minutes

3 cups Blanched Almond Meal
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup Maple Syrup, Grade B
½ cup unsalted butter, softened*
2 ½ cups Dark Chocolate chips (60% cocoa or better)

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a medium sized mixing bowl: combine dry ingredients.
  3. In a small mixing bowl: beat eggs, maple syrup and vanilla extract with a hand mixer until combined.
  4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and beat with a hand mixer until combined.
  5. Mix in softened butter, blending until well combined.
  6. Stir in chocolate chips with a spoon or rubber spatula.
  7. On a parchment-lined baking sheet: drop balls of cookie dough (a little smaller than a ping pong ball)
  8. Bake for 15 minutes.
  9. Eat these – YUM!

Should be eaten within a week to 10 days. (If you can make them last that long!)

Being Sick Sucks

16 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by kathyd65 in That's Life

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Blogging101, Health, Life, Personal experience

Being Sick Sucks

Heavy weight on the chest, difficulty taking a complete deep breath, coughing until the eyes water, muscles aching from the effort.

How I wish I was better. This is so inconvenient.

We returned from a two-week road trip  last Friday that included a visit to Louisiana to visit my daughter’s family, including two young grand-daughters.  A cold returned with us. In me.

Daughter called while we were driving toward San Antonio, Texas on Highway 10.

“I know you’re going to make it here for sure.  Youngest has a fever.”

When I visited last year, my daughter and I spent the entire visit in the house with one trip to the Pediatrician because both girls were sick.  It was actually a great visit because there was no running around sight-seeing – just us and the grandkids: all babies, all the time. And no cold came back with me.

This year, chasing a storm (that’s kind of an exaggeration – we couldn’t have caught that storm if we’d tried… it was moving fast up the Gulf, through the southeast up to the northeast, leaving broken homes, ice and snow in its wake), we managed to end up at our destination and spent three days with the family, and the sick baby.

The headcold didn’t surface until the day after we left, and it wasn’t a big deal, not really.  A little congestion, a little fatigue, but nothing to worry about. Hot tea, rest, and all will be well. And it was. But the feeling that something wasn’t quite right lingered.

After a visit to the Urgent Care clinic this past Wednesday to rule out bronchitis, pneumonia or strep (and it did),  the doctor prescribed Mucinex, Advil and bed rest, to heal.  So I did. Wednesday evening.

Thursday we made a trip to Disneyland and spent all afternoon and part of the evening there.  Friday it felt like there was a weight on my chest all afternoon.  Today is a little better.

Taking a shower leaves me winded, sitting up for too long wears me out.  Standing in the sun is nirvana.  This little set back reminds me to take it easy.  A cold like this reminds me how I take my health for granted.  This is the first real cold I’ve had in years though and for that I am grateful.

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