Staying the Course -- 6-12-2015

[Superbob]

Welcome to a new Staying the Course week.

Summertime, and maybe you want to stray off course once in a while. It's called vacation, nothing wrong with that, and I bet a lot of folks who check in here from time to time are vacationing now or preparing for the same. As for Missus and I, I think we will be staycationing during the hot summer months and maybe go some relaxing place during the fall.

About the best I am doing for exercise right now is exercise biking. By the time I'm able to get to the pool for potential exercise, kids are all over it, playing, splashing -- as they should -- and it's a little hard for a solitary old man to do aqua exercises without feeling conspicuous. Maybe the grandkids will want me to take them on a "polar bear swim" on cool evenings, when it's not so crowded. One of these days I may stick with an indoor exercise pool -- sure wish we had one closer to our neighborhood.

As for eating -- yes, I'm doing that. Can't say I'm doing anything either terribly bad or exemplary. Must say some new Ritz sour-cream-and-onion crackers DW bought are positively addictive -- beware! It's a time of the year when it's almost too hot to cook (over 100 degrees) --- so eating-out selections become problematic. When pizza on delivery, we get a small one along with an antipasto with lots of veggies.

I haven't had an echocardiogram for quite a while now --- about a year and a half -- but will be having one next week. A little nervous about it -- but none of us have warranties, do we? Hope for more good years with my amazing valve/root device.

Love to hear from old Throwdown friends, new Stay-the-Course folks, and anyone completely new here who would like to talk fitness, nutrition or just whatever comes along as we move ahead.

Cheers,

Your Humble Servant,

Superbob

:Wink:

 

[skeptic49]

Hello Superbob and all...Superbob...glad you are getting an echo soon. At ten years out I think you would want yearly echos at minimum. I just read about a man who has had a porcine valve for 30 years. He got it at age 52. I thought that was very reassuring news. In addition to my daily walks, I've started an exercise program that incorporates some exercises recommended in a recent issue of the AARP newsletter...stretching, body weight squats, touch your toes, etc. I'm combining that with a couple of exercises recommended by my scuba diving insurance company that are designed to improve upper body strength. I use two 20 lb hexagonal dumbells. The two exercises are pullups and pushups both done from a bent-knee position in the deck. Then I add some overhead lifts with the dumbbell one arm at a time, and some curls. I'm hoping that the body weight squats help improve the muscle tone in my left leg, which is somewhat atrophied due to a long ago bout of sciatica and arthritis in the knee. Well, I hear you, Superbob about vacation time and eating, but I'm trying real hard to stick to my low carb diet. My weight is good at about 190, down slightly from where I've been in recent months after my surgery. I stopped Warfarin last Tuesday with the blessing of my cardiologist so now the only pill is a daily aspirin. That made me happy. I have my first post op echo in a couple of weeks, but the valve seems really good. I have no palpitations or other symptoms and it really pounds shut. I know it's working, that's for sure! Finally, Monday I start cardiac rehab. I'm getting a late start due to the move to the summer cottage but I at least want to try some sessions to see if they are helpful. I hope everyone has a great weekend and upcoming week.

Jim

 

[Superbob]

Thanks, Jim for the very positive post. Sounds like you have a good well-rounded fitness program. Mine is mostly lacking in working with weights (except when I am taking PT for one condition or the other) and that is something I need to incorporate, light weights, with some supervision and direction. I really should re-join the "Y" near here and use their equipment and fitness advisers.

And that is very good to hear about the guy who has had his porcine valve for 30 years. Sometimes I can freak myself out reading about average endurance of the valves, but of course averages include some that failed quickly for one reason or the other and then those long-lasting on the other end of the spectrum. I'm working on 11 years and doing well as far as I know. I think you're right -- probably should have an echo annually -- we've moved a few times, and then had one cardio also move, and another go to a different practice I didn't want to follow -- so sort of got off schedule. My current cardio is very attentive and is having me come in every 4 months or so, so I think annual echoes probably will be part of the routine.

Hope everyone has a great weekend --- I'm going to try to get a workout cleaning up the house this morning and then mall walking while DW gets her hair done this afternoon.

 

[Cooker]

Just returned from Venice and a Mediterranean cruise. Got plenty of walking in and way to many buffet visits.

All good in Chimpville.....

 

[epstns]

I'm still here, too. We spent a week out in Western Massachusetts, attending the birth of our first grandchild. That demolished my exercise routine for the week, but it also decimated my eating/snacking for the week, so I booked a small net weight loss. May not stay that way, but since my wife has decided to stay out East to help out for a few weeks, my simple culinary skills (can you say "grill"?) may help maintain weight for a while.

It may finally be getting into summer here (although we still have some nights in the 40's, some days have been near 90), so I have raised the bar on my casual walking. I still do my daily routine at the gym (stationary bike and power-walking), but I also try to get out and walk several additional miles most days. That, combined with the summer weather depressing my appetite and also a change in meds for my acid reflux may all combine to put me back on track.

Whether I get fully back on track or not, I'll be Staying The Course!

 

[Superbob]

The dreaded doctor's scales today -- ugh! …. Whoa! I pushed reply once too often evidently and this post repeated so I am deleting the repetition above in this one --- some Stay the Course leader I am!

 

[Superbob]

Hope all are having a good week. Incredibly hot here in the sub-tropics -- 100F territory.

I am heading in today for an echocardiogram, the first I have had in quite a while. Not freaked out about it, but a little nervous. In the past some techs have misread my unusual replacement device for an aneurysm -- hope whatever they see today is an accurate picture, and I'll go from there. If any want to send good thoughts my way, appreciated.

On the fitness front, it dawned on me that I was getting out of control (again) -- just sitting and munching on a big bag of snack crackers, for example. Got on scale on one midday and it wasn't pretty. So this week I have at least lost the recently added weight and back to my "normal" of past 10 years. Now, I need to keep the junk food in strict moderation and I think I could lose some more weight.

The dreaded doctor's scales today -- ugh!

BTW, shameless grandfatherly pride here….but my granddaughter Hannah, a member of Under Armour's Team Next, was able to do a soccer training film shoot in New Orleans with Lauren Holiday, star midfielder for the U.S. women's national team currently in the World Cup competition and just advancing to the Round of 16. The video is just out and you can see it on YouTube, if you just key in "Lauren Holiday Trains With UA Next Soccer Athlete"….some of you already have seen it on Facebook. Just couldn't resist plugging it.

 

[Paleowoman]

Sending you good thoughts for your echo today Superbob ! Hope the technician knows what he's looking at !

I don't envy you your weather - too hot. Mind you, I would like a little bit more heat here (just outside of London, UK) - it's 75F with a horrible wind which makes it feel a bit cool.

 

[dornole]

What a great opportunity for your granddaughter, Superbob!!! I'm a big fan of the women's national team - I went to high school with, and my sister played (and my brothers practiced) with team legend Kristine Lilly during high school (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristine_Lilly). Hannah seems very composed and a great young athlete. I can see why you're proud of her. And I hope your echo comes out "no worries" today!

 

[epstns]

Hang in there, SB! Echo's aren't something we can "study" for, so just go and get it done. If you feel OK, the results are probably OK, too.

I would probably be embarrassed to post my weight situation right now, but for the opposite reason as SB. This past week or two, my eating habits have taken a big hit with a lot of family drama going on. We have a new (our first) grandson out in Massachusetts, which has thrown the family into total craziness. My wife is out East with our daughter for a while and I'm home (and at work), and just don't feel much like eating. I've probably lost 4 or 5 pounds in the past 2 weeks, but will likely gain it all back once I get back to my normal diet and schedule.

 

[Superbob]

Wow -- congrats on the new grandson, Steve! Unusual, though as you say almost certainly temporary, way to lose weight.

And Dornole, I remember Kristine Lilly, though I didn't follow women's soccer as closely as I do now with my granddaughter's athleticism. Great that your sister and brothers played/practiced some soccer with Kristine.

My echo appointment went well. I am blessed now to have a great tech and great cardio, after having not such a good team when I moved here six years ago. The tech has been doing echoes 30 years, and explained a lot as she went along with the test. She fully understood my Freestyle root/valve (unlike the previous crew, which mistook it for an aneurysm, causing me to have a follow-up CT and to send all film to my Virginia surgeon, who then kindly looked at it all and said everything was good, no aneurysm). The tech yesterday said of course that the cardio would have to go over all the numbers/pictures and discuss them with me in a week, but she offered her professional assessment that everything appeared to her to be working well; no problems apparent.

So it was a very good day, a blessed day for me.

I will start the new week's Staying the Course tomorrow. Thanks for checking in. It is great to stay in touch. (Paleogirl, another week of 100F temps is forecast for next week here -- yikes!)

Also, great to have Mr. Chimp back, tanned, rested and ready to join me in the joys of a South Carolina summer, with 110H heat index. : )

 

[IronmaninTraining]

Cooker just got back from rome (6/7 to 6/13) and venice (6/13 to 6/16)....In rome we average 8 to 11 miles a day walking. Venice not so much but it was more relaxing. Hope you enjoyed your trip as much as we did.