Brrr! We are midway through September and already it is really cold outside, and of course, rainy and overcast...it wouldn't be the Seattle area without drizzle, mist and sleet.
We only had about 2.5 weeks of summer this year, which was fine with me but left a lot of sun worshippers and Vitamin D seekers upset. I am not a fan of heat, but I don't mind a bit of sun every now and then. My husband, who was born on an Air Force base in Ankara, Turkey (a very hot place) and raised in St Petersburg, Florida, (another very hot place) hates the sun, loathes sweating and hot weather and would rather sleep in a bedroom with icicles hanging from the ceiling than be in a temperate climate. Like most middle-aged men, he has a beer gut and a tendancy to give off the same amount of heat as the pot-bellied stove he resembles. So from his perspective, I gather it is a matter of not overheating that has him sleeping with the doors from the bedroom to the deck wide open every night, even in winter. Never mind that the squirrels and bluejays consider the bedroom their second home.
WIO is on fall schedule now, and unfortunately, there isn't an aerobics class every night of the week, so I'm having to get creative and find ways to take some morning classes so that I can get at least 5 days of exercise in. There is a new Tai Chi class that I find interesting to watch but not at all attractive to attend, because there is no heart-rate-hiking, fat-burning movement to the class at all...it's more like a standing, slow version of yoga, which I can't do and don't enjoy. So last night I just went in and ran on the elliptical machine for 40 minutes, then used the weight machines to get in some muscle building time. Now today I am trying to figure out how I can attend my son's curiculum night and still make it to spin class at 6:30pm. What I am hoping is that if I start walking there at 5:30 that I can get to the school in time to have a quick chat with Mr Finch, my sons teacher, and then run up to WIO before class begins. Usually when I make plans like that, we have a deluge of rain,(I hate walking in the rain)or something else comes up that prevents me from achieving my plan, but we shall see for this evening.
In other gut news, I've been on Humira for 11 weeks now, taking the 40 milligram shots on Wednesday each week, and suffering a headache-filled Tuesday when I can barely go to the bathroom and I have tremendous lower left side back pain. After taking my shot yesterday, I spent a lot of time in the bathroom going, and going, and going again, and feeling both relief and fatigue. Still, it was a hectic day and I had to grocery shop, do a lot of emailing, run errands and find the time to pick up Nick after school and get to WIO. So by 10 pm, I was exhausted.
I'm trying not to beat myself up about the weight I've gained since my colon operation last summer (to remove a stricture due to Crohn's Disease), because I knew that with a post-op regimen of cortisone, even a short course, comes 25-30 pounds. But because I exercise and don't eat junk food (though I do eat sugar on my cereal and in my tea), I feel like I am not in bad health, considering the asthma, allergies and Crohns situation. I feel like there's a sturdy frame with muscle under the pudge on my upholstered belly. I'm built like my dearly beloved grandma Semler, who was sturdy, stout and a cancer survivor who never let her size dictate what she could or could not do. Dr Oz has recommended that people who want to lose 10 pounds can stop eating after 8 pm, and get enough sleep, eschew caffiene, eat more veggies and exercise, and I figure those are all things I can do, whether or not they help me lose weight.
Meanwhile, my friend Adrian, who is a whiz with Apple computers (Macs), sent me this link on the healthful, allergy-reducing benefits of yogurt: http://www.realage.com/tips/choose-this-creamy-breakfast-be-sneeze-free?kw=ist
I had to tell him that all dairy products make me ill because I am not just allergic to milk sugars, I am allergic to bacteria in milk products, like yogurt and cheese, that require cultures to become what they are. I am allergic to mold, fungus and bacteria that change foods. So mushrooms are out, as is yogurt, cheese, miso, wine and many kinds of salami (I also can't tolerate nitrates and MSG, so there are a number of lunchmeats that make my joints hurt and swell up like I have arthritis). Add to that list of food allergies eggs, strawberries, honey, green beans, mangoes and nuts and you'd think I would be skinny from not having anything to eat that doesn't endanger my health.
There's still plenty of meats, shellfish, salmon, non-whole-grain breads, fruits, veggies and soy products that I can eat, though, and sugar also doesn't bother me, so I manage to eat a lot of tasty food and remain large, unfortunately. Portion control has always been a problem for me, but it is something that I am mindful of, so I try and work on it every day.
