ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz

One of the biggest blessings of my life was the day my kind-hearted husband quietly said, "Honey, I hate to tell you this, but....
you snore.

That man can sleep through anything!  I'd probably been snoring, loudly, for years.  Now I was working night shift for three months, and he woke up while I was at snore stage.  Poor guy. I am so glad he decided to tell me.

The kind of snoring I was doing was the sleep apnea kind.  Soon I found myself on a CPAP machine at night, and begin to get some actual rest.  Here I am, four or five years later, and I recently got the pressure changed and a brand new mask.  What a difference it has made to my energy levels!  I'm still tired a lot, but not dragged-out, can't-possibly-move-any-more exhausted like I was.

By the way, Pat, if you're reading this, I took your advice and went to a podiatrist. Came home with shoe inserts and recommendations for good shoes, which I hope to find on a trip to a bigger city.

Yoga

You're almost there! Tomorrow is Z!

As  much as I love Leslie Sansone videos, she usually doesn't do enough stretching at the end.  At the gym I used to go to, one of the trainers told us that we should stretch for at least ten minutes after aerobic exercise. I try to do that, but it gets pretty boring, just standing or sitting there, stretching and counting.

That's where yoga comes in.  I have a DVD called "The Ten-Minute Solution: Yoga" (for beginners.)  There are five different segments in it, so after a good aerobic walk, we just pop in a segment and stretch with Angie Stewart.  Each one has a little different focus--energy, balance, etc., but each one is a pretty thorough whole-body stretch.

X

X is the letter that comes, sometimes in multiples, in front of the letters L (large) and S (small) on our clothing.  Usually only once before the S, but up to three or four in front of the L. It gets to the point they have to write it as 4X because they run out of room on the label.

When it comes to the L in our clothes, we want as few of those X's as possible.  The world's a funny place. When it comes to food, fast food especially, we want the L or XL, but we can't get away with that and stay with the S or XS in our clothes.  So that's a good rule of thumb for ordering meals.  Order the size you want your clothing size to be.  Or at least in the direction your want it to go.

So, if I am an XL, and want to go back down to L or M (medium), I should keep ordering S foods until I get there. 

W is for Water

Water...a necessity of life. 

But let's use our common sense about it.

Myth:
Adults need to drink at least 8 ounces of water a day.

This one may be a good rule of thumb, but it actually defies logic.  Does a 5-foot woman need as much water as a 6-foot man?

Doesn't it depend on diet also?  Someone who eats a lot of soup, fruit, and vegetables, is not going to need as much water as someone who eats a meat and starch diet, because they get it naturally.

Myth:
Soda water (soft drinks, cola, pop, whatever you call it in your area of the world) dehydrates you more than the water in it hydrates you.

Think about it. Yes, the small amounts of carbon and caffeine may be a tiny bit dehydrating, but there is so much higher percentage of water that it does not dehydrate you. It may not hydrate you as well as plain water, but it does not make you dehydrated.

Unsupported statement:
By the time you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated.

Well, yeah, but is it a bad thing?  Nature has wonderful ways to tell you that your body is out of balance, and thirst is one of them.  You start to feel a bit thirsty, so you get a drink. Voila, balance restored!  I am not a doctor, but I think if you are force-feeding yourself water, you are just as likely, if not more so, to get out of balance.  You may be flushing out nutrients and things that you need.

Unsupported statement with unsupported reasoning:
Drinking water during meals interferes with digestion.

My opinion: It waters down the stomach acids, but they rebound quickly.  Meanwhile, the extra fluid helps the food keep moving smoothly through your system, possibly preventing constipation and its related problems.  If you shouldn't drink water with meals, then people shouldn't eat soup either.

However, if I drink a lot of water on top of a heavy meal, it may make me burp a bit of it up because my stomach ran out of room. When I drink water, or any other drink, along with a meal, it doesn't bother me at all.

Myth: 
Drinking water at certain times of the day will cure or prevent diseases.

Water is water. Why should the time of day matter? Your organs sit there during the night and do their jobs while you rest.  They don't need "wakening" or "settling down" for the night.  They do need water, but they don't have a clock ticking in there with little alarms going off to give you a disease if you happen to miss a watering.

Myth: 
Drinking cold water causes cancer.

No, it just refreshes you.  Your body has marvelous mechanisms for regulating temperature. If cold water caused cancer, then so would anything else cold, including fruit salad and ice cream. They may have their own problems, but cancer from cold is not one of them.

What I think about water: it's a marvelous thing. I feel a bit droopy or get a slight headache and a glass of water can perk me right up. Ice water is nice on occasion, especially if your water doesn't taste good, because the cold numbs the taste buds a bit.  Some things just taste better cold, like soda and root beer floats!    But if I'm hungry, a glass of water doesn't make me less hungry.  It does make me less thirsty.

Sources:
Snopes.com: Water Works
Snopes.com: Water Weal
Snopes.com: Cold Comford

V is for Vitamins and Vegetables

One of the things Leslie Sansone recommends in her book is taking a daily vitamin.  If we are working harder and eating a little less, our bodies just might need a bit of extra nutrition.

Some of the "health nut" people claim that fruits and vegetables don't have as  many vitamins as they used to, due to soil depletion, modern farming, etc.  I don't know about that.  I just take the multivitamin pill  my doctor recommends and hope it does me some good.

I was not allowed to have vegetables for four days this week due to a medical test I was preparing to undergo, and I missed them a little.  I also had no fresh fruit, only canned fruit, and I missed that a lot.  I think I'll go make a salad!

U is for...

The Ugly Truth.

The Ugly Truth is that when women gain weight, we forget to see ourselves as the beautiful, divine creations we really are.  We look in the mirror and our image gets distorted by fat. I don't think men do that as much.

I used to look in a mirror, and ask myself if my clothes matched, if I looked put together for my role that day, whether it was student, mother, teacher's aide, club member, going to the gym...

Now I look in the mirror to see if my clothes make me look a teeny bit slimmer or make my fat places look even fatter.  That's the Ugly Truth.

Another truth is that no matter how much I tell myself I am mainly trying to take care of my health, I still want it to come with a skinnier body!  I still judge fat people, yet really I've taken care of myself pretty well for years and I am still a fat woman.

A beautiful truth is that I don't see myself as a fat woman, until I see a mirror.  I'm still me, still pursuing life, personality much the same as ever.  The question I have is whether others see that, or if they see me first as a fat woman and forget to look for what's inside.  And that's the Ugly Truth.

T is for Travel

How do you stay fit while traveling? 

Some helpful things I've found:

If you usually work out in a gym, look for hotels with a fitness room. It's usually small but better than nothing.

Courtyard by Marriott, San Diego, California

I always look for a hotel with a pool that is open.  Swimming and water aerobics are a great way to unwind at the end of a long day on planes or in the car.  Of course, this means planning to get there, or stop, early enough to use the pool. And don't forget your swimsuit!

Comfort Suites, Cary, North Carolina

Walk.  Walk around the block at a gas stop. Walk in the airport instead of using a motorized cart.  Pull your luggage or carry it.  But don't overload so you hurt yourself. Using a cart saves your back and that's worth it. 

Sightseeing.  Tours usually involve a certain amount of walking, maybe even some hiking or climbing. If you're on a cruise ship, the tours provide a good way to get off and do some real walking, hiking, or other exercise.  I even went tubing in Jamaica! It's a nice gentle river--not wild like the western United States river rafting trips--a great beginner trip.  Cruises also have pools and fitness equipment, even classes if you're willing to get up early. 

Photo from: http://insidejamaica.weebly.com/ocho-rios.html

Take a bike tour if you like to ride. 

sweetclipart.com

Drink plenty of water.  You'll need plenty of bathroom stops, but you'll feel better.

Take your own pillow if you are driving.  Sleeping on unfamiliar pillows can be uncomfortable.  It's nice to have one in the car while you are a passenger, too.

Take the stairs instead of elevators or escalators, when it's possible. Stop and do a good heel stretch whenever you find yourself on stairs or an escalator.

Last--but not least--watch what you eat.  Don't use travel as an excuse to overeat or eat really rich or fattening foods.  Getting sick or uncomfortable is not worth what it costs in terms of sightseeing or feeling good and enjoying your travel adventure.