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Waking up sad…
health and fitness

Waking up sad…

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Mornings can be hard…

It is reasonably common for me to wake up feeling a bit sad, down or flat. I’m sure I’m not the only one feeling this way. There is no particular reason or rationale as to why this happens. I just wake up and don’t feel so great.

If I’m up at 5.30am for an early gym session, the sads don’t have much time to take hold. I am up, in my gym gear, grab my water bottle and towel and head out to the gym. Usually by the time the session starts and most certainly when it ends I feel absolutely fine or fantastic depending on how the gym class goes.

The other mornings when I don’t have to leap straight out of bed or when I wake earlier than I need, then it’s like existential dread drops like a veil over my mind and emotions. Sometimes I just go with the sad feeling, get up anyway, lace up my running shoes and head out the door for a 5-6km run. Again, I usually feel better once I’m on my way – says something about the power of exercise on mental health and wellbeing.

Other mornings I just can’t. And that’s ok too. I’ll stay in bed a while longer, feel like crap (again no real reason as to why) and then get up and get on with my day whatever that may bring. I always try to take my dog to the park as it’s good for him and my spirits lift when I see him galloping around with his ears flapping in the air!

Sometimes my spirits may lift as the day progresses, occasionally they do not. So I just sit with the sad feelings knowing that they do pass.

Occasionally I wake up feeling wonderful, happy and full of joy. Again, no idea why that happens, but I am more than grateful when it does.

To counter the waking up sads, I exercise every morning, which really helps me re-set my mind. For the mornings where it is more of a struggle I try other things like positive affirmations & gratitude lists – I have varying success with that.

On one of my favourite podcasts (click the link to go there if you like) I heard about another podcast/app called Wake Me Up: Morning Meditation & Motivations (click the link for the Spotify version or this link for the Apple version). The guy talking you through the sessions is Tyler Brown (he has a lovely soothing voice) and there are a series of meditations, motivational sessions or yoga/stretching options. The free version is great, except you have ads at the beginning which can be a bit jarring. There is a subscribe option, but I’m sticking with the free for now.

I don’t know why, but I find (and I’ve only been using the app this week and I’m not getting paid to say any of this, just offering options for people who may feel bleh in the a.m.) that it actually helps. The sessions are only 10-15 minutes long, so not too long to interfere with getting your day on the move, but long enough to refocus and re-set your mind and emotions for the day.

Give it a go and see what you think 🥰 🤗

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You really never know what is around the corner!
health and fitness

You really never know what is around the corner!

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Sisters…

My sister went to have her bloodwork done a few weeks ago. When she got the results her doctor thought her liver enzymes were a little unusual and sent her off for an ultrasound.

She had the ultrasound done the following week and fortuitously the results found that her liver looked fine. However, the doc said that she had a small lesion on one of her kidneys.

My sister then had to book in to have a biopsy of the lesion to determine whether it was cancerous. She had to reschedule as she caught a bad head cold the week prior to the biopsy and was still unwell the day before.

They got her back in within the week, which indicates that they were fairly concerned about the lesion. My sister wasn’t too freaked out as she trusted the urologist and oncologist, mostly because they kept her informed and were reassuring. She was a little nervous the night before and the day of the procedure, which is understandable.

She finally had the biopsy last week and got the results a couple of days later. That appointment was via Telehealth because in her town they still do a lot of online medical appointments due to another wave of Covid.

The outcome was that the lesion was cancer, more precisely it was a ‘renal cell carcinoma‘ – you can read about that if you click the link. The good news was that it was very small and had not spread anywhere else. The specialist is booking her in for surgery in January to have a ‘partial nephrectomy‘ which is surgical removal of part of the affected kidney. Again you can read about that procedure if you click the link.

I had to google all the terms as they were unfamiliar and I am now far more informed. My sister is fortunate that due to the small size of the lesion, she can have ‘robotic surgery’, rather than having ‘open surgery’. The recovery time from robotic surgery is a lot quicker and the surgery itself is far less invasive.

She has been reassured by her specialist that they will be able to remove the entire lesion and that she (likely) won’t need further intervention. Although I guess she will have regular scans to ensure she stays in the clear.

She’ll be in hospital for a couple of days and then home to recover. I am planning to send over a care package for her when she gets home. We live in different cities on opposite sides of the country, so I can’t get over to see her easily.

Please look after your health and wellbeing, have your bloodwork done (I know I am well and truly overdue for mine and will book in asap!), eat well (as much as you can), exercise well (as much as you can) and take care!

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Health & Fitness is a lifestyle!
health and fitness

Health & Fitness is a lifestyle!

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I don’t do diets…

I was at dance class yesterday afternoon. It’s interesting trying to have a conversation during the class. The women move from man to man and you have 30 seconds top if you want to catch up whilst dancing (rather than before or after class!). And with some folk that’s when I do catch up with them.

I was chatting with one of the guys who has been coming along for a couple of years now. The first pass by, he mentioned he’d started a diet and I expressed surprise as he seems fairly trim, however he doesn’t have much muscle tone (I know this as dancing does involve touching the other persons arm or waist, depending on the dance move).

I asked him why and he said he needed to lose 8kgs. I then moved on to the next dance partner. However, my curiosity was piqued, so on the next turn with my friend I asked him what his motivation was to lose weight. He said that he started walking 5kms a day and had gone on a diet (I didn’t ask which one as diets are not my thing).

I said walking 5kms a day was a good thing to do for his health and fitness as it will improve his cardiovascular health. He said he was determined to stick with his diet and walking “this time”. He also said he’d taken up doing push-ups each day and has one of those vibrators  (sorry, but I snorted with laughter at this point), then realized he meant one of those vibrating plates that you jump on that jiggles you about. I’m not sure how effective those things are as I’ve never tried, but kudos to my friend for giving it a go.

His comment that he’d stick with it “this time” implies that he has tried dieting and getting fitter and has somehow “failed” previously. I am not keen on “failure” as a word when it comes to health and fitness goals. Sometimes I am super healthy and fit, sometimes I lose focus and eat crap or wake up and can’t be bothered going for a run. I never see that as “failure”, it’s just that it’s impossible to be perfect all the time and we are, after all, human with all that entails.

Back to my friend and the next ‘go round’. I said that rather than focus on  being on a “diet”, he could reframe his thoughts and see his new exercise regimen and eating plan as his now and forever lifestyle. I said that the problem with going on a diet is that at some point it ends, then people tend to go back to their old eating habits and the weight creeps back on. He hadn’t thought of it in that way and it was like a light had switched on in his eyes.

Back round again and he said that thinking of it as a lifestyle made him feel more optimistic about succeeding. I did want to talk about the concept of failure, but didn’t have the time in that lesson to continue the conversation. However, I did suggest that he not focus too much on the numbers on the scale, but to focus on improving his cardiovascular fitness with his walking and to keep up the strength training and healthy eating. He smiled. I felt good about sharing knowledge with someone starting (or re-starting) their health journey. Oh, by the way, he’s 74 – so it’s never too late to start improving your health & fitness (but check in with your health care practitioner first!).

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Dental hygiene y’all!
health and fitness

Dental hygiene y’all!

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Getting a crown (not the royal crown, the tooth crown!)

I’ve just come back from the dentist and my face is still numb and my tongue feels like it’ll flop out or worse that I might be dribbling, but not realize it!

Fortunately I am home on my own with my dog and he doesn’t mind the odd drool! 😂

I have reasonably good teeth for my age (64). I have not had any teeth extracted and only have a few fillings. However, one of those fillings is more filling that tooth – in one of the back molars.

I’ve always gone to the dentist regularly, every six months for a scale and clean and then, over the years, the odd filling. I chipped a front lower tooth a few years back and they built it back up with amalgam. I’ve had it done twice and it’s lasted over 20 years!

I’m a bit paranoid about dental health and hygiene. My dad had false snappers from his 50s (he never went to the dentist until it was far too late!) and I have delightful (not) memories of him at the dinner table, popping the saliva coated teeth on the table. He was unable to eat apples or other crunchy things as he had difficulty biting into them.

My mother also eschewed the dentist’s chair all her life and in the last 20 years of her life she only had a sprinkling of brown stumps in her mouth with many gaps from teeth that had rotted and fallen out! It made life difficult for her as she found it hard to eat most things and in the end she would just reheat frozen sliced chicken and vegetable dinners that she bought in bulk from the supermarket. It was soft and mushy and she could manage to get that down with minimal chewing.

My parents were of a generation and background that did not think dentists were necessary, certainly not on a regular basis. They thought it was a waste of time and money. My sisters and I had no dentist visits as children, my first proper dentist appointment was when I turned 18 and my boyfriend said I should go, he was shocked that I had never been.

I was shocked that he thought one should! I’m so glad he did get me to make that first appointment, fortunately my teeth were fine and I didn’t need any treatment, apart from X-Rays and a clean. But it started a lifelong devotion to dental hygiene and good practice for me. Even so, I did require some fillings over the years, but not too many thank goodness.

So, back to my molar. As I said it was more filling than tooth and over the years my dentist has suggested getting a crown, but no pressure and no urgency. She mentioned it again at my last check up and I thought, yep now is a good time. I’m semi-retired, I have private health insurance and so I booked in to have it done.

It requires two appointments. Today’s was to dig out the old filling, grind down the molar, take a mold for the porcelain crown and put in a temporary crown for two weeks until the permanent one is made and ready to be glued in/on. She put numbing gel on my gum and then jabbed the syringe in, it wasn’t painful, but I could taste the anaesthesia in the back of my throat, unpleasant but bearable.

In two weeks I go back and she will remove the temporary crown and glue on the permanent one. In the meantime I have to chew on the other side, not eat nuts or crunchy things, not floss around the temporary crown and use a manual toothbrush on that tooth 🦷🦷

 

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Reflections on boxing for seniors…
health and fitness

Reflections on boxing for seniors…

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My daughter convinced me to take up boxing!

About a year or so ago my daughter wanted to take up boxing as a sport and for additional exercise. She can be a little shy in new situations (she gets that from me, although I’m way less shy these days! Benefits of getting older! 😂) So she asked if I’d come along to a boxing gym near my place (she lives across town, so nice to be closer to mine).

It was a women’s boxing class and the first session was pretty intense. Skipping, short sprints and more skipping to warm up and get the heart rate up. Then drills in basic boxing techniques. Jab, cross, hook and upper cut, boxing stance and correct footwork (although that is still a work in progress for me!). At the end of the class is a short strength and conditioning session with weights and then usually finishing with a plank or other abdominal strengthening exercise.

Now you might think it odd that I am happy to pick up a new sport in my 60s and that is where you’d be wrong. I love trying new things and I have found I really enjoy boxing. It’s a great cardiovascular workout, you need to have great coordination and balance skills and if not, they certainly will improve!

After I started I did a little research on the benefits of boxing and found that it is recommended for older people, not just the young. It really is a great overall workout, good for your mind health as well. Research shows that heart health is linked to good mental health outcomes and boxing keeps your mind active too.

As with anything, check with your medical and/or health practitioner to determine if picking up a new exercise regimen will benefit your health.

My daughter has now joined another gym closer to her home and has regular boxing & sparring and strength and conditioning training, she’s no longer too shy to put on her gear and head to her gym, it’s a great sense of community and everyone at boxing (at her gym and our original gym) are super friendly and helpful. The coaches are fantastic and the workout is intense and fun!

She still comes along to our original gym with me for our weekly boxing session, followed by dinner and a catch up at my place.

The photo at the top of this post was taken by my daughter right after a training session, I edited the photo to just keep the reflection of myself in the mirror. I think it’s a great shot and captures the vibe of boxing perfectly!

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Gratitude
health and fitness

Gratitude

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What does gratitude look like to you?

Everyone talks about gratitude and how to include gratefulness into your everyday life. Whether that’s thinking of 5 things to be grateful for when you wake up or recalling 5 things from the day when you go to sleep. You can even buy a “gratitude journal” to record and review your thoughts.

I try to remember to incorporate thoughts of gratitude most days. Some days are easier. For example, when it’s a lovely sunny day or something goes well in my daily life or my dog looks at me in that cute, doggie way!

When I was younger the thought of gratitude was not high on my list. I had a lot of resentments about life. Why did my relationships always end (and often end badly), why couldn’t I hang on to someone? Why were my jobs so difficult? I had many great career opportunities in my mid life, but the early years were difficult, heck so were some of my career choices! I’ve also had my fair share of mean or bullying bosses and that can make your work life intolerable.

I often used to say to myself that if either my work life or my relationship life were ok, then I was fine. But if both fell apart, then life became overwhelming! There were times when both did spectacularly fall apart and I’d be left reeling.

At one point I went to see a psychologist to try and figure things out with some counselling. They said I was smart enough to figure things out for myself (really? then why was I in their office seeking help?) I got sent home with a bunch of articles and notes on books I should read. The one takeaway that I found of value was the concept of daily gratitude.

Initially it was a struggle to find things that invoked gratitude, but it did become easier over time. Although it is always easier if life is being reasonable! However, it is definitely worth it when life is complex and difficult.

Several years ago I was diagnosed with severe anxiety and that diagnosis actually helped a lot. It made sense of things and I finally understood that constant feeling of underlying dread and fear that has been a constant thread in my life. I try to maintain a “drama” free lifestyle and I prefer to not have people or situations in my life that create mayhem and havoc. Sometimes it is unavoidable and I have had people who are manipulative and controlling trying to have a negative impact on my life.

However, I am way better at identifying this behaviour from the get-go and that really changes my response. I create a safe space within my mind and my heart that allows me the distance needed to understand what is going on and to recognize that it is not about me, it’s about them! ❤️

 

 

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