Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Ah. It's been a fairly low-key day and right now it's even drizzling a bit which is a lovely thing.

The doctor agreed that Mother needed to drink more water. He thinks another problem she's having is possibly medication-related. He's taking her off of two of her meds. I agree with him and at the very least, I don't know if they're doing any good anyway and so why take them if there are possible side-effects? Is it sensible to medicate an 85-year old as aggressively as if she were a 45-year old? I sure don't think so.

While I was in her room, I noticed she had messages on her answering machine and I listened  to them and one of them was a reminder that she has an appointment with her eye doctor tomorrow. She had no idea.
And so I'll go back in tomorrow and take her to see her eye doctor which I do not look forward to. I've talked before about how Mother is in waiting rooms- no filters on her thoughts which become words spoken in a loud tone of voice and this particular doctor is black and so are many of his patients and in trying to prove the fact that she is not a racist, she says the weirdest, strangest things which all turn out to be something that if I were black and heard someone say, I would think to myself, "Shut up, you old crazy white woman."
She also feels no compunction about commenting on people's weight, either.
Oh Lord.
Well we shall persevere.

Okay, speaking of weight, Mr. Moon, as I predicted, lost approximately six pounds last week with our newly cleaned-up diet and his more regular gym visits.
Six pounds.
Me? Oh. Maybe a pound. Maybe two. Probably not, though. Probably only the one.
It's disheartening but not really. I love eating this way and frankly, I love the walks too. Or, to be more truthful, I love it every day when I have FINISHED my walk but there is a certain enjoyment to them. It's not enjoyment like drinking a mojito by the sea, more like being beaten by devils with pitchforks, but you know.

The food part is all good, though.
Here's what I've made for tonight's supper:



That's a black bean/corn/mango salsa. I've got chicken breasts marinating in mojo criollo and I'll cook 'em up and cut 'em up and put them and the salsa over spinach.
Who needs cheese?
Okay, I miss cheese. Not too badly. Yet.
And when you cook like this, you're forced to get more creative unless you just want to eat plain old vegetables and beans and low-fat sources of protein and there's nothing wrong with that but there is a great deal of creative satisfaction in taking really good food and making something delicious with it without the use of a lot of fats. And let's face it- cheese is basically fat. Which is why it's so damn tasty.

Oh well. Mother's doctor today said that some studies are showing an association with Lipitor and Alzheimers.
Say what?
I wonder so much about all of these drugs that doctors just dispense with the attitude that it's no big deal as if it were completely proven that this number in a lab test will lead to this result and that this little pill will just fix you right up, no problem.
I wonder what my grandfather's cholesterol was when he was 95.
We'll never know.

So let me ask you a question- when you go on a diet, or start practicing some better eating and exercise habits, do you feel after about three days that you should have lost at least twenty pounds?
I do.
It's absurd but I do.
I also do that thing where I make constant calculations in my head. Now, if I can lose two pounds a week, I can be where I want by...
Which is also absurd. Then I get more realistic and calculate how long it would take if I lost half a pound a week and hell- so what if it takes a damn year? Seriously? What else am I going to be doing?

Okay. Mr. Moon's home and I'm going to cook that chicken.

Let's all have a great evening.

Love...Ms. Moon







18 comments:

  1. Recipe for the salsa? And when you say 'put it over spinach...' what do you mean? I want to make that, othermother.

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  2. I have the crazy idea that I'm going to lose 50 by 50 -- that is 50 pounds by my 50th birthday which is in August of 2013.

    So far, it's just an idea.

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  3. Oooh, that salad looks delicious. I make similar things often. Been eating better since Jan 2012. Using myfitnesspal.com (it's a free app for your iphone and it's fun, or try the Lose It app, I constantly put in the info you were just talking about to see how much weight I can lose by a certain time, it's silly and fun and can be inspiring). Anyhow, I lost 50 lbs in 6 months, just using the app which counts your calories for you and just helped me make better choices. So about 2 lbs average a week. I love it. And feel amazing. I wish you were cooking for me. Or just reading me a book aloud. ;-)

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  4. Elizabeth, you could do that no problem. I'm cheering you all on!

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  5. After three days, I'm all superior and shit. But this last time I adhered to the damn diet and lost nary a pound. It may have shifted but nada.

    So fuck it. I'm waiting for a visit with my naturopath to tell me my cholesterol is too high altho my ratios are fine (as usual) because I exercise like a fiend.

    Everyone at the office is doing paleo-which means meat and veggies. As a life-long mostly vegetarian and most recently vegan, I can't quite do that. We'll see.

    Actually I want a chef and a personal trainer. Then I bet I'd lose weight. Like Oprah.

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  6. SJ- I put it all over raw spinach. Like a salad. That salsa (and there are plenty of recipes online) was just canned drained black beans, a cut-up mango, about half a cup of corn, about half a red onion, diced, two large cloves of garlic, pressed, lots of chopped up red bell pepper, half a large jalapeno pepper diced fine, some lime juice, salt, a lot of cilantro, chopped.

    Elizabeth- You can do it. If you want. I know you can.

    Bethany- You rock! I should try those apps. I just don't want to deal with writing things down. At this point in my life, I know what I'm doing. It's just the doing of it. You must feel so good. I hope you feel really, really proud of yourself because you should be.

    Beth- I believe that as with everything else, losing weight becomes harder as we age. And it's NEVER easy! Sigh. Yes. We all need personal trainers and chefs. Like Oprah.

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  7. I have just set a goal for myself to lose 50 pounds by this time next year. And yes, I do feel like I should easily be able to lose 20 pounds in a few days!

    The elderly and medications is the bane of my existence. There are so many folks in their 80's and 90's that are medicated to the hilt. One that bothers me is the amount of sleeping medications. They get drowsy and fall. And the problem is not lack of sleep but sleeping at the wrong time. Many sleep all day long. Got forbid if I question a medication! Would they not be better off if we worked at getting their circadian rhythm straitened around with lots of light in the day and the occasional melatonin? No. You know why? Because the pharmaceutical companies control everything. In fact, I found an article in childbirth and how it has been highjacked by the medical system. Lets give women a shitload of medication when she has a baby. Sad, sad, sad. OK, I am getting off my soapbox.

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  8. The salsa? Food porn. Sigh.

    The Lipitor? Well. Your nerdiness (like highness but a nerd) wants to weigh in there. There's pretty good data to support statins (that drug class) being linked to decreased risk of Alzheimer's disease. But. There are some case reports about people having some major cognitive impairment when put on one of these. One lady was on atorvastatin (Lipitor) and the other was on simvastatin (Zocor.) It's not too common, though. Far more common is having a stroke or heart attack from uncontrolled cholesterol. But honestly? I think it's kind of cool that your mom's doctor is thinking of things that could be hurting and not helping. He/she sounds like a thoughtful clinician and a fellow medicine-nerd.

    Yawn. What else?

    I want that salsa in my life. For real. Oh yeah. When I do step aerobics or run outside, I immediately see myself more svelte in the mirror. Not. Normal.

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  9. Stress is the best diet I've ever been on. Seriously. Not that I recommend it. Your method is much more healthy.

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  10. Gradydoc still does Step Aerobics? I heart her even more.

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  11. we've got a step which i use once in a blue moon as well.

    wait. YOU GAVE UP CHEESE? i was vegan for a week and then when i entered the 12-step recovery program for that by admitting that soy cheese sucked, and made amends with dairy, my higher power, i was saved.


    don't give up cheese- give up commercial cheese! i am going to play cheesemaker when my class ends in a couple of weeks. if you make it with goat milk it's even more heathful! now you can get a goat! but goats need other goats so you'll need a pair!

    xxalainaxx

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  12. Birdie- Yeah. Those pharmaceutical companies have it figured out. I mean, okay, they have invented drugs which definitely help humanity in many ways but...
    They have way too much power. My opinion.

    gradydoctor- Thank you for stepping in (haha! and yes, you DO look thinner) because you are the expert here. I just think that there's a lot we DON'T know yet about statins and they are handed out like candy. As to Mother's doctor. Well. I don't think he's a medicine nerd. I do think he's a compassionate man and sensible. You could make that salsa. It's easy.

    Nicol- Yeah- the easy ways to lose weight: extreme poverty, stress, anxiety, disease.
    Let us not forget the good old fashioned way: speed! Haha!

    Omgrrrl- She's pretty darn awesome, isn't she?

    Mrs. A- For the moment, at least, I am pretty sure I don't need cheese. When you think about it, cheese is an excellent way to take dairy and turn it into something calorie dense that will keep a long time- a boon to our ancestors. Not so much for some of us these days. But no, I don't mess with fake cheese. What's the point?
    And I'm real sure I don't need any goats. But I do love goat cheese. I do.

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  13. Yes sex and drugs very good for weight loss ;-)
    Which is why I piled on 28lbs in the last 3 years . . . Although I've now shifted 12 of those pounds, another 12 before the big "five-O" would be great.
    If I miss a meal, I feel like I look like Kate Middleton (of the concave belly) . . . Then I catch my reflection and nothing has changed. Hey Ho x

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  14. Salsa - looks amazing!

    America's over-medicating ways - don't get me started!

    Weight calculations - been doing it myself 24/7 for the past twenty years, yet only once hit my "ideal" weight. Plus side, I'm the same size as I was in high school, just flabbier. :)

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  15. I am feeling for you so much in this situation, so similar to mine in every way.

    My Mom, 86, was having cognitive symptoms (HA! She was completely out of it, sleeping any and all hours of the day, walking the floors at night, skin-picking, hallucinating, the whole nine). I found two things: One was that she was suffering from hypercalcemia, too much calcium in her blood, caused by an overactive parathyroid gland. Surgery was scheduled.

    Here in the land of free medicine, surgery can be a long wait, so in the meantime someone from the dementia caregivers support group told me about the effects of coconut oil and in researching that I found out about statins and their effects on memory. I stopped giving her Crestor and she was awake and with it within 3 days. I mean people started asking me how her surgery went and she hadn't had it yet.

    2 1/2 months later she had her surgery and was with it enough to be terrified, but it was fine and she is back to drinking beer and making snippy comments about people although now she does it quietly. She is almost like Rip Van Winkle in that she is trying to catch up on all that went on while she was out of it.

    We definitely don't know all about statins, but I am glad I stopped them and she won't be getting them again.

    I also think it's worth it to get her blood calcium checked.

    -invisigal

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  16. bugerlugs- Ha! All true.

    Tamera- Gravity shall not be defied.

    Invisigal- That is an amazing story. I'll see if I can get my mother's blood calcium checked. Thanks!

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  17. I must have that mango salsa black bean recipe! I MUST!
    xo

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  18. Good for you and Mr. Moon on the healthy diet and exercise. We have been doing this for a while. The gym is really good for us as well. We both have been lifting weights.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.