Goodbye March

March came in like a lamb (I was in Florida) and is going out like a lion. My husband and I went on our first hike of 2019 yesterday.

We went to Vroman’s Nose in the Catskill Mountains. This is an easy, family friendly hike so it was a good one to do on a cloudy day. Apparently it can get very crowded on nice days. Vroman’s Nose overlooks the Schoharie Valley. The side of the hill that faces the valley was created thousands of years ago by glaciers that scraped across the land. It was muddy and slick but nothing our hiking boots couldn’t handle. We did an out and back with a lunch break at the top.

Afterward, we stopped at Schoharie Valley Farms and got some treats.

This week I worked out three times: Zumba, the hike, and a 3-mile run. I don’t count my walks as workouts, but that’s me. Most days I walk on my break at work or walk Summer around the block, each of which takes around 15 minutes. However, that is not long enough or exerting enough for me to call a workout.

Here are my year to date running stats: 50 miles and 2 races. I posted my annual running goals here so to sum things up: Ruh Roh! I need to pick up the pace if I want to meet these goals. I do have some plans up my sleeve for April so stay tuned.

Trail up to Vroman’s Nose 

Schoharie Valley - this was once a lake 

Fat Chance

I’ve always been interested in nutrition. I read FAT Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease by Robert Lustig, M.D. Dr. Lustig is a pediatric endocrinologist who has worked in childhood obesity clinics for years. Not surprisingly, most of the parents were overweight as well. This is not a diet book, rather it’s an analysis of the obesity crisis and what can be done to turn it around.

When I was growing up in the 1970’s, most people were thin. My high school class had one fat girl and one fat boy. Remember the movie “Stand By Me”? Jerry O’Connell played the fat kid and he was at most 15 pounds overweight, which is the average kid nowadays.

Here is a chart of recent overweight and obesity statistics for adults. 70% of  adults are overweight and obese.

Source https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information

Did people just turn into gluttonous sloths over the past 40 years? According to the author, yes, but not willingly. Dr. Lustig says the obesity pandemic (it’s spread beyond epidemic to worldwide), is due to altered biochemistry, which is a result of our altered environment.

The first Coca-cola glass contour bottles in the 1950’s were 6.5 ounces. Coca-cola was made with real sugar which was expensive because it grew in Cuba and Hawaii. Now, soda is made with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) which is grown in the U.S. inexpensively. For a buck, you can buy a 32 ounce Big Gulp soda. A McDonald’s adult meal in the 1970’s was the size of today’s Kid’s Meal. Restaurant meals are bigger because that’s what consumers want - to feel like they’ve gotten their money’s worth. HCFS or some form of sugar is in virtually every processed food now.

On the physiological side, our bodies cannot process that influx of sugar in all its forms. It stimulates a release of insulin; the more you eat the more insulin resistant you become. The human body cannot burn this as energy, so it gets stored in the fat cells. High insulin blocks the leptin signal - that’s the signal in the brain that tells you you’re full. So you feel hungry even when you’ve eaten. Then there’s ghrelin, a peptide that makes your stomach grumble when you’re hungry. Fructose does not decrease ghrelin so you still feel hungry after eating tons of carbs. Last of all is cortisol, the stress hormone. This was awesome when early man had to run away from a sabre-toothed tiger. Unfortunately, we can’t run and hide from our miserable bosses! So we compensate by overeating.

Here are Dr. Lustig’s solutions:
Get the insulin down - eat fiber, reduce sugar, and exercise
Get the ghrelin down - eat protein, stop binging at night, and get more sleep
Get the leptin signal to recognize satiety - eat fiber, stop eating when you’re 80% full
Get the cortisol down - exercise, exercise, exercise!

My takeaway: the outside world isn’t changing so we have to. Here is a link to one of my favorite bloggers Sean Anderson who has successfully maintained a 300 pound weight loss and works daily on overcoming a sugar addiction.

KonMari Method

I had the chance to reread The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up when I was on vacation. It was one of the books in the condo. I’m not a big accumulator of stuff. My husband and I follow the something in / something out method. When we acquire a new item, one or more things must go out.

Did you ever wonder what happens to the decluttered stuff? See the article below from the Wall Street Journal. Now the thrift shops are turning away donations. In Great Britain the number one donated book is The DaVinci Code; the thrift shops won’t accept any more copies.

Maybe this will start a trend of people just buying less in the first place.

Kondo at the Condo - sorry, I couldn’t resist

Summer could deconstruct those old stuffed toys 

Our contribution to the donation bin

Birthday and Last week’s workouts

Last week work was crazy; it’s a busy time for us. It’s important to stay calm but sometimes the job can be frustrating! The other day I was thinking about the scene in the movie “Office Space” when Peter and his two friends destroy the printer. I just watched it again on YouTube - so funny. Oh my, when they have to hold back Michael Bolton from attacking it with his bare hands. Just watch it now; I’ll wait.

Sunday’s local newspaper had a front page article about a new business called Relief Room.  For a fee they provide a baseball bat, protective gear and stuff to smash. Relief Room as in stress relief.  Of course they referenced “Office Space”. Apparently, it’s not just me that feels that way!

My older son’s birthday was on Friday. We celebrated by going out for Indian food which I haven’t had in ages. It’s always special when one of my children has a birthday - I’m so proud of all of them!

Last week’s workouts: On Tuesday I swam 50 laps, on Thursday I did Zumba with Tammy, on Saturday I did Zumba with Tammy again, and on Sunday I ran 4 miles. A four - workout week on the books.

I wouldn’t normally do two classes with the same teacher in one week, but Tammy is my favorite Zumba teacher. On Thursday she told us she is giving up teaching that class at the end of April. 😭Fortunately, she will still teach on Saturday, however that class is taught in rotation, meaning she is there every third week. I am going to get as much Tammy in as possible.

I felt so good after that Saturday class, I was thinking why would anyone NOT exercise? Here’s this thing that exists, costs very little (all you need to walk or run is a pair of sneakers) and the reward is 100 times the effort.

If I inspire anybody, then my work for this day is done.

Spring Preview

Happy Spring! According to the calendar anyway. The weather is doing its usual - one day nice then two days crummy. I am so ready to put the winter sweaters away. I actually decided to stop wearing the real wintry ones. Oh, and I am officially done with the boots!

Yes, I have been thinking about my spring wardrobe. I enjoy looking at fashion blogs and the fashion bloggers have been featuring spring items for a while. I have about 6 or 7 fashion blogs that I follow regularly. Two of them are doing Spring Previews. That means they are styling a new outfit every day in March except Sunday (26 days). These two bloggers must be internet friends because they remind you to check out the other one’s blog.

Each day there is a top and bottom or a dress, plus sweater / jacket, shoes, handbag, earrings / necklace / hat / sunnies (that is what fashionistas call their sunglasses). On Monday one blogger had links to 10 items. Let’s say the average is 5 items per day x 26 days. That comes to 130 items. If you check out both ladies’ sites, that is about 260 items! You never see the same thing twice. Holy Floral Maxi Dress Batman!

You know what? They’re nice to look at but . . . they encourage overconsumption and overspending. I’m sure you realize that when you click the links to the stores, the blogger makes money. Plus there are pop up ads galore. Occasionally, I will get ideas from these blogs but I don’t want to end up with a closet full of stuff that is someone else’s style. True style is not about having tons of stuff nor is it about wearing a brand new outfit every day.

Here is my spring preview so far. I ordered a black eyelet top and a running skort* from LLBean. (These are not meant to be worn together!) Both items are top rated, on half price sale, and I chose free shipping because I can wait a few days. Both items arrived yesterday and they are perfect. Had I needed to return them, there is an LLBean store nearby.
*Men, that is not a typo for skirt!🏃‍♀️

Right now I cannot think of another thing I need.

Bye friends!

I don’t want to be like Phoebe - tons of clothes but nothing to wear

Bittersweet Symphony

The way I feel about work more often than not 

It’s All Connected

Recently, my sister from Connecticut suggested we watch the TV show “Manifest”. I did watch the first season on Hulu and part of the second so far; it’s pretty good. It’s about a passenger plane that disappears and mysteriously returns five years later. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but the little boy on the show at one point says “It’s all connected”.

Several years ago my husband’s cousins gave us two copies of the book Jesus Calling. It’s a book of inspirational passages for every day of the year. When you get to December 31st you start over. They gave us two copies (one for me and one for my husband) even though we could easily share. I gave one book to my daughter who kept it in her room. The other book moved around various spots in the house and ended up on our coffee table.

Fast forward a couple of years. My sister (same one) was visiting from Connecticut and while sitting on the sofa says “Oh my goodness! This is the book I have been looking for but I didn’t know the name of it”. Huh?

It turns out that the night before, a woman who was supporting my sister in her spiritual growth had suggested a book. But the woman had a strong accent and my sister could not understand her. My sister thought she was saying “Deesus Calling”. She made the woman repeat it several times until my sister was too embarrassed to keep asking.

My sister asked me if she could have the book and I said “Of course! I have two copies”. I truly believe that the cousin gave us two copies because one was meant for my sister. I truly believe the woman told my sister about the book the night before just so she would find it.

Now I keep my copy in my tote bag that I take to work each day. When I feel stressed or frustrated, I’ll read the passage for the day and it usually helps. I really do think it’s all connected - spiritual, emotional, health, wellness, relationships, family, work, finances.

Part of today’s passage

It’s all connected.