WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JANUARY 2018
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Deb love the focus on ME.
Barbie I know what your mean about technology. It is great when it works as expected. Disappointing when it doesn't. You know you did when with your exercising last month. I know how annoying fireworks can be. They have disturbed my sleep too on more than one occasion. Last night it wasn't fireworks but all the slamming of doors. It rarely happens because we live in a quiet neighborhood.
Margaret 4 -
Read the morning posts ... glad that I looked harder for the link from last month. So here I am.
Louis totally spoiled Cracker while I was 'gone' to the 'other side of sanity'. I don't think she can comprehend that we both love her. Can't decide if she wants to be with one of us or the other. Louis did teach her to wait until he says 'OK' before getting her snacks. She is so hyper, like that portion of the JRT she inherited; but, she minds well.
Seizures are draining!!! Now I have to call one MD to find out how what another one (Neurologist) decided that he does not want my 'seizure' medications lowered (and how it will affect my 'bipolar' meds if it isn't changed. I was not really happy with the MD who treated me while I was in the hospital (not my 'regular' MD) cutting my seizure meds by 200mg. She said she wanted me 'theraupedic' so that my moods would be like (she made a small wave motion) versus 'spiking' up and down drastically. I prefer to be just one step off on the manic side, so that the 'depression' doesn't hit me ... or only takes me back to sitting of the fence of being therapeutic. Hopefully, when I see him on the 29th ... he can help me get back to that point. I certainly do NOT want the lowered dosage of 'seizure' meds to throw me into feeling like I might be having one. I have found that if I get overly tired (or upset) I have that 'sinking feeling' and think I might be having one. My seizures seem to make me 'weak' and I feel like I am going to just pass out; but, Louis says that I 'shake' all over. That part of the seizure I don't remember, just the part of feeling like I might be having one. That is the 'only' medication that did not go back to my 'normal' (pre-hospital) dosages. Well, one other one changed, but, that is "OK" because it is one that he Rx's. But, I've got to call him tomorrow to find out how going back to pre-hospital dosages will affect me. None of my MD appointments for 'follow-ups' are before I run out of the 'new' dosage refills. K-Mart faxed, then called, the attending MD about a refill ... but she hasn't responded, so they called the MD that was the one who was the one they had on record when I called to ask about what to do - if I would be running out before I went back to any of the MDs I go to. They told me not to try to cut up the pills (into smaller amounts than what they are scored to do if I needed to break them) as it might mean I would not be getting the proper dosages.
I slept right through celebrating the New Year coming in; but, it was when I woke up and realizing I had not taken my evening meds ... so I went and took them. This can't be something I do, if I expect to stay out of hospital.
Today, I will write out my list of things to accomplish for the day - might not get to 90% of it. Didn't do it yesterday; it is a 'holiday' and I am going to rest up for the rest of the day. Start week off with a haircut (much needed) and then listening to a CD that my sister left me to listen to. Need to listen to it before having the counseling session - which is an 'intensive' one ... about 6 hours. Both she and DBnL went through it after he had his stroke. She had gone before it (alone) and once without him (afterwards). Says it is amazing. I will go up to Peachtree City in order to go through it. There will be another woman with me (I will choose Suzanne).
Louis is going to call a plumber (hopefully this week) to come out and see why dishwasher still has water in the bottom of it, if I don't use it daily. I don't because it isn't full - there are only the 2 of us.
Oldest granddaughter (who has been in the custody of oldest son for 8 years) has the same sort of feeling about her mother (she calls her the 'egg donor' or 'incubator'). She hasn't spoken to her but a few times since. She really is a piece of $#*T. She has lost custody of all 3 of her children and hasn't done any of the things she was ordered to do to even get the 2 littlest ones back. They all live with their respective Daddies. The middle one is the only one who talks to her; but, she is beginning to see what Taylor says is true. Her Mama's 'boyfriend' called over the holidays and told her she 'needed' to call or visit her Mama and she told him, "FO, you don't have any right to 'tell me what to do'. He said, 'well she is sober' ... she told him that was 'different than being clean' and she hasn't changed any on that note. She really is 'my baby'. Always comes over when she is home and visits. Occasionally, the other 2 will come with her. The last time, a couple of days ago, we discussed Madison's choice of a boyfriend. We don't think he has any ambition. Kids even took him on a trip down to FL to visit with a couple of their friends. He might have moved back in with his mother. Apparently, he doesn't get along with either step-parents. He has graduated from HS; but, hasn't gone to any college. We think kids are making a huge mistake of letting him weasel into times that are meant for family. Apparently, they don't want to have a 'sulking teenager' because of her not being able to be around him. If she shows up PG, they don't have anyone to blame but themselves. I was never allowed to have a boy at my house if my parents (or one of them) was not home. Louis was not allowed to do it either. His mother always knew the parents of any girl he dated, and if he was going to just go over to her house, she always called to make sure it was 'OK' with her parents. That was just not done in the 50s or 60s ... parents seemed to be more 'in control of what their children did or where they went'.
After seeing the difference of the 'before' and 'after' purging of bathroom, I am 'stoked' to doing the rest of the house, or at least beginning to do so. Walking into the bathroom is now not one of walking in and wanting to cry or throw up because of all the clutter. Can't believe we packed up 4 garbage bags full ... only to the point of being able to carry them ...; but, enough. I think we accidentally threw out 3 steps to a 5-step process of face-care I bought from oldest granddaughter. I know I cannot replace them. But, at this point, not sure I have ever wanted to spend the time doing it 2x a day. Thankfully, I have my Mother's skin and really don't have to use it. Learned several years ago that I just cannot wear foundation or powder any longer - makes me 'look' older. Will be needing to buy some more eyebrow make-up; will have to save up for that so I don't have to use DH's credit card for it. Of course, I will if I have to and just give him the cash.
After 4 weeks of just having a few cups of 'decaffinated' coffee, so glad to have my caffeine back; but, now it is a push to even drink 12 ounces of it. I don't drink soft drinks and haven't in more than 2 years. Needing to push more liquids into my diet ... at least 8 8-ounces glasses of it. The coffee liquid will just be my 'extra'. I count the sugar that goes in it; but, not the 'otherwise black' coffee. I need to buy a couple of 'new' waters so I can have 'new' bottles to use to put my well water in them to use in the fridge.
I've been getting better and better with each day that passes. Last Thursday, a week ago, I think I had a revelation that put me on the right track to follow to get back on the road to recovery. I wasn't nearly as 'manic' as one guy who referred to himself as being the 'Archangel Michael' and made all of us want to 'put him out of his misery'. This guy was way over the top. I think his being there is one of the reasons the 3 women were moved. Things were getting very 'testy' and about to 'escalate' because of 'overcrowding'. I didn't just 'imagine' that I had been put in a private room when I first got there (in another section of the unit) while waiting for a room in the unit. I also learned that Louis had told them when we had the 'family session' that I was not well enough to come home. I don't blame him, but that extra week really took me a bit too close for comfort.
Cold and rainy - another day with a fire roaring. Need to get a fireplace chimney sweep to come clean it out and find out if we need to do something so it will 'draw' better. About every 4th or 5th time of building one, the smoke comes out into the room; but, at least we know our fire alarm works. It'd wake up the dead!
Happy New Year!!!
Lenora
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klanders30 wrote: »
Karen VA as a string player, I heartily approve of your word for 2018--PLUCK!! ha! Reminds me of the
ee cumings poem about harp players, goes like this: To be a harp player, takes lot of pluck, a long black gown and a truck
Happy, healthy New Year Ladies! NYKAREN
That is a delightful e e cummings poem that I was unfamiliar with! I love it!
Karen in Virginia2 -
Becca - Love the picture of your husband ... was it done in watercolors or pastels? Looks more like watercolors to me.0
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Deb and Debbie - Welcome! Welcome to our group. Please bookmark the top of the page by clicking on the pale star just above the spyglass icon. Then you can find us again.
Deb ME vs ME (Me vs Million Excuses). Very clever of you!
Karen in Virginia3 -
Happy New Year !!
Just read all the posts. Too many to comment on each but enjoyed every one.
Thanks Barbie for setting us up for another month. What would we do without you!
We made it to midnight and did the traditional strip and run outside to dance around like fools and yell Happy New Year. DH tried to whimp out because it was-9 but I wouldn’t let him. He was a good sport. Since we aren’t outside more than 30 seconds we didn’t get too cold. Dog didn’t know what to do and just kept barking at us. We laughed our heads off. Good thing our neighbors can’t see us as they surely would think we are crazy. But what a wonderful way to bring in the new year...with laughter!
So we slept in and it’s almost noon so better get up and get the new year started.
Thank you all for always being there for me. I value you more than you will ever know.
May you have joy, peace and met goals this year.
Terry in VT6 -
Welcome Deb and Debbie.
Okie in the TX Hill Country2 -
happy new year peeps -
3 more years til retirement! Kirby is counting down the seconds. he had to go to work today, but at least I had Christmas Eve and day off with him. this year it hit me. a bit harder than usual for some reason, I was thinking of Lenny a lot. hey waterproof socks worked like a charms, best gift ever.
thanks barbiecat for continuing the thread as usual.
warming up the beast with the new remote starter/alarm. nice getting into a warm car. gym opened up late so I got to sleep in, have a good one4 -
Hello everyone
My name is Karen. I live in San Jose, Ca..I run a business, have 3 grown children, married, and am very blessed.
My grandiose dream is to make 2018 my best year ever..I want to lose 6 pounds by end of January. I am working with idea of mindfulness. Being present to the moment. That includes being mindful of what I am putting in my mouth. Does it support my energy.
I really like the idea of choosing a word as a theme.
I have chosen the word present.
The task is stop making my to do list and the obession to check something off to get an emotional reward like Pavlos dogs, the center of my day.
Relationships are hard for me, thus the need for a checkable to do list, yes I have an app for that.
I would love to hear your stories of creating the life of your dreams.
I hope I can help with that journey!9 -
klanders30 wrote: »Barbie Thanks for keeping us going! Even though you had a tech glitch, you walked those miles and miles and miles and those doggies are glad you did, whether it gets stored in 0s and 1s!!!
NYKAREN
Karen, Thanks for what you said. It reminded me that one of my Happiness Commandments is "Lighten up." I can take things too seriously and miss the important stuff. Welcome, Karen from San Jose, CA, I, too, have trouble with relationships. I am an introvert and like my own company best but somehow have built strong connections to the women on this thread. When I started here, someone suggested that I be "open-minded to new ideas" and because of that, I read a book suggested by someone on this thread and that book changed my life and the book suggested another and another and then some podcasts and I've found the tools to build the life of my dreams. 8 -
Not too auspicious start to 2018 had to visit Farmacia and she gave me Antibiotics. Haven't enjoyed last few days due to this chest infection, haven't wanted to eat or drink
BARBIE thanks for link to new month and year
Kate UK 6 -
Ah New Beginnings (redundant?)
December grades
Be grateful for who, what and where I am right now=C
Hook up the wii=A
Learn how to scan this forum from my phone=A
Try BP again with larger cuff=n/a BP tested fine by nurse, twice in a row, YAY!
2 days/week: Tai chi=A- only missed once
6 days/week: Dance or walk 30 mins=D- Danced and least 1/week.
Daily: CLO and 1 probiotic or yog, max 1500 cals=B only went over or missed probiotic/yoghurt a few times.
Log=A+ Finally back to logging faithfully. Yay me!
2018 word: Mindful
Mindful of my many blessings, what I'm choosing to do or not at the moment, how I let my expressions affect other people.
Will catch up on posts later, sitting time is UP.
Hugs to all,
Barbara, the Southern Oregon Coastie AHMOD.
Mindful
If it makes you feel better, DO IT. (and the corollary of course ;} )
Jan strategies
This month: Download mindful app, take the free training, read one recommended book, hang up or purge the art.
Weekly: 1-Try a new veggie recipe. 2-Strength, line dance & Tai Chi twice. 3-Walk 5 times
Daily: Max 20 mins per pc session, plan meals, take supplements, play with Tumble, log
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Hi Sisters, yes have two rebounding daughters in the house atm. One was sobbing all over me upset ,the other furious and sulky and depressed. VIBES. Couldn't focus on any of my own goals. Nevermind I will get back on track. I decided to take a page from Barbie's book and try to develop a same-same morning routine that I do every day without thinking about. First, I set the alarm on my borrowed phone to vibrate every morning at 5am. Believe me, I did not want to get up this morning when it went off...but I did telling myself I would go toilet then sit in lounge and snooze...but I managed to get kettle on and coffee into me and woke up! I am actually quite sore from yesterday's workout with weights and kettlebell. My morning routine includes turmeric coffee, praying with gratitude for inspiration, writing my day's plan and in my journal, reviewing goals, dreaming of future, then 30 minutes weights workout and 30 minutes writing, taking my supplements, exfoliating and moisterizing then going out to do my farm chores, feeding animals, dog walking and watering garden before starting on the day's work either office or bees. And my daily breakfast will be eggs with veggies unless I am fasting. And of course, checking in with all my online friends!
Wendy
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My word for the year keeps changing; maybe I ought to just say it is the 'word for the month or week'. Phrase even ... finish what I start ... so 'completion' has now become my word at the moment. Bath decluttered, so I need to start on the 2nd bedroom (maybe) ... things for Louis to do in the MBR first. I have started a list of things I would 'like' for him to do for me. I cannot do them for several reasons, then main one being on a 'driving restriction' ... that he is counting down the days for it to be 'over'. So am I. But, I don't like what apparently has become my 'aura' for having a 'seizure'. Sinking feeling like I am going to pass out. I really don't like being able to not drive wherever and whenever I want to.
Lenora5 -
Thank you Barbie for getting us started each month.
I took the last 10 days off or so. Eating at other houses and dinning out more, I just wanted a rest from tracking my food. I know I had too many calories a few days and my upset tummy told me. It will feel good to get back to a plan.
My dog and I are getting back to training, she has been off for 9 weeks with a torn nail. We compete in Agility where I have to run with her. Agility is one of the reasons I need to lose weight.
Cathy near Edmonton AB3 -
Kate hope you feel better soon!1
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Just realised I've been posting in December! Anyone who wants to see my posts can go back there! :laugh:
Love Heather UK xxxxxxx4 -
Happy New Year ladies!
I spent last night sitting on couch by DH thinking about goals for 2018 and the steps needed to get there. My husband was watching a movie in Netflix and I spent the night writing in my journal instead. At least we were in the same room, right?
2017 was a really hard year for me. My word for 2017 was Serenity and 10.5 months of 2017 were all BUT serene! But I kept at it, kept working on it, kept journaling and doing what I needed to in order to find peace and serenity inside and mid-November I got a job offer that changed my whole life. I have now been happy for 6 weeks...every single day. I feel no stress at all right now. I know that will change, because it is just part of life, but my hope is that I have learned the tools I need to handle it better. Plus I plan to enjoy this peaceful feeling as long as I can!
I have chosen the word Thrive for 2018. 2018 will be The Year I Take My Life Back, Part 2. Mind, Body & Spirit. I feel as though I made huge strides with my Mind & Spirit, but now I need to focus on getting healthy and stronger physically.
You are such a wonderful group of ladies, and I wish for you all good health, happiness and peace in 2018.
Tracie in Wisconsin
I will do what I have to, so I can do what I want to...
2018 Word - Thrive.
January Goals:
• SW: 175.4 lbs GW: 169 lbs
• Activity 30 minutes per day 5x per week
• Begin strength training with light hand weights. Try to get lymphedema under control.
• Finish baby blanket for a special someone
• Unplug on Sundays, except for MFP of course! Be present instead.
• Prep for next day the evening before at least 4x per week
• Work toward finding a morning routine that makes mornings smoother for me. NOT a morning person!
• Work on bedtime routine and being consistent so I can wake up easier and earlier.
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New beginnings for the new year. New Mexico presented us with a beautiful sunset for the last day of 2017.
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Went back to my goals for 2017:
1. End the months lighter than I started it
2. 30 min of exercise 5 of 7 days
3. Use the Breathe App on my I watch every day
4. Declutter
Well, the only one I completed was #4. The move to RV living made that possible. I think 2018 will have the same goals.
Rita from an RV in Columbus NM5 -
Found my stats for as long as I’ve been on MFP. Not very impressed for the length of time I’ve been a member. I need to improve for my health!
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It was done in colored pencils I think...GRITSandSLUTS wrote: »Becca - Love the picture of your s ... was it done in watercolors or pastels? Looks more like watercolors to me.
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Swept 4 rooms and beat the throw rugs so earned another session on the computer. Timer's set, here we go!
Last night was surprised to hear so many bangs and BIG BOOMs. We live in the woods amidst 15 verticle acres, only see two neighbors at the mailboxes sometimes. But WOW last night the woods were full of 'em. We also hear rifle? shots every weekend (hunting season?). So far it's the only thing Joe doesn't like about our new home.
Machka brava for working on the office! Not quite ready to add organizing mine to my goals, maybe next month and WOW what an active December.
drKatiebug 366 days? Now that IS an accomplishment
Lisa a bowdlerized Little Women? No wonder you cried, what a shock!
Terry -9 without clothes? Bet that was a real FAST Happy New Year ritual
Heather love S t r e t c h out and savor. Well done! Can not imagine Joe picking a word, he'd think it more than "a bit" woo woo Barbie would be especially proud of your DDIL getting the little ones out and about in the pouring down rain. She's the queen of walking rain or shine. "...chart back on the fridge" hmm, not ready for AF, but will do a supplements chart. Thanks!
Lenora ". . .taking my daily meds" you can do this for a much better 2018. Love right back atcha'.
Allie ((hugs)) for that tough conversation.
Barbie Thanks for always being there for us ... and the inspiring clean slate quote.
Whoops! Times up. Back later.
Mindful Hugs to all,Barbara, the Southern Oregon Coastie AHMOD. 4 -
Sharon, Spark is a powdered energy/mental focus drink sold by Advocare. I am somewhat addicted and start my day with one every single day. It gets 16 oz of water in me right away, then I’m good for another 16 of plain water at the gym, so it’s a good start to my day. I do usually limit myself to one Spark a day. It helps tame the craving for soda.
Someone also asked about my grandmother’s heritage relative to referring to Epiphany as Old Christmas. I’m not really sure where the terminology originated, but I think I would classify my grandmother’s heritage as Appalachian, maybe some Irish or Scottish. Hard to say. My sister got my mother one of those ancestry dna kits for Christmas, so maybe it will be enlightening.
I spent the morning working on my bullet journal and goals for the new year. I gave myself a stern talking to and updated my weight on MFP. After my little gaining spree in the fall, my net loss for 2017 was 2 lbs. but it is 23 lbs lower than January 2016 so I’m calling it a win.
One of my lay servants had a massive stroke. I need to get to the hospital and check on her, but I may wait until tomorrow since my associate went today. I’m sure she doesn’t need to be overwhelmed with visitors. I’m not even sure how aware she is.
I took one bite of my second helping of protein packed pancakes and tossed them in favor of some steel cut oats. Life is too short to waste calories on yucky tasting stuff.
Happy new year, my friends!
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I get emails on staying young and healthy and this is what I have been reading today: By Dr. Mercola
Most of us want to live a healthy, long life. But what's the best way to switch on your body's ability to promote cellular protection, regeneration and rejuvenation? In this interview, Valter Longo, Ph.D., a researcher and director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California (USC), helps answer that question, as he's investigated this topic for over two decades.
His findings are detailed in the recently released book, "The Longevity Diet: Discover the New Science Behind Stem Cell Activation and Regeneration to Slow Aging, Fight Disease, and Optimize Weight," which also provides the research framework to support his recommendations.
Early on in his career, during his doctoral work, he studied calorie restriction with the late Dr. Roy Walford, who was a pioneer in this area at the time. Calorie restriction involves restricting your calorie intake on a daily basis independently of the types of foods you eat.
As a general rule, you eat just 30 percent or less of your normal calorie amount, until you reach a body mass index (BMI) of about 19. Needless to say, it's quite extreme. And, for all its benefits, it also causes quite a few problems. They eventually discovered that a form of intermittent fasting, dubbed the fasting mimicking diet, provided long-lasting benefits without the drawbacks of long-term calorie restriction.
"I think where the fasting mimicking diet, the periodic nature of what we're doing … is this idea of keeping the benefits by eliminating the problems," Longo says. "And, of course, I had the advantage of having [a background in] molecular biology and the biochemistry, which Walford didn't have, so at the time there was not much known."
Sugar Is a Potent Aging Accelerator
By studying the effects of starvation on yeast, Longo discovered that sugar accelerates aging and premature death, in part by activating two genes known as Ras and PKA, both of which are known to accelerate aging. Longo explains:
"At Walford, we were working with human samples and mice and it was very clear that not knowing about the genes and the molecular biology was going to greatly limit us in moving forward. The gamble was, let's move back to a very simple system and hope that what we learn about aging in this simple system applies back to humans. And I think the gamble worked. We did identify what I call the sugar pathway or the PKA or Ras/PKA, and then the protein pathway, the TOR-S6 kinase. "
Research has demonstrated that these initial findings in yeast hold true in other animals as well, including worms, flies, mice and a group of people in Ecuador who have Laron syndrome, a rare genetic disorder where they lack the receptor for growth hormone. As a result, they cannot grow taller than 4 feet.
Interestingly though, this genetic anomaly also appears to protect them against chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer — even when consuming a less than ideal diet. According to Longo, there's reason to believe the findings apply to most other people as well, as we now know growth hormone and growth hormone receptor in humans regulates both the TOR and MPK pathways.
"We now suspect there is a network pathway starting with the growth hormone and ending with these transcription factors that we described. These are what I call the captains of protection, that are regulated by the food that you eat," Longo says.
Sugar Avoidance and Fasting Are Powerful Longevity Boosters
Longo was one of the first researchers to identify sugar as an aging accelerator and fasting as a process for improving longevity. In 1997, he published a paper showing yeast could be made to live a lot longer when starved. Shortly after that, they discovered the sugar and protein pathways responsible for this phenomenon.
In essence, what he found was that if you knock out both Ras/PKA and something called LCH-9, which is the S6-Kinase gene in yeast, you could obtain up to a fivefold extension in lifespan. As noted by Longo, "It was clear that the effects of fasting were caused in part by shutting down these two pathways." The question was, does the same apply to humans?
To answer this, Longo looked for equivalents to what they'd identified in yeast. Work done by John Kopchick and Andre Barki showed that, in mice, growth hormone deficiency and growth hormone receptor deficiency caused record longevity extension of 40 to 50 percent. They were also far healthier than normal mice. Half of them were completely disease-free at the time of death. As noted by Longo:
"This is very impressive and remarkable. So, we knew that this was true for yeast and this was true for mice, and the Laron [study] was our way to demonstrate that this is also true for people. To summarize, health and longevity are promoted by either a) having low levels of growth hormone, or b) lack of receptors for growth hormone, so it doesn't matter whether you remove growth hormone or the receptor."
Like Insulin, You Need Growth Hormone, but Not Much
Strength training is typically recommended as a way to optimize health, and one of the effects of this type of training is a boost in growth hormone. So, how do you reconcile the need and health benefits of growth hormone, and its dampening effect on longevity? Longo explains:
"Insulin is a good analogy. You need insulin but a lot of insulin all the time gives you insulin resistance and diabetes, so … it's not so much growth hormone, but IGF-1 and insulin, downstream … [Y]ou can approximate growth hormone activity in general [by the] IGF-1 level, so for example, the Larons have very low growth hormone activity and they have very low IGF-1.
Usually, they say if you go on a low protein diet, you're going to have low growth hormone production, or certainly more growth hormone receptor activity and low IGF-1. So, they usually go together but there are some cases where they can separate … Growth hormone acts on TOR directly, [and] on insulin, and probably in almost any pathway that you can think of. So, they're certainly not the same thing, but it's a lot easier to measure IGF-1."
The Benefits of Protein Restriction
Like me, Longo promotes radically reduced protein consumption. I've often warned that most Americans eat far too much protein for optimal health. Longo recommends limiting protein to 0.31 to 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight. For most, that would mean cutting down their protein consumption by about two-thirds. If you weigh 150 pounds, you'd need just 50 grams of protein a day.
As I've mentioned on many occasions, the reason for this recommendation has to do with the way protein interacts with the mTOR pathway, which is involved in aging and age-related diseases. Protein controls the growth hormone, IGF-1 pathway, which also controls TOR signaling and PKA signaling.
When the TOR pathway is deactivated — either by a low protein diet, a drug such as metformin or the supplement berberine — you are therefore protected against the ravages of aging. In recent years, they've also discovered that deactivating the TOR and PKA pathways helps boost regeneration. What this means is that if you eat a lot of protein, a lot of food in general, and have high growth hormone and TOR, then your regenerative potential is placed on hold.
Once you remove these blocks, your stem cells are turned on, and then, during the refeeding phase, your body undergoes a major regeneration and rejuvenation phase. This is in part why intermittent fasting or fasting mimicking is so much better than chronic calorie restriction. The "magic" actually happens during the refeeding phase, after you've gone through a period of starvation.
If you just cut calories but never enter refeeding, you miss the opportunity to rebuild your body. So, while starvation triggers the cleanout process of autophagy and activates stem cells, refeeding triggers rebuilding, and for optimal health, you really need both. According to Longo, the fasting mimicking diet is a real solution for cancer for this reason, as "we've shown clearly that it can selectively remove disobedient cells … t's really clearing a lot of damaged cells."
When and Why Higher Protein Intakes May Be Beneficial
The devil's in the details though, and intermittently giving your body an anabolic burst with extra protein, above the one-third of a gram per pound of body weight, is important for the preservation of muscle mass, and helps optimize your strength training sessions.
As a general guideline, I suggest boosting your protein by about 25 percent on strength training days for this reason. However, going above the recommended one-third of a gram per pound of body weight on days when you're not strength training does not appear to provide any muscle building benefits.
"[O]f course you need sufficient protein … There is no doubt about it. [But] if you're training, the data indicates that above the … 0.31 to 0.37 grams [of protein] per pound, it doesn't really do much more [for] muscle building. So, when they gave athletes that amount or a little bit more than, and then gave them a lot more, a lot more did not make any difference.
It was really about 30 to 35 grams of good quality protein per workout that optimized the muscle synthesis … [C]ertainly, giving excess protein in several studies did not result in higher muscle building. Part of this could be the stem cells.
It could be the cellulite cells, and that's another study we're doing right now, so the high level of protein may in fact block cellulite cells from being activated and that may be part of the problem … It's possible that if you keep [your protein intake] at the normal level and then together with the training, you increase it by 20 to 25 percent … this will help you increase muscle mass."
The elderly and frail may also need higher protein intakes to prevent sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss), but not by a whole lot. Longo recommends boosting protein intake by 10 to 20 percent around the age of 65, which is when most seniors start losing lean body mass. "I think as long as they maintain [their lean body mass] they don't have to worry about it. But if they start losing it, then both muscle training and increasing protein a little bit is important."
Fasting — A Powerful Metabolic Intervention That Extends Lifespan
While I was initially hesitant, I now believe multiday water fasting is one of the most powerful metabolic interventions out there. There's really nothing that comes close, and the reason for this is because it switches your cells to a protected "antiaging mode."
It promotes autophagy and replaces cell components with newly generated functional ones, thanks to the activation of stem cells. I now do a five-day water-only fast once a month, and recommend it for most people — as long as you've prepared yourself properly first. A key step that made water fasting easy for me was getting into the habit of intermittently fasting 20 hours a day for at least a month.
If you're on medication, you also need to work with your doctor to ensure safety, as some medications really need to be taken with food and/or can become toxic when your body chemistry normalizes. Those taking hypoglycemic or antihypertensive medication are particularly at risk, as they may end up overdosing.
It's also recommended to continue taking nutritional supplements during your fast. If you take magnesium be aware that it may cause severely loose stools. You also need to take a high-quality salt. Certain health conditions may also need more stringent medical supervision to ensure safety when fasting.
Longo, on the other hand, is not quite as keen on water-only fasting, or even 20-hour intermittent daily fasting, citing findings suggesting intermittent fasting beyond the 13-hour mark raises the risk for gallstones by about 5 percent, as well as other unintended side effects. He also notes that 20-hour intermittent daily fasting is not a strategy used among centenarians, people over 100 years of age.
Water Fasting Versus Fasting Mimicking Diet
It bears mentioning that Longo's fasting mimicking diet is not a water-only fast. The fasting mimicking diet involves restricting your calories to 800 to 1,100 calories per day for five days each month, opposed to no-calorie fasting. It was primarily developed to improve compliance, as many find a five-day water-only fast to be too difficult. The low-calorie strategy also helps reduce the likelihood of adverse side effects, while retaining the benefits.
"We first started with cancer patients about 10 years ago … [T]he National Cancer Institute … funded the research to develop a fasting mimicking diet … The reason it's simple is [because] there's an issue of compliance, but also an issue of safety. [F]irst of all, water-only fasting, or very low calorie fasting … has been done exclusively in clinics. Now, people could do it but they do it in clinics for a reason.
It really revolutionizes your metabolism and to a lot of people, it's going to be dangerous. Hypertension [and] hypoglycaemia [are possible side effects]. The purpose of the fasting mimicking diet was to make it easier on people, but also to make sure they don't go to an extreme state in which then they start having problems, and we saw it in the clinical trial.
We saw, even with the fasting mimicking diet, people can get weaker and can have some problem, but with the water-only fasting, these problems go up by another magnitude … This is why I think the fasting mimicking diet is the way to go.'"
People who should not water fast or be on the fasting mimicking diet include pregnant women, people who are seriously underweight (have low body mass index) and/or suffer from anorexia, seniors over the age of 70 (unless you're exceptionally healthy), anyone who is fragile or people with liver or kidney disease. If you have a chronic disease, be sure to work with your doctor and have him or her closely monitor your condition.
Fasting Mimicking Diet Boosts Effectiveness of Cancer Treatment
The fasting mimicking diet, which is a very low calorie diet, was developed to match the effects of water-only fasting, including the beneficial effects on autophagy, stem cell activation, ketone body production, IGF-1 level, IGFBP1, glucose and more. While Longo is an expert in this field of many years, I am not yet convinced that a very low calorie diet provides as much metabolic benefit as a full five-day water fast as long as one has no contraindications.
One of the strong recommendations in Longo's book is to actively incorporate the fasting mimicking diet if you're undergoing treatment for cancer. Not only will it radically improve the effectiveness of the cancer therapy, but it will also decrease its side effects.
"This has been a difficult battle. We work with the top oncology hospitals in the world: MD Anderson, Mayo Clinic, USC Norris Cancer Center. So, we really didn't want to be the rebels here. We really fought for the patients. We fought very hard, but also, we wanted them to agree with us. We wanted the oncologists to basically say, 'Yes. This is a good way to do it.' And in the end, I think, what we all agreed on was the following.
Now there are a number of new clinical trials that are almost finished, with hundreds of patients and fasting mimicking diets. So those, I think, are going to be conclusive … [In cases of] more advanced cancer, metastatic, [where] there are really not many options … we said the oncologist should seriously consider doing the fasting mimicking diet together with standard of care. And that's the beauty of this [diet]. It works very well with standard of care.
We've now shown it for kinase inhibitors, we've shown it for chemotherapy. All kinds of chemotherapy, all kinds of cancers, and now we have more data coming up with all kinds of new therapy. For example, now we're looking at immunotherapy … It makes the cancer visible to the immune system, and [can then be] attacked by the immune system, so I would say, yes, absolutely [talk] to your oncologist … At least they should read the clinical trials that are already published …
The safety concerns, I think now, are really minimal and the potential benefits are very high … In mice, we consistently see cancer-free survival even in the metastatic models. Meaning that the mice are essentially cured in combination with the chemo or the therapy … I think it's important to talk to patients about this, and give them an opportunity, particularly where they don't have any viable options."
Fasting Mimicking Diet as an Antiaging Strategy
In his book, Longo cites animal research showing the fasting mimicking diet in combination with treadmill exercise resulted in greater maintenance of muscle mass and a decrease in sarcopenia. Interestingly, neither strategy worked on its own. In this case, the mice got a low-calorie diet twice a month for four days at a stretch. In between, they ate normally.
As a result, they lost visceral fat but not muscle mass. This, Longo says, "really separates the fasting mimicking diet from most, if not all of other diets, in which there is always fat and water and muscle lost in the weight loss process. "Longo's research also shows the fasting mimicking diet reduces inflammation and inflammatory diseases such as dermatitis.
Cancers are reduced by nearly 50 percent. Importantly, cancers are also significantly postponed, and many tumors are also benign rather than malignant. Cognition is also improved. In mice that received the fasting mimicking diet twice a month were cognitively doing much better than the mice on the regular diet.
Another area of improvement is the immune system, which undergoes a transformation to a more youthful state. Overall, there's a reduction in risk factors for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, and an improvement in markers for aging. "So, as expected, [the diet] is really going after multiple systems and causing multisystem regeneration and rejuvenation, leading to improved performance," Longo says.
More Information
In summary, one of the primary messages in Longo's book is the importance of cycling — the episodic fasting and refeeding is really part of the key that makes this strategy so beneficial. Importantly, it also helps circumvent the negative effects that can occur during continuous fasting or chronic underfeeding. Longo adds:
"I would also point out that it's not cycling that needs to be every month. It can be, but we basically say, if you're obese and have high cholesterol and high blood pressure, yes, you probably have to do it every month, until you're healthy. But if you're the average person who may have high cholesterol and that's it, this could be once every three months. So, every 90 days, you do it for five days, and I think that's very reasonable.
From the clinical trial, we show there are long-lasting effects. If we measure the effects of three cycles of the fasting mimicking diet, three months after the end of the third cycle, we still see about 60 percent of the changes there. So … it might take three to six months for these changes to be completely wiped out."
To learn more about this beneficial "antiaging" strategy, be sure to pick up a copy of Longo's book, "The Longevity Diet: Discover the New Science Behind Stem Cell Activation and Regeneration to Slow Aging, Fight Disease, and Optimize Weight." If you are like me and are really interested in living healthier, longer, it can point you in the right direction.8 -
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Thanks Barbie for getting us started for a new year, new month.
Welcome Karen in San Jose.
December was a good month weight wise for me, helped greatly by my flare of TMJ.
December Goals/Results:
1. Lose 5 lbs - Kicked this one in the butt, lost 9 lbs thanks to the TMJ
2. Walk at least 4 days a week - Done, walked every day of the month for at least 30 min, usually 60+
3. Continue to log every bite - Done
My goals for January will be similar....why change what is working?
1. Lose 6 lbs - this will be a stretch with the December loss, but I'll give it my best shot
2. Close all 3 rings on my watch all 31 days of January
3. Stretch 3 times a week
4. Continue to log every bite
I think my word for 2018 will be stretch. I really need to work on flexibility, literally stretching will help that. I also need to stretch my comfort zone for letting go of stuff. I have kitchen gadgets/storage containers that I haven't used in forever, but I can't let go of. I need to work on that in the whole house, not just the kitchen. I am pretty good at letting go of clothes and shoes. I have gotten past the "but I paid a lot of money for that, I can't let it go". If I'm not using it, it doesn't matter what it cost, let it move on to someone else who can use it and appreciate it.
Have a great day everyone!
Okie in the TX Hill Country5 -
Hello my sisters in-hearts! Like an in-law, but way better!
So here is my plan. I wish to lose 50 lbs this year. A bit overzealous, but I am going to give it my all! That is less than 5 lbs a month. So doable. Can I mentally stick ya all in my pocket??
In celebration, and anticipation of staying on track, I threw out my snowball cookies. Being that I was the only one eating them! I need to make some energy balls with some of my Holiday Baking supplies. I have coconut flakes, chocolate chips, oatmeal, honey, walnuts, Just being kind of like a mad scientist, I will make a small batch, little balls, no baking required. Maybe toast the oatmeal with the honey and walnuts? The main thing is to make just enough for a weeks worth of a afternoon pick me up, with a cup of coffee. Not something to pig out on. Becca be mindful of portions!
Yes talking to myself is needed to lose this 50 lb dumbbell I have shackled to myself.
Have a good day y'all!
Becca
Oregon9 -
Hello and Happy New Year,
I would like to join your group for some support and hopefully friendship. Here are a few things about me.
- I will turn 56 in just a few days.
- I live in Oregon. (U.S.)
- I am the mother of 8 children (2 in high school, 2 in college, 1 in grad school, 3 working in careers). They are ages 15 - 29. I have raised them as a single mother since the youngest was a baby. 4 of them still live with me and others come and go as they make transitions through life.
- I work multiple jobs to keep the roof over our head. Time is my most precious resource and I do not squander it. There is very little time for "me" but I feel that starting to change as the kids are growing up.
- My hobbies are writing, reading, art, home improvement projects and cooking. For exercise I take my dogs on long rambles, and swim a few times a week.
- I am a Type 2 Diabetic and also have Hypothyroidism. For the past 6 months my diabetes has been out of control. I am not sure what is causing this except that I am getting older because nothing else has changed. My primary goal is to get blood sugar under control and secondary is to loose about 60-70 pounds.
- I have struggled with my weight for my entire adult life. My weight as of this morning was 239.2. I've been higher and I have been lower. It's a battle that requires a very resolute focus to win.
I love the fact that 2018 begins on a Monday. It seems so fitting to begin a new year and new goals at the start of the first week of the year. For some reason I find it prophetic as if for once in my life all the stars have aligned themselves toward success.
I hope that the theme of my new year is "Joy". I feel myself starting to turn into a bitter, resentful old woman and I really don't want to be that person. So I hope I can find joy in every day, in loving myself and others, in meeting goals and discovering that truly the best is yet to come.
Terina
8 -
Welcome to all the new members!
Word for the year ... Will
Goals ... 1.5 pounds lost per week ... based upon CICO this really is doable. Certainly, I have done it in the past and I will do it again.
Surprisingly, I ended up 3.5 pounds lighter at the end of December. I will build on that.
Happy New Year!
Beth near Buffalo8 -
Given that most of you won't have read back in December (thanks Barbara) I'm carrying on my new afternoon exercise session commitment by buying some new running shoes (New Balance) a phone/key/money belt and some running earphones with ear hooks.
I am sooooooo not a runner, but the stuff will come in handy whatever becomes of my new venture. My knee seems ok at rest so far, so I'm hoping for good things. I'm not logging the afternoon session, so it will be a nice boost to my CICO.
For those who are new, I do a long exercise session every morning, but I'm still slowly gaining weight, so I'm adding a walk/run session or some kettlebell swings into the afternoon. I'm hoping that will take care of the 5 lbs I've put on since maintenance and, who knows, I may end up being able to run and even liking it. :noway:
My word is STRETCH , so this is definitely a stretch!
Love Heather UK xxxxxxx6
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