aylajane Member

Kettlebell workouts - look up the turkish getup. Obviously check with your doc/pt, but it is supposed to really help strengthen all the shoulder muscles. They use it for diagnostic purposes in PT and rehab in some clinics for rotator cuff injuries. I would google specifically "TKU and shoulder injury" to see if it needs…

For a couple of days, try to "overplan" your evening with things that make it hard to eat because of boredom or emotions. Ie. tackle a big home project - like one night schedule an hour or two (during the time you would normally eat) and pull out everything you have in your closet - completely empty it on your bed. Spend…

One way to help get started is to think of it in daily terms for a bit. I.e. if you want your budget to be $600/month, realize that is about $20/day or about $150/week. A container of oatmeal here is $3. A loaf of bread is $2. A jar of PB is $3 and jelly is about $3. A bag of over ten clementines is $5. A gallon of milk is…

Just something to think about... Flat feet/no arches is not necessarily a disorder that needs to be "fixed". Putting in hard arch supports where no arch exists is going to HURT. You will likely eventually get used to it, but unless you have an issue that needs to be corrected (PF can be "fixed" without arch supports and is…

Sugar sprinkled on dill pickles :smile:

While I agree with you that people should always consult a doctor as the authority, i have found in the past few years that some doctors do not know what they are talking about, do not have experience with your condition, do not have the time to dig into your life and lifestyle to see if it is related i.e she could easily…

Seconding the pullups. And as for women doing, it is just a matter of repitetion and progression... Put the pullup bar in a hallway you pass often. Every time you go through it, try to do anything you can. I started out with an assistance band, but only needed it for a few weeks. Every now and then try one without it and…

Duct tape your toes to your knees :) Lol, I actually mean it. They sell "boots" or straps you can wear at night, but really duct tape will work in a pinch. The goal is simply to keep your foot at a 90 angle overnight. The problem is that people relax at night especially if laying on your back with heavy covers - your foot…

Sadly for women especially, to gain even 2 pounds of muscle can take months, and only if you are actively trying to build muscle by doing progressively heavier weight bearing exercises , eating sufficient protein to support muscle growth and getting sufficient calories to foster growth (i.e. maintenance or higher in…

Without caffeine I feel like I am walking through jello. Not worth the experiment to find out :)

Again, I was not complaining that they were distracting.The OP was asking if eating while driving was too much of a distraction and dangerous. I was pointing out that eating a cereal bar while driving an automatic was no more distracting than driving a stick shift. I agree, people get used to it and do just fine. Same with…

Have you thought about/tried other forms of taking vitamins? Ones that do not rely on your intestines to absorb? For example, you can get vitamin B12 as a shot or a liquid or under your tongue dissolvable. You can find "instantized" or "ionized" vitamins that are in a power formula you mix and drink, which absorb instantly…

Actually I have had several stick shifts. After 500k miles on 2 cars, I am sure *you* dont ever have to look. But do you think everyone out there driving a stick shift has the experience you do? That person in the lane next to you might have gotten that car that week. Some cars have the gears in different places. Some have…

I had the same results as you @KnitOrMiss with non-existent free T. Despite having every possible classic symptom, several doctors said "we do not treat women for that" and even tried to push BC on me. I couldnt understand how giving me more of the two hormones I had enough of already and none of the one I didnt could help…

I assume you object to drinking as well then? I e. no water bottle or anything? That would take your hands off the wheel, and block your vision during the drink. Also, changing radio stations. I know of several accidents because someone looked at the console to adjust the radio station. Cruise control? People tend to relax…

One more for muscle imbalance! I had knee pain for YEARS (i.e. whole life). A few months with a trainer who reinforced stretching tight muscles (IT band) and building up all 4 muscles around my knees to be equally strong made it like it never existed. Also switching to zero drop shoes worked wonders for me, though I get…

No worries :) Sorry I didnt make it clear in my first post. I have several friends with FM who I have encouraged to look into possible food related causes only because I see them suffer and hate the thought that it could be so easily "treated" if that were the real cause. It absolutely cannot hurt to look into that, and at…

Oh I have absolutely NO doubt FM is real!! Sorry I didnt mean to imply that. I simply agreed that while, as you said, menopause can often be blamed/misdiagnosed for other disorders like FM , the opposite is often true as well. FM is often used (at least here in the states) as a "catch-all" for when nothing else obvious is…

Oh I agree with you that other causes should be examined (thyroid testing is standard for menopause checks). But I also think fibromyalgia has the same issue - it is an exclusionary diagnosis, not a definitive one. It is "diagnosed" by looking at a pattern of symptoms and excluding other causes. There is no blood test for…

Oh my I feel for you. ALS is a horrible disease, so that is stressful already, but I have learned being a full time caregiver is a whole other beast. I was in the best shape of my life a year or two ago. Belonged to several gyms, lifted weights, ran, hiked. Enjoyed being healthy and fit after a near lifetime of overweight…

Not always carbs/grains but food and ingredients absolutely impact your body... I used to drink 6-12 cans of diet Code Red Mtn dew every day for years. My already weak/sore/funky knees gradually got worse and worse over those years, so gradual I never associated anything. Near the end I could not walk up stairs, I had a…

Lol - I found out this week that insomnia and sleep issues come with peri-menopause. Not sure of all you ladies' ages, but if you are in that range it is something to consider! I also learned that muscle and joint aches are part of the territory (estogen dropping etc). 6 months of trying 100 different things to help, and…

Start out with something purely fun that keeps your hands too busy to eat and your feet moving. I.e. ping pong. Badminton. Shooting hoops. Go to the zoo and walk all day. Volunteer at a food pantry (they keep you busy). Next, dont think of it as exercise - its "recess" :). Go walk to a nearly playground and play on the…

Look up DASA (disabled american sports association) and see if they have one near you? THey train at a gym I go to and are incredible (people doing supported pullups WITH their wheelchair etc! custom for each person/disability). Even if you cant afford to go, watch the videos for what they do for exercise from a wheelchair…

My headphones are bluetooth to my phone, so nothing to store there (seriously - $20 on amazon, these are great for me - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LP6CFEC). Then I either use the sport version of the Can-Can gun holster (I paid $10 extra to have one custom made to fix my iphone 6s in front left, my gun front…

One of the best quotes floating around here that resonates with me is something like this: You would agree that weighing 305 pounds is hard right? You are not happy with yourself right? You would agree that losing weight is hard right? You will not be happy not eating EVERYthing you want right? "Being fat is hard. Losing…

Agreed, but especially the first few months/year of VSG we cant always eat enough - often you only eat 500-600 calories a day for awhile (which is very, very difficult to get all the needed micronutrients in), and you wont know you are short until current stores are depleted, at which time it will take time to shore them…

OMG no. Carbs make me want to eat my arm off. Protein and fats are fairly neutral for me, but if I eat carbs (especially more simple carbs like cake or fruit), I will be *starving* and looking for food all day long. I guess to each his own.

Conventional exercise may be out, but there are still ways to burn a few extra calories ... "fidgeting" is one way. Move whatever you can, as often as you can. If you can twitch something, do it. If you are able to wave your arm at all, do it. If you can flex your foot up and down, do it. There have even been studies that…

I think a big part of the "rebounding" weight gain and slacking on exercise is vitamin deficiencies finally catching up with you, at least for some people. You start feeling a little more tired, so you cut back on the exercising, and it just snowballs, etc. Be sure to get your full "post-bariatric" panels done at least…