Jacqui's success story

Regular readers of my blog will know that I am very wary of the word "diet". I have seen too many people get into the yo-yo syndrome - losing weight then putting it on again - or, even worse, actually endangering their health by going on a restrictive diet.

However I am delighted to share Jacqui's success story. Not because she succeeded in losing nearly two stones, though that was a bonus for her, but because she made real changes to her health through the right food choices. Well done Jacqui! This is the happy ending to her story:

"Back in July Sue kindly included an entry from me about how I had significantly changed my food regime - I don’t like to use the word diet - in order to address a bad cholesterol problem. Read here: http://over60andoverhere.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/cutting-out-column-3-pounds-lost.html

"Up until that point I had never looked at the content of saturated fat in anything I ate and, although I knew my weight had steadily increased over the years, I never gave any thought to what it was doing to my health. I felt fit, I wasn’t breathless or struggling to do things, and so it was a big surprise to be told I had high cholesterol and needed to sort it out or they would put me on statins. Now, I know there is a field of thinking that everyone over the age of 50 should be on them as a norm, but I don’t agree with taking medication long term if not completely avoidable so I discussed other options with my doctor and basically, changing my diet and losing some weight could be enough.

"Originally I gave myself 3 months to make a significant improvement but events rather changed that timescale as further tests showed I had already got a heart condition that needed urgent attention and the month of September saw me in surgery having a heart pacemaker fitted to correct the condition. As you can probably guess, my focus wasn’t so much on my cholesterol for a few weeks while I recovered, but my lovely husband continued to prepare healthy meals for me and despite my lack of exercise for a few weeks I managed not to put any of the lost weight back on.

"I did have a blood test done before my operation but the results had been disappointing, as the bad cholesterol had only come down from +3 to +2.8 and I needed to get it below +2.3. What was more surprising was that my good cholesterol was too low and this wasn’t helping, as the good cholesterol binds with the bad to carry the bad cholesterol away. I needed to find a way to increase the good cholesterol while continuing to reduce the bad.

"Back on the internet (how did we ever research things before this wonderful invention?) and I found that food is not a good way for increasing levels of good cholesterol, that is done predominantly through weight loss and increased exercise, both of which would be difficult in the immediate weeks after my operation, but as soon as I was adequately recovered I would deal with it.

"And so at the end of October I booked my blood test for 4th December, I needed a focus to work towards. I started walking more and began using the Wii again. I continued with the foods I had become used to. Actually, during my weeks of recuperation, my husband treated me to a pizza. Previously, I loved pizza, I could eat it 2 or 3 times a week. It was to be a treat for going through my operation, which had not been as simple as expected. I was so looking forward to my treat. And I was so disappointed, I cannot tell you how uncomfortable that level of fat made me feel after I’d eaten it. It seems my stomach has become intolerant of high fat content foods and I have not had a pizza since, the very thought of it makes me feel ill. Wow, what a change.


"So, that brings us to today. I sit here the day after getting my latest cholesterol results, almost 2 stone lighter and 2 dress sizes smaller, never hungry and not bored with my food choice. And the results?


"All my cholesterol levels are normal. Overall is now 5.5, my triglycerides are 1.7, down from 2.8 and my good cholesterol has returned to normal levels. I am off the threat of statins and feel very pleased to have turned this around in 6 months.


"I only added one item to my changed food regime – the new magic food/drink.
I read an article on beetroot juice and now daily have a shot glass of the juice which is sweetened with Apple juice. Whether it really is as magic as it reads I’ll never know, but it will be on my shopping list for years to come.


"I can now relax a little and enjoy Christmas.  And although I think my eating habits are now changed permanently, I have booked a further blood test for March, just to make sure I keep it on track."

What an inspiring story! Enjoy your Christmas, Jacqui, and a happy, healthy New Year to you all!

"Use it or lose it" - part 3

Your spirit or soul - what do those words mean to you?  If you are religious there will be obvious connotations and in the context of "Use it or lose it" no doubt you will be reflecting on the importance of faith in your life and especially as you get older.  Religion can be very comforting in your later years and with a strong faith you can overcome almost anything that life throws at you.

I confess to being not particularly religious, although I was brought up in a Church of England family and my grandfather was a priest.  I would like to believe that there is another life after this one, but I'm not totally convinced, so I believe in making the most of this life and living every day as if it might be your last one. I do have moral values though and try to behave in what I suppose many people would describe as a Christian way, no doubt as a result of my upbringing.

What doesn't help my religious beliefs are the wars that are fought in the name of religion: surely this goes against everything you are supposed to believe in? Religion shouldn't be about hatred, it should be about love. However I also acknowledge the good that many people do in the name of religion, the most powerful example in my opinion being Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Whatever your beliefs, I think the more positive you are the better it is for you.  There are countless stories of people beating serious illnesses through their positive attitude, one of them being my lovely friend Callie who thankfully has survived breast cancer.

On the other hand I had an uncle who always seemed to look on the black side of life and who had a very negative outlook.  Ask him about his latest holiday and he would say "It was all right, apart from the bad weather most days, and the car breaking down.  Our hotel room was too small and the food was dreadful."  My mother, who was his sister and his complete opposite, would say "We had a wonderful holiday.  The sun shone a lot and the people who ran the hotel were really kind and helpful.  It was good to eat out and not have to do any cooking." One of the best holidays of my life was when we took Mum to New England for her 80th birthday, as she so obviously had a great time and her enjoyment was contagious.

Did you hear the joke about the two knitters?  It had me in stitches!

We talk about people being in good spirits and I think that as we get older we should do more things that we really enjoy to raise our spirits.  Things that I find particularly uplifting are listening to a beautiful piece of music, reading a good book, watching a glorious sunset, travelling to foreign countries and spending time with my family.  All of these are good for my soul, as the more I do them the happier I feel. If I feel happy, then I am sure my happiness rubs off on other people.  When I see someone smiling, it usually makes me feel like smiling too.

Do you have anything in particular that you feel is good for your spirits and that would benefit other people? If so, please share it with the rest of us.



 

Release your inner child

As adults - particularly when we are women of a certain age - we are supposed to be the mature and sensible ones.  We are expected to behave in a certain way, which for those of us with children means not embarrassing them.  My daughter Kate gave me a mug with the words "If you're not embarrassing your children, you're not enjoying yourself".  I don't know whether that was meant to inspire me to enjoy myself more, but that's the way I have taken it.

I should add one proviso: if you still have children at school, please avoid showing them up in front of their peers.  However my children are now adults and don't seem to mind if I behave in what might be considered an inappropriate way, such as embarrassing dancing.  I could win gold medals for dancing in an embarrassing way, but I love letting my hair down (not literally, as it's short) and showing off my moves on the dance floor.

I also adore going on a swing - and children have been known to wait patiently to take their turn while the sixty-year old woman tries to see how high she can swing.  I don't know what they think, and I don't care.  I am letting my inner child have a good time.

Adults playground in Haydon Bridge

A couple of years ago we went back to the UK for my nephew's wedding and stayed in Haydon Bridge for the weekend.  We could have stayed at Langley Castle Hotel where the wedding was being held, however the B & B in Haydon Bridge where we had the whole place to ourselves was more fun and a lot cheaper!  One of the highlights of the weekend was going out for a walk and discovering the playground in the photo - eventually my daughters had to drag me away!

What do you enjoy doing that could be considered child-like?  Do you ever release your inner child and have fun doing so?  It's a great way to relieve any stress and in my case it scores high on the feel-good factor.

Inspirational women

Which women have inspired you - and particularly which women over 60?  In my case there are two, who sadly are no longer with me, but I still have many great memories of them both.

The first was my mother, Joy.  She certainly lived up to her name, and even when she was in her eighties she managed to enjoy life to the full. We took her to New England for her 80th birthday treat, as I knew it had long been a dream of hers to go there.  My family emigrated to Canada when I was a child, and my mother had caught her first glimpse of New England from the ship.  She had always wanted to go there and achieved her wish over fifty years later!

Mum enjoying herself on the Cape Cod ferry

Mum had a good sense of humour and was the life and soul of any party that she went to.  As a child, I cannot remember ever hearing her complain, though as an adult I found out that she hadn't always had an easy life. She enjoyed sport and was very proud of being the oldest member of her badminton club, and the fact that she was still playing in her eighties.  I remember foolishly suggesting that she should get herself a shopping trolley. "Don't be ridiculous! They're for old people!" retorted my mother, who was over eighty at the time.  My children used to say that they had two very different grandmothers: one normal one and Gran.

My friend Beryl wasn't a lot younger than my mother and she was another feisty woman.  We met when I first started running in Hyde Park: we discovered that we had a similar sense of humour and soon became great friends.  Beryl was the first to admit that she wasn't the fastest of runners, but she was determined to run the London Marathon to raise money for charity.  I didn't doubt that Beryl would succeed (I had done a lot of long runs with her and was amazed by her stamina) and when I saw her at the finish she looked as fresh as a daisy.  Not only that, but when I went round to her house later on with her other friends for a celebration party, Beryl was dashing around looking after everybody as if she had only run 10k.  Did I mention that Beryl was in her sixties when she achieved this?

Beryl sharing a joke with me and my daughter

Two amazing, inspiring women: do you know of any inspirational women? Please leave your comments below.