walk the walk

Good for a pinched nerve

2012-02-13T14:18:00.000-06:00

I don't do well in cold weather but these last few days seemed to go quite well for a change. As you may know, I've been suffering with a pinched nerve in my neck which had created many problems for me. If you've ever had a pinched nerve in the neck or in your back then you know what pain and suffering is all about. Pain killers sure don't help for longer than a few hours so forget that. I ended up stabilizing my head and using a heating pad around the affected area for several days which seemed to have helped.

Yesterday morning was a bright sunny day, blue skies and no clouds in sight. I just couldn't resist taking advantage of a beautiful day as that. It was nippy and I could feel the cold wind bite me in the face but I didn't care. My neck, throat, face, eyeballs and head felt normal...no pain! All I wanted to do was to walk and walk and walk and enjoy the day without pain. It was a great feeling.

This morning, I went out again although nippy but cloudy, and I didn't care. I just enjoyed walking briskly and digesting information and ideas which seemed to have creeped into my mind as the blood flowed readily into my brain. I didn't have a worry nor care in the world!

It's amazing how experiencing no pain for a change can change one's attitude real quick!

Confucius: "it doesn't matter how slow you go, as long as you don't stop."
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A viable excuse

2012-02-11T09:50:00.001-06:00

Had another rough night. I discovered that my intense head aches have been caused by a pinched nerve in my neck. The pain has been just crazy. My face hurts, my ears hurt, my throat hurts and so does my head. At times I feel nauseous. Pain killers help for a couple of hours and then it come back. Sleeping has been very difficult. There is no way in hell I can get out and walk today even if I wanted to. We got slammed with snow last night, its sub freezing temperatures along with the wind chill and the bright sun hitting the bright clean snow is very blinding even with sunglasses making my eyes and head hurt even more. I think that today I have a viable excuse for staying indoors.

Confucius: "it doesn't matter how slow you go, as long as you don't stop."

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Migraine

2012-02-09T16:24:00.000-06:00

If its not one thing then it's another. I woke up with a nasty migraine. Thought my head was going to explode. It was another one of those cold mornings but atleast there was no snow. It had melted yesterday. I went out around my usual time for a walk even tho I felt like crap and my head felt like it was in a vice. When I came back, I felt quite a bit better as the migraine seemed to have diminished quite a lot. The walk really made a difference for me today.

Confucius: "it doesn't matter how slow you go, as long as you don't stop."
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2012-02-08T13:06:00.000-06:00

When I woke up this morning, I felt stiff as a board. It was difficult to move let alone get out of bed. From my previous experiences I knew that it was raining outside or it was very cold. Sure as shit,once I was able to climb out of bed and looked out the window, I noticed that the ground was covered with snow. It looked cold. I wanted to get out and walk today but if it was cold it wasn't going to happen.

My body just can't seem to deal with the cold, especially my lungs. I've played in smoky jazz clubs for so many years that now my lungs suffer from all that second hand smoke. We just don't seem to learn perhaps due to stupidity or self gratification and continue smoking or breathing in second hand smoke not really caring what the consequences will bring tomorrow. Live for today and worry about tomorrow when it comes, is our motto! We have all kinds of bull shit excuses just so we can continue our fast track to the hospital and then to a nursing home. We never realize ahead of time, the suffering we are going to end up with because we don't give a crap right now. Yeah you can tell I'm in a bad mood today, thanks to pain!

It was about 11:00 A.M. when I decided to get out of the house as the walls were closing in on me. I had noticed that the snow had been melting fairly quick so I figured the temps had to be above freezing. So off I went. I struggled walking even a few hundred yards, but decided that I'm in charge here dammit! I'm not going to let my stiff joints nor my lungs get the best of me. I drudged on one step at a time. It wasn't as fast as I would have liked it to be, but never the less I moved forward. I don't know how far I walked and don't really care, but did spend about forty five minutes to an hour walking. My lungs hurt, my joints hurt but atleast I managed to get out and do something today. So how about you? I'm 62 I'm doing it!

Confucius: "it doesn't matter how slow you go, as long as you don't stop."

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I'm back again

2012-02-06T09:43:00.001-06:00

It's been quite some time since my last post. I had deleted it but I find that without it, I start to neglect my daily walks and jogs. I find it quite helpful in motivating myself to get out of the house when I can read about how my day went. As with most, I gained a few pounds over the holidays and it's been very difficult to lose them. I'm not a big believer in new year resolutions so I didn't make any. New year resolutions are bogus anyway and most people follow it for only a short period of time and then stop.

I have gotten out a few times this year especially with the unusually mild winter we are having this year. Normally, I'd have to be jumping over piles of snow, slush and dressing up for the windy, sub freezing days and dodging traffic as I have to walk/jog on the street. Folks around here are just too damn lazy to shovel their sidewalks.

I got sidetracked a few times which lasted me several weeks as I began working on a new project. Time seemed to have slid by without me noticing it and found myself and my muscles getting weaker by the day, sitting here in front of my computer working. I also ended up with a virus that's going around which definitely put me out of commission for a couple of weeks. My son and his wife just had their second child about a week ago and we have been unable to go visit due to illness.

Last week as I started feeling a bit better, I forced myself in going out every day just to walk. It was difficult just doing a half mile let alone a little over a mile as the strength in my legs had diminished immensely. I really had to force myself to go that extra length but things got a lot easier and by the end of the week the walk was a piece of cake.

Confucius: "it doesn't matter how slow you go, as long as you don't stop." visit the jazz shoppe

mental attitude

2011-10-12T23:27:00.000-05:00

With all the wonderful weather we have had this month, I've spent most of the days fishing. I found myself a new fishin hole and also revisited an old one I hadn't been to in over 25 years. It really is interesting how fishing can change my attitude and give me a lot of motivation to do other things besides playing my guitar all the time and creating music. I suppose that playing music has been my escape from the reality of our times. But just being able to get out and enjoy the water and the beauty of the day has changed me a little.

My hands ache and my fingers can barely move. My entire body hurts from head to toe but mentally I feel great, ready to take on the world. The key word here is mentally. Without having the proper mental attitude usually nothing gets done especially in my case. I could sit there giving hundreds of excuses why I shouldn't do this or that but not these days.

Saturday, I began making custom tail light poles for my boat trailer and just finished installing them yesterday. Monday I climbed on the roof and repaired a leak which I've meant to get at for almost a year now but just never had any motivation. Today, I repaired a broken gutter and a downspout. I also had a blown rear bearing seal on my boat trailer and replaced not only the seal but the bearings as well. I still want to replace the bearings in the other wheel for safety....it's going to need it sooner or later anyway.

The weather will be changing tonight to much cooler temps and perhaps some rain is in the forecast. Who knows what I may do tomorrow or the next day...all I know is that whatever it may be, I will be looking forwards to it. And...fishin will get even better especially when the water temps drop down to between 52-55F. I can hardly wait.

Confucius: "it doesn't matter how slow you go, as long as you don't stop."

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another birthday

2011-09-30T13:12:00.000-05:00

Here I am 62 today and another year of more body deterioration. It has been said that death begins when you are born and each proceeding day gets you closer to it. I suppose that its a morbid way to look at life but never the less quite true. You could take it in stride and do like many and keep making things worse for you by over eating unhealthy foods, drinking,smoking heavily, taking drugs. Perhaps you will end up one of the lucky ones who end up with a heart attack at the age of 50 or there about and dying early in life. Or perhaps you might be one of the unfortunate ones who linger on suffering in some nursing home wearing diapers and being wheeled around in a bed or wheel chair.

There is no question that death is inevitable. It is a guarantee just like aging and taxes. Lets face it after a certain age the body begins to deteriorate and the muscles weaken. Unless you have some sort of exercise program to keep that from happening, even something like a fall, which was nothing to us at a younger age, can easily confine us in a wheel chair or worse. But then again, if you have been stuffing your face with junk food, cigarettes and booze most of your life, then who cares because if the cholesterol don't get you cancer or liver damage will right?

As I look back to my younger days where I spent a lot of time with all of my friends abusing ourselves, just having a great time, I find that most of them have died. Many died before the age of 40 and very few made it to the age of 50. They died of either cancer, heart attack or stroke. A few died of drug overdose. They all pretty much suffered quite some time during their demise and had a miserable existence. For the most of my life I've always heard that middle age was in the 40's. But who ever thought that in their case middle age turned out to be in their twenties? The first thought is always; "it won't happen to me" but then that's what all my friends thought too.

Yup death is indeed inevitable and could happen to us at any given time. But where is it written that being miserable along the way has to be so. A healthier body gives way to a healthier mind and attitude. We've heard it over and over again and yet most of us ignore the fact. As for me, I took some time this morning to appreciate the fact that I am still alive and able to walk, spend some quality time with my children and grand kids by strengthening my leg muscles by going out for a walk.

Confucius: "it doesn't matter how slow you go, as long as you don't stop."

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even better today than yesterday

2011-09-23T17:07:00.000-05:00

I thought yesterday was pretty cool being able to jog a mile and a half. Today was even better as I got to 2 miles before getting tired. Not bad for someone who has had vertigo for most of the summer.

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what a difference a day makes

2011-09-22T20:41:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was having difficulties just barely walking a mile and today here I am jogging a mile and a half. It's been quite some time since I even tried jogging as walking was hard enough.

Most of the year I've felt uneasy not to mention the issues with my 90 yr old mother falling and ending up in the hospital at the beginning of summer. I had vertigo before that which lasted me until September. Then there was the sledge hammer to the hand followed by almost cutting my finger off. I'm still having issues there with nerve damage. Did I mention that post herpetic neuralgia (shingles) also kicked in for a while. And then there was the hay fever thing. I can't forget those migraines. Good God I'm a friekin' wreck!

I feel that it really has to do with the state of mind along with attitude. Getting out to go fishing once again has done me wonders for my state of mind which obviously affects the rest of my well being. Let's see how tomorrow goes.

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get out and walk it's free

2011-09-21T23:01:00.000-05:00

I heard someone say that they had a membership to a gym and they work out 45 minutes a week. They expect to lose a lot of weight. What? Why bother? 45 minutes a week won't do jack squat for you. Sure it's better than nothing but if you don't change your lifestyle along with what you stuff in your face it won't make any difference. By next day you've already gained back and then some, what you lost in that 45 minute workout. You really need to exercise a minimum of 30 minutes daily at least 5 days a week for any results along with a healthier diet. And don't forget to cut down on the sodium and sugar. Wake up dumb ass!

I went out for a walk again today. I could really feel it in my legs as the pain got worse with each step. But...I did not quit and continued forcing myself to take another step. Walking is free,,,the benefits are the same. Why aren't more people out there walking?

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just some stuff

2011-09-20T23:35:00.000-05:00

For once, I felt pretty good and I actually got out for a walk this morning. It was nice not staggering all over the sidewalk and being able to walk a straight line for a change. It was also great seeing clearly and not as if I had been looking out from inside a bubble. Hopefully from this point on things will get back to normal for me. I'm ready to get back to being active again.

It's hard to believe that the leaves are already changing color in my neighborhood and winter is just around the corner again. Next week I'll be turning 62. At-least this year is a lot different from the past 3 in that I've been able to go fishing. Fishing in the fall, for me, has been a ritual which prepares me mentally for winter for the last 30+ yrs. Without it, I end up with some health issues sometimes serious. Ah the mental powers of getting out into nature, whether hiking, hunting or fishing. It goes a long way to relieve stress build up. I'm not a hunter but hiking and fishing has been a big part of my life since childhood.

I saw the first episode for season 12 of Biggest Loser today. It was interesting to see some folks my age and older, up to 65 on there. Supposedly it's a competition between the ages. It's hilarious watching these fat folks get all excited to be there and then end up crying and complaining that it's too hard, especially the younger ones. I can understand it from the older folks as it takes a little longer to get going especially with the arthritis and the lack of muscle due to deterioration from just getting old. But to see young folks between 23-40 whimpering and crying because they can't handle the work is mighty sad. What the hell are they expecting, a spa of leisure? Have they never seen the show? It's a lot of work and sweat to lose all that fat they spent years to gain by eating crap. But then again that show is all about drama and a bunch of whining babies. Lets face it, it's great entertainment! Right?

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finally got out and went fishing

2011-09-14T22:48:00.000-05:00

I've been able to get out and do some fishing a couple of times so far this month. Between now and freeze up is my favorite time for fishing. For one thing, most of the idiots are off the water and you can fish in peace without some jerk on some sort of water crafts or skis get within a few yards of you rocking the boat violently and having to hold on for dear life. Secondly, it's not so hot out where you constantly need to drink water for fear of dehydration and then having to take a leak every few minutes. I was dehydrated for several years and didn't realize it and had many a problem due to it. Fishing in heat is uncomfortable and I hate getting burned. Thirdly, the fish are biting and are more aggressive because the water is cooler which makes the fish less sluggish due to warm water. Fish get sluggish in water below 50F and above 75F and seek a much more of a comfortable temperature in deep water and usually don't want to feed.

My hay fever has been on off, on again making things somewhat irritating as I can't remember the last time it has hit me in the middle of September. Usually it's been an August thing which lasts until the end of the first week in September. But then again for the last 30+ years I've been elsewhere at this time and it's already cleared from my system.

The smoke from the fires in Minnesota over 400 miles away have hit the area making things even more interesting for people with respiratory problems, like they need it, especially when mold, grass and weed pollen had been high making life miserable already.

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more bullshit from politicians

2011-09-08T11:07:00.000-05:00

Here we go again with the political bullshit being claimed by the republican presidential candidates in their so called debate. What bothers me most is that much of the country gullible people can be led by such bullshit.

FACT CHECK: Perry, Romney twist records in debate

http://news.yahoo.com/fact-check-perry-romney-twist-records-debate-021556685.html

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some answers to a few questions

2011-09-07T22:25:00.000-05:00

Was there something specific which made you stop?...by anonymous

This of course refers to overuse of nose sprays and Drixoral for 18 years.

I started feeling like there was hair down my throat and began throwing up. I could be driving in my car or be at a gig when the feeling would come over me and then I would have to throw up. The feeling could be triggered by almost any smell. Going 60 mph on the highway with a lot of traffic could have been detrimental to me and others. Obviously it was a dangerous thing to do. My moods changed constantly from highs to lows from happy to anger at a snap of a finger. Half the time I didn't know whether if I was coming or going. Things were pretty confusing to me most of the time. I just couldn't take it anymore and had to go see an allergist.

How did you get off those nose sprays and the Drixoral?....Brenda, Brad and Anonymous.

After the initial consultation with the allergist he took my blood pressure and said "Why aren't you dead?" My blood pressure was 220/180. He immediately told me to stop taking anything and gave me another prescription to reverse the affects of rebound. After about a day or two I began to pass out after taking the meds so we had to change tactics and go a different rout. My doctor was also knowledgeable and licensed both in Holistic treatment and acupuncture, being that he was from Thailand. The first thing he did was to have me go to a cleaner, less polluted area such as the mountains in Colorado and drink plenty of fresh clean mountain water for about a week. He also gave me some little white pills and a liquid which was to control my mood swings and the chemicals in my body which were totally whacked out. 2,000mg a day of vitamin C and garlic, which I don't remember exactly how much, to control my blood pressure was also prescribed. After being in the mountains and drinking plenty of purified water and breathing in clean fresh air I no longer had a feeling of having hair down my throat and stopped throwing up. After about 6 weeks, I began to notice a remarkable difference with my moods but still suffered from rebound, heart palpitation,nervousness and sleeplessness. My blood pressure came down to 190/160, a lot better than it was but still quite high.

I stopped the white little pills which were something made from a root in Africa but I can't remember what it was. The white pills were replaced by another liquid...don't ask 'cause i don't remember. All I know is one was from Madagascar and the other from China. There was a holistic pharmacy in Chicago where I got all those from. It took me 2 years to recover and to get off the need and want for the use of nose sprays and Drixoral.

During the time I was under the allergist care, there were many a time where I had the urge to use nose sprays and Drixoral and sometimes did. One time I felt so sick that I thought I was going to die any moment. My heart was pounding like crazy and my head felt like it was going to explode. My body felt like I had just come off some heroin. I was in pain. That was the last time I ever used any nose sprays or Drixoral. I suppose that I needed that last experience to totally get me off them. Unfortunately the body chemistry is still a bit whacked to this day as I have the opposite affect of certain meds while others I immediately have bad side affects from them.

I remember one time I had fallen and hurt my back. I could barely move. A buddy of mine gave me a couple of muscle relaxers, which by the way never ever take someone else's meds because you don't know how the specific prescription will affect you. The doses are usually figured out by your size, situation and weight. Anyway, after taking one of the muscle relaxers, I began acting like it was speed. People tell me that I couldn't stop talking and that I was constantly on the move, hyper.

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making lemonaide

2011-09-06T22:44:00.000-05:00

Today was not a good day for me as the hay fever came back and hit me hard. Sometimes things get a bit weird as some days I'm just fine and energetic and the next day I'm right back to square one. I stayed in for most part but had to go out a few times to take my dog out which made things worse. Since it's par for course and me being used to it, I decided to make lemon aide out of the lemons dealt to me today.

I spent almost all day working on my guitar and on some new music. I had also uploaded a couple of new tunes on to the player recently which I had worked on back in August with my bad hand and finger. That aspect seems to be doing better the more I play and the nerves in the middle finger, although damaged, seem not to bother me that much anymore. Maybe in another month the finger will be back to normal.

Next time as I promised, I will write about how I got off the allergy meds and nose sprays I was abusing for 18 years.

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a stroll outside

2011-09-05T12:50:00.000-05:00

Today it's a balmy 67F with a nw wind at about 15-20 mph and it seems as if the hay fever season has already peaked a couple of days ago. I got out yesterday feeling almost good as we headed out to go to a birthday party which was about 45mi south of us in the country. The temps were in the mid to upper 70's with a slight breeze from the north and it just felt so good to be out of the house. Things went quite well and I didn't have too many sinus problems although it did do a few short jogs around the block.

After we got home my throat felt raw and I started getting a headache, no doubt due to the pollution in the area. The wife complained of a similar problem. Coming home from a somewhat of a cleaner environment can sometimes take a toll on one's system. I took a few teaspoons of Nighttime and after about an hour or so the throat seemed to get better and the headache went away although the rest of my body felt as if I was going through some rough times. I felt jittery and it was difficult falling a sleep. Eventually I did fall a sleep and when I woke up, I just felt like shit!

It took my body a few hours to adjust to the caffeine and once it did, I felt strong enough to go outside and go for a walk. I haven't done that in quite a while because for one I had vertigo. The dizziness comes from a calcium blocker which I have to take due to too much of it in my blood stream. I even had to quit riding my bike because I kept wanting to fall down. Walking wasn't much better as I staggered like a drunk taking careful steps not to fall flat on my face. But it did feel great and I managed to walk over a mile without falling down!!!!!

My head felt as if I was in a bubble and it seemed like I was looking out through the plastic of the huge bubble. As I walked I began to notice that 4 out of the 7 homes in my neighborhood that were foreclosed on earlier are now occupied. Maybe there is hope for the economy after all.

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where's the time?

2011-09-03T22:51:00.000-05:00

As the song goes; "time keeps on slipping, slipping in to the future". What is it about time lately? We just don't seem to have enough of it. Have the days, weeks and months become shorter? Don't we have 24 hr days , 7 day weeks, 12 month years anymore? Even with more daylight in the summer months just doesn't seem to fit the bill anymore. And now that it's September already and the daylight will be getting less, time will go by even quicker. Man I hate it!

Is it that we have become so engulfed in all of the electronic gadgets and the internet that we lose track of time totally? We spend hours and hours, twittering and keeping in touch with friends on Face Book and MySpace and other social sites that we find no time for our selves anymore. Some of us are perhaps too busy creating music.

When I was a kid, way before the technology of computers and electronic gadgets, there seemed to be plenty of time to spend outside and doing stuff. When I went to high school, I can remember the days just dragging by and I couldn't wait for the day to end and for weekends to come along so I would have time for fun. Music college wasn't much better and when it was time to earn a living, I was in the same situation. Now that I have plenty of time to do what ever I want, when I want, without having to worry about school or work, I find no time. Time just seems to slip by and I often wonder where the day went. I don't notice any change in what I did from one day to the next and I'll be lucky to remember if I did anything at all. Interestingly, I don't spend my time twittering, playing with electronic gadgets or a lot of time on the social network sites. I don't even spend half the time creating music like I used to so theoretically I should have plenty of time.

I used to find time to do outdoor activities such as going on fishing trips, road trips, camping and hiking trips. These days I find myself spending more time indoors like many. Is it the fact that I'm just getting older and since my mind has more things to occupy my time with? Perhaps it's the opposite and my brain cells are dying and I simply forget what I did that day. But then as I talk with others young and older in my circle of family, friends and acquaintances, they all feel the same way. Perhaps, it's the water we drink or maybe it's a government conspiracy, maybe it's the damn computer! Perhaps it's all of the above! Odd.

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a day wasted, what a shame

2011-08-31T23:10:00.000-05:00

Well at least I was able to get out of bed this morning which for some marks it a good day. I guess I expect a bit more out of my days than the highlight of the day is being able to get out of bed. I realize that getting out of bed for many can be an impossible feat sometimes but at the moment since I am mobile and able I want a bit more out of life. Unfortunately, the day was pretty much wasted as I had no motivation nor energy to do anything.

I suppose I shouldn't say that I did absolutely nothing because I attempted to play some guitar today but failed. Focusing on the task at hand was impossible as I kept sneezing every few seconds and my eyes were watering so bad that I could barely see. The lack of sleep from the night before due to hay fever kept me up as I sneezed into dawn. By the time it was time to get out of bed I was already whipped from lack of sleep and just wanted to stay in bed. Walking was difficult and every part of my body hurt from head to toe.

I managed to get to the kitchen for my morning coffee sneezing all the way even with tissue stuck up my nose, I felt miserable. You might be thinking; why not take something for it? Well for the last couple of years I have tried just about every drug out there, prescription and O.T.C trying to find some relief. For me they simply don't work or have such bad side affects that the side affects are worse than the hay fever itself. After abusing nose sprays and Drixorals (acts as an upper and a downer) daily for about 18 years, the body has changed and today reacts strangely to other medications even though I quit taking any meds over 25 yrs ago until recently. Man those were some nasty days....half of the time I didn't know if I was coming or going and the mood swings were incredible. My body has become very sensitive to medications and I end up suffering the side affects of the drug. The only thing I can do is deal with it on daily basis. Some days are better then others but it would be nice if I could just get the hell out of here for about a week and go north.

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Hay fever

2011-08-31T00:00:00.000-05:00

or allergic rhinitis affects many and usually starts around August 15 and runs until the first freeze. For some it may peak usually around the first week in September. I for one have suffered hay fever for over 46 yrs.

Some years have been better but I can remember the times when it lasted me from the beginning of August until the first freeze. Sometimes the first freeze didn't come until November. It was like having a long bad cold with fever and there was no medication that helped. I still remember the days when 5 different nose sprays was a must if I wanted to breathe. Why 5? because when one stopped working due to overuse, I had to switch to a different ingredient. So I would go back and forth between antihistamines and decongestants. Some were 4 hour while others 12 hour. No I didn't follow instruction and didn't care to as all I was concerned was being able to breathe. Unfortunately, doing this for several weeks and sometimes even months did havoc on my body. My blood pressure skyrocketed and my heart was pounding like it was going out of style.

Not only was I abusing nose sprays but I was on an allergy pill called Drixoral, a prescription antihistamine/decongestant drug good for 12 hours. I was taking about 5 a day for almost 18 years. I had a prescription for a 100 which obviously didn't last me too long. At the time my doctor told me to take one when ever I needed to...well that's what I did. I almost killed myself overdosing on allergy meds. Surprisingly, no one ever questioned the amounts and how quickly I was going through the pills. You would think that the pharmacist might have asked my doctor but no...evidently they were only concerned about making a profit.

Hay fever has struck me once again, although it has been fairly mild except for the last few days when breathing once again becomes difficult due to the constant running of the nose and then the congestion. It goes back and forth. I've got fever but for now no body aches except for my sinuses which are totally blocked as I'm writing this. Other symptoms; itchy, watery eyes tickle in my throat and I'm constantly sneezing. The only thing that works for now is stuffing my nose with tissues making me breathe through my mouth.

For most part of the year I still suffer from allergic rhinitis but a simple little pill called Loratadine, an over the counter/ fairly inexpensive antihistamine works adequately but has no affect from August 15th until the first freeze for me. Many years ago I learned that if I went away from what's causing my problem for about a week to ten days, I can come back with no symptoms of hay fever and actually feel great. The place for me was the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I figured that what was happening here to cause my misery had already happened up there so therefore it was a safe place to get away from hay fever. That it was, and for over 30 yrs went to the U.P every year by hook or crook to do some fishing and spend some time writing music. Yup I dragged not only my fishing gear and boat but some of my music equipment as well. Indeed it was a great place to be creative and enjoy the outdoors, sometimes with family and friends but usually by myself as everyone else had school or work. Being self employed had its advantages and I could take off when ever I wanted to so that was never an issue.

These days, after economy went to hell, no more U.P. I've had to suffer the affects of hay fever and deal with it on daily basis. No nose sprays, no drugs O.C or prescription...just be miserable on a daily basis, suck it up, shove tissues up the nose and stay home, indoors mostly unless there is a wind from the north which seems to help. Hay fever is definitely a miserable time and most people have no clue as to how miserable it can be unless you have experienced it. I've had many in the past who have never had allergies or hay fever tell me that there's nothing to it, it's only a cold which will last about a week to ten days. Well not so.... double the misery and then think of it being like having several colds continuously for several months. Many of those now suffer with hay fever, allergies and asthma. All I can say is welcome to my world and laugh!

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keeping busy

2011-08-30T14:26:00.000-05:00

Another musician friend and I were out fishing a few weeks ago when my friend fell flat on his ass while on the boat fishing. Apparently the boat seat had weakened due to rot and fell apart hence my friend's little accident. The plywood underneath the seat which keeps it all together was indeed rotted, they did not use treated plywood, instead just some cheap indoor plywood which should never be used in the outdoor environment. The weather has a tendency to play havoc on the wood and it will eventually rot out. My friend made a comment that these damn seats are made so cheap that you are forced to buying a new one and that you can't even fix them, the way they are made.

Well, in the past I may have just agreed with him and eventually I would have ended up spending a small fortune on new swivel seats for my boat, but the way things are these days with the economy and money worries, spending more money on a luxury item was going to be a tough decision. First, I thought that I would inspect my other seats to see if they were in the same condition. Sure enough, I found them to be in almost as bad condition even though I store them in a dry place and not on my boat when its not in use.

After I got home, the next day I decided to investigate a little more and decided to see whether I could take them apart without damaging the leather. I found the leather underneath to be only stapled on to the wood which made it easy enough to take apart. The brackets which hold the back rest to the seat itself is held with three large screws. Once I began trying to unscrew them, I find them to move as if there was nothing holding them in place, but they weren't coming out no matter how much I tried. Eventually I just ended up cutting the heads off and was able to remove the brackets to access the stapled leather under it. Yeah, this time I didn't try to cut my fingers off with a hacksaw like earlier in the summer.

Once I got the staples off the leather and what was left on the plywood, I was able to inspect things quickly. As a matter of fact, the plywood simply fell apart as the only thing holding it in place was the leather and the foam cushion. I then decided to do the same for the back rest part of the seat and found it to be in the same condition. Before tearing into the other seats, I wanted to see what its going to take and the cost for me to repair one seat. Had I went out and bought a new one, they ranged anywhere from $45-$150 depending on style. My boat has 4 seats so even the cheapest would have ended up costing me $180, perhaps a mere bag of shells for someone working, but I haven't had a job in years and even spending half of that would cut into paying the bills.

I already had the 3/4 inch plywood although the original only had 5/8" for the seat along with 1/2 inch ply used for the back rest from last year when I ended up redoing the deck on the boat. I also decided to weather proof the wood a bit better by coating the ply with polyurethane extending the life even longer. That too I had from a previous project (toy box). 1/2" (for seat) and 1/4" (backrest) staples I already had so nothing was spent there either. The only thing I had to buy were some stainless steel screws and a couple bags of tee nuts for the brackets which cost me a total of $24.

Once I cut the pieces to shape and size, drilled necessary holes for the Tee nuts, I sanded everything and then covered the entire pieces with 3 coats of poly. When they dried, it was simply a matter of putting things back together and stapling the leather back on to the new plywood. The brackets fell together nicely as the new screws bit into the tee nuts and held in place tight. Now onto the next three.

Even if I had gone out to buy the plywood needed, a sheet of 5/8" ext.grade treated plywood would have cost me about $20 and the 1/2" around $15, the over all cost would have still been much cheaper than going out and buying new seats. One sheet of 5/8" x 4'x8' ply would be plenty for both the seat and backrests for all 4 seats with plenty to spare. If I had to go out and buy the plywood, I would have used the 5/8" on both the seat and backrest saving me and extra $15+. 5/8" would make the backrest a bit stronger but making things a little tighter when reassembly. I thought about using 3/4" ply for the backrest but it would have been just a bit too tight of a fit. The only reason I used the 3/4" and 1/2" plywood was because I already had the material and both seemed to work out well costing me nothing.

they shoot horses don't they?

2011-08-23T13:32:00.000-05:00

Shit, it's always something these days! My back went out on me Saturday and I even got hit with my annual hay fever attack last week making life even more miserable. It's amazing that I've been able to work on my grandson's toy box and finish it.Where there's a will, there's a way I suppose.

When my back gives out on me, I know that I need to get out and walk. No, I haven't gained any weight. I'm still right under 180lbs. The problem is that I'm losing the muscle strength not only in back but in my legs as well. Vertigo has prevented me from doing my usual exercises, riding my bike and walking.
I've had vertigo most of the year now. Sometimes it get's to the point where I'm just better off sitting or staying still. It's been getting progressively worse with time. Sometimes it's a catch 22. If I move about, I can fall and seriously hurt myself, but if I don't my muscles begin to deteriorate. When I walk, I stagger like a drunk ready to fall. Even moving around the house, I sometimes lose my balance.

Hopefully, once this hay fever thing passes, I can get out and attempt walking again. It's a must do! Things suck too much otherwise.

Comments always welcome! But don't even think about spamming, especially you ass holes pushing porn.

The finished toy box

2011-08-22T23:31:00.002-05:00

The entire project was built outdoors as I don't have a woodworking shop nor do I have $20M worth of tools. Basically the only power tools used are; an air powered brad gun, router w/3/8" chuck, 8" portable contractor table saw, jig saw and a 10" miter saw. So basically what I'm saying is that although it would be nice to have a work shop filled with a shit load of woodworking tools, it's not necessary.

I started the project back in May. Due to humidity, the rails became warped after assembly and I had to stop and start from the beginning after the humidity lowered. I was able to use some of the styles and rails after cutting it apart. The original size was w44" x d24" x H19". I stored the cut pieces indoors where the humidity was a little more controlled and stable until the weather was just right. It took a while but once I had it assembled, things began going fairly smooth.

The box is 41"w x 22"d x 19"h. Styles and rails are 3/4" x 2 1/2" poplar with mortise and tenon joinery, glued, made on a router table using a 3/8" straight bit. The colored panel inserts are made from lauan, painted, sitting loose in grooves created with the same bit. I would have painted them before assembly should I have known what a pain in the ass painting them was after. The two open cubby holes on the bottom are storage areas for shoes.There are holes on the sides for a hand to move the box. The bottom was cut from 1/2" plywood and painted. It is supported from underneath with strips and nailed using 1" brads.

The lid was also made from poplar, ripped to 5/8" x 3 1/2" strips and sanded. I use my router to create a tongue and groove on each piece and then glued them together. If I had a power planer or a joiner things would have gone much quicker but ya gotta do with what ya got. The overlap on the sides are 1/2" and the front overlap is 1".

Since I had some glossy latex paint left over, I mixed blue and yellow until I got a color of green I liked.

I used piano hinges and special safety hinges to secure the lid to the box. I also built a sliding tray with tracks all from poplar. The tray is made from 1/2" poplar and the bottom of the tray from 1/4" lauan. The outside of the tray is natural wood color with poly urethane.

CRS what is it?

2011-08-19T23:13:00.001-05:00

One of the most frustrating aspects of A.D.D is that I'm always looking for misplaced items. I could be looking straight at the thing and the fact that it's right in front of me, it just doesn't register in my brain. I would be spending hours looking for something and when I finally ask my wife if she has seen it, she often times walks right up to it which is right in front of my nose and says, next time look before you ask. You would think that after 37 years of being married to her that she would finally figure it out. I guess that I have been able to hide the fact that I suffer from A.D.D., which I call CRS....can't remember shit. We know that A.D.D stands for attention deficit disorder right?

Today while I was working on my grandson's toy box, I needed a couple of tools. I knew that I had recently used them and placed them somewhere I could easily find for next time. I spent two hours looking for them and never did find them. I ended up using something else instead. They'll probably show up tomorrow. I often spend more time looking for stuff than I do working on a project. It is one thing that I have never been able to conquer. There are several aspects of ADD which I have been able to work around but being able to find things quickly just ain't one of them.

It's not that I'm disorganized because I'm not. Organization is something I conquered years ago back in music college. It was a course called organization and administration which I did fairly well in. In music and other aspects of work I've been able to be very organized and successful but if you asked me to find something I used earlier in the day or even five minutes ago, I couldn't tell you where I put it. Out of sight, out of mind would be a good explanation maybe. In the past I've organized several successful fundraisers and gigs without a hitch so poor organization in my case isn't the culprit. The problem is that the brain just doesn't register sometimes. Even collecting materials for a project such as the toy box went well as I could vision everything that I would need. Many a time though, one home-improvement store never has all the items so you got to make other trips to other stores wasting more time and energy. How's the box going? I'm almost finished. All I have to do now is to build a sliding tray for it and paint it. If I don't lose any tools I need and the weather cooperates, I should be done tomorrow.

Comments always welcome! But don't even think about spamming, especially you ass holes pushing porn.

_

more on the toy box

2011-08-15T23:22:00.000-05:00

I finished painting the toy box today. I think that it would have been much easier done prior to assembly. Next time, if there is a need for it, I will paint it ahead of time. It's multi color. The styles and rails are red and the flat panels are blue and yellow. The box is quite large in size unlike one would find in a store. It's 41"w x 21" deep and 20" high. I still need to make the lid and a sliding/removable tray. The tray will move from side to side and can be lifted out. I haven't thought about how I'm going to make that yet. Maybe I'll just play it by ear for now and perhaps see where it will lead me as I begin working on it.

The lid will probably be made from individual wood pieces perhaps 3/4" x 2 1/2" glued together with tongue and groove for strength. I will attach it with a piano hinge and safety hinges to prevent the lid from coming down hard on the little fingers. I really don't have any plans to follow on any part of this toy box. I'm just going with the flow and letting it take me where it needs to go.

Comments always welcome! But don't even think about spamming, especially you ass holes pushing porn.
_

no whining...move on

2011-08-13T17:41:00.000-05:00

It's been about 6 weeks since I got hit in the left hand with a sledge hammer. 5 weeks since I almost cut my middle finger, same hand, off with a hack saw cutting a rusted bolt. I didn't whine about it in either case and shook it off as much as I could. I couldn't afford to go to the hospital in either case so about the only thing I could do was to shake it off.

I did have to go see my doctor the following Monday to make sure that my middle finger wouldn't get infected. He had to stitch it up as it was pretty bad. The hand itself even after the blow from the sledge hammer seemed to be fine although it's still a bit tender to the touch...but no broken bones. The finger had nerve damage and although it feels like when you're arm or leg falls a sleep, all the time, I've managed to play a little guitar...not much...feels too weird for now to use the middle finger but am managing fine doing other things. It's going to take some time for the nerve to heal, that is if it's ever going to heal. The problem with getting older is that things just take much longer to heal than it did 10 - 20 years ago.

I started working on a project for my grandson, building a toy box from scratch. I wanted to make it like fine furniture as that was more challenging for me than just building it out of plywood or particle board. Sure I could have easily done that but where the challenge? No, I've never built furniture or a toy box before and no I do not have a work shop with ten to twenty thousand dollars worth of tools. All I have is the outdoors, a router and a portable 10" table saw and a need for a challenge. My son asked me to help him build a toy box back in May for my grand son's 1st birthday which was in June. But one thing led to another and it just never got built in time. Since my work shop is the outdoors the weather had a lot to do with what I could do as the humidity plays a huge roll in warping the wood. The box came out quite well and I'm in the process of painting it. More on it later.

Comments always welcome! But don't even think about spamming, especially you ass holes pushing porn.

some major changes

2011-08-13T13:31:00.000-05:00

I got tired of getting spam from ass hole porn pushers and not only changed my link but I will also expand my subject to a more broader base. These pricks will no doubt try to spam me again once they find my new link but the hell with them, they can go fuck them selves! Two times!!!!!!!

Comments always welcome! But don't even think about spamming, especially you ass holes pushing porn.

more on miracle lady

2011-07-21T11:46:00.000-05:00

I took my mother to her doctor the other day and noticed that the doctor had a whole different attitude and respect not only to her but me as well. It was a bit strange as he treated us like we were friends instead of just a patient with a son bringing his mother in and not knowing much about her situation. I suppose that he realizes that neither one of us are simply just the norm that he deals with on daily basis. I probably take care of my mother better than most people do in my situation. I don't know how many times I've been told that I should be commended for my efforts and how others in my situation would feel it a burden to take care of an elderly person with as many problems as my mother has. I simply tell them that no matter how bad things may be, an elderly family member should not become a burden, it is our responsibility to take care of them...after all did they not take care of us through thick and thin through our childhood? Did they not sacrifice their time and efforts for our well being?

I certainly can understand many situations when a family member needs to go else where, such as a nursing home, as in my mother's case, but you can't just shove them there and leave them. A lot goes on at a nursing home and if you are not keeping track of their care, they could be easily neglected. As the old saying goes; out of site out of mind. I make a point of stopping by daily. If I can't go, then I send some one else.

I too have had my share of problems recently and have been lucky that things weren't worse than things sound. Perhaps miraculous, I don't know. Earlier this month, I was hit in my left hand between my thumb and first finger with a sledge hammer. OUCH! Yeah that hurt! But I didn't end up with broken bones, just a nasty bruise. Two weeks later the middle finger of the same hand ended up getting a severe cut by a hack saw which struck the bone and damaged a nerve. Fortunately I knew where to apply pressure to stop the bleeding and washed the injury. The skin was separated and it needed stitches. It was late Saturday and my doctor had already left his office. I had a choice, do the best I can and see what comes of it, bandaging the wound keeping it clean, or rush to the hospital where I would be treated maybe in the next 6 hours ending up with a bill around a thousand dollars. Without medical insurance, I couldn't afford the latter so I did the best I could under the circumstances.

Since my doctor gives me a break and understands my situation, I decided to go show him the error of my ways the following Monday morning. Obviously the first thing he said was you should have got stitches immediately for it but.....He said that I seemed to have kept it clean and saw no evidence of infection. He asked me if I needed something for the pain. What pain? It just felt as if someone was pricking me with a dull pin. He just stared at me. It was too late for stitches even though the cut was wide,long and it wasn't bleeding. He glued some mini strips pulling the skin together so it would heal better and bandaged it up. I would change the dressing on it several times a day and continue using triple antibiotic ointment on the wound as I did almost immediately after the cut.

Yesterday, the mini strips and bandages came off for good. The wound looks ok but still feels like someone is sticking me with a pin. Can't play guitar yet, but I can deal with it a while longer until it totally heals. I do therapy on the fingers daily so I won't lose the touch and manipulation of the finger. It seems to be coming along nicely.

Talking about therapy, my mother, get this; legally blind, collapsed left hip, no cartilage left in the knees and are bone on bone, heart problems and did I say she's 90, took her first steps since she got out of the hospital. She was excited to say that she managed to walk 20 steps the first time. Granted she had to use parallel bars to hang on to but taking 20 steps the first time really gave her a sign that her strength is coming back. Yesterday she repeated the 20 steps and she sounded pumped. It just goes to show that irregardless of age and the situation one is in, you can't just give up! You just got to do the best you can and then hope for the best. Sometimes we get lucky!

take charge of your health get out and do something!

Miracle Lady?

2011-06-26T23:07:00.000-05:00

The hairline crack in my shin had finally healed and I started walking again. For now they have to be short distances as I build up my stamina . I still ride my bike almost daily although I had a few instances where exercise, any exercise was out due to lack of time.

My 90 yr old mother had a nasty fall recently and ended up in the hospital emergency room and then into intensive care followed by telemetry. She needed surgery but since she is a high risk surgery was on, off, on and off. The doctors said without surgery she would die. Her chances on the cutting table was less than 20%. Guess which route we went. My mother showed them alright and survived without surgery. She is now back at the nursing home and receiving therapy to get her back to where she was before she fell.

She's been called the miracle lady by several doctors as she's had so many close to death experiences in the past eleven years and survived the odds each time. What makes things difficult for doctors is the fact that my mother is a Jehovah Witness. They are not allowed to receive blood.....yup a little whacky but I respect her convictions. Somehow she just seems to recover even after losing a lot of blood. Just like recently she lost a lot of blood from the gash in her head and bleeding internally from a perforated colon. Most folks her age would have not survived the ordeal. Not bad for a 90 year old!!!

take charge of your health get out and do something!

Don't quit too easily

2011-05-31T12:00:00.000-05:00

I suppose that I'm a good example of that. I've had plenty of ups and downs and even though I've wanted to quit, I just couldn't do it. From the time I was a kid, I had many an obstacle to overcome and learned that when you fall down, you get back up and either continue or start from the beginning.

Even though I've had recent problems with post herpetic neuralgia, respiratory problems, hip pain, knee ptoblems, hairline fracture on my left tibia (shin bone) and swollen ankles, I found a way around them. Sometimes it's quite obvious and perhaps looking at you right in the face. In my case, it was a bicycle. Still is. I have a few more weeks before the fracture heals up so even walking is out. I still have signs of PHN, but, now I'm back to being 180Lbs and my blood pressure is normal because I found another means (It hasn't been that since I was a preteen). I ride my bicycle just about daily to get a good work out.

I will say one thing, that last 13lbs I put on over winter was incredibly hard to get off. No matter what I did ended up giving me more physical problems and there were times when I felt it to be hopeless.

take charge of your health get out and do something!

_

break the routine into 3 parts.

2011-05-11T12:36:00.001-05:00

For the last couple of days, I've broken down my outdoor activities in 3. In the morning, I get out and walk, now that the swelling in my ankles have subsided. I spend some time riding my bicycle in the afternoon and then again in the evening. This way I'm not overdoing it and am getting a good workout for the day. I don't sit around watching tv. Let's face it there's really nothing on there worth watching so I would rather do something a bit more constructive, besides if I'm not sitting, watching the stupid thing, I won't have an urge to stuff my face with all sorts of crap. I certainly don't want to spend most of my time indoors now that warmer weather is upon us. It was a long and hard winter for us and have been waiting for a warm up.

For the time being I'm back on track. I still don't have a vehicle to get me around so it's either walk or ride my bicycle. Unfortunately, around here everything is so far away including mass transit.

I've come across many a folk who after seeing me out there almost daily, have begun walking, jogging and even bike riding. I often end up talking with these folks from my neighborhood and they tell me that I shame them into it. They see this old fart out there walking ,jogging and riding a bike so they start thinking that they ought to start doing something as well. One guy told me after seeing me riding my bike that he never thought about doing that. He just figured that riding a bike is for kids. He got his son's bike out and joined me. He hadn't ridden a bike in years and took to it like a duck to water. It's something you never forget to do once you learn how. After the ride he told me that he was going to get one for himself and his wife. It was fun!

take charge of your health get out and do something!

_

what do you do when you can't walk or jog due to swollen ankles?

2011-05-09T13:33:00.000-05:00

Well, if you're anything like me who wants to get outside into the fresh air, get a good cardio, lung and muscle workout, an old fashion bicycle is a way to go. A 3,5 or 10+ speed is a lot easier than a one speed but a bit more costly. I use a 3 speed since I have one which I inherited from my father, who inherited it from his uncle. It's a bike somewhere from the late 60's, early 70's, but in very good condition.

To be honest, I would have never thought that i would be riding a bicycle at my age. Here I am pushing 62 and riding a two wheeler using pedal power. Most folks my age wouldn't think of riding one unless it was stationary. But for me it has become my latest form of transportation. My car has broken down and is too costly to get it fixed at the moment so I'm stuck either walking or bicycling to where I need to go when one of my kids can't take me. But since my ankles are swollen and walking or jogging is definitely not in the picture for the time being, the bike is my transportation.

Building up endurance on it is like walking and jogging, a slow process, since the body just isn't used to using all those muscles needed for pedal power, muscles get tired and achy real fast. The hardest getting used to is the seat which is killing my ass, too bony I suppose, (not the bicycle seat LOL) if I go long distances....

I can feel the muscles working as I pedal. Sometimes I'm huffing and puffing as I feel the lungs getting a good workout too. Even my heart rate kicks up giving it the needed cardio workout. Yup, a bike is a good way to go if one has ankle or feet problems. I'm also saving on gas if I need to run to the store for something.

take charge of your health get out and do something!

_

swelling of the ankles

2011-05-06T15:08:00.000-05:00

I've had a lot of discomfort along with swelling in both ankles for the last several weeks now. It is a side affect from a med I've been taking for my hypertension called Amlodipine Besylate (Norvask). Amlodipine is a calcium blocker which helps with blood flow due to too much calcium in my arteries. Walking has been almost impossible due to the swelling and discomfort. I stopped taking the drug temporarily to see whether it made any difference.

I feel a hell of a lot better now than I did while taking the drug. I don't feel tired and I seem to have a little more energy. The swelling in my ankles seem to be dissipating although walking long distances are still a bit difficult. But, I managed to overcome that and pulled out my old bicycle from storage and began riding it. I hadn't ridden a bike in a couple of years and discovered that I can get one hell of a workout pedaling it. I've lost a few more pounds along with 3 more inches off my waist. Bike on!

take charge of your health get out and do something!

don't wait until it's too late

2011-04-25T10:20:00.000-05:00

It's always something when you get to be over 60 so I would suggest to take advantage of the time you got because things get tougher and tougher as we age. Many of us say they can do it later and keep procrastinating until one day you find that you've hit that age where your body is fighting you every move. Let's face it unless you are active on daily basis from a young age, your body can not handle the stress of activity. It's such a damn slow process.

Even though I've been at it for the last six years, it's been a tough battle because the body just can't take it. I keep plugging at it because it's my nature not to give up no matter how difficult things appear or what I have to endure. I know how much better I feel during and after. It's a revitalization of the mind and body irregardless of how far we can go. Distance doesn't matter, it's only and ego thing not that there's anything wrong with that, because the further one goes the more tolerant the body becomes. But isn't it all about how good we feel after?

I've been walking/jogging combination up to 5k thus far regularly but find that I get a burning sensation in my left ankle after a while. Also, both ankles are swollen. I have a good suspicion of the burning sensation as I've gone through that in the past. What that is indicating is a possible small fracture. I consume Omeprazole (Prilosec) for my stomach and have been for quite some time. There is a warning about the possibilities of bone fractures caused by the medicine after a prolonged use. The last time this happened to me, I ended up slowing down considerably for about 6 weeks. I still managed to walk after bandaging my shin as that's where the tiny fracture ended up at. This time it appears to be on the ankle perhaps both.

Well, I can't sit around wallowing in my own misery. I must simply bandage both ankles and get out and hope for the best slowing down slightly! Oh well!

take charge of your health get out and do something!

_

don't live in the past

2011-04-21T11:48:00.001-05:00

is what I keep telling my 90 year old mother living in a nursing home and can barely walk. She is pretty much confined to a wheel chair for most part. I had to get a doctor's orders for the folks at the nursing home so they would walk with her on daily basis. She can now walk between 80 and 150 steps.

What brought me telling her what I did was that she wanted to go to a church function last Sunday and insisted that she is able to get out of her wheel chair and climb into a car or an suv. She kept saying that she could do it since she was able to a couple of years ago. I had to show her reality and I could see the disappointment on her face. Sometimes we tend to take things unrealistically and think we can do stuff we did years ago when in fact we haven't done it in quite some time. We take so many things for granted and then become disappointed when reality slaps us in the face. The only thing that really matters is what we are able to do right now!

I've realized that as I have been struggling just to get back to where I was last year at this time. Shingles among other illnesses had sucked the life out of me over winter making it difficult even to walk a short distance let alone go outside in to the cold. For me it's been starting all over from scratch. But that's nothing new for me as I've had many a set back since I began this journey back in 2005.

My blood pressure is down to 122/80 and I've lost 6 pounds in the past week so I feel accomplished. I still have a long way to go but I am not a quitter! Today I ran .75 mi. and my breathing regulated itself within a short time so although my progress may be slow, I am gaining ground little by little.

take charge of your health get out and do something!

_

132/80

2011-04-07T11:57:00.000-05:00

was my blood pressure after seeing my doctor earlier this morning. I'm a little surprised since I can't remember ever having my blood pressure being that low. It's always been high, from my teens on up. The highest it got was 220/180 and then averaged out around 160/110. Once it was down to 145/96 but never any lower than that until now. WOW!

take charge of your health get out and do something! NOW!

things are looking up!

2011-04-03T22:48:00.000-05:00

I took a break today, but have gotten a good workout all week even with an ear infection. My right ear was totally deaf again and my left ear would be in and out. I sure have had a lot of ear problems ever since I was down in New Orleans helping out with recovery right after Katrina. Before that, I could count the number of times in my lifetime I've had ear problems in one hand. These days it seems to be a regular thing.

Anyway, I've been out walking my 5k or so and then running as fast as I can for 20-30 seconds, slowly building my endurance. I've even lost a few pounds and am feeling a little more energetic. Taking in a few less calories has made a difference as well, I don't feel tired all the time. Naturally warmer weather has been a huge boost for my morale. My memory is getting better by the day as well and can remember things I just couldn't remember the last several months. Remembering anything on the guitar was just not happening!

Did I mention that my ear popped open yesterday but then shut down again for the night. It popped again this morning, and it has felt great to be able to hear normally. I s'pose it'll shut down again as soon as I lay my head down. Usually both ears shut down where I can't hear a thing. I sure hope that there won't be a fire or anything because I won't be able to hear my family yelling at me. Well enough of thinking negative, tomorrow is another day and I'm looking forwards to getting out!

take charge of your health get out and do something!

_

What is BMI?

2011-03-30T15:59:00.000-05:00

Well, I know two; One is; Broadcast Music, Inc. collects license fees on behalf of its songwriters, composers and music publishers and distributes them as royalties ...

The other one has to do with body mass index. It is a measurement of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both men and women between the ages of 18 and 65 years. This is the one we are more concerned with right now as it will give us a pretty good insight on whether we are normal, overweight or obese.

Underweight.........................Less than 18.5
Healthy weight......................18.5 to 24.9
Overweight...........................25 to 29.9
Obese...................................30 and higher

Want to find out where you stand? http://www.healthyadvice.com/weight-loss-obesity/BMI-calculator?ref=WeightTool

Recently, I found mine to be 28.4 due to lack of mobility...now changed. I hope to get this under control again soon. I also found my waist size to increase from 34 to 42, another thing to deal with.

Measuring waist circumference helps screen for possible health risks that come with overweight and obesity. If most of your fat is around your waist rather than at your hips, you’re at a higher risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This risk goes up with a waist size that is greater than 35 inches for women or greater than 40 inches for men. To correctly measure your waist, stand and place a tape measure around your middle, just above your hipbones. Measure your waist just after you breathe out.

For people who are considered obese (BMI greater than or equal to 30) or those who are overweight (BMI of 25 to 29.9) and have two or more risk factors, it is recommended that you lose weight. Even a small weight loss (between 5 and 10 percent of your current weight) will help lower your risk of developing diseases associated with obesity. People who are overweight, do not have a high waist measurement, and have fewer than two risk factors may need to prevent further weight gain rather than lose weight.

take charge of your health get out and do something!

_

calories in, calories out...what's that mean?

2011-03-30T15:03:00.000-05:00

I figured out what my problem has been while I was out walking today. Incidentally I'm back to 5k after a difficult climb. I still have a long way to go but for now I'll take the 5k as a start.

My problem has to do with calories in, calories out. When I ended up getting shingles late last year, followed by post herpetic neuralgia among other ailments lasting several months, the amount of calories I burned were very little. My caloric intake which is 2,120 a day stayed the same instead of me reducing it down to perhaps 1,800 or less due to lack of mobility. The number 2,120 is based on the calories needed daily for me to keep up with my specific daily exercise routine.

When one eats more calories than is being burned, gaining weight is the outcome. The extra calories are stored as body fat. A pound of fat is made up of 3,500 stored calories. So for every 3,500 unused calories, 1 lb is gained.

So let's say during my incapacitation period I was only burning off 1,200 calories and my intake was 2120, that left 920 unused calories. So, within a four day period, I've gained over 3,500 unused calories which turned into fat. I just gained a pound! As you can see, the pounds add up fairly quickly.

What I need to do now is to get rid of all that excess fat two ways. One is to step up my daily exercise which I did today, and the second is to cut down on my caloric intake slightly. I know that by kicking up my exercise routine burned and extra 250 calories today. If I can cut my caloric intake by another 250, that will make it 500 for the day. To lose one pound in a week, I have to do this daily. 500 calories X 7 days = 3,500 calories or 1 pound.

So for the time being I need to change my caloric intake from 2,120 to 1,870 or kick up the jams even more so that I'm burning off 500 extra calories during my daily routine. Either way will be a difficult task but manageable.

take charge of your health get out and do something!

_

another damn set back

2011-03-27T17:27:00.000-05:00

Well I suppose all one can do is just shake one's head, crack a smile and move on hoping to recoup once again. Yup it's been a tough winter for me which started off with shingles, then post herpetic neuralgia, hypertension and now an ear infection. I can feel some crazy changes going on in my body these days; anywhere from nasty headaches to my leg going numb. But life goes on and so must I. Like the doc says ya ain't gettin' any younger so be careful!

I'm not one to sit around feeling sorry for myself, wallowing in self pity so moving forward is a must. It's crazy though, I've put on 13 Lbs. for no reason within a short period of time. My blood pressure is sky high and I feel like crap all the time. Me thinks that it's those damn pills the doc gave me for hypertension but he seems to think otherwise. I hate taking damn pills! I took enough of em when I was young and was hooked on them for 18 years. I was popping them like they were going out of style. It took me a long time to break away from the dependency. I vowed that I would never take them again and yet here I am popping pills twice a day.

Six years ago I started taking control of my health and began walking. My blood pressure went down, my body got stronger by the day and I felt great most of the time. Three years ago, I started jogging and began to gain all sorts of strength not only in my body but mentally as well. I got my weight down to 176 lbs. before things just went down hill. These days, I can barely remember what I did half hour ago let alone 5 minutes ago. I first noticed things going wry when I got the swine flu back in 2009. My body has never quite recuperated since. At least I survived it! Somehow I feel that my past has a lot to do with what's going on these days. The times are catching up to me. Ah the old saying..."what you do today will affect you tomorrow" is here. For me it's now tomorrow!

So anyway.... I got all bundled up today from head to toe and went for a nice long walk. I could feel that cold north wind cutting through the several layers of clothing. It was one of those Chicago bone chilling winds which has a tendency to affect one's core. At least my head was warm and so were my ears! Hopefully something else won't pop up!

take charge of your health get out and do something!

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5k

2011-03-14T13:42:00.000-05:00

I finally got back to the 5K mark. It's been quite some time since I was at that point. I struggled to get to it as my joints hurt like hell from arthritis. But I know for a fact that the arthritis will get better as I begin moving much, much more as the days pass. Since it's getting warmer out, getting out daily won't be a hassle.

take charge of your health get out and do something!

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In Training

2011-03-10T14:18:00.000-06:00

I decided to sign up for a walking event in June held for cancer research. There were three main reasons why I did it. One was because I was asked to by my granddaughter and another perhaps a bit selfish on my own side was for me.

I'm not usually gung ho for these types of events due to the fact that most of the money raised goes towards administrative costs instead of what the main intention of them are. I've dealt with many so called non profit organizations in the past only to find out the pennies out of a dollar actually goes to help in the cause while the rest of it goes for administrative costs....which in my opinion is a bunch of crap as many of these administrators make 3-4 times what we make. Many claim that they are there because they want to help...yeah right! If you are so dedicated then why not take a pay cut down to a realistic amount or do it for free? It ain't gonna happen! Instead of lining their own pockets with public donations why not utilize majority of the funds in what counts rather than the opposite.

But since I was asked, how could I refuse my granddaughter. I also figured that this was something I needed personally to get me motivated to a higher level. I've been getting out on regular basis but the walks haven't quite been at a level I need to be to where I will exceed. There have been problems such as respiratory and arthritic joint pain which has held me back. But then again I had it in the past and was able to overcome it. I've just been overly cautious due to recent events. Now it's time to get my groove back.

The last reason was that a friend had just died due to a heart attack. He wasn't much older than me and seemed to have many health issues recently. Ironically he beat the odds when it came to cancer but couldn't do anything for his heart and arteries. He wasn't over weight but his cholesterol levels were sky high from eating too much unhealthy, rich, fatty foods. He had a few bypasses in the past but never got into eating healthy or exercising. I see similarities among many of my friends and acquaintances some who still continue smoking even after knowing what the outcome may be. We are such a dense society! I suppose that if I can help others while helping myself at the same time maybe it won't be too selfish of me.

take charge of your health get out and do something!

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on my way

2011-03-01T00:04:00.000-06:00

It was a bit chilly today but managed to get out anyway. It felt great as I managed to walk a normal route and length without tiring. It just goes to show that I'm on my way to recovery!

take charge of your health get out and do something!

_

Got to atleast try!

2011-02-24T13:34:00.000-06:00

I've been getting out regularly and have been walking a little further each day. I'm back up to about a quarter of a mile. The lungs just won't allow me to go any further for now. It's been tough starting from scratch especially for a person who has been jogging and walking several miles at a time.

My lungs are back to the point where I was when I had to quit gigging. Any contact to cigarette smoke or with people who smoke affect me in such a way that I just end up with an asthma attack. The mucus builds up to the point where breathing becomes difficult and throwing up is eminent. I try to stay away from situations and people who smoke but that can't always be done. I can't lock myself up and live like a hermit for the rest of my life. I MUST overcome this!

Yup all that exposure to second hand smoke during my younger days has indeed caught up with me. But I can't sit around feeling sorry for myself. I must move ahead and try to get back to the level I had been, if that's possible anymore. Got to atleast try!

take charge of your health get out and do something! Have a cigarette!

_

three in a row

2011-02-18T22:54:00.000-06:00

wow three days in a row! It was a beautiful day with the temps in the 50's and sunny. The snow has all melted and the sun felt good on my face as I got out to walk this morning. I walked further than yesterday and the lungs felt ok but the leg muscles began to hurt. Good! That means that I'm working those muscles and perhaps getting them back to where they need to be.

take charge of your health get out and do something!

_

can't remember much these days? Perhaps it's....

2011-02-17T12:21:00.000-06:00

Aside from the obvious, lack of exercise may affect your memory and focus. This has definitely been quite noticeable in my case. I noticed things getting bad recently due to lack of mobility because of my illness. I would forget most common memories and names I knew like the back of my hand. Focusing had become something I had conquered from age 50 on up where prior to that I had adult ADD. As a child I suffered from ADHD..but it wasn't called that, I was just called stupid and socially maladjusted.

When I began a daily routine of exercise all of a sudden I began soaking in information as there was no way for me to retain that in the past. It went in one ear and out the other. As I got older, I would remember names quite easily and retain much of the information given to me. Focusing on normal tasks and learning new stuff in music and other things got very easy for me. I could sit and practice something and then recall it several days later. I could remember each and every prescription and the dosages of the medication my mother had been taking. I didn't need a list. I knew every nurse and aid by their first name at the hospitals and nursing home where she was. In the past that was not possible.

Recently I've noticed that my mind seems to be going back to the maladjustment era and I seem to forget much of the simple memories and many of the names that came to me so easily. Even practicing music has become difficult and no matter how I try to focus, it's to no avail. I can go over something a hundred times only to forget it 5 minutes later. If someone was to ask me what medications and dosages my mother is taking, I would have problems with that. Being able to associate names with the faces I've recognized earlier got me stumped. Granted as we get older our memory gets worse but then again why did mine start getting better? Probably because I was able to exercise my brain more and it was getting enough activity! As the saying goes use it or lose it!

My goal is to get back both physically and mentally, if possible, back to where I was when I was forced into non activity. I've been able to get out these last two days but only walk. Today I walked twice as far as yesterday without the discomforts I had yesterday. I did feel dizzy, out of breath as expected. I have to rebuild my lung capacity. My lungs have always been my downfall.

take charge of your health get out and do something!

_

I had to do

2011-02-07T10:28:00.000-06:00

...... a bit more shoveling snow. This time it was at my mother's house. It was impossible for anyone including the mail person to even get close to the house. The sidewalks were covered knee deep and there were huge piles of it caused by snow plows passing by. I managed to get some of it cleared but still have a long way to go. I could only spend about an hour and a half shoveling it as it was pretty heavy stuff and I'd get whipped. Taking several rests in between was an important factor as I don't need a heart attack at this stage in the game. I'm not getting any younger.

When I got home last night, I felt like a ton of bricks had fallen on me. It really was some hard work! I need to go back and do some more shoveling, but maybe not today, we'll see how things progress and how I feel later in the day. It is a great way for me to whip my body back in shape, but, I have to be careful not to over do it, after all the doc told me not to shovel snow. But then again when do I listen to the docs? I'm just a stubborn old fart that does stuff that needs to get done rather than relying on others. In my experience, when you rely on others, most of the time it just don't get done.

take charge of your health get out and do something!
_

ooh that's sore

2011-02-05T11:11:00.000-06:00

Got out yesterday and had to shovel two feet of snow from my driveway. The driveway is about 50 feet long. Luckily the wife gave me hand because there was no way I could have done that by myself. It had to be done if we wanted to get out or anyone in. We had a blizzard Tuesday and Wednesday with below 0 F temps Thursday so we didn't get out until yesterday. It was the 3rd worst blizzard the Chicago area ever had.

It did me wonders and it was great exercise. Even though I didn't over do it, my leg and arm muscles sure feel it today. I still need to go and clean my mother's house so we can get in and the mail lady can leave mail. Yes I know, don't over do it, little at a time, I'm in no big hurry!

take charge of your health get out and do something!

_

I forced myself

2011-01-29T19:05:00.001-06:00

..... to go out and walk today. I'm sure it did my body wonders just to get out of the house after all this time. The weather wasn't great but warmer than it has been all month. I literally had to start from scratch. By that I mean start by walking a few hundred yards at a time. I was exhausted after about 400 yds. and had to turn back.

Now, if I can do this again tomorrow perhaps I'll be on my way to feeling better again in no time. I'm tired of popping pills for pain and hypertension. It's a matter of getting back to my normal routine if possible.

_

It SUCKS!

2011-01-27T10:04:00.000-06:00

Things have totally sucked thus far ever since I ended up with shingles back in November of 2010. Even my blood pressure has gone up and am stuck taking a calcium blocker to deal with it. I feel like crap all the time and my muscles are definitely deteriorating.

I can remember not too long ago when I had a nice buff look and felt pretty strong. I could feel the hard leg muscles in my thighs and calves and now they are like putty. Damn!

I still can't go out for long periods of time even if I bundle up as my body just begins to ache from the cold. Yesterday I went out for a while and my damaged nerves due to postherpetic neuralgia from shingles had a field day with me. I'm still having some issues this morning. Last night was rough too.

As I've stated before, the more you sit on your ass, the less your muscles work and end up as putty. It's no wonder so many older folks end up in wheel chairs. I see that I've got a lot of work to do in the near future providing this damn PHN ever goes away!
_

2 weeks into the new year

2011-01-17T10:16:00.001-06:00

Two weeks into the new year already. The creepy crawlers (nerve pain) from postherpetic neuralgia kicked in again this morning. The pain is tolerable but quite annoying. Changes in weather and the cold has a tendency to make things worse. I go through chills, fever and some severe headaches throughout the day but manage to get through it. I want to get outside so bad and yet I can't unless things warm up a bit more which is unlikely since the temps will be in the single digits this week. Is it spring yet?

I spent the better part of the new year working on a video with music background and just uploaded it to YouTube. It's my very first attempt in creating this type of a video and I must say, it was indeed a great learning experience. I took some clips from various fishing trips I took my buddy Bill Wisniewski who also plays sax and my son Phil who plays bass and put them together. It's called here's to good times. Here's the video:

For over 30 years I used to go up to the north woods, Michigan's Upper Peninsula in the fall to go fishing. Not only did it prepare me mentally for winter but it was my inspiration for creativity in music. I find it somewhat odd that for the last few years where I was unable to go to the U.P., I ended up with some major health problems over the winter periods. Perhaps it's all mental or perhaps it's due to being older and my body really took a beating when I got the swine flu a couple of years ago. Things just never have been even close to being normal for me. All I know is I need to go to the U.P. and soak up some life's energy (healing of the soul) from nature before things get better for me. Hopefully this year will allow me monetarily to take the trip.

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new year resolutions

2010-12-28T13:03:00.000-06:00

I'm already hearing some new years resolutions about losing weight, exercise, walking and jogging. Knock it off! It ain't gonna happen! You are dreaming.

Fact is that over 50% will quit in the first month, another 25% the following month and only maybe 5% will stick it out. Unless you have a plan and some goals; long term and short you are only kidding yourselves.

Many of us make these stupid resolutions and then never follow up on them once we find out that its too hard! We make all sorts of excuses why we don't do it. Many times we think that we are not making any headway because we expect too much to start off with. We don't realize nor celebrate the little gains we make, so we get frustrated and give up. If you think that you are going to lose a lot of weight in a month without a plan, let me save you the trouble now before you even get started. Quit now since you will quit within a couple of weeks anyway if not before! Shut UP! Yeah, I'm out of line! Prove me wrong!

Many will go out and buy exercise equipment and will end up sitting in some corner never to be used again. Some will join a health club only to find them crowded,unsanitary and a hassle or you end up having no time to bother going.

Another fact is that you need to change your lifestyle instead of continuing with the same poor eating habits and lack of exercise. Too many of us are happy with the status quot and are unwilling to change. The change has to be not only by one but by all family members in the same boat. You need to make a commitment and stick to it otherwise you will FAIL!

Here's my point and proof of the pudding so to speak. Start off by cutting down the sodium in your food by a lot. Because most people use so much salt (sodium) in their food, it creates high blood pressure not to mention water gain. Salt absorbs water and retains it in your body hence swollen ankles etc. I bet most of you can't even do that for a week. Oooh the food doesn't taste right with out salt. Use other non sodium alternatives for taste. Forget the walking, jogging or going to the health club, wasting your money unless you get a trainer and start off by cutting out the sodium first and then sugar in your diet. Those two items will make a huge difference in starting to get a handle on your health. Once you get that in control, that is IF you can, then get out; walk,jog or join a health club. Otherwise, SHUT UP, I don't want to hear it!

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frustration

2010-12-24T11:46:00.000-06:00

It's been so difficult for me to do anything these days. The pain has been to the point where going outside into the cold makes it worse. I've been pretty much stuck indoors and immobile with pain sometimes in my back while other times by my rib cage. In most cases it's been pretty intense. There has been times where I've wanted to scream from frustration as the damn pain just won't go away!

_

not recommended

2010-12-21T15:24:00.000-06:00

Got out and shoveled some snow this morning. It had snowed all night and we are expecting more to come so I wanted to get a handle on it. Its not something I recommend unless you know that you are healthy enough to shovel snow. Most guys my age would end up having a heart attack shoveling snow. It was the heavy wet kind and I sure got a great work out since I couldn't get out to jog. Most people don't bother shoveling their sidewalk so I would have had to jog on the road which has heavy traffic to get to my usual jogging area. It would have been a little too risky with conditions.

Later in the day I did get out and walked a bit and noticed the slippery conditions which simply confirmed my earlier thoughts that jogging could indeed be dangerous for me. Walking down the street even a block was a matter of dodging traffic in either direction.

My left rib area is still quite sore. The skin is very sensitive as the nerves have been damaged by shingles (postherpetic neuralgia). When ever even a piece of clothing touches the skin, it feels like its on fire. Exercise seems to help while I'm doing it but the pain comes right back after. It is going to be slow going for sure!

_

when you fall down you get up and move on.....

2010-12-17T14:43:00.000-06:00

atleast until you fall down again like I've done so many a time. Will I fall down again? Probably! We never know what is just around the corner and all we can do is, do our best at the moment.

I feel stronger each day as I make more personal victories. Acknowledging even small ones and having some pride in them keeps me going. As a matter of fact they have for the last 5+ years.

My victory for today was having the ability to jog 2.54 mi., a little over twice as far as yesterday. Sure, I felt the agony but I had made up my mind that I would finish jogging two loops. It wasn't a plan at first but as I completed my first one, I felt pretty good and confident that I could do another. One would think that since I've been doubling my lengths that tomorrow I will do the same. Nah, I don't think so. I'm not ready for 5 miles yet. I'll be happy if I can do the same as today and build up my strength first before attempting 5 miles.

I do have a goal, a long term goal; which is to get back to jogging 6-8 miles. I say 6-8 because it depends on how my arthritis acts up and sometimes I need to cut it short..

_

a victory

2010-12-16T14:33:00.000-06:00

I feel quite proud of myself today after jogging 1.2 miles. Covering my mouth from the cold really helped a lot. It took me a bout a half mile before my breathing became regular and after that things were a cinch. In the beginning there were moments when the pain got to the point where I wanted to turn tail and go home. But, I just knew that I could go on as I've been there before and by going forwards, things will get better.

So for an old fart like me with PHN (postherpetic neuralgia) and stage 1 hypertension, being able to do this at 61 has been an incredible victory for me with more possibilities to come.

_

small but much appreciated accomplishment

2010-12-15T14:06:00.000-06:00

Today was a better day as I managed to double my jogging length from yesterdays measly 369 yards to .42 mi just short of a half a mile. My lungs were burning from sucking in the frigid air but my legs didn't give out. Tomorrow I must remember to cover my mouth with maybe a scarf. I am prone to bronchitis and the cold air can easily trigger it.

It certainly is not even close to what I have been able to jog in the past but I still feel mighty good about the fact that I was able to do it even with postherpetic neuralgia pain. YAY! It is a sign of moving forward. As long as I remember to keep my goals little and celebrate the small accomplishments, I will be back to normal in time. Tomorrow is another day.

_

a start to recovery

2010-12-14T13:59:00.001-06:00

Went out for a bit of a walk/jog. I have to admit I felt like one of those fat people on the tv show The Biggest Loser who had to run a mile to get on the show. Even some of them made it further than I did. All I could do was jog about 369 yards before my legs began to give out on me.

It all goes to show you that you don't have to be obese and be out of shape. I'm as of this morning's doctor visit, about 186 lbs and out of shape for a guy my height 5'9.5". Sure, I have some excuses and the temps are down to single digits with wind chills below 0 degrees F. but never the less I do feel frustrated. I'm not frustrated from how far I could jog, I'm frustrated because I'm out of shape after working my ass off to get in shape and then end up with shingles and having to sit an my ass for 6 weeks.

But there are no guarantees in life and we just have to take the punches as they come. If ya get knocked down ya just gotta get back up. You just keep trying and trying until you get it right. Too many folks quit too quickly because, well its H-A-R-D!

The way I look at it is; I made a good start today into recovery. I took my first step towards it. Tomorrow is another day with a goal, to go a bit further than today!

_

+6 Lbs..grrrrrrr

2010-12-14T12:00:00.000-06:00

I was pretty pissed off this morning when I found out that I had gained 6 pounds. I had gone to the doctor's office about my ongoing problem with shingles which had turned into postherpetic neuralgia and got weighed. I pretty much expected a weight increase due to lack of regular activity for the last 6 weeks so it shouldn't have been a surprise. What aggravated me most was all the hard work I had put into staying below 180 lbs., a number which seems to be hard for me to beat, gone to hell. I'm out of shape and once again have to build up my endurance to where I was.

It's not like I stuff my face with unhealthy crap as I eat healthy, it's the lack of exercise! Something I haven't been able to do due to all that pain. Screw that, I'm not going to keep putting on more weight as I sit on my keister. I'm going to get out and walk!

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difficulties

2010-12-09T09:42:00.000-06:00

This business with shingles/postherpetic neuralgia has really taken a toll on me lately. My heart rate is up and so is my blood pressure. I can't do much movement due to pain so obviously exercise is out no matter how much I want to. I did manage to go 24 hrs without pain medication only due to necessity as I find that it is becoming less effective. I suppose it's called rebound effect where sometimes the symptoms become worse due to too much medication. So I need to lay off for a few days and let my body clean itself. Then perhaps I will see if they help the situation any.

I need to get out and walk instead of sitting on my ass all day!It just pisses me off that those who can won't and those who want to can't. I hate sitting around doing nothing and being sedentary as I know that for me the longer I'm immobile, the worse I'm going to get. It's going to be difficult to get back into it later.

I'm going to try to record something today but even that may be a difficult task. My fingers are stiff and ache but I have to give it a go just to take my mind off the pain.

_

things are looking bleak

2010-12-05T09:45:00.000-06:00

got pounded with snow yesterday and the temps dropped big time. There was no way I could even think about going out yesterday. I was in so much pain that moving around was tough let alone trying to walk long distance in below freezing temperatures. This postherpetic neuralgia is sure taking its hold on me making my life a bit more complex. Last night was unbearable even after taking some pain killers. But as with anything, I managed to survive the night but the thought of going outside for a walk may be out of the question.

The pain is always there and a never ending story. Sometimes it might be a little less but mostly its up there. Its getting to the point where music isn't helping much as the waves of pain that sneak in are extremely distracting. Focusing on other things is getting a bit difficult as this virus is starting to get old mighty quick.

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gonna have pain anyway

2010-12-03T20:38:00.000-06:00

Got out a little after noon today. I planned on just walking as my pain was a little intense. Once I started getting a bit of a chill possibly due to the pain, I decided to jog a bit to warm up. I was able to jog almost a half mile before the pain especially in my legs kept me from jogging any further. I decided to walk the rest of the way. Even walking was a bit tough, but then I'm not myself and still suffer from the dreaded shingles, an extremely painful ailment. At times I get chills, dizzy, a lot of pain around my ribs and some bad head aches. Yet, I still try to go out and walk or jog. What, am I crazy?

Hardly, I just feel better walking than I do sitting around the house thinking about my misery. Pain makes a person do some crazy things sometimes just to get even a little relief. Besides, I've sat around long enough and am going stir crazy. Creating music helps but I can't be doing that 24-7. There is got to be a fine line some where. My fine line I suppose is getting out every now and then and walk to feel better and get out of the house and off my ass. The way I look at it is, I'm going to feel like crap either way whether I'm sitting at home on my ass or outside walking. If I'm walking atleast I'm getting some of my strength back, maybe.

I spend enough time with my music and I just don't want to get bored with it. I need something else to occupy my mind with. I can't sit still long enough to actually read a book. I don't watch movies nor do I sit in front of a television set because I then begin snacking. I'm beginning to wonder if tv programs have subliminal messages because you just can't sit there without stuffing your face with something. It's like going to a movie, you got to get some pop corn, candy or other crap along with soda to shove down your puke hole.

Perhaps my earlier walk attributed to some very ill feeling later in the day. My heart was racing, head pounding and my stomach was going around like on a tilt a whirl. I felt like crap! Total crap. I can't remember the last time I felt that lousy from not taking pills. I had to stop taking pain medicine for my shingles over a week ago due to some bad side affects, so I'm just taking some acetaminophen which sometimes does the job. Other times I just deal with the pain the best way I can. I feel a lot better as I'm writing this than I did a few hours ago so maybe tomorrow will be a better day. One can only hope!

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I almost gave up.

2010-12-02T14:09:00.000-06:00

I've always been a self motivator and its not often that I lose it. Recently, I almost gave up and even went as far as deactivating this blog with the intention of totally removing it. I ended up suffering from IBS which was painful as it is and then a few weeks later ended up with shingles. Those of you that have experienced shingles know how painful and mind altering they could be. In total I had been in constant pain 24-7 for the last 6 weeks and apparently it ain't over yet. The constant pain alone was enough to change anyone's mood.

It seems that I'm one of those 10% of folks who end up with a longer term of shingles. Sometimes, the pain in the area where the shingles occurred may last for months or years. This pain is called postherpetic neuralgia. It occurs when the nerves have been damaged after an outbreak of shingles. Pain ranges from mild to very severe pain. It is more likely to occur in people over 60 years. I won't get into the other complications as they are not pleasant. There seems to be a vaccine for shingles and once I'm rid of them. I'm going to take a close look at getting the vaccination since shingles can occur more than once.

I had to make a choice between wallowing in self pity and the pain involved or do something about it. There isn't a lot of options except taking more pills which have some mean side affects. I know because I went through them and ended up suffering even more. My option was to ween off the pain killers and go back to taking acetaminophen which has less side affects and seem to work well for me.

One of the reasons I began walking and jogging was to get a better grip on my health. Once I ended up with some serious problems I felt that it was a big let down for me so why bother. I'm going to get sick anyway irregardless of how much I exercise and eat healthy, so screw it! But I keep forgetting that for a guy my age, after seeing so many folks in the nursing home with a hell of a lot more problems than me, because they had never exercised and had it easy for most of their lives, I'm doing pretty good. It's probably because I eat healthy and exercise regularly which keeps me from ending up either dead or in a nursing home.

I met a guy at the nursing home who was a little over 550 lbs while visiting my mother there. He wasn't much over 30 years of age. He is constantly being transported to the hospital or to the zoo for x rays because he is just too huge for a typical x ray. He's got to be xraid via elephant xray. Yeah it sounds funny. Due to this guys obesity he's got more friggin problems than the pope with child molesting priests. The guy probably won't see his 35th birthday. But I tell ya he had been an inspiration to me as far as where I don't want to be or end up at.

No matter how much I was in pain today, I decided to go out and walk and even jog a little. For the time I was out, I had totally forgot about my pain and even as I write this, I feel a lot better mentally. Even the pain isn't quite as bad as it was earlier in the day. I guess the old saying "Walk It Off" is beginning to make more sense to me.

I knew it, I just knew it!

2010-10-15T22:25:00.000-05:00

I knew that I was in trouble when I couldn't even run a mile the other day. Every one around me has been sick and it was just a matter of time before I ended up with something. For a while there I thought that I would be unscathed this year as I've been taking mega doses of vitamin C and unlike last year I got it bad right after my 60th birthday.

Oh well, it's given me some time to iron out some issues with my computer and do some recording again. As a matter of fact since I was feeling feverish and achy I figured I would spend the entire day indoors just recording today. So for the last 12+ hours I've been at it trying to keep my mind off the crappy feeling by being occupied. I'm not one to whine and stay in bed acting like a little baby when I get sick, I've always tried to keep my mind off my problems doing something creative.

The new tune is done and it's just a matter of mixing and mastering it which should only take about an hour at the most. But that will have to wait until tomorrow.

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October already, my oh my

2010-10-06T21:01:00.000-05:00

Seems like just yesterday I turned 61 but alas it's been 6 days already but were already into October. What happened to summer? It's just a blur to me. But then I spent most of the spring and summer running back and forth between the hospital and nursing home with my mother. My mind had been so occupied on her that I didn't even have a chance to smell the roses. Now if only winter would go by just as quick!

It's funny how we have plans to do this and that over the summer months and something always seems to come along and screw up the plans. I for one had many with lots to do, exercise, go fishing, maybe a little traveling, work in the yard, get some needed chores done, replace the rotted wood in my boat, install new gutters and paint the garage. Ha! Didn't happen because I was too focused on family matters and didn't take time out to do what was needed...what I had planned. Yup it's my own fault and instead of walking around with blinders on like the old horses pulling the milk trucks, I wouldn't be complaining.

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rough day...depends how ya look at it

2010-09-24T15:01:00.000-05:00

The winds were howling and the rain came down in buckets early this morning which woke me up. My joints, right leg and upper back between my shoulder blades began to ache as the temps plummeted by about 25 degrees. I knew that it was going to be a rough day for arthritis. Getting out of bed to get some coffee was a chore and walking to the kitchen was no better as I staggered towards the coffee pot.

I plopped into the easy chair in the living room with coffee mug in hand and almost spilled my coffee. I probably should have put it down on the coffee table next to my chair before trying to sit. But, the brain wasn't working right as my thoughts were on my discomfort. After having several sips of my brew, I began to think that atleast I was able to get up and walk irregardless of my discomfort and staggering so it was a good start. I've had better days but never the less I was able to move around so it had to be a good day.

Several hours later still in discomfort, I had to get my mind of my troubles so I decided to venture out and go for a walk. There were a few crazy thoughts which went around and around in my head about venturing away from the confines of my home especially in my shape but I simply couldn't allow it to take over my mind. It had to be mind over discomfort so off I went into the wind as it blew my long hair every which way.

Once I got moving I just knew that things would get better for me as it always had in the past. This time was no different. At first I was favoring my left leg as the pain in my knee got worse. Not too long after, perhaps about a quarter of a mile into my walk, the pain went away and walking simply got easier. By easier I mean without pain. The wind wanted to hold me back especially with gusts from 30 - 40 mph and at times trying to knock me over but I managed to keep moving. I felt no pain as my mind was now focused on moving forward and trying to keep my balance as the strong wind gusts were trying to make a point.

The air was fresh and it felt great to be outside even though there were times when I had to avoid getting hit by flying debris and falling tree limbs. Someones mail just flew by, hopefully nothing important.

My upper back still hurts but my joints and right leg seems to be fine. I guess they got plenty of lubrication from my walk. The skies have cleared up but the winds still howl and the temps, well they are still dropping. They say down to the 40's. To think that yesterday it was 90.

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cocktails anyone?

2010-09-11T23:23:00.000-05:00

I was shocked and ended up with an anxiety attack after getting my mother's Rx bill yesterday. She's been on a cocktail of pills which needs to be taken 3 times a day. Some are for her heart some are for blood pressure, blood thinners while others are simply for aging comfort, brain tumor and pain pills. Up to now her insurance had been paying for most of it but recently they made some drastic changes in their policy and now won't cover most of her drugs. Yup "screw the old people, let's drain them for every penny they got. F*ck em! Let's face it they are just a bunch of sick old folks ready to die anyway".

Damn drug companies and our health care system sure can f*ck over the sick and elderly. I'm so glad I'm not obese with shit load of problems having to be on daily cocktail of pills. Yup $1,600.00 a month for friekin pills. Makes me want to get out and go for a run!

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Great day!

2010-09-09T15:15:00.000-05:00

I finally got out again and walked and jogged. It sure felt great after suffering from my allergies since mid August. I still suffer from them but I can't sit there feeling sorry for my self. We often wallow in our own misery making things even worse than what they really are. I suppose that I need to take health issues in perspective and perhaps compare my piddly bull shit with those that have some serious problems. All in all today was a great day!

I often have to remind myself of a neighbor who had degenerative eye disease and with only 10% heart function, he was elated when he was able to get out of bed. He always told me that it was a good day if he could get out of bed and a great day when he was able to walk outside and smell his roses or just feel the warmth of the sun on his face. There weren't too many days where he had enough energy to even get out of bed let alone go outside. I always admired his attitude and pass it on to those feeling a quart or two low.

Each time I visit my mother in the nursing home, I see some folks that seem so miserable stuck in a wheel chair, some with a bottle of oxygen strapped to their chair and others with no energy what so ever who need help with any or all body functions. It is truly a sad situation for many. If that's not bad enough I come across someone who is paralyzed from the neck down with a better attitude than those who may be mobile. We do take things for granted too often and don't bother trying to prevent what may be in store for us in the future. When it happens we wallow in our misery wishing we would have taken better care of ourselves when we had the opportunity.

I often talk with other visitors and they tell me how sad it is and how depressing it is just to visit the nursing home. We get into conversations about our own future and in many a case it just shows the mentality of most folks. Perhaps it's just denial or maybe they feel that they are perfectly healthy and don't need to worry. Lets face it, it is said that 1 in 3 have no clue that they have diabetes and most obese don't think that they have any problems with being fat. Others simply don't know what to do while other don't care.

We often waste our own precious time we have on earth by sitting in front of the computer playing games etc. or in front of the television and then wondering where the time went or feeling disappointed later in life instead of living life to the fullest. Sure, what ever happens happens but the sad part is that for most of us what may happen is preventable for the most part.

allergy time

2010-08-30T10:37:00.000-05:00

I didn't realize how long it's been since I posted anything. I've been so busy with my mother being in a nursing home that I haven't had time for much of anything else. Running around here and there, taking care of her stuff and my own family needs leaves little time for very little else.

I have managed to get out a few times but since August 16, I've been stuck in my bedroom due to allergies. Yup it's that time of year again for me. I can't go outside nor can I leave the room for any length of time as I would end up with a bad allergy attack. Outside the bedroom door there are two cats and a dog which don't help the situation much at this moment. Usually they don't bother me. It's always and has been for the last 45 yrs that, come August, I am totally worthless from about middle of the month until about the second week in September. I have a Hepa filter and a window a/c which helps big time. We had central air but the wife always complained about her legs bothering her from the blowing of the cold air. So to keep peace in the family I use a window unit during these times and the Hepa filter going at all times. She sleeps in a different room.

In the past I've always been able to go up north where the air is much cleaner and the allergies don't bother me at all, but in the last few years with the economy as bad as it is, I can't afford jack squat!

Taking care of my mother's affairs and visiting her has been quite challenging and there have been times where I simply had to ask the wife to take care of them. I sure will be glad when this passes.

I've managed to do some experimenting with my classical (nylon string) guitar while in seclusion and have made many a discovery. I've discovered a different tuning of the strings which not only makes my guitar sound richer but is easier on the playing as well. Some of my pieces can be heard on my Tom Summers Jazz Guitar page.

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busy bee

2010-07-20T03:23:00.000-05:00

I've been so busy running in and out of the nursing home and doctors for my mother that I haven't had much time for exercise for a while. But I did manage to get out these last few days. When I stepped on the scale, I was quite surprised to find myself back under 180Lbs. I had gained a few earlier as there was a lot of turmoil in my life due to my mother's illness which has turned out to be a brain tumor. More stress is obviously on the way so I'm going to need to get back to exercise and create music to keep my mind off the stressful situation.

I think that everyone needs an outlet whether a hobby or a sport to keep oneself occupied mentally and physically, so you just don't sit there wasting away, watching the idiot box and stuffing yourself with empty calories. I know, sometimes it's easier said than done, but we do all agree that ya gotta get off yer ass and move about! But whatever you do be careful so you don't end up with an injury. The older ya are, the longer it takes to heal. The bigger ya are and if ya got diabetes ya could end up with some serious problems and it'll take even longer to heal.

Get out, go help someone who needs a helping hand, go visit a nursing home, there are a lot of lonely folks there that would love to see ya and maybe even need a helping hand just for a simple task which you and I take for granted!

what you do or don't do today will affect you tomorrow

2010-06-27T11:35:00.001-05:00

It's too bad most folks will end up having a rude awakening one day when it's too late and they won't be able to do much of anything about it. The old saying, what you do or don't do today will affect you tomorrow, will become a reality soon enough. The fact is that the older we get, injuries seem to take much longer to heal than before. Even an illness like a common cold seems to take forever to get rid of. I know from experience. I've gone through many, from fractures to temporary deafness to having swine flu and now I am battling with a shoulder problem which I've had for 2 months. I injured it somehow and have been having problems lifting anything or just moving my arm in specific positions, one in particular would be above my head. It's always something.

Even for a guy like me who tries to be active on daily basis find that in life there are no guarantees and still end up with plenty of issues with this and that, but, I always think how much worse it could be if I didn't take care of myself the way I have been. But the fact is that I should be more active than I have been lately as I find myself slacking off due to other family situations such as my mother having a stroke which has kept me occupied. It's been a little tough to focus on what I need to do for my own health and there has been plenty of distractions.

The problems just keep coming at you with new aches and pains along with injuries you don't even know how you got it in the first place. People with diabetes can end up with even more serious problems even from a small injury if they don't have it checked out immediately. One guy I met at a nursing home, while visiting my mother, who's about my age maybe a couple of years younger had his leg amputated from a small injury which turned into a huge one as gangrene set in. Another guy in his early 50's had a heart attack, his second. His first one was at 44. Sure he went through therapy the first time and exercised for a while and then simply quit, went back to his old habits and here he is again. He obviously didn't learn a thing from his experience and probably never will or perhaps just doesn't care. Or perhaps we simply become too complacent in our thinking and feel that oh that will never happen to me as I feel pretty good now.

Think again!

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Hearing's back YAY!

2010-06-15T21:02:00.000-05:00

When I woke up this morning and couldn't hear a damn thing, I'm thinking hear we go again, another day of not hearing much of anything. Not too long after while I was drinking my morning coffee, POP, went the ears. They have been open all day long. What a wonderful feeling. It's like "happy anniversary" and couldn't get any better. Yup today is my 36th wedding anniversary and I am feeling great!

By the way, I placed a new player on the right which contains my rock tunes along with some stuff I was doing for stress management. Enjoy!

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still at it

2010-06-02T11:42:00.000-05:00

At one point in time my ears did pop and I was able to hear fairly well out of both ears as the technique of breathing seemed to have taken care of some of the serious stress problems I'm faced with. The problem is that the hearing is intermittent and still am totally deaf in both ears when I wake up each morning. It does get better later in the day after my left ear pops and then my right sometime in the afternoon. Now most of you might be thinking that this loss of hearing could be related to a drug or similar to Viagra, but since I don't need it and I don't use it, it obviously ain't the problem.

I continue trying to create some music whenever my ears allow me to but ironically it's been rock. I only use it for stress management and nothing more, but I had played it in the past when jazz gigs weren't plentiful. It was simply survival in the music game.

I've been getting out and running short distances and then walking trying to build myself back up again. Seems like I'm always back to square one but irregardless, I continue moving forward and getting stronger by the day even for an old guy. But....ya gotta do what ya gotta do today or suffer the consequences tomorrow.

A plan and perhaps a solution.

2010-05-19T12:54:00.000-05:00

Not too much has been said about coping with respiratory ailments and running at 60 and over, which is probably why most folks in my situation don't even bother. Much has been said about dealing with stress but what may work for some may not for others. I know the things which have worked for me in the past and many of those same things I've had to give up due to one reason or another. One is obviously playing my many instruments and creating music. Even if I wanted to go back and try playing, it wouldn't do me any good since I can't hear anyway..so that's out. I used to go fishing or out in the wilderness and enjoy my surroundings-nature. That's out 'cause I don't have the funds nor can I drive since I can't hear. Even if someone took me out, how can I enjoy my surroundings if there aren't the sounds in the first place. Lifting weights helped take off stress levels but my left shoulder is so painful when lifting anything, that's out for now.

One of the things I've been kicking around and experimenting with is breathing exercises. Sure we all know how to breathe, but I'm talking about a different method. It's a technique I learned back in music college. It's something I learned not only while learning to play several wind instruments but in vocal as well. Wind instrument players and singers use their diaphragm instead of their lungs hence giving them more air intake and power to get those sounds out. Most folks when they breathe, they use their lungs. As you take a deep breath you will notice that your chest moves and perhaps so does your shoulders. When a singer or a wind instrument player takes a deep breath their stomach or the area above the stomach containing the diaphragm moves, not their chest and shoulders. I too use that method as I play a wind instrument whether, trumpet, flute or sax but not while I'm running or jogging.

Interestingly when I'm playing a wind instrument, I don't have problems with my lungs and I've been playing them for decades. So....why can't I use the same principals and breathing techniques in running as I do in playing? If I can get back to running, then I'm sure it will help with my stress levels and perhaps the hearing will return. From this point on that will be my objective/goal to see how well my theory works.

I've already put it in practice as I got out and ran this morning. My concentration is only short spurts at first...like 20-45 seconds. Once my concentration is broken and I revert back to breathing through my lungs, I stop and walk. I'm also going to have to work on my breathing technique before going out tomorrow. Perhaps that too might make a difference.

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Stress can do some strange things to you!

2010-05-18T11:32:00.000-05:00

Stress can really cause some severe problems to the body. In my case it seems to affect my hearing but I never put two and two together as I didn't think that it could be related to the problem. It all started about 5 years ago as I was working in a high stress job as a contractor for the government during crisis. (Other times I was a musician and the contracting job kept my music going. Before the contracting thing I was a remodeler which funded my music habit. Let's face it, music ain't the place where one can make a decent living these days so you need a secondary one to pay the bills.) At first I thought that it was due to flying as I traveled quite a bit and often felt sharp pains in my ears as the plane descended leaving me deaf for several hours after. But it was only for a couple of hours if even that and the hearing always seemed to come back almost immediately.

Back in November 2005 after Katrina struck the gulf I was working in the area helping out with the recovery efforts and had to leave because my mother had a serious fall and was in critical condition at the hospital. Not only did she break her hip but she cracked her scull and lost a lot of blood. What made it worse for her was that she is one of those that refuses to accept blood according to her living will, so there was a big problem for the doctors to figure out how to solve the lack of blood situation. There was little hope and her survival rate wasn't optimistic especially for her age. For several moths, I was at her side as I was her health agent if she was incapacitated and unable to make decisions for herself. Believe me, that job is even more stressful than the one I had as a government contractor as now my decisions affected the life of my mother. My wrong decisions could either kill her or save her and I didn't want to have her demise on my conscience for the rest of my life. I still needed to respect her wishes as stated in her living will and yet make decisions to save her life. There were many a difficult situations and decision making involved but eventually everything worked out and she ended up surviving. I ended up having to take an early retirement to make sure my mother was in good hands afterward.

In the meantime my hearing began to go. It was intermittent at first and later it got to the point where I had lost all the hearing in both ears. I was a deaf man and a lifetime musician, what a combination. It took quite sometime before I regained my hearing but still never put stress and my situation together. There has been times after my mother got home where I had been battling with her health care takers because of neglect and improper care, where I would lose hearing in one ear but would return in a few days and then lose hearing in the other for a day or so. Going out for daily walks seemed to help my stress levels but apparently not to the point where it would eleviate all of it. Later when I began jogging, I found my stress levels had diminished almost down to zero. But once I found out that I no longer am supposed to jog due to my respiratory problems, the stress levels increased.

Back in the beginning of April, my mother once again ended up in the hospital partially due to lack of proper nutrition and care by the health care taker and once again my job as my mother's health agent came in place where I needed to make some serious choices for her. She survived the ordeal but my stress levels went sky high and am now suffering from lack of hearing again as I suppose that's how my brain is coping with the situation. It's evident that what I need to do is get my stress levels down once again irregardless of my respiratory problems and get back to jogging. The conundrum here is, do I make a trade off between breathing difficulties or hearing by getting back to jogging which I know will cut down on my stress levels....

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The inevitable

2010-05-16T11:10:00.000-05:00

Aging is obviously inevitable and there's little we can do about it. As we get older the body begins to slow down, the hearing and sight gets worse. The muscles end up becoming non existent as we move less and less. Arthritis sets in making it even more difficult to move. Breathing becomes more difficult and oxygen may be needed. The years of abuse from lack of exercise and eating all sorts of crap begins to show from head to toe. What's even worse is the sex drive for some of us along with the attraction seems to dwindle with the cocktail of pills which seems to grow each year. The pill pushers, their manufacturers and health care providers are getting richer by the day as the cost has gotten to the point where if you don't have insurance, medicare or medicaid, you could end up losing your house, that's if you have one and haven't already lost it from the overall cost and poor economy. The skin seems to sag in areas where it used to be firm with muscle. The face shows aging lines, the bags under the eyes are big enough to store stuff in and the double chin ends up becoming a triple. Yup we are becoming more and more attractive. NOT!

There will be a time where we will need the use of a walker to get from point "A" to "B" because our leg muscles are non existent and the cartilage in our knees have deteriorated. The next step becomes the need of a wheel chair or a motorized scooter. Going up a flight of stairs, even if only three or four will be impossible and you will need to sell your house and move into a single level one. You will be unable to get out of bed and into your wheel chair by yourself and may need assistance by a family member or will need to hire someone to take care of you.

If the eating unhealthy hasn't already given your digestive and colon problems, you will have that enjoyment to look forward to. More pills will be needed to take care of that acid reflux that seems to choke you while laying down. You're already taking pills for cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, perhaps blood thinners and something for type 2 diabetes. With all of those pills you are taking I wonder what it's doing to your stomach lining? After a while getting to the bathroom in time will be impossible and you're going to need to wear diapers. Remember someone is going to have to change you just like when you were a baby.

Somewhere in there you will end up in a nursing home,especially after surgery of some sort because your body just doesn't mend itself as fast as it did and you will need constant care. You can't stay at home because you are now too big of a burden on your family or there is no one there to take care of your needs. Well at least you won't be alone. You will be with all of those other people in the same boat all lined up in front of the nurses station waiting for them to give you your cocktail of pills for the time of day. Cocktail hour is usually twice a day and just about everyone there gets two. As you sit there waiting and watching the younger healthier visitors walk by you think to your self "Why didn't I take care of myself better?"

We make jokes about aging and about how we will shoot ourselves before we end up like all those folks in the nursing home. The reality of it is that it could happen to you today or tomorrow. I see all age folks in the nursing home from 30 something on up. Some are there from heart attacks, gout, stroke, diabetes, cancer, colon and digestive problems, head and neck trauma, various needed and elective surgery. It don't take much to throw you a curve ball. A fall could easily send anyone to a hospital with a broken hip which could take 6-12 months to heal depending on your age, health and the severity of the fracture. You will also need rehabilitation usually both physical and occupational.

Some of us will never be able change the outcome and for some crazy reason don't have any intentions to do so. Many will just sit around waiting to see what happens and then cry about it when it does. Others may want to start taking control of their lives better with a healthier life change. Aging is inevitable but HOW you age and where you end up is something that can be slowed down and made by the choices you make today!

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We are a society of ignorance when it comes to knowing what we shove in our mouth

2010-05-15T11:42:00.000-05:00

Say what? Did you just call me ignorant? Actually we are all ignorant one way or another and in no way is it a put down. Let's look at the meaning of the word before you get all fired up.

"Ignorance is the state in which one lacks knowledge, is unaware of something or chooses to subjectively ignore information. This should not be confused with being unintelligent, as one's level of intelligence and level of education or general awareness are not the same. ..."

"Ignorant" on the web: uneducated in the fundamentals of a given art or branch of learning; lacking knowledge of a specific field; "she is ignorant of quantum mechanics"; "he is musically illiterate"

Here I am stating that we lack in the knowledge of the consequences of what certain things cause after shoving it in our mouths.

Just as a few examples; did you know that too much sodium in your diet will increase your blood pressure along with helping to retain water in your system? You know....swollen ankles.

Sugar raises the insulin level, cuts down on your immune system and helps promote the storage of fat.
Could you imagine what your morning coffee would taste like with 8 tea spoons of sugar? Crazy right? Well, that's how much sugar there is in 8 ounces of soda. The average person consumes over 22 tea spoons of sugar daily and teens 34.

I've stated some facts in my Tom's did U Know page about this;

"there are 4 grams of sugar in a teaspoon and 2000mg of sodium in a teaspoon of salt. If you remember anything, remember these two figures as they are very important in figuring out labels and comparing."

"So if we look at a 12 oz can of regular Coke which contains 40mg sodium and 40.5 g (grams) of sugars how many teaspoons of each do we have? Sugar = 10.125 tsp. Sodium=.02 tsp. So, if you remember that we should consume only 1/4 (.25) tsp of sodium a day. 6 tsp for women and 9 tsp for men when it comes to sugar."

high blood pressure facts: http://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/facts.htm

diabetes stats : http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-statistics/

diabetes on the rise: http://www.healthnews.com/medical-updates/dramatic-surge-in-diabetes-expected-by-2034-3913.html

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we all have to do what's necessay sometimes

2010-05-14T10:01:00.000-05:00

For the last month and a half been running in and out of hospitals and nursing homes with my 90 yr old mother and it's become mentally exhausting. Nursing homes especially can be very tough on a person's psyche as all one sees is folks in wheel chairs barely able to move and help them selves. It's not just older folks but I've come across guys younger than me. I met a guy who had a heart attack at 32. 32! As big as he is I can understand why. It just goes to show ya that if you don't take care of yourself and watch what you eat even at a young age it can very easily bite you in the ass.

I met another younger man in his mid 40's weighing in somewhere in the 500+ Lb area while taking my mother to her cardiologist in a med van. The med van was also taking this huge guy to another facility on the way so he came along. Naturally he was in a wheel chair and could barely walk. The driver struggled to move him as obviously he was heavier than a grand piano or a cast iron bath tub. Even though he was sitting in a wheel chair just pushing the guy was a struggle and the driver was totally exhausted afterward. He had to sit down and catch his breath. All I could do is shake my head and be thankful that I didn't let myself get down to his level.

When I got home, I just had to get out and run. I ran as hard as I could. I knew that I wasn't supposed to run but I did anyway. I had to! I did it in one minute intervals and then walking for several catching my breath. I felt better mentally afterward but pretty tired. I'm still mentally exhausted from having to go to the nursing home on daily basis but we all have to do what's necessary.

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pretty good

2010-05-06T12:02:00.000-05:00

It's nice to be able to say "pretty good" again once someone asks me how I'm feeling these days. Pretty good as expected for a guy my age that is, especially when arthritis can easily change with weather conditions. One moment I can feel fine and the next I could be in so much pain that moving from point "A" to "B" can be a challenge. But that's aging for you, it's something one just has to deal with.

I get pretty frustrated lately when seeing what kind of crap the nursing home is feeding my mother. Because of a herniated hiatus, gall bladder problems, heart disease among a few other problems, fatty, greasy and salty foods are supposed to be cut out. To my surprise lately they've been feeding folks not only my mother but others hot dogs, tater tots, french fries, sloppy Joe, bologna sandwiches and grilled cheese sandwiches which all contain plenty of grease, fat and sodium. I can't remember how many times I've told them that she can't eat this due to doctor's orders, they just keep feeding her the same old crap. It's like they don't care. The problem with my mother is that she will eat what ever is put in front of her good or bad because she's blind and can't see anyway.

Apparently the reason she ended up being there is because she was given the foods she wasn't supposed to be eating in the first place which triggered gall stone attack and pancreatitis. Perhaps when something drastic happens to her because of the lack in proper diet, a law suit would be in order. I've got a meeting with the folks in charge of the nursing home Monday and I'm going to bring up a few points.

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Something is better than nothing.

2010-04-30T09:31:00.001-05:00

A big problem for folks my age is simply that the body keeps deteriorating due to age. Moving like I did 10-20 years ago along with reflexes have slowed down considerably. Today there seems to be more things going against me physically, like arthritis pain, which often limits my activity and mental attitude. I can't count the times I didn't want to get out and walk or jog due to pain. But, each time after forcing myself to, I find myself glad that I did. I picture these obese folks at the nursing home in their wheel chairs all lined up around the nurses station as if at a water cooler at an office.

Something is always better than nothing! Even though sometimes my arthritis prevents me from walking or jogging any distance, I manage to do one or the other for about 20-30 minutes a day. Running seems to be a no no for me so I limit myself and perhaps do it only twice a week and walk the rest of the time. Even with joint pain I try to get out as I find that once I move around, the pain seems to go away. Most folks my age might take some sort of medication for the pain and for the swelling but in my case I was told not to so I end up having to deal with the pain.

At least I'm not the only one suffering from aging as it's inevitable for all of us but there is something we can try to slow down; muscular deterioration. The older we get, the higher the odds of falling and breaking a hip is. Most of the folks at the nursing home have that problem and are now stuck in a wheel chair having to go through physical and occupational therapy to strengthen their non existent muscle. I wonder sometimes how effective it is for most older folk in the long run. I've seen it work for short term with my 90 year old mother but as soon as she gets done with physical therapy, she's back to her old ways and the muscle just deteriorates. I've seen her walking slowly taking as much as 20-30 steps and a few weeks later unable to take 4-5. So the old saying goes use it or lose it!

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Obese doctors?

2010-04-24T13:27:00.000-05:00

I'm still committed as always to either walk or jog on daily basis. It's become a part of my life style. I suppose it's a lot like being a musician who practices daily to improve himself. There is always a sense of having to improve one self. It's really a mental attitude. I guess that's why so many who get into walking or jogging end up quitting. They just don't have the mental discipline needed to keep at it.

Yesterday, I went to visit my mother at the nursing home. I met this huge guy probably weighing somewhere around 400 lbs. There are a lot of men and women in wheel chairs also in the same situation who are not able to walk. It really is sad to watch as they struggle to move their wheel chairs. So anyway I got to talking with this huge guy not in a wheel chair, who could barely walk as his ass moved from side to side bumping into things and sometimes knocking things over left in the hall. I could just imagine the chaffing of the thighs too...OUCH! It turns out that he was one of the regular doctors there.

That just floored me. I couldn't believe it and I was in shock with my mouth wide open. He's not the only obese doctor there either as there are several along with nurses. So, ok I'm done bitching about folks not giving a rats ass about their obesity or health. It's obvious that when doctors who are supposed to be health advocates and give us lectures for not watching our diets end up being hypocrites and just pill pushers who can't be taken seriously when they themselves can't do it, then it's time to quit! From this point on I will only write about my own dealing and not about the world around me. It's obvious that no one, not even some doctors care, so why should I. So America, do what ever you want, stuff your faces with all the shit you could possibly cram in there and then deal with the consequences later. Yeah I know, gotta die sometime! Wish it was as simple as that.

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Today was a higher intensity cardio workout

2010-04-19T11:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was more of an ego thing with me as I had to prove to myself that even though I should not be running, I can still do it. Every so often I have to prove to myself that I still have what it takes and can still run if I want to. I am heeding my doctor's advice not to run on regular basis, so today I decided to do some speed walking. It was definitely some serious work out and a high intensity one at that. It seemed to be much harder for me than running the 3.6 miles yesterday. But then again it was meant to be a high intensity cardio work out. I pushed myself to my limitations and there were a few times when I just felt that I couldn't go any further...but I went on. I was soaking wet after completing my 3.6 mile workout. I'm sure I burned off some needed calories along with building up more of my endurance.

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I've been called, stupid,fat idiot,a moron and even a no talent haack

2010-04-18T12:40:00.000-05:00

I've even been told by doctors that I will never be able to run and will be stuck taking a cocktail of pills for the rest of my life just to survive. I still remember being up in front of the class being ridiculed by the teacher back in the early 60's due to a learning deficit. You could imagine the psychological ramifications caused by those ignorant teachers during my childhood.

I was the type that just wouldn't accept certain things brought to me and always had to prove them wrong. At first I did take it seriously and ended up with an inferiority complex which lasted me for most of my childhood and well into my teens. When I began thinking differently about myself and about accomplishing things which I was told that I would never be able to do, things really changed. I started to take all of the negative aspects as challenges to overcome.

When I was a teenager I taught myself to play the guitar. I already knew how to play keys since I had several years of formal education on it but I wasn't really any good. It wasn't until I began playing guitar and teaching my brain to learn things differently, things changed dramatically. Later when I was called a talentless haack and white boy who couldn't play jazz, I took it as a personal challenge and had to prove them wrong. Well. check it out for yourselves and see if I'm a jazz player or not.

Not too long ago I was having some lung issues and once again was told that I would never be able to run and I should stick to walking instead. I just couldn't accept that! If someone tells me that I can't do something it's just in my nature to prove them wrong. I just got back from running 3.6 miles.

We can just sit back and accept stuff, give up and then end up feeling sorry for ourselves or we can get up and try to do something about it and have some feeling of accomplishment. In all of my years, it's always been proving to myself that I can do whatever I set my mind to. The hell with those with negativity! I've proven myself to the only one that really matters, ME!

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Health care organizations need to practice what they preach!

2010-04-17T17:46:00.001-05:00

I just can't understand the ignorance or perhaps the lack of control of better food choices not only in hospitals but in nursing homes as well. They need to practice what they preach or stand for. I've seen the battle Jamie Oliver has been enduring in his show "Food Revolution" on ABC television which involves schools and seeing the same resistance. Just like on the show, it's the same story with hospitals and nursing homes, feed em crap, maybe we can kill em faster that way. There's nothing but processed, high in fats cholesterol and sodium foods. Even patients that are supposed to be on a low or no sodium or no sugar diets receive the same crap. There isn't much difference.

We really have become a lazy ass society where we don't even want to prepare our own food anymore and are only interested in something fast. I wonder if people even know what real food taste like these days! Is it all due to just pure ignorance? Most of us have eaten hospital food one time or another and have turned it away because it taste like garbage. You would think that health care organizations would offer better quality and more nutritious food for their patients for a quicker recovery.

In a way I can understand why they serve crap. Because most people won't like it anyway unless it's the usual crap they are used to stuffing their faces with. Most foods end up getting thrown out. It's not pizza or greasy burgers and fries etc. which contain tons of sodium, fat and empty calories which have no nutritional value.

Earlier today while visiting my mother at the nursing home, I stopped in, in the cafeteria where she was eating lunch. Curious, I asked a few folks how their food was. They all pretty much agreed that it sucked! It was more of the same old processed crap our society is used to and refuse to make changes to until it's too late. It's easier and faster to just heat up some processed crap containing tons of sodium, trans fats, sugar, cholesterol,calories from a box, a can or order out than to make a healthy tasty dish from scratch. Does the average guy or woman today even know how to cook? Are we ever going to learn or is it that we are satisfied waddling and barely getting through the doorway due to our enormous asses. Are we a society that are happy with heart disease, shortened life span and a burden on health care just because we are so damn lazy and want something quick to stuff in our faces? Not me!

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senior moment

2010-04-16T19:58:00.000-05:00

My mother was transferred to a nursing home much closer to home today. It will be another interesting time to observe what goes on again in one of those places.

She was transported in a medvan and the wife went along with my mother while I needed to drive my own vehicle there. I had parked in the usual 8 story garage but this time on the 4th floor taking note of the level, compass point and letter of my spot. The wife and I easily walked down the stairs rather than taking the elevator. I always prefer to walk when possible. When returning to the garage to finally head on out and finally leave the hospital thing, I took the stairs next to the usual elevators and walked up to the 4th floor. The ramp where I had parked my car was straight ahead of the stairs and slightly down. The spot was actually between the 3rd and 4th floor on an up ramp so for exercise purposes I walked up to the 4th floor. When I got to the spot where I thought that I had parked my car, it wasn't there. What an odd feeling I had as I knew that my car was parked there this morning.

After just standing there for a while confused, I began walking up the ramp looking for my car thinking that perhaps I parked it on the next level instead. But I had the level, compass point etc. memorized so I became even more confused as I normally wouldn't forget something like that. Before I knew it, I had walked up to the 8th floor. My car was not to be found. Perhaps if I walked down the ramp I may come across it. I got all the way down to the second level, no car. Back up to the 8th level. Oh crap my car is gone perhaps stolen or towed came into mind. I took the elevator down to the parking garage office and explained to them my predicament. The garage parking cop came along and we ended up driving around the huge garage up and down floors looking for my car.

About an hour later we came across my car on the other side of the garage. Well, at least I got plenty of exercise for the day!

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finally

2010-04-14T21:00:00.001-05:00

They finally solved my mother's problem after she was transferred to a different hospital where they actually knew what they were doing. The risks were still high for a relatively low risk procedure but managed to take care of the situation. Since she hasn't had anything to eat by mouth it's been a very slow process in getting her to eat. But then everything they serve has a ton of sodium and or sugar so I can easily understand. For someone who is supposed to be on a low sodium and no sugar diet, hospitals sure as hell don't follow it.

Five years ago she had broken her hip and had several screws put in to hold it together. She is still in agony as it hurts like hell every time they move her or reposition her. I decided that it was time to take some xrays and find out what was really going on with the hip. Results we be had tomorrow.

Me? I get a little exercise as I walk around the hospital and up and down 8 flights of stairs. My car is usually parked on the 8th or 9th floor of the parking garage. I could take the elevator but then where's the fun in that? The more I see my mother suffer and watch these fat nurses waddle around struggling, the more I want to get in some exercise. It just amazes me how many fat nurses there are in an environment geared towards being healthy. It's kind of ironic in a way. How can I possibly take them seriously when they themselves don't care enough about themselves or their own health. It's as bad as a doctor lighting up a cigarette and turning around telling you that it's bad for you.

There was an interesting moment for me today as all of a sudden felt like throwing up and passing out. One of the nurses had on some serious cologne perhaps trying to hide her period or some other foul stank. I have a heightened sense of smell which when something powerful comes my way, I tend to get sick. All I could do was to get the hell out of there as quickly as possible and get outside. I don't understand how they allow hospital workers to use perfume or cologne. There are many who are sensitive to strong odors. Hell, ever sit next to or behind someone with tons of the stuff on them when sitting in a church, train, bus or plane?

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2010-04-10T21:22:00.000-05:00

For the last several days now I've had the misfortune of spending countless hours in the hospital. No, it's not me, it's my mother. She ended up with some serious gallbladder and pancreas problems which were related. My mother's eating habits haven't been the best in the last 20-30 years and she ate plenty of greasy, fatty, high in sodium and calories. Not only is she having gallbladder and pancreas problems, she is overweight, has clogged arteries, high blood pressure, breathing problems and the doctors are afraid to do anything for her because she is now a high risk. What ever they do to resolve the gallbladder and pancreas problem could in fact kill her. She continues to have excruciating pain while several doctors ponder what to do.

As I spend more time observing things in the hospital, I keep wondering why a facility that promotes well being and good health would allow foods unhealthy for consumption. As I go into the so called cafeteria daily I find very little food that are nutritious and healthy. There are plenty of greasy, fatty, high in cholesterol and sodium with empty calories. These are the same foods that cause most of the problems which bring in most of their patients. So I begin to wonder whether such an organization really is interested in better health or are they simply looking to gain more customers!
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5 years ago

2010-03-24T16:37:00.000-05:00

It was five years ago today that I decided to take control of my life style and make some drastic changes. One of the things that really made me think and get serious was that a friend of mine had fallen and couldn't get up. He was a big guy and weighed over 300 lbs. When he fell there were 4 of us trying to help him get up off the floor with no success. He had also broken his arm when he landed and was in serious pain. They say that the bigger you are the harder you hit the floor and you have a higher risk of doing some serious damage. We ended up calling 911 for help. Two paramedics showed up, one woman and a man. The woman must have been about 5'7" weighing in around 125-130 lbs and the male wasn't much taller weighing in around 160. It was crazy watching these paramedics trying to get my friend off the floor and onto the gurney. There was no way they could get him up as he was simply too heavy. It would have taken a crane to pick this guy up off the floor.

After calling for backup, the paramedics tried to do what ever they could for my friend, treating him for pain and bracing his broken arm while laying on the floor. We managed to turn him over onto his back before help arrived. It took over an hour and six people to get my friend out the door and into the ambulance. That was a struggle as there were stairs involved as well. Fortunately, my friend didn't have a heart attack as he would have been a goner for sure.

How about you? If you're overweight, fell down and hurt yourself, would someone in your family be able to help you up. Even if you didn't hurt yourself bad, would you be able to get yourself up? Food for thought?

It wasn't too far after that similar situation happened to my mother. She lived by herself, had fallen cracked her head open, broke her hip and bleeding with no one around to help. She too is overweight and ended up in a nursing home for almost a year and is now stuck in a wheel chair. She has to have someone living with her 24 hours a day as my mother can't do much of anything by herself these days. She miraculously was able to knock the phone down off the hook and call for help. Every time I see my mother struggle, I want to get out and either walk or run.

In my 5 years, I've had my ups and down and broke many barriers I thought I would never do. I have gone through a lot of trial and error, pain and joy but feel that everything I had gone through was well worth it. Sure I still have some health issues but they aren't due to being over weight. Most of the problems have been either hereditary or due to aging. But I tell you one thing and that is that had I not been pretty fit right after my 60th birthday when I ended up getting the swine flu, I would be a dead s.o.b six feet under ground. That was a bitch to overcome and didn't get over it for months but here I am still at it but back to walking. I'm back to walking because I have some problems with chronic bronchitis which ends flaring up from running. If you're like me and can't run, get and walk, it don't cost you nothing. It's free!
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Getting out is a must

2010-03-10T09:24:00.000-06:00

No matter how lousy I feel mentally or physically with all of the itis's and now back to the hearing problem and a new one eye sight, mentally I always seem to feel better after a walk. Not only does walking help me with cardiovascular but it gives me an opportunity to clear out my mind of all other stuff which clutters up the thinking processes.

Often times before starting a new project with music I either like to go out and walk or do some exercises with some dumbbells. Lately, I find myself doing the latter when I just can't get out due to the weather or the smell. Using dumbbells is a wonderful tool to burn off calories faster than walking. I like to use them both when ever possible. Dumbbells help with muscle tone and helps get rid of some flabby areas I've been unable to get rid of otherwise. They also help you in looking more buff so to speak. For me, 10-20 minutes a day working out to my own music in rhythm seems to work out quite well.

When I create music, I'm always thinking about how well will it work for me with exercise and create it accordingly. When I first started walking almost 5 years ago I began experimenting with various styles and rhythms which would help me with my walks. I learned quite a bit from my experiments and from then on have always created my music with the thought of using it in either my walks or other exercises. It keeps me focused on what I'm doing at the moment versus all of the different pain from the various aging symptoms most of us older folk are prone to. But some days you just want to be out there without any noise and be in one's own thoughts and listen to nature instead. I guess it all depends on where you live or walk or jog. Obviously if one lives in a big city or in an area with a lot of traffic, one would want to drown out some of those hindering noises.

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Fair at best

2010-03-07T12:25:00.000-06:00

When folks see me walking, they usually ask me how I'm feeling these days. My answer is fair at best, which usually brings on a chuckle and we move on.

Not do they know that it is in actuality about the best I can achieve as I find my health deteriorating by the week. Getting out to walk is the highlight of the day and just maintains the status quo. About the only other enjoyment I have left in life is my kids, watching my grand kids grow and my music. My music is my mental salvation and probably without it.....well you know. I won't die by my own hand, heart disease, or other related issues but will due to some other stupid disease I have no control over. I suppose my not taking care of myself earlier in life is beginning to catch up with me.

I'm more of a hermit these days unable to be near other people because I end up throwing up. No it's not a phobia. My sense of smell is so heightened that any minute odor from not only people but outside foul air is so strong that it triggers something in my system making me puke. Oh yeah it's fun! Before going out I have to make sure it doesn't stink. If it does, I probably won't get out. My sensitivity to smells is the main reason I had to quit doing gigs. I would be sitting at the piano (at the time) jamming away and would have to puke in a bucket or a bag next to me. At first it wasn't too bad but as time went on it got worse and more often. The problem went away for several years after getting out of the area and to a cleaner environment but seem to have returned along with other new ones. I'm sure that all of this pollution near a big city like Chicago isn't helping my situation at all.

It saddens me to see anyone young or middle age not taking care of themselves, pigging out, taking drugs, drinking alcohol and not getting any exercise because they will have a hell of a surprise coming to them one of these days. So remember, keep binging, eating crap, keep taking those cocktail of pills on daily basis, shooting up and don't forget to drink some form of alcohol at the same time with a lit cigarette in your mouth, sitting in front of the tv or on the computer, because it will help you get to that grave you so desire much quicker.

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It was a bit tough to get out today

2010-03-02T16:14:00.000-06:00

It was a bit tough to get out today as many of the i-tises were doing their toll on me. Of course I'm referring to arthritis, bursitis, Sacroiliitis among others. I had to force myself to get out as I knew that my blood pressure wasn't getting any better nor was I losing any of the weight I gained while forced to be idle for several weeks.

With all the mud along the street from melting snow also makes it difficult and a bit dangerous walking on the road. The little section of sidewalk that there is was still covered with snow. People in my area simply refuse to shovel possibly because they don't either own a snow shovel, are lazy or feel that shoveling the sidewalk in front of their houses is a liability. Perhaps all of the above. So unless I want to wade in mud up to my ankles or in deep snow I'm stuck walking towards oncoming traffic.

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Some gain

2010-02-21T16:13:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I didn't get out as I was finishing up some music I had recorded for my Lactose Factory page and then did several errands. By the time I got back, it was pretty late.

Today however, I did get out and walked about a mile and a half. It was a little easier walking today than it was last time and although my joints were hurting me after a mile, I managed to go the entire length without getting exhausted. Yay!

Hopefully, things will go smoothly again and maybe by this summer I'll be back jogging 6-8 miles. Anyway that's my long term goal. My short term goal is simply a day to day thing and to be able to walk 3-4 miles by the end of March.

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Like starting all over

2010-02-18T14:06:00.001-06:00

It's been quite some time since I was able to get out even to walk. I finally got an ok as the right lung seems to be clearing up, but I have to take it slow and walk only.

It was wonderful to be outside as the sun warmed my face. It's been a while since we even saw any sun so it was really special to be out there. My legs felt like they had lead strapped to them and my joints were definitely suffering as I walked. It just goes to show how quickly one's own body begins to deteriorate from lack of activity. But, in my case it crucial that I not do anything to aggravate my lung as breathing was difficult enough as it was. So, it was sitting on my ass all these weeks and gaining ten pounds and elevating my blood pressure, if I wanted to not end up in the hospital. Chronic bronchitis will do that to you!

It's truly hard to believe that not too long ago I was jogging 3-4 miles, had things fairly well under control and now I can barely walk 1.2 miles without a lot of pain and getting exhausted. But it's nothing new for me as I've had to start from scratch many a time due to some reason or another. I simply deal with the situation and continue my efforts. All I can do for the time being is concentrate on trying to lose the ten pounds and the blood pressure I gained, a little at a time, which may take me longer to achieve that than to gain the weight in the first place.

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Gotta love it!

2010-02-15T17:36:00.000-06:00

I have to say that it's been some difficult times. I've had to stay put with very little activity and unable to exert myself such as exercise,walk or jog as it would create more problems for my right lung and making it difficult to breathe. Consequently due to lack of movement I've gained about 10Lbs and I feel it. I hate sitting around on my ass doing very little. Thank goodness for my music as it has been keeping my mind active.

But, the problem is that once my mind becomes idle, I begin snacking. I don't do potato chips or other garbage which I know would end up somehow killing me in the end if not ripping me a new a hole. But what I munch on are high in calories. I start to munch on stuff when I'm not creating music and watching television. Damn tube worthless piece o crap. It's the downfall of most of us. I can't be constantly working on music 24 hrs a day, got to kill some time somehow since I can't go out in the cold.

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A year ago today!

2010-02-01T12:27:00.000-06:00

It was a year ago today that I began my journey with jogging. It has become a part of me just like music or walking has. As I look back, I can remember each of the moments when I hit a milestone for me. It's hard to imagine that I couldn't even run 50 yards let alone 8 miles which was my hi lite. I remember a few of the bad experiences I had such as getting a hairline fracture in my shin and toe nails falling off. My biggest obstacle which still continues to this day has been my right lung. It started bothering me right around mother's day last year after the wife got the flu from one of out kids and then passed it on to me. It seemed to get better as the days warmed up but once the swine flu got me in October, things just went down hill extremely fast. It seemed as if everything in my body was beginning to shut down or create some sort of problem.

A friend of mine, also a jogger mentioned that had I not been in the fitness level I was at, I'd probably be 6 feet under in a coffin. So, yes the decision to begin jogging was the right choice for me at the time which may have saved my life. Hopefully in time my lung will clear up. Sure, I should go see a doctor, but easier said than done when you can't afford it. I haven't had health insurance since the early 1980's and without steady income or like at the moment no income, I prefer to eat and pay my bills with what I have left to live on rather than giving it to some doctor who is going to charge me an arm and a leg to tell me that my lung is congested.

Yes there is a slight chance that it could be serious, but beggars can't be choosy as they say and it's a chance I will have to take! And yes, keep screwing around with the health care bill guys so many more folks without insurance will end up dead or even a bigger burden on society.
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The Wall

2010-01-22T10:19:00.000-06:00

By now most people who have tried to keep up with their new year resolution have either quit or are thinking about it. The reason is due to the wall. We all hit a wall at some point in time where no matter what it seems as if nothing is happening.

I can relate to that as I have hit walls several times at different levels since I started. As a matter of fact I've hit one recently. Instead of losing a few pounds or maintaining, I've actually gained a few. That's why I began working with dumbbells. I wanted to start working on my upper body strength to get my metabolism higher which in turn helps burn off more calories.

The problem is that after your body loses some weight and gets accustomed to less calories it no longer wants to shed more weight. The other thing is that once we see ourselves losing weight, we tend to loosen up on our food intake and proportions only to sabotage our own objectives. Sometimes hitting this wall will only last a week and other times several. There has been times where it lasted me 6 weeks. It was frustrating as hell but once I changed a few things in my daily routine, I was back on track. Here are a few suggestions for climbing that wall.

try changing your routine by adding stretches and other exercises such as jumping jacks, push ups, pull ups etc.
begin working on upper body strength with dumbbells to increase your metabolism.
if you are walking, pick up your pace or jog a little and then walk a little alternating between walking and jogging.
keep a daily record or log of what you eat and what you weigh
cut down a few more calories by perhaps by 100
get out the measuring cups and scales and get back to making sure that you are actually consuming the calories you are supposed to be.

Those are just a few to get you started. Stick with it, don't give up yet. As I stated earlier, it's going to happen at one point or another. I've gone through it and so have thousands of others. You will get over it! I did. I still continue even after all of the problems I have faced.

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The importance of counting calories

2010-01-19T12:22:00.001-06:00

The big problem with not counting calories is that they can add up mighty fast. I had a situation where I need to eat a handful of dry roasted unsalted peanuts to keep mucus, which collects in my throat at bay. They seem to be the only thing which prevents me from gagging and ultimately throwing up. Each time I would feel like gagging I would take a handful of these peanuts, chew them and swallow. They clear my throat. The problem is that although they are unsalted a 1oz serving which is about 40 pieces contain 160 calories. I would take a handful about 6-7 times a day and before I know it I've already used up 1200 calories which is more than half of my daily intake. When I discovered that I had gained 10 pounds in a hurry even though I was exercising daily, I had to try to figure out why.

After my first day of counting calories I discovered that instead of consuming 2120 calories which is my number, I was stuffing 3500 calories a day. I was only burning off 353 calories a day by walking. So I was gaining a pound a day. I needed to make some drastic changes or keep adding weight. Burning 353 calories is ok to start off with maybe but I really needed to burn off a whole lot more to make a difference in my weight. As you can see, counting calories, if you want to lose weight is very vital. Remember calories in=calories out.

Let's see, how does that work? Well let's say if you are a female 45 yrs of age, 5'7' weighing in at 280lbs with no exercise, your intake of calories would be 2444 to maintain that weight. If you wanted to lose that weight you would need to eat 500 less calories which equals to 1944.

If you were a guy same age, 5'9' no exercise and weighing 280 lbs your daily caloric needs would be 2975 to maintain that weight. To lose weight you need to eat only 2475 calories a day. By exercising and cutting down on calories you will lose the weight much faster.

Do not go below 1200 calories per day unless you are on a medically supervised weight loss program or after consultation with your doctor.

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Calories

2010-01-17T19:19:00.001-06:00

We hear about the word calorie all the time but what is it? Why is it important and why bother counting calories?

A calorie is a measurement of energy expenditure. A pound of fat stores 3500 calories? So if you just sucked down 3500 calories, you just gained a pound. Each time you stuff your face with 3500 calories and don't exercise and burn it off, you gain a pound. Foods high in fat contain a lot of calories. It's true that even sedentary people burn off some calories just sitting and watching television but it's not enough.

To lose a pound a week, one needs to eat 500 less calories a day than you burn off. A 150 lb person walking a mile burns off 100 calories. It's more for a heavier person. Know your number.

http://walking.about.com/library/cal/uccalc1.htm

To find out what your basic daily calorie needs are

http://walking.about.com/cs/calories/l/blcalcalc.htm.

It's obvious why one needs to count calories if trying to lose weight after reading the info above.

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30 minutes of exercise daily

2010-01-14T11:42:00.000-06:00

Experts say, that about 30 minutes of exercise daily is enough for good health. I stick with that rule and exercise that on daily basis. I don't get out and walk or jog everyday in the winter because either there's just too much snow on the roads or the wind chills are at a dangerous level, but I work out with weights.

For the last week, I was a prisoner in my own home due to weather conditions, but today I got out and ran my 30 minutes worth. I wasn't tired because I had been working with weights all of this time. Running the 30 minutes seemed pretty easy. These days, I'm just trying to maintain my current weight and keeping my inner age younger than my chronological one. Know your number! To get an dea you can find out here:

http://www.growyouthful.com/quiz.php

After a while you will discover that you have many food items which are your enemies. Things which will prevent you from succeeding. There are many things which you will want to avoid and we will get into them later, but two things which for me at first were the most important were sugar and sodium.

So what's the big deal? Sugar raises the insulin level, cuts down on your immune system and helps promote the storage of fat. Salt or sodium regulates the fluid in your system along with blood pressure. Too much sodium in the diet retains water and can build up in the lungs literally drowning your heart, hence shortness of breath. Many foods we eat already contain sodium naturally and yet we add more to it while cooking and then at the table.

It may be a great thing for you to start cutting down on to start off with. I'm sure the doctors already explained this to you and ordered it long ago. Right?
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The thing with calories is...

2010-01-13T13:03:00.000-06:00

There's a saying, calories in, calories out, many of you have heard it over and over. Fat loss is the ratio of calories in vs calories out. So everyone was telling me that I had to cut down drastically on my caloric intake in order to lose some weight. So I did. The problem was that due to the sudden drop in calories, my metabolic rate also dropped. I felt cold all the time and lacked energy. My body went into a starvation mode thinking that I didn't have enough to eat and then slowing down my metabolism and burning off less fat. So no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't lose enough weight at first.

I had to rethink what I kept hearing from everyone and do some research on this. What I discovered was that instead of starving myself in losing weight, I had to eat myself into losing weight. I began eating 5-6 smaller sensible and nutritional meals a day, and using weights to regain my metabolic rate and to build some muscle tone. Instead of dropping a huge amount of calories from my diet right away I started off by cutting out 500 calories a day so my body would get used to the change. One important factor was that I needed to keep a record of my daily caloric intake. But first I had to find out what my actually body needs were. There is a link which will help you with that http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm.

I began monitoring what I ate by reading labels and counting calories. Here is another great link I use even today in keeping up with calorie counting; http://www.acaloriecounter.com/ Once I got that squared away, things just started going my way and in the right direction. I began losing weight equal to my activities and what I was expecting to lose ( by the way there are a few other great links in the right column of my blog page which may be a great help to you). Unfortunately, this changing of eating habits and nutrition can get really hairy and overwhelming at first. The problem is that everything is against you and are trying to sabotage you from losing weight unless you know exactly what you are putting in your mouth.

Right now all you are concerned with is getting your self esteem back by accomplishing short term goals, the rest will come in time.

Don't be a prisoner of your home, get out and get some activity!

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When setting goals

2010-01-12T09:34:00.003-06:00

When ever I set short term goals for myself, I have one for the specific day I set out for. For those starting out whether walking, jogging or whatever, you don't want to over do it, especially the first day. If you are walking, as an example, it may be a good idea at first to find out what your current limitation is. Try walking/jogging a mile. Most people lacking daily exercise won't be able to do it. Many of you are having difficulties getting to the end of your driveway let alone trying to walk a mile, but you will know the maximum distance you can go, for now. Later for a great esteem boost, you can compare distances. Sometimes we need that slap in the face and a wake up call to let us know exactly what we have become. Looking at yourself in the mirror won't give you the right prospective since we see ourselves differently and not as we actually appear.

At first all I could walk was less than half of a mile sweating up a storm, huffing, puffing and breathing heavily. It was an extremely difficult task for me but, I found out what my then limitation was and had something to work for. I made that my goal. To be able to walk that half mile without a problem within two weeks was one of the short term ones and it was achievable. You see, I didn't go out and try to walk 5 miles or longer and punish myself. I started out with a reasonable walking/jogging distance, something I knew I could accomplish. Yours might be longer or shorter distance than mine was. Remember to be realistic in your goals.

For those with a lot of weight starting off for the first time, don't try to walk 30-60 minutes daily right away. If you have a problem with the mile thing above don't attempt it, but know your limitation. Start off slow walking 5 minutes back and forth to the end of your driveway at first to build up your endurance and then increasing it by 5 minutes and getting away from your driveway as you begin to feel comfortable. Your goals in this case will be perhaps to walk a few hundred yards in a predetermined time.

Walking as an exercise is great for anyone young or old. It doesn't cost you anything as it's free. Age doesn't matter as long as you can get on your two feet and move one foot in front of the other. In the long run it will help you stay younger and fit to live another day.

Even though my chronological age was 55 my body age was 71 and I had a lot of problems not only in my joints but respiratory. As a matter of fact, I was told that I should never exert myself too much or jog as I could end up with severe consequences. I started walking at first. After finding out what my limitation was, my following day goal was to see if I could reach that distance again without getting tired. I could only go 600 yards, 300 in one direction and another 300 back. In my case it took me about a week to conquer it as I could only walk 10-15 minutes at a time and then had to rest. My daily goals for the second week was to increase my walks by a few hundred yards at a time. In two weeks from the time I started, my goal had been reached.

It was slow going at first but once I started accomplishing my goals and began to build up my endurance, things began moving much quicker, talk about self esteem, I was stoked! What happened was that my body began to get used to the idea of activity and made some adjustments. I wasn't trying to get anywhere in a hurry as I was taking it one step at a time, still achieving my goal.

Notice that I haven't said anything about losing weight yet! That will come in time! What I am trying to point out is that you need to overcome some barriers at first and see that you can achieve some goals. By achieving your goals, your self esteem goes up and you have a feeling of some accomplishment. You can see yourself moving forwards. Anytime you see yourself moving ahead will make you want to go further. Once again, everything is a mental attitude and achieving short term goals for success. Unlike on the show, The Biggest Loser, we aren't working in the gym from 40-56 hours a week with trainers, doctors watching our every move, telling us what to do and dietitians telling us what to eat. Most of us exercise perhaps 2-3 hours a week at best and are eating junk food at home and go to a fast food restaurants. Things at first will seem to go extremely slow and that's why many end up quitting. They expect miracles. It took you years to gain all that weight and do damage, so how could you possibly expect instant results. That's why goals are important!

My long term goal was to be able to walk my neighborhood from one side to the other without getting tired. That was 1.2 miles. Once I achieved that goal I made another. As I had gotten used to activity, I began losing weight. The problem was that I wasn't losing enough of it with all of the activity so I had to do some searching to find out what the problem was. I discovered that even though I was exercising and burning off those calories, I would turn around and add it right back as I ate.
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