Post holiday report

In spite of dinners out and meals with relatives, I managed to stay on course. I brought along a lot of prepared food just in case I couldn't get what I wanted to eat but there were opportunities to eat whole grain bagels for breakfast, veggie sides for lunches and dinners that I could have.

So, instead of being up in weight after Christmas, I'm actually down a touch.

Activity:

Walking the dog, walking in place, arm and leg raises.

Progress - 31 pounds down  2 and a half months since the start.

Weekend before Christmas

I've lost 28.5 pounds in two months and a week. I'm very happy to have done that. I can't say I'm moving more easily, although I probably am. It's just that the arthritis masks much of the general improvements.

Once I get moving things are pretty good, however when first standing up or those first few steps, those are hard to manage. I start by shuffling like a centenarian but soon things loosen up and I can walk.

I'm continuing to walk further on a weekly basis, trying to stretch my distances little by little. So far, so good for that.

My food is still whole food, plant based and so far that seems comfortable to follow. I'll see how the holiday week unwinds. I'll be traveling and living in a hotel for at least some of the time.

Activity:

Walking the dog, walking in place, arm and leg raises.

Progress - 28.5 pounds down  2 months and 7 days since the start.

Some improvements noted

I've been gradually increasing my walking distance and I've made efforts to be more active during the day, taking ten minute time outs to walk in place or other things like arm and leg raises. It's not easy but it's getting a bit easier.

My diet remains whole food plant based and that seems to be working well to keep me satisfied and it allows me to keep the calories down as vegetables fill you up without large amounts of calories.

Activity:

Walking the dog, walking in place, arm and leg raises.

Progress - 25.5 pounds down  7 weeks and five days since the start.

A little adjustment

So, I was surfing the net the other day and came across the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine site. It made some interesting reading about the power of a low fat, plant based diet and the effect it can have on weight management and in helping to reverse type 2 diabetes, often known as adult onset diabetes. I'm not a doctor or researcher so I can't tell you if the claims are well supported or not but it seems to match other things I've read.

To cut to the chase I am going to try some of the suggestions there, like staying away from all animal products (which I was already doing), fruits such as pineapple and watermelon, olives and avocado and all forms of wheat.  I'm going to miss watermelon and wheat but it's not a big leap from where I've been so I think it should be easy.

Tonight we went to a sushi restaurant. I managed to find on plan things to eat but it was a bit limited.

I tried naproxen today instead of ibuprofen. It seems to be okay although it took a long time to take effect but it is holding a lot longer. I'm not pain free by any means but it seems to be at a manageable level.

I'm a couple days away from seven weeks into this study of one.

Activity:

Some walking.

Progress - 21 pounds down  6 weeks and five days since the start.

Six weeks

I'm feeling okay today, my pain level is manageable if not comfortable. I'm continuing on with a plant based eating pattern but in all honesty the only benefit I can claim is easy weight loss.

I'm down 19 pounds in six weeks, just a little more than three pounds a week. That's pretty impressive from weight loss perspective. I've been eating my fill three times a day and haven't had any hunger pains at all.

I'm heavy on the starches most meal and could probably use a few more greens for longer term health I think. It's not that I don't eat greens but I normally have them just at dinner time and the occasional lunch.


Activity:

Not much today, a little stretching, a little bit of isometrics, some walking.

Progress - 19 pounds down  6 weeks since the start.

Carry on

I'm now five and a half weeks along since I changed my diet. I've not been able to add in a lot of activity, but I am inching forward a bit from being a complete slug.

I do a little isometrics and desk based exercises each day and walk when I have a good enough day to manage the pain of an excursion. Today isn't looking like one of those days just yet but I am feeling better than I was this morning so perhaps I'll surprise myself.

My weight has held steady all week, bouncing only by fractions of a pound on a daily basis. I'm not sure if I have reached some sort of equilibrium with my caloric intake. I haven't made any effort to deal with how much I eat, only what it is I consume. I try to make the bulk of my diet, filling but low calorie foods. I will look at reducing quantity if I plateau for any two week period.


Activity:

Not much today, a little stretching, a little bit of isometrics

Progress - 17 pounds down  5 weeks and 4 days since the start.

Sunday - 5 weeks tomorrow

I was out and about for four hours or so doing shopping and walking around yesterday. That's a big step up and I wasn't any more sore today than usual. I'm going to start some careful and slow resistance training tomorrow. I also ordered a DVD on Yoga for Arthritis. I hope doing that a few times a week will combat the loss of mobility I've been experiencing. 

Eating whole foods that are plant based is, so far, working well for me from a weight loss point of view.

Here's what today looked like, everything is vegetable based and no oil was used.

Breakfast was oatmeal with blueberries.

Lunch was two ciabatta buns with banana on as well as a cherry, banana, mixed salad greens, cocoa and water smoothie. 

Dinner was a big burrito with beans, brown rice, tomato, lettuce, corn, salsa and grilled vegetables. I did have fruit as well, a mix of watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, pineapple and honeydew melon in a small bowl.

Activity:

Not much today, just some gardening. 

Progress - 17 pounds down  4 weeks and 6 days since the start.

Friday night

My arthritis, while not great, is lighter today. I'm moving more easily and my wrists are only mildly painful.

Eating whole foods that are plant based is, so far, working well for me from a weight loss point of view.

Here's what today looked like, everything is vegetable based and no oil was used.

Breakfast was oatmeal with blueberries.

Lunch was a massive mound of fettuccine al fredo (with a cauliflower based sauce )

Dinner was potatoes, gravy and baked beans. I didn't have any fruit with dinner as I was too full.

Activity:

Not much today, on and off desk exercises and isometrics. My muscles are pretty wasted away after a few months of very little activity due to the pain. I will continue to do what I can and try to work my way back to regular resistance training.

Progress - 14 pounds down  4 weeks and 4 days since the start.

Four weeks and two days on...

My arthritis remains at a very painful level. Once I get up and moving a bit the pain reduces somewhat but it sure would be nice to have a pain free day.

I continue to eat plant based  whole foods. The one thing that's certain from it is my weight continues to drop.

Here's what today looked like, everything is vegetable based and no oil was used.

Breakfast was oatmeal with blueberries.

Lunch was fettuccine al fredo (with a cauliflower based sauce )

Dinner was potatoes, gravy, dressing, peas and pickled beets followed by assorted fruit for dessert ( from a Costco fruit tray).


Activity:

Not much still. I walk the dog occasionally and try to do some desk based exercises. I believe I will bring my mini-trampoline upstairs along with some hand weights to see if that might work out for some activity.

Progress - 13 pounds down  4 weeks and 2 days since the start.

Three weeks on...

It's three weeks since I started this blog. I've had a lot of pain to cope with and not much in the way of relief. The only bright spot so far is that I've lost a little weight.

I'm eating three meals a day and not snacking. My meals are largely plant based but it hasn't lead to any kind of change in my skin lesions or in the amount of joint pain.

Due to the large amount of joint pain I'm not very active. I do try to do some "desk exercises" when I'm at the computer all day and perhaps that will help in time. I'm having trouble standing up from sitting, I'll see if I can figure out some sort of assisted squat to strengthen my muscles. The inactivity can't be doing them any favors.


Activity:

Not much on any day. On my best days I walk my dog about a kilometer and do some isometric exercises and minor stuff at my desk.

Progress - 8 pounds down  3 weeks since the start.

Thanksgiving Day

In spite of the pain and the embarrassment of the psoriasis lesions, I do have a lot to be thankful for. It pays to remember that when I'm working through the pain. I was worse Sunday than I was on Monday and any relief is good however slight.

Meals for Oct 12, 2015:

Breakfast:

• cocoa, broccoli leaf, cherry and banana smoothie ( 1 tbsp cocoa, 1 large broccoli leaf, 1 cup frozen cherries, 1 frozen banana and water to blend)

Lunch:

• ciabatta, toasted, with hummus
• handful of cherry tomatoes from the garden, some yellow, some red)
• 1/2 a cucumber
• 1 cup raspberries

Dinner:

• dressing
• mashed potatoes
• gravy
• sweet potato
• broccoli
• cauliflower
• coleslaw
• cranberry jelly
• croissant

Yes, dinner was pretty much the same as yesterday. Leftovers are always welcome around here.

Activity:

None really, I did harvest some potatoes but that was pretty much it.

Progress - 1.6 pounds, 2 days of recording.

Diminished but not done.

I've been living with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis for years on end. However, it's been getting worse by leaps and bounds over the last year.

If you haven't heard of it, it is a form of arthritis associated with psoriasis. It can come and go but there is no cure for it at present so you have to strive for symptom control. Any joint can be involved and it's characterized by swelling and pain and limited movement in a joint.

Yesterday my left wrist and right index finger were beacons of pain, whether in use or not. Also effected are my knees, both hands, spine and hips. On top of that I have tendinitis in my feet, sort of a bonus ailment. I haven't been able to rotate my head for decades. Accompanying this surge in arthritis is a surge in my psoriasis lesions which seem to cover my back, knees, calves and are scattered pretty much everywhere. All of that is true today too.

So, what am I doing here, and why am I beginning this blog? Partially it's to make sure I log my progress on trying to ease the symptoms, partially it's an outlet for the pain, a way to recognize it but also to dismiss it.

Taking endless amounts of drugs is a pretty poor answer and there are risks even with the best of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) and even with low odds for side effects if you keep spinning the wheel you'll increase the odds of an issue arising, like internal bleeding and ulcerated stomachs, kidney damage and the like.

I'm going to keep track of my diet and how I feel on any given day and see if I can parse out a pattern, whether with food or activities that might show me how to ease the pain with some sort of strategy.

I want to stop the feeling of diminishing horizons, this slow freezing of my joints and curtailment of my movement. Today my life revolves around pain. Getting to a standing position has become a chore of such magnitude that I have to sit and consider the consequences of rising and the wave of pain that comes with such a simple act.

I want to loose weight to ease the load on my joints and I will log my weight loss. Surely, if I can lighten the load I can make moving easier. We'll see. I will write down what I eat and how I feel each day and any activity I manage to perform.

Meals for Oct 11, 2015:

Breakfast

• cherry, banana, cocoa, broccoli leaves with water in a smoothie

Lunch

• roast butternut squash soup
• a ciabatta bun
• small piece of apple cake

Thanksgiving Dinner

• mashed potatoes
• gravy
• sweet potato
• cauliflower
• broccoli
• pickled beets
• coleslaw
• garlic bread
• dressing (stuffing)

I know it seems like a lot but I only had on nine inch plate full. Enough to feel very satisfied but not enough to loosen any clothing over. I had a three bite slice of pie for dessert, it was yummy, and it was, surprisingly, enough.

Activity:

No activity to speak of unless you count shuffling to the table and back to the couch for each meal. I found it hard to get to my feet, a cane would help I think and I may have to look into that. It is hard to convince myself to make the attempt to stand when I know the wave of pain will accompany the action.

None the less I got through the day, enjoyed parts of it and to top it off I'm down 1.4 pounds. That's not something that's ever happened after a holiday meal. I expect it's due to the fact everything was homemade and, therefore, not full of salt.

Progress - 1.4 pounds, 1 day of recording.
Learning for the day: a small plate helps control overeating. If I'd have used the 12 inch plate I'm sure I would have filled it and eaten it all.