Glucosamine Experience

Reading up on the Cooling Inflammation site, I decided to take the supplements Dr. Ayers recommends. Bought top of the line glucosamine and vitamin C on Saturday. Took both Saturday night before going to bed and again Sunday at around dinner time. After dinner I started itching something awful. It was almost unbearable. Went to the bathroom and noticed my skin around my neck was beet red. Took off my house dress and noticed hives and red skin everywhere. Took a couple of antihistamines immediately. By about 10 am this morning almost all the redness and rash were gone.

Soooooooooo, maybe it's the shellfish? The sulfate? The Vitamin C (I doubt that)? Maybe I should try the synthetic version of glucosamine? And I didn't even take the 750 mg Dr. Ayers recommended. I got the 500 mg size. Maybe it was the red cooking wine I used when making my beef stew? Who the hell knows? I took the Vitamin C today with no problems. I'll try the stew tomorrow. If that doesn't cause problems, then it's the glucosamine.

I was reading up on the Warrior Diet. I'll have to get the book from the library. When I dropped 50 lbs 2 years ago, I was fasting for 18 hours each day and only eating in a 6 hour window. The warrior diet seems to fit into that scenario and I can get my coffee in during the day. I'll see where that gets me.

Imagine that!

Everyone is pooh poohing Dr. Kruse for his stance on cold therapy, me included to a degree (no pun intended). The reason I mention this now is that I was spending a lot of time reading  Dr. Ayers site "Cooling Inflammation" the last couple of days looking for some answers to several of my health issues and because I love him and too bad he's married (but I digress) and came across this in one of the comments sections. Someone had asked what should be done to stimulate the vagus nerve.

His response in part was:

There are numerous ways to stimulate the Vagus nerve in general including:

• the Valsalva maneuver
• joga relaxation exercises (shavasana)
• immersing the face in cold water

Sooooo, maybe cold therapy can be useful to a degree and let's not throw the concept out entirely.

Just a thought!

Knowledge is great but experience greater

I am constantly seeking new knowledge as to how things work, why, when, how, where, etc. However, certain things I happen to know are true due to my experiences, especially when it comes to diet. That's why I've stopped reading a number of blogs where "youngsters (those under 60)" start babbling about "safe" starches.

Take for example the holidays, which also happen to include my birthday. Lot's of going out and celebrating and a perceived license to "cheat." If starches, in moderation, were safe (at my age) I would not have put on almost 10 lbs because they definitely were in moderation. A bit of rice there, a little bit of potato there and voila, 10 lbs. No starches in one day, I'm down 2 lbs quickly.

So it is true that what happens to work for "some" definitely does't work for "others." Basically, I have to do a bare bones, an almost all animal products type of diet to lose weight. I can get by low-carbing, (veggies, berries, full fat yogurt, fish, meat, eggs, cheese) to improve my health markers but to actually lose weight it's animal products mostly, with no vegetation and definitely no starches.

I can eat animal products and not count calories and still lose weight. I can drink heavy whipping cream and still lose weight without hunger even at my age as long as I stick to animal products. There's where Woo is right. Keep the calories higher so your body doesn't think it's starving and give it nutrient-dense nourishment (what could be more nutrient dense than animals) and you'll lose weight. Show me one vegetable or fruit ounce for ounce that can beat a pork chop or beef liver or eggs in nutrients. Don't even ask me if steamed rice contains any nutrients or even taste. No thanks, I think I'll pass.

Stooping to new lows in the new year

It is mind boggling how low some of us LC/Paleo folks are falling.  I'm still in shock. However, it has been interesting and amusing and sad. It has also provided much insight into different personalities and shown me just how petty some can be and how others try to maintain some semblance of civility.

I have a short wish list for the new year. Here it is:

• more articles written by Dr. Ayers of "Cooling Inflammation"
• less sex scenes in novels (you know you're getting old when you skim over sex scenes deeming them a waste of your precious time which could be better spent in laying out clues and solving crimes)
• thicker books by favorite authors
• more books written by Patrick Rothfuss
• more books written by Ian Rankin
• good health
• success with my diet

 That's about it.

Retirement Planning

So most people when they use the term "Retirement Planning" always mean "Retirement Financial Planning." In my case nothing could be further from the truth. I don't give a shit about finances. Can finances buy you happiness, contentment and health? Probably not. I've managed to save a little bit but it's not over 30k and I'll be drawing a good pension that I've worked since 1964 to earn. My tastes are very simple and my spending has always been at bare minimum because I never had any money and have always lived within my means. Enough of this money talk. Retirement planning is now my primary focus even though I still have 2 years to grind out before I retire.

I've been discussing this with a dear old friend of mine who is my age and we've known each other since we were 18 and worked our first job at the "Army and Navy" store. We've been fast friends ever since even though we haven't lived in the same city for quite some time. We have decided upon a more temperate climate here in Canada and we are moving there, she in May of this year and me in May of 2015. We will keep separate apartments as she is the "Felix" to my "Oscar". I have pets, she doesn't. She irons her socks. What else can I say?

We have picked out the place and have friends scouting it out for rentable apartments we can afford.

So we've decided that we want to:

Try our hand at golf and laugh ourselves silly (I think the last time my friend played golf she knocked out and killed a wild goose)
Try fishing
Do some gardening
Definitely take long hikes daily
Join the reading club (not me as I already know what I like to read and am inflexible)
Take some courses (not me, I'm concentrating on hiking and leaving the heavy thinking to my friend)
Take jaunts to our favorite city, rent rooms on the beach and stroll through the parks
Take an Alaskan Cruise
Go to other cities in the area on shopping sprees (not me, I'll go sightseeing instead)

We've decided that we will maintain our health so that we can enjoy ourselves. I have started my diet a few days ago, couldn't even wait for the 1st of January. Dropped 2 lbs already.

It's amazing what a joy planning a retirement can be. I can hardly wait and it has lifted my mood significantly.