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Good luck and much success to everyone on this journey!
You're not alone! Lots of us out there. If you’d like, check out this thread. We try to keep exercising and write about how it’s going:
https://www.agingcare.com/discussions/looking-for-online-exercise-buddies-445993.htm
Article on Greater Good website:
What Is the Best Diet for Mental Health?
New research is exploring the connection between the foods we eat and our feelings of depression, anxiety, and happiness.
By Kira M. Newman | September 18, 2019
Should you eat an apple—or a bag of Oreos? Go to McDonald’s—or the vegetarian restaurant on the corner? When we make these everyday food choices, many of us think first of our physical health and appearance. But there’s another factor we may want to consider in picking foods: their impact on our mental health. A growing body of research is discovering that food doesn’t just affect our waistline but also our moods, emotions, and even longer-term conditions like depression. Which makes sense, after all. Our brains are physical entities, running on the energy that we put into our bodies, affected by shifts in our
Do you vary that menu at all? I love salad & chicken, but I try making it different ways. Like: inside a wrap, or in a breadbowl, or maybe n "overnite salad"...I like those so much! Ever heard of it?
I feel miserable & bitter about the whole caregiving life. A skilled nursing facility can’t call soon enough letting us know they have a bed!
I use Spark People to keep myself accountable. The community is diverse and very positive. I think I have the paid version (it was a one-time special back in 2016) but that version doesn’t have anything that you’d really need. Even the free version has a vast amount of information (videos and articles) on just about everything related to nutrition and exercise at every adult age.
May I ask if you're on as DizzyBritches?
I have lost...drum roll......2 pounds.
Notice no starting weight was given so I will just keep up with reporting pounds lost!
Anyone else care to report this past weeks loss?
Waterfalls!
Try and Exercise, Eat a Little Less, Tis Best.
Waterfalls..
Many of us caregivers are caring for our elderly parents, so we are often at least in middle age, when our metabolism naturally beings to slow down, and pounds can creep on even if our lives are perfect.
I have found something very, very helpful. I stopped eating sugar.
I know it sounds difficult because many of our comfort foods are sugary (even some salty snacks sometimes have sugar in them - check the labels). But if you can keep it out of your house, and don't eat sugar for a while - the cravings for sweets goes away! It's such a relief when that happens because it makes you feel like you have more control. I also find I'm less hungry overall, possibly because instead of sugary treats I'm eating the foods my body really needs.
If there are others in your house who bring home sugary treats, perhaps you can ask them to avoid buying things you really like. For example - I like dark chocolate, my hubby likes milk chocolate. So if he brings home milk chocolate Hershey bars I have no temptation. He loves Whoopie pies & so do I! But he also likes Shoo-Fly pie, but I don't - so I buy him that instead. There are work-arounds for you & the folks you live with if you can agree on what comes in the house.
Also think about what you DO need to eat for your health & weight loss. Make sure you have those foods on hand - and some of them easy-to-prepare for the really rough days when you have no time to cook for yourself!
The only other thing that's helped is taking in enough protein and getting plenty of sleep. I know, the sleep part is easier said than done when you're a caregiver!
If it's hard to shut your mind off at night there are many ways to help you relax - it's different things for different people, so you need to find what works for you. Meditation, prayer/saying the rosary, reading, exercising earlier in the day, a warm shower, a cool & dark room to sleep in, (dark is important - light goes through your eyelids & wakes up the brain!), etc. Some of these things also reduce stress. Lack of sleep and stress effect the chemical balances (hormones, etc.) in our bodies and are definitely linked to weight gain.
We need to take time to care for ourselves, or it will be difficult to care for anyone else! (I need to take my own advice, haha!)
Hope this helps, and good luck to everyone!
Waterfalls
I don't recall that anyone has mentioned the sleep factor in this weight-gain process. I keep reading how important it is to losing lbs and maintaining a healthy weight. Not always easy as a caregiver!
My daughter and I bought Fitbit watches a month ago, and it has helped me tremendously. It tracks my activity and sleep patterns, among other things. Three nieces and a couple friends join us to do a group challenge each week that keeps me motivated to keep moving instead of sitting when dad's sitting.
Also, I just received a beginner's guide to the Mediterranean diet that sounds so clean and fresh and doable. I did a week's worth of meal prep yesterday. Lots of veggie chopping. I'll just have to stop tasting the gravy that I'm sure my dad will still want to pour over everything!