Cary's Garage

Muscles are pretty. ;)

This is some good information that some may not be aware of. It's not the first time I've read about this.

Many take antihistamines to sleep nightly and long-term use of them may be risky for some. Especially with age. When I asked the allergist about this, he said that there is a risk, but typically with people late 60s and older. Just something to think about. I don't use them daily, but I know a lot of people who do.

I even used to have a client in their 70s who drank a shot of whiskey and took Benedryl every night to help them sleep. That sounds like a recipe for trouble. :(

My dad drank a little Nyquil every night for who knows how many years until I explained that it has antihistamine, acetaminophen and alcohol in it and none of those were okay for daily use (liver issues, brain issues...). He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's when he was 85.

It's also crazy that statins, which many older people are put on for lipid issues (high LDL, high cholesterol, low HDL, etc) as they age can actually be connected to Alzheimer's. How messed up is that?

Statins also can cause drowsiness, muscle ache and weakness. Nearly everyone is better off with exercise, especially as they age. That doesn't mean all-out running. It will vary by person but most of the people who live long, healthier lives are the ones who stay active in some, any, way.

If you're feeling drowsy, weak and in pain--how the F are you supposed to feel like moving more? This is one of several issues with statins. If they've been recommended to you, ask your doctor for alternatives, pay attention to your diet (get help if you need it but be sure it's from a qualified professional), try to work in a day or two more of movement (it doesn't have to be perfect or what everyone is doing, just move and keep your muscles strong). Statins aren't for everyone and they're way over prescribed these days. I guess that's a topic for another post.

https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/cm/4-common-medications-spike-dementia-120407716.html

Send a message to learn more.

This is my annual reminder that holiday events don't come as a surprise. ;) No one suddenly grabs you and takes you to a party where you're forced to eat more than you normally would. ;)

This means that you can do a little planning ahead. Don't go to a party or someone's house too hungry. Skipping meals the day of an event doesn't help you eat less that night; it often means you arrive ravenous and either over eat or eat stuff that isn't satisfying or not what you really like.

If you're looking at a buffet of some sort, whether it's at a banquet or in someone's house, before grabbing a plate, look it all over and decide what you're going to put on the plate. Start with something nutritious and some what filling, like the more protein-rich foods, then add veggies. Go sit down and eat and then go back later to get the treats that you were eyeing earlier.

This is when I get some brie and crackers, something I only have at parties, so only a few times a year. Then brownies. I love a good brownie. :P

Chances are if you're not overly hungry, you'll make choices that you can truly enjoy vs choices that leave you feeling stuffed, uncomfortable, and perhaps guilty (a wasted emotion when it comes to eating btw).

Enjoy yourself! No one holiday meal ruined any eating plan or caused tremendous weight gain. However, it CAN send you spiraling if you don't have some sort of plan for how you're going to approach the events.

Remember to also start with water, maybe before you get there even. Then you're not so dehydrated that you think alcohol will take care of that (it won't), and you may be more clear headed to make those choices I mentioned above. (let's hope :P )

Water in between everything else throughout the event is a great idea too. Happy holidays!!

Daily meditation may work as well as a popular drug to calm anxiety, study finds

Do you meditate?

"Importantly, the study shows that MBSR can achieve similar outcomes with tremendously fewer side effects," Mrazek tells NPR in an email."

Daily meditation may work as well as a popular drug to calm anxiety, study finds Researchers compared a practice of daily mindfulness meditation to taking Lexapro to control anxiety symptoms. The meditators got equivalent relief, without the side effects.

100%

Never let anyone, especially a medical professional, tell you that your symptoms are not real or they don’t fit a specific disease.

You know your body better than anyone else, so listen to it and keep searching for answers if you haven’t found them yet.

And remember that you only get one body, so treat it well.

I have a great personality. ;)

I like fries, but I only get them when they're really good (like at Island's or Shake Shack), as opposed to simply getting them whenever they come with something. They're not always worth getting.

It's like cheese and maybe some other things (mayo comes to mind). If you're someone who is managing their weight and/or would like to lose some body fat, try skipping some of those things that you'd automatically get. You may not even notice (as in the case of the cheese on your sandwich) and could end up eating fewer unnecessary calories in general this way.

If they have holes in them, they must have fewer calories right? 😂

🤣

Improving and taking care of yourself has a ripple effect on the world around you. The immediate world, family, friends, etc, and the wider world as well.

Use your imagination, follow what feels right, play, push yourself, let it rip, and get good at making new, exciting choices that bring as much beauty into the world as possible.

Related to my earlier post (just yesterday) about a higher heart rate and poor sleep after alcohol, here are my husband's numbers with one night of drinking alcohol vs a normal night with no alcohol.

(He has no underlying medical conditions.)

:P

Once again, this is my personal evidence that alcohol messes with your body's ability to rest well. It can make your heart have to work harder all night.

Restful sleep can make the difference between thinking clearly or not, being hungrier or not, and fighting off a cold virus--or not.

Do all you can to not mess with your sleep.

This came up in my memories, and I thought it was still an important thing to share.

Make some clean choices today. If you're unsure and would like ideas for tweaks you can make to your dietary intake, let me know. I'm glad to help. Comment here or message me. No obligation--I'm not currently working as a nutrition coach.

However I'm still full of ideas! :p

Someone said this to me yesterday, "If you eat healthier food most of the time, your body can spend more time and energy (calories) on using the good nutrients rather than on eliminating the bad stuff". I think that's the simplest way to explain why eating cleaner (less additives, processes, etc) is a smart thing to do for a healthy body 🙂

Send a message to learn more.

Waiting for motivation might mean not doing things. Sometimes we just have to take action and see how it goes.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again:

Action comes BEFORE motivation.

Give us a 💯 if you agree.

C'mon, you can do more than one!! :p

:p

Just eat veggies and try for some variety.🥦🥬🥕🫑

Do you have a favorite?

I absolutely hated them all growing up, but now I really like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and green beans.

I've never personally subscribed to the concept of "cheat" meals, and I've never used that terminology with clients.

Sure, cheat meals work for some people.

(Looking at you, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.)

But they’re problematic for a lot of others because they..

❌Glorify eating past fullness

❌Encourage binary thinking of “I’m on a diet” vs. “I’m off a diet.”

❌Are often a response to rigid rules that are tough to sustain

❌Don’t teach you how to moderate your intake of beloved foods

Most importantly, there’s another option.

✔️Consider making 70% to 90% of what you eat minimally processed. The rest can then be gustatory joy for the soul.

✔️Think of dietary restraint like a dial. Adjust it up or down based on changing life circumstances. When your life is on cruise control, you might aim for 90%. When you’re under a lot of stress, you might turn it down to something more manageable.

I've been saying this for years. A diet with a name is typically unsustainable and really teaches you only how to diet not how to live the rest of life in a way that works best for your body and lifestyle. ;)

👉🏼 I promise you can just eat mostly minimally processed foods, not completely cut anything out, not worry about timing of your meals or if what your about to eat is "allowed".

👉🏼 If body composition is your goal, do pay attention to what and how much you are eating/drinking and see what adjustments you can make.

👉🏼 Identify as someone who lives a healthy lifestyle, not as someone who is "keto/carnivore, paleo, raw vegan, a faster" One is a set of values, the other is weird virtue signal.

I've had clients say they "just want to be sore". Jon makes a good point. 😉

I have known quite a few people who believe that alcohol helps them sleep. While it may make one tired at bedtime, it actually messes with the body's ability to get quality rest.

Here are my heart rate numbers from Friday night, with no alcohol (a normal night for me) and Saturday night (last night) after going to a party and having 3 High Noons that are just 5% alcohol by volume.

You'll notice that last night my heart rate was only 22% below resting. The night without alcohol, it was below resting 99% of the night. The resting pulse with alcohol was 10 beats per minute more.

I've tracked this before, and it's consistent. Alcohol makes your heart work harder. You will not get good rest/sleep with alcohol.

Sleep is so important to good health. Consider cutting back or not having more than one with dinner. Consider not drinking during the week. Or even give it up completely for a while and see how much better you can feel.

Spoiler alert: This won't work. 🤣

Get your phone out of the bedroom. Or at least keep it across the room, on phone calls only (if you can't turn it off).

Study Finds That Standing on One Leg Can Reveal the Risk of Death in Older People

Can you stand on one leg for 10 seconds or longer? I stopped counting at 20 seconds on each leg. :)

It's even harder if you close your eyes, and I'm not yet sure how long I can do that for.

https://mymodernmet.com/balancing-on-one-balance-leg-risk-of-death/?fbclid=IwAR1drAC_-AiYOwuIi6djb9ofp8q6TaZauyKS7HCS5Adc_qUfibIUjHC430M

Study Finds That Standing on One Leg Can Reveal the Risk of Death in Older People Whether or not you’re able to maintain your balance on one leg could reveal a lot about your health.

If you're not already, follow Mike Howard at . :)

👉🏼 We lead very busy lives.. there's no doubt about it.

👉🏼 It's tempting to think we need to be constantly excited by new diets, new superfoods or 10 different glute exercises.

👉🏼 It's easy to fall into a trap of wanting a quick fix, a "kickstart" or some fast solution to the weight we put on over the last year.

Stop. breathe. re-focus.

✅ Manage your time in a way that gym work, meal prep and mind-body care become priority.

✅ Get used to meals that are easily repeatable. By all means experiment with different recipes, spices and foods, but avoid the temptation of jumping on food and diet bandwagons.

✅ Fall in love with the basics.. or at least embrace/accept them.

Eat real food as much as possible. Your body and brain will be happier. 🌻

The Food-Inflammation Connection - IDEA Health & Fitness Association

I do not eat a completely plant-based diet. I also don't eat a lot of red meat. Some days I have no meat/poultry at all. I vary what I eat, but I do know that eating more plant-based tends to make me feel better than eating a meal dominated by red meat does.

But that's me. Some people can't eat a diet higher in fiber because of gastric conditions. Others would do a lot better getting more fiber in their bodies regularly. I'm guessing you know who you are. ;)

There is no one perfect way to eat for every human body and any person, regardless of their certifications, training or other education, who tells you so, is wrong.

We all can figure out what helps us be our healthiest. One way we do that is by educating ourselves about how the human body works, trying different foods, and observing how our bodies react to what we put in them.

This article was written for fitness professionals but contains a lot of good info about nutrition and the body. Check it out when you've got a couple minutes to read.

https://www.ideafit.com/personal-training/the-food-inflammation-connection/?sourcecode=facebook_&trackingcode=pub_article_training_2022_may_fb-food-inflammation-connection&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organicsocial&utm_campaign=pub_article_training_2022_may&utm_content=fb-food-inflammation-connection&fbclid=IwAR09vuse7jAZgbJTKrs-Zm3SeYhgSqSwJxCqgsg1HeaUwQTJ2WbdZQUFCqM

The Food-Inflammation Connection - IDEA Health & Fitness Association Think about how the gut affects our relationship with food and its contribution to the body’s anti-inflammatory defense system.

In my case, it'd be pina coladas I guess since I have had a strict no-tequila policy since 1983. ;)

You got this!!

This is one of the best podcasts I've listened to about pain and managing it. It's about being as healthy as possible and making that your goal.

I really hope everyone will give this a listen. I listened to it in the car last week and today listened to it as I walked around the neighborhood and as my right knee gave out repeatedly and my left pinky toe experienced shooting nerve pain. At one point I thought, do I need to call a neighbor or Uber to drive me around the block? I stood there laughing at that thought. :P

I didn't do that, but it would also be okay if I had to.

I just slowed way down--and that's okay. I walked. The distance doesn't matter. The fact that I did it is helpful to teaching my nervous system that I'm fine.

Then I came home and did some back and shoulder strengthening exercises. Just do what you can friends. Even the smallest movements in very measured amounts and ways can help teach your nervous system that it's safe and that you're okay. Take it low and slow if you need to--but believe it's possible. :)

New episode on our podcast!⠀
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There are two key questions Dr. Asare Christian asks each of his patients in their first meeting: “What is your understanding of why you have pain?” and “What has your pain prevented you from doing?” Answering these questions, he believes, is critical to developing a treatment plan that is actually going to work. In this episode, we examine each question in-depth, understanding why each is so important and what can be done with the answers⠀
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Tune in to our podcast, Like Mind Like Body and listen to this episode full of wisdom! ⠀
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One of the things I've had to do because of is slow down. Pace myself. Be okay with doing less.

I've always had a highly-sensitive body that reacts to everything. This isn't always bad because while it can mean that I often have atypical reactions to meds, etc, it also has always seemed to manifest in a body that reacts quickly to strength training. I build strength pretty easily for some reason, and I'm really happy about that. Keeping my body strong has really helped my joints over the many years since I started weight training in 1981.

Ideally we have strong supple muscles that support our skeleton, vs hypertonic ones that cause imbalances and pain.

Now I just tend to do less and, well, less is more for sure. ;)

What does Less is More mean if you have hypermobility?

It means a few things to me.

- sometimes we just need to rest. We need to allow ourselves to rest physically and mentally and not feel guilty about it. By doing less, we get more energy and time to recover.

- it means that not doing 30 reps of an exercise is ok. For many people starting low and going slow is the best option. It’s ok to start with 2 or 3 reps if you’re new to exercise. If we’re pushed too fast, too soon it can lead to strains, flare-ups and pain. This will demotivate us and make us reluctant to exercise. So by doing less we can actually get more because we build tissue tolerance that leads to stamina of the tissue.

- it also means not working out for an hour if you can’t manage an hour. It’s much better for some people to do 5 minutes a day rather than big workouts. Little and often is more sustainable and tends to avoid the boom and bust than big sessions infrequently. Again, building tissue tolerance is key.

- it means saying no when we need to. It may mean we have to cancel plans and again, not feel bad about it. Sometimes we need to prioritise ourselves and do less.

- in terms of movement, a big factor for me is less effort, less force and less strain. I take a no strain, no pain approach. A lot of what I do is identify movement patterns that are tension led. We harbour our stress and tension in our tissues. This makes movement difficult. This is caused by many things like pain, stress, anxiety, fear. By reducing the tension and learning to move without excess force, we do become stronger. It’s a weird concept but it allows people to find freedom of movement.

Sometimes I ❤️ to rest in child’s pose or with my legs over a bolster and just breathe. It’s nurturing for my nervous system and gives me a mental & physical break.

Do you relate to Less is More?

Have a great day 🦓💪

Mmm cupcakes! 🧁

💪🏼I promise your overall health will improve with basic, healthy additions to your life.

👉🏼 Throw all of your energy and resources into implementing the basics. Imperfectly, but with a mindset around improvement and progress.

Absolutely work with your doctor to rule out medical causes.

A cleanse, a new diet or some other fad intervention is the very last thing you need.

Yeah, what he said. :)

Whether you are just starting out on a health journey or restarting one, start with the easiest habits: the so-termed "low hanging fruit". Some examples are:

👉🏼 15 minute daily brisk walk
👉🏼 15 squats, 20 band pulls, 10 push-ups 5x/week
👉🏼 Prepare 3 meals per week.
👉🏼 Mindfulness exercise 5 min/day.
👉🏼 Go to bed 30 minutes earlier
👉🏼 1 serving more of veggies/day.

While the above is all reasonably simple, everyone's life and therefore their "low hanging fruit" is at varying levels. For some they simply need to reach and grab.. for others, their lowest hanging fruit requires a jump or climb.

The reality is the amount of effort to see physical results often requires more jumping/scaling/climbing or even getting more resources (like a ladder).

Still, focusing on what is more immediately attainable over and over will yield wins. I promise.