Full Throttle

When I was young playing on my backyard swing set  or skating on the backyard rink my dad made I never played slowly. The swing set wasn't just a swing set but a jungle gym. My speed was fast or faster. I loved swinging as high as I could , hanging upside down or skating as fast as I could.

Feeling the breeze in my hair or the cold crisp air on skates was fun. I loved being outdoors and I loved movement. As a kid I never thought about hurting myself, about helmets or padding. You just did. 

Even as I get older the adventurous side of me still burns. I’ve just had to learn to recover and heal before the next adventure, and I’ve had to learn to throttle down the activity a bit otherwise too much time is needed for the knees to recoup before the next whatever.

So I’ve had to give up a bit of speed, a bit of intensity for more consistency. I’m good with that, cause I know I will still compete, still push myself to the end goals of a ride, or workout or whatever.

I just read a great book called, The New Rules of Lifting... for middle age. We know physiological changes occur in our bodies as we age, but the key is to not to let the changes turn off the motor. The changes just might make you shift gears a bit thats all.

Movement is medicine, so as I approach 50 I’ll try to throttle down a bit. Cause when I’m 100 I’m still gonna lift the weights, maybe a two pound dumb bell but a weight never the less.

I’ll let you know when I get there how much weight it is. Until then, lets just consistently enjoy the ride!!!!!!!!

Find your Passion

I went to a funeral yesterday, to pay last respects to a brilliant music teach, singer and pianist. A well put together lady in all aspects. She was 81 and I had never met her. 

My husband and I went to the funeral to show our love and support for her daughter and son in law who we adore as our friends. 

Most people don’t like going to funerals but I find them rather cathartic. I love listening to families share stories of the talents, love, accomplishments and so may wonderful memories they have. The celebration of the life, of the soul that filled the body on earth. The end, yet new beginning.

Don’t leave this world with regrets, at any age if there is that one thing, that one thing that aches in your soul to do, that you really want to do before your body or mind can’t, then do it.

Live each day with purpose. It doesn’t matter if that purpose is active or passive, each day has purpose.

I’ve been surrounded by elderly sickness and death lately and by knowing of 3 births to occur shortly. The circle of life. Fill your days on this earth with purpose and when we meet again, tell me your wonderful memories of this life.

Peace

Age and Metabolic Whaaaat?

So your trying to loose weight and your over the age of 25 and you have crappy nutritional habits. Welcome to the world of thousands.

Well don’t despair there are a few things you have control over to change. No- one of those things isn’t that you can stop time. No -there isn’t a magic fountain of youth and no- you aren’t immortal. Now that we cleared that up, lets take a look at whats really happening. According to a study in the Journal of Applied Physiology, 1998, after the age of 25, your RMR declines 2-4% with each passing decade. Oh and one more monkey wrench just for shit and giggles, you’ll loose about 5 lbs of lean muscle mass each decade from age 25-65. Sounds kinda glum ha?

I know what your thinking, holy cow my RMR is declining!!!! Whaaat the heck does that mean, cause I don’t know what part of my body is my RMR! And muscle mass loss - geez what next, aging really does suck! Well hold your horses, lets not panic here. If we break down whats happening in our bodies it looks like this. First, your RMR refers to your “resting metabolic rate”. This refers to the number of units of energy that your body uses to process all of the chemical actions during rest time.

So an average 25 year old female may have an RMR of 1500 kcal, then at 35 yrs her RMR is at 1400 kcal, at 45 yrs her RMR is at 1300 kcals and so on. In addition she’ll lose 5 lbs of muscle mass by 35 yrs, 10 lbs by 45 yrs, 15 lbs by 55 yrs and 20 lbs by 65 yrs. This chick has declined about 300 kcal of metabolic burning and 20 lbs of lean muscle by age 65. Great your thinking this is all bad news, so whats the silver lining in all this?

Since you can’t change your age, then change your lifestyle!!!  Lean muscle is responsible for a huge amount of metabolic activity, so a loss of lean muscle is most likely responsible for a huge amount of decline in metabolic activity. Increase your muscle mass to increase your RMR. How do I increase muscle mass- contract your skeletal muscles. Run, jump, cycle, skip, lift weights- all use energy and build muscle. The more intense the activity the more calories burned and the more lean muscle built.

Now there is one more glitch. You can have the best exercise program ever, but if you have poor nutrient consumption (your diet is crappy) it may lead to the inability to build and preserve muscle mass.

Lessons learned: just because you may be aging that doesn’t mean you can’t impact your metabolic rate or ability to build muscle. High intensity exercise burns more calories during and after increasing your RMR. Proper nutrition plays a HUGE roll in your metabolic rate and ability to build and keep muscle. 

Aging is natural but to stop moving your body is not! Proper posture, musculoskeletal alignment, correct nutrition and lots of movement--- the keys to keeping my body, mind and soul young!

A Thousand Words

A picture is worth a thousand words. We have all heard that phrase a million times. It really is amazing how a picture can evoke so much from our minds. Smell, taste, touch and much more. 

My mom’s passing brought out many picture albums, old wonderfully discolored boxes and cardboard picture covers. From the 50, 60 etc. Pictures of my dad as a little boy in Flin Flon from the 30s, Piney and Vassar from the 40’s and Winnipeg of the 50s.

My dad wasn’t one to sit and reflect, look at pictures or watch videos but lately we’ve done a lot of it. New albums with old memories keep emerging from the closet.

In todays world, Instagram and the electronic files of pictures is rampant. If you want to look at a picture turn your phone on or Ipad or laptop. Where is the rough texture of old print paper, the look of wrinkled covers and torn cracked edges of a page in an album.

There just isn’t anything, anything that compares to holding onto and looking through old pictures. Create an album today and put it away. The smiles it will bring when 10,20,30 years from now, you pull it out and touch the past, priceless.

my mom and dad circa 1954

Feel Your Breath

Yesterday was about looking and calling for brother Miko in heaven, looking for her husband behind a locked door, not knowing who is there.

Yesterday was about wanting to go home because she is needed, why can’t I go, why don’t you listen. Yesterday was about finding her voice, when nutrient deprivation won’t let her. Smell, taste, nothing. 

Yesterday was about going to South America, so we went where it was warm. The sun was bright. Where are my glasses.

Mom struggled to make sense of our world. It was so different from what we saw. What was she thinking, what did she see. We struggled to make sense of her world, what did we see. 

Don’t struggle, release, let it go. Find peace with what you see in front of you, in front of me. See the moment, it changed, see the new moment, it changed. Go with the flow of what you see.

Love, peace, freedom to live or die. Go find Miko and watch our moments change from the sky. Rest and comfort, no pain only time. but what is time? 

Friday was about leaving this plane of existence. Of finding her brother and mother once again. Peaceful she sleeps until we see her again.

Friday was about letting go. Finding new moments to live. Family, friends, coping, celebrating life. 

Feel the sun, feel the rain, feel your heartbeat. Breathe deep, breathe deep again, be free, happy. let the doves fly free.

life goes on.....

Advice

I came to see my mom this morning, expecting her to be as sleepy and incoherent as she was on Saturday. Much to my surprise she was sitting up in her hospital bed and having a conversation, with herself mind you, but still words were flowing from her lips. Her dry cracked 86 year old lips. When she saw me she said oh my another visitor. Oh how many visitors did you have already today. At least 5 she said.

Later I figured out it was the nurses and healthcare aids, lab techs and visitors for the lady in the next bed.  Mom thought they were all coming to see her. It was a bit overwhelming since she couldn’t figure out who was who.

I sit beside my mom as she tells me what a funny day it is. I read her an email from my brother Larry. She doesn’t quite grasp that my brother is in Calgary. I put vaseline on her lips and she holds my hand. Looks me square in the eye and says who are you? Who am I, I ask back to her, my little Cathy she replies. I’m still her child and she is still my mom.

My mother keeps saying this is a funny day. The conversation flowed from taking a train to Chicago, to asking me who’s house we were in, to Andrew Jackson and Bridget Bardot. Clipping finger nails to sipping orange juice, to putting hand lotion on, to singing about a rose garden. Blood work taken, to moving into a chair.

Lunch was about eating soup, back scratches, making my dad sing “Pop goes the Weasle” when he couldn’t remember the words, not wanting to take meds, to eating caramel pudding.

The 4 hours went by quickly for me but for my mom time has no meaning. It was just a morning of asking questions, singing songs, saying you’re funny and smiling. As my mom got tucked into bed for an afternoon nap and I said my goodbyes, she said we should just all love each other, since we’re all eating soup anyway today.

Mom is right soup is always good any day, no matter where you are or who you’re with and we should just all love each other!  Words to live by.

Live, Laugh, Love

and listen and feel and talk and see and be and do and smell etc etc etc. Sometimes it just seems like there is too much for me to be aware of. I try to live in the moment, try to be present and focused from minute to minute. 

Try it, take typing a blog for instance. I’m sitting in an office chair which feels to low, so I readjust. Feet firmly on floor, shoulders rolled back and down, head down, chin in, tummy tight. Whew I haven’t even gotten to my arm height, keyboard ergonomics etc.

Then to focus on the words, uh don’t let your shoulders sag, have you eaten recently, where is my glass of water, I also hydrate while I write, have no idea why, guess cause its in the morning and sipping on a smokey port at this time may not be a healthy option.

Shit forgot to sign up for the gym class, be right back!

Our days are filled with hundreds of thoughts and things to do. Make lists, write out things you want to get done today, this week, this month. When you do something from the list don’t just check it off take a pen and make a thick line through it. Its really done, don’t think about it, move on. And boy does it feel good. 

Here is important thing number 1, be flexible. Sometimes things happen around you that you can’t control. Yes as silly as that sounds to some of you Type A people, go with the flow. Maybe I find it easier to do because I’m a Pisces, we morph and change with the environment. 

Important thing number 2, don’t wait, life goes on without you, people move on, things happen and if you just keep going through your mundane life without goals, without dreams, without motivation to try new things, eat new foods, meet new people, your stagnation will lead to illness and an early demise. 

Important thing number 3, laugh. A sense of humor about yourself and others can sure make life a lot more bearable especially through the tough times. There is definitely laughing space in my life.

Important thing number 4, love. Find someone to share your thoughts, dreams, life with. Find someone who truly loves you because you are who you are. The goofy, smart, sensitive, beautiful person they see in their eyes when they look at you. They want to be with you.

Life is simple, we make it complicated. Each day I truly live, laugh and love for my body, mind and soul.