Category: Brain Health

How to Stay Active and Mobile in Your Senior Years

What scares you the most about growing old? Is it Alzheimer’s, dementia, cancer, or a devastating neuromuscular disease?

Then there’s age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, hearing loss.

There’s a long list of age-related diseases we can acquire or succumb to as we age. But there is one thing that we can do: avoid general deterioration.

 

I spend a lot of time watching older people and observing the daily activities at the residential facility where my 97-year-old mother lives. And there are things that stand out for me.

 

Movement—

I am taken aback and saddened by the tremendous loss of mobility.

A large number of them use walkers. They slowly move from elevator, to dining room, back to the elevator, hunched over their four wheels, in hopes that they don’t teeter over, fall, and break a bone.

The longer they use the walkers, the more they hunch, the more they move with their legs in a splayed out position, shuffling more than picking up and swinging their legs in a natural gate.

They spend far too much time sitting in a chair, watching television. So often it’s the only mode of entertainment they have.

And the lack of activity contributes to a steady decline in strength and mobility, flexibility and balance. Muscle tone deteriorates to the point of no return.

Flexibility is compromised.

Fat to muscle ratio changes, with muscle coming out on the losing end.

All of that deterioration leads to a decrease in balance, an increase in falls, and more loss of mobility.

And sadly, all of that inactivity also increases your chances of suffering memory deterioration and dementia.

 

A different picture—

And then I go to the gym and see elder adults in their seventies, eighties and nineties trying to maintain whatever they’ve got in order to stay mobile and flexible and strong so they can enjoy life more. They tell staying strong and mobile is what motivates them to exercise.

And I wonder which camp I want to end up in, or am more likely to.

I know from experience that the more and longer you sit and spend parked in a chair or on a couch, the more likely it is you will deteriorate. I’ve been stunned how quickly it’s happened to me over the last year. Before I realized it, nearly a year had elapsed without my adhering to the regular exercise program I’d been following for years.

And I’ve paid a price for it. Now I’m trying to slug my way back to strength, flexibility and mobility. It’s tough. But I’m determined to ward off the walker as much and as long as I can.

 

What you can do—

It isn’t complicated. And it isn’t expensive. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but here’s some things you can do to:

  • Daily stretching exercises. Harvard Medical and Mayo have some great suggestions on their websites.
  • Join a gym and do some light weight lifting. If you can’t do that, then buy some small weights to do upper body exercises at home. Learn how to use your body weight as resistance for muscle strengthening.
  • Buy a DVD that teaches you tai chi, a great activity for people into their senior years. It increases breathing, strength and balance.
  • Take yoga for its breathing, strengthening and flexibility benefits. It’s also a great social activity, although I wouldn’t endorse the spiritual aspects of it.
  • Take daily walks.
  • Increase your protein consumption. Recent research indicates seniors need more protein.

 

The important thing is to pick out something you can do to keep moving and stick with it.

Maybe you can put off buying a walker a little longer than the average person.

Until next week,

Keep moving!

Andrea

“Certainly there was an Eden….We all long for it, and we are constantly glimpsing it.” —J.R.R. Tolkien

How to Escape the Calorie Counting Drudgery

Ever been a food calorie counter? Frustrating, isn’t it, recording all of those eaten calories?

For years we were taught that a calorie was a calorie—that they were all the same. So if a relatively active, 30-year old, woman needed to eat 1,800 calories a day to sustain herself, then it didn’t matter what food source they came from.

And then 40 years ago, when preventing heart disease launched into full tilt, we were taught that we needed to avoid fat because fat was the culprit causing heart disease and making our middles balloon.

So what’s the story now?

 

Calorie counting and recent research—

Through research, scientists are starting to figure out that all calories are not alike, and that some fats are good for you and your heart. And it may not be the number of calories eaten but the type of foods.

What type of foods are the biggest culprits? You probably know.

  • Chips
  • Pastries
  • Cookies
  • Soda
  • Crackers
  • White rice
  • Pasta
  • Processed foods, especially heavily-processed types, like the kind you find in your pre-made meal section of your grocery store

All of these foods cause a chemical reaction in our bodies that raises the insulin levels and causes the body to store the calories as fat. Dr. David Ludwig, an endocrinologist and researcher at Harvard Medical School, calls insulin the “Miracle-Gro for your fat cells.” Insulin causes the cells to snag the calories and immediately store them as fat cells.

And that quick process leaves you feeling hungry and unsatisfied. And if your body is subjected to this insulin-hiking cycle too often, your metabolism will change gears and start hanging onto the calories it’s stored. That’s not a scenario you want to encounter if you’re trying to lose weight or maintain a healthful diet.

The bottom line? It’s the quality of the calories and not the quantity that matters.

 

Calorie counting solution?

To break or snap this fat-storing cycle, you’ll need to replace processed carbs (pastas, ice cream, cookies, chips, crackers and snacks) with healthful fats (olive oil, fish, nuts). Yes, fats! And why fats?

Because fats don’t raise insulin so they aid weight loss.

Studies show that people on low-fat diets tend to lose less weight than those on low-carb programs.

And eating good fats, like omega-3s (salmon) and monounsaturated fats (avocados) doesn’t appear to cause weight gain.

 

The healthful diet Gold Standard—

For years scientists have known that people who follow what is known as the Mediterranean diet—a diet rich in vegetables, good fat and some fish—lose more fat and maintain healthier hearts.

One study showed a 30% reduction of heart disease in the group that were low-carb dieters when compared to low-fat dieters.

 

What’s the goal?

Your overall goal should be to go for the healthful fat and proteins and slash your sugar.

When designing or planning your meals, aim for real, natural foods that contain fiber, protein and fat. These are satisfying foods that fill you up and curb your hunger. They also result in a slower insulin level rise in your body. Foods like:

  • Veggies or whole grains
  • Protein like fish and eggs
  • Healthy fats—going for the olive oil to sprinkle on your salad rather than a processed, creamy one. Also avocado and egg in this category.

 

Some of the top food choices would be:

  • Fish
  • Avocados
  • Artichokes
  • Broccoli
  • Eggs
  • Quinoa or Millet
  • Almonds and Walnuts
  • Lentils
  • Yogurt, especially Greek
  • Bananas
  • Apples
  • Oatmeal
  • Lentils and White Beans and Black-eyed Peas

 

But BEWARE the peanut butter and almond butter scoops! Portion control is important, and this is where keeping an eye on some calorie counts may be helpful for you.

Think well-rounded meals. And when selecting proteins, like fish or chicken, it’s best to aim for no more than 3 – 6 ounces, the amount that would fit in your hand. (The number varies depending upon your age, activity-level, and sex. Athletes need more protein for muscle development, protein aids in healing, and, surprisingly, recent research indicates older adults don’t get enough protein.)

 

Slow down when you eat!
  • Think chopsticks. That’s what a dietary specialist told me during an article interview I did with her. You’ll eat more slowly and focus more on your meal.
  • And eat like kids tend to eat, minus the cookie binges, of course. They tend to graze and stop eating when they’re full. Don’t force yourself to eat everything on your plate.
  • It takes 20 minutes for the brain to register satisfaction and fullness, so scarfing down your meal can override the benefits of this trigger. You’ll end up eating too much before you feel stuffed.
  • Converse when eating, not with your mouth full, of course.
  • Chew thoroughly so the enzymes released in your mouth can start breaking down the food for digestion. It’s easier on your digestive system.
  • Put your fork down between bites, instead of taking a bite and then promptly re-loading your fork. You’ll end up forking in what you’ve packed on it, rather than waiting until you’ve thoroughly chewed what you already have in your mouth. You’ll end up looking like a squirrel when you’re eating.

 

Learning to be a mindful eater—

Finally, be more conscious of how your body feels and what it’s telling you about eating.

Don’t just eat because the schedule indicates it’s time to eat. Eat when you’re really hungry, when your body is telling you that it needs nourishment. You’ll feel more satisfied and more in control, which is usually what everyone strives for anyway.

So discard your calorie counting cards!

One a side note: I want to give a Happy Birthday shout-out to my baby boy, who turns 24 today! What a miracle and blessing he is to me!

Beginning next Wednesday, Workout Wednesdays will be going on hiatus until April 3, when I’ll be back with healthful body tips, a way for you to sign up to receive my posts on a regular basis, and a freebie for your generosity in wanting to stay connected!

 

I’m undergoing knee surgery this Friday, March 1, (as long as I can rid myself of this nasty cold), and I will be spending March recuperating.

Please mark your calendars for April 3 to re-join me!

 

Until then, have fun trying new foods and meals with your rediscovered fats and proteins. I know you’ll be happy you did!

Blessings,

Andrea

“Certainly there was an Eden….We all long for it, and we are constantly glimpsing it.” —J.R.R. Tolkien

4 Steps to Changing Your Defects: Renewing Your Mind and Retraining Your Brain

How are you doing with tackling the process of ridding yourself of pesky defects?

How did you do with last week’s first three steps of demolishing strongholds and deficiencies?

 

Are you able to:

  • Focus on ONE defect at a time, or do you get bogged down with every issue?
  • Focus on obtaining victory over one defect issue?
  • Focus on God’s power and not your own willpower to overcome and make those critical-to-a-successful and full life corrections?

I hope we’re all making headway with the process of acknowledging, confronting and dealing a punishing blow to our defects and hang-ups. It can be a lifelong process to conquer some of them. Yet every step forward counts toward healing and growing, so this week we’re going to cover four additional steps we can take to get the healing process moving forward.

 

  1. Focus on what you want and not what you don’t want.

One of the first things beginning writers are taught is to try to write in a positive rather than negative way. The same is true of effectively retraining your brain to master healthful habits. It has to do with reframing, or adopting a new perspective.

It’s easy to come up with a list of why you don’t want to do something, or why it’s hard to change. But try coming up with a list of all of the benefits you’ll receive out of making the change.

For example, some of your reasons, or excuses, for not going to the gym might be:

  • I don’t like getting sweaty.
  • It takes so long to drive there.
  • I have to take the time to get ready to go.
  • I have so many other things I need to do.
  • I don’t particularly like to exercise.
  • Other people at the gym are going to stare at me and judge me because I’m not in shape.

 

Try reframing your thoughts with comments like:
  • The sweat will help rid my body of toxins and I’ll feel better.
  • I can listen to uplifting music in the car during my drive.
  • I can enjoy the preparation process and maybe purchase a special gym bag and workout clothes to use.
  • Working out is important for me to have good health, and I am important—to myself, my family, and God.
  • Getting into an exercise routine may be hard, but I could exercise with a friend or in a class, where I can meet new friends and enjoy the camaraderie and encouragement of working out together.
  • I won’t be the only out-of-shape person at the gym, and others there started at the beginning like me. A personal trainer from the gym can help me get started and be the encourager I need to keep at it.

 

When you focus on the negatives, your thought life becomes a problem. When you catch yourself thinking negatively, stop and turn your resistance into a proactive, positive comment. Believe it or not, your brain will take notice and start thinking in a more positive manner.

 

  1. Memorize uplifting Scripture verses.

Having notecards in your bag, car, or purse and scattered around the house can remind you of good things the Lord has said and promised. Memorizing these passages or verses is even better because you renew your mind with them and affect your heart and spirit.

In fact, Scripture memorization is like good food for the soul! Feed yourself with as much of it as you possibly can throughout the day. And meditate on it at night before going to sleep. God’s word will permeate your thought processes and affect your actions.

 

  1. Focus on doing good things and acting in good ways not on feeling good.

I know, this is a tough one. But believe it when psychologists say that actions can drive feelings, just as feelings can drive actions.

It’s dangerous to wait until we feel like doing something to do it. When we live that way, we get stuck and often miss out on life. I can’t count how many times doing something I didn’t feel like doing ended up turning my feelings and emotions around to the positive.

 

  1. Focus on the people who help and support you in your recovery work and not on the ones who undermine or hinder you.

This step can be very difficult when it’s family members doing the stifling or resisting. But you must surround yourself with like-minded encouragers. Even more so if you live with people who tend to drag you down or feed your weaknesses.

Scripture is very clear about wisely choosing friends and NOT being unequally yoked (as in marriage or business) to an unbeliever. Unfortunately, so many people brush that wise admonition aside and end up living in pain and frustration for rebelling against it.

You are a precious being. Your time is a precious commodity. Pray about and choose wisely! You may find yourself having to pray about leaving a friend and drawing boundaries in order to protect yourself and heal.

 

Finally, wholeheartedly trust God to lead and change you. In our weakness He is made strong. Recognize and accept your current circumstances as they are and trust that God is working right now to help you overcome your frailties and faults; that He is working in you to finish your faith and help you run the race to a successful completion.

Don’t give up, because God doesn’t give up on you!

 

Until next week, list your steps, work your steps, take one step, one day at a time, and rejoice over even the smallest victories!

On a side note: I’m celebrating another complete revolution around the sun today and meditating on the year the Lord has given me. It has been anything but “normal.”

It has been full, it has been revealing, it has sometimes been fraught with snags and obstacles, and it has been life changing. I am spending the day reflecting on it and praying for insight into the next 12 months.

And I humbly request your prayers as I prepare for knee surgery this Friday, fallout from extreme athletics and my Camino journey. I’m hoping this is the last time I have to be cut open for a while!

Blessings,

Andrea

“Certainly there was an Eden….We all long for it, and we are constantly glimpsing it.” —J.R.R. Tolkien

The Potential Dangers of Intermittent Fasting and Rapid Weight Loss

As we covered in last Wednesday’s blog, Intermittent Fasting has its benefits, to be sure.

Reducing the number of carb calories ingested and forcing the brain and muscles to run on ketone bodies can reduce brain sluggishness and joint-stressing excess weight. Some medical professionals believe the protein foods eaten on a Keto diet can support thyroid health. And Intermittent Fasting is linked to keeping the body tone and supple when losing weight, rather than ending up with saggy excess skin.

 

But like anything, good things can be taken too far to end up being bad things. Intermittent fasting is no exception.

What happens when you decide to reduce your calorie consumption to 500 calories every day rather than follow the 5:2 plan?

 

Problems with excessive fasting—

Athletes can be prone to living in extremes—extreme workouts and extreme diets. For years this kind of problem has manifested itself in sports and activities like gymnastics, ice skating, and dance, where low weight is highly sought after. After all, it takes a lot to throw body weight around, and the lower the body weight the easier it is to move.

One huge problem is that low body fat often accompanies low body weight, and young girls and dancers who work to stay thin and in possession of a low body fat percentages often wreak havoc with their hormones. Amenorrhea, (cessation of menstruation; or not menstruating by the age of 15), is a condition that accompanies low body fat in girls or women. Long-distance runners can also suffer from this malady.

It takes a certain body fat percentage to become pregnant and support a pregnancy. And amenorrhea can lead to an early onset of osteoporosis, or a higher likelihood of having osteoporosis when you age.

Not having enough body fat to support hormone function messes up other body functions too.

 

And what about the risks of rapid weight loss?

It may seem wonderful that you’ve dropped double-digit poundage in one week rather than the recommended 1-2 pounds, but rapid weight loss can be harder on the heart than rapid weight gain.

Rapid weight loss has been shown to:

  • Slow your metabolism and lead to future weight gain later.
  • Weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to illness and disease.
  • Increase your dehydration risk.
  • Increase cardiac stress and heart palpitations.

 

When thin or athletic puts a mask on body fat reality—

I used to do a lot of body fat measuring as part of my work, both in the clinic and out in the field. I’d often take my skinfold caliper to sporting events, like recreational cycling races, to measure participants’ body fat after their race. I’d always offer foot massages too, which was a godsend for some peddlers.

What I often found was that many of these people weren’t as conditioned, or as toned, as they believed they were.

Thin people were appalled to learn that their body fast percentage parked them in the unhealthy, over-fat or obese category. Big, athletic people found the same discrepancy between their perceived fitness and their actual health. When my husband took the caliper to work one day to measure his friends, they all lined up for a pinch. The skinniest member of the group—a rail-thin administrative assistance—came in at a whopping obese level. She was depressed at the revelation, to say the least.

 

The point is: appearance does not always equal reality—in either a highly-competitive athlete that pushes the boundaries on her body’s capabilities or a thin, sedentary person who sits in a chair in front of a computer all day to work. Or a recreational athlete who believes he can ride his bike 50 miles on a Saturday and then eat as he pleases every day of the week, and even more after the ride.

You need to know your body, select carefully, and avoid the extremes. Be as consistent as possible; don’t starve yourself for days to make up for some over-indulgent ones.

You don’t want to run the risk of making an idol out of your diet or dieting. Too often food obsession morphs into disorders like anorexia, binging, bulimia (binging and then throwing up what you’ve eaten), and extreme obsession with healthful foods and “watching” what you eat.

 

Take it from someone who suffered for years with an eating disorder and all the mental and physical side effects that come with it.

Intermittent Fasting is just that—intermittent fasting. Not fasting every day.

Don’t get carried away. Have a plan and work it.

And enjoy the good food God has given us for our enjoyment and health!

Until next week, when we’ll address calorie counting, and maybe worry more about your actual body fat percentage than those scale numbers and that dress or pants size.

Blessings,

Andrea

“Certainly there was an Eden….We all long for it, and we are constantly glimpsing it.” —J.R.R. Tolkien

How to Change Your Defects: Renewing Your Mind and Retraining Your Brain

Are you ready to tackle the process of ridding yourself of pesky defects?

If you read last Monday’s post, you saw the series of questions I asked to focus for this week.

How did you do answering last week’s questions?

Were you able to:

  • Focus on your feelings, how you react emotionally to triggers or life events?
  • Make literal or mental notes on your typical behavior—your autopilot fallback response to feelings and triggers?
  • Identify whether your natural reaction is to yell, get angry, withdraw, self-harm, eat, avoid, give in, shame or shun?

 

As you can see from the list, our thoughts often determine our feelings and feelings determine our actions.

 

Training your brain to develop healthful habits—

I’m reading a great professional manual right now that delves into the reaction-changing process. It’s called Training Your Brain to Adopt Healthful Habits: Mastering the Five Brain Challenges. * Not only does it address habit changing, it addresses problems like addictions, eating disorders, and behavioral responses.

The sections have titles like:

“Learning to Highly Value Behaviors that Promote Wellness and Devalue Behaviors that Lead to Poor Health”

“Enriching Your Life to Tame the Need for Immediate Gratification”

“Enhancing Resiliency to New Threats and Chronic Stressors”

“Training Your Addiction Circuits to Make Healthy Behaviors Habitual”

“Making Flexible Decisions to Empower Your Brain to Make Healthful Choices”

 

If I were to give you a one-sentence overview of the book, I would say,

It’s all about being transformed by the renewing of your mind, so you do not let the world, or individuals, conform you. And it’s a secular book.

The Apostle Paul had it right when he said in Romans 12:2 that making your life the best life it can be—physically, emotionally and spiritually—starts with the renewing of your mind. Research supports his claims.

So what practical steps can we take to make that happen?

 

Think about a defect you have that’s causing you—and your life—trouble. You might want to start with something simple, so you can get some traction and success. That would give you the encouragement and momentum to move onto something more difficult.

But if it’s a serious addiction you need to confront, you would want to start there.

 

Steps to destroying your defects—

We’ll explore three of the six steps today.

 

  1. Focus on one defect at a time!

So many of us run around in a whirlwind, multitasking even our “must improve in this area” behavior. That’s a recipe for disaster. A behavior we might do to sabotage ourselves into failure. Change is hard work. It takes time and focus. Repetition. Our brains aren’t happy when we’re multitasking; and none of us—regardless of what someone brags about—do it well.

Focus, focus, focus. Like a laser beam. On one defect at a time. And make sure that defect is put out of business before moving on to another one.

 

  1. Focus on one defect change and one victory one day at a time!

Moment-by-moment, all of us need to take very thought—and behavior—captive to Christ, the One who created us and knows us intimately. Who better to go to for guidance and help than the One who created you?

This is where the concept of praying without ceasing also comes in, because when we’re hurting or struggling or sputtering along in life, sometimes it feels as though we’re weighed down by every—single—moment—of—every—day.

When life seems to be going well, we tend to slack off on the pray without ceasing admonition. We stand on the mountaintop, euphoric over what we’ve accomplished and conquered. Unfortunately, the descent into another valley can come fast and furiously. And then we wonder what happened, and we’re right back down in the dregs of life, clutching and clawing and moaning and groaning. Writhing around in our failures and pain.

Thankfully, God’s mercies are new every morning! So we can awaken each new day with the knowledge that we can re-boot. Focus, focus, focus and practice, practice, practice!

He won’t abandon us if we fall flat in our efforts; He knows our weaknesses, and He’s always available to give us the power and strength we need to succeed. To cover and protect us if we need rest.

But in order for that to happen, first we need to:

 

  1. Focus on God’s power, not your own willpower to make those life corrections.

Certainly we can struggle and fight and wrestle with ourselves, but until we acknowledge that we can do nothing without Jesus, our efforts will usually be ineffective and short-lived.

This is the most fundamental and important step to take to enjoy lasting change and victory.

 

But what about them?

But what about other people that trigger poor responses and behavior from you, the ones you think need fixing?

You still need to concentrate on how you behavior in response to their behavior. And sometimes that means stepping away from a certain person or group that weakens your defenses and pushes your buttons.

Setting boundaries with others can be an important part of changing your defective behaviors and responses. Protecting your heart while you’re learning new coping and life skills. Like an alcoholic that needs to stop meeting drinking buddies at the local watering hole on a Friday night; or an alcoholic who needs to get new friends altogether, which is the usual scenario.

That’s not an easy or comfortable proposition, but it’s one you may have to take if you are to enjoy victory.

NEXT WEEK we’ll look at three additional steps to help you succeed in demolishing strongholds and self-defects.

Until then, focus on one defect, focus on one victory, and focus on God’s power—the ingredient that will make all of this happen for you!

Blessings,

Andrea

“Certainly there was an Eden….We all long for it, and we are constantly glimpsing it.” —J.R.R. Tolkien

* Authors:

  • Jodie A Trafton, Ph.D.
  • William P. Gordon, Ph.D.
  • Supriya Misra, M.A.