I have some specific health objectives: lower my cholesterol, lower my blood sugar, lower my blood pressure, and lower my resting heart rate. Of all of them, the most vexing is the cholesterol; I've been a vegetarian since I was a teenager, and active even when I haven't been well. However, it seems to be hereditary: my father, who will probably bury us all, has high cholesterol even when he tries to control it, and one of my sons has had it since he was a young teen. This is probably an adaptation brought on by a lack of fatty sources, and when one read about all of the things cholesterol is necessary for, this actually seems like a positive adaptation.
Knowing that I had my annual check up coming up a few months ago, I spent two months being scrupulous about my fat sources--I didn't even eat peanut butter--and it worked. My cholesterol is now no longer high. So ha!
Unfortunately, my blood sugar went up, which was completely unexpected since I don't eat refined sugar...until I started thinking about all of the amazake I had been consuming. *Sigh* I guess it doesn't matter if your sweetener/milk substitute is made with whole grains; if the fermentation that creates it makes the sugars more accessible, your body will access them. Or so I think; I scheduled another blood best a few weeks out from now, and we'll find out then.
The other two are much more influenced by exercise than diet (although diet plays a role in everything). My blood pressure runs lower than normal, but I want the blood pressure I had in my thirties that prompted a young nurse to ask if I was an athlete. So imagine my surprise when I went to a physical therapy appointment a few weeks ago and got a reading of 85/67. Cardio really does work.
As for my resting heart rate, my goal is under 60 beats per minute. I've been in the 8os and 70s, so I clearly have room for improvement. The last time I took my pulse, it seemed like I was, in fact, in the 60s, but I need to confirm this over the next few weeks.
I think I'm doing the right things, and most of that is coming down to interval walking, at home. I was doing short bursts of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) before "lighter" exercise (on the days I'm not doing strength training), and that includes "Japanese Walking".
However, after my workout today, I read up a bit on Japanese Interval Walking Training, and I realized that it was, in fact, a form of HIIT. Perfect, especially since that method was designed to be low-impact, and my downstairs neighbors don't thank me when I'm noisy.
Confession: I am using my favorite trainer, Lucy Wyndham-Read on her YouTube channel. I did not do so for months, but my health suffered for it. I can't stand YouTube and I've begged her to make her workouts available elsewhere--I will happily pay for access--but I suspect that won't work. Keep your fingers crossed for me, okay?
Deb in the City
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