The month of October has been packed full of conferences and other travels and I'm happy to report that, like our friend Linda who traveled to Italy - I stayed on program everywhere I went! I'll post about my travels in a day or so, but this morning I want to talk about leg cramps, because last night I woke up in the middle of the night with a wicked bad leg cramp.
"The best theory is the “squatting hypothesis,” which speculates that leg cramping is associated with the modern habit of sitting on chairs and on the toilet instead of squatting as our forebears would have done." -- Lisa Shives, M.D., founder of Northshore Sleep Medicine.
I haven't had leg cramps for a while, but last night's was an exceptionally bad cramp. This morning I was determined to find out why I get these cramps. Since I'm no medical expert, and putting soap at the foot of my bed or rubbing it on the sheets didn't work for me, I turned to Google for help.

There's a ton of information online about causes and treatment of leg cramps. After reading a good number of articles, and this isn't the first time I've done this research, I'm taking the route of stretching and taking magnesium to stop leg cramps from happening again. In fact, I just pulled out my bottle of Nature's Bounty 500 mg Magnesium and took one just now!

I divided my summary (below) into two categories: 1) what's the best treatment for leg cramps? and 2) what causes leg cramps?  I hope this information is helpful to those of you who have these leg cramps. If you have a solution for leg cramps, please share what worked for you!

What's the best treatment for leg cramps? 

This is what I wanted to know most:  how to prevent leg cramps. Last night's episode was painful and I want to stop this from happening as soon as possible. After reading a good number of articles, I found this simple statement to be the most helpful:
Simple stretches before you turn in may be all it takes to rein in charley horses. In one Dutch study, 40 sufferers who tried a three-minute workout were able to reduce their agonizing sleep-killers by more than half — and when they did get a cramp, it was much less painful. Source: Bye-bye, Leg Cramps.
That article includes stretching exercises, as does this one:
What Causes Leg Cramps at Night
What causes leg cramps?   

The cause of leg cramps is written about on a million websites, many of which include ads for products. After reading a good number of them, I found a common thread about magnesium deficiency and dehydration. These three article excerpts align with information I found on medical websites:

Medicine.net
Muscle cramps can often be prevented by measures such as adequate nutrition and hydration, attention to safety when exercising, and attention to ergonomic factors. Muscle cramps are extremely common. Almost everyone (one estimate is about 95%) experiences a cramp at some time in their life. Causes for cramps include: vigorous activity, sitting or lying for an extended period, dehydration, low blood levels of either calcium or magnesium, and some medicines. 
WiseGeek
Many people have had the experience of waking up in the middle of the night with excruciating calf pain, and when such a charley horse strikes, the first tendency is usually to try to straighten out the leg and massage the muscle that is causing the pain. This instinctive reaction is actually the best way to ease a leg cramp, and applying a warm heating pad to the painful area also is effective for immediate relief. If the pain persists, the person can take a pain reliever such as aspirin or ibuprofen to help ease the pain.
If common treatments don't help alleviate the cramps, or if they occur with great frequency, the sufferer should consult with a medical professional who can determine if there is a more a serious underlying medical condition.
MgBRIGHT Magnesium Supplement
The cause of leg cramps is a deficiency of magnesium. According to Dr. Oz, Dr. Weil, the Mayo Clinic, and other leading authorities, magnesium deficiency is the hidden cause of leg cramps, and no prescription medication can treat it. In fact, 78% of leg cramp sufferers have a severe magnesium deficiency. Without magnesium, your body is missing its most important natural defense against pain, swelling, tension and inflammation. Studies show that aggressively replenishing magnesium eliminates leg cramps and prevents them in the future.
October 29, 2013
It was 2 years ago today that I went to Julie for the first time!! Thus the term Julieversary!! Our friend Jill came up with this term and I love it!!!

I will say, I am pleased, thankful, happy, and in disbelief!!!

I have gone from this, my absolute largest size was 26/28.

To this in 2 years, I am getting into 12's!!!

What have I learned in these past 2 years:

I have learned to start trusting in myself. I am learning to like myself (which is a MAJOR step for me)! I have learned I can follow this program anywhere, even in Italy!!!

I have learned patience (I am a slow looser) I am finding myself liking clothes shopping. I don't try to blend into the wall as often anymore when in crowds. I enjoy getting dressed now in the morning as my clothes fit!!!

I have learned there is always tomorrow to eat, I don't have to eat it all today. I have learned to ignore the naysayers and the ones who have to say negative things about how I am eating.

I have learned to love meat and I thoroughly enjoy it!! It is a treat for me to eat so much meat after denying myself meat while on other plans.

It is wonderful to go to bed knowing it was a good eating day and I won't be up half the night with heartburn. It is wonderful to enter into the holiday season, or New Years Day or celebrations and not panic because I have to loose weight to get into something decent to wear!

I can get on the floor with my grand kids!! I sit with my legs crossed with no problem at all!!

I am gaining confidence daily.

I trust the program, I don't mess with the program, it works when you do what she tells you to do!!!

I do not miss the scale! I feel so free from getting weighed in and weighing and measuring my food!! I LOVE I DON'T HAVE TO JOURNAL!!!

I am learning to accept compliments graciously, even though it is hard for me to believe them, the word skinny and Linda just never were in the same sentence in my life ever before!!

I am happy for the first time in my life I am happy with me!!!

Julie if you are reading this, THANK YOU!!!!! THANK YOU for giving me back my life!!!! THANK YOU for giving my husband and my children and my grandchildren - a wife, mother and grandmother!!!
October 24, 2013
What an amazing trip! Italy is a beautiful country with so much history. I saw artifacts and ruins dating back to single digit years!!! Unbelievable to me!!!
Shroud of Turin museum
I got to meet family I had never met before!!

and the best part: I STAYED ON PLAN AND WAS NOT DEPRIVED ONE BIT!!!

I proved you can go anywhere and do anything and still have a really good time and not go off plan!!! I am thrilled!!! My trip was about sight seeing, family, spending time with my dad, and the culture. Plus I did a lot of shopping!

I always wanted to go to Italy, but I didn't want to be the fat American they make fun of over there. They are shocked at our eating habits and serving sizes. They use hardly any sugar, and everything there is fresh. You don't find store wrapped bread anywhere, it is all bought daily or every couple days. Amazing to not see very few, and I mean VERY FEW overweight Italians.

I am one that won't take the chance of straying at all! I worked to hard to get where I am now, and my goal size is in sight. I am doing the program according to Julie and won't take any chances at all! I have heard to many sob stories of those who strayed and got totally messed up. No way do I want that to happen. It isn't worth it.
I felt great on my trip! We did a lot of walking and it felt great!

Bridge of Sighs in Venice Italy
I actually lost weight while gone!! How great is that!!!
October 22, 2013
Hi All,

I had my yearly physical last week and received great news. After the nurse weighed me she said,   Wow, you've lost over 30lbs since July.  I stopped her from telling me more.  In fact I was.... "No I can't know."  She then asked me if I did KH.  I said yes.  She said that she had seen a few patients that had done KH and look great.  I started to tell her about it and ... Like all of us, she will make the decision to call or not.

I'm healthy and my doctor said that I'm in great shape.  I wasn't on any meds and don't need any.  I will be 52 in a few weeks and like I have said, I feel wonderful.

So, 2 days later I was heading to Cape Cod for a 4 day long weekend.  I had all the intentions of sticking to the program, but after some quiet thoughts, I allowed myself to enjoy my time away.  What did this look like?

I ate clean each day, but twice I had pizza late at night.  I  had a few beers, and realized that.... I really didn't miss them.  The other treat I allowed myself was candy corn.  Why, I don't  know.   I just did.  On my drive back home, I knew that Sunday was back on my plan.

Now it's Monday and I am so happy to report that, I ate great yesterday and today.  I don't have ANY pull toward sugar or carbs.  I allowed myself to explore and am back and on track for the duration, which is until I'm a loose pants size 8.  Currently, I am a size 10.

Would I recommend this for you? No.  But, I did it for me, while on vacation.  I'm telling you all this, not to say, go crazy, but for me, I feel as strong as I did in July.   That is how good Julie is and was for me.

Jane
October 21, 2013
How's your exercise plan working for you these days? Have you started moving? Is it time to kick up your level of exercise - or to get started? I bought a Fitbit an electronic gizmo, called to help me kick things up a notch - and it's working!
Walking the Whiting Reservoir, Oct. 2013
My walking friend has been encouraging me to buy a Fitbit for about six months and I finally bought last month. She kept telling me how it helps motivate her to get in a specific amount of walking steps per day and how you can encourage and support your friends who have this gadget (inside the app). At the end of the day, if she is short on the amount of steps she wants to get in, she goes around her block a few more times.

I've found my Zip Fitbit to be a great investment - in me. It's not cheap, but it's worth every penny. I bought it at Best Buy and I opened an account to get an instant $20 off, dropping the price to $39.99. I didn't get the fancier one, that tracks your sleep. When my Zip dies or I lose it, I can assess if I need the higher end one. Right now, tracking my steps is all I need it to do.
I bought a pink Zip Fitbit
A few days ago my Fitbit nudged me (via email) to "walk just 360 more steps" to reach my daily goal. I'm not there yet. I didn't go out and walk around my neighborhood to get in those 360 more steps. Plus, I was already in my nightgown. I can imagine I will be there soon - the day will come when I look at my daily progress (before putting on my nightie) and I go outside to achieve my daily steps.

I know, I should be more motivating and report how great it feels that I did this, but that day isn't here yet, but I will start doing this in time. I haven't yet committed to a specific number of daily steps. I aim for 15,000, but am happy to see over 10,000. The later is how many steps you need to get in to maintain your weight. The former number is the range where you can take weight off from your walking.
How it works: 1) track activity, 2) sync, 3) check progress, 4) make fitness fun.
I am happy with my Fitbit and I'm surprised (and happy) at how it does motivate me. I immediately started to park across the opposite site of campus to get in extra steps and I find myself using any excuse to take a walk. Even though I felt like crap all weekend, I met up with a friend on Saturday and another one on Sunday and both days walked the Whiting Reservoir, which is just over 4 miles.

That is because of the Fitbit - it really motivates me. It motivates me because I set it to automatically upload my stats to Facebook at the end of the day (my MapMyRun app is also set to post my walks/runs when I'm done). It also motivates me because I have three friends who share their Fitbit stats with me. I'm usually in third or fourth place, but sometimes I come in second. I also "cheer" them on within the app, sending them a cheer of support. It's fun when I get such a cheer as well.

BTW, I have an iPhone 4, which predates Fitbit, so it doesn't sync with my phone. This is not a deal breaker for me, since I use MapMyRun to track my walking and running.

Oh, and on Saturday, I forgot to turn off the MapMyRun app, so when it posted to Facebook, it said I'd walked several hours and many miles. Ha! My walking friends asked where did I go! That makes up for the times I walked and it didn't register my walk, usually due to extreme fog or human error.

I saw an article which motivated me to share my own Fitbit story: Fitness Motivator: Why I'm Obsessed with My Activity Tracker by Connie Schultz (Parade, Entertainment, October 12, 2013).

What do you do to motivate yourself to stay active? Get moving and keep losing!
October 18, 2013
Cold season is upon us. If you don't know this already - Fisherman's Friend cough drops are key friendly. Some people find them too strong, and I did at first, but I got used to them. Sometimes I don't finish them, the flavor kind of burns, but they're our only option and when you need a cough drop, this is better than nothing. Sometimes they're hard to find, but Stop and Shop and Walmart always have them. 
Fisherman's Friend Cough Lozenges - key friendly
I also found this great tin at Walmart, which I love!

October 13, 2013
On my way home from a conference in upper state NY, and at every rest stop along the way, every single bathroom had a giant sized scale like this one. Tap, tap, tap.
Oh no - another scale!
I did not step on this scale or any of the scales that I encountered at every single stop.

I never would have in the past either--imagine if someone else saw my weight! OH NO!

These scales go up to 500 pounds, so I have to wonder how accurate are they?

Doesn't matter, we don't have to worry about the scale.

Such freedom we have in not having to worry what the scale says. It's one less voice out there shouting at us.

Silence is golden.

Having problems with the scale - want to know how much you weight? Tap, tap, tap. Push those thoughts away as you would any food temptation.

Tap, tap, tap.

Move along. Nothing for you here.
October 11, 2013
The Key Hypnosis website looks great! Check it out: Key Hypnosis

Key Hypnosis

October 10, 2013
It's good to be able to see the many ways our lives have changed from losing weight. Aside from the obvious visual changes, there are many situations that we can look back at and see the pain we were in, pain we were not even aware of until it's gone and we bump into again.
Oh happy me at a great conference
I've been out of town at a conference this week and it is at this conference that I bumped into an old pain and a new non-scale victory. Perhaps some of you can relate.

I was running late to one of the workshops, and when I entered the room the speaker was already well into his intro speech. I quickly scanned the room looking for a place to sit, the room was pretty full and there weren't a lot of empty seats. I like the front row and so I wormed my way to the front of the room and slipped quietly into one of the empty seats in the first row to the right of the speaker.

I then settled in, pulled out my laptop and focused on the topic of the hour. A few moments later, I became aware that the guy next to me was spilling over to my chair. I realized that that was me 2 years ago. I sensed he was uncomfortable in his chair, as he fidgeted most of the 45 minutes we were at that workshop.

Two years ago, I too spilled over to the chair next to me in these kinds of crowded rooms. I would also be wiggling around in my seat and so aware and embarrassed that my body was covering part of the seats on both sides of me.

I also realized that two years ago I would never have chosen a front row seat, not after the speaker had begun. I would have found a seat in the back, or if there were no seats that I could get to without having to push my obese body through a row of seated people and “bothering” someone, I would have left the workshop. I may even have gone to my hotel room and had a good cry.

Not spilling over to the seat next to me - non-scale victory – indeed!
October 10, 2013
Just had this for dinner. 10 mins. prep time, then throw it in the crock pot. Leave for work and it's ready when you get back.

2 large cans Hunts whole peeled tomatoes
1 small can of Hunts tomato paste
1 lb ground pork, browned and drained
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 medium polska kielbasa, cooked and cubed
2 green bell peppers
1 medium yellow onion
1 C cubed turnip (about 1 small turnip root)
1 T chili power
1 T garlic powder
2 t ground cumin
1/4 C chopped parsley
1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 t ground black pepper

1. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste to the crock pot. Mash with a potato masher (it's good to know it can still be used for SOMETHING) just until they're flat, not until they're crushed. It's a texture thing.

2. Add the meat and veggies along with all the seasonings.

3. Give it a good stir and let the magic happen.

Set the crock pot to low if you have more than 6 hours to wait for it. I start mine on high and turn it down to low after 3 hours. The end result is savory, soupy and has just the right amount of heat. Every bite has a nice balance of meat and veggies, just like we like it. If you are so inclined you can use a packet of chili seasoning from McCormick or Old El Paso and add extra cumin and chili powder to taste instead of fussing with individual ingredients.

I use Hunts tomatoes because they taste the best and they aren't stewed or peeled using chemicals. Probably not organic but better than any other commercial brand.

Enjoy!



October 02, 2013