Yard Work Definitely Counts as Exercise

When we lived in Southern California, we lived in a condominium complex and one of the perks was, it came gardeners. The only yard work  I did was watering the container plants on my patio. Now we live in the country–actually its a forest and there are no gardeners around here. If any yard work needs to be done, its up to me and hubby to do it.

For the past month I have raked up bushels and bushels of acorns, leaves and most recently– pine needles. I’m outside two hours a day sweeping, raking and shoveling whatever Mother Nature has blown down on my front yard.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote that I was annoyed with myself for not exercising daily. I felt lazy. My plan had been to do certain exercises so I could regain at least some of my balance but with all the recent yard work, I was too tired. I still found time for my yoga, knowing if I stopped doing that my legs would get too stiff.

What I didn’t realize until today is that yard work is definitely exercise and its more strenuous than the exercises I had planned to do in my living room!

So I decided to give myself a break.

Living in a house on an acre of land, surrounded by oak and pine trees is wonderful! and a lot of work, especially in the fall. I also live with two small dogs who enjoy sniffing around the area and going for long walks.

The amount of time I spend outdoors, I am taking care of my body. I’m outside breathing fresh air and getting plenty of exercise and that’s why we moved here in the first place.

Be well!

ingebird

Getting Back in Balance Part 2

Three weeks ago I decided I needed to work harder getting my body “back in balance.” My plan was to do daily foot strengthening exercises, soak my feet in Epsom salts and take more supplements and walk more.

The plan turned out to be harder than I thought. Taking time out to do these extra things took up a lot of my time! There were days I didn’t do anything except take one walk, eat healthy and take the supplements, which is good–but disappointing. I really want to get rid of the walker. I want to walk without feeling like I’m about to fall over and I definitely want to have better posture, so I am starting over and this time, I will multitask.

I can do leg stretches by the kitchen sink while I’m cooking and I can do the foot strengthening exercises as well. Soaking my feet in Epsom salts daily is not realistic. For one thing, using a half cup of Epsom salts each time gets expensive, so I will try for three times a week.

On the days I don’t feel like walking outside as much, I can dance/exercise in the house while I watch TV or listen to a video.

I also won’t be so hard on myself when I don’t meet my expectations. I want to enjoy taking care of my body and to me that’s what life is about. No matter what. Have fun doing it or do something else.

Be well!

ingebird

Prepping for a Colonoscopy When You Have an Ostomy Bag

You made an appointment to get your first colonoscopy after you got your colostomy or ileostomy bag. You got your drink mix and you are all set to go, or at least you think you are. But did you get a LARGER bag from the ostomy nurse? If you didn’t, you could be in big trouble — as in cleaning up shit off your floor because your normal size bag broke from all the junk coming out of you.

When I got my first colonoscopy after getting my ostomy bag, the nurse gave me a set of instructions on what to do the night before. There was no mention of needing a larger bag. Luckily, my obsessive, questioning thoughts came in handy this time and I researched online if I needed a bigger bag. Guess what! I did. So I immediately called my nurse and told her to get me a larger bag. Believe it or not, she gave me a hard time about it! She didn’t think I needed one. I couldn’t believe her attitude so I pulled my “Bitch” card and let her know I would be “prepping” for the big event in HER waiting room. Guess who got not one, but two larger bags?

Sometimes you have to demand things, especially from those working in the medical community. They can come off as know-it-alls. Don’t feel bad about standing up for yourself. Its your body and you will experience the consequences, no one else. In my case, I was right. The larger bag was the right size to hold all the output. When you take a laxative like the stuff you drink before a colonoscopy, you have limited time to empty the bag. The poop is runnier as time goes on and is messier to clean up. You have enough to deal with without mopping up the floor.

Get a bigger bag.

Be well!

Ingebird