Saturday, May 21, 2011

Calcium of many colors

Another good day  yesterday. 60 minutes of exercise (walking, Qi Gong, cycling, strength training) followed by another 60 minutes of play ( Wii cycling, table tennis, seated dancing to the Michael Jackson experience). No pain afterwords and just an overall good feeling  left behind. I am beginning to question the accuracy of my Wii as to weight though. We use it on a carpeted floor with the special feet, but yesterday it had trouble reading both my son and self . According to it, I gained 1.82 lbs overnight. It is a very good thing that I am not doing this for weight loss ! Weight loss is simply a side benefit- physical stamina , flexibility and movement is the goal to overcome arthritis . Sadly, with the Wii fit it wants you to take a body test with weight before each session, so you kind of find out that number just by playing.

I had to spend some time "tweaking" our menu for next week.No dairy, no nightshades, high in fish, nuts, fruits, veggies and whole grains. I had a momentary concern about calcium , but realized calcium comes from a lot more than dairy. As a woman over 50 , osteoporosis is a concern . Raising a teen-aged boy also makes calcium a cause for pause. To reassure myself I did a little research into foods that are non dairy but high in calcium. Here is a list that I made based on that research :

Broccoli, watercress, kale and other dark leafy greens, okra,chick peas, almonds, sesame seeds, walnuts, tahini, salmon with bones,sardines with bones, figs, black strap molassess, sea vegetable like nori, tapioca

To reassure myself I made certain that our menu included these items. Oatmeal with almonds and black strap molasses, broccoli and kale for sides, seasoning blend made from nori, sesame seeds and other spices, fish at least 3 times a week and limit the red meat to 2 meals per week.

As long as the Rapture does not happen today, it should be a good week !

4 comments:

Jane Cartelli said...

Wii Scale/Weight suggestion:
Just a thought - If you really are not doing this for the pounds and seeing the number change daily troubles you, make the weigh in fun. Get on the scale each day holding a different object (a heavy book, a lamp, a bat, a load of laundry . . .) - make the number meaningless and silly so you can simply benefit from your workout without stressing over the weight.

Jane~
Keepingthepoundsoff.com

Di said...

Good thought ! I simply listen to it tell me to keep still , wait for the weight and then shift my feet so that when I go to the first exercise it says "your weight has changed- shall we run another body test ?" and laugh. The whole point of the Wii is to get you moving gently but rather effectively. My son takes the body test while sitting on a chair, feet on the board and wiggling. I think way too many people let the number on the scale determine how they are doing , who and what they are and all sorts of other nonsense. I mention it just to illustrate that the Wii , like any scale, is not necessarily accurate , and can be thrown off by different factors like carpet, uneven floor boards, low batteries and so forth.

Shabby Chic Mom said...

That's a great suggestion from Jane

Keep up the good work!!!
the benefits will follow!!!

Anonymous said...

It sounds like we do a lot of the same things. I bike, strength train, walk and do Chi-Gong(Qi Gong). I also have a Wii Fit, but don't use it as much as I should.