Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee

Wellness: Better Living through PT

For all of the unhealthy or marginally healthy activities I write about or mention on this blog, it's only fair that I now give a plug to something highly healthy:  I just had PT!  And I feel so f*cking good! :-)  Sorry, there's just no other way to say it.  Last month, I had the first professional massage of my life, which was very enjoyable, but its benefits were more in relaxation than anything.  Now, I feel almost like I could work an eight-hour shift straight through (though I'm not volunteering tonight). 

Alas: this good feeling does not come without sacrifice: the characteristic seated "Mike posture" (slouching, with right leg crossed over left) has been kiboshed.  I'm a little bit at a loss, as this has been something of a personal trademark, and you can't just buy personal trademarks at Target.  Still, I've said that nothing is off the table, so I will be true to my word.

Wellness: Expectations of Wellness

What is your expectation of wellness?   I admit that my standard is probably a little higher than others'.  I expect to be able to have a level of physical activity that, to most people, is off the charts.  I expect to be able to walk two or three hours a day in summer, and double that on each weekend day.  Lately, I've often had to apply heat packs or ice to my back and sides after exercise, and sometimes that exercise is nothing more than sitting in a chair for an eight-hour workday.

In my world, few human activities lend themselves to moderation. It's either all or nothing with me, and where walking is concerned, the toggle switch is set to "all."  "Realize that one minor walking error repeated millions of times can do an incredible amount of damage to your muscles, nerves, and joints, eventually causing incredible pain", this article confirms.  Oops.  I don't know why all this happening now, though I had a similar set of symptoms a little over a year ago.

I received a clean bill of health at my annual physical, but continue to be plagued by problems that are more of a distraction than anything else.  If it keeps up another week or two, it'll be time to take some action, but I don't know exactly what.  If I go back to to my PCP, I'll surely get the look again, the same pissed-off look I got last year.  Maybe a physical therapist is the answer.  I need to be able to get through an eight-hour workday (not to mention the occasional ten- or twelve-hour workday) without pain in my rib cage and flanks.

Despite all this, I realize how lucky I am. With few exceptions, I'd lost all sense of the passage of time or aging since I lost weight--though that wasn't all that long ago.  And I don't have any sense of general malaise.  And I plan another weekend of "off the charts"!

Wellness: Good Report Card from the Doctor

Today, I received the results of recent bloodwork and was happy to see that there's been some positive movement in my cholesterol levels in the past two years.

5/29/07 Total cholesterol: 156 HDL: 57 LDL: 87 Triglycerides: 113
6/08/09 Total cholesterol: 135 HDL: 55 LDL: 68 Triglycerides: 62

You Want to Ride Your Bicycle, You Want to Ride Your Bike--Straight to Alterra

In honor of Bike to Work Week, the Alterra Foundry in Milwaukee's 5th Ward is handing out free coffee and bakery goodies to cyclists through Friday, May 16.

This is your chance to put the pounds you've burned right back on--it'll be like they never left. Let's ride bikes!

Link

Coffee Bad for Boobies?

A week ago, I had an abdomen ultrasound that found only a tiny, apparently harmless cyst in my right kidney.  I happened to have the book You: The Owner's Manual on hand, so I did a little reading up on cysts.  A word that's stuck in my head is methylxantines.  I don't know if kidney cysts and breast cysts have anything all in common, but apparently methylxantines are bad news for womens' breasts.  As much as I love coffee, hey, priorities are priorities—so I pass on this information (excerpted below), though with a heavy heart.

Fibrocystic breast disease is a benign but sometimes painful condition, occurring in about 20% of pre-menopausal women and associated with a three times greater risk for the development of breast cancer. It can be caused by estrogen dominance, a high animal fat dietary intake and caffeine consumption (Ed. note: emphasis added) Pain and swelling from the breast cysts usually occurs in the second half of a woman's menstrual cycles and typically affects both breasts.

Fibrocystic breast disease can be reversed by cutting down on high fat foods, especially hormone-containing foods like beef, pork, eggs, chicken and all dairy products. Avoid alcohol, sugar and white flour products, all of which encourage the development of breast cysts in sensitive individuals. Products containing caffeine and methylxantines like coffee (Ed. note: emphasis added), black tea, chocolate, cola drinks and some analgesics should be avoided. Eat more citrus fruits, beets, celery, carrots, artichokes, parsnips, spinach, cucumbers and antioxidant rich green foods like spirulina, chlorella, green kamut and barley green.

Editorial: Guide the Surgeons in Their Work

(Note: I heard this in church again this morning, so I'm going to bump this back up to the top.)

This morning in church, I was once again irritated by this petition in the general prayers.  Of course, in its literal meaning, I join in the prayer.  What irritates me is its constant presence, and the constant absence of anything along the lines of "Grant us wisdom to eat less and exercise more." 

A little background here:
1.)  When I was 9 months old, I almost died of septicemia, which required surgery.  I like to think God guided the surgeons in their work.
2.) I used to weigh 90 pounds more than I do now. Losing the weight did not require surgery.

I mention these things only to preempt accusations of self-righteousness or lack of sympathy.

I guess what amazes me most is how entire categories of thought are just blocked out entirely.  Lutherans should preach wellness?  That's social gospel. . .new age. . .gnosticism. . .(insert name of heresy here). Perhaps more likely, astute theologians have noted the contrast between Lutheran theology and the pursuit of wellness.