Diet: A Rude word?

 Greetings,

Why would I be talking about diets and dieting? Well, I am sure not turning into some 'dieting guru' that is going to tell you to live on some 'super-food' that will help you lose enormous amounts of weight in a short amount of time. I am going to tell a few home truths about the word "diet" and how it is often seen in the modern world, and then I am going to share my experiences with my change of diet, because that is what this blog is for, because it has helped by fibromyalgia, and I think it will help it in the long-run.

The definition of the word "diet" from the Oxford English Dictionary is: "The kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats." (https://www.lexico.com/definition/diet) So, nothing there about weight-loss or calorie-control or anything of the sort, simply what a person habitually eats. The problem is that in the modern world we have so often head about fad diets to assist us lose weight such as: The Ketogenic Diet, Noom Diet, Weight-Watchers, Atkins Diet and Paleo Diet, that every time we hear the word "diet" we think that someone is trying to make us lose weight.

Well, here's the kicker, the result of a healthy, balanced, diet, combined with exercise is that you will lose weight. Sure some tailoring to meet particular goals might help, but keeping to healthy things works. The diet which is most popular with my local health agencies at the moment is the Mediterranean diet. Yes, what people eat in the Mediterranean region, nothing more. I have been changing my food habits toward this way of thinking over the past three months or so to lose some weight, on the advice of my Hepatologist and her team to assist with my liver function, along with a healthy increase in my exercise. 

I had put on about 40kg over the past four years or so. Part of this was the result of medication effects from a bad chest infection, other part of this was my body catching up with muscle mass, another part of it was a dose of depression which reduced my activity. In any case it resulted in me being an unhealthy 118kg. Now let me say that this weight is unhealthy for my frame. It may not be for yours, it also depends how it is distributed. Most of those who know me will be now looking through photos unbelieving of my change in shape, but it is there.

Anyway, I started the change slowly, increasing my uptake of some foods while reducing the intake of other foods. The point of this process was that I wanted this diet to become my diet thus habitual, not something that was going to be for a short time, but for a long period of time. I could have stayed on the diet for the period of the program, hit my goal, and gone back to old habits, but what's the point? Then I would have to start the process all over again. I wanted these changes to last, and even continue. I made gradual changes to my diet so they would be sustainable. Also I went for healthy and tasty food.

One of the reasons people don't stay with a change of diet is because they don't like the food. You need to find food which is tasty. The Mediterranean diet was easy for me, I like olives and mushrooms, feta cheese, garlic and similar things. All of which are part of the diet. You throw in red wine, avocados and  salmon, the diet is also good for raising your HDL, so good for the cholesterol.

As a result of this diet and the exercise that has gone along with it, I am now more healthy than I have been, my pain levels are a little reduced, though this time of year my body always gives me hell because it decides that it is time to take a holiday. Oh, and as of yesterday I have lost 10kg, and I am looking forward to maintaining the same diet because it is a real one, food that I habitually eat. 

Cheers,

Henry.

Psychological Aiming: A Respiratory Pause

 Greetings,

One of they problems that causes some issues, or at least used to in a big way, was Sleep Apnoea. I have not only Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) which is the common variant where the soft palate tends to block the airway when I sleep, but I also have Central Sleep Apnoea (CSA) my lungs sometime decide they want some time off and just stop. Needless to say, without my sleep machine, I don't get much sleep and it could cause some catastrophic health issues.

My snoring as a child was described as me taking a breath, breathing in, and in, and in, and then holding it for a while, then letting it out, and out, and out, and out, then stopping. Then finally breathing back in again. It was the stopping, the 'respiratory pause', before breathing back in again which used to scare both my mother and also my sister if they ever had the misfortune of being awake when I wasn't. 

Interestingly, for another project, I have been reading through some pistol training manuals. I read all sorts of things all of the time. It is amazing the things you can find on the internet. Anyway, I came to a part which deals with breath control, and it advises the shooter to fire when, during the 'respiratory pause' the natural gap in the breathing where the person is most relaxed. I got to thinking...

My mother shot pistol when I was a child, and I have no doubt that I would have been around when my mother was being taught to shoot. She actually ended up being a better shot than my father. Further, all of us in the family were eventually taught how to shoot. I held my first rifle at the age of 8 years old. 

The first lesson I was taught was not to point a weapon at anything that you don't want to hit, a rule which follows for all weapons. I teach the same rule to my fencing students in regard to their swords. The second rule was to assume that any weapon that you have not checked yourself is loaded. But I digress...

So you have a family who was taught how to shoot, how to control their breath while shooting to ensure that the rhythmic motion of their bodies did not disturb their aim. Further you have a child who has breathing difficulties to start with. I suffered horribly with chest infections when I was a child. This was the part of my chronic asthma that bothered me the most. 

Maybe in the back of my mind I was not only extending my 'respiratory pause' so I could aim better, so I could shoot better, but also taking the whole idea of breath control to another step along. Slowing your breathing down when you have breathing issues is sure a benefit, and it has been mostly a benefit since then, though it has scared some nurses in hospitals, seems it keeps you heart rate a little slow. Not really helpful for their parameters for "normal," but great for calming yourself and other benefits.

Cheers,

Henry.

AMOR FATI - Love Your Fate

 Greetings,

So I have been studying a little Stoicism of late, actually I have been reading and learning about Stoicism quite a bit of late as it suits my method of thinking and I wanted to share a thought about one of Stoicism's philosophical tenets. I think that this will be of assistance to some, especially those who have chronic pain, or other chronic health issues, like fibromyalgia (FM) which is what much of this blog is about, my travels through life with FM. To explain how this philosophical tenet works I will be telling a story, my story.

AMOR FATI - Love Your Fate

In the far past days of  my childhood, I had the urge to serve, I did not know this at the time, but when I look back at it this is what the urge was. My first choice of occupation was to join the military forces, my first choice for this was to join the army, go to the Australian Defence Force Academy, become an officer, lead men, and so forth. Of course, this dream was shattered when I found out that I would not pass the medical examination, I was a chronic asthmatic. So even if I was as fit and smart as the rest, No getting in there.

My second plan, once again was to serve. I wrote to my great-uncle who was an Deputy Commissioner in the Queensland Police Service whether there was a chance I could become a police officer, even being a chronic asthmatic. He wrote back to me telling me that I could but before I went for the medical, I would have to have two years completely clear of asthma. Well, that was not going to happen in a hurry, so I shelved that idea.

When we were asked in school what we wanted to be when we grew up, needless to say I had already had a good, long, think about where I was going, and my limitations. This boy wanted to be a fireman, that girl wanted to be a nurse, I decided that I wanted to be an historian. So, from them on any chance I got I would study history of what ever I could get my hands on.

The same pattern followed through my High School years, my eyes were firmly set on my goal. I had a look at other options on the way. I even dabbled a little with the idea of being a shot firer, the person who sets and detonates explosives at mines, but I was clearly going for my goal. Well, there were some stumbles, like failing my first attempt at university, and spending three-and-a-half years unemployed.

During that time of unemployment, with too high a skill level, and no qualifications, that I was put in an office traineeship. Seemed like an idea to tide me over until university places and funding was available. Then I developed pain in my fingers and wrists, to the point that I could not write or even make a sandwich. Here is where FM loomed its ugly head, of course it was misdiagnosed for about two-and-a-half years, meaning that I ended up on anti-inflammatories, which damaged the lining of my stomach, so now I cannot take them at all.

Eventually, I got a diagnosis from a specialist at the local hospital. End of the traineeship, not much good having an employee who has to take random days off because his body doesn't work. I applied for a disability pension. It was rejected and told that it would all clear up in six weeks (I wish). More job search without luck. Eventually I ended up going back to university to do the degree that would set me on the path to becoming an historian.

The Disability Support Officer at the university was great, she helped me manage my degree so I could handle the work. I was given extra time for my examinations, a laptop to type on rather than write. My lecturers were also really understanding, I was able to get extensions on my assignments when I needed them, and they understood my random absences. Only issues throughout the whole thing was dealing with the government to remain funded, and this happened almost every year.

So, you'd think a person with a degree is more easily able to find work, right? Nope. Now you are too over qualified, or under-qualified, you are sandwiched in between where you need to be. I spent a year or so being bounced around again, not finding suitable employment due to my FM. So, I went back to university to do Honours. Finished that, now I am technically qualified in my field. Of course, the offerings for historians are like hen's teeth, they do exist, just very rare.

During my last years of High School I had joined a medieval and Renaissance recreation group the SCA, and was enjoying myself recreating bits of history. If you enjoy studying history, what could be better than living bits of it? This enjoyment did not abate all the way through these ups and downs.

Along the way I had learned how to use a sword called the rapier, now think of a weapon which is the grand-father of the modern epee, and you are on the right sort of track. This is a different sort of fencing: it is not restricted to a strip, it is fought often on a marked out field called a list; unlike sport fencing, you can use your other hand sometimes even to carry another weapon; this form of fencing is based on treatises from the 13th to the 17th centuries. I was developing quite a bit of skill along the way.

To cut a much longer story short, I do still study bits of history, but it is usually something to do with fencing. I fence more than most people, and I actually teach people how to fence. I actually did get on the Disability Pension, so by default I am being paid by the government to research history, and teach people how to fence. I am also writing and publishing some books, which I never thought was going to happen. All in all I am happy with the way things have turned out. This is because I have embraced the way things have turned out rather than resented it. Yes, it has taken me longer than most to get here, but I am more comfortable with what I am doing than most are with what they are.

AMOR FATI - Love Your Fate means to love your life the way it is, not resenting things that did not happen and not hoping for things that might not happen. It is accepting things the way they are and embracing them with all your heart. I accept that my conditions impede my progress, but without them I would not be in the position that I am in now, more in control of what I do during the day than most, more in control of my career than most. Take your life and live it to its fullest.

AMOR FATI - Love Your Fate

A small side note, you will note that I have used lots of Wikipedia links. It is because I believe it is a good resource and worthy of use. It now has the research of many more respected resources as you will find in the bibliographies of many of the articles and I encourage my readers to donate to the Wikipedia to keep this valuable resource alive and free for all.

1/365 is Not Enough

 Greetings,

Last year I gave an update of my list of illnesses that were current (https://alifewithfibromyalgia.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-list-i-am-here.html) just to let people know exactly what is going on with me, should they really want to know. Well, this year has been no picnic I can tell you and the COVID-19 pandemic has been just the beginning of it. You throw in costochondritis on top, which has this habit of imitating a heart attack, and things have not been a hell of a lot of fun. (Yes, I have chest pain, and can't breathe properly. No, I don't want you to call an ambulance. I can't breathe properly because I have chest pain. No, it is not my lungs.) Not to mention the other parts of my body have been playing their usual merry hell. Oh, the COVID pandemic has been lots of fun too, especially when you are one of the "high risk" category. Crazy when the rules that you have been following and trying to get others to follow suddenly become policy...

... stay home when unwell.
... wash your hands.

... stay away from sick people, and distance from people in general.

So here we are on "R U OK?" Day again and social media is being flooded with memes and bits and pieces of people asking the simple question. Well, again I am going to say, "No, I am not OK, and I have damned good reasons not to be." That being said, this is my state of affairs. This is what I have to deal with.

I do not expect people to be checking in on me every day, or even today, aside from the fencing class that I have this afternoon. In fact if people did try to check on me every day I would find it truly irritating, but that is just who I am. I work through things myself, for the most part. When I need help, I will get around to asking. Yes, my wife, and my doctor both think this should be more often.

One day out of 365 is not enough, people need to be reaching out to one another all of the other 364 days of the year as well. It is even more so in the current situation with the pandemic going on. People are not "OK" at all. People are feeling isolated, people are feeling like their world is crashing down around them (in some cases it is), people are being confused by different messages which are being put out there, and all of this is creating stress on people. Even for people who aren't "at risk" i.e. those with mental health issues, this is rough.

Make time to talk to your friends and family. Use some of that endless phone credit you have. Use some of that endless internet time you have. Get in touch, make a connection, talk to someone. Make a real connection with them, see how they are really going. Make a habit of doing this. If people took it upon themselves to do this it could change things a lot.

Go find a friend or someone in your family to talk to. Not just today, but other days in the year. Make a change for the better. They are interested in what's going on in your life, just as you are actually interested in theirs. Just try it. The time you have in their company will be time you are happy you spent.

Cheers,

Henry.

Will the Lessons Be Learned?

Greetings,

The world as I write is in the grip of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. There are very few countries which have not been impacted in some way by this virus, and the ones which have been impacted by the virus have been impacted heavily. Australia has been impacted quite heavily, "social distancing" measures have been introduced along with self-isolation and quarantining measures as well. We have already seen a panic-run on shops of some essentials, and as a result rationing put in place to prevent further occurrences of such panic-buying of these essentials.

Hygiene measures have been put in place to prevent the spread of the virus. Sick people have been told to stay at home, hence the self-isolation. People have also been told to wash their hands, and keep their hands away from their faces. The interesting thing is that these measures should be "common sense" things that people should be doing anyway.

Flu season is also upon us soon. It is most interesting that the same people who are being paranoid about COVID-19 and posting on social media about it are the same people who do not get the flu vaccination, and also the same people who often continue to go out in public when they are sick. If the current pandemic has taught us anything is that everyone who is able should get vaccinated, if possible, and sick people should stay at home so they do not infect others. Why?

The 1918 pandemic which killed 50,000,000 people was not some random virus. It was a strain of the influenza virus, or flu, H1N1 to be precise, also known as "Spanish Flu". What is ridiculous is that every year we have a new strain of the flu turn up. Every year it spreads around the world during winter months when we are at our most vulnerable. Scientists have been warning us for years about an upcoming pandemic of the same proportions, if not worse than 1918. Watch the Netflix series "Pandemic" and reconsider how you think about the flu.

The problem is that people look at the flu and because it is common and lots of people survive it, they don't worry about it. It is not the people who get sick and shrug it off which is the concern, it is the immune-suppressed and immune-vulnerable which you get vaccinated for. You get vaccinated so you do not pass it along to your friend who may be under treatment or may have a chronic condition.

If anything gets learnt from this pandemic, it should be the importance of people a) getting vaccinated because it is available; b) not going out when they are sick; and c) people paying attention to simple hygiene such as covering your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough, and washing your hands regularly.  Do it for your elderly parents. Do it for your immune-suppressed friend. Do it for your friend with a chronic health condition. Do it for me. Just do it for yourself.

Hopefully the lessons will be learned and remembered and the flu will not have as much of an impact. Learn the lessons from COVID-19, apply them during flu season too. This is a personal responsibility thing, everyone can do their part. It starts with you.

Cheers,

Henry.

#washyourhands, #getvaccinated, #getafluvax