In this issue:
Weight Loss: The story of a fanatic. Keeping the pounds off. The Road to Happiness. Squatters’ rights. Ashwagandha and Rhodiola Rosea for stress. Long term weight management. What is Rolfing. An important public service announcement. IT pro toolbox.
Recovering fat IT pros like us can learn a lot from Russia—or at least from one Russian in particular. Photo by Michael Parulava on Unsplash
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Editor’s Corner
Mitch Tulloch is the Senior Editor of FitITproNews and a recovering fat IT pro who lost 50 lbs in midlife and is now on his way to becoming a fit IT pro. Mitch is a widely recognized expert on Windows Server and cloud technologies who has authored or been Series Editor of numerous books/ebooks from Microsoft Press. Mitch is also the Senior Editor of WServerNews and writes frequently for TechGenix.
Welcome to the November 2021 issue of FitITproNews, the world’s only newsletter devoted to helping “recovering fat IT pros” make progress on the journey towards strength and health!
In last month’s newsletter I talked about my current progress in losing weight and I indicated at the end of my editorial that I would provide more details concerning my newfound sustainable diet in our November newsletter. Well I’ll delay that until December as I wanted to give the floor in this issue to our newest columnist Andrey Sarantsev. Andrey is 62 years old and works as an IT architect for IBM in Moscow and he has quite a story to tell along with some terrific tips on losing weight and keeping it off. Hope you enjoy reading it!
This month’s newsletter also includes the usual terrific articles from our regular columnists on various topics. Robin Camp describes how he’s had to modify his weightlifting routine because of injury and the effects of a long bout of COVID. Lana Khazari shares about her personal struggles achieving an ideal body and how mindfulness and journaling has freed her from anxiety and depression. Kris Lall and his son Ben illustrate a safer way of gaining the benefits of doing squats. Sarah Trammell digs into two herbal supplements that may be helpful for individuals experiencing stress. Kris Kane offers some tips for achieving your weightloss goals and keeping lost fat from coming back. And Judith Shipps describes her experience with a deep tissue massage called Rolfing and shares an important public service announcement concerning lubricating wheelchairs and other assistive devices.
We hope you enjoy this month’s issue of FitITproNews and feel free to send us feedback on any of the topics we’ve covered — we love hearing from our readers!
Cheers!
Mitch Tulloch, Senior Editor
Weight Loss: The story of a fanatic (Andrey Sarantsev)
Andrey is 62 years old and resides in Russia, Moscow. He is a former scientist at Moscow State University (Physics) and has worked for IBM as an IT Architect for the last 18 years. He was dedicated to Shotokan karate in his early years, then later practiced bodybuilding and now plays tennis and exercises with not-so-heavy-weights just to be in good shape.
I raised my eyes and looked in the mirror. An overweight man with a tense expression was staring at me. Three years ago, my wife was diagnosed with a terrible disease. For three years we fought with her for her life, I completely focused on her, ate a lot to extinguish stress, and stopped practicing sports, because I did not feel the right to think about myself and enjoy life at such a time. For three years I have been spiraling downward. And now, left alone at 52 years old, I weighed myself for the first time in a long time and found that the arrow of the scales rests against the right limiter. Being 186 cm (6’1 ”) tall I weighed over 130 kg (287 lbs). Even my very last giant suit could not accommodate my body, and my body could not accommodate all the diseases that fell on me. I consumed handfuls of pills daily, and the doctors said that from now on I would have to do it all my life. I couldn’t get home without an elevator, I couldn’t run to catch the bus. The stress had partially weakened my left foot, and now I could not run at all. By nature, I tend to be overweight, there were years when my figure left much to be desired, but I could not remember myself as fat as now. It was obesity on the brink of illness. It was necessary to decide whether to continue living in this body or change it. I chose the latter.
Having a lot of experience in serious sports, I nevertheless did not know how to manage my weight. From general considerations, it was clear that it was necessary to eat less and move more. But I didn’t know much about food, and my ability to move was limited right now. Even if my foot wasn’t partially paralyzed, I still wouldn’t be able to run because of the huge weight. I didn’t dare go to a fitness club – I had to pay for a subscription a year in advance, and I wasn’t physically ready and didn’t know if I could do exercises at all. And I decided to do it at home. At my disposal were dumbbells of small weight from 3 kg (6.6 lbs) to 12 kg (26.5 lbs), a bench with a variable angle of inclination, a rubber band, a waist twisting disc and a small punching bag. I started exercising every day evening time. No one sees you at home, and you can do whatever you want without fear of looking ridiculous. My training started every day with me running on the spot for 30 – 60 minutes. Or used a disk. It was very boring and looked very stupid, but no one saw me. Then I practiced hitting the punching bag. It wouldn’t make me Mike Tyson, and I wasn’t going to fight on the street, but from past experience I was able to do it professionally, and it created motion. I hit the bag continuously for half an hour. At the end, I started exercises with a weights. I did a variety of exercises with dumbbells lying down on the bench, bending and standing, various rubber pulls and pushes. I did 5 – 8 series of 20 repetitions with 3 – 6 kg dumbbells, without breaks, without rest. One by one, one by one. It probably looked funny from the outside – an adult man with 6 kg dumbbells, but I understood that my goal was to keep my pulse in the fat burning zone (I knew about fat burning zone, because it was written on all treadmills in the club), and it didn’t matter what I was doing and how it looked. In total, it took one and a half to two hours.
The workouts were similar to one another, only the sequence of exercises changed, it was boring, but I knew why I was doing it, I was obsessed with the goal of regaining normal weight.
Looking ahead, I will say that such an intense training hardly needs to be practiced for a long time. But it can give you quick results, which is important for motivation. You need to feel that your efforts are yielding results, that there is hope. Therefore, fanaticism at the start can be justified (at least for me).
The length of this intense period may vary. The decrease in your belly and waistline lags behind the decrease in your weight. This is due to the fact that first the internal fat burns, and only then the subcutaneous fat. Therefore, at the start, it is better to focus on the readings of the scales, and not on reducing the size of the waist – the latter will happen a little later. If the scale shows consistent weight loss from week to week, you are on the right track.
And yet – if your health allows it, it’s still better to go to a fitness club. There are treadmills and elliptical machines, which are very effective at burning fat.
With nutrition, the situation was more complicated. Although I controlled my body to a certain extent and could move in a variety of ways, then I didn’t know much about nutrition. I started counting calories – kitchen scales appeared on my table. These scales appeared and remained forever. I began to weigh everything I eat. If I didn’t know the weight and calorie content, I just didn’t eat it. I followed the principle: “If you can’t measure something, then you can’t control it.” I also started eating only simple foods. If it was beans, then without any additives. If it was meat, then without sauce. And I weighed everything before cooking, in its raw form. I admit that the food was not varied enough, and it was wrong. But then I had only one goal – to reduce weight. I didn’t think much about all aspects of health. I also deliberately didn’t make the food delicious to avoid temptations. But this is a separate topic that I would like to discuss in future issues.
I printed out a calorie chart for all the foods I ate and hung it on the wall next to the kitchen table. Gradually, I learned it by heart, but most importantly, I learned that foods belonging to the same group have approximately the same calorie content. Later this came in handy when I found myself in situations with limited choices, for example, on business trips.
Another important discovery for me was the glycemic index of products. I learned about “slow” and “fast” carbohydrates. I was struck by an example: raw carrots have a low glycemic index, they can be gnawed when the feeling of hunger becomes strong. But the same carrot, only boiled, has a high glycemic index. If you eat it, then most likely you will provoke an increase in hunger after a while. I also learned the table of the main index by heart.
But my biggest and most useful finding was the rule: “Do not eat after 6 pm.” Of course, the 6 pm is conditional, if you work at night and go to bed far after midnight, then it can be 7 pm, but in any case, you set yourself a time after which you do not take a single gram of food. And this time should be the same every day. The only exception is you are a bodybuilder and gain weight. However, bodybuilding is not something that overweight people do. First, you need to reduce the weight.
Not eating after 6 pm is very hard. And then I had to strain all my will. Idea that my fat burns exactly at night, and not at all during training, helped me.
For 8 months I have been doing my stupid looking home workouts on a regular basis, adding Nordic skiing in the winter. During the first “fanatical” period I practiced every day, in the last months – 4 workouts per week. Dietary restrictions persisted all the time.
Result after 8 months – 90 kg (198.4 lbs). Not bad, yes? Yes, if you focus on numbers. But outwardly, everything was not so good.
Firstly, I completely lost my wardrobe, I just had nothing to wear 🙂 But seriously, although I stopped being fat and became almost normal, I didn’t look too much better. Firstly, due to the rapid weight loss, my skin did not have time to follow the decreasing body surface, to contract. As a result, it sagged, and it did not look very aesthetically pleasing. This gave me 10 years of age. Only a year later, everything returned to normal. One more point to remember – first the face loses weight, and then the body. If you are over 50, be careful with the rate of weight loss – a slim figure will make you younger, but an emaciated face will make you age. Lose weight slowly. A kilogram of fat in your body is approximately 7000 kcal. If you maintain a weekly calorie deficit of 3,500, this will allow you to lose 2 kg per month, which is a safe rate of weight loss over the long term. The deficit is formed due to the excess of expenditures over consumption. You can control consumption – it’s food. But energy expenditure depends on your activity. And here the control is very approximate. This is either a computer in a treadmill or a table of typical expenditure rates for activities. Both are not accurate. Also it is hard to determine your exact basal metabolic rate – how much energy your body spends on maintaining the work of basic systems.
On this I was wrong. By limiting food, I did not consider activity. Yes, the rate of weight loss has been impressive, but the appearance due to saggy skin could be better.
And secondly, I missed the moment when my fat stopped burning, and I began to reduce weight by reducing muscle mass. Despite my exercises, the muscles in my arms were getting thinner, and there could be no question of any athletic form. Only later did I learn that with prolonged physical activity and dietary restrictions, the body stops burning fat, considering it as the last way to avoid starvation, and begins to burn muscles. The moment described above can be captured using an electronic meter for body fat and body mass index. In that case, add protein, exercise with heavy weights, and “shake” your metabolism by changing your diet (for example, using protein-carbohydrate alternation) and activities.
These two mistakes were the result of my limited knowledge and my fanaticism.
So, finally I have achieved my weight loss goal. After a few months of a more or less quiet life without fanaticism, I decided to correct the mistake with the loss of muscle mass. I started the second stage – bodybuilding. In previous years, I learned from paper magazines like “Muscle and Fitness”. Now I discovered that everything you need is on the Internet. I gradually began to acquire modern knowledge and started training in the club (3-4 times a week), which was supposed to make me more athletic. I began to take into account not only calories, but also proteins, fats and carbohydrates. I began to monitor the amount of protein (especially during the period of weight gain) and the regularity of its intake. I began not only to monitor, I began to plan meals. In the evening I cooked food for tomorrow, put it in boxes and took them to work. I had no right to eat anything other than what was in the boxes. I knew this and it disciplined me. I should have started such a practice earlier – it is very effective, first of all, at the stage of losing weight.
Since this topic is already outside of Weight Loss, I will be brief: after 5 years of training intermittently to heal injuries – until the time when I gradually began to switch to tennis, I reached a stable weight of 80 kg (176.4 lbs) and significantly improved my body mass index – I don’t remember it exactly, but muscle mass and external shape became much better. My weight loss record is 77.9 kg (171.7 lbs). I didn’t become Arnold Schwarzenegger or Ronnie Coleman, I couldn’t even get 6 pack abs. But I kept a steady 80 kg, deviating a kilogram or two, and easily returning back. My body height did not decrease, despite the pressure from the upper level management 🙂
Now, more than 10 years after deciding to change my body and my life, I weigh 85 kg (187.4 lbs). I don’t like it, I want to go back to 80 kg. And I will because I have learned to manage my weight. Having done this several times, I know for sure – it works.
Some people can eat pasta and pizza, washing it down with beer and eating ice cream, and still remain slim – that’s their genetics. I’m not the guy. I have always been inclined to be overweight, always dreamed of being slim, sometimes I was, but more often not. I have jeans that I have never worn. Great jeans. I sometimes took them out of the closet and put them on (if at that moment I could put them on above the knees) to see how far I was from buttoning them on my stomach. They have been new for twenty years. And now they will never become old, worn out. I will not be able to wear them, but for another reason – they are terribly large for me.
Science says that time cannot be controlled (at least at speeds far from the speed of light). Nothing like that. Achieve a drastic reduction in your weight – and you will become 10 years younger, and life will be better and longer for at least the same 10 years.
I only told you about what I went through personally. During this trip, I managed to learn or formulate several rules that I find useful for myself and which allow me not to be afraid to gain a couple of extra pounds, because I can always remove them with ease:
Physical activity
- Fat Burning Zone. You can do whatever you want, but you need to keep the heart rate in the fat burning range
- 20 minutes rule. Exercise for at least 20 minutes without a break – after that the body realizes that it will not be left behind, and it is time to switch to the mode of energy expenditure.
- Normal sleep. Sleep enough, it is during sleep that most of the fat is burned.
- Muscles instead of Fat. In the long process of losing weight, you must not miss the moment when muscles start to burn, and not fat – control with the help of electronic meters.
- With age, you need to pay attention to analyzes. Track testosterone
- Active life. Do not take long breaks in active life. Keep your metabolism fast. This will help smooth out inevitable dietary imbalances and maintain weight.
Nutrition
- Measure everything. Your weight – every morning after going to the toilet. Your meal – with every cooking and consumption – especially in the early stages of weight loss.
- Daily intake. Calculate your recommended daily calorie intake and basal metabolic rate. Calculators are available on the Internet.
- Plan your meal. Just counting everything you eat at the end of the day is useless. It doesn’t help to limit yourself. Count right away to know how much you have left before today’s limit. And best of all, plan your meals by arranging them in boxes.
- Eat simple foods. It’s difficult to calculate energy and nutrition profile for complex meal. And such a meal often is tasty. It’s good for good mood, but not for weight loss 🙂
- 6 pm rule. Not eating after 6 PM is one of the most effective guidelines.
- Control not only calories, but also the profile of “proteins, fats, carbohydrates” and the glycemic index
Spirit
- Fanaticism – if this is a trait of your character, use it at the initial stage. Then use perseverance in achieving the goal, this is not the same as fanaticism.
- Rationality – Think about how useful it is, it makes life completely different.
- Imagination – imagine yourself slim. Life shows that it is possible. Other people have done this many times, and you can.
Andrey in the gym.
Keeping the pounds off (Robin Camp)
Robin Camp works as tech support for an Orthodontic Practice Management Software company called New Horizons Software ( www.nhsoftware.com). As a professional photographer on the side, Robin does fashion, glamour weddings and more in his spare time (www.dancingwithlightphoto.com). You can also now find him working out on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/fitittech/.
So these last two years have been a challenge to say the least! After recovering from torn SI joints (Where the lower spine connects to the pelvis), lockdown happened, gyms opened and closed opened again, and then I spent 6 weeks with COVID completely knocked out.
Trying to get back into shape has had its challenges, a consultation with a cardiologist showed that despite my being in good shape before Covid (28 minute 5K, 500lb deadlift, 350lb bench and a 500 lb squat) Covid had damaged my heart, causing it to not get the oxygen needed. Not enough is known yet to determine whether it will heal or not.
So, after the initial shock, depression and frustration wafted over me, I had to figure out how to get back into the gym when quite simply, the most basic workout was leaving me feeling like I had been kicked in the chest.
After consulting with a sports doctor, I had to revise my workouts from powerlifting to a lower intensity and shorter intervals with higher reps. The following workout has been helping with the stress relief and keeping the pounds off.
Mondays: 4 Sets Chest: Flat Bench and Inclined Fly’s/4 Sets Back Pull Downs and Rows. Reps no lower than 12, focusing on form and hypertrophy rather than my previous powerlifting mentality, quite a change mentally! 30 Minute duration.
Tuesdays/Thursdays: Focusing on my weak points, high reps for shoulders (4 Sets Arnolds, 4 Sets Side Raises, 4 Sets Face Pulls), 6 sets calves (Standing or sitting Raises) and 6 Sets traps (Shrugs). 30 Minute Duration.
Wednesdays: Squats, again focusing on reps rather than weight, primarily focusing on Zercher squats right now to reduce strain on my back and to assist with rebuilding my core.6 Sets, 30 Minute duration.
Fridays: Deadlifts, lightweight, reps of 5 or more. This one has been the hardest to set the ego aside on, going from deadlifting 500 to focusing on 225 for multiple reps for multiple sets has been a challenge. 5-6 Sets, 30 Minute Duration.
All in all, it kind of feels like I am starting all over again after so many frustrations, but progress is progress and I am not putting any excess weight on. Hopefully this will help anyone else frustrated with obstacles realize there is always a way around, even if it is frustrating.
Stay safe and have fun!
“Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.”
~Alfred Pennyworth~
The Road to Happiness (Lana Khazari)
Lana Khazari is a Technical Support Analyst for the Corporation of City of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She is also a Precision Nutrition Coach, Personal Trainer, Fitness Instructor and a Yoga 200-RYT Instructor. You can find her online at lanakharazi.com.
I thought I would be happy when I was finally thin. I think most of us have fallen into the trap “If only I had ____ I would be happy!” Whether money, a car, or a house, we believe external things will make us happy. After being an overweight kid, teen, and young adult, carrying an excess of 80 lbs, I thought that being thin was the answer to all problems. And on the day I finally reached the holy grail goal of six-pack abs, I was still dissatisfied.
I became engrossed in bodybuilding and physique competitions; I didn’t realize how I prioritized my appearance over everything else. The cultural pressures of an “ideal body” amplified in my mind as I followed other competitors on social media. My feed had fitness models who were constantly dieting, and comparing myself to these models would leave me feeling anxious and depressed about how I looked. I was operating on a self-rejection mindset.
This mindset led me to resist my body. I would diet harder, train harder, to be leaner or more “fit.” When the pressure became too much, I would binge eat to escape the overwhelming emotions.
I was constantly trying to battle, control, and dominate my body. There was no love or connection. Luckily, I had enough sense to know that the amount of resistance I was creating was unhealthy, so I looked for help. I sought out a coach that could help me switch my mindset. He helped me become more radical in my thinking and understand that self-acceptance is the starting point and that mindfulness is the practice.
When I didn’t accept and love myself and my body “as is,” it became apparent that resistance to my body was the problem. The emotional pressure and self-judgment that I put on my body was the weight of my suffering, and thinking that if I could “fix” my body, I could reduce my suffering. Except my body was not the root of my misery, my mind was.
Mindfulness practice showed me that I was seeking freedom from immense emotional pressure and self-judgment. The problem was not my body image, my weight, my diet, or my training plan. I desperately wanted those things to be different when I needed self-acceptance instead.
So I went on a new kind of diet. I shifted the focus from my physical appearance to my inner experience and tried to experience my body differently. I listened to my body’s biofeedback and trusted its wisdom. I began to follow new people on social media based on who they are and not how they look. I added more self-accepting and non-dieting women to create healthy mental images. I unfollowed those who were hyper-focused on body image. I fed my mind more appropriate content and threw out the junk. I became more accepting of “what is” and better understood that I could offer myself the support I needed instead of beating myself up.
Mindfulness directed me down the right path for personal transformation. I was eating right and exercising right as a regular self-care practice. I also practiced self-acceptance and lovingly connecting with my body. Instead of training to improve my physical appearance, I worked out because it helped me better my mood and feel strong. Instead of eating to look a certain way, I ate because it made me feel good. I worked hard to give myself space to see things as they were and offer myself compassion when needed.
I used journaling and mindfulness to switch my mindset in valuing the process, not the result. It helped me to go deeper within myself and, most importantly, to practice self-compassion. I was too critical of myself. I realize, too, that sometimes I can still get caught up in the self-rejection mindset. After all, I’m human, not perfect.
Recently, at work, I took a leadership course on resilience. The instructor mentioned the benefits of a gratitude practice. Gratitude is a positive emotional state in which one recognizes and appreciates what one has received in life. Research shows that it helps to heal, to energize, and to change lives. One can become more forgiving, more self-compassionate, and do more good things. It affirms the goodness and gifts we have in our lives and allows us to shift our thoughts in cycles of negative thinking. If you are a stress eater, it may help you control your mindset.
Because I’ve realized many benefits from journaling, I’m committing to writing down little or big things that I’m grateful for in my journal daily. In August, I bought “The Five Minute Journal” with good intentions. Now, I’m holding myself accountable and will report back on my experiences next month. Stay tuned.
Squatters’ rights (Kris Lall)
Kris Lall works as a product manager in the tech industry for an enterprise software manufacturer. As a youngster, Kris was consumed with soccer before technology came along. Now he’s consumed with both. You can find him on Twitter at the not-too-surprising handle @krisoccer.
As parents of college age boys, we recently got educated on how exhausting the social aspect of college life can be when we attended Parents Weekend at Washington State University. From Friday to Sunday, we participated in events that our kids partake in pretty much every weekend. Friday night socials, pre-football game functions, the football game itself (although sometimes secondary), post-football game functions, meeting lots of students (and parents), and crowded parties. Constantly moving from one event to another. Ya, fun, but exhausting!
Naturally youth brings much of the energy required to survive the demands of college life. Hitting the books several hours per day, writing essays, lots of walking between classes, weekend socials, and so much more. And perhaps just as important, finding time for a daily workout to stay fit. Now that kids are physically back at school, they are getting back to the gym and perhaps even stumbling upon some new equipment.
Ben (pictured) and his workout buddies have been doing traditional squats for years to strengthen their glutes, quadriceps, hip muscles, calves, hamstrings, and obliques. But traditional squats have many disadvantages, including putting a lot of weight on the spine and tempting squatters to favor their stronger side hip, which can lead to various problems.
Exercise equipment like the Pit Shark makes squatting exercises much safer and more effective.
Enter the Pit Shark, a better way to reap the benefits of doing squats without all of the negative side effects. Ben and his college friends recently discovered this new machine in their gym and use it because it helps concentrate all the weight you’re lifting onto your hips and legs instead of holding 150+ pounds on your spine. It’s also is a great way to get better form when squatting because it forces you to keep both legs and hips even throughout your range of motion. Squatters tend to kick up their stronger side hip and leg before their weaker side and this can cause back and muscle problems if you’re unevenly lifting the weight – just like what happens with a lot of exercises.
What do you get when you cross a pit bull with a shark?
If you suspect that an exercise you’re currently performing is having negative side effects, perhaps take a look around your gym to see if someone has invented an exercise machine to make your old-style exercise more effective and safe, like the Pit Shark does for traditional squats. Because you’ll want to be in tip-top shape when your college-age kids invite you to campus for a busy Parents Weekend.
References: https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/health-benefits-of-squats
Ashwagandha and Rhodiola Rosea for stress (Sarah Trammell)
Sarah Trammell is an application analyst at a university in Georgia. She became interested in health and fitness issues when she began making diet and lifestyle changes to lose weight back in 2007 and learned even more when trying to track down what to do about other health issues beginning in 2011 with not much input from doctors. You may follow her blog at ihatemyglutenfreelife.com.
I’ve found this combination of herbal supplements to be extremely helpful for the chronic stress caused by my inner ear damage. I can’t be certain how these supplements work with stress other than that caused by a physical issue, but in my case, they’ve worked really well.
I’ve known for years now that stress was an effect of my triggers. Triggers include things like movement on a computer screen (scrolling) and head movements. Scrolling on the computer screen has been the absolute worst for me. My heart would begin racing, and I’d feel as if my body had entered fight-or-flight mode. Before I began making significant lifestyle changes to lessen the symptoms, I would feel as if I were getting panic attacks. I remember getting anxious about a particular doctor appointment about three years ago, and it was more than just general anxiety. I would start breathing really hard as if I were in complete panic. It was scary! I had to sit down and start running comforting thoughts through my head to calm myself down.
I felt much better after I began the cysteine supplement, but I was still experiencing the stress caused by the activation of my inner ears. I decided to see if I could find something that I could take to counteract the stress response itself. My research brought me to ashwagandha and rhodiola rosea. I left the house to see what I could find at the store, and I found a bottle of Nature Made Sensoril Ashwagandha, https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Made-Ashwagandha-Capsules-Reduction/dp/B085V66GKY/. I felt a little strange the first few days, I assumed because of the adaptogenic nature of the herb, but I felt like the supplement was working. However, I still felt fatigued during the day. I remembered reading that ashwaganda and rhodiola rosea worked very well together to help the body cope with stress, but rhodiola rosea was energizing as well. I decided to add rhodiola rosea, and I ended up ordering this one, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FV1G432. There was an adjustment period of a few days with this one too. Over time, I could tell that the two together worked much better to counteract the stress. Unfortunately, I still get sleepy and fatigued, but there may not be a way to deal with that completely unless the inner ear damage could be healed. This kind of damage is permanent, and I don’t know if there will ever be a way found to heal that damage. While I’m still taking the same rhodiola rosea supplement today, I’m currently taking this brand of ashwagandha, https://www.amazon.com/Doctors-Best-Ashwagandha-Featuring-Sensoril/dp/B00IT04C6G/. It seems to work as well as the Nature Made and is a lot less expensive.
If you’re dealing with any kind of chronic physical stress, it might be worth looking into taking a combination of ashwagandha and rhodiola rosea. I do great with one Sensoril ashwagandha capsule a day and one 500 mg rhodiola rosea capsule a day. As always, make sure you tell your doctor about any supplements you’re taking. I’ve started keeping a document with a list of my supplements that I can either print to take with me to the doctor or send to a doctor via a patient portal. Also make sure you do plenty of research on any supplement, especially when it comes to dosage and interactions with other supplements and medications. Hopefully, with the proper research, consulting with a doctor, and determining your needs, these supplements will be suitable and will make a difference for you too.
Long term weight management (Kris Kane)
Kris Kane is a North Yorkshire based personal trainer, martial arts instructor and general fitness enthusiast. You can find him on Instagram at @koachedbykris and also view him professionally on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/kris-kane.
Going to extremes to get fat loss results isn’t enjoyable or sustainable long term
Achieving your goal doesn’t have to mean:
- Skipping meals
- Not eating after 6pm
- Living off pills and shakes
- Cutting out everything you normally enjoy
You CAN get the result you want by:
- Having structured meals
- Eating real food
- Hitting your protein target
- Being in a moderate calorie deficit that won’t leave you starving
- You can still have a social life!
Steady consistent progress including all the food and drink you like will mean you don’t end up back where you started
Make change for the long term!
If you have any questions on this topic feel free to drop me an email at: [email protected]
Or via my social pages where I will be posting more tips on training, nutrition and mindset:
https://www.facebook.com/kbkfitness/
https://instagram.com/koachedbykris
Kris.
What is Rolfing? (Judith Shipps)
Judith Shipps is a System Administrator who works for a company in the U.S. electric power industry. She has cerebral palsy.
After experiencing frozen shoulder more than once, the doctor was suggesting joint injections – which I absolutely hate! A friend suggested I give Rolfing a try. Rolfing is a form of deep tissue massage that targets the connective tissue, mainly in the joints. I decided to go for the 10 session Structural Integration.
The first session involved some stretching and pulling in various areas of my body. Nothing hurt. I was concerned when the practitioner worked in my shoulder joints, but all I felt was pressure. I was also concerned how I would feel after a night’s sleep. The next day I felt pressure, and a feeling of being “a little off” – but no discomfort.
The second session was rough for me and the practitioner. He started working on my feet and ankles. I have scar tissue on my ankles, and the deep massage in that area triggered muscle spasms (spasticity). It took a long time for me to relax after the session, and to get the muscle spasms to stop. The next day I felt like my balance was off, but I did have a little more motion in my foot. I felt like my scar tissue was not as tight.
The third session was more stretching and deep massage in my hips, which felt really good. Again there was no pain, but there was feelings of pressure in various areas.
The next 3 sessions were core. Having the connective tissue around my ribs really felt awkward and uncomfortable. The core work is supposed to help breathing, but I did not notice any benefit there. The work on my lower back felt really good, and some long-term chronic pain in that area seemed to be lessened over the next few months.
The next 3 sessions were full body sessions where the practitioner went back and addressed areas that were problem areas for me. Massaging various areas, like the back of the knee, did not feel as weird the second time around.
The very last session was my head. The practitioner wore “finger condoms” and worked on my jaw from the inside of my mouth. Normally going up the nose and stretching the sinuses is part of the session – but I absolutely refused to allow that part.
Overall the treatment process was pain free. I have not had any further episodes of frozen shoulder, which is what I was hoping to accomplish. I did notice that some of my stretching and exercise routines were a little easier, and I gained 2-3 degrees in my range of motion. The only real minus to the whole process was that there were days when my balance was unsure, and I had to take some extra care moving around.
This is not something I would consider doing on any regular basis due to the cost, but Rolfing is a good alternative to at least try. I am happy to say that I have not needed the joint injections.
References:
What is Rolfing? What is Rolfing? – Dr. Ida Rolf Institute. (n.d.). Retrieved September 8, 2021, from https://www.rolf.org/rolfing.php
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Judith also asked us to include the below note in this issue of our newsletter.]
An important public service announcement
Please do *not* use WD-40 in walkers, wheelchairs, or any assistive devices!
WD-40 is a chemical mixture for Water Displacement – thus the name WD. (This information courtesy of my friend Danny C.) WD-40 is not a lubricant. WD-40 is to be used as a rust dissolver, and solvent.
From personal experience I can tell you that WD-40 will break down any seals and spacers in assistive devices. This can affect the structural integrity of the device. WD-40 also attracts dirt and bugs, which impairs the function of any tiny springs and hinges.
If you need to lubricate an assistive device, a light oil is recommended. I use any brand of light grade sewing machine oil.
IT pro toolbox
Did you know that you can ensure access to old emails and PST files with an email archiving solution – even on the go? If that sounds useful, have a look at the email archiving solution MailStore Server:
dtSearch®-Instantly Search Terabytes. Doc. filters for popular file types, emails, databases & web data; 25+ search options; Win/Lin/Mac C++/Java/.NET Core APIs; Azure/AWS FAQs. Enterprise/dev evals available.
Uncap lets you map Caps Lock to Escape, or any key to any key:
https://github.com/susam/uncap
This PowerShell Module has multiple functionalities, but one of the signature features of this module is the ability to parse Security logs on Domain Controllers providing easy to use access to AD Events:
https://github.com/EvotecIT/PSWinReporting
BurntToast is a module for creating and displaying Toast Notifications on Microsoft Windows 10:
https://github.com/Windos/BurntToast
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