Makes me Think

Today I took time to watch a few documentaries on Amazon Prime video. One came on a recommendation from a fellow blogger "Beyond Weight Loss" and the other, "Diet Fiction" I watched just because as much as I feel I know about weight loss/diet/food I am always interested in learning more about it in hopes I will get really motivated. There were some good take-aways from each. First the Beyond Weight loss was about strategies that people who have loss and kept weight off have in common. There are no magic pills and this doc didn't offer too much new for me. The nutshell info was to balance your protein, carbs and fats in a way (and amount) that your body can assimilate them, and make sure to exercise and drink a bunch of water. I did find it interesting that our bodies can typically only assimilate 50 grms of protein and 10-12 grams of fat per meal, and if you get more than that you will be storing it as fat. They didn't say how many carbs. The other big take-away for me is the moment when a doctor says (paraphrasing) 'eating to lose weight and eating for health are two totally different things.' Lightbulb moment. No wonder I have been so confused. So the difference between the two documentaries is that the first one encourages lean protein from animals and the second one (which is about health and not so much weight loss)is about health so it is much more focused on whole food plant based diet with fats used sparingly. Both stated multiple times how 'fat diets' don't work while simultaneously telling you how you should eat. Beth also vilified fats a bit, repeating over and over how saturated fats clog arteries. When I read Dr. Mark Hyman's book, he has been researching nutrition and its role in the body for years and he had said there is not one study that can conclusively show the connection and in fact many studies on saturated fat proved otherwise, to have some sort of protective effect on the heart while sugars showed a definitive connection to clogged arteries. Anyway, I started thinking about which is easier vs which I want in the long run, weight loss or health. Being healthy is much more important to me. So if I were to follow any advice I got today it would be more geared towards the second film, pointing to plant based foods. There are pros and cons and the conflicting info out there in the universe is so overwhelming. So I am going to start planning a gradual shift. One of the speakers on the second video says that when people tell you their non-healthy foods they tend to tell you dishes they like but when they start looking to make the switch to plant-based they look at food as ingredients. He recommended describing dishes you like but finding ways to make them plant based. That does make it sound less intimidating. I can still eat tacos and pizza, I just need to make them out of plants. The best part about plant based is I can eat grains and potatoes and the fruits and veggies somw diets frown on, and I can allow some meat or dairy here and there. It doesn'thave to be all-or-nothing. My achilles seems to be healing pretty well and I start physical therapy this week. I am still on orders not to exercise from the surgeon, but I have been taking the dog out for 1 minute pee breaks and last night I got brave and tried to take him out for a longer potty session. I was super nervous about slipping on the snow and ice, and I did roll my foot for the second time in 2 days, but it wasn't catastrophic. I may try taking him out tomorrow because my husband's leaving town for 4 days starting Thursday and that will mean I have to find a way to take care of the dog's needs. I am scared of hurting myself or making it hurt more than it already does, but I will make it work. I can ask my sons for help too. I have really mixed feelings about going back to work soon. On the one hand, it has been awesome being off, but medical leave only covers 70% of my wage and I am burning up a ton of my paid time off hours to cover the other 30%. That is going to use up a good portion of what I had banked. So going back to work means I can start earning some PTO hours back. I can also start earning commissions again, which helps the bank account for sure! I'm sure I will look on this time off as a blessing when I am elbow-deep in work stress! So I am taking some time to enjoy it. I am going for my second dose of my COVID vaccination tomorrow and I have heard this is the one that had been making people feel pretty bad and I am not looking forward to that part, but it is temporary. The following day I have my first physical therapy session. Hopefully I won't be feeling too achy that day (from the vaccination). Then more appointments next week including physical therapy and my final post-op appointment with the podiatrist where I believe she will release me to go back to work, though I'm not sure if she'll restrict how many hours I can work. The part that becomes stressful with working is fitting in time for physical therapy appointments. The relaxed me says it will all work out. In April I will have been at my company for 10 years and I have at least 7 years seniority on everyone else in my department so getting time off should be easy in theory. Anyway this is a lot of words to say I watched some movies that made me think and I believe helped me sort some things out, now that I can drive and walk with a normal shoe I can go grocery shopping in person instead of ordering grocery delivery and never knowing what substitute or out-of-stock items would be involved. I am moving forward and will begin a new journey soon.