My March update

[Donna Smith]

Hi all.

This is my March update. I bring to the discussion losing weight with
age related physical issues to add to the mix. In addition to the
herniated disk in my lower left back from about 4 years ago, I am now
having pain in my shoulders, mostly the left shoulder. I went to a
doctor about this in February, and he diagnosed rotator cuff issues
and I think it was probably mostly attributable to guide dog work for
just shy of 30 years.

He prescribed physical therapy and I told him the problems I had with
the PT group I used for my lower back previously and he sent me to a
really good clinic. My therapist is Rob Smith and he is very, very
good. He is not only effective with my shoulders, but he explains
everything so that I understand how the exercises he prescribes for me
can really help. It turns out all that stuff from our parents about
good posture is true! For the last few weeks, I've been working on
keeping my shoulders back and not too high. It is a factor of stress
that we tend to hold our shoulders up closer to our ears which is just
as bad as slumping.

Anyway, the stretches and strengthening exercises I have been doing
for my arms and shoulders have inspired me to keep going. I went back
to the doctor yesterday, and told him that the work with my shoulders
was going great and getting close to being over, and that I wanted the
same kind of PT for my lower back. He asked some questions and then
gave me a prescription for more PT. Rob has already told me that lower
backs is his specialty, so I can't wait to see where this goes.

Where I hope it goes is that I will learn how to exercise safely for
my age and body and that I will get a good exercise routine going.
Years of experience in this area have taught me that I can't ever
effectively lose weight just by controlling what I eat. That is very
important, but unless I pair it with increased exercise, it goes
nowhere.

This is getting long, but I just wanted to comment that Matt's
statement about losing weight being mostly mental is absolutely right.
I've been reading a series of books in which the lead character is
alcoholic. While for most of the series he has been sober and going to
AA meetings, the addiction he describes that is detrimental to body
and soul is very similar to the craving for food that is bad for you.
Getting it out of the house and office is the first step. Replacing it
with healthy things is next. Exercising to lessen the craving is the
next step I very much want to take.

Good luck to everyone and I plan to give monthly updates. This is part
of my accountability process. I'm really thinking that instead of all
of these so called diets, we just need a 12-step program!

Donna

[Christina]

Hi, Donna.
I'm very glad Rob was able to help you with your shoulder and that you can start work on your lower back.
Good luck!
I agree that losing weight is more mental than physical.
Christina

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[Matthew Nixon]

Hi Donna,

Glad to hear you found some good care. I used to get repeated back
injuries. I had to build up core muscles and now I get sore sometimes but
haven’t been taken out of commission (knock on wood.) I use a ball chair at
home to work on that area.

Keep up the good work;)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Donna Smith" <donnaf...@gmail.com>
To: "health-scape" <health...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 19, 2016 1:29 PM
Subject: [HealthScape] My March update