Blogs on More

Congrats to last week’s giveaway winner on how to beat the blues: Lucky #8! “To beat the winter blues, I simply catch up on all the films I didn’t see the previous year. I rent a pile of DVDs, make some ‘virtuous’ air-popped popcorn, and curl up on the couch with a gigantic mug of green tea. Works like magic! - Heather R.”

Now, onto some health-related links that are making me feel like I won something:
Beer may help fight osteoporosis. (National Post) Who knew?
Your bra does not give you breast cancer (and let your daughter know). (New York Times)
Vitamin D is especially important if you’re darker-skinned. (CBC.ca)
Where do you stand on provincial funding for in-vitro fertilization?

Next post: 39-year-old body. Here we go.

My relationship to my body has been complicated. As a victim of childhood sexual abuse, I spent a fair amount of time in childhood and early adolescence trying to achieve out-of-body experiences: Reading as a first and early pleasure, then television. I was, to put it mildly, an underachiever where sports and gym class were concerned. If you could skip them or hide at recess, I did.

I also was that kid who dressed in hand-me-downs and whose socks didn’t always match. But that’s a whole other post!

A lot improved after my parents sent me to Camp Ouareau. It might be a Canadian stereotype that a summer spent under the pines is an invariably wholesome and empowering experience, but in my case those summers - 7 of them - really were. The assumption was that we were there to canoe and swim and windsurf and play tennis, and so I did, and loved it. I also learned to trust my body - that practicing rescues does pay off when a swimmer needs rescuing; that when 9 counsellors-in-training are paddling against the waves and dusk is falling they will find extra stamina to get to the campsite.

I can’t say I fell in love with my body — I think one of the worst things about any form of abuse is that it can set a person at odds against herself in so many ways, and for me that was really expressed in a lot of bad habits around being tuned out and overeating and that kind of thing — but I had those experiences under my belt at least, along with the ripple chips and onion dip.

After I met my husband and married though, I started a slow weight gain that continued through my 20s. I’d like to blame his cooking but the fact was that aside from my one saving grace of loving to walk, I didn’t have any good fitness habits that didn’t revolve around showing up at camp. And since I wasn’t showing up…at 30 I found myself at a size 16 and pretty dreadfully out of shape. I hired a personal trainer named Cindy.

Cindy made me work. Free weights, lunges, step aerobics: You name it, we did it. She helped me believe in myself again as far as strength goes. I went down to a size 12 and started feeling much better about myself; I also formed a gym habit which did come and go a little bit (and I was never as close to as fit as many of the really cool women we profile at More). But it stuck well enough.

That’s the most fit and happy with my body I’ve been. Carl and I reformed our diet and bought a canoe and things were going great.

Then I had my daughter. I could not believe that an entire person came out of my body! Wow! But I also could not believe what that process did to my body. And before I really got a handle on that, I got pregnant again with my son and if I’d thought I’d seen stretch marks and sagging before, that was nothing compared to post-partum body #2. At least the one-year maternity leave gave me lots of time to walk and even brave the gym again.

Except…I never really got brave about it. I felt alien in my body again. I also felt guilty being away from my child (even though I know a healthy parent is important.) And I lost my workout mojo. Two and a half years ago. Ahem.

So I find myself turning 40 where I found myself turning 30: Out of shape! With bad health habits! A size 14 - and only in the forgiving vanity size loving stores.

And part of getting to midlife has also been to realize that it really, really does matter. One of my friends has had a cardiac event. I know, as all of you know, that the risk for many of the things that can really make aging lousy - diabetes, stroke, heart attack - can be lowered with healthy eating and physical activity. I want a healthy lifestyle, and know the only enemy is me.

So I’m getting back to the gym. I’m still suffering some laziness. (I’m going to try this workout. And lots of things I will be reporting on.)

I also have just now said “yes” to Weight Watchers here at work. I have some mixed feelings about that because I’m not a huge fan of diets, and also because I really want to stay focused on fitness and not on weight loss. But I also think that I need some motivation and to re-learn portion control and - hey, I said I would say yes this year. I said yes! I will keep you posted on my thoughts about that as I go through the process.

What’s your fitness and health journey been? Any tips or tricks? Any thoughts? I promise not all posts will be this long.

This week one of my best friends experienced a “cardiac event” - fortunately more of a scare than anything life-threatening, but it was a real wake-up call. (Although actually, it was a wake-up text.)

First, that women should know the symptoms of heart attack, and take them seriously.

Second, that friends are pretty important. Unless, of course, they dump you (well okay, even then they’re important to someone).

And third, that maybe a big part of midlife friendship is learning to go through some of life’s biggest milestones together.

I know my friend and I have resolved to support each other in making sure our lifestyles are more heart-healthy: watch our diets, especially salt and fat (even though it may not be the killer we’ve thought it is), exercise more together, and laugh more often.

What’s changed in your relationships lately?

This weekend the New York Times ran a series called 21st Century Babies - looking at some of the risks and outcomes from using assisted reproduction technology (ART) in the quest for children.

The Globe and Mail also ran a piece about infertility over the weekend: The new IVF gamble: single embryo transfer.

As a member of the “oops, I forgot to have children” generation — meaning delayed childbearing is the norm in my circle, whether the delay was due to marrying late, completing a PhD, starting a career, affording a house in Toronto, or just plain nerves about the whole thing — I’ve had to confront fertility issues head on in a number of ways. It seems to be a constant hot topic.

One thing I know is that it’s much easier to talk about the pros and cons of various treatments in the abstract than in the up close and personal. Have you had any experiences with ART? What are your thoughts? Do you broach these topics with teenage children?

From the New York Times yesterday: “ghostwriters paid by a pharmaceutical company played a major role in producing 26 scientific papers backing the use of hormone replacement therapy in women.”

This really bothers me. I have a great doctor who does keep up on research - but I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t have time to dig that deeply.

Maybe it’s also an argument for at least trying hot flash fighting food.

This week I’m feeling optimistic about the health news.

First up: scientists have extended the lifespan of rhesus monkeys by restricting caloric intake. This Economist article looks at the study and a drug that might be used to achieve the same results.

And what about the quality of life? Apparently a glass of wine a day might help stave off dementia.  Sadly I’m assuming the calories would count. However, there are reasons to keep your teens away from the wine.

Migraine sufferers may be at lower risk for breast cancer.

[Jenn’s note: This post is a guest post from More’s very own editorial assistant, Joana Lourenço, who’s also a Curtis Stone fan!]

I was feeling flush, and it had nothing to do with the temperature in the kitchen and everything to do with the hunky chef preparing my meal. Monday night, I attended a media event hosted by Curtis Stone, star of the hit TLC series Take Home Chef, who has just released his fourth cookbook, Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone: Recipes to Put You in My Favorite Mood. To get us in the mood, Stone prepared a four-course feast, which included tuna ceviche, linguini with garlic shrimp and fresh pesto, roasted rack of lamb, and  blueberry clafoutis topped with whipped cream.

The Aussie chef also demonstrated his new line of cookware, recently launched at The Bay stores across Canada.  Stone admitted to having great fun with the cheeky product names, such as the Bump & Grind mortar and pestle, the Hold Me mixing bowls, and the Keep It Clean spoon rest.

The kitchen sizzled, but the real heat came from Stone.  His passion for food was palpable, his energy infectious, and I ate up every word. He dished out jokes and raved about his favorite food, white truffles. “I’ve been told that eating white truffle is a sexual experience,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s a sexual experience, but it’s a really good one.”

Stone has us in stitches recounting some offbeat moments from the show (he was threatened by an angry spouse once, and had to improvise in the kitchen when one woman hadn’t paid her gas bill.) During the evening, Stone revealed that he’s currently filming several episodes for the upcoming season of The Biggest Loser. His dieting advice: Focus on the things that you love instead of things you don’t love.

Another helpful tip from Stone: Never cook bacon naked. Unfortunately, that wasn’t part of the demonstration…

You know the old joke where a guy goes into his doctor’s office and says “it hurts when I do this,” and the doctor says “well, then, stop doing that”?

Margaret Wente’s piece in the Saturday Globe and Mail about whether boomers are prone to worry too much about their health touch reminded me of that joke. And it’s not just worry for ourselves. It gets hard to contain the impulse to sprint across the kitchen to yank the fatty (crispy… tasty) piece of chicken skin from my husband’s fingers with dire messages of doom, gloom, and Type 2 diabetes.   Not to mention my unfortunate “Dr. Google” habit around online health information.

Maybe it’s worry I should be giving up instead of chocolate. I’ll get right on that. After I finish reading the research.

Do you think we all spend too much time worrying about our health?

 [This post is by More.ca’s summer intern, Andrea Iseman. Welcome, Andrea!]

Inspirational people come in all shapes and sizes – celebrity or not - so it is no surprise to hear Edmonton-born Michael J. Fox is going on a search to see how one remains an “incurable optimist”. Tune in to his television special tonight, as he explores the nature of optimism, traveling across the globe, despite his own struggle with Parkinson’s disease. Speaking with famous friends, like Bill Murray over a game of golf, and regular people like those he meets randomly on the street, Fox never loses sight of how positive thinking can really change lives.

Like Fox, Farrah Fawcett is using her own personal story to inspire others fighting cancer. Still living her life like the angel she once was, Fawcett refuses to give up her own fight against anal cancer. In the NBC documentary entitled “Farrah’s Story,” airing May 15, Fawcett shows she is just like the everyday woman, taking her very personal struggle   public, as she uses a personal hand-held camera to document her doctor’s appointments and her interaction with her loved ones.

Stories like Fox and Fawcett’s, about finding hope in their everyday lives are great inspirations to those facing similar struggles.

Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, airs tonight on the ABC Television Network.

Is there health beyond the swine flu? Why, yes. Here are some headlines this week:

• Add a new concern to changing estrogen levels: Estrogen plays a role in hearing. This must be why I can no longer hear my spouse asking me to pick up the drycleaning.
• I’m not sure this qualifies as news but it still fascinates me because - well - I know about the creep, which in my case seems more like a rush: Mounting scientific evidence that small changes help beat weight-gain “creep” from the Globe and Mail. I think I might have to pick some small changes myself and report back.
• More reasons to care about Vitamin D; yoghurt may be over-hyped.
• “If mom’s unhappy, everyone’s unhappy” may well be true about dads as well.
• Telus is creating webspace to track medical records and appointments.