Category Archives: Health & Fitness

Resolutions

Now that all the overindulgence of holidays + new year is done with, it’s time to bring out the hoary, old resolutions and try to attempt them this year at least.

Just like every year, my resolutions haven’t changed drastically, and neither did I seriously attempt them beyond a few months. But anyway, according to Susan Miller’s Astrology Zone, the 11th of January is a great time to embark on new year resolutions, and since I take astrological predictions very seriously (yes, I do!!!), here’s a list of things I want to do this year.

Get back to pre-baby weight or as close as I can get – I am tired of covering up in my own personal tents – oversized shalwar kameezes. I love figure-hugging jeans and hate how awful they look on me these days . Even if I don’t lose too much weight, I really want to take care of my food intake (less junk and more health food), more physical activity, and better grooming. K told me once that I have an all or nothing attitude, and I think that’s true. Definitely, when I am caught by friends in shabby sweatpants in upscale malls, I know it’s time to pay a little more attention to what I wear and how I look.
Cook more – It’s not like I am a bad cook or that I don’t cook. It’s just that I am very indifferent to food, and have never seen the point of spending time cooking when the food is all consumed within 10-15 minutes. I’d rather spend time on doing something that lasts a little longer (like say blogging ). However, I feel guilty when I see K and the snubnose consuming sub-par stuff just because I don’t pay enough attention to what’s happening in the kitchen. So, this is my new year resolution – to be more aware of what we consume as a family, and try to make more fresh and healthy food.
Be more zen about everything – I usually am always pretty cool about things and don’t get flustered. But I felt that last year, I began to feel very negative about a lot of things. I don’t want to be specific on this blog, but nothing went as planned. What was even more frustrating was that I didn’t have any control over the way events played out. I got angry and I snapped and bitched and went over-emotional, and anxious. I really want to control my emotions better this year. I know this is going to be a tough year, and I need to be calm and controlled, and ready to accept that things are going to be tough for some more time to come.

So, these are my personal goals for 2013. I look at this list, and short though it is, I know I need to change my mind-set entirely to reach these goals. I feel anxious when I even re-read this list. But anxious or not, I know these changes need to come within me. For too long, I have been trying to fight off these changes I need to make in my life.

What are your goals for 2013? How do you make sure you stay on track? I would love to know.

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Rest in Peace: MIL

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Some of you know that my mother-in-law was seriously ill for the last couple of months. She seemed to be getting better last month, but unfortunately, it was short-lived. She slipped into a coma and passed away on Oct 30th.

We are all trying to come to terms with the loss and focus on completing all the formalities that are associated with death, and get on with our lives.

I was looking for a photo of hers and came across this one taken a couple of years ago. Because of her ill-health (she hasn’t been in good form for many years now), she was not always cheerful, but the snubnose could always elicit smiles and laughter from her with all her silly pranks.

Happy times – My in-laws with the Snubnose

Editing this post to add a pic of them with the piglet as well. Such a shame that he couldn’t enjoy more time with her. She was a wonderful and loving grandmother, and the kids were the apples of her eyes.

And here’s a photo of my in-laws with the piglet

Mother-in-law Health Update

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I am so touched by everyone’s response when I blogged last week about my MIL’s struggles in the hospital. I was really down in the dumps, and it showed in my post. I read through it again today and I am shocked at my overall pessimism and negativity. I am normally very stiff upper lip during bad times, and usually never talk about (even to friends), let alone post about difficult, personal stuff on a public blog. Thank you so much for all the encouraging comments, it really helped for us to read through them.

Now, I am glad to say that things are looking better after all. After almost a month of seesawing health, she is finally stable enough to be moved from the CCU (Critical Care Unit) to the ward. We are leaving work early today to go and oversee the move and make sure she is comfortable enough.

She’s now up and able to sit, she’s been off the ventilator for the past 48 hours, and is even able to swallow a bit of solid food. She is still extremely weak though, she needs some oxygen support off and on, and daily dialysis continues, but still it’s been a remarkable improvement considering how serious her condition was just last week.

I am so happy and grateful that we were able to get through this. It’s still a long journey ahead and a full recovery still seems uncertain, but right now…we are just happy that she managed to fight it out, and remain hopeful that she will continue to improve in the next few weeks.

Thanks again for all the prayers and hugs. They worked!

Chronicle of a Hospital Experience

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My mother-in-law has been ailing for some time. She would get breathless quite often and when we went to get her checked up, the doctors felt that it was because her heart was not pumping blood effectively, and that a pacemaker would help relieve the pressure.

We got a second opinion within the day, and realizing the urgency of the situation, we completed all the pre-op requirements (booking the blood transfusions in advance) and scheduled the operation for September 20th. Unfortunately, a bandh (strike) on D-day forced us to postpone the operation by 24 hours as the doctors could not guarantee they or their staff would be able to reach the hospital without issues.

Within the day, my MIL was in serious distress and we realized bandh or no bandh, she needed immediate medical care, called up an ambulance, and rushed her to the hospital. She was immediately put on oxygen support and external pacemaker. On hearing the news that her pulse was close to flatlining, the doctors rushed to the hospital and performed an emergency operation to place the pacemaker.

However, the various delays – the time we took to unsuccessfully try to revive her, the inordinately long time it took the ambulance to get home, the fumbling trying to get her on the stretcher and out the door and on her way, caused a lot of damage. Although the operation was successful, her liver, and kidneys (and now, her lungs as well) are not functional. We ended up transferring her to a specialty hospital and since then, she’s been continuously on the ventilator, and attached to a dialysis machine for most of the day.

She’s so sedated that they do all sorts of invasive procedures right there on the CCU bed, without bothering to move her, right under our aghast eyes. They nonchalantly cut through her skin, insert tubes, and stitch her up just like she were a pillow case, and it’s just terrible to see through the glass partition without feeling an almost physical pain at what she must be going through.

Aah, the glass partition, that’s another terrible thing. So far, I have not been allowed to even cross that partition. It’s impossible to even squeeze her hand, or talk something to her. All I do is wave from about 20 feet away helplessly knowing that she can’t see or hear me. Thankfully, my husband and my father-in-law were able to make occasional visits to see her, but still…it seems a terrible thing that in her worst moments of pain, she is surrounded by doctors, and not one single familiar face.

The doctors, and there are many, all highly qualified serious gentlemen – a cardiologist, a nephrologist, a gastroenterologist, a haematologist, a whatnotologist, they come in droves, huddling together near her bed, blocking our view. They engage in serious discussions, lasting almost 20-30 mins. We watch through the glass partition wondering what’s going on, using non-existent lip-reading skills.

Once they come out, we corner the most approachable looking doctor to receive a brief two sentence status update. It varies. Some days, her status is status quo, no change. Some days, she is marginally better, some days marginally worse.

We exclaim with joy when we receive a good status – her WBC (white blood count) has come back to normal, or her heart is beating fine, no damage to brain…and immediately start wondering when she can be moved from CCU (Critical Care Unit) to ward. Only to have our hopes dashed at the next status.

It’s been 14 days in the CCU now. It’s been 14 days of mind-numbing waits in the hospital, stress and grief. On Friday, we were told that she’s developed pneumonia, that we should call all loved ones to see her, that her condition is grim. So, we did, my dad flew in from Delhi, my brother-in law and family flew in from Dubai, snubnose and I rushed to the hospital.

And then she became better. Her blood counts stabilized. She could even come out of the ventilator within 48 hours. We rejoice again and talk among ourselves about her long-term care. And then, we get the news that she is not emitting enough carbon dioxide out of her lungs. And so, she cannot come off the ventilator. Back to the dumps again.

And so it goes…we play the waiting game…we are starting to get quite good at that now

Fitness on a Time and Budget Crunch

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It’s now seven months since the advent of the piglet, and my clothes are telling me that it is time I started on a fitness program. Sigh! I really enjoyed my months of pregnancy where I ate what I pleased and had minimal exercise. Unfortunately, all that self-indulgence is really showing up now .

The months of juggling work + home – self is also showing its results. Instead of the usual smiling, relaxed Nishita, I see a frowning, snapping harridan who can’t stand the sight of herself in the mirror. Something just has to be done.

Unfortunately, I am short on budget (no gym) and short on time (again no gym), so I am trying to structure some efficient workouts on my own, and since I am a rank amateur when it comes to physical fitness, I really would appreciate some pointers, help, and advice through your comments. Please help me guys!!

So, this is my plan. I am going to re-start the Couch to 5K program. I am so unfit now that I am going back to basics and starting from Week 1. The Couch to 5K program should get me doing something 3 times a week. If I can add one day of swimming to the program, then I should not be too bad in terms of exercise.

Once I get a bit stronger, I would also like to mix it up with some interval training (the Nike Training Club app kicks butt), and if my budget permits try to enroll for a spinning/yoga class depending on timing, availability, and my fitness goals at the time. I want to do some yoga to stretch out my arms and reduce my RSI and upper-back pain issues. The spinning classes of course will intensify the calorie burn. I am looking at early 2013 for enrolling in these classes because that’s when the most competitive deals are floating around. But, let’s try to focus on the interim for now…

When it comes to food, I’ve been a bad girl. My life has been super-stressed lately and as always I have turned to junk food for comfort eating. I’m trying to restrain myself a bit more and try to focus on the quality of the food I eat. I hope to get back to using MyFitnessPal and start on some good eating habits to up my quantity of fresh fruits and vegetables, and cut the quantity of white foods – sugar, salt, simple carbs. Juicing seems to be an easy and pain-free way of getting my fruits and veggies, and I have made a tentative start of having a juicing dinner 2-3 times a week. Any more is just too painful for me .

Hopefully, putting my goals on paper (or rather the web), will compel me to stick to them. I also plan/hope to do regular updates on my progress/lack of it, although I probably won’t be doing hard numbers.

What tips/tricks do you use to stay on top of your fitness goals?

A Personal Update

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I have been a bit distracted lately and haven’t been focusing on books, blogs, or anything online really.

Why? Well, there is no subtle way of letting out this news. We are expecting a new addition to our family in December. It’s been very difficult keeping very quiet with this news all this time, but there were plenty of ups and downs in my pregnancy journey that it just seemed wiser to keep it quiet until things settle down.

I first found out the good news when I got my blood tested for a nasty bout of flu sometime in March, and my life has simply been a roller-coaster ride since then. Where did the time go?

First thing I did when I found out was immediately go online and look up the Chinese Birth Calendar, which is supposed to provide accurate gender predictions. It’s a boy!! and chances are the calendar is at least 50% correct .

Also, 2011 is the year of the metal rabbit (Chinese astrology), and this is what metal rabbits are made of:

RABBIT INFANT AND CHILD
Young Rabbits are very sensitive children. They tend to let their emotions get the best of them and will cry with no remorse. At school, these children often get teased for being so sensitive and become branded crybabies by other boys and girls. Rabbit children are especially close to their mothers and maintain a wonderfully close relationship with them throughout their lives. They depend on their mothers for advice and support and will reciprocate when necessary. Rabbit children are desperate for stability and routine and require a sort of scheduling to do their best work. Like the adult Rabbit, Rabbit children are likely to be quite interested in the arts, particularly in music, a subject in which most Rabbit children thrive.

Very nice! I am not too sure about the cry baby part though . The snubnose was a colicky baby and really ran roughshod all over me through the early months, so I am really hoping that we get a break with the next one. Also, I was an inexperienced, panicky mom, and I hope I am more experienced this time around.

As per Western astrology, the baby could turn out to be a Sagittarius or a Capricorn . Chances are 50-50 either way.

So, here I am now, about 35 weeks along as huge as a whale, desperately trying to complete all pending office work before I go on leave two weeks from now.

As for reading, I am seeing some increased strain on my eyes, so I have pretty much switched over to audio books and e-books. E-books are great because I can read them in low light (very nice for uncomfortable sleepless nights), and I can modify the font size to suit my comfort. I love this feature so much, and I highly recommend e-books for elderly people, or people with vision problems.

Audio books are a slightly different story. Maybe it’s the book I am currently listening to, but I have a tendency to drift off, and then having to rewind to listen to it again. I don’t think this will ever be my favorite way of consuming any reading matter.

Anyway, for now I am giving a hard stop to my personal updates. It’s really difficult to know where to draw the line. I could keep on rambling like this for ages.

In terms of my blog, I hope to keep updating it for as long as is feasible, but I am not going to kill myself over it. If I read a book, but don’t find the time to blog about it, well it will not be the end of the world.

All depends on how smoothly things pan out in my real life over the next few months. I do plan to ghost in and out of the blog world, commenting on my favorite blogs, and keeping in touch with close virtual friends.

That’s the plan. Let’s see if I have the time and energy to implement it .

Baby Reminiscences

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A fellow blogger buddy of mine is expecting a baby and of late her blog has been filled with discussions of nursery decor, baby clothes, strollers…you get the drift. Recently, she blogged about how the baby would mostly be asleep the first couple of months, and I ended up getting flashbacks of the snubnose when she was at that age.

I wish I could say that she was the most peaceable baby I know, but unfortunately, the reality was the complete opposite. She was a cranky, restless sleeper, and within a week of her arrival our house had turned into a literal ghost land. We removed the doorbell, TV was off, pressure cooker noises caused the most angry yells.

And yes, she wanted some kind of motion all the time. Her most peaceful naps occurred in the car, when we were driving her around town, and we soon learned that nap time = car time. Thankfully, I have a huge family who volunteered to take turns carrying her around in the car. And even then, heaven help us, if there was a traffic jam, or a red light…

The doctors had a term for this – colic. Theoretically, the idea was that she might have had some stomach ache/gas issues. However, she continued feeding well, gaining rapidly, and hitting all early childhood milestones. Her crying also was not the agonized cries of a child in discomfort, but more of an angry yell.

Our theory is that she simply got used to the long commutes that I had during my pregnancy, and she wanted the same setup after she was born as well .

So, recently when I came across this article talking about a cot that mimics the motion of a car, I just couldn’t help thinking Genius idea! If only this had been available 5 years ago

The Fisher Price Cruisin Motion Soother

Things are Starting to Look up…

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This saturday I finished my final session of physiotherapy and finally got off my medication for all my RSI and back-related issues. It feels really cool but really odd at the same time. I started exercising with baby weights of 1kg each, and it just felt so weird! Normally, I would have been able to do those exercises in my sleep. But, now I am starting from scratch again – feel like a toddler trying to walk without helping hands – that’s the closest analogy I can give to what I am feeling right now.

I have also kickstarted my running, and am glad to know that my running stamina and speed has not gone away. Starting my exercise routine, I hope will also banish the low-level depression that has been humming away in my brain for the past 6 weeks. The medications I was taking made me feel dull, sluggish, and ravenously hungry. Not a very nice feeling!

In addition, we got some good news today, that we were anxiously expecting for the last 2 months. This good news comes just in time to help us plan some fun stuff that we have in the offing. I know I am sounding unnecessarily mysterious, but I have been hoping for this to happen for so long that i don’t want to reveal any plans in advance and jinx them.

On the reading front, I zipped through The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson. I enjoyed the book, but yes, it could have done with some editing. A detailed review will be coming up shortly.

Well, that’s all my updates for now! Back to the ever increasing pile of work on my head. Have to make up for some of the time lost when I was working at a much slower pace.

Working at Double-speed

It Never Rains but Pours

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This was just not my week. It all started with the snubnose falling sick with what appeared to be a dry cough. The first two days, we just kept her quiet at home with a simple cough medicine. By Tuesday however, she was really really sick…temperatures soaring to 104 degrees, body pain, vomiting, and really scary…struggling to breathe…we were really worried for her. We phoned the doctor who immediately prescribed some medication to reduce her distress and agreed to see her within the hour.

The doctor’s diagnosis of pneumonia was almost welcome considering the other major fears I had – H1N1 swine flu, or dengue (because of her complaints of body pain).

The doctor gave us a heavy dose of antibiotics and recommended more tests (and possible hospitalization) if the temperature did not subside within the next two days. Thankfully, the medicines did the trick.

Nickelodeon TV Logo - Image via Wikipedia

Trying to keep a sick child quiet is really, really tough. Thanks to Nickelodeon TV with its continuous shows of Ninja Hathori, Oggy and the Cockroaches, and Perman, which helped to distract her from the pain and the coughing. Without TV, we would have struggled to restrict her from speaking (she is quite the chatterbox, and unfortunately…speaking really aggravated her cough and vomiting).

This week also saw me caught up with tons of work for two back-to-back releases. Really struggled trying to juggle looking after the snubnose, and completing my work. All long, late nights this week…

This also means that exercise was practically non-existent, and stress-fuelled junk food eating was the norm. After months of healthy eating and exercise, I suddenly started feeling bloated and lethargic.

But, all that’s going to change again next week. I really feel very uncomfortable if I don’t do anything physical for more than 3-4 days, so I am going to find the time to do my regular runs. Just hope the weather Gods allow a let up of these continuous rains.

The week is ending well though. The snubnose is on the mend; she seems to be recovering as quickly as she fell sick, and she’s even thinking of going to school on Monday. Let’s see how it goes. Fingers crossed that she is 100% or close to it, at least by Monday.