An old man's disease

What image comes to your mind when you hear the term “gout”? I see a corpulent, overweight old Englishman of the 18^th century, eating huge piles of roast beef and swilling ale. Samuel Johnson probably had gout though that has not been proven, but he comes to mind as a classic case.

So imagine my dismay and surprise today when I was told my swollen left foot is probably due to gout, and the reason I don’t feel the tremendous pain usually associated with it is that I have had peripheral neuropathy for years. A doctor who has known me longer than I care to admit told me long ago he could diagnose that from the way I walk. I surely don’t think I mirror the image of the man above.

But wait! I don’t drink ale or beer, and I eat precious little beef. So, as internet addicts do, I went to Google where the first thing I found was a list of ten foods to avoid. Top of the list: fish. I eat tuna fish at least once a day and sometimes, like today, twice, and yes, I drink quite a bit of white wine—but I always thought red wine, although healthier for you, caused gout. Wonder how many Italians have gout?

The rest of the list didn’t alarm me so much—beef, but I eat little of it; rich sauces—not guilty, except on occasion; organ meat—okay, I love chopped liver but I know it’s not on a healthy diet and rarely eat it. Is tongue organ meat? I eat more of that.  Fruit juice—I eat raspberries and blueberries a lot when in season but don’t drink fruit juice. Soda—never, nada; caffeine—one cup of green tea a day. Surely that doesn’t count. Fried foods—I avoid them like the plague. Well, most of the time.

So there go fish and wine. I foresee lunches of egg salad and cottage cheese. It surprises me that cheese and eggs are not on the list, though we are increasingly told what a bad rap they both had. Cheese is touted often as a misunderstood good-for-you food, especially since all blame has focused on sugar and carbohydrates, neither of which I eat much. I would have told you I eat a healthy diet—what could be better than tuna salad, cottage cheese, cherry tomatoes and a bit of fruit. I guess Mother Nature fools us again.

Getting back in shape

I've realized, with regret, that I was really sedentary this summer. It was hot, I didn't have much reason to get out, and I sat at my desk a whole lot. At first going the block to get Jacob and back left me winded, and that trip to the lower levels of his school absolutely undid me. Today, carrying in groceries about finished me--but I have to add that I had a lot of heavy items, too many packed in each bag. I gratefully put the frozen things away and then took a time out at my desk before unpacking the rest. The words of a friend echoed in my mind, "Move it or lose it." So now I have to move it.
I used to do yoga almost every day but a combination of things has made me lazy about it, beginning with physical therapy. I figured I worked hard enough there that I didn't have to do much else. Faulty reasoning on my part. And then there was that episode with my swollen foot--my left ankle is still half again as big as my right, and I have dropfoot in that foot--barefoot, the whole foot comes down at once instead of heel and toe in a nice rhythm. With shoes I do a bit better but the front end of my foot tends to slap down. Instead of dropfoot, I call it slapfoot. Too much information, but it was a convenient excuse not to exercise. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to explore the problem.
And early in September Jordan has arranged for a good friend of hers to bring a yoga coach and check my routines and give me a new regime.
I've been happy eliminating exercise from my daily schedule because I always have work on my desk, and I often resent the time exercises takes. But I realize that's a foolish excuse at my age--move it or lose it, and I'm going to move it.
I've also gained weight this summer, though I'm fairly careful about what I eat, trying to avoid sandwiches so I don't eat the bread, never having more than a half, always eating small portions. But then something tempts me. Yesterday I had the best hamburger I've had in forever--a thick, juicy patty (hate thin dry ones) with pimiento cheese, a slice of green tomato, and grilled onions. Ate half for lunch and the other half for supper. The problem is I really enjoy cooking good food, eating in restaurants, and entertaining. I'm torn between the philosophy of staying thin (long ago out of my reach) and saying, "What the heck! At your age, enjoy the things you like to eat." Life is full of choices.

That "Ooops" Moment

A picture is worth a thousand words. This is the picture that I thought made me look fat. Dare I say blowsy? Frowsy?

I did something this morning a lot of women do daily--I stepped on the scale. For the last five years or more I've weighed a lot more than I wanted, but I usually kept it within a three-four pound range, and my doctor said he wasn't at all concerned. The other night, at a birthday dinner, a friend took my picture because she liked the color top I had on. When she sent it to me, I thought, "I look fat." So I stepped on the scales and guess what? I am fat. I've gained five or six pounds in the last few months.

Immediate diet coming up. The pimiento cheese sandwich for lunch was replaced with cold salmon seasoned with lemon juice, roasted asparagus, and a small bit of leftover potato salad with lemon juice, no mayo (a delicious recipe). Dinner wasn't quite as successful but not too bad--pinto beans, green beans (no butter), and meatloaf but I scraped the sauce off.
My plan: salads like tuna, egg, chicken or ham with veggies for lunch and maybe dinner. When I eat dinner out, I'll order things without potatoes or carbs or much fat (okay, I may cheat on the latter). But I'll eat a lot of fish, which I like. My personal weak spots are white wine and dark chocolate and I'll cut down on them--both expensive. That will also help my grocery bill.
In truth, I think I eat a fairly healthy diet, but I'd fallen into the habit of putting my tuna or ham salad in a sandwich, or making an open-faced turkey/ham/cheese sandwich with a homemade Thousand Island dressing. No more bread, although I've never eaten much. A couple of brief spells on online Weightwatchers have schooled me in what to eat and what not to eat, though I'm a terrible cheat.
There are fattening things I love--mayonnaise, cheese, chopped liver (okay I don't each much of that), cream cheese, bacon--I'll avoid them until I get this under control.
It's easy on day one to be optimistic about losing weight. It'll be a snap, and 1'll soon shed those extra pounds, yet I know that's not true. It's liable to be a long hard slog.
And part of it--I'll do my yoga routine four or five times a week. Granted, my routine is not too rigorous, designed for a woman of my age. Still I worked up a sweat doing it this evening, and I'm determined to make that a part of my daily routine.
Wish me luck. I know I'll never weigh 110 again as I did in my twenties, but I'd like to lose the fat-faced look and the belly that makes a favorite pair of pants not fit any more.