Pentagenarians & Beyond: W/B 1/19

Diane Sue-I found it was a lot less expensive to use the GoodRX instead of our insurance for prescriptions. I paid around $100 for 3 months and if I had used insurance it would have been almost $300. It's good that you are getting another heart CT in July. Hopefully it will show less plaque. Did you find out what statin they prescribed?
 
This morning I did Muscle Max timesaver. My time was 64 minutes with 290 calories burned. Average heart rate was 111 and maximum heart rate was 150.

Judy, that’s quite a savings with not using insurance for your prescription. There is something seriously wrong with our system when that is the case. People don’t always realize how much pharmaceutical companies are charging because we use insurance.

Valerie, I forgot to mention that I made that recipe for sheet pan chicken with roasted broccoli and romesco sauce again last week. It’s one that you shared some time ago. We love that meal and the sauce is great with other foods as well. I add some olive oil and two tablespoons of sherry vinegar based on another romesco sauce recipe that I have.

Hello to Diane Sue and Deb. Have a great day.
 
I am really late getting my workout in and have things to get done as my husband is off tomorrow and I am not sure if I am picking up my grandson. Too much time on the computer this morning. Today I did Step Boss Step Sync + ab stacker mix, 67 minutes, 358 calories, heart rate average 134, max 163, 5,969 steps. I finished off with Step Boss extended chair stretch, 17 minutes, 46 calories, heart rate average 11, max 148, 42 steps. Total workout time 84 minutes, 400 calories, 6,011 steps.
 
Valerie, I won't eat something that I don't like the taste of. There are things that are just as healthy out there.
My husband did not want me to sign him up for part D. He doesn't take any meds. He said if he needed something we would shop for discounts. I can't drag him to a doctor so paying for the part D would be a waste. My aunt who is 80 now said she dropped the part D because in all the years she had to fill one prescription and it was around 200 dollars and definitley not worth paying for the insurance. I had talked to my doctor about getting a 90 day supply of my perscription thinking it would be less, but the cost they had quoted at the Arthritis Center was exactly the same as purchasing monthly. I was surprised.

Judy, I have the Good RX app. My daughter mentioned me checking there. I was going to call and ask about the statin. I am still on the fence of picking it up and it will be here if I decide to do it. I am still researching and I went back and looked at all of my medical tests and the like. Slightly elevated cholesterol last time at my doctor. That is why she mentioned the Smart Beat test. I don't even know what tier it is on insurance to know if it would be worth picking up since I don't know which one it is.

Carolyn, I had compared some prices on my prescription with Good RX at Walmart it was almost the same as what I pay with my insurance. I believe it was something like a dollar less.
 
Hi Everyone,

Monday I did 45 minutes of Peloton Rides, a 10 minute Peloton arm workout and 20 minutes of Peloton Restorative Yoga. Tuesday I did Step Boss Intermediate Step Bonus then both ab sections from RWH. I added on a 10 minute Peloton Cool Down Ride and 10 min arm toning. Yesterday was a 30 minute Peloton Ride and this morning I did IMAX4, the blasts only premix. I finished with RWH-Triceps only. This was the first time I've tried any part of an IMAX workout. I had to pause a few times and I modified blasts 4 & 10. Overall, I'm really happy with what I did and I plan on doing more with this and the other IMAX workouts. I might try some of the step combos tomorrow.

Deb-I hope you are doing ok.

Carolyn-Nice job with Muscle Max! I agree, there is something seriously wrong with our system for a prescription to cost more with insurance than without. I was shocked at how much I saved on the hrt. Pharmaceutical companies in this country are out of control.

Diane Sue-Great job with Step Sync!

Valerie-Great workouts this week! I finally got my cholesterol under 200 last year and I'm going to do my best to keep it there. I hate the way doctors push meds, especially if it's just because we are getting older. In some cases it is warranted, but I still think they over prescribe statins.

Have a good night!

Judy
 
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Thanks carolyn.. credit goes to Eating Well magazine. I've gotten quite a few good things from the magazine and from their daily emails. they recycle things from the magazine. I find the email format easier to pick things and I don't have to search thru recipes. plus many things have reviews or suggestions by then.

oh our medical system is such a crazy insane mess. my husband is particularly galled by the DTC ads that run around the dinner hour in TV. most of the drugs they are promoting are incredibly expensive, and many are "me too" drugs that are slightly altered copies of already existing medicines. allowing direct to consumer ads is totally nuts. I don't want to get started here.....:eek:

Got a dermatology appt this afternoon, so squeezed in 30 min on the elliptical, 4000 steps, and icy core.
 
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Judy, nice workouts this week. Something needs to be done about these drug costs. I called the pharmacist and picked up the Statin which is Pravastatin. It was only 3 dollars for 90 day supply. The pharmacist said usually the drugs are lower cost when they are preventive. No deductible on this one. It is sitting here right now. Still am on the fence. I did go look at my last tests and my total cholesterol was 207. Good cholesterol was fine, triglyceride levels good. My LDL was high. The pharmacist told me that sometimes after about 18 months some of the plaque may be gone. I read this on some of the info on statins. I want to see where I am in July when I get the CT heart scan and that is when I am up for my physical again as well. I am making adjustments and reading labels. Odd that fat free yogurt still has cholesterol in it. I found that Oikos has less than Fage. A lot of the time I buy Cashewgurt instead of dairy. I am guessing the heart doctor got information about my blood work and stuff from my primary because he has done no testing like that. Just the stress test, heart CT, and carotid ultrasound. I guess that is enough though.

I am wondering why My Fitness Pal shows polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats goals are 0. It shows me if I eat any of them that I am over my goal. I rather like My Net Diary because it shows where your bad fats are coming from. It is a little more complicated that MFP though.

Valerie, I do not see a necessity to advertise drugs. Like they are pushing people to go ask their doctor give them this or that. The doctor should know what is best for the patient. I find it quite annoying.
 
most of the cholesterol is generated from the liver. diet has some effect but I have read 75% of cholesterol approx is "self generated" so dietary intake has some effect but not as much as you would think ... minor differences in yogurt brands is not a big deal. it would be easy to handle if it were simple and we just had to reduce cholesterol containing food to reduce levels, but does not always work that way. plus what works for some won't work for others.
I think recommendations are still to limit saturated fat intake ...red meat, eggs, full fat dairy, butter, cheese, coconut and palm oil. (plenty of contrasting ideas and opinions). for me limiting those foods works well. I eat eggs, butter, cheese but not as main parts of my diet. no red meat in 50+ years. trans fat is bad but unless you eat junk food, not as prevalent as it was.
I do "Mediterranean' diet using olive oil as my main oil. not much sea food, DH doesn't like it. the thing is.... DH's numbers are crummy and mine are really good... to a great degree.... we eat the same things. I eat more vegies, nuts, alcohol, but he eats WAY more overall.... sweets and cereal. he is making an effort to cut down desserts and sub more fruit so we will see. It takes a while to get numbers to shift. Getting numbers to shift is not always simple.

drug advertising is such a joke. yes, they want people to go to their doctors and request the newest most expensive product, which is usually more expensive when an older product will do the same thing at much less cost. or the ads are for drugs so expensive that no one without insurance would even consider them. and even those WITH insurance are going to be shocked.
 
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Today I did Step Sync combos 1, 2, and part of 3. My time was 40 minutes with 329 calories burned. Average heart rate was 138 and maximum heart rate was 164. I’m getting much better with this one.

Judy, great job with IMAX 4. I modify those blasts too.

Diane Sue, that’s good that your prescription was only 3.00. I agree with Valerie that it’s more the saturated fats in foods that you need to worry about.

Valerie, I try for a Mediterranean type diet also. We eat red meat, but not on a regular basis. My goal this month has been to add more plant based meals to my diet. I bought a new cookbook, Whole Food Cooking Everyday by Amy Chaplin, and I’m trying some of the recipes.

Deb, I hope you are doing well.
 
This morning I did Ripped and Ride December 2019, 36 minutes, heart rate 139/170, 1,888 steps. I did the boxing with Kelly instead of the spin bike. The only lower work is really the spin bike. I then watched Kelly's in the Kitchen making protein balls and rode the spin bike for 13 minutes, heart rate 125/148, 762 steps, 54 calories. I finished with Jane Adams yoga morning energy practice, 17 minutes, heart rate 116/138, 52 calories, 67 steps. Total time was 309 calories 66 minutes, 2,717 steps.

Valerie, I do not eat saturated fats very much. I was eating coconut oil quite a bit in my cooking and coconut milk. I have switched in recent months though and have been using olive oil which has been a mainstay and avocado oil is used quite a bit. I like the flavor better for some things. I use almond or walnut oil in some of my dressings, depending on what kind of salad. I am trying to lower overall fat since recommendations are 25-30% of fat. Years ago I always strived for 20%. I had great levels of everything then, but I will say my diet was not so wonderful. More like pasta with tomato sauce, bran cereal with skim milk and fat free cool whip. I do not eat beef much. Mostly chicken and salmon. Although it sort of turns my stomach sometimes and I am picking it out of whatever dish I made. I am picky about the taste and texture. I will get it figured out. I know genetics and other things can make a difference as well.
You are so right on the drug costs. Someone like my brother that has to pay 40% of cost with his insurance is having a rough time. He said his knees degeneration is so bad that he has cried. He called me a couple of days ago asking questions. He cannot afford those meds like Humira or another that I know worked well for daughter's father in law except he was allergic to it. You are talking thousands of dollars. I checked it out because she was talking to me about biologics and I was afraid with all of that neck degeneration and pain they would want to change my med. Anyway, he found an arthritis center in Florida that is quite a drive from where he is and is going to go. It is sad when you have to work to pay your medical costs when you are virtually disabled.
Oh, and my husband had his blood checked recently when he gave blood and he has perfect cholesterol. He loves his burgers and French fries. Which right now are his weekly cheat. We are trying low fat and less breads and that sort of thing which is working for him.

Carolyn, I think the mediterranean diet is one of the best. I have a Paleo Mediterranean cookbook by the lady that did Practical Paleo. The only thing is I have not found recipes that I really thought looked good. I should look again. It seems there were meats I would not eat and it called for things like some particular apricot in dishes and they are supposed to be unsulfered which is hard to find.
 
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we did yard work today and re did a big fence and re aligned it around our vegie garden. other parts need work too. not really exercise but enough work to count.

I never liked meat very much and didn't eat chicken or fish for a long time. we went back to eating some because it is easier socially, when we are guests or when we have them. I don't think the same thing will work for everyone.. you need to be able to live with your choice and feel OK besides getting good lab numbers.

I wonder how in the world this country will ever get to health coverage for all, when it is so clearly needed desperately. I will not vote for any candidate that doesn't have that goal, with a clear plan to get there. . people should not be bankrupted or forced to choose between food and medicine or rent. its crazy. no other developed country in the world does this to their people. drug companies are guilty of extortion even for old time drugs like insulin and epi pens.
 
Good morning,

A busy week, between classes, UTI mess, my annual physical, and winding up the sale of my Saab...(yay!!). It is actually going to a guy in Denver. John will be home from the Bahamas tonight ( hopefully he makes the connections in Nassau).

Valerie, with all you do outdoors, it is not surprising that you are so well versed on how to keep warm etc. :) yes, going to the Urologist next week. The urgent care place said the lab did not do a culture, because there was not enough bacteria...so their conclusion was that there was NO UTI!! What??? where did the symptoms come from and why did they go away immediately after taking the first antibiotic dose? With your cholesterol numbers, I would be very pissed at a DR that was trying to push statins on me.

Judy, good job on the rides and the workouts! It was almost 50 here yesterday...crazy weather. Judy, remind us again on how you got your cholesterol under 200...I would be happy with anything between 200 and 250! For me, losing 25 pounds when I had the whole heartburn thing going on, dropped my total cholesterol number 56 points.

Diane Sue, my SIL has to take statins because she has had heart trouble, same with my brother. My brother tried 3 different ones, all had bad side effects, muscle type pains etc. They are now both doing this shot every 2 weeks, that they do themselves at home. My brother has had no side effects, and his cholesterol had come down about 50%...it's amazing. I did not note the name of the drug, but if you are interested in researching, I can get it from him. At my physical the other day, my DR said he wanted me to do a stress test ( again!) due to a "blip" on the EKG. This has happened before, hopefully it will be nothing again.

Carolyn great job on the workouts!

Take care,
 
Deb-I did a few things starting in 2017. First, I stopped eating full fat Greek yogurt, something I was eating almost every day. I tried to keep my saturated fats down as much as I could and increased my fiber intake. I also started taking Policosanol, a supplement that is supposed to help lower cholesterol. My cholesterol was always on the low side before I started eating a higher fat diet so I think diet was the most important change that I made.
 
Deb glad you are OK. yes, we have done outdoor stuff for a long time, and fabrics have changed making it more comfortable and easier to do. we wore a lot more wool before synthetics. that involved non wool layers. I could stand wool pants but not shirts. things have circled back to wool again. you're right... weight loss can be a big factor, a combo of changing your diet to enable weight loss, plus the lost weight itself.

Yes, I was annoyed with the recommendation I take statins. my numbers are very good. I'm uneasy taking any medication I don't definitely need. often people often take statins as an easy way to eat whatever they want and still get "good" numbers. DH is trying to lose a few pounds and reduce his intake of sweets, see if that makes a difference. he has tried every statin and gets muscle pain. otherwise, he'd be taking one because his diet is good.

wow, great you sold the car! amazing you can do that online these days.
 
This morning I did a premix from PHA 3, 1A + 2B, for 39 minutes and 226 calories burned. My average heart rate was 120 and maximum heart rate was 152.

Valerie, the yard work was probably the equivalent of a workout.

Deb, congratulations on selling your Saab. That was quick. You could choose one or two behaviors to target for your cholesterol. It might be limiting red meat or full fat dairy, or adding more vegetables to your day. You can’t do anything about the genetics, so just look at things that you can change.

Judy, I did the same thing when my cholesterol numbers increased. I looked at what I had changed in my diet and one thing was the full fat yogurt. I eliminated that and went back to eating more oatmeal which is something I had always done in the past.

Diane Sue, good work with the Raw Ripped and Ride and JA Yoga. I didn’t realize that Kelly had food information on her site, too. One of the things that I enjoy about Chris Freytag‘s Gethealthyu is the wellness information that she sends out.

Have a wonderful day.
 
We did a road ride this morning, 15 miles RT. haven't done it since November. rain, cold, ice aren't fun. when we've a clear day, its usually colder and then ice is an issue. I don't want to hit a slippery patch with those skinny tires. todays ride was not much fun. wet, rained a little, about 45 degrees and gray. amazing how much nicer if the sun is shining. took us 1 hr 15 min.
yes Carolyn, yard work counts. its a lot of walking up and down hill, dragging fencing around. not as focused as a regular workout but its a lot of work over several hours.

I really embraced low fat when it was trendy. I don't like mouth feel of full fat dairy, so don't find it tempting. I WAY prefer non fat, low fat options for cottage cheese etc. I love most cheese though, so save my fat intake for it. Olive oil too. cook with it all the time. I got a bottle of avocado oil to try it out too. Oatmeal itself is supposed to help lower cholesterol, but DH has it for breakfast every day and it made no difference. sometimes things work, sometimes not. we were completely vegetarian for a long time. I learned to cook and enjoy a lot of vegetables and fruits as I tried new things.
 
This morning I did Raw Ripped and Ride January 2020 using the step and 10 and 5# dumbbells. Most is the heavier weights but one interval was lower and Kelly uses 7#. 37 minutes, 132 calories, heart rate 114/157, 1,574 steps. I then did Walk Strong Build Balance & Inner Strength Core control with Jessica Smith, 33 minutes, 148 calories, heart rate 121/146, 2,566 steps. Total time was 70 minutes, 280 calories, 4,140 steps.

Deb, that is odd that your symptoms got better with the antibiotic if there was not something there. I would like to know the name of the drug your brother is taking for my research. I am mostly concerned with the plaque in the artery. I am sure I can bring my numbers down. That is too bad you have to do another stress test. I hope it shows everything is okay.

Valerie, I have tried predominantly vegan aside from having some tuna with homemade hummus for a spread. I couldn't keep weight on. Kind of like is happening now. Maybe your husband should have some flax seed in his oatmeal. My daughter said her husband started eating oatmeal and running and his went down. He has to keep track of it. Both of his parents have problems with it. I have started eating in every morning with a couple of teaspoons of brown sugar on it. Those people that take statins and then eat what they want will not improve plaque. I don't know why people do that. I remember my one son in law eating stuff he shouldn't and say that is why he takes medicine for it. He had terrible stomach problems.

Judy, I remember you posting the Policosanol before. I had written it down and saved it on Amazon. I am taking Ubiuquinol and vitamin E.

Carolyn, Kelly just had her first In the Kitchen video on her Raw channel. Her and Noel made some protein balls and they talked a bit about nutrition and she showed her favorite protein powder. I need to watch again when I have a piece of paper handy to right the ingredients down and the name of the protein powder so I can check it our.
 
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