Hard to believe we are nearly at the end of July and only 5 months until 2027. Nothing too exciting happening around here as the weeks seem to be the same and then on Sunday I spend with my family taking our Mum out for lunch as she is in aged care. Getting old doesn't seem much fun in my opinion and as I'm 63 in September I need to be focusing more on health and longivity myself.
I've had a DEXA scan in 2023, 2024 and 2026 and surprizingly it says my bones are at high risk of fracture. DEXA scans can be up to $300 however I found a local place that does it for $90 and this is where the top footballers go so they are reptuable. My muscles are good but body fat is not good [no surprize there] so it's time I stop burying my head in the sand and look after myself. In 2017 I joined Sam Wood 28 program and lost about 16kgs and due to stresses in my personal life ended up gradually putting all that weight back on. Then in December 2021 I did a 21 day no chocolate challenge for myself to stop that habit and then joined Weight Watchers and again lost 16kgs only to eventually put that back on again.
So here we are in 2026 and if not now, when? I did rejoin the Sam Wood 28 Menopause Program in February and then I injured my shoulder with a 3mm tear so didn't do any exercises. I have been going to the physio recently and it's getting better but it's still not great so this week I actually and a workout and it feels good to be back. The recipes in the program are great and I need to get excited about cooking again. It's funny when I meal planned each week for the 3 of us it seemed easier to cook for my family but as it's just me it doesn't seem as fulfilling. I also cooked up a Sam Wood Brownie recipe made out of chickpeas which I can say is 10/10. I've cut it up into 18 little pieces so when I want a chocolate fix I know it's not full of rubbish and it's on hand in the freezer to have with a coffee.
Speaking of bone health I've come across Dr Vonda Wright recently and she has written a book called Unbreakable which I bought but will need to sit down and read it. She also has a youtube channel as well and says your bones need impact to stay healthy and says you need to stomp or jump 20-50 times a day as bones respond to this. So either jump on the spot 20 times or jump from the bottom step inside or outside of your house if you have steps. She also said you should be standing on one leg throughout the day to improve your balance for instance when you are brushing your teeth or waiting for the kettle to boil. Dr Vonda Wright says everyone should be doing a DEXA scan to know all the stats about their body. She also has a video on how to read a DEXA scan and what a T score in bone health means too.
There is so much change to a woman's body because of menopause, most I knew of and some I didn't know relating to bone density etc. Now is the time to look after myself from the inside out. Another thing is when we were younger we were out in the sun a lot and now as we are older we don't stay out in the sun so Vitamin D is important for bone health and yet for myself I'm never really in the sun anymore so my next blood test we are testing Vitamin D as well so I may have to take a supplement.
I don't buy clothes for myself because that doesn't make me feel good but I love buying cookbooks. I came across this wonderful cookbook by Catie Gett who ran "The Staple Store" in Melbourne for over 10 years and then she closed it. She opened the store to help people get into wholefoods and made up products that were made of dry ingredients and spices and then all you had to do was add a couple of things and dinner is cooked. This is her why and I think she is amazing.
As an example this "Not so Dahl" recipe which was her most popular product she is giving away some of her recipes for free. The idea is to mix up these dry mixes yourself in batches so have 5 containers of it in the cupboard and half the work is done. Mix the dry ingredients and then add a tin of tomatoes and some water and cook for 35-40 minutes. This recipe can also be cooked in a rice cooker if you have one. I read the book from cover to cover and love her story and she has old photos through out the book of her growing up cooking with her parents. This would be a good book to request your local library get in however I'm so glad I got one myself. She said that when she closed the shop money was really tight and then food security became a big mission for her so the recipes in this book are all afforable because she knows what it's like. I absolutely LOVED this book and her story and also a single Mum looking at ways of educating people about whole foods in an affordable way.
Enjoy your week, let me know if you have any healthy recipe treats that you love.
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