Exercise cautiously.

Look up Isolated Gait on Google, you will find that any patient with balance issues will walk eventually like they are on ice, this effects the hips and the spine. But they will walk if they can and long term effects are as if they are aged and in decline, it's called Cautious Gait in my case - again thanks to Google not the Doctors! Gait Velocity is another one. Initially my feet where stuck to the floor, with a total inability to move.

And again, look up your particular type of stroke on the internet to find what areas of your brain took the hit, and then you can work out for yourself what exercises you will need to overcome your recent deficits. EG Corpus Callosum

.."Clinical features of corpus callosum infarcts include interhemispheric disconnection syndromes such as dyspraxia contralateral to a paretic limb, alien hand syndrome, abulia, and isolated gait disorder".

My physical issues: depth perception when walking, compensating gait, foot drop compensation weakens when tired, no feeling in my limbs (Alien hand etc), weakness eg opening a can, co-ordingating my hands to open a can; filing papers is now a one handed job as the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere of the brain do not coordinate often.

Steps and exercises: It's a weird thing, is it not - stairs are now very dangerous because of the vertigo. Bobbie found a way to get over this: put a dark color on the steps and a lighter color on the risers, her main problem with stairs is depth but it helps a whole bunch and rails on both sides of course it helps to better differentiate depth and size...

If walking a beach relaxes you, and you can afford the petrol or have public transport - do that.

If you have a dog, do that. If you have a treadmill even five minutes will make a long term difference - work your way up to ten etc. Youtube has a wealth of exercise suggestions - just type in Stroke exercises and look at the ones that take your fancy.

Can you balance with closed eyes and you hand on the kitchen bench in the corner for support? One footed? Go slow. You now have all the time in the world. I have some exercise sheets available to look at, you will see they are lame and very very easy. Exercise sheets - very very easy for balance and are just a starting place.

Sitting One. Walking balance Two, Exercise three, four, five.

Experts suggest our difficulty with slimming and eating wholesome foods is identical to breaking an addictive habit . Research suggests that it often takes a number of attempts before people are able to kick cigarettes or give up alcohol for good; this might also be true for weight loss.

So throw in the stroke survivors ability to respond negatively to most anything and we got a problem.

In a study in 2007, in France, cocaine addicted rats were offered super-sweetened water and within three days the rats swapped addictions to the sugar. Yes that's correct sugar was more addictive to the rats than the cocaine was!!!!!! Info sourced from http://eating.health.com So maybe we kick smoking for sugar?

It's OK to feel pressure, in 250 million years from now it won't really matter - you yourself will be a diamond and I will be a rock and your friends will be gold and we will hang out in a cave - there will be no bills, no rent, no hunger, no pain, no disappointment, no liars and lots and lots of freedom, there will be no pressure only sanctuary. There may be continental drift. We may get separated. But just wait - another space of time and energy and our nucleoli will be as one. Life is this simple.

This means all us rats must go out and get some lollies?

It takes 3 weeks to break a habit. Or create one. See also Fitness and Health If you can cut 100 calories out of each day, you'll have a habit in three weeks and you will lose a pound in just over a month.

Read this Health slide show - quick and painless .

So the new stroke patient doesn't put cooking as a priority. Fingers are fumbly and not responsive to normal brain instructions. IF you think a splash of water is ok, to me; now it feels like acid - so when I rinse something under the tap, and it splashes; my skin panics where it made contact. Its momentary and I get over it, but if that's what happens with water - try thinking hot oil. I have no idea and they all feel the same.

But junk food has too much salt and too little nutrition so this is something I need to concentrate on not buying, not eating and not wanting. And if I get healthier there must be some preventative good news in this.

How many diets are there?- check out 50 popular ones at this link.

1. How to make it work - do it with a buddy .
2. Create a daily food diary - get a free one from Special K , or here .
3. Combine the menu with your own Excel spreadsheet of how much you exercise, here's one I whipped up. But I got bored so update it often.
4. Better foods with out exercise will not stick in your brain and you will fail at slimming down long term.
5. Get competitive with your buddy - have a one year goal post for yourself - a holiday or something worth a weeks salary for instance.
6. It will mean you have to compete with a friend which will motivate your brain into non failure mode.
7. Experts believe the physical act of writing down something amplifies the learning curve. "It amplifies your attention, so write what your going to eat, then what you've actually eaten, keeping in mind 5 types of food are Savoury, sweet, bitter, sour and tart, and you need three lots of Calcium boosts a day to digest properly and get your metabolism happening, folic acid is also a biggy in the digestive happenings - the better you digest - the less congestive fat storage"
8. Make sure you take in 20 minutes a day of sunlight , and only eat raw foods for snacks to get your appropriate doses of vitamins.
9. Experiment with recipes to get out of mundane habits - write your own menu planner, start with tabouli, (1 Cup Bulgar wheat, onion, spices to taste with 1 1/4 Cup Water, and 1/4 cup olive oil) instead of white rice or potatoes - limit the starch and introduce the less processed wheat's - my favourite recipe website: http://www.recipezaar.com
10. Replace or swap out foods - more suggestions here.
11. Introduce a twenty minute brisk walk or some form of pleasurable exercise - partners welcome - each day.
12. Substitute sandwiches where you can:
    This might seem strange at first, but when you realize how much body-fat you will lose just by replacing 2 plain slices of bread with a single lettuce leaf, or rice paper ( 7.605 KG or 16 3/4 lbs. each and every year ), most people are willing to give it a try.

No more vending machines, no more fizzy drinks in the everyday diet, carbohydrate addiction may be a bigger problem in our society than we suspect. It is very likely that diets high in carbohydrates cause us to become physiologically addicted to them. I have managed to only include soft drinks in my alcoholic pursuits now and yes I have my faults.

Uh ohh - exercises we can do at home.

Appetite Suppressants

Attempts to suppress appetite have been around almost forever. In the 1800s, tree sap & camphor tea were thought to suppress appetite. Ice water is purported to both suppress appetite and increase short term metabolism . Along the same lines, soup based diets (see Cabbage Soup diet) claim to suppress appetite.

Interesting: A talking website http://www.dietblogtalk.com It means more if you hear the theory from a stranger - this triggers something in the brain that motivates me, personally.

If you have an Ipod you can purchase an assistant to track your goals: http://www.allofzero.com/iscale/

Why fruit?

In addition to the great taste, fruit is loaded with cancer fighting fiber, vitamins and minerals and high levels of antioxidant phytochemicals. I don't want to sound like I hate cereal, but I think the benefits of grains has been overstated by the companies and lobby groups that rely on breakfast cereal sales. Grains are calorie dense and have lower nutritional benefits than fruits and veg. (Source: http://healthhabits.wordpress.com)

Why Fibre?

* Insoluble fiber. This type of fiber promotes the movement of material through your digestive system and increases stool bulk, so it can be of benefit to those who struggle with constipation or irregular stools. Whole-wheat flour, wheat bran, nuts and many vegetables are good sources of insoluble fiber.

* Soluble fiber. This type of fiber dissolves in water to form a gel-like material. It can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels. You can find generous quantities of soluble fiber in oats, peas, beans, apples, citrus fruits, carrots, barley and psyllium .

See also Fitness and Health - well that was fun now back to work.