Originally Posted by
phoebeisis
...(what is a canklecat-guess I will look it up)...
The nickname is a reminder to myself to take better care of my body and health.
Right about the time I turned 50, nine years ago, I noticed in a snapshot of our cat swirling around my feet that my ankles were badly swollen. I'd been inactive for awhile due to a broken back and neck from a car wreck a few years earlier. I wasn't walking enough or getting much exercise. My weight wasn't too bad, around 185. That seemed better than the 205 lbs I'd weighed for awhile after the accident. But it was still way above my optimal weight of 160.
The cankles were a warning sign of congestive heart failure, which plagues my family on both sides. That got my attention.
So I started walking more, eating less and more healthy stuff, etc. I was still on a cane until 2014. By 2015 I was able to ride a bike again. Since then my weight has hovered between 155-165 lbs. I don't watch my diet rigorously but I do check my blood pressure and watch for swelling in my shins and ankles. Usually I get little warning signs, such as arrhythmia -- irregular heartbeat. Along with higher BP, that's usually a good sign that I'm getting swollen and need to be more careful.