Write It Down

I know I'm supposed to keep a food journal. When I do, it does help me stay in line. My problem is that I keep forgetting. I'm really good about it for the first 3 or 4 days but then I begin to forget. Why is that?

From Everyday Tips:

...a food journal gives you a tool to monitor your progress and identify patterns in your eating habits.

The feedback from your food journal can also strengthen your weight-management skills. Write down a complete list of your meals and snacks within 15 minutes of eating. Most successful record keepers total their numbers at the end of the day or the first thing each morning on a weekly summary sheet. Keeping good records is a skill that takes practice. Most people don't enjoy keeping records, so you may stop and start from time to time. But even done sporadically, it's worthwhile work so you can check in on your diet.

So I guess starting and stopping every three days isn't too bad after all. Still...I'd like to remember to do this everyday!

Apatrim

Has anyone seen something that seems to be an article in their newspaper called "Demand soars for 'fast acting' diet pill"? The article goes on to talk about this miracle drug, apatrim, that suppresses appetite and makes people lose weight. It's so popular, according to this article, the phone lines are jammed with callers and supplies are limited. Wow! A miracle drug, just what we've been waiting for!

What could be wrong with it, too? There was this research study that shows the drug works within minutes to suppress your appetite. Even better, dieters "don't have to starve or suffer through intense exercise and it's been clinically shown to get great results."

And also, "Apatrim contains an amazing compound that has a known ability to help control hunger pangs*. This allows people to eat the foods they want, they just eat less*."
Aha. We'll get to those stars in a minute.

How does it work? "The active ingredient in Apatrim comes from a plant that grows in India. This 'miracle' plant is Caralluma Fimbriata and it has been used by native tribes in India for centuries to reduce hunger and quench thirst during times of famine and drought."

TB and I saw this in our Burlington County Times and thought it sounded great but a little too good to be true. And was this a real news article or an advertisement? I decided to check it out online. Well, well. Here's what I found:

Diet Drug Report

Newspapers around the country are running full-page ads -- disguised to look like regular news pages -- filled with misleading claims for a new 'miracle' diet pill called Apatrim that allegedly enables dieters to lose weight without either cutting back on eating or increasing their exercise.

The pages contain a bylined story from the Universal Media Syndicate (intended, no doubt, to be confused with the Universal Press Syndicate, which carries columnists such as Dear Abby and William F. Buckley Jr.) urging overweight readers to phone a toll-free number to order "every dieter's dream." ...

What we can confirm is that Caralluma Fimbriata, like the South African "succulent" plant Hoodia Gordonii, has indeed been chewed for many years by Indian tribesmen during long hunts to suppress appetite and enhance endurance.

But from there, the breathless weight-loss claims for Apatrim not only become more suspect, but seem likely to ultimately involve its distributor, PatentHEALTH, LLC , with the judicial system. ...

The so-called clinical trial referenced in the ad, an anemic study that involved only 26 participants followed for four weeks (a serious Phase III clinical trial of a diet drug would involve thousands of participants tracked over at least a year), was sponsored by the developer of Slimaluma -- not Apatrim. ...

Slimaluma was the first to start marketing a weight loss pill using Caralluma Fimbriata. Gencor Pacific, which makes Slimaluma, has sued the company making Apatrim for

false advertising, false comparative advertising, and a variety of other charges stemming from their efforts to sell a a non-extract Caralluma fimbriata powder product.

And those stars? Well, at the end of the article, there was a * and it read: "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration..." Why is this is such small print?

Another miracle drug bites the dust as far as I'm concerned!

The Me In My Head

I wrote several times about the person I see in my head compared with who is really there is the pictures and the mirror. TB was messing around with photoshop last night and sent me this picture. This is just about spot on to the person I see in my head.

I think I will print it and tape it up on my desk so that it can motivate me. Here's what I really look like:

Weight and Inadequate Sleep

As I sit here wrestling with insomnia it occurs to me I'm totally not surprised that there's a link between lack of sleep and being overweight/weight gain. In my case, pain and complications of being overweight prevent me from getting a good night's sleep. By day, I'm more listless and less likely to exercisse than I would be if I had enough sleep (roughly 7 hours). Lately, I've been sleeping 2-4 hours, waking for several and then sleeping again for another 2-3. That's just messed up.

The Everyday Health newsletter had an article about being starved for sleep last month. They cited two studies conducted about weight and lack of sleep.

New research suggests that people who don't get enough sleep tend to weigh more -- and that sleep can affect levels of the appetite-regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin.

"There is a dynamic balance between proper sleep and proper health. Sleep deprivation affects weight and a lot of other things. If you cheat sleep, there are a number of consequences, including affecting your hormones, appetite and mood," said Dr. Patrick Strollo, medical director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Sleep Medicine Center.

The article suggests if you don't get enough sleep, pay attention to your eating habits. If you can't get the sleep you need, go for a short walk rather than snacking on foods. Right...that's if you're not too tired to go for the walk!

Say No To Coffee Mate

Well, someone is always finding out harmful details about tasty products. Now it's Coffee Mate, which is something I enjoy occasionally. I knew it was fattening but I liked to pretend it wasn't so bad. But...here is what I found out:

A serving size is a teaspoon. Who takes a teaspoon of creamer? C'mon, be honest! One teaspoon won't flavor the 20 ounces I drink at one time. There's almost 15 calories and .99 grams of saturated fat in a teaspoon of Coffee Mate. As I say, who uses just a teaspoon? Most of us use more like a tablespoon. It adds up!

Just because it says "fat free" doesn't mean it is.

If a product has less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving – trans fat, saturated fat or total fat – a manufacturer can round the number down to zero. So if an unrounded teaspoon has 0.27 grams of fat and you add a rounded teaspoon to a warm beverage a few times a day ...

That adds up too!

What to do? There's always good old milk and, happily, there's either fat free Land'o'Lakes half'n'half or fat free International Delight dairy creamers. Thank goodness!

The whole article is here.

Exercisiing and the Neighborhood

Should I be surprised that the neighborhood can influence how much exercise you get? Of course not. But here's another article that identifies a problem but hasn't any suggestions for a solution. The problem is too big to be solved. If you live in a neighborhood where you are afraid you might be robbed or killed of course you will be less likely to go for a walk. If you live in a such a neighborhood, you're also very likely to be too poor to afford a gym--otherwise you'd move to a safer place, right? Therefore the obesity level would be higher in poorer, high crime neighborhoods. Amazing, Dr. Watson! The whole article is here.

I would love to be able to walk in my neighborhood. There are no sidewalks but I would be able to walk along the side of the road down to the lake and back. The reason I don't exercise in my neighborhood has more to do with pain than anything else. I'm also afraid I'll fall or faint and not be able to get back up. Still, I need to do something. I can't lose weight anymore just by dieting.

Why am I trying to lose weight when I want the surgery anyway? The less I weigh the better off I'll be!

Not Doing So Well

We've been under a great deal of stress recently and I know I gained weight instead of losing it. :( I have to look around a find a food therapist--one that will help TB and me with our emotional eating.

Weight Watchers had an interesting article about couples and weight gain. It's no surprise to me that couples gain weight together! It's certainly true that TB and I have similar BMIs! On the upside, we are "more likely to achieve better results if they tackle weight loss as a couple." The whole article is here.

I have read several articles now that tell me even drinking diet soda can lead to weight gain. I'm still not sure I agree but I sure can't dispute the fact that I'm gaining. Doubters? Read this article. Now I see some acceptable alternatives to soda and I need to try them:

1. Water--I always used to drink ice water until we moved to NJ. The water around here is full of iron but I guess I can drink bottled.

2. Green tea--I am not a fan of tea but I do like this on occasion. It's full of anti-oxidants too.

3, Sweet stevia--I never heard of this one! Apparently it was banned for a while because the FDA needed to research it. It has no carbs nor calories and seems to help with diabetes and glucose intolerance! Let me go try that one!

4. Diet tonic and lime--I've never tried gin and tonic but this is what it is minus the alcohol. Hmmm....

5. Low sodium vegetable juice--I like V-8!

6. Coffee--without all the yummy creamer I've been drinking! I have to switch back to first 2% and then 1% milk

So...I just have to keep on trying.