The Rates Just Keep Going Up & Up

Report: Obesity Rates Up in Most States

By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Like a lot of people, the nation's weight problem is settling below its waistline. The states with the highest percentages of obese adults are mostly in the South: Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Louisiana and Tennessee.

In the entire nation, only Oregon isn't getting fatter.

Some 22.7 percent of American adults were obese in the 2002-04 period, up slightly from 22 percent for 2001-03, says the advocacy group Trust for America's Health, citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Alabama had the biggest increase. There, the obesity rate increased 1.5 percentage points to 27.7 percent.

Eight states came in under 20 percent: Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, Montana, Utah and New Hampshire. But their figures were all rising. Oregon held steady at 21 percent.

Hawaii was not included in the group's report Tuesday.

While certain regions of the country fared worse than others, particularly the Southeast, the organization said that no state met the federal government's goal of a 15 percent obesity rate for adults by 2010.

An adult with a body mass index of 30 or more is considered obese. The equation used to figure body mass index is body weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. The measurement is not a good indicator of obesity for muscular people who exercise a lot.

"Bulging waistlines are growing and it's going to cost taxpayers more dollars regardless of where you live," said Shelley Hearne, the organization's executive director.

Why the geographic patterns? Experts don't have any one clear answer. Some suggest that urban sprawl plays a role. Others say it's easier to find a burger and fries than apples and asparagus in poor communities.

If you're on a limited or tight budget, you have to try and make your money stretch. No, I would not go for burger and fries...but I might opt for beans and macaroni, cheap foods that feed more mouths. The good, fresh stuff is expensive. I buy it because I have the money but I well remember the days I didn't!

Dr. Delia West, a professor of public health in Arkansas, said demographics play a part. The South has a larger percentage of minorities, who have shown an increased risk for obesity. She said Southerners also tend to lead a more sedentary lifestyle than their counterparts in states such as Colorado or Oregon. People will find fewer jogging trails in Little Rock than in Denver, she said.

Also, the Southern diet probably plays a role, said West, a professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

"We know the difference between purple hulled peas and speckled butter beans," she said. "But we make them with bacon fat or salt pork, so even though we're getting the micronutrients, it often comes laden with these extra calories."

Hearne said the United States is stuck in a "debate limbo" about how to confront obesity. She urged government action on several fronts, such as ensuring that land use plans promote physical activity, that school lunch programs serve more healthful meals, and that Medicaid recipients get access to subsidized fitness programs, such as aerobics classes at the local YMCA.

It'd really be helpful if the school day included recess! Anyone else notice that recess periods are getting shorter and shorter? At high school, there is no recess. I remember in Maryland a kid didn't even have to take PE after 9th grade!

I like the idea of subsidized fitness programs...I think it would definitely cut down on the amount of money the government has to spend on obesity related complications, especially among poor people.

Radley Balko, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, said he was wary of the call for more government action on obesity. The institute is a think tank that prefers free-market approaches to problems.

"I think obesity is a very personal issue. What you eat and how often you exercise, if that comes within the government's purview, it's difficult to think of what's left that isn't," Balko said.

Health policy analysts maintain that obesity increases the burden on taxpayers because it requires the Medicare and Medicaid programs to cover the treatment of diseases caused by obesity. The report issued Tuesday said taxpayers spent $39 billion in 2003 for the treatment of conditions attributable to obesity.

Balko said it's not clear the government really knows how to persuade people to make better decisions. He said open-ended entitlement programs, such as Medicaid and Medicare, don't provide much of a financial incentive for people to watch their weight. The government just picks up the cost of treating diseases for those patients, regardless of the amounts, he said.

He prefers that the government give Medicaid and Medicare recipients an incentive to open medical savings accounts, which would allow them to save money when they do not access the health care system.

"If they knew they only had so much to spend, or what they did not spend could be saved, then maybe you could instill a certain sense of responsibility and ownership," Balko said.

Tiny Dorm Rooms

Moving in day for my son in upstate NY 

Well...if ever there was an incentive for my kid to lose weight, it's his dorm room! See the above picture? You can see just about the whole room -- and 3 guys are supposed to live in that teeny little room! It's located in the basement ... there's no elevator and steep stairs down. Billy should get plenty of exercise going up and down those stairs, particularly if there are no elevators in the whole building. He brought his bike, too, and riding around campus will provide lots of exercise for him.

As for me...I'm still working on it and sticking to my food plan. As you can see by the picture, though, I don't seem to be losing anything. :(

It Figures

With all the concern about the increasing childhood obesity and the health risks involved for overweight adults and kids, you'd think that after creating this new food pyramid the government might invest some of their money toward subsidizing the healthier foods? After all, they already subsidize farmers for growing grains. Many of them sell their grain to other farmers as animal feed. We get the milk, eggs and meat we need as a result of that but we also get cheap stuff used in processed foods.

Subsidies encourage an abundant supply of corn, wheat, rice and soybeans. Much of the corn and soybeans is fed to livestock. Some also is turned into nutrition-poor ingredients in processed food for people. For example, toaster pastries contain partially hydrogenated soybean oil that gives them a flaky texture, and they contain high-fructose corn syrup to sweeten their fruit filling. That translates to lots of calories, lots of artery-clogging fat and little or no fiber.

That's not what we need and yet there are no subsidies given to farmers growing produce.

Know what that means? Junk food is cheaper; the healthy food is expensive. Using the above example of the toaster pastries, it's cheaper to feed your family buying a package of those things than it would be to get the whole grain bread and fresh fruit.

What if you are on a fixed income? How can you go buy a cartful of fresh fruit and vegetables that will take a big portion of your check and not last as long as the cart full of processed food?

And now again: the Department of Agriculture subsidizes the lunch programs in our schools. Which types of foods do you suppose they are going to provide, even though they recommend more fruits and vegetables?

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has begun a series of "listening sessions" across the country to gather input for the next farm bill, which dictates how subsidies are distributed. But the department doesn't write the farm bill. Congress does.

I see what I need to do. There are big lobbies that work to keep things the way they are. Maybe I can't change a thing but at least I can speak up and use my vote.

Read the full article here.

A Scare

We had a pretty good scare this weekend. My hubby TB, who is diabetic, hurt his toe somehow and on Friday evening he showed it to me. It was swollen, bright red and blue and the nail was coming off. We went straight to the emergency room. I knew that it was infected and felt that they'd send him home with a strong antibiotic. Imagine my shock when the doctor said he had to be admitted!

TB's sugar was running high and had been for a while. He needed to have one of his prescriptions filled and we'd put it off because of a lack of funds. Also, he hasn't seen an endocrinologist in over a year (same reason...and distance).

Well, this was a wake up call.

He is home from the hospital now and we've put the prescription in. If another bill doesn't get paid, so be it. This is much more important. So is going to the endocrinologist and getting on a better nutritional program.

Thank God he is okay ... but we can't get complacent again!

Kids' Waist Sizes and Later Health Problems

All 3 of my kids are overweight. I try not to beat myself up too much about it but I have to admit that I feel very guilty in spite of the fact that there are a lot of big people on my side of the family. I'd like to say it's all genetics, but let's not go there.

I went a couple of rounds with my younger stepdaughter about genetics and obesity when I cautioned her against giving her baby soda in a bottle and sweet treats. "You don't want him to become predisposed to sweets and get fat," I warned. She weighs as much as I do, just looked at me, and said, "Well, if it's genetics we can't help it."

I don't agree with that and said so ... but on the other hand, what kind of example have I set?

Okay, anyway, after my first husband died, the 3 kids and I must have gained about 400 lbs -- almost the whole man at the time he passed. I "woke up" to the severity of the issue in time to put the skids on the youngest becoming severely or morbidly obese. She also grew a couple of inches in height and so I would say she is, at most, about 25 lbs overweight. My older two kids are in the same morbid boat as me and it upsets me to no end.

As it happens, doctors are now looking into ways to predict if and how kids will develop serious health problems later when they start out as obese kids.

doctors are on the lookout these days for a group of risk factors known together as metabolic syndrome.
They include excess weight, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low levels of HDL or so-called good cholesterol, glucose intolerance, and elevated insulin levels.

They want to see if simply measuring a kid's waist can be a predictor of future problems. It would be nice if it was that simple, eh?

The researchers analyzed data from 84 kids aged six to 13, of whom 68 were overweight or obese. They found children with abdominal obesity determined by a waist size above the ninetieth percentile of the study group had increased metabolic syndrome risk factors such as high blood pressure, insulin resistance and high cholesterol. The researchers say abdominal obesity may be an especially important risk factor for insulin resistance syndrome in children.

It would be very important to have that information. I know my kids need diet and exercise. If these measurements had been taken when my kids were younger maybe I would have been more aware and actively involved in their eating habits. I would like to think I would have been.

There was yet another reference to smoking and belly fat:

The study, in the journal Circulation, found that six percent of teens aged 12 to 19 had metabolic syndrome, and that the numbers increased with exposure to tobacco smoke. In kids who were overweight, the numbers increased even more. Although it's not understood how tobacco smoke might contribute to metabolic syndrome, obviously we cannot forget the important effort to prevent kids from smoking and to protect them from second hand smoke.

The whole article is here.

Smoking and Belly Fat

I am not an advocate of cigarette smoking but I was always under the impression there was a link between it and weight loss -- or, at least, not gaining weight. After I lost all that weight when I was 17, I took up smoking. I know, I know...it was a dumb thing to do. Sometimes I'd gain 10-15 pounds but always managed to get the weight off quickly.

When I was 32, I got pregnant with my son. I'd been smoking (almost 2 packs a day) about 15 years by then. I decided I was going to quit because I knew smoking would be bad not only for me but for the baby. The doctor was very supportive and said, when I gained 80 pounds, better to gain than to smoke.

I used to like to blame my weight on the fact I quit smoking...it's easier to blame something like that than your age or poor will power.

Well...think again!

When I saw this article I was sure that it was going to talk about a link between smoking and losing belly fat. Imagine my complete surprise to read that these doctors feel that smoking contributes to metabolic syndrome, particularly in kids 12-19.

Whaaaaat?

I'm not sure I buy it. The percentages aren't that high and I'm thinking that other things must have a greater impact ... like sedentary lifestyle, poor eating habits and so on.

It's a great argument to use to try and keep kids away from cigarettes though...maybe. Used to be we'd say, "don't smoke, you'll get cancer." No kid thinks he or she is ever going to get cancer...not now anyway. But if you say to a kid, "don't smoke, you might get fat" ... would that make a difference?

Hmmm.

No More Soda!

I love Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi. Sometimes when I felt hungry, a glass of diet soda made me feel more full than several glasses of water. I enjoyed the taste of different flavors: cherry, vanilla, and now lime. Earlier, I read a connection between drinking soda and gaining even more weight that alarmed me. Could it be all the sodium in soda? The study seemed to think not -- it seemed to have something to do with triggering a hunger response.

Eh, I thought, that doesn't happen to me. Until we hit a tight financial patch, I continued to drink a lot of diet soda. For the last week or so, though, I've restricted myself to water and gradually seem to be losing the craving for soda.

Today, there was another article about diet soda and gaining weight. This was more ominous to me and I think I will have to give up my beloved Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi. According to this article, researchers are linking a sweetner used in diet drinks to replace sugar with messing with your body's metabolism. The sweetner is fructose and what might be happening is that it causes your body to store more fat. Geez, that's the last thing a person wanting to lose weight needs!

To prove it, scientists conducted a test with mice, all beginning at about the same weight. They were split into groups: some were given all the water they wanted, some were given a diet drink, some all the water they wanted flavored with sucrose (regular sugar) and some all they wanted flavored with fructose.

The mice on the fructose didn't take in as much calories. I guess they felt 'full'. Still, the scientists saw that they gained a lot more body fat over the weeks than the other groups did.

The other new tidbit of information I learned from the article is that in the last 30 years, soda manufacturers have switched over from using sucrose to fructose. Now, I don't know why they did that. The studies show, though, that soda drinking Americans have been gaining more and more weight ever since.

Is there fructose in diet soda? I don't know ... but I think it would be better to stay away from it until I find out!

A Very Useful Tool!

This chart shows that I've been burning more calories over the last three days than I've been taking in. This is good! 

I like using the Fit Day website. It's only been three days, I know, but I'm able to track how much fat I'm taking in compared with how many carbs and how much protein. So far I'm seeing that I'm taking in too much sodium and not enough iron. Interesting...

Well, according to the chart, since I'm burning more than I'm intaking and since I'm exercising I ought to be losing weight...

I think keeping up with this food journal at the website over the next several weeks should be helpful. Maybe I can figure out what's going on.

More Support

I decided to go back to another website I've used in the past to help me track what I eat and how much I exercise: Fit Day.

One thing I especially like right now about the website is that it's "non-judgemental". I mean, I can make a goal of eating up to 1700 calories a day without the website blocking me and telling me in red letters to go talk to my doctor. The USDA website doesn't give you an option of clicking that you've been to the doctor and now want to create a healthy living food plan. On the USDA plan, the site would only let me "maintain" my weight. Waaaaaaaaaay too many calories there, that's the problem!

I filled in my half hour walk at 2 mph and the information was neutrally recorded, a big improvement over being reminded so in-my-face that my activity level is "poor". :) So far, I've had low fat Columbo yogurt with a cup of fresh fruit (melons) and for lunch I had a large tossed salad with low fat raspberry vinegriatte dressing and an egg. I've been drinking water.

My stomach needs to shrink.

I went to see the orthopod about my left ankle. The brace is doing a lot of good and providing support. He was able to manipulate my foot so that it had a better arch than it's had in a year and he was happy about that. He said I need to keep walking. He said I should come back in six months and we could talk about whether I wanted the brace to be a permanent part of my life.

Okay, I should have asked.

I guess it means that if I lose a lot of weight in six months I might not need it? That would be nice!

I told the doctor that I am having a breast reduction in September and that I'm looking into getting a lapband. He was very positive about my plans and just emphasized again that I should keep walking.

My daughter called me from TN to tell me that her neighbor is going in for a laprascopic bypass. I'm not interested in bypass but I was interested in the website the neighbor used to find a doctor and support, Obesity Help. I kind of shudder inwardly everytime I think to myself, you are morbidly obese. But ... it's true. So now I'm off to surf the site and see what I can learn.

Putting It Together

I've been feeling quite cranky about my lack of dramatic weight loss. I think Mama Mouse is right in that my age and metabolism are wreaking some havoc but to be honest, I thought I'd better go back and look at other factors.

As many times as I've read this information, it never falls to shock me:

Portion Sizes

By understanding the average portion size of different foods, you can avoid overeating. The following are general estimates for a variety of foods.


Protein: one serving is no larger than the size of your palm, or 3 oz.
Starchy side dishes: the size of a tennis ball
Medium piece of fruit: tennis-ball size
One ounce of cheese: 4 dice
Cabbage family: 1 cup raw, ½ cup cooked
Dark leafy greens: 1 cup raw
Water: 6 to 8 8-oz. glasses per day
Beans and legumes: one-half cup cooked
Whole grains: 1 slice whole-wheat bread, ½ cup cooked grains, cereal or pasta, 1 oz. ready-to-eat cereal

I've got the water down easy. But the other portion sizes ...?? I don't think so. That's part of the problem, I think ... these portion sizes leave me hungry.

Well...let's see how many of these things I can have a day.

I went to My Pyramid Tracker and plugged in what I ate for breakfast. So far, so good. What I can eat the rest of the day, according to the USDA guidelines:

7 oz. protein
1 more cup of milk
4 cups of vegetables
2.5 cups of fruit
8 more oz of grains

I am going to have to go back and forth between how big a serving size is supposed to be and how much I have left to eat. Maybe all the measuring and figuring will keep me too busy to feel hungry?

These are useful tools for me except for the part where I'm trying to get recommendations for a plan to get to a healthy weight. I just keep getting this message:

The weight and height you entered in your Personal Profile page indicates that you need to consult a healthcare provider about weight loss strategies prior to starting a weight-reduction program. Overweight adults, who need to lose weight, should aim for a slow, steady weight loss by decreasing calorie intake while maintaining an adequate nutrient intake and increasing physical activity, thus improving their Body Mass Index (BMI). The BMI is a measure of body fat using the body weight relative to the height among adults age 19 and older. People at a healthy weight should strive to maintain their weight, and underweight individuals may need to increase their weight. Click here to see your BMI.

Um...thank you, I know, I've seen a doctor and discussed the strategies so let me get my recommendations already! I don't see a place to click...

The result summary of my 30 minute walk on the dreadmill:

Result Summary

Click directly on the numbers or word in the table for more detailed physical activity information.
Credited Minutes 0
Total Calories Expended from Physical Activity 137
Physical Activity Score (Out of 100) 0
Physical Activity Assessment Poor

Oh, thanks. That's a real drag. At this website, you don't get credited minutes for what they consider "light" exercise. Walking 2 mph is considered "light". I haven't gotten up the stamina yet to go faster. I think maybe I won't use this tool so much ... at least not until I can walk faster and be more encouraged with my assessment.

More About Fibromyalgia

Wow, I was surprised to see in my comments that so many others have FMS too and I appreciated everyone's advice and input.

I walked on the treadmill several times since I last posted and I think I feel better. I seem to have more energy than I usually do and although I feel a little sleepy in the afternoon I haven't taken any marathon naps in over a week. My ankle bothers me some when I walk and so I'm hoping to use the leather brace while I'm exercising. I've been hesitant to do that because the last time I walked on the treadmill with it, I got blisters on my foot.

The main problem I'm having now with pain is in my wrists, thumbs and shoulders. I think the surgery will help alleviate the pain in my shoulders but I guess I'm going to have to go and get a shot of cortisone in my thumbs. . I imagine this all ties in with FMS somehow. I wonder if a lot of people who are overweight also have FMS?

I found another article by Dr. Weil:

With fibromyalgia, a syndrome that combines pain, fatigue, anxiety, and depression, you have to separate “cause” from “trigger.” New research suggests that this mysterious syndrome is caused by imbalances of chemicals and hormones in the nervous system that amplify sensation, making even a slight touch feel painful. In a study published last year, Daniel Clauw, MD, a rheumatologist at the University of Michigan, used MRIs to show what happens in the brains of fibromyalgia patients in response to minimal pressure to their left thumbs – blood rushes to areas involved in pain perception. To get the same response from healthy people Clauw had to apply twice the pressure.

The super-sensitivity to pain that characterizes fibromyalgia seems to be genetic. The disorder runs in families, and researchers have identified one gene believed to be involved in the syndrome. Patients also have higher than normal levels of a neuropeptide called substance P that is involved in pain signals and subnormal levels of serotonin and norepinephrine, hormones that modulate pain.

If you are born with a predisposition to fibromyalgia, you still need to experience an event to trigger the disorder – that is, something must happen to set it off. This can be a viral infection, emotional stress, an accident or injury or even exposure to certain drugs or chemicals. My colleague Iris Bell, MD, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Research here at the Program in Integrative Medicine, tells me that multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) and fibromyalgia often overlap. In fact, according to a recent paper in the Annals of Internal Medicine, 33 percent of fibromyalgia patients also suffer from MCS. Dr. Bell adds that 60 percent of all MCS patients are able to identify the specific exposure that set off their initial reaction.

We may soon have new drugs to improve treatment of fibromyalgia by reducing substance P and increasing levels of norepinephrine and serotonin. In the meantime, your best bet for dealing with this condition is 30 minutes of daily aerobic exercise such as swimming, walking or biking. Breath work, meditation and yoga can help you cope with stress, and acupuncture, manipulation, and massage may help relieve symptoms.

I was thinking about what my trigger might have been because I don't seem to remember that I always had this kind of trouble with pain and fatigue. I thought of a couple of things -- my son and I were in an accident that totalled the car in 1995. Neither of us were seriously injured at the time but within the month, my appendix ruptured and I had to have emergency surgery. After that, I had a lot of trouble maintaining my fitness routine (walking and swimming) but I figured it was just because of recovering from surgery.

The other trigger I thought of would be Rich's death. That's when I can clearly remember the beginning of problems with pain and marathon sleeping. I gained more than 50 pounds and was diagnosed with sleep apnea. So grief could be a trigger too because of the deep emotional stress?

There's one big problem I see at the end of that article. It talks about increasing the levels of norepinephrine and serotonin...I'd have to check it out but I do believe my meds inhibit those because of my anxiety and depression. Isn't norepinephrine like adrenaline? And I take an SSRI...which is supposed to inhibit the uptake of serotonin? Back to the online textbooks...

Fibromyalgia & Exercise

Some days, for no particular reason that I'd been able to figure out, my joints, back and shoulders would ache so much I didn't want to move. Some of it is due to arthritis, some to old tendon injuries in my hands and some I just attributed to excessive weight and aging. I finally went to see a rheumatologist and was totally taken aback when he said that I have fibromyalgia.

Since then, I've been reading some material and learned that one thing it seems to do well is enhance pain you already have. I've been trying to get my mind around that one. Does that mean I should "tough it out", "suck it up", "deal with it"? I think in part, yes.

The doctor told me how important it is to exercise. Oh, I know that ... I used to walk everywhere and used to be physically fit even if I was somewhat overweight. Now, though, it hurts. But that's the part I've just got to tough out because exercise would make me a little more flexible and reduce the pain.

Today I got on the treadmill and walked 30 minutes. I walked at a rate of about 2 mph and I don't think that does anything for me cardiovascularly but I figured I could increase the speed as I build up tolerance. I started out walking 15 minutes, then 20 and now am up to 30 and I'd started at 1.5 mph (a real snail's pace!). My left foot throbbed painfully about 15 minutes into it but I figured I would just keep going.

I got another one of those inspirational messages in my email box today saying that every time I try to get out of exercising and everytime I am about to eat something I shouldn't, I should say to myself: Why are you trying to hurt yourself? That's a good idea...and I think if I can't come up with a logical answer then I should get on that dreadmill or put back that extra serving of chili.

I also got this from Dr. Weil's Wellness Bulletin:

Weekly Bulletin

07.21.2005

Featured Article
Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a syndrome that combines pain, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Research suggests it is caused by imbalances of chemicals and hormones in the nervous system that amplify sensation, making even a slight touch feel painful. The super-sensitivity to pain that characterizes fibromyalgia seems to be genetic - the disorder tends to runs in families. However, if you are born with a predisposition to fibromyalgia, you still need to experience an event to trigger the disorder - that is, something must happen to set it off. This can be a viral infection, emotional stress, an accident or injury, or even exposure to certain drugs or chemicals.

If you do have fibromyalgia, your best bet for dealing with it is 30 minutes of daily aerobic exercise such as swimming, walking or biking. Do what you can - it may be painful, but exercise is one of the best ways to lessen the effects of fibromyalgia. Breath work, meditation and yoga can help you cope with stress, and acupuncture, manipulation, and massage may help relieve symptoms. Dietary changes may help too. Try the following:

Eliminate polyunsaturated vegetable oils, margarine, vegetable shortening, all partially hydrogenated oils, and all foods that might contain trans-fatty acids (such as deep-fried foods). Use extra-virgin olive oil as your main fat.
Increase intake of omega-3 fatty acids.

Eat more fruits and vegetables, preferably organic.

Eat ginger and turmeric regularly.

Weight: Wealth

Years ago, I learned about ratio relationships. Some of the relationships had pretty cool sounding names that I can no longer remember. As one number goes up, the other goes down. If that one number goes down, then the other goes up. According to the article I read, weight and wealth seem to have that relationship. The lighter you are, the richer you are. The heavier you are, the poorer you are.

But why? I'll bet it's got to do with discrimination and bias against fat people in the work place. I used to be an interpreter for the deaf for over 20 years. In the mid-1990s, I began to apply for interpreter coordinator positions. I certainly was qualified. I was also almost 50 pounds overweight. Guess what...I didn't get any of the positions. They went to thinner, less qualified folks.

Anyway, here is the full text of the article I read this morning:

From the ArcaMax Publishing, Health & Fitness Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/cgi-bin/news/story/1002/1015/28709/516801

Dieting linked to increased wealth, study finds
Ohio State University
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AScribe Newswire) -- Overweight Americans who lose a lot of weight also tend to build more wealth as they drop the pounds, according to new research.

The study found that the link between weight loss and wealth gains was particularly strong among white women. Black women and white men also gained wealth as they lost weight, but not as much as did white women. The wealth of Black men was basically unaffected by their weight.

There's no way to tell from the data whether losing weight was the reason for the gain in wealth, but the linkage was definitely there, said Jay Zagorsky, author of the study and a research scientist at Ohio State University's Center for Human Resource Research.

"The typical person who loses or gains a few pounds had almost no change in wealth, but those who lost or gained large amounts of weight had a more dramatic change," Zagorsky said.

For example, white women who dropped their body mass index score (BMI) - a standard measure of obesity - by 10 points saw a wealth increase of $11,880. White men saw an increase of $12,720 for a similar drop, while black women increased wealth by $4,480.

The study appears online in the "Articles in Press" section of the journal Economics and Human Biology.

The study used data involving about 7,300 people who participated in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, which is funded primarily by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The NLSY is a nationally representative survey of people nationwide conducted by Ohio State's Center for Human Resource Research.

The same people are interviewed repeatedly, giving Zagorsky the opportunity to see how the obesity levels and wealth of respondents changed over time. Zagorsky used data from 12 NLSY surveys conducted between 1985 and 2000. All the respondents were between 21 and 28 years old in 1985.

Using each respondent's height and weight figures, Zagorsky was able to calculate their BMI scores. Scores under 18.5 are considered underweight, 18.5 to 24.9 are normal, 25 to 29.9 are overweight, and 30 or higher are considered obese.

The respondents also gave information about their net worth, which included home values, cash savings, stocks, bonds, and auto values, among other assets. Outstanding debts were subtracted from that total to arrive at net worth.

Overall, the results showed that a one unit increase in a young person's BMI was associated with a $1,300 or 8 percent reduction in wealth. But the changes varied dramatically by ethnicity and gender.

Increases in BMI had no link with the wealth of Black men, and were associated with small negative changes in the wealth of white men. Increases in BMI were linked to medium negative changes in wealth for Black women and large negative changes for white women.

The results suggest each category of race and gender has a different ideal BMI to maximize wealth, Zagorsky said.

White women had peak net worth at the low end of the normal range (BMI 20), white males and Black women reached peak net worth at the upper end of the normal range (BMI 24) and Black males peaked in the obese range (BMI 32).

Zagorsky emphasized that participants in this study had to lose quite a bit of weight to show strong improvements in wealth.

For example, when a typical young person decreased his or her BMI by one point, wealth increased by only $234. But when a person lost enough weight to go from the middle of the overweight category (BMI 27.5) to the middle of the normal category (BMI 21.7), wealth increased by an average of $4,085.

"If you really want to impact your wealth, you have to move from overweight or obese into the normal range," he said. "You can't just drop 5 or 10 pounds and change your wealth."

The data in this study can't tell us whether a person's wealth affects obesity, or whether obesity affects wealth. However, Zagorsky said it is more likely that weight influences wealth. An analysis of people in the study who received inheritances - suddenly increasing their wealth - showed no dramatic changes in their BMI scores in the following years. This suggests that wealth does not have a strong influence on weight.

However, if weight does affect wealth, there is also the question of how it does so. One possible explanation would be that overweight and obese people are discriminated against in the workforce, and don't earn as much money as normal weight people. Women, particularly white women, may be held to particularly high standards for beauty, which could explain why they gained more wealth compared to men as they lost more weight. But there is no way to tell for sure from this data, Zagorsky said.

----

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Approved!

I am back from a weekend trip to my son's college -- student orientation for the kids and a sort of "how to let go" and "what to expect" conference for the parents. Technically, it should only take us 4-1/2 hours to get there but between changing drivers and the traffic it takes 6. The drive really wipes me out!

I got some good news today: the surgeon's office called and said my insurance company approved my reduction surgery. I'm set for September 2nd!

On the down side, I've not lost a pound.

Maybe my scale is busted? I've been drinking water, walking, and eating smaller portions. Could this all be in my head?

Worry, worry, worry. On the one hand, I want this surgery because I know I will feel and look better. On the other, I'm afraid of it. I have a fear that I am so overweight my heart will just give out on the operating table and that will be the end of me. I think to myself: so, is it better to live longer and suffer? Or ... is it better to take a risk?

I'm taking a risk.

I'm still scared.

So it really helped to find this in my email box:

Worries
by Norris Chumley

Do you have negative thoughts -- of inferiority, fear, dread, worthlessness, or anxiety about something?

They're only thoughts. They're probably not true. Think about that today.

Start by identifying your worries and self-doubts. It helps me to write my problems down on paper. Then, I humbly pray and ask God to help me deal with them, rising above the fear and self-loathing.

It's easy for me to now say, both in the middle of worries myself but also on the other side of most of them, that I know you are going to be OK.

Give all the worries to your Maker, and know that you are going to be all right.

So I will.

"Where Unhealthy Habits Start"

I also get heart health tips in my email box from the National Heart, Lung, & Blood Institute. At this point, I am looking for help and inspiration where ever I can find it.

Where Unhealthy Habits Start

Your weight is the result of many factors working together — height, genes, metabolism (the way your body converts food and oxygen into energy), behavior, and environment. Changes in our environment that make it harder to engage in healthy behaviors have a lot to do with the overall increase in weight over the past few decades:
As a society, we spend a lot of time in the car or sitting behind a desk. For many of us — parents and children alike — daily life doesn't involve a lot of physical activity. If we want to be active, we have to make an effort.
Food is everywhere, along with messages telling us to eat and drink. We can even get something to eat at places where food was never available before — like the gas station. Going out to eat or buying carryout is easy.
Food portions in restaurants and at home are bigger than they used to be.
Becoming overweight doesn't happen overnight. It develops over time when the energy we consume is not in balance with the energy we burn from physical activity.

I know that I can't lose weight without exercising. I thought that by cutting back on my calories -- and I'm not talking about real starvation here -- and exercising and drinking water I would surely lose weight. But I didn't.

So ... it could be that I felt so darn hungry because I'd eliminated almost all sources of fat. It could be my body went into 'starvation' mode and refused to burn up any calories when I exercised. It could be I'm holding 10 lbs of water? I don't know...but I'm not giving up. I did add some fats (like a little olive oil) back into my diet. I'm still walking.

For portion control, I read some good advice:

Order a medium pizza instead of a large. Everyone gets the same number of slices as before; they're just smaller.
Order an appetizer instead of an entrée at a restaurant.
Use tall, narrow glasses instead of short, wide glasses. You will drink less.
Put a smaller portion on a smaller plate; it won't look so skimpy.
Share a portion with a family member or friend.
Instead of giving your child an entire bottle of fruit juice or soda, pour a small amount (1/2 cup) into a cup.

Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.

- Carol Burnett

Where did it start?

I was so aggravated that I didn't lose any weight at all! I felt half starved and exercised and thought well, I've got to lose some weight now and when I didn't...I was just so furious. I got a comment from Mama Mouse that I won't lose weight if I don't take in enough calories because my body will think it's starving. Well, it looks like she was right and so I'm trying to eat more protein.

I'm not 25 anymore. I have to keep reminding myself that. I can't expect my body to spring back and react like it did then...much to my sorrow. :(

I get different inspirational messages and weight loss tips in my email. I got one from Beliefnet Spirituality that asked me to go back to the beginning of my problem.

Was there an event -- an accident or traumatic experience, a change in environment, job or school situation, or a relationship issue?

Think back. See if there is any connection to be tapped between your weight problem and a life experience.

I closed my eyes and went back in time. When I was a little girl, I was actually very skinny. My grandma used to comment that I was too thin and that my mother should have me eat more.

When did that change? We moved from NY and away from my grandparents, the cousins and friends I'd grown up and played with and almost all my other relatives when I was about 10. We moved to Baltimore and it might as well have been to the moon. I couldn't understand my new teacher and classmates and they couldn't understand me. The kids made fun of my parents and tried to bully my brother and me.

At first I fought back but I totally felt overwhelmed. I started to get chunky but I was still active, a tomboy. I fought with the other kids so they'd leave us alone. The other kids liked and respected me because I was a good punchball and kickball player.

Then I started junior high school and was crushed. When you are 12 and 13 you have these surges of hormones that make you very emotional. It's important to be accepted. I wasn't...I was ostracized. I remember spending my days feeling lonely and scared. I didn't want to go out anymore. I stopped playing sports all together.

I got fat. I self medicated on food and television.

For a period of time, though, I lost a lot of weight through Weight Watchers and kept it off for 12 years.

I need to get back in touch with what I felt then, what made it work. I need to do some more exploring...

My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Great Britain. I will never forget the shock and horror of 9/11 and never wanted to see this happen to anyone else, anywhere :( 

Hungry

I am so hungry!

I walked for a half hour on the dreadmill.

I didn't have breakfast (a mistake, I'm sure) but for lunch I had left over shrimp and vegetables and a banana ... no rice, just lots of nice green veggies.

Fooooooooood my mind is crooning. Go get fooooooood!

I'm not going to, I'm still holding out. I'll probably have a snack before dinner, some no-fat yogurt I think.

I took the dog outside and played with him a little bit to distract myself. I might take a nap too to get away from the pangs.

I know this is why healthy eating plans (AKA diets) fail. What I need to do is find a way to make this work ... maybe it's a matter of just telling myself just deal with it! Easier said than done...

My prayers are with the people in Great Britain, especially those victims & their families killed or injured in all the explosions.

The Weekend

I was hoping to post yesterday but just didn't get a chance! I watched Elton John's performance in Philadelphia. He's gotten older, like me, and he has wrinkles and has gotten "fluffy" like me. Still, he smiled and was very engaged with the audience and looked very happy. He sounded terrific! He's been one of my favorites since the 1970s and based on his music and all the good work he's doing, he really is entitled to his knighthood. Sir Elton, with more than a touch of class.

There is something I'm not taking in anymore that is causing me to feel very very hungry. I'm thinking it's fat -- like that 2% milk and real butter. I've been eating lots of fresh fruit and veggies as usual. The difference is that this time I've eliminated the little extras I used to indulge in ... like that 2% milk.

When I used to go to Weight Watchers in NY, we had this really great leader who would tell it like it is. "You're going to be hungry." But why? I'm eating the portion sizes I'm supposed to be eating. I'm filling up on good, healthy food ... It's because that good healthy food doesn't settle to the bottom of my stomach and keep me full. Everything moves along ... and then I start to get hungry.

I know I'm going to get hungry. The idea is to plan how to deal with it. Drink extra water? Write some more? Read a book? Whatever it is ... I have to deal with it because I am determined to lose the weight I want to lose by September!

The weekend had its ups and downs but for the most part I am happy with the foods I ate. I've been buying lots of fresh fruit and vegetables for the family. On the down side, it's expensive! It just isn't fair that the good stuff has to be so darn costly.

I took my daughter to the doctor today and we were there for awhile. We were hungry when we left and so I went over to Subway -- no McDonald's, thank you! Right next door was a Salad Works. We'd never been there before and so we went to check it out ... and it's good but very pricey!

I guess I'll go so broke eating healthy stuff I won't have anything left for junk. :P

On Saturday, we went to see War of the Worlds, which is an excellent movie! Since I was a kid, popcorn has always been a part of the go-to-the-movies experience. The last few times I've gone, (the time before was seeing Madagascar with my granddaughter) I haven't gotten any popcorn and I have to say ... it's been very weird. Not only have I not gotten popcorn, I haven't gotten anything, not even soda or water. Once the movie starts I'm okay with it but it's been really tough during the time you wait for it to start. All around me was the smell of popcorn and I could hear people crunching and smacking. I wonder if I'll ever get used to it? It's kind of a drag to have to struggle with the buy-it-don't-buy-it issue for 30 minutes every time I go...maybe I'll just rent the movies from now on. :P

On My Way

Today is Day One of my renewed resolve to get the pounds off. I set a goal of losing 18-20 lbs in the next 9 weeks, before my surgery.





For the last couple of years, I've been having 2% milk in my coffee. It was my "treat" because I don't like the taste of skim or 1% in coffee. I might as well drink it black and I really hate coffee like that. I've always been of the "a little coffee with my milk" school. Today, though, I put 1% in the coffee and will not buy 2% anymore...at least not for the next 9 weeks. It's a small thing but weight loss is made up of small changes.

I realize the most important thing I need to do is exercise and I'm getting my brace adjusted this afternoon. Meantime, my blister's not so swollen anymore so I think I could walk 10 minutes or so without a brace on my foot. I can get around the mall, I can manage 10 minutes today. I will feel so much better about myself. When I get the brace back I'll be back to walking 30 mins at a time again.

I found this article in my inbox. It sure is the truth! Insurance companies have got their priorities totally screwed up. For example, I wanted to see a nutritionist but I have to have diabetes or heart disease or the insurance company won't cover it. Meanwhile, my condition will likely lead to one of these conditions. Wouldn't it save money to try and prevent that from happening? Stupid third party carriers! :P

Here is the article:

Obesity brings up health care costs
By Amanda Gardner, HealthDay Reporter
Source: HealthDay

(HealthDay News) -- Americans' widening waistlines are the main force behind rising U.S. health care costs, a new study shows.

Between 1987 and 2002, the proportion of private health spending attributable to obesity increased more than tenfold, researchers report, from $3.6 billion to $36.5 billion.

In the year 2002, obesity-related medical care spending accounted for 11.6 percent of all private health care spending compared to just 2 percent in 1987, concludes an article published today in Health Affairs.

"We can focus on obesity and we should be," said study lead author, Kenneth Thorpe, the Robert W. Woodruff professor and chair of the department of health policy and management at Emory University in Atlanta. "We need to have the same type of societal attention on this issue that we gave to smoking 20 years ago," Thorpe added.

There's been no question that health care costs in this country are soaring. The question has been, "Why?"

"You can break health care spending into two things," Thorpe explained. "One is that we're treating more people who are sick, and second is that it costs more to treat those patients."

To find out which factor was predominant, Thorpe and his colleagues looked at data from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey and the 2002 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, both nationally representative samples. Specifically, they were concerned with spending among privately insured adults aged 18 to 64 for the top 20 medical conditions.

As it turned out, more than half of the growth in health care spending was attributable to increased prevalence of disease rather than an increase in how much it cost to treat each person.

"We found overwhelmingly that the rise in private insurance spending was traced to the fact that we were treating more and more people with a variety of chronic health conditions," Thorpe said.

In other words, more people are sick now than before; predominantly with conditions linked to obesity such as diabetes and high blood pressure. This means that in 2001, obese adults with private health insurance spent $1,244 more per person per year on health care than normal-weight adults. Back in 1987, that number was just $272.

Obese individuals are being treated for more conditions, too, the study found. In 2001, for example, 15.5 percent of obese adults were treated for six or more medical conditions, nearly double the 1987 percentage.

There have also been changes in the way clinicians treat patients. "They're more likely to give you a blood pressure pill today at a lower threshold than 15 years ago," Thorpe said.

Finally, new, expensive technology is also driving costs upwards, the study found.

"Obesity is a very expensive health problem and, unlike some other health problems, doesn't appear to be topping out. It appears to be accelerating," said Dr. Tom Farley, co-author of Prescription for a Healthy Nation and professor of community health sciences at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans.

"We all pay for these costs," Farley pointed out. "It's not just people who are obese. All of us have higher premiums, higher taxes. This is a society-wide problem and we need society-wide solutions."

Unfortunately, the debate on how to curb this growth in obesity and its related expense is focusing on the wrong issues, Thorpe said.

"The private insurers are doing nothing to deal with this issue," he said. "They're looking at consumer-driven plans, increasing co-pays. If you think about it, those are going to do nothing to affect the 60 percent increase in diabetes."

Rather than trying to decrease the cost per case, we need to look at the bigger picture, he said.

"We're looking under the wrong light here," Thorpe said. "We need to fundamentally focus our attention on how to control costs."

----

More information: For more on overweight and obesity, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

----

For the latest health news & Health-Life Services like tools, calculators, & a physician locator, go to www.healthday.com.

Reduction Surgery

I finally worked up the courage to show up for an appointment with a plastic surgeon to discuss breast reduction.

Along with the rest of my body, my breasts have been extremely heavy. Actually, even when I lost 75 lbs with Weight Watchers the only part of me that didn't shrink was those boobs. I often feel like I need a wheelbarrow to move them around and sometimes the pain in my neck, back and shoulders is excrutiating.

I first asked about surgery not long after my youngest was born -- this is going back to 1992. At the time, I was 50 lbs overweight and my doctor said, "lose the weight and if it's still a problem, I'll give you a referral." Well, I lost the weight but chickened out. Besides, my first husband said, "I love you just the way you are" and I thought, eh, why change?

Now I've gained all the weight back and even though my first husband passed away my hubby now says the same thing: I love you just the way you are. But, he adds, you need to do this. I have indentations in my arms from the bra straps. I can't stand looking at myself in the mirror or in pictures. Yup, I need to do this.

So I went to the doctor yesterday and he was great, really put me at ease. He didn't scold me about my weight or tell me that I might die on the table cuz I'm so fat. He matter-of-factly explained how he would do the surgery (ew, sounds gross!) and that his main concern was that I might lose sensation in my nipples and scar. You know what? I don't care about that ... if I could just look normal again!

I decided to double-up my effort to lose weight faster in the next 8 weeks. My surgery is tentatively scheduled for September 2. My goal is to lose 18-20 pounds by then...that's around 2 lbs a week. That's not unreasonable is it?

To help me do that, I'm digging up all my WW resources. The last time I was with WW, everything was on a point system. I know that things have changed since then but I can't afford the new program. I think if I weigh what I eat and keep track of everything that will make a big difference. I need support but I think I can find that online! :D

The Purpose Driven Life and Taking Herbal Supplements

Strange title for a post, isn't it? My mind is going in all directions!

I got my leather brace yesterday and it felt good on my ankle. Goody, thought I, I will be on the dreadmill and exercising in no time. I wore it for an hour like the doctor said and then took it off. I got on the dreadmill and walked sans brace. I even convinced my daughter to get on and walk too. I felt good.

Today I wore the thing for almost 2 hours, walking around and grocery shopping. Hmm, I thought, I still have a half hour to wear it so why don't I walk on the treadmill again? Bad idea, I guess, because now I have a huge blister on my foot. I have to go back to the prosthetic place and have the brace "adjusted". I feel frustrated on one hand but on the other it's okay ... if the thing needs to be fixed better it should happen now, right?

I just can't wear it again until it's adjusted.

So my brother and I had a good long talk about The Purpose Driven Life. He thought I should read it in small increments so that it's easier to digest. I figured I would give it a try. I read Why Bad Things Happen To Good People and it didn't help me much to understand why I got so fat or why Rich died or just about anything else. I don't imagine this book will hold the answers either, but it would be nice if I felt some motivation and purpose after reading it.

Lots of people take herbal supplements for various reasons, right? There is this new herbal patch that is supposed to curb your appetite. During my investigations of and clickings on various home based business ventures, I responded to an offer for a free week's supply of herbal patches. Herbs--they're natural so they have to be good, right?

As it is, I already take various things with my prescriptions: calcium supplements, vitamin supplements, glucosamine & MSM (for my joints), CoQ10 (for my heart), flax seed oil (hoping that it will be as effective as fish oil...barf), Vitamin C and echinacea. So what's the harm in more herbs?

Then I read this and thought, oh-oh, I better make a list of all the stuff I take and bring it to the pharmacist! God forbid some of this stuff should interfere with my blood pressure meds or my antidepressants. As for the patch -- I haven't used it yet. I'm going to ask first!

my brother, niece, daughters, parents, me & The Graduate, my son! 

My son graduated from high school yesterday 

"How Far Does An M&M Go?"

I got this from Mountain Wings this morning:

How Far Does A M&M Go?
=======================

How far do you need to walk to burn off the calories in one M&M candy? That’s the little marble sized M&M’s, not a candy bar?

The question was on a health program and I didn’t know the answer.

So how far?

A. 50 feet
B. The length of a football field
C. One-half mile
D. One mile

Scroll down for the answer

























The answer:
B. 100 yards, the length of a football field.

That was the answer on the health show.

Then my question was, "Exactly how many M&M's are in a bag?"
I didn't know that either so I got up and went to the store.

I bought a regular and a king size pack of M&M's with peanuts. I like peanuts.

The regular 1.74 ounce bag had 21 M&M's.
The King Size 3.27 ounce bag had 42 M&M's.

You need to walk about one and a quarter miles to burn off the calories in a regular sized pack and about 2.5 miles for a King Sized pack.

The next time you reach for candy, reach for your walking shoes.

~A MountainWings Original~

Boy, that'll scare me off M&Ms for sure!

Teaching Kids To Eat Well

Here is an issue I'm in a quandry about:

I want my kids to make healthy choices when they eat. Example: at that buffet yesterday, one of my daughters loaded up her plate with carbs and macaroon cookies. I looked at it and was all set to open my mouth to say: Hey, I thought you wanted to be able to go to the senior prom and weren't you just complaining about how you'll never be thin? You won't get thin eating that stuff but I didn't. It was too critical and too negative for being out in public.

Okay, so what about: It would be better if you had more vegetables and fruits which is what I usually say. Then I get the eyes rolling and the exasperated, "I know, Mom, I'm not stupid!"

Does there come a point where parents can no longer influence what their kids eat? I should have taught my kids good eating habits when they were little. I thought I did but obviously I failed there.

Sometimes I've just flat out said: "You've gotten too much to eat. Stop."

I don't allow junk food in the house. I talk to them about portion sizes and portion control and how hard it is to lose weight, especially when they get to be my age. Already my daughter sees it but still wants the wrong foods. She's 16. I can say no and no and no but eventually she'll move out on her own.

I was talking about eating issues with my stepdaughter who is almost as heavy as me. I am concerned for our grandson because she was giving the baby soda and other treats that will probably led to obesity. She said well, it's genetics in a tone that said, we're doomed, nothing we can do about it.

I mentioned my frustration to someone who said, well, look at you. How do you expect to set a good example? It's like do what I say, not what I do.

Boy that crushed me. It sounds cruel but it's right, isn't it? How can I advise my kids to eat healthy and follow my example when I'm so big?

An after thought: My other idea was lead by example...is that possible? At the buffet, loaded up on vegetables and fruits but how do I know anyone noticed? I don't want to be like a primer:

See what Mommy chose to eat.
Veggies. Veggies. Veggies.
Veggies are good for you.
See Mommy eat veggies.

See Mommy eat fruit.
Fruit. Fruit. Fruit.
Fruits are good for you.

See Mommy eat small portions of scallops.
Small. Small. Small.
Small portions are better for you.

?????

Good Eats on Father's Day

I was happy with the food I ate today, actually felt like I made some healthier choices even on Father's Day! We went to a Chinese buffet, one of those all you can eat places, and I loaded up on sauteed green beans with garlic and steamed broccoli, cauliflower & carrots. I tried the cocount scallops and I'm sure there was a lot of calories in that but I limited myself to about 1/2 cup. For dessert I went past the always tempting sugar peanuts, ice cream, and pastries and just got fresh fruit. I haven't done so great in the weight loss department over this last week but I think that's because of lack of exercise.

It was a wonderful day! :)

What! Diet Soda Can Make You Fat!

As if it's not hard enough to lose weight and not become bored with limited choices, diet soda's now a culprit in packing on the pounds. I wasn't too surprised but I thought it was because of the sodium in it. I was pretty surprised by the statistics though!

If you drink a can of regular soda a day, you have a 26% chance of becoming overweight. If you drink just two cans of regular soda a day, that chance goes up to almost 50%!

Now wait...if you drink a can of diet soda -- which supposedly has no sugar or calories -- your chance of becoming overweight goes up by 36.5%. And if you drink two cans of diet soda a day, you have a 57% chance of getting fat!

How can that be? I would have assumed there was the same amount of sodium in both but ... there is a theory that the reason you gain more weight with diet soda is because your body thinks you're giving it lots of calories, finds out its been had and then retaliates by craving more food and more sweets.

Do what?

The example used comes from Alice in Wonderland. Remember the scene where Alice goes to the tea party with the Mad Hatter and the Dormouse? The Mad Hatter offers her tea but then never gives her any. Then he offers her more and Alice gets annoyed. She gets so annoyed she not only helps herself to the tea but also to the bread and butter.

I'm not sure I buy it.

I think it's got more to do with the old "I have a diet soda so the calories in this McDonald's hamburger doesn't count" school of thought. I think a lot of us drink diet soda but don't carefully watch our portion sizes or the types of food we eat. But ... what do I know? I struggle with this issue so it's not like I have the answers.

Maybe I should just drink ice water.

The whole article about diet soda is here.

What Will They Think?

I got a letter from my mom today. She and my dad are coming up from Maryland for my son's high school graduation party. She wanted to let me know that my brother got the day off from work and he and my niece will be coming too.

I'm starting to sweat now. I haven't seen some of my relatives in years, back before I gained so much weight. What will they think when they see me?

I know, I know, it shouldn't matter but it does! I will hold my head up high though.

Instant Family Fitness

I took a chance last Christmas and slipped a book called Instant Family Fitness into my younger stepdaughter's stocking. Like TB and me, she is obese and I'm sure it's not just coincidence. Yes, there may be a genetic connection but I also think it's got to do with the way we eat and the lack of exercise. My stepdaughter would like to think it's all genetics and there's nothing else we can do except eat, drink, be merry and die.

"Are you saying I'm fat?" she asked me that morning.

Why state the obvious? "If you look at the book, you'll see it's about keeping the family 'healthy and happy'," I told her. No where on there does it say "fat" or "diet".

The back of the book says: "Getting and staying in shape is not just for individuals anymore -- it's a family affair. Childhood obesity has been identified as a major problem by the U.S. Surgeon General and parents need a solution quickly. Instant Family Fitness is the easy-to-follow road map to getting your entire family in shape. Detailed meal plans, easy recipes, exercises for all ages and motivational tools willl help you improve your loved ones' health and habits. This is the only book you need to shape up your entire family. Based on the latest research, studies and drawing from the experience of leading experts from the field of weight loss, Instant Family Fitness is the one book that will help you get results instantly."

When said SD moved out, she left the book behind. I'm not surprised and am actually glad to have it. I am sure I could benefit from it, especially since it focuses on families of all ages. With the eating dysfunctions I've got, I'm sure I could learn a lot from the book and hopefully can pass some of that information on to my kids and to my older stepdaughter.

There was a news clip on TV about childhood obesity and how lack of exercise really has a big impact on kids. Kids need to exercise an hour a day, including recess and playing outdoors. Now that schools are virtually eliminating lunch periods, parents really need to be aware of the fact that they've got to blast the kids out from in front of the TV and get them outdoors. I didn't put on my weight until I stopped playing outdoors. It really does make a difference. I could go into a whole other rant about how schools are doing away with recess...and I probably will!

Getting back to the book, though, I think what I'll do is make a note of the things I learn and write them down here.

Wonderful Family Visit

I took my little grandson to Chuck E. Cheese. What a great time we had! 

I'm going to update again when I catch my breath. In addition to being thrilled to have family with us, I was also very happy with some menu choices.

One day my mother-in-law had us stop at Friendly's for ice cream ... but I didn't order any of the usual stuff I crave. I saw that there was raspberry swirl yogurt and ordered that. It was so refreshing! No, it wasn't chocolate but it is very obvious to me now that chocolate is like alcohol for me.

I am also pleased with myself because I didn't fall into the snack trap all week. I didn't even eat anything past 7. Now I need to keep the momentum going!!!!

Shocking the Pounds Off

In my on going battle of my bulge, I always look for that magical pill or cure. It's my fantasy: something will just magically melt the extra tonnage off me. This morning, I read this article about a new procedure being tested: a pacemaker for the tummy. It's supposed to send an electrical impulse that makes the brain believe that we're full and curbs our appetites. One of the patients interviewed has already lost 25 pounds.

There is always a down side, though, and there is no magical cure. Even with the pacemaker, you have to eat healthy, exercise and learn how to curb the cravings.

Rats.

Well, the good news for me so far (and here I knock on wood like crazy) is that I haven't been suffering any cravings lately. Thank you God for small blessings!

So Far So Good

Today my stepdaughter and her family went to an in-law's house for a birthday party and so I have a little breather. So far things have been okay food wise. My stepdaughter understands the difficult issues we have with junk food and so her sugary snacks for her kids remain in their van. I'm grateful for that, especially that she respects our feelings enough to be considerate. I mean, yes, that's good manners but not everyone displays them right? And who needs conflict?

I thought I might be tempted at the movie theater to eat popcorn or something sweet but I managed to get by with just a medium diet soda. My 4 year old granddaughter sat next to me daintily munching on her popcorn and I was so relieved not to have any cravings! The movie wasn't all that great but she really wanted to see it and so that was the part that was fun...that she enjoyed it. My dh took the boys to see Star Wars and ... folks, believe the warnings! This movie is not for young kids!

I don't think I lost weight this week but that is okay. I didn't gain either.

This Week

My stepdaughter, her husband and four kids are arriving today from Tennessee to stay a week. I'm excited to see them but I'm also apprehensive because I know that company turns schedules totally upside down. I wasn't planning on buying traditional salty or sweet snacks and soda and I wonder how that will go over. I keep telling myself that we are the hosts and that we don't have to provide soda, candy and chips. So why do I feel guilty about it?

Small Positives

Yesterday was my wedding anniversary; TB and I have been married 3 years already! We decided to go out for dinner and went to TGIFriday's. It was a mixed experience in terms of my self esteem and success in choosing healthier foods.

The waiter took us to a booth. TB and I usually eat at tables because we just don't fit well in the booths anymore. I thought I would try and with seconds realized my big chest and tummy would not squeeze comfortably into the booth. "Can we have a table?" I asked, feeling my face burn hotly.

I looked at the stuff on the menu and knew what I wanted to eat. My favorite is the pecan crusted chicken but I suspect it's got a lot of calories because it's full of nuts, raisins, and bleu cheese chunks. I thought I might like a steak and picked the smallest one -- an 8 oz. skillet steak. I also got brocooli without butter and a salad. Next time, I'd get the dressing on the side. The salad was good but drowned in dressing. The steak was grilled perfectly and the broccoli was crisp but not chewy. It was a great meal.

Dessert? I thought it would be better to pass but I couldn't do it. So I looked at my choices and decided picking something with chocolate in it would be a terrible mistake. I decided on the vanilla cheesecake. It was good but not worth the calories. Next time, I'll talk myself into skipping the sweet stuff.

I know I must stay away from chocolate to avoid the worst cravings and that I succeeded yesterday made me feel good. It's hard for me not to order chocolate on the very rare occasions we go out because I get this "it's been so long, I deserve a treat" type feeling. Last night, at least, I was able to tell myself: yes, you deserve a treat but having something chocolate is like having a drink or a cigarette ... you just can't. So I didn't. And that makes me feel good. :)

But I need to get down to the point where I can sit in a booth again!

Struggling

I've had a rough holiday weekend so far but am feeling a little better today. I have been very sad, depressed, angry and have had insomnia. It all has to do with a family situation with my stepdaughter and grandson. I worry about him and I miss him. Anyway, I haven't been making great food choices -- been eating too much corn on the cob, ribs & sausage and have been using real butter instead of spray margarine. I've been making runs to WaWa for bags of Cheetos. On the up side, they've been the smaller sized bags and I haven't gone for the chocolate. I think I'd be unable to get back up on the wagon if I ate any chocolate! Still...this has to stop...NOW.

Positive & Negative Energy

I've had a lot of both flowing today. On the up side, I lost 1 more pound. I realized that I might have been feeling very blue lately because I haven't been getting any sunny Vitamin D. I went outside while DH was cleaning the grill. It was so lovely out I decided to pick up a broom and sweep the dirt and helicopters off our patio. It felt good to be moving around in the sunshine.

After about 20 minutes, I took a break and went indoors and that's where I was when my older stepdaughter called with some news that upset and depressed me very much. I cried and/or napped just about all afternoon. This kind of upset is bad for me because I can feel how it impacts my body. My head is aching and my stomach is tied up in knots.

But I'm not eating at least. :P

Cat Friday: Ain't She Sweet?

oh, the shame! 

Amber may not look very pleased in the picture but she sure is cute! I had another reason to share that photo--I'm in it. It reminds me to stay on track! I have a long way to go!

Where's the stop button?

We're all supposed to have them, right? Yet study after study seems to show that if we're offered big portions, we eat everything on the plate. At the buffet table, if there's a lot of food available we can really load up our plates. Hunger doesn't seem to have much to do with it either. People don't seem to realize that they're offered more food when it happens -- they think they're eating about the same as usual. It's not just us big people who have this problem. People who don't have a weight problem and aren't dieting also eat much more.

Again, the answer seems to be awareness. Know that this is going to happen to you in a restaurant or at a buffet table. When your meal is served, ask for a doggie bag right away and put away part of the meal. This way when you clean the plate, you aren't eating everything although you might feel like you are. You can always eat later from the doggie bag if you are still hungry.

Serve lots and lots of vegetables and serve meals on smaller plates to give people the illusion that they're eating plenty of food. Set out huge bowls of fruit for dessert. Sounds doable? Read this article for more suggestions.

One more thing: being broke cuts down on cravings! Why? Because I know I can't go buy anything anyway. Hmmm...is this a good thing?

Obese Moms Overfeed Their Kids?

Before I get to the article I read, I just wanted to say that I am feeling pretty pleased with myself. I was at the grocery store with my two daughters and waiting on the check out line. I was treating them both to a soda and the younger one said to me, "Mom do you want a cookie?" She pointed to a sign that said something like Oreo cookies 3/$1 and said that she had some money. Boy, it was tempting! But I said to her, "No, I don't think that's a good idea."

I think I have to treat chocolate the same way I treat cigarettes and alcohol -- I have to NOT eat it. Period. I gave up drinking and smoking knowing that I had a problem with alcohol and was addicted to nicotine. That means NO MORE. Well, it's the same thing with chocolate. I notice if I eat a little bit, I crave it. Once the cravings start they are hard to fight. I look at it like this: right now I am not craving chocolate. Why cause trouble for myself?

I read this article and found myself feeling very annoyed. I realize it's because I was taking it very personally. Basically, there was a small study involving 7 mothers. They were followed over a period of months. The study indicated that obese mothers may overfeed their normal weight babies and, not only that, interact with them less. That would seem to lead to childhood obesity.

I felt myself becoming annoyed because I was an obese mother. When my kids were babies, I wasn't as heavy as I am now but I was at least 50 lbs overweight. I thought to myself, I did *not* do that. I was active with my kids! I played with them! But ... I had to shake myself a little and reflect that I shouldn't be so defensive and try to look at it objectively.

Did I overfeed my kids? Well, two of them always fell into the 50th percentile or less for weight. One, however, was consistently up there in the 75-90th percentile range. Genetics? Or carelessness on my part?

I took the kids swimming and to the parks to play every day for at least an hour. Two of my kids were very active -- the same two with the lower weight. My other child always complained of being "tired" rather quickly and would sit down. Again -- genetics? Or something else?

I read to my kids. We played board games.

Boy, I am defensive, aren't I? :P

On the other hand, there is my stepdaughter. She weighs almost as much as I do and that is very bad because she is only 24. She doesn't interact with her baby much and she sleeps away much of her free time. If she's taking care of the baby, so does he -- sleep excessively, I mean. I don't know that she overfeeds him. She does give him a lot of junk. I worry about the situation but ... what can I do? I try to give advice but why would she listen to me? She doesn't live here with us anymore either.

Where is that good feeling I had earlier? I need to get it back...

My cousin and me

I was emailing with my cousin yesterday about and one of the topics we discussed was our frustration with losing weight. I realize that both of us have battled weight all our lives. My younger cousin is also very heavy. My aunt is heavy. My grandmother was heavy.

Are we doomed here?

Sadly, my cousins and I seem to be even heavier than the older women were. Activity has everything to do with that, doesn't it? We have so many more conveniences now than the previous generations did. My grandmother loved to garden. She walked a lot. She was heavy, yes, but I bet she was healthy-heavy.

My cousin has always been heavier than me and -- this is mean to say -- I took some comfort in that. Well, at least I'm not as fat as she is, I'd think when people teased me or nagged me about my weight. When I was 17, I joined Weight Watchers and lost 50 pounds. I felt so much better and looked better and ...I felt smug. See, I'm not fat anymore.

My cousin has tried all the programs too with no measure of success. When our grandmother died, we moved into her house and shared it until it was sold. My cousin made several attempts to diet but would always fall back. We'd go shopping and she'd pick up something she shouldn't have. I'd say, "I thought you were trying to lose weight?" and she'd get so angry with me. Fine, I'd say, do what you want. See...I'm not fat anymore.

But now I am fat again, heavier than I have ever been in my life. I could kick myself for being smug and complacent and taking my health for granted so many years.

My cousin had a heart attack a few years ago. Then she started having trouble with her knee. She can no longer walk without a cane. She needs surgery but the doctor refuses until she loses all her weight. Well...but in the meantime she is in a great deal of pain. The doctor suggested a bypass which scared her. She went on the Atkins program and lost 85 pounds. It wasn't enough to satisfy the surgeon.

My cousin has hit a plateau and has become severely discouraged. She's seeing a nutritionist and exercising in the water but the weight is no longer coming off. She wrote me that she probably has to see an endocrinologist to find out why she's not losing weight.

Boy, do I hear her. I understand about being in so much pain exercise is next to impossible. I understand how much being overweight affects your health. I understand how frustrating and discouraging it is to lose -- especially after having been so successful before. Like I said, I could kick myself. I have nothing to feel smug about now.

Do I want to just say, oh, well, this is just genetics and we're screwed? NO. Even if genetics has everything to do with it, I can still fight back. I'm losing weight ... too slowly for what I want but I'm going in the right direction. The point is not to gain anymore.

And keep trying to exercise.

I found this joke in my email and it's about exercise:

HOW TO GET IN SHAPE

Just came across this exercise suggested for building muscle strength in the
arms and shoulders. It seems so easy, I thought I'd pass it on to some of my
friends. The article suggested doing it three days a week.

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at
each side. With a 5-lb. potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight
out from your sides, and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a
full minute, then relax.

Each day, you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer.
After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb. potato sacks, then 50-lb. potato
sacks, and eventually try to lift a 100-lb. potato sack in each hand and
hold your arms out straight for more than a full minute.

After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the sacks.

Should the doctor say anything?

There were a couple of interesting questions posed on a weight loss support email list I belong to, 3 Fat Chicks. The first question: should the doctor say something about the effect of excess weight on your health? I'm assuming the question to mean after that first time it's brought up. I didn't say on the list how I felt about it because I wasn't sure.

On the one hand, a doctor is supposed to be concerned about your health. If there's something that's affecting it doesn't he or she have the responsibility to speak up about it? On the other hand ... how helpful is it? Does it make the patient feel nagged, shamed, pressured and maybe unwilling to return?

This has been my experience: I go into the doctor's office half dreading what I'm going to hear. I know what my weight is doing to me without the doctor even saying so. But having my face pushed into it will make me have to look at the issues ... at least for a few minutes.

Has it helped? Not really. I feel motivated to lose the weight and I try but it's not easy to stay true to a diet over a period of time.

I remember I lost about 30 lbs in 2002 and happily shared that with my doctor. She was so pleased and said she was proud of me. And then ... I gained it all back plus another 20 lbs. I felt so ashamed. The doctor hasn't addressed that issue and I thought, hm, is it because she's disgusted with me now and figures I'm just going to stay a fat person with deteriorating health now?

The subject came up when my daughter and I were at the doctor's office to have working papers signed. My daughter's been losing weight too and the doctor once again said that she was happy and proud.

I asked her about the question that came up on the list and her answer was that she didn't want to create a situation where overweight patients would be reluctant to come and see her because they were nervous about being lectured. Her view was that she would discuss the weight issues with a patient and then not bring it up again unless asked.

I didn't quite get the courage to ask my next question, which is: when we lose weight and then gain it back, does the doctor figure we're sort of a lost cause?

45 Weight Loss Tips

I belong to a mailing list called 3 Fat Chicks and they also have a wonderful website of support. In March, one of the members passed along this email and I'm finally getting around to reading it! :P

My only issue with this article is the use of the word "diet". I think we have to look at these as tips for a new healthy lifestyle in eating.

Weight loss advice that really works--from top
nutrition pros.
by Top Dietitians of the American Dietetic Association

Courtesy of the American Dietetic Association (ADA),
we took our readers' toughest diet problems and ran
them by some of the top dietitians in the US: RDs who,
in addition to their private careers, serve as media
spokespersons or heads of specialty practice groups
for the ADA.

Here's what they told us, in their own words. These
tips are solid gold, learned from successful
experience with thousands of clients. Some tips are
new. Some you've heard before, but they're repeated
because they work. This treasure trove of RD wisdom
could change your life-starting today.

I Can Only Handle One Diet Change Right Now. What
Should I Do?

1. Add just one fruit or veggie serving daily. Get
comfortable with that, then add an extra serving until
you reach 8 to 10 a day.

2. Eat at least two servings of a fruit or veggie at
every meal.

3. Resolve never to supersize your food
portions--unless you want to supersize your clothes.

4. Make eating purposeful, not mindless. Whenever you
put food in your mouth, peel it, unwrap it, plate it,
and sit. Engage all of the senses in the pleasure of
nourishing your body.

5. Start eating a big breakfast. It helps you eat
fewer total calories throughout the day.advertisement
Which plan is right for you? Find out.
· Atkins®
· eDiets Weight Loss Plan
· Total Body Makeover
· Eating for Life Plan
· Slim-Fast® Optima™ Diet
· Blood Type Diet®
· Living with Diabetes
· Heart Smart Plan

6. Make sure your plate is half veggies and/or fruit
at both lunch and dinner.

Are there Any Easy Tricks to Help Me Cut Calories?

7. Eating out? Halve it, and bag the rest. A typical
restaurant entree has 1,000 to 2,000 calories, not
even counting the bread, appetizer, beverage, and
dessert.

8. When dining out, make it automatic: Order one
dessert to share.

9. Use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate.

10. See what you eat. Plate your food instead of
eating out of the jar or bag.

11. Eat the low-cal items on your plate first, then
graduate. Start with salads, veggies, and broth soups,
and eat meats and starches last. By the time you get
to them, you'll be full enough to be content with
smaller portions of the high-calorie choices.

12. Instead of whole milk, switch to 1 percent. If you
drink one 8-oz glass a day, you'll lose 5 lb in a
year.

13. Juice has as many calories, ounce for ounce, as
soda. Set a limit of one 8-oz glass of fruit juice a
day.

14. Get calories from foods you chew, not beverages.
Have fresh fruit instead of fruit juice.

15. Keep a food journal. It really works wonders.

16. Follow the Chinese saying: "Eat until you are
eight-tenths full."

17. Use mustard instead of mayo.

18. Eat more soup. The noncreamy ones are filling but
low-cal.

19. Cut back on or cut out caloric drinks such as
soda, sweet tea, lemonade, etc. People have lost
weight by making just this one change. If you have a
20-oz bottle of Coca-Cola every day, switch to Diet
Coke. You should lose 25 lb in a year.

20. Take your lunch to work.

21. Sit when you eat.

22. Dilute juice with water.

23. Have mostly veggies for lunch.

24. Eat at home.

25. Limit alcohol to weekends.

How Can I Eat More Veggies?

26. Have a V8 or tomato juice instead of a Diet Coke
at 3 pm.

27. Doctor your veggies to make them delicious:
Dribble maple syrup over carrots, and sprinkle chopped
nuts on green beans.

28. Mix three different cans of beans and some diet
Italian dressing. Eat this three-bean salad all week.

29. Don't forget that vegetable soup counts as a
vegetable.

30. Rediscover the sweet potato.

31. Use prebagged baby spinach everywhere: as
"lettuce" in sandwiches, heated in soups, wilted in
hot pasta, and added to salads.

32. Spend the extra few dollars to buy vegetables that
are already washed and cut up.

33. Really hate veggies? Relax. If you love fruits,
eat plenty of them; they are just as healthy
(especially colorful ones such as oranges, mangoes,
and melons).

34. Keep seven bags of your favorite frozen vegetables
on hand. Mix any combination, microwave, and top with
your favorite low-fat dressing. Enjoy 3 to 4 cups a
day. Makes a great quick dinner.

Can You Give Me a Mantra that will Help Me Stick to My
Diet?

35. "The best portion of high-calorie foods is the
smallest one. The best portion of vegetables is the
largest one. Period."

36. "I'll ride the wave. My cravings will disappear
after 10 minutes if I turn my attention elsewhere."

37. "I want to be around to see my grandchildren, so I
can forgo a cookie now."

38. "I am a work in progress."

39. "It's more stressful to continue being fat than to
stop overeating."

I Eat Healthy, but I'm Overweight. What Mistakes Could
I Be Making without Realizing It?

40. Skipping meals. Many healthy eaters "diet by day
and binge by night."

41. Don't "graze" yourself fat. You can easily munch
600 calories of pretzels or cereal without realizing
it.

42. Eating pasta like crazy. A serving of pasta is 1
cup, but some people routinely eat 4 cups.

43. Eating supersize bagels of 400 to 500 calories for
snacks.

44. Ignoring "Serving Size" on the Nutrition Facts
panel.

45. Snacking on bowls of nuts. Nuts are healthy but
dense with calories. Put those bowls away, and use
nuts as a garnish instead of a snack.

The American Dietetic Association RDs serve as media
spokespersons or heads of specialty practice groups
for the ADA.

What's the best program?

Almost every time I turn around, I seem to find another article or news story that focuses on which diet plan works best. Now Consumer Reports has 'weighed' in. They based their ratings on how easy the plan is to follow, the nutritional values, how long people stick with it, and how many pounds they lose. Getting off track for a minute, first of all I think calling these things 'diet' plans are a set up to failure. Doesn't everyone think of a diet as a temporary painful period of time where you starve or limit your food and then you lose weight and then you go back to what you were doing?

I think the bottom line is for any of these plans to work, we have to look at it as life style changes, not temporary torture, and the changes have to be ones we can live with. Who can go through life thinking 'I'll never have a brownie again'? The trick is to have just the one brownie and learn how to stop there.

Back to the study: not surprisingly, Weight Watchers came in at the top. I have had the best results with that program and I think it's partly to do with the fact that it's balanced and partly to do with the support from the meetings. I just wish it wasn't so expensive. I can't afford to go to them but I remember enough about the program to incorporate it into my eating plan.

The report will appear in the June issue but a lot of the details appear here.

While I was reading the article, I saw a link to a quiz about dining out. Ho-hum, I thought, this is going to be another one of those where they ask if you eat a lot of cheeseburgers or chicken or salad...but it wasn't at all. It was hard! But I learned some things! Check it out! It's an interactive quiz that appears on the same page as the article.

"On the Heavy Side"

I get a Mountain Wings newsletter in my email every day. I usually find them to be very inspiring but sometimes there is a message that just really clicks. This one really clicked with me not only because I love cats but because of my weight issues. Here it is:

-------------------------------------------------
MountainWings A MountainWings Moment
#5130 Wings Over The Mountains of Life
-------------------------------------------------

On the Heavy Side
==================

Miki is our 16-year-old cat; she's always been "on the heavy side."

Up until recently she was subject to eating anything people ate plus her regular food. She was also subject to leaving us little tokens around the house which should have been in her litter box. This was a relatively new behavior.

There was nothing physically responsible for her tokens.
The vet said that her tokens were probably signs of the lack of nurturing as compared to the attention paid to our male cat, Meaux. This was true.

We then worked hard to love Miki as much as we loved Meaux.
Now Miki does not leave us many tokens any more and has simultaneously lost weight.

I am, and have been most of my life (for some 60 years now),
50 pounds overweight. I have worked at almost every weight loss plan including gastroplasty. I have lost probably about 500 pounds in my lifetime; and if I had all the money I have spent on diets, etc., I could have retired ten years ago and lived comfortably for many years.

It occurs to me at this point that if I would "let go and let God" nurture me as we have nurtured Miki, I would slim down also.

This was a MountainWings Moment to me.


~A MountainWings Original by Nancy Beard, Shreveport, LA~

Lost Another 2 lbs!

It may not seem like much but it sure is a small step in the right direction! I am so happy. I am about where I was when I fell into that vat of Reese's white chocolate peanut butter cups. I'm still not exercising as much as I'd like to but I'm hoping if I can continue to lose I'll feel better (in less pain) and will be able to take up walking regularly.

I stopped having anything to eat after dinner and that has definitely been a big help! It's also helped that I haven't felt hungry or had cravings for foods. I'm not sure why that is because there was a time that I would have these chocolate cravings several times a night. I better not tempt fate by talking about it, eh?

I found a site that has helped me stay away from fast food. This one is called Fast Food Calorie Counter and I have been really shocked to see how loaded my meals are even when I went from super-size to medium.

Five years ago, my typical meal from Mickey D's was a super-size diet soda, double cheese quarter pounder and super fries which, I learned, came to well over 1200 calories. I don't even think super size meals exist anymore, a concession made by the fast food industry!

I switched to getting the medium size big & tasty cheeseburger meal but when I checked this website last month I was dismayed to see that I was still eating up near 1000 calories for just one meal and that there was 49 g of fat in it! ARGH, better try the kid's double cheeseburger meal I decided. Well... that's a little better but it's still 690 calories & 34 g of fat!

What's left?

A nice healthy salad, right? It depends on which salad. If you get a salad with grilled chicken, it'll have around 200-260 calories in it and 6-11 g of fat. But if you want crispy chicken, add on another 100 calories and another 5-7 g of fat. Then there's the dressing ...

Somehow, it just doesn't seem worth the money. Why am I going to pay more than $5 for a salad and a drink? And that salad won't have various lettuce greens, carrots, broccoli, green peppers and other goodies.

After finagling with this counter, I'm not loving it anymore.

Ah, Wendy's ... they have salads and chili and all kinds of good stuff...or do they? I was dismayed to see how many calories and grams of fat are in the salads!

I checked Burger King salads and they seem to have the healthiest choices but ...

is this really what I want? Fast food salad?

I think I'll pass and make myself something at home.

Resisting Impulses

The stress since Sunday has been almost relentless. We got word that my stepdaughter was thrown out of her friend's house and that she had no where to go. We didn't know where the baby was in all of this although I was fairly sure he was with his father. We had unpleasant conversations with SD that day as well as with the friend and boyfriend's mother. About the most I was able to determine is that the baby is safe. Today, SD was to appear in court for distributing alcohol to minors. I don't know what happened there although a part of me wishes the judge put her in jail. Probably not though. Anyway, normally my first response to a crisis like this would be to run to WaWa (or have my DH run to WaWa) and buy chips and candy ... but this time I haven't done it. I'm sort of proud of myself for that small victory.