I'm going to be moving my blog soon.
If you get here by typing "http://www.ForeverFightingFat" into your browser, it should not affect you. If you get here by typing "http://scottq.typepad.com" you'll be left behind. Please change bookmarks to www.ForeverFightingFat.com and watch for the change. (I am moving to wordpress, a better system and my new url will be scottqmarcus.wordpress.com when the change takes place. There is stuff there now but it's incomplete.)
You gotta love this one. It's a report from Great Britain about a study that shows that if people were to clench their buttocks while waiting for the bus, they'd be more fit. Sure, why not? But I guess Great Britain has plenty of money to fund such studies.
I'm beginning to feel like this could be the health topic of the next several years. What is the dividing line between taking care of the public health and government turning into Big Brother?
This time, the battleground is in south Los Angeles where the city council unanimously passed an ordinance banning new fast-food restaurants in this impoverished part of the city for at least one year. (The mayor has not yet signed it.) It's not a random action as there are more fast food outlets in that part of the city per capita than anywhere else. In addition, there are not any grocery stores.
Thirty percent of adults in that area is obese, compared with only about 21% in the county overall (according to a county Department of Public Health study released in April, 2007). For children, the obesity hits 29% in South L.A., compared with 23% in the county. All of this is considerably higher than a decade ago when the adult rate was 25% in South L.A. and 14% in the county.
I don't dispute that there's a problem. There are a few questions however, not the least of which is whose fault is this?
Continue reading "Banning Fast Food Restaurants to Control Obesity? Choice or Control?" »
One of the bigger issues in the life of my family is the cancer that has struck my brother-in-law, Flip. He went through surgery a few days ago and the news was wonderful but there's still a long road to hoe.
One of the ways he (and my sister, his wife) stays in touch with all the people in his life is via a free website called CaringBridge. They provide (according to their own site), "Free, personalized websites that support and connect loved ones during critical illness, treatment and recovery." My sister has spoken highly of them and posts regularly. Flip, when he's feeling up to it, adds his comments. Anyone (including you) can post notes of support. It really is a wonderful service and is a method by how a high-tech thing like the internet can be used as a "high touch" service to provide love and support from afar.
CaringBridge notifies anyone who wants to be notified each time the patient's journal is updated. You get an email telling you of an update. In order to find out what happened, you have to click through and read it. Because so much was happening -- and most of it not good -- earlier in Flip's journey, each time I got an update, I got a knot in my stomach. It was particularly unnerving when I would get the email notification on my Treo and could not log on to the site to see what was going on.
However, that trend has changed. As Flip is healing, the updates are becoming more positive; more "up" than "down." I'm sure to Flip, it seems a very long path is yet to go (and there is) but it does seem like he's turned the corner, thank God.
So, the other day, I get the email notification of an update. As soon as I can, I click through to the site. Sometimes the updates are from my sister. Sometimes, from Flip. They're ususally several paragraphs. This update was one sentence. It was from Flip.
Continue reading "Colonrectal Cancer or Losing Weight? Reality check please..." »
My brother-in-law is recovering from cancer. In order to help keep up his attitude, I've been talking to my sister and trying to provide positive affirmations.
My most recent affirmation:
"You are stronger than you can imagine.
You are healthier than you realize.
You are more loved than you'll ever know."
Hope it helps.
I just returned from the big annual National Speakers Association convention in New York City (talk about not being able to get a word in edgewise!) and I lost two pounds! Did I starve myself? No. Did I bring "diet food" with me? No. Did I count points or calories? No.
So, how did I do it?
First of all, I have to - in the interest of full disclosure - say that whereby some people find it easier to lose weight (or to follow their program) while at home, I'm the opposite. I seem to do better when I'm "on the road." Whether that's for vacation, business, or even on a cruise, I seem to have a much easier time losing or maintaining my weight while away from home, rather than in my house.
So, if you're saying, "Oh, well, that explains it. It's easier for him while he travels; it's not that way for me. No need to read on..." that would be the wrong approach too. The reason I do better when I'm on the road is because I have come up with some simple tools that hold me in place. Follow these give tips and you'll do well.
Continue reading "How to spend a week travelling, eat whatever you want, and lose weight" »
My good friend, Roy Block, sent me this. I thought it was really funny. Enjoy.
Yesterday I was at my local Wal-Mart buying a large bag of Purina dog chow for my loyal pet, Biscuit, the Wonder Dog and was in the checkout line when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog.
What did she think I had, an elephant?
So since I'm retired and have little to do, on impulse I told her that no, I didn't have a dog, I was starting the Purina Diet again. I added that I probably shouldn't, because I ended up in the hospital last time,! but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.
I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally complete so it works well and I was going to try it again. (I have to mention here that practically everyone in line was now enthralled with my story.)
Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care because the dog food poisoned me. I told her no, I stepped off a curb to sniff an Irish Setter's butt and a car hit us both.
I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack he was laughing so hard. Wal-Mart won't let me shop there anymore.
Better watch what you ask retired people. They have all the time in the world to think of crazy things to say.
OK, the latest diet cruise didn't turn out like they thought. Check out the bad news.
Today's winner of the no-duh award goes to the Kaiser Permanente study that found out that keeping a food diary doubles diet weight loss. OK, that's a little mean because it is a valid study, but it shows that people who keep food diaries lose more weight than people who don't. At WW, diaries, journals, or "quick track systems" as they're now called, have been a staple of the program since I joined in 1971.
There was a also a study not too long ago that said that the reason so many people gain weight -- or at least don't lose it -- is because people who DO NOT keep track of their fod intake tend to underestimate how much they eat. The New England Journal of Medicine said they eat by as much as 47 percent more then they think they are eating and overestimate physical activity by as much as 51 percent That's an amazing statistic when you think of it.
Let's say one only underestimates her intake by 25%. I mean that's still a lot but less than the maximum. The average woman needs about 1200 to 1500 calories to maintain her weight. (To use a calculator to figure out what you need -- your BMR -- go to this post.) So, if she's off by 25%, that's about 300 to 400 calories a day. Since it takes 3500 calories to put on a pound, she'll be putting on a pound about 10 days! (Sound familiar?)
By tracking what you eat, you become conscious and aware. That unto itself tends to slow down what you eat. (Even after maintaning my weight as long as I have, I still keep a food diary.)
So, what's the comment in the headline about "dying young?"
I am a "one-unit" eater.
I have a tendency to eat ONE of whatever I consume. Should the "one unit" be an appropriate size, such as an apple or an individually wrapped Boca Burger, I will be content with my portion and continue happily and fully along my way. Should, however, the "one unit" be excessive; i.e. a bag of potato chips or a gallon of ice cream, I will still consume one unit and waddle from the table. I realize this is
not healthy. I am much more aware of it than I was before. I am better about controlling it than in previous days. Nonetheless, as the philosopher George Santayana said, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." To deny that this is a problem for me is to forever be in its treacherous grip. "Progress not perfection," is my mantra.
I do not believe I am unique with this problem. As a matter of fact, I believe a major reason why one does not see as many of the Olestra products on the market anymore is because they missed the boat in their
packaging. Well, that and some of the other less pleasant reprocussions of its consumption. (If you do not remember Olestra, which I believe was marketed as "Olean," it was -- and is -- a chemical substitute for fat that greatly cut the number of calories. Food still tasted great, but there were these rather unpleasant "side effects" making it a "problem.") When all these great low calorie chips hit the market, I would have bought them. However, they only sold them in full size bags, not the small single-serving bags one can pick up at the checkstand.
I thought to myself, "I know my limits. I'm fine with a one ounce bag but if I bring home the full size bag, I'll eat the whole thing." So, because I did not want bouts of "underwear spotting" as some test subjects called it, and since they didn't have small bags, I didn't buy any. I presume lots of other folks were similar to me.
Continue reading "George Santayana, 100 Calorie Snacks, and Newsweek Missing the Point" »
Huh? What's that about? Simple. The results came back from the biopsy on my side. Benign. Totally benign. Yahoo! Of course, if the scab wasn't located under my belt, it would probably feel better too. But, I'll take what I can get.
(Thanks for all the good wishes I received. They gave me a nice buzz.)
Recent Comments