The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => People & Places => Topic started by: jough on June 01, 2006, 02:41:57 pm
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WARNING: The following isn't really amusing or light, so if you're just here for the funny, you may want to not read this thread.
I guess there's no other way to say this: I'm dying.
I haven't contracted any diseases (well, I have, actually, but that's not what's killing me) or sustained any life-threatening injuries. I'm dying of basic physical neglect, a sedentary lifestyle, and something that seems to make people laugh, because looking at me you'd never think this would be a problem, but I'm suffering from malnutrition.
Basically I am beyond ridiculously overweight, I get little exercise, when I do try to exercise I have Problems and have to recuperate for a good week sometimes (physically my feet and ankles can not take much strain, which putting nearly 400lbs on them offers), and basically given the nutritional content of the foods I am eating (lots of prepared stuff, wherein I'd get more nutrition from eating the packaging, or else meat-centric meals that I cook myself) I am unlikely to see 2007 if I don't do something about this now.
I'm having trouble breathing, my heart hurts when I so something like eat pasta, and I'm tired all the dang time.
It may already be too late. I'm not sure if I'm past the point of no return health-wise yet, but fuck, I'm only 30 years old and even introducing more healthy things into my diet and eating much less than I used to isn't doing anything to help my health.
Lately I've been taking brief walks. How brief? The first day I started out on a very slow five minute walk... around the half-block of my street, out the back door, around half a block (my house is in the middle of the block, too, so it's really only about 1/4 of a block) and then in the front door. I did that every day for a week until I could do it in three instead of five minutes.
Now that it's getting hotter it's making being outdoors even less pleasant. If you want to try out my day, try breathing through a very thick piece of cloth while walking up a flight of stairs with only an extra 100 pounds on you (rather than the excess of 200+ that I'm carrying) and wearing not a couple of winter coats. When you're done you'll probably still feel better than I do.
Anyway, I'm kind of not sure what the hell to do. I need to find a way of eating that isn't a diet (i.e. short term eating things that I hate that feels like punishment) because even if I can keep it up for a short time, what then? I don't want to be back in the situation of eating pizza as a reward for doing so well with my weight loss, because, you know, I've earned it.
Also, at this point, weight loss isn't my primary goal. I imagine that by eating healthily and exercising that I will probably lose weight. I also believe in SCIENCE and the whole "Calories In < Calories Out = Weight Loss" so I'll try to count calories, although that sounds like a chore that I'll only keep up with for a few weeks too. Surely there's a web site or software that can help keep track of calories or plan meals. If anyone knows of one please suggest.
Has anyone here lost weight and managed to keep it off? The nutritionist I've talked to has always been thin and healthy and doesn't seem to understand what life as a fat guy is like.
Anyway, expect that I'll be both posting and reading less here, or at least about as little as I have been this past month. It's not because I don't enjoy interacting with you good people, it's just because between work and ill health I'm having to spend less time sitting in this chair whenever possible.
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Jough, I like the Calorie King software. http://www.calorieking.com/software/ I believe it has a free trial. I think most of us could stand a little less time at the computer.
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I know that maybe this isn't going to sound helpful since as I recall you don't have health insurance, but how much have you talked to a doctor? Maybe you need a new one? Like one who can refer you to a fatter nutrionist if such a thing exists.
I have a friend who lost probably at least a hundred pounds and kept it off for a while but not forever. My observation is that it had a lot to do with increased exercise. She went to the gym A LOT. You would obviously need to do this starting slowly, under supervision. Gyms are air conditioned, at least, so the weather is not a problem.
We once had a conversation in which we concluded that the time and attention you have to invest in losing that amount of weight was, if not a second job, at least a very serious hobby, for which you have to give up many other spare-time activities. (Although you'd think by now they'd have invented exercise bikes with internet access - beats watching TV while you exercise.) And in fact she gained most of the weight back when she went to law school and no longer had time for a serious second-job-like hobby.
But, she also was a vegetarian at the time and ate a lot of baby carrots for snacks, so obviously the food thing matters too. Also, I am an imaginary person on the internet, only one step up from a cartoon cat giving advice. You should see a professional.
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That's not even rough chuckles.
I have some gravity, not nearly what you're carrying but I could stand to lose a few. The success I have had is insane amounts of walking and calorie counting. The number varies but the average human male requires 1800 calories a day for basic body things (heartbeats, breathing, etc.). Any movement you do beyond that burns calories. So, by extension, figure out what you're taking in and limit that. (I went a little insane when i started dropping pounds and went waaaay too low...)
I did that and walked and it was relatively easy for me to keep up and count (and I'm notoriously lazy/procrastinatory). Then again, I've never really been in your shoes so I don't know.
Good luck, and keep yourself healthy man. Lawd knows we can't have you dying on us and all.
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I second Wombat's "Talk to your Doctor" advice. That should be step one.
I am a dude of gravity too, and I'm fighting it. I've done it off and on for years, and I guess I'm in one of my on cycles. I feel like this one is more likely to be permanent than any before. Here's what I'm doing:
I exercise. I made some subtle changes to my diet and lifestyle and one big one. I try to be more conscious of what I eat.
Exercise: I swim. I can't recommend this enough. I understand about your ankles, only with me it's my knees. I fucked them up as a kid and now they'll hurt me the rest of my life. Swimming removes knee pain from the equation. It's easy on the joints and good aerobic exercise. Also, lap swimming has turned out to an oddly contemplative, meditative activity. I've been doing it since the first of the year and I'm seeing results, slowly but surely. Exercise is also hugely important to your mental and emotional state. But it takes a while to get into. Don't give up.
Changes: I try to eat better. Less red meat. Less trans-fat. More veggies (though that's not really a problem for me.) I try to eat oatmeal almost every day. And the big change: I quit drinking. It's been about two months now since I've had a drink. My habits were starting to worry me a little, but as a practical matter it was a huge amount of unnecessary calories I was taking in.
Finally, consciousness. I love to cook and eat. It's a family hobby, almost a religion. If I let me stomach think for me, I eat all the time and I eat stuff that's bad for me. I'm trying to be more conscious of what and how much I'm eating. This is the hardest part for me.
I feel for you, cuz. I'm happy to listen or talk about it anytime you want.
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Most of the people in my immediate family are overweight to obese. Most of my friends are thin (if not healthy necessarily) and have never been overweight. So their support is of course nice but not very helpful. Most diet advice I get is from my grandmother who has been overweight for her entire adult life. Asking her "Oh, is that what you did to get so svelte?" doesn't help.
I think (hope) that I can turn this around. It's been an off and on thing for years with me, so I don't think a diet is going to help. I have to make some major lifestyle changes or I'll never be able to lick this.
One of the books I'm reading (by Gov. Huckabee of Ark.) has a quote in it that sounds like a good mantra to repeat to myself, "Nothing ever tastes as good as being thin feels."
My short term goal is of course to be able to breathe normally when I am not doing any exercise. As it is I am out of breath all the dang time. Yes, I have respiratory problems, too, and sleep apnea. My slightly longer term goal is to be able to breathe while walking without having to stop to catch my breath, and then maybe even be able to walk and talk at the same time.
Yeah, I'm doing that poorly. It was a gradual thing, where about two years ago I started to not breathe as well, and lately the decline has been fast and steady. Since around the turn of the new year my breathing problems have gotten much worse.
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Oh, and while I don't have health insurance, I am going to see a new doctor next week. The current guy is way too flip about my health to be of any use to me anymore. "Try walking an hour a day." "Um, I'm having trouble breathing just sitting here." "Oh. Well I guess you'll have to lose weight before you can exercise." "Um, what do you suggest?" "Here's a referral for a nutritionist."
I will see a nutritionist because I need a PLAN about how and what I'm going to eat, how often, and I know enough to know that I am incapable of making the decision about how much is enough to eat, so I would like to do this scientifically where I just measure out my intake and plan. I also want some healthy backup when I've eaten all that I am able (via science) and am still hungry or at least wanting to put more food into my mouth.
I mean, I'm a fat guy. I am pretty much never actually hungry. But I often want to eat.
And to dispel another fat guy myth - I eat much much less than my thin friends do. And sometimes even eat healthier things than they do. But usually I eat things that have pretty much no nutritional content. I was dismayed to find that boneless chicken breast, the most innocuous of meat, is really not that good for you. It's not AS bad as red meat, and it does contain protein and stuff, but it's not really "healthy." This probably comes as a shock to no one else, but I couldn't believe it.
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I am relieved to hear you are going to see a doctor. Also you should go back one more time to the old doctor and punch him out. Or sit on him.
Metabolism is not fair. Or other things about our bodies. I am a very short person, so I have less acreage on which to store spare fat. Yet, other things about the world remain constant, so that it is still twice as much pleasure for me to eat a quantity of ice cream which lasts five minutes as to eat one that lasts two and a half minutes. I do not perceive that situation differently than a tall skinny person. It is not fair that the tall skinny person can eat more than I can. But that's life.
One thing I have noted about eating habits is that food cravings are more malleable than you might except. Like if you force yourself to get into the habit of eating a piece of fruit after dinner instead of ice cream, it seems like deprivation at first. But after a while, you find yourself craving fruit. A whole lot of it is just what's habitual.
But the other thing is, like the nutritionists are always harping on: Portion size. I don't think it's feasible to ask a person to give up pizza for the rest of your life. But, it is perfectly reasonable to tell you to eat two pieces rather than four. And, like Aug says, consciousness. Pay attention to those two pieces - don't be reading and talking and watching TV at the same time you are eating them - and it's more likely that two pieces will be enough.
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Hey jough - that hard up sucks the big cock, and I'm basically right there with you.
If it makes you feel any better, all the medical types have finally come to agreement and I found out on Monday that I am not dying but that I have osteoarthritis with non-specific rheumatoid symptoms. It is a degenerative thing, and X-rays as early as from when I was 16 already showed that parts of my spine are wearing down, and the pain in my hips, knees and feet are such that sometimes walking is hard already. This basically means I am on the road to becoming crippled, and already far down the road to living the rest of my life with chronic pain. The disease has had a very early on-set in me as most people get diagnosed in their late 30's - 60's, so the overall prognosis is not good. On top of all this, I already have another autoimmune disease which requires constant monitoring. I've spent a few days imagining my future in a wheelchair... Also I've been put on some terrifying medication that is meant to alter my brain chemistry to force to into deep sleep. Apparently even though I live day to day without taking pain killers (I am apparently insane to do this), when I sleep my level of pain is so high that it's probably interrupting my ability to get into REM state.
Sooo, after taking a few days to mourn the things that are the way they are, I've come to the conclusion that all I have is now, that right now isn't so bad, and that I want as much of right now as possible. This means creating an action plan. After the past 6 months of being in and out of doctors offices, thinking that I might be dying, I'd basically given up on healthy living. Exercising wasn't an option because I basically have the energy to work and sleep. Eating healthfully wasn't an option, again, because I don't have the energy to do it. But now I've cleared my schedule and there's no more excuses. At this point, I basically have about 75 pounds that I could lose, and I basically need to do it to push the date where I surrender to being wheelchair bound farther into the future. I know 75 pounds is less than what you're looking at, but it ain't a small number either.
I made the decision the day of my diagnosis to make my health my main job. My number one priority. I gave up directing my next project (many tears), turned down some other serious opportunities, and basically cleared my schedule for the next three months. I have to work half days in June here at the office, but for July and August the only thing I will be doing is bettering myself. It's not going to be easy financially, but I don't really care at this point.
Like you, I know that diets are pointless. We're both smart enough to know what's bad: prepaired, high fat foods, and what's good: fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, etc. And there's no point in flushing money down Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig's toilet. So I went here: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/fg_rainbow-arc_en_ciel_ga_e.html (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/fg_rainbow-arc_en_ciel_ga_e.html) (I'm sure your country has a similar guide) to get the actual numbers for servings and portions and recommended exercise. I put it into chart form, printed out weekly copies for the next three months, and have this week magnetized to the fridge. And in fact today is my start date. June 1st. So far, I've taken an hour walk to work and I've eaten a bran bar and an apple - a check under grains, a check under fruits and veggies and a check under endurance exercise. I basically have no interest in counting calories. For me it's all about avoiding the fatty and pre-prepaired foods and proper portion controle. I know that if I get in 5 fruits and veggies a day, five servings of grains and deal with proper portion controle for the other stuff - that I'll be full and I'll be on my way to a healthy weight.
The other big thing is exercise and mobility. As for your exercise struggles, all I can tell you is that I am in severe pain most of the time, but that I'm up for the challenge now that I see that wheelchair in my head, so maybe now if you're seeing a tombstone in your head, you've got the impetus to suffer for the greater good. Even though I'm super embarrassed, I'm going to be joining up an aqua-aerobics classes at the YMCA. It'll be me and 10 old ladies in a pool. Basically, if you're carrying around too much weight or have pain issues, water exercise is your friend - this is what many a doctor has told me. More than anything else, the YMCA is a major tool for me, and maybe something you might want to consider. Check out if your local Y has a pool or elliptical trainers (http://www.nordictrack.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/CategoryDisplay?cgmenbr=153&cgrfnbr=46527&rootcat=46525&GCID=C14083x057&KEYWORD=elliptical+trainer). An elliptical trainer will be your best friend - it's a no impact workout, but you can work as hard or as gentle as you want to without hurting your ankles or other joints. Even though almost every joint from my lower spine down is degraded and painful, I can usually go for 30 minutes on an elliptical trainer with no serious pain.
Finally, healthy competition, for me is a really good motivator. Do you want to join me in a competition of some sort? I am all over making some sort of friendly wager... let say, we both set a reasonable (nothing to easy, nothing too hard, approved by the other person) weight loss/ fitness goal for September, and the loser has to donate $50 to a charity of the winner's choosing? If you are the winner it would be fine with me that my donation go to this board, and if I am the winner, I'd like to send the $50 to arthritis research. What do you say? I'd even invite other board members to bet on us if you're up for it. I'd even do the unlady-like thing of revealing my current weight to the entire board if it was necessary. I can't get too skinny though - the SO would be mad if I lose my giant boobs.
We can do it man, come on!
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Smells - speaking from my experience of losing a fair amount of weight (in both instances from being ill, which is a technique I do not recommend), the boobs are the last to go. I was a little cross about this - it turned out that it was no easier for me to buy clothes when I was skinnier, because I was still the same, apparently abnormal, shape - but on the other hand it's one more reason not to regret being a size 8 or whatever.
Good luck to both of you. I am expecting soon to be unemployed again and therefore not on my feet charging around six or seven hours a day so I am going to have to start watching my intake more also. When I want to whine about it I will think of you.
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Smells, the bet sounds like a fantastic idea. Count me in. I did a similar sort of thing with an ex (we both had a habit we wanted to be rid of), and it worked really well; the mutual support is essential and incredibly helpful to get one motivated.
Take care, and best of luck to both of you; you'll be in my agnostic thoughts.
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Smells, I'll take you up on that bet, although I'll have to wait until next week to post my current weight because, um, the big doctor's scale that I have at home can no longer weigh me (it goes up to 350lbs). However, weight loss is not my primary goal. Getting healthy is. So I'm trying to measure things like cholesterol and blood pressure, resting heart beat, ability to breathe while doing simple things like sitting, etc. I've tried to lose XX number of pounds before and it's pretty discouraging after the first couple of weeks where you drop a lot of fluid and stuff.
Plus, I will be doing some moderate weight training (starting out with just the bar with no weights on it at first) and eventually hope to build up some muscle again (also known as: the body's fat burning engine).
Also, I would have donations go to breast cancer research, since it has claimed the lives of too many that I love.
It is good to have a support system, even if just from strangers on the internet.
I'm also thinking of maybe starting a health blog just to record my progress or lack thereof, perhaps with posting what I eat every day and how much I've exercised, etc. Maybe the weight (excuse the pun) of publication will help keep me on track, too. Anything that helps I'll try.
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Jough, the blog also sounds like a great idea, for the very reason you cited: the self-imposed pressure that arises from the knowledge that others are checking your progress will motivate you to stay on track. Even if you have trouble eating healthily and exercising for yourself, the feeling that you are doing it for, and maybe even inspiring, other people will immeasurably help you. Additionally, the visible record of your progress will solidify your determination by demonstrating how far you have come.
Wow, sorry to get all motivational speaker-ish. You can do it, man!
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Jough, the blog is a great idea because I fully expect you will find a way to make it entertaining. Although I will put aside the selgiraffe considerations for a moment to point out that typing a blog is not good exercise so it would best not get out of hand. But see, you can compose entertaining blog posts in your head while doing mindless boring exercise and then type them quickly afterwards. We all win.
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Oh, and about boneless chicken breast: It is a bad diet food because even if it were good for you, it tastes like shit and will not leave you satisfied. All meat, including chicken, tastes better when cooked with the bones in. And if you want to skip eating the skin, fine, but leaving it on during will keep the meat from getting dried out. And if a little fat from the skin ends up on your chicken, that's still better than the bag of chips that you'll eat after having a shitty boneless chicken breast for dinner.
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I'm not really sure what to say here. i think everyone could do to get in better shape... I went to a concert last night and danced, and remained out of breath for about an hour afterwards. That was not attractive to anyone.
All I can say is that I give my full support to each of you. And I mean... everyone here. I've never met someone who didn't have something they could do to improve their health (well, maybe a few people...). I, too, need to get better about my eating/exercise/etc. I'm in an endless cycle which consists of:
Not eating enough, because I'm not hungry
not having the energy to exercise
since I don't exercise, I don't burn calories
so I'm not hungry
so I don't eat enough again
(plus when i do eat, I eat utter shit that makes me even less healthy)
etc.
I am at a point where I recently lied to my parents about my weight so they'd stop worrying. (but now I'm gaining weight, so all is good)
Smells, I was getting in such a serious mood before you made that boob comment. Man. I think we should make a bet about whether smells loses her "giant boobs." Would this be good for you, SO aside, or bad? I know that certain people I know really disliked their huge boobs. Apparently they put a lot of strain on your back.
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Good going Jough! And Mel! and everyone in change-for-the-better mode.
I say this because for a lot of people, the DECISION to make a serious lifestyle change is a hard thing to do, let alone the tough journey you have toward wellness.
I use that term because I think it's important to be sure to pay attention to your life's needs while you work on your physical health. So everyone else's advice is probably good (if not probably at some level conflicting) in terms of working toward decreasing your weight and raising your physical activity, my main advice is to be sure not to neglect you social, emotional, intellectual, vocational, and spritual needs while you concentrate on your very attention-dominating physical needs. ALL these things need to be attended to for your overall wellness.
It's impossible to overemphasize a doctor's role in this process too - sleep apnea can be life-threatening and orthopedic problems could result in huge weight-loss setbacks. Do you sleep with any kind of rig for the sleep apnea?
I have a friend in Akron who was in his 50s when he finally had bariatric surgery - he had many of the issues you describe but was probably close to 600 pounds at 5'10. I used to work with him and for a whole summer, drove him all over the state because his feet and legs had terrible sores that wouldn't heal. It was fun to hang out with him - he's funny, gregarious, and good at what he does - but it was also a real illustration of the worst outcomes of obesity over time.
The bariatric surgery was necessary in order to get his knees replaced. The knee replacements were necessary due to structural failure.
I think there is a good chance you are in a better position than he was - 20 years younger, less weight on your frame - so I think that you can do this without the surgeon.
I also have to say that I think that it is a pretty courageous thing to come out on a board like this and describe your situation. Using the term dying is not an easy thing to do but I think it describes only one potential outcome out of many, and I think you are a stubborn SOB and you won't let your situation get worse or destroy your quality of life. At least, that's how I see you.
Low impact exercise like swimming is excellent for everyone but especially people with bone and joint problems. Smells, if you are having joint pain or motion problems, you may be able to find a place that has an arthritis exercise class. Our Y does this. the Pool is always between 85 and 90 degrees and they go through some water excercises with just the water for resistance, but also since you are in water, less stress on your feet and legs. This might be good for you too, Jough.
Modified: finally read the whole of all the posts, Smells is right on and if they have the really highly heated pool, that is probably even better for you. Also, if your Y has aquajogging/water walking equipment, you might find that an interesting low-impact way to excercize as well.
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If doctor and nutritionist visits are getting 'spensive, it might be worth it to join a gym and enlist the services of a personal trainer. You might be obliging yourself to a monthly membership fee and maybe a trainer's fee on top of that, but it could be cheaper than repeated visits to the doc or the nutritionist. Trainers at my gym will do a dietary analysis along with the initial physical appraisal, and they'll design a diet for you that will help you reach your goal. Consider that a value-added feature to go along with their exercise guidance. [EDIT: Consult a doctor before beginning any exercise plan or altering your diet significantly. There is no substitute for a thorough physical checkup, and they might tell you if your heart is gonna 'splode if you do some jumping jacks. The trainer suggestion is just in place of repeated visits to a doc who just tells you to exercise more or eat less. Duh.]
Not all trainers exist to turn people into models and movie stars. A certified exercise physiologist should be able to ease you into a total plan. It's almost certainly going to be stressful at first, particularly on the cardiovascular system, but once you can get some endurance and metabolism on your side the whole thing will come together.
Another suggestion: replace your computer chair with an exercise ball, one of those big inflatable yoga things. It will make you "actively sit" and engage more muscle groups than just letting a regular seat support you in relaxed repose. That little extra bit of daily effort will burn calories and every little bit makes a difference.
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I have yo-yo dieted with a low-carb diet twice between normal weight and 50lbs overweight for the past two and a half years. This year I've given up any attempt at diet adjustment, just all excercise; it is impossible for me to give up cake and chocolate permanently.
The weightlifting idea is good, I would also suggest stationary bike. It's basically essential to mix cardio and weights, I've been trying to do six hours of bike a week, and it gets exponentially easier each day. There was just some article on the cover of People magazine this week about a woman who lost and kept off 200 something lbs and started with stat. bike for 30 minutes, 6 days a week, but to keep it off, she excercises for hours every day (has become a fitness class instructor).
A friend, formerly more overweight than me, has had excellant results at a gym, but he's also been doing alot of coke, so his results are skewed.
And another friend who is severely obese/extreme breathing problems has just joined a gym to swim and use the sauna in the past two weeks, so his results are pending. He has said 5 minutes in the steam made him feel like he was about to have a heart attack. I will ask him tomorrow if he has tried it again yet.
But whatever regimen you choose, the most important thing is to be motivated about it.
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For people who are carrying a lot of extra weight (>100 lbs for sure) a doctor's help is really important. The stress activities put on a heart that is already severly overworked and possibly enlarged (this is a common problem with obese patients) makes it really important to make sure the patient can handle stress - you don't want to find out by having a CV event on an exercise machine. Trainers are excellent for people in otherwise good health but this is a different case altogether.
The sleep apnea is another critical problem that needs to be medically evaluated, as are potential orthopedic problems. Successfully treating a severly overweight is a complex process that goes well beyond monitoring weight loss. The reason for the extra weight needs to be explored as well as a whole-body approach - the heart, the breathing, the metabolism, the musculoskeltal issues and the emotional issues around obesity are really important as well.
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health tips:
One should never, ever, interrupt one's desire to defecate. I have inquired at the Bronx and London Zoos as to the daily bowel evacuations of primates. It is not once, twice, or three times, sir, but four. At the end of an average day, their cages are filled with a veritable mountain of natural health.
Sex is the sewer drain of a healthy body, sir! Any use of the sexual act other than procreation is a waste of vital energy! Wasted seeds are wasted lives!
"He that killeth the ox is as if he slew a man." Each juicy morsel of meat is alive, and swarming with the same filth as found in the carcass of a dead rat. Meat eaters, sir, are drowning in a tide of gore. What is a sausage? A sausage is an indigestible balloon of decayed beef, riddled with tuberculosis. Eat and die! For I have seen many a repentant meat glutton his body full of uric acid and remorse, his soul adrift on the raft in the ocean of poisonous slime, sloshin' against the walls of the body's kitchen.
Dr. John Harvey Kellogg: The liver is the only thing standing between the smoker and death! Also certain other things have to be avoided... like, uh, feather beds, and romantic novels... and the, uh, touching of one's organs. Masturbation is the silent killer of the night! The vilest sin of self-pollution! It is the sin of Onan!
An erection is a flagpole on your grave.
AND: I never really got to my point in the previous post. What I meant to say was, "everyone has something they can do to improve their health-- I am glad that both of you have decided to do it."
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I have inquired at the Bronx and London Zoos as to the daily bowel evacuations of primates.
And you, sir, whoever you are, have been the subject of conversation in the keeper break room at the Bronx and London zoos, you can take my professional word for it.
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If it helps at all, I'm totally on-board with you.
I recently had a muscle infection that mimicked a heart attack in symptoms and... yeah... it's been kind of a wake-up call for me to try and get my life together. I'm only somewhat overweight, thank Somebody that being 6'6" hides being 315 well, but... my blood pressure is high-ish and I'm in my middle twenties, maybe the oldest you can be while still being able to shed pounds relatively quickly and...
As I recover from it, I'm trying to turn my life around. I'm cutting back insanely on salt and fat and generally trying to get my overall caloric intake down but... its hard, especially when I'm still recovering from a virus that made my upperbody feel like Jell-O, to get into exercising immediately.
There's nothing for losing weight like PA-ing on a movie but... with that not coming up around anytime soon, it's hard to like... walk and run and swim and such after a day of office work. I don't really have any good advice, I'd just like you to know that I deeply identify.
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LittleFalls, did you check yourself for Marfan Syndrome (http://www.marfan.org/nmf/index.jsp#)?
The silent killer of tall people.
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I'm about 40 or 50 of your american pounds over where I should be so I can't really say I know how you're feeling but I'm damn glad you're looking it in the face and realising that if you don't do something you'll die a lot sooner than you should. I mean, everyone dies of something but you sure as hell don't want to make it come any sooner and a lot of people just shrug their problems off so it's really good to hear that you're doing something about it. You too Smells, though you may not be dying chronic pain is not kind of fun at all. Plus any kind of ongoing goal means more Smells-stories and that's good for everyone.
So do we get to know what your respective objectives are so we can start keeping a book or something?
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Checklist for Marfan Syndrome:
DO YOU:
-- Regularly wear a stovepipe hat?
-- Have your picture on the penny?
-- Feel a vague sense of foreboding when someone suggests going to the theater?
-- Split rails?
-- Emancipate large groups of oppressed people?
-- Hold the Union together?
-- Purchase the Alaska Territory?
-- Worry that children's toys bearing your name and likeness will be used to catapult small brown chunks of wood at playmates' heads for many generations into the future?
-- Write on the back of envelopes?
You may have Marfan syndrome (a.k.a. Abe-ism). See your personal physician or call me, Dr. Samuel Mudd, for further information.
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Eek, if there is a scary silent killer of short people, could you not post a link to it? I'm enough of a hypochondriac as it is.
Also: everyone please give August a tiny can right now. Thanks.
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Eek, if there is a scary silent killer of short people
I wouldn't say I'm silent exactly....
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First off I'd like to say that I love this board. It's wonderfully awesome that three members of this board somehow chose the exact same day to take decisive action to improve their health.
Jough, your not going to die. This is a winnable battle. You have the support of a lot of people here who have insight into the problems you are facing. We'll help you. I can tell you that a positive attitude goes a long way. My problem with breathing isn't severe like yours is, but moving to the mountains has pointed out that I ain't in the best of shape. The altitude and the inclines leave me without breath much easier than I am comfortable with. One things for certain, not being able to breathe stone cold sucks.
Melanie, I'm saddened that your health issues are shooting your career in the foot just as you are set to take off. But I'm glad you are choosing to focus on your health. I've been thinking about you and hoping that you are alright. This is a tough time for you, but you have a strong support system and you also have your internet friends here to encourage you.
I'll take your challenge. I'll even give away my natural advantage and do it percentage of body weight rather than total weight lost. I'm gonna win either way. While it's true that I don't need Weight Watchers to tell me how to eat healthy I've rejoined for the social aspect. It's like AA for fatties. Anyway, I quit in March when I came to Utah because they wouldn't honor my coupon from Texas. It's another franchise they said, essentially ripping me off for over 100 dollars. I swore they would never get another cent of my money, but I've swallowed my pride and handed over my money. I've lost over 100 pounds, but have been slipping back up these past 6 months since my life has been topsy turvy and have put about 20 pounds back on. I'm settled now (for the next 6 months) and I've suddenly regained my focus. Today is my first day and I am brimming with confidence. Ok, lets do this thing.
Of course since this is a virtual contest we will need before pictures. Head to toe shot with minimal clothing. Standing on the scale would be optimal. I'll show you mine, so you show me yours (giant boobs included) and we'll start it as of today if that suits you. Jough are you in? Let's get the pictures up in this thread. I'll post mine tonight.
I don't have a favorite charity so if I win you can donate to your own favorite charity.
~Paul
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I'm willing to take each person's word for their weight loss - if you want to share pictures, maybe create some way to make them less public...I'm not having a problem with seeing them here, but I think maybe it's not the most appropriate place to post 'minimally clothed' ' pictures of anyone in any situation. A little too public, possibly. At least maybe a place where guests and really new people can't get to them? Just thinking out loud. Whatever motivates you is cool with me.
I can post a picture of this gut that won't go away. Any of you other guys have this problem? I have great blood pressure, get lots of great outdoors excercise and this paunch won't budge. Maybe I need Pilates or yoga or something. I actually want to keep my weight the same but lose the paunch and put on upper body muscle.
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I was being slightly faceteous about the minimal clothes AD. I couldn't resist the urge to invite SS to show us her giant boobies. Something like this (http://www.paulmcrae.com/FEATURES/WLC_06/IMAGES/1024/DSCN13465_6-E-S-1024.jpg) is what I was actually suggesting.
~Paul
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man. too bad guys can't make a similar statement.
"I would lose weight but, you know... my wife just wouldn't be satisfied."
and all the guys on the board would be thinking "wait... it would get bigger if I gained weight? is that what he's saying?"
obviously this is not true, though, as I am quite skinny and... well, I won't go into too much detail.
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I refer to this as the "straw problem." A straw that is in a small cup of soda sticks out very far, but if you put that same straw in a large cup of soda, much less is visible.
This can be a problem for those of us who are large cups by nature.
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Paul has an extremely tasteful concept of minimal clothes. But, how much of that weight is mustache?
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AD, I like the idea of "wellness" rather than just focusing on the weight loss, which is itself not really a measure of health. Don't get me wrong, I need and want to lose weight - and weight loss will be the natural consequence of eating and just being healthier, but if I focus on the weight it will be a road to failure. Plus, right now just feeling better would be a plus.
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AD, I like the idea of "wellness" rather than just focusing on the weight loss, which is itself not really a measure of health.
How was the first day of the rest of your life?
For me, awesome! I stayed on program and I got in some physical activity (walking and bike riding). I also handled a tough diet scenario. I was invited to dinner and managed to make good choices in a situation where I didn't have control over the menu. Yay for me.
I hope everyone had as great of a day as I.
How's your breathing today Jough?
~Paul
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AD, I like the idea of "wellness" rather than just focusing on the weight loss, which is itself not really a measure of health. Don't get me wrong, I need and want to lose weight - and weight loss will be the natural consequence of eating and just being healthier, but if I focus on the weight it will be a road to failure. Plus, right now just feeling better would be a plus.
My ideal is that although there is always discomfort, annoyance, and inconvenience associated with a major health change, you are entitled to the highest quality of life possible. And all those wellness dimensions are structures that support your quality of life.
Paul, I guess what I meant was that maybe some people aren't as comfortable as you sharing their before pictures and that maybe a more discreet location would be more acceptable. Maybe I'll post a picture of my pre-partum gut. I think I'm a victim of couvade syndrome (http://pregnancytoday.com/reference/articles/malepg.htm).
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Yay! Everyone on board for the TOUAMBIE-Add-More-Days-Between-Today-And-The-Day-You-Die Train (or TOUAMBIEAMDBTATDYDT)!
I think we should all set our own goals, and no, Jough, I do not think this needs to be weight-specific - if you prefer to work toward a wellness goal, which is more fitting with what you want anyway, perhaps there is some specific physical feat that you hope you might accomplish in three months that should be your thing.
I prefer to remain somewhat lady like and not reveal my weight. Also, I am not really up for a before and after picture. As I've said before I hate being photographed and would likely be made unhappy by my after picture, even if it showed marked improvement. I did just measure my boobs with a piece of string though - you know, for science - and have a piece of string that is exactly my current body-around-fullest-part-of-boob circumference. I will check periodically for changes in boob size and report back. Also, I would be happy to award the boob string to the winner, if the winner is not me.
My goal is two fold:
Weight Loss: With today as my starting date, I wish to lose 20 pounds (or more) by Sept 9th. My doctor and all health sites I checked in to seem to say that for a woman of my height and age that it is safe to lose 1-2 pounds per week, so this is right in the safe zone.
Fitness: Return to running 3 miles in under 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. I used to be able to do this a couple years ago, but now I down to 1.5 in 30 minutes, and I want to get back up there!
Also, today as I was topping off my veggie pita with the healthfood-store bought, low-fat, no-soy ( I'm allergic) flax-based dressing, I noticed the brand name of said dressing for the first time: Wellness. Yep it's actually in italics on the label. And we're all about the italics here now aren't we? I took this as a sign that things are awesome.
Personal triumph for the day? I woke up in utter pain this morning, limped to the bathroom, gave myself a pep-talk while peeing, and convinced myself to walk the 50 minute walk to work even though I hurt sooo much. I always feel much better when I get my expensive, well designed shoes on anyway. With huge boobs and horrible joints, the addage is the same: proper support is everything.
Tip to others working toward wellness: don't be afraid to spend a lot of money on a really good pair of shoes. I've found with both my kick ass boots (http://www.blundstone.ca/products_blunnies_491.html), and very supportive runners (Merrell Brand is awesome), that I have made the best purchases of my life.
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Maybe I'll post a picture of my pre-partum gut. I think I'm a victim of couvade syndrome (http://pregnancytoday.com/reference/articles/malepg.htm).
You have a baby gut? Here I was thinking you had a baby-eating gut.
I'm sorry. It's not even funny to me anymore.
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Congrats to everybody for doing a thing. Jough, my heart sorta jumped when I started reading this thread, and I'm really glad you're starting on this sooner than later. Of course, then the hard part is continuing to do it, but you'll burn that bridge when you get to it.
My secret weapon is fitday.com. It's a great website, and it's free. It counts any sort of nutrient you could want, records your exercise and (approximately) how many calories you burn just by being alive, and helps you track goals and such. All you have to do is watch your portions and enter them in. I love it, and use it (nearly) every day. Having anal little charts to fill in really help me focus. Buy an extra set of measuring cups and spoons for pontion control - you'll be using them a lot.
Secret weapon number two - water. Buy a half gallon bottle with a squirt top. Keep it with you at all times - at work, on the bus, whatever. Drink the whole thing every day, more if you need it. You'll be amazed at how much water you want to drink once you're used to always being hydrated. It makes you feel a little bit full, sates some food cravings, and the squirt top helps with the oral fixation part of overeating (yeah guys, you can bring your jokes, but it's god's truth). I want to constantly put something in my mouth (all joking aside), it might as well be water. Plus, all that walking to the bathroom can't hurt.
Any routines take time to become routines. When I'm off exercising for awhile, I'll forget how much I like it. And I really do like it - it's all a matter of finding something you enjoy. For some reason, I love to run, and now that my shin splints/cramps are gone (I bought new shoes! It worked! Thanks for the advice!), I'm working towards a 10k on August 5th, with maybe a half marathon later on in the fall.
I'll be pulling for all of you, and you've inspired me to really kick my sugar habit. Both my folks are fairly overweight, and while they're in relatively good health, I'm still concerned about them not living to see their grandkids. I don't want to end up that way, too.
Oh, and Mel - my boobs are always the first to go, which is disappointing for me - there's not a lot there to begin with. So there's hope! Of course, my hips could survive a few years in a hard labor camp unscathed....
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Oh, now that the boob string is the prize, I want to join this contest.
My last day of work is allegedly June 18. (Unless a doctor refuses to sign a form for the person who's out injured whose job I have, but let's assume she will find some doctor to do it pretty soon if he doesn't.) I am in pretty good shape after six months of being on my feet hauling things around for six or seven hours a day. My goal is to figure out how to stay this way without the job, and incidentally not to go crazy from boredom.
Does that count?
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You have a baby gut? Here I was thinking you had a baby-eating gut.
I'm sorry. It's not even funny to me anymore.
No, of course it's not funny anymore. But it's an old skool TOUAMB cliche, so we have to be faithful to it.
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Oh, and since all the cool kids are doing it, count me in too.
Most of my goals are just to continue what I'm doing. I won't set a weight or measurement goal, because the changes I'm trying to make are all about how I approach eating. I want to stay off the sugar and the booze and quit being run by my belly.
Exercise-wise: Right now I swim 20 laps in just under 30 minutes (28.5 or so on Wednesday). I want to continue to swim 30 minutes, so I will start swimming more laps so to fill up the remaining time. I'll also keep doing my ab workout whenever I swim and do one leg workout and one upper body workout per week. On days when I don't swim and lift, I will take at least a 30 minute walk.
I will stay on the path. I may stumble or make very slow progress, but I will not give up.
Six weeks ago I weighed 275. I weigh 264 now. My big ##### are back to being slightly loose as is my wedding ring.
Hang in there Jough. It can be done.
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Well, the good news is that my heart is both regular size, regularly beating, and seems to be "surprisingly strong." Oh happy day.
They did, however, decide to cancel my stress test because my modest exertions in the office left me out of breath and with a too-fast-heart-rate. How my heart can be healthy and yet beat out of my chest so quickly is beyond me. Maybe the heart itself is okay but the rest of the body is fucked?
In any case, my breathing was improved with a nasal inhaler immediately. I still get ridiculously out of breath from things such as walking up a flight of stairs, but I can actually sit here and not sound like Darth Vader now.
Oh, I also found out that I have allergies now to pollen and stuff. Never did before.
Next week are blood tests, cholesterol, BMI, and all sorts of other fun stuff. It's costing me a fortune but at least I'll have a baseline and will know how to monitor myself somewhat. When I exercise I'll be wearing a heart beat monitor so I can keep myself in my target heartrate zone.
This probably means that I'll be walking two steps per minute at first, but I'm hopeful that I will get stronger rather than die from this.
I haven't exactly been eating "right" but I've been eating "better."
I still need to plan how to eat so that I can live a life and not just get fed up and stop doing it in a month. I think basically I need to figure out things like side dishes. Hear me out.
Usually I will plan a meal with several components: meat, starch, vegetable. Sometimes I will also have a little cup of soup or a salad. Sometimes a Big Salad replaces the vegetable.
Anyway, every "side dish" that I eat regularly is pretty much death to me - mashed/baked/au gratin/french fried (I never make anything deep fried at home, though), stuffing, pasta, rice, you get the idea. Starches. Gotta cut WAY down on them, and pretty much cut out anything processed (white flour, etc.).
But what do I eat instead? I know, more vegetables. I'll do that for a week. Then what?
So I need something that I can not just tolerate for a short time, but a way of eating that doesn't feel like punishment that I can sustain because it is delicious, or at least doesn't taste like ass.
Eating out will really be a challenge. I'm out and about a LOT and need to figure out how not to kill myself at places where humans can buy food. I think I can do pretty well at Subway if I was pressed, although that's hardly health food either.
I tend to overdo things for a short time and then drop them as I get busy or interested with something else. I'd like to think that I'd be more conscientious with my health, but that hasn't really been the case so far and if it feels like torture then I'm probably not going to stick with it.
Anyway, the good news is that light exercise, done right, will likely not kill me. So there's hope.
I should learn more about how the body turns food into energy so that I have a better understanding of what will and what won't be bad for me. It's easy to take someone else's word, of course, but since I'm going to be eating things that are high in nutrition and low in carbs and fat, I'm going to have to monitor myself more closely so as to make sure I'm not doing more harm than good.
I have the time to devote to my health right now, so what the hell. I have nothing to lose but my excess weight in stored fat.
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On side dishes: If you are going to eat more vegetables, they have to be good vegetables. Most of the vegetables you can get in the supermarket taste like shit. Is there a farmer's market that you can get to? It's summer, so you should be able to take advantage of fresh locally grown produce. It's worth it to make the effort, because you really can find vegetables that don't taste like suffering. (Remember, this is coming from someone who defined vegetables in another thread as the class of foods that you wouldn't eat if they weren't good for you.)
This is even more important for fruit. Locally grown peaches, for example - and at my market, locally grown includes peaches that come from Pennsylvania, Jough, so you can get the same ones - can be awesome, as good as any ice cream. (But of course, there's another of our problems - it takes an effort to find a really good peach, and you can only get them two months out of the year. Whereas Ben and Jerry's is always there and always tastes the same no matter where you buy it.)
Our weekly farmer's market has a wider variety, too - kinds of peppers and summer squash that are only grown by small growers, so don't show up in the supermarket. And the other thing about buying locally grown is that if you eat seasonally you don't have the problem that you eat more vegetables for a month and then get bored. Because next month, something different will come into season. I think it's really done our health and cuisine a disservice that we are able to get, for example, shitty tomatoes all year round - better to look forward to and enjoy wonderful tomatoes in the right season, and eat something else in the other seasons.
I can't imagine life without starch, though, Surely whole grains are acceptable?
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I haven't exactly been eating "right" but I've been eating "better."
I still need to plan how to eat so that I can live a life and not just get fed up and stop doing it in a month. I think basically I need to figure out things like side dishes. Hear me out.
Usually I will plan a meal with several components: meat, starch, vegetable. Sometimes I will also have a little cup of soup or a salad. Sometimes a Big Salad replaces the vegetable.
Anyway, every "side dish" that I eat regularly is pretty much death to me - mashed/baked/au gratin/french fried (I never make anything deep fried at home, though), stuffing, pasta, rice, you get the idea. Starches. Gotta cut WAY down on them, and pretty much cut out anything processed (white flour, etc.).
But what do I eat instead? I know, more vegetables. I'll do that for a week. Then what?
I'm really glad your heart isn't enlarged, and especially that you are having medical checkups! That's the best place to start and it sounds like you are willing to invest time and money in this, so keep thinking positive. The hardest part of the whole thing is integrating your new behaviors into your life - once they are there, you won't 'lose interest' because it's just how you do things. You haven't lost interest in wearing shoes or breathing yet. And you won't...same with the healthy habits once they become your lifestyle.
Wombat is right on the vegetables and fruits. I would offer two pieces of advice:
1) There are a lot of fruits and vegetables you probably haven't tried. James Peterson has a good cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0688146589/sr=8-1/qid=1149290343/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-7507084-4481607?%5Fencoding=UTF8) that discusses a lot of vegetables - what they are, how to handle them and how to cook them. Try some new vegetables
2) I'm not one and never will be, but there are some great vegetarian dishes out there. Many of us are kind of programmed with a bias toward meat and meat stock flavoring dishes, so a good vegetarian cookbook and/or a cookbook from a cusine that is highly vegetarian (Like Indian (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0066214025/qid=1149291250/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/002-7507084-4481607?s=books&v=glance&n=283155), or some SE Asian countries (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/1579651143/ref=cm_cr_dp_2_1/002-7507084-4481607?%5Fencoding=UTF8&customer-reviews.sort%5Fby=-SubmissionDate&n=283155)) could really help you out. Also, eating at Vegetarian/Vegan restaurants and ethnic restaurants can help you get good veggies and lower fat/lower starch dishes into you.
One more thing - are they going to check out how your meatabolism is doing? Before you change your diet too drastically, you want to be sure you won't have a problem with the sudden change.
I have to throw out some props to Mite. Portion controlling is really really really hard. You have food in front of you and you measure out a little pile and restrict yourself - that takes either great discipline or an effective peer-shame deterrent in the house. So good going - I couldn't do that, I know. Sorry about your boobies, though. Maybe you can reward yourself with 50 HH implants when you reach your goals. Or whatever.
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I have to throw out some props to Mite...I know. Sorry about your boobies, though. Maybe you can reward yourself with 50 HH implants when you reach your goals. Or whatever.
Dayumm!!!
~Paul
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Regarding side dishes - when I'm eating properly, they don't exist.
Allow me to explain. I'm usually crazy hungry from about 7am until after lunch time. After that, if I haven't exercised, I could really go the rest of the day and not need to eat anything. Even if I have worked out, I'll just eat a salad with some tuna on it for dinner or something. However, my morning metabolism means I actually eat 4 meals a day instead of 3: breakfast at 6, something substantial around 9 or 10, lunch, maybe some veggies or something at 3, and a light dinner.
Now, since I'm a girl, I usually only eat 1500 calories a day, and a strapping young man like yourself will surely require more, but instead of eating big meals, try several smaller ones. It's standard advice, I know, but it works for me. Yes, you'll feel like you're starving to death for the first week or two, but then your stomach will shrink (it will, I promise), and you'll no longer want to eat an entree with a couple of sides. I really can't even comprehend eating that much in one sitting.
I don't even need HH's. I'd just like to properly fill out a B! Luckily, my new birth control has helped me out a bit - you boys don't even know the power of hormones.
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On side dishes: If you are going to eat more vegetables, they have to be good vegetables. Most of the vegetables you can get in the supermarket taste like shit. Is there a farmer's market that you can get to? It's summer, so you should be able to take advantage of fresh locally grown produce. It's worth it to make the effort, because you really can find vegetables that don't taste like suffering. (Remember, this is coming from someone who defined vegetables in another thread as the class of foods that you wouldn't eat if they weren't good for you.)
This is even more important for fruit. Locally grown peaches, for example - and at my market, locally grown includes peaches that come from Pennsylvania, Jough, so you can get the same ones - can be awesome, as good as any ice cream. (But of course, there's another of our problems - it takes an effort to find a really good peach, and you can only get them two months out of the year. Whereas Ben and Jerry's is always there and always tastes the same no matter where you buy it.)
Our weekly farmer's market has a wider variety, too - kinds of peppers and summer squash that are only grown by small growers, so don't show up in the supermarket. And the other thing about buying locally grown is that if you eat seasonally you don't have the problem that you eat more vegetables for a month and then get bored. Because next month, something different will come into season. I think it's really done our health and cuisine a disservice that we are able to get, for example, shitty tomatoes all year round - better to look forward to and enjoy wonderful tomatoes in the right season, and eat something else in the other seasons.
I can't imagine life without starch, though, Surely whole grains are acceptable?
This has been a part of my problem these past 6 months. I've lost contact with my farmers market. They only stock the good stuff that's in season and it's get it while it's there and enjoy then move on to the next thing that is fresh and in season. Of course this makes me weep because It's the peak of Tomato season in Houston and i'm dying for a homegrown tomato. Dying I ttell 'ya(see how i'm tying it all back into the thread title). Although, I'd say not bad for four days (http://www.paulmcrae.com/FEATURES/TOM_06/IMAGES/1024/DSCN13467-E-1024.jpg). These are my Memorial Day tomatoes (http://www.paulmcrae.com/FEATURES/TOM_06/IMAGES/1024/DSCN13391-E-1024.jpg).
~Paul
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I don't even need HH's. I'd just like to properly fill out a B! Luckily, my new birth control has helped me out a bit - you boys don't even know the power of hormones.
The Hell I don't. THis is the third baby! My wife is blessed with vast tracts of land these days.
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Q. What happens when you change your diet abruptly from high carb, high fat, to low/no carb, low fat?
A. Your blood sugar crashes suddenly and you lose consciousness in the middle of your living room.
Also, it is not fun to have orange juice fed to you while you are not alert enough to swallow it. Also, orange juice burns your nasal passages when accidentally inhaled.
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Dang! Maybe abrupt isn't the best of ideas.
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Yeah, but today was food shopping day, and it seemed kinda stupid to buy stuff that's bad for me. Anyway, I may get one of those blood sugar testers for yet another thing to monitor. I could really use a medical Tricorder to just check my vitals all the time.
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I have the most horrible oral fixation. it is rediculous.
also: once I realized that, I realized that I also have the personality aspects. Damn.
yes, orange juice can be pretty painful.
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Don't let this episode provide you with an excuse to chuck healthy eating.
Dang Jough, you are making me feel guilty for being over the moon ecstatic that i've gotten my groove back. Two days on program, getting my activity in, following all the healthy guidelines (including milk), and portion control. Yeah.
Dammit Jough, we've got to find a silver lining here. It fills me with anxiety to read about your health problems because I love you brother and it would break my heart if something tragic were to befall you. I'm certain i'm not the only one who feels this way.
I'm gonna get spiritual here for a moment if I may, but I think it was more than a coincidence that three members of this board, independant of one another, decided to begin major health initiatives on the exact same day. You can take that as you may, the hand of God, psychic energy, karma, whatever. I believe that we were each put in the path of the others to change the course of our jouney, to lead us back to the path of good health. All of us here, everyone that desires a healthier life, we'll walk this path together.
Damn I went all Anthony Robbins there, sorry about that.
~Paul
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Jesus, Jough, sorry you got set back so early. I wonder if there's some system you can work to get a blood sugar tester for free/reduced cost? Those things are a little pricey, from what I understand. In the meantime, I guess keep one of those marathoners' energy gels in your pocket like diabetics do? Glad somebody's there taking care of you!
And I'll second everything Paul said. You're a damn fine guy, and we want to keep you around a while.
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Mite is definitely right about the water thing. We all need to remember to keep hydrated if where pushing our metabolisms harder and sweating more. I've had one of those indestructible Nalgene bottles you get at sports/mountain climbing stores for ages, and have found that I need to drink 1000ml to 2000ml's of water per day.
In regard to the side dishes issue: because I used to be vegetarian, I've continued to plan my meals around a main vegetable, and then add on either meat or a meat substitute. Since vegetables are only in season at certain times of the year, re-framing your thoughts to figure out the vegetable first might make the whole process easier for some- it does for me. I have a lot of trouble with the grains part of the meal. I especially want to eat whole grains, and for breakfast and lunch that's easy - fiber based cereal or bar for breakfast, and whole wheat bread/pita for lunch - but what about dinner? Any ideas of healthy grain dishes for dinner? How many of you think starchy vegetables are an okay substitute? Are there ways to prepair corn and potatoes in a way that is actually edible without butter or oil? I was thinking maybe it's better to just eat protein and veggies at dinner and have a light-starch based snack later at night.
I'm off to go grocery shopping today with my new frame of mind. I'm looking forward to exploring, and will make sure to eat breakfast before heading out. Life Lesson: Do not go grocery shoppint while hungry. If you do, and if you're me, you will find almost everything looks good, and that you forget to purchase with and actual meal plan in mind.
Also, jough, thank god you don't deep fry at home. My SO and I have always talked of this as a line that should never be crossed. I don't know how anyone can own a deep fryer. It would definitely be dangerous for me. This is how my brain works: "these vegetables would be so much tastier if I toss them in tempura batter and deep fry them!" or "this barely-nutritious bland-o chicken breast needs a crispy batter to make it palletable!" In deed, it's the road to hell for me.
When it comes to the passing out thing... all I can do is restate Mite's advice about staying hydrated and my own note about whole grains. All I know is that if you're eating whole grains for the bulk of your carbohydrates, that these things are digested slowly, which equals moderate, more even blood sugar, where as, say, your average standardized slice of white bread will give you a big blood sugar jolt, then leave you high and dry, and possibly dizzy. Just take care of yourself - take rests when you need them, start figuring our your boundaries. You and I are under a lot more psychological stress than we may realize, and that also seriously takes it's toll too. (AD I appreciate your advice to tend to my whole self - that's good truth-speaking). Last night I had and argument with my SO, who was trying to feed me a cashew. I said "no! I'm counting those out for portion controle! Leave me alone!" and shortly after burst in to tears.
Thankfully I'm surrounded my artist hippies most days who are all about proper care of what they call their "instruments" - yeah, actors call their bodies their "instruments" - maybe it's a little cheesy, but it's also a good metaphone to think about before putting something in your mouth, or sitting on the couch all night: Is this how I want to treat my instrument?
It's funny, for me, I was force-dieted from the age of 7 through adulthood, and then surrounded by a community of very health conscious people for the entirety of my adult life thus far. I am very well educated on healthy eating, proper nutritional balance and healthy exercise practices, yet I've failed until now to actually apply this knowledge to my self in a healthful way. Why? Probably an act of rebellion against my mom. You denied me food through-out childhood? Well fuck you, I'm eating this entire back of chips! You denied me love? Well fuck you, Colonel Sanders won't reject me! You made me feel lonely by being cold and un-giving? Well fuck you, this burger and fries is warm and will keep my company!
How fucked up is that? Holy shit! I need to come back and read that last paragraph everyday for the next week. It's amazing how the conscious part of my brain is able to see this, but how my subconscious is still hardwired to work this way no matter what. I know it is possible to change the wiring. I managed to rewire the part of my brain that told me I don't deserve love or personal success, and have both now, so there's got to be a way to rewire this other part of my brain too. I just need a mantra.
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Man this board is good therapy. Keep up the processing, Smells.
I've also basically been dieting since 2nd grade - though not forceably at least. Those childhood relationships with food are tough to beat back.
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on this board, I'm never sure who to hug first. I think we should have some kind of lottery system, where a different person is To Be Hugged each day.
I'm kind of tempted to tell my actor friends that their body is their instrument. They're already at the point of reading wierd zen-books about acting...
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Q. What happens when you change your diet abruptly from high carb, high fat, to low/no carb, low fat?
A. Your blood sugar crashes suddenly and you lose consciousness in the middle of your living room.
Also, it is not fun to have orange juice fed to you while you are not alert enough to swallow it. Also, orange juice burns your nasal passages when accidentally inhaled.
One more thing - are they going to check out how your metabolism is doing? Before you change your diet too drastically, you want to be sure you won't have a problem with the sudden change.
Well, thank God someone was around. Now go get a glucose tolerance test and find out if you have an extra challenge to deal with.
Also, like Aug said: No abrupt changes.
We want you around for a long time, dude, so hang in there.
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Uh, damn. I disappear for a couple days due to Life Circumstances, and this happens.
To rant aimlessly about myself for a while, this is a topic that hits pretty close to home for me for two reasons:
1) I am a person of gravity, and my family history of cholesterol is pretty atrocious. Because of this, I am, at age 22, on cholesterol medication. This hit me hard for the first couple of weeks, when I dealt with the feeling that you only got cholesterol meds if you were basically ancient and dying.
2) I am a scant two months from being in my first real adult living experience -- my own apartment, with minimal or no college dining hall access -- and I really don't know how to cook. As such, I am horrified that my nascent food- and eating-trend-consciousness will detonate and I'll start eating a diet of only delivery pizza until my body explodes.
Does anyone have any advice on being health-conscious when busy, somewhat poor (oh, graduate school stipend!), and incompetent? I just want stuff that I can buy and cook for myself that will increase the amount of time between now and my death. I'm working around a seriously pedestrian set of tastes, too; I'm one of those people who would go vegetarian, for health and ethics, except that beef tastes so good. I'm really not sure I can go without hamburgers, but hamburgers will kill me. It is a quandary.
To everyone in this thread hoping to lose weight/get healthy, rock on and good luck. I think that the health-focused approach is best, definitely; I'm the kind of person who basically never loses weight, but I do what I can to keep myself active and well, and thus far it seems to be working even if the scale isn't reflecting it. Self-improvement is never a bad idea.
Jough, my condolences. Definitely, definitely start monitoring blood sugar, since even if you can stop collapsing you're going to want to stay even-tempered, which blood sugar problems can fuck with fast. Take care, man. I'm not sure how to say this without sounding flip, but... it would suck if you died.
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V-
It's a bizarre thing in our society, but the less money you have the harder it is to eat a healthy diet. There is a funny but fairly OK cookbook called 'Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen!' which is meant especially for your demographic and situation. That might help you develop some basic skills/ideas about cooking both for yourself and for others.
Beyond that, eating fresh fruits and vegetables, limiting fat and red meat, whole grains and avoiding complex carbs will pay off in the long run. I think for some people in grad school and research roles, a big problem (aside from finances for many) is finding time to shop for and prepare healthy meals, especially if you have lab projects that make your schedule irregular.
So, back to the wellness drum I've been thumping; make sure to make time for yourself to engage in all those other aspects of life beyond your educational/occupational life. That's where your time to devote to your health and relationships is.
Go Bucks! (Every fall, I want to go back to Columbus on a home football Saturday. One of these years...)
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a seriously pedestrian set of tastes,
For some odd reason that I really don't want to contemplate, I first perceived this phrase as, "a serious pedestrian set of testes..."
You must admit that's a strange image.
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I can post a picture of this gut that won't go away. Any of you other guys have this problem? I have great blood pressure, get lots of great outdoors excercise and this paunch won't budge. Maybe I need Pilates or yoga or something. I actually want to keep my weight the same but lose the paunch and put on upper body muscle.
Yes.
When I dieted hardcore, the gut went gone, but when I stopped dieting it returned with a vengeance. Now that I have been exercising regularly and reduced calories slightly, I've become distinctly stronger, muscles have become distinctly more cut, and my gut has actually gotten fatter. My belts will confirm this if you ask them.
Anyways, I would like to weigh in on this competition.
Current: 211 lbs (95 kg)
Goal: 185 lbs by January 1st, 2007 (84 kg by 1st January, 2007)
Method: Cardio, weights, no food before sleeping, everytime I eat chocolate I will drop a softball onto my testes from a height of three ft. (91.44 cm)
If we are unsuccessful, then I suggest we start a lottery pool, and when it wins, all travel to Mexico for discount lipo.
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I'm not really sure when or how this turned into a competition. I mean, my goal is not to die by the end of the year, so if I achieve it, I guess I "win."
I'm still trying to find a decent/easy way to keep track of what I eat, along with my progress, etc. I think I'm looking for something with a nutrition database (so I can track what I've consumed in terms of vitamins, fat, carbs, calories, etc.) and also has a journal or blog-like component.
Of course, being a dude who makes web sites, I guess my last option is to build the thing, but of course that also means more hours sitting here. Hm...
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Jough, I recommended Calorie King earlier. It won't list vitamins, but it'll list everything else you mentioned. No blog, either, but it seems that might be easily remedied.
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In regard to the competition/wager/off track betting aspect of all this, I propose the following:
We each set a reasonable goal for ourselves, that we personally feel will be highly challenging but not impossible, which we hope to reach by a mutually decided upon date in September. S/he who reaches and/or exceeds said goal by the most tangible measure on this date would be the "winner," s/he who fails to reach said goal by the most tangible measure on this date is the loser and must donate$50 dollars to the charity of the winner's choice.
As for everyone else who falls in the middle , what do we want to do? We could say the middling people can bask in the glory of mediocrity, or all those under the "winner" could all be declaired losers, meaning that everyone that participates, but the one winner, are all losers and have to donate. We could have the board vote on who the winner/loser is based on stated goal vs results.
My goal for September, as I noted before is: to have lost at least 20 pounds and be able to run three miles in under 30 minutes on an elliptical trainer. This is not to say that the working-toward-wellness goal wont be on-going after September (i.e. for me I hope to lose and additional 50 pounds or so in the long term), but that during the entire summer, anyone who wants to participate, will have a specific goal they can focus on/compeat for. It's a jump start toward a healthier life.
Jough, it's definitly best that you wait on all your doctor's results before setting a specific goal, but I'm sure after all the tests are in that your doc will want to set some goals for you anyway, and that you want to set some goals for yourself. Once you know what's up, I'm sure you'll feel a little less overwhelmed, and can start thinking positivly about your future. For you, a big victory could probably be a physical feat, like walking to a certain location that you chose and back - some distance that you can't walk now, but that you think you might realistically achieve in 3 months with steady effort toward the goal.
Anyone who wants to be part of the wager, I propose we all trust each other to set our own reasonable personal goals, that we state them here, report back regularly, and also trust each other that we report back our September results honestly. For me anyway, it's more about working toward something, with a specific goal and a clear negative result if I fail (for me $50 is a lot of money, and being confined to a wheelchair is a scary fate that I want to put off).
Also, for anyone who worries about spending too much time at the computer, got to this website. (http://www.deathclock.com/) Even though the clock leaves out a lot of other important factors, once you have your death clock, it's really scary to actually see seconds of your life ticking away. The clock says I'm dying on Monday, Dec 9th, 2052. I'm interested in checking back in September to see how much the date's changed.
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Also, for anyone who worries about spending too much time at the computer, got to this website. (http://www.deathclock.com/) Even though the clock leaves out a lot of other important factors, once you have your death clock, it's really scary to actually see seconds of your life ticking away.
Oh, so not clicking.
If we all meet our goals, do you cut up the boob string and send each of us a piece?
I skipped dessert the last two days. I thought of you all.
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I'm not really into the wagering/competition thing. That just doens't work well for me in general, and doesn't fit well with what I'm trying to do. I think mutual support is more what I've got in mind, but I think this thread will work for that too, so I'm good.
RE: Guts that won't go away. Count me in. I'm graaaaadually losing weight, my muscles are hard and I can do more than I used to. But I'm not moving to any new holes on the belt. It kind of sucks, but I'm taking it philosophically. If I'm feeling better and my blood pressure's down, I can live with a big gut.
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Oh, so not clicking.
wombat: it is totally safe for work to click, but also very depressing.
If we all meet our goals, do you cut up the boob string and send each of us a piece?
Ah the boob string... Jeez wombat, you're really in to the boob string. You've alluded to your own giant rack on occasion, are you curious as to who has the larger rack? I seem to remember a time on IRC where the boys compaired their... Anyway, is it something like that? Don't worry, you'll always have the bigger rack to me, darling.
I will happily make copies of the boob string for all who achieve their goals and want one.
I skipped dessert the last two days. I thought of you all.
Yesterday I went out for lunch with a friend at our usual spot, where I normally always order chicken fingers and fries, and I ordered Dal Soup (aka vegetarian lentil soup) instead. My friend was shocked. It is not a good sign when eating healthy confuses your friends, but it was a small victory to eat a healthy meal at a restaurant. Also, the soup was delicious.
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I'm not really into the wagering/competition thing. That just doens't work well for me in general, and doesn't fit well with what I'm trying to do. I think mutual support is more what I've got in mind, but I think this thread will work for that too, so I'm good.
That's fine Aug, I certainly welcome those who wish to audit the course. I'm sure everyone does. I still wish to be punished if I fail/give up. I need that sort of reinforcement. Does anyone else want in on the bet/wager/competition aspect of this? If not, I can just say that if I don't personally succeed, you all need to hold me to it, and I will donate $50 to jough's proposed charity - breast cancer.
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Jough, I recommended Calorie King earlier. It won't list vitamins, but it'll list everything else you mentioned. No blog, either, but it seems that might be easily remedied.
I did check that one out Jorge, thanks for the link. I'll probably be looking at some other demos this week, too, to find something that suits my needs. Calorie King looks pretty sweet, though, and they also offer a PalmOS version that I can carry with me, so that makes it a clear favourite so far.
I'm also not above making a web site to chart my progress, only because it's public and will keep me honest. It may just be something as simple as a blog, and maybe someone's already done a "What I ate today" plug-in for WordPress. I'll have to look into it. I'd like my food tracking software to be able to export a day's food items to some usable format like XML or CSV. That would be useful.
I use technology every day for every other aspect of my life, I may as well leverage my strengths to help me with this project too.
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I still wish to be punished
QFT.
Does anyone else want in on the bet/wager/competition aspect of this? If not, I can just say that if I don't personally succeed, you all need to hold me to it, and I will donate $50 to jough's proposed charity - breast cancer.
I'm in for the contest if we set our own goals, but then if we succeed the charities get shafted then?
I guess I'm not sure how such a contest would work. I'm imagining this as that Seinfeld contest, but with health instead of masturbation.
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Well, jough if there's only a couple of us in for the actual wager portion of things, there could be only one winner, deemed most sucessful as determined by the board - because there's nothing saying you can't exceed your goal, and all others would have to pay up to the charities. So no, the charity wouldn't lose.
Also, inregard to the Seinfeld thing... yeah, if I swore off something specific, like saying "I'll never eat Doritos again," you can damn well know I'd start wanting Doritos right now, and that I would eventually lose. I don't want to lose, nor do I want to be on a diet, or in any situation where specific things are forbidden. Since I am not swearing off anything, I've yet to have an actual craving for anything, which is very different from when I've been on actual diets. This is a good thing.
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a huge number of guys at my school did the seinfeld thing one year.
that was an awkward year. people were so... irritable. And they'd bring it up constantly.
"Tristan, why haven't you learned your lines yet?"
"do you know what, man? I haven't jacked-off in 2 months."
"oh. sorry."
"damn right! 2 months and 3 days"
the best were the guys who went out after like... a day. How could you need it that much? Maybe I am irregular in this.
returning to the actual topic, I think it would make the most sense if everyone who reached their goal was a "winner." Since speed is not healthy, and going beyond the goal is not necessarily a good thing in all circumstances.
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Ah the boob string... Jeez wombat, you're really in to the boob string. You've alluded to your own giant rack on occasion, are you curious as to who has the larger rack? .
I hadn't even thought of that. It just seems like such a... unique contest prize.
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I'm imagining this as that Seinfeld contest, but with health instead of masturbation.
I am not familiar with this Seinfeld contest, but your comparison leads me to conclude, since this is a race to better health, that was a race to better masturbation? Um, in prime time?
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Are you not familiar with Seinfeld at all? Because the "Master of Your Domain" episode is probably the best known and most quoted of them all.
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I understand that Seinfeld was a show about some people who lived in New York City. I believe it was the Upper West Side. One was a standup comedian, one was tall, and one was a girl. In the last episode, they went to jail. And there was something about soup.
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I'm not really sure when or how this turned into a competition.
Well, I don't think anyone really cares about competing, but sharing the goals can help keep everyone motivated.
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I think goals are of course important, and if others are interested in a push towards healthiness too, then we can be a support system for each other (in addition, of course, to our usual support).
To that end I think maybe some kind of web-based system would be in order. I have a lot of stuff on my plate (excuse the pun) already, so I'm hoping to find some kind of health-minder social networking site that we could join that would offer at least:
* a blog / journal
* a diet log of what we eat
* a way to set goals and waypoints (short and long term goals) and then plot progress, preferably with pretty graphs
* some means of interaction between members, like a shared message board or something.
While I haven't searched for such a thing in earnest, I would be surprised if such a site did not already exist. If not, I guess the market is ready for one, so I'd be down if I could find someone to partner with to make it happen. It's a big undertaking.
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fitday.com does the first 3 of those, but it's not public (to my knowledge) with no way to see each others' stuff or converse about our dietary habits. It might give you a start, at least, and it's free.
And V - eating properly is actually cheaper. Not only in the "if you eat well you won't have to pay for diabetic supplies when you're 50" kind of way, but if you've got a farmer's market nearby, actually cheaper. We eat tons of beans and rice and vegetables and stuff, and we spend way less money on food than our friends who eat off of the dollar menu every day. It's all just planning, and the willingness to actually cook. We make a big mess of food once or twice a week, and then live off of that until it's gone. I recommend getting a rice cooker, and maybe buying my favorite cookbook, Clueless in the Kitchen. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1552092240/sr=8-1/qid=1149545205/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-0757581-2527948?%5Fencoding=UTF8) Don't let the spin of the book fool you. I'm not, nor have I ever been, clueless in the kitchen, but it's still my most used cookbook by far.
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I like fitday - it does the things Mite mentions pretty well, and the journaling thing can be public ( Here's mine (http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=AlohaDawg)) and we already have a message board...you could maybe create a forum just for the people who want to do this and discuss this, and restrict the membership to the participaters.
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Sweet! I've used it regulary for over a year, and I had no idea it did that. Thanks for looking, Dawg.
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...the journaling thing can be public ( Here's mine (http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=AlohaDawg))
Wait... you ate at McDonald's? That seems so... contrary... or something.
Also, your journal reminded me that your third wee one's due date is sneaking up really fast. You must be getting excited!
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I spent about 20 minutes putting in the nine things that I ate today, but I wasn't about to try to break down the 1/3 cup of homemade potato salad - I mean, there's just no way for me to figure out the calories in that stuff.
This project may at the very least get me to eat simpler things whose calories can be measured, since there's no way I want to spend an hour a day recording my meals on the computer when I could do it by hand in three minutes.
So of course this means that I haven't found the right tool yet.
I think I can "build" a recipe in Calorie King and save it. I will probably tend to eat a lot of the same sorts of things from time to time, as I find healthy dishes that I like, and so to be able to save "red beans and rice" with all of the ingredients already accounted for will be helpful.
Right now I'm concentrating on being conscious of what I put into my body, trying to get more exercise, and cutting down on portions, drinking lots (and lots) of water, and at least having to get up to pee every half an hour will get me moving out of this chair throughout the work day.
I have the advantage that I can take an hour in the morning, and hour in the afternoon, etc., and concentrate on exercise or health things. So while I have this luxury (i.e. poverty) I will make use of it.
I am already feeling better, but some of that is the adrenalin of starting this new project.
I didn't have a bagel this morning like I do most mornings, and I did miss it a bit. I didn't miss it though once I was done eating my cereal (plus two strawberries) and then pounding down 32 oz. of water.
I'm weaning myself off of coffee this week, too. Only three cups today. Tomorrow, two, but I'll let myself go back downstairs for a third if I really want it. Then I'll have just one cup, or maybe skip a day and see how it goes.
It's a drug, I'm addicted, so I am not expecting this to be easy. People around me are already trying to undermine my success, telling me that since I've been doing so well it's okay to have a piece of cake or something. I don't even want cake.
Anyway, it is not my job to make other people feel better by eating the same shitty foods that they do. I did that for close to 30 years. I'm done now.
Having said all that, I still ate too much for dinner tonight, even with the reduced portions. I guess I didn't reduce them enough. I was left with "unused" calories though and the book I'm reading says that I won't lose weight if I don't consume all of my 2000 calories. I think I'll try to knock that down to 1800 and see how it goes. I think I could do 1800 calories without even changing that much. I'm taking it slow, now, and once I talk with my new doctor I hope that we can figure out how many calories I actually need and what percentage of what should add up to them.
This one book that I have since thrown away suggested that calories in < calories burned = weight loss, which is so over-simplified as to be useless. I mean, I could do a 1200 calorie diet, but if I consume all of those calories by eating butter I'll be dead within a month (if not sooner).
I'm pretty obsessive and addictive in general, so moderation and not over-doing health now will probably be a bigger challenge than laying off of the desserts.
I'm just finding that I'm pretty unknowledgeable about the nutritional values of various foods. I have a bag of black beans. Are they good for me or bad for me? Sure, they contain starch, which in theory is bad, but is it the bad kind of starch or is it okay?
I need to do a lot more studying on this. I was so ignorant I didn't even know how much I didn't know until I started trying to count calories this weekend.
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Beans are pretty great for you, as I understand it. The canned ones are loaded with salt, so it seems that a bag would be better. I understand that fiber (of which virtually all beans have plenty) mitigates many of the negative effects of carbohydrates in the same meal. It prevents your blood sugar from spiking, or something like that by slowing down digestion.
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I got the impression you could save a recipe and revisit it again later. It seems like an awesome tool to me. I fudged (mmm fudge j/k) on some of the stuff, but I think it's accurate enough.
I follow WW points system and that works for me, but this is a good tool. Something to play with that'll keep me focused on the health. Portable too.
45 minutes of tennis tonight. Legs are rubber. Swimming tomorrow. On track five days straight. Hell yes.
~Paul
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this will be the healthiest group of internet-message-board-users of all time.
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Once you get used to the system, you can use it pretty quickly. Once you have a few days worth of stuff in your "recent foods" menu, you can just pull a lot of stuff off of that. Sadly, one of the keys to weight loss is losing a bit of the crazy variety Americans can get in our food. At least I think so - you're likely to eat less if you're just a tiny bit sick of what you're eating. Only a tiny bit, though.
And Jough - it really is calories in < calories burned = weight loss, for the most part. Try to keep your fat under 30% of your food (that's why fitday's pie chart is so nice). For protein, I think the rule is .8 g per kilogram of body weight, which shouldn't be any kind of a problem for a meat eater. Whole grain carbs take up the rest, which should give you about 20-25 g of fiber a day. All of this stuff is displayed for you right on fitday, and if you want to go crazy it'll even show you how much vitamin A and selenium and whatever you're getting in your diet.
I know I'm the same kind of compulsive you are, and I know that if I let myself read too much about omega 3 fatty acids or trans fats or whatever, I'd never get anything else done, and then get sick of it and give up. But you really don't need to bother all that much. If you can, choose lower-fat foods (cracker barrel's 2% cheese is good, reduced fat feta is great, skim milk rather than whole, lean meats, sugar free fudgsicles are basically like treasure and 40 calories each). Only buy whole wheat bread - it should have "whole wheat" as the first ingredient, not "enriched wheat flour" or "unbleached wheat flour". A lot of wheat bread is just white bread with caramel coloring in it.
I know this sounds like a ton of work, and it is at first, but now I really don't need to think about it much. I know what's in the food I like, and I've changed my buying habits a bit to make better food choices, and it only takes me 5 minutes to put it all in the computer. That's it. Anybody who's telling you it's complicated is probably trying to sell you something. That doesn't mean it's easy to be healthier, mind, it's hard as hell, but not because it's complicated.
And good luck with giving up coffee. I had to dramatically cut back last year about this time, and it's done me a world of good. I got a french press instead of the big pot, so now I only have 1 cup of really good, rich coffee and I don't feel like I'm wasting a half-pot of drip.
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I'm pretty obsessive and addictive in general, so moderation and not over-doing health now will probably be a bigger challenge than laying off of the desserts.
You probably have to be obsessive to manage it, but since you say you are, it is possible to drink too much water. It must be true because it says so on the internet. http://chemistry.about.com/cs/5/f/blwaterintox.htm (http://chemistry.about.com/cs/5/f/blwaterintox.htm)
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I am not yet at a part of my life where I am caffeine-addicted.
this is probably my one healthy characteristic.
and yes, you can OD on water.
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The bottom line is this: it's possible to drink too much water, but unless you are running a marathon or an infant, water intoxication is a very uncommon condition.
I don't think that's going to be a problem for me. Worst case scenario - I replace one or two bottles of water with Gatorade.
I already tend to drink a LOT of fluids, but I like to fill a pint glass up with ice now, drink the water in it, and then over trhe next hour chew the ice. It keeps me not eating food (not that I eat constantly anyway - like I said, I tend to eat way way less than my fit friends do) and I like the cold and slow water intake throughout the day.
I'm pretty much done with soda now. I've been drinking 4C Sugar-Free Iced Tea for about a year now, and while I probably drink too much of it (it has Splenda, and tastes sweeter than their sugar-filled offering) I'm just replacing the iced tea with water now, and not really missing the tea much. I tended to make it pretty weak anyway since it is so ridiculously sweet.
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In terms of the fitday thing - I'm trying to use it as a general guide - I'm not about to research everything that goes in my mouth for really fine details like how much seleniumn there is (I have found no source for this information if it's a custom food) in it, but it is interesting to look at the charts that tell you if you are getting your vitamins and minerals or not. I definitely need to supplement. Also, I'm noticing that without conscious effort, I tend not to get enough dietary fiber. I may need to supplement that as well.
Yeah, McDonald's. Right next to my office. One thing about McDonald's is that I can readily get detailed nutrition information for everything there. Also, I love the Asian Chicken Salad. I'm gonna skip the McMuffins and get the fruit and walnut salad from now on, though. And sometimes go to Jamba Juice.
As for the excitement - baby is due July 14th; we are moving this weekend; The rent is $520 higher plus another kid = more child care, so I also need to either find a new job, develop a new income stream, or buy some pantyhose to wear on my head while I'm saying "I'll take all the cash in the drawer and these here huggies".
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Whole grain update: I just tried a brown rice pasta, brand name Tinkyada. Hang on to your seats while my Italian grandmother spins fast enough in her grave to disturb the rotation of the planet, but, it's really not bad. Not nearly as bad as whole wheat pasta, even the one I tried that was recommended by Cook's Illustrated. I reserve complete judgment until I try it in the finished dish later tonight. But with just a slug of olive oil and salt, and NOT cooked as long as they say, it's pretty tolerable. If you weren't a lunatic like me about pasta you'd probably have no complaints.
HOWEVER: Despite being made of brown rice with extra rice bran, its fiber and carbohydrate numbers are not noticably different from those of white wheat pasta. So, does anyone know - is it still better for you? Is there a Secret Power of whole grains that isn't reflected in the nutrition labelling? For comparison, whole wheat pasta has the same carbohydrate number, but 5 grams of fiber per serving compared to 2 grams for those other guys, although it also unfortunately has the property of being disgusting.
AD: Don't you need to start a bed and breakfast? You like to cook. You are surrounded by tourists. And soon you will have plenty of child labor to help make the beds!
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Worst case scenario - I replace one or two bottles of water with Gatorade.
Unless they've significantly changed their formula in the past couple of years, Gatorade's nutritional qualities are interchangeable with those of orange juice diluted 50/50 with water.
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HOWEVER: Despite being made of brown rice with extra rice bran, its fiber and carbohydrate numbers are not noticably different from those of white wheat pasta. So, does anyone know - is it still better for you? Is there a Secret Power of whole grains that isn't reflected in the nutrition labelling? For comparison, whole wheat pasta has the same carbohydrate number, but 5 grams of fiber per serving compared to 2 grams for those other guys, although it also unfortunately has the property of being disgusting.
AD: Don't you need to start a bed and breakfast? You like to cook. You are surrounded by tourists. And soon you will have plenty of child labor to help make the beds!
Fiber delays the metabolism of carbs and some get flushed out, so some diets allow you to eat more carbs if you eat more fiber (to a point). So if the numbers are kind of close, but the fiber is higher and the carbs are lower, the 'low carb' effect is magnified.
Bed and Breakfast sounds fun. But Median Home Price on Oahu just went over $668,000 so it's not gonna happen soon.
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OK, so if the brown rice pasta somehow manages to have the same amount of fiber as normal white pasta - should I just forget about it and eat the white pasta? (Because I am sure as heck not eating that whole wheat crap.) Does it have no other benefits if it's not higher in fiber?
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Whole wheat pasta is teh suck.
That is all.
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Whole wheat tortillas also suck chonk balls. I wonder why it's so hard to make good whole grain stuff?
Oh, and I talked so much about good dietary habits, and then ate roughly 4 billion cookies today. I'm totally weak around free food! I can avoid junk all day long if I have to pay for it, but as soon as it's just lying around, I'm done.
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Bad Moments in Healthy Living Part One: Walking to work this morning as I have for every day since last Wednesday. It is quite hot, and as the walk takes 50 minute going East, I am walking directly into the sun, and am nice and sweaty when I get to work. So I am walking, and I get to an intersection, with the little happy-walking-man-symbol, I proceed to cross, only to hear the horrible sound of squealing tires as a mini-van turning right nearly plows into me. It stops about six inches away from my face, with it's front bumper about 3 ft past where I am standing. As my brain is realizing I was nearly killed, I proceed to walk around the van that nearly killed me, and the driver honks at me.
Bad Moment in Healthy Living Part Two: I normally take my breakfast with me to work, where I eat it while starting my day, but this morning a crisis arose that took me away from my normal routine and I only ate my banana, and not my All Bran Bar. I was out of time. By the time I realized this it was 1 PM. On the way home I began to worry about the inevitable diet boredom that leads to surrendering to the deep fried, and decided that I need to take preventative action stop this before it happens by ensuring good variety. I go to Chinatown in search of dragon fruit, star fruit, or some strange spice to challenge my taste buds. I am walking around when suddenly my body is very fuck*ng angry at me, and I realize it is 3:00 PM and the only thing I've eaten all day is a banana. Oh the hunger. I leave the store without buying anything and get myself home and eat something.
Anyway, as of tomorrow morning it's been a week, and I've promised myself to not be obsessive and only weigh myself once a week. I've had a lot of big triumphs like running for 30 minutes straight yesterday (I'm nowhere near my goal of 3 miles in 30 min, but it was nice to get ridiculously sweaty), and not surrendering to drive through when the insane hunger hit in Chinatown today. I feel good.
Also, AD - holy hell that is a lot of stress headed your way, but I'm sure it will all be worth it. The advice you would give me if I were you, is to remember to take care of all aspects of your life. Try not to get into a mode where your putting out fires, eh?
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OK, so if the brown rice pasta somehow manages to have the same amount of fiber as normal white pasta - should I just forget about it and eat the white pasta? (Because I am sure as heck not eating that whole wheat crap.) Does it have no other benefits if it's not higher in fiber?
I would say only eat the whole wheat pasta if the carbs are significantly lower in that case. Assuming you are doing it for the carbs primarily. If the enjoyment of the food is very, very important to you, I would find ways to eat/use less regular pasta. Enjoy it but enjoy less of it. Or, maybe there is a way to mix the two in an acceptable ratio that gives you a satisfactory amount and still less carbs...if you can make that palatable.
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Also, AD - holy hell that is a lot of stress headed your way, but I'm sure it will all be worth it. The advice you would give me if I were you, is to remember to take care of all aspects of your life. Try not to get into a mode where your putting out fires, eh?
My wife and I were enjoying an hour of schadenfreude watching "Shalom in the Home" last night when we realized, while watching a woman make every little molehill into a mountain (and screaming at everyone the whole time), that what drives Elinor crazy about me is that I see everything as molehills, and it's really hard to prod me into rapid panic mode.
So, I'll probably put out some fires, others we'll just toast marshmallows over. And then I'll go out on the water and It'll be fine.
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How very Hawaiian of you.
Also, in regard to personal fitness and health, I just realized that I live within an hours drive of Lake Winnipeg and hence the beach (AD is laughing at me right now, I know, but for the middle of the prairies, that is not a long drive). I am all about just driving out to the beach alone, and just spending some time with myself. That sounds so nice. Last summer we were so consumed with our new house and me writing my play. This summer, I am all about sand... and giving my body the right fuel. Ah, but first the horror of buying a new swim suit. It's the only time I think of those stupid Cathy comics. I'm thinking practical and cheap, rather than fashionable and not. Ack!
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If the enjoyment of the food is very, very important to you, I would find ways to eat/use less regular pasta. Enjoy it but enjoy less of it.
Pasta will be the hardest thing for me to not eat. Especially on Wednesday, which is traditionally "pasta night" at Chez Jough. I probably will have a little tomorrow, as I have about a cup of leftover tortolinni, which is kind of auto-portion controlled just because I don't have that much of it.
I was doing spaghetti squash instead of pasta before, not because it was healthy, but just because it's delicious, and it's a very nice substitute. It has a little crunch to it, too, which even my al dente pasta does not.
I've been thinking though that instead of having PASTA and a side salad I'd have a SALAD with maybe a little pasta from time to time on the side. Tomato sauce is pretty healthy (I make it from cans of peeled tomatoes) and I tend to run hot water through my ground beef anyway to get the fat out of it (it makes the sauce too slimey) so that shouldn't be too bad.
Wombat, maybe take a look at some healthier starch over which to put sauce and meat, like rice. Do you like risotto? Maybe use some kind of whole grain rice and then cover it with tomato sauce.
I'm still experimenting. I'm finding that the Atkins craze means that a lot of low-carb stuff is available for people like me who just want to eat healthier.
Speaking of, though, the "high nutrition" part of my diet is kicking my ass. I am really having a hard time eating enough to get my nutrients. I know, I know, I could add supplements, but the whole point is to eat healthy live things. Plus, the room in my tummy that healthy stuff takes up means that awful things do not fit there.
So far (less than a week) I have not had any cravings for anything other than dark leafy greens. Come Friday, though, which is traditionally take-away Chinese food night, things may be different. I *may* be able to order something healthy from the local place, but I don't know. It will be tough to not say "Oh what the hell, one order of shrimp toast (the greasiest thing on the menu) won't kill me."
But of course, it just might.
I am thinking back to Narcotics Anonymous meetings and their slogan of "Just for today." I may have to be a fried foodaholic, just staying completely away from the stuff forever. But I won't think about it like it's forever. I just won't eat fried things today. It's not so bad to give up something just for one day, right?
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Wombat, maybe take a look at some healthier starch over which to put sauce and meat, like rice. Do you like risotto? Maybe use some kind of whole grain rice and then cover it with tomato sauce.
The thing is that I often make pasta with not much more than olive oil, garlic and a vegetable. So the taste of the pasta itself is critical.
Spaghetti squash is a great thing to put tomato sauce on, though, I second that opinion. And as for supplements: I highly recommend finding a tasty children's chewable vitamin. You need to take at least two to get a grownup dose and it feels like you are getting to eat candy!
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The thing is that I often make pasta with not much more than olive oil, garlic and a vegetable. So the taste of the pasta itself is critical.
Spaghetti squash is a great thing to put tomato sauce on, though, I second that opinion. And as for supplements: I highly recommend finding a tasty children's chewable vitamin. You need to take at least two to get a grownup dose and it feels like you are getting to eat candy!
I've always heard that children's vitamins have a dangerous amount of iron for grown men.
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How very Hawaiian of you.
Also, in regard to personal fitness and health, I just realized that I live within an hours drive of Lake Winnipeg and hence the beach (AD is laughing at me right now, I know, but for the middle of the prairies, that is not a long drive). I am all about just driving out to the beach alone, and just spending some time with myself. That sounds so nice. Last summer we were so consumed with our new house and me writing my play. This summer, I am all about sand... and giving my body the right fuel. Ah, but first the horror of buying a new swim suit. It's the only time I think of those stupid Cathy comics. I'm thinking practical and cheap, rather than fashionable and not. Ack!
An hour away, maybe no one you know will be there, so the suit won't matter so much. Alternately, here, there are a lot of people who wear bathing suits and then board shorts and t-shiirts or water shirts over them. It's a good way to cover up a suit if you think it's not flattering.
Yes, do go and at least every other week. When we lived in Chicago I used to go to the lakeside just to look over the water and decompress - and hear the gulls and the little tink-tink-tink sound of the lines hitting the masts on all the boats. It was very relaxing.
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I've always heard that children's vitamins have a dangerous amount of iron for grown men.
Really? They don't actually seem to have that much of anything in them, really. But so tasty!
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It is quite hot ...
Just out of curiousity, what qualifies as a hot day in Winnipeg? 40? 45? Above freezing?
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It's been hovering between 24 C and 29 C, or 75 F and 86 F for ye' imperialites, and it's been fairly humid, and feels even hotter in the morning, being that I am walking directly in to the sun... or so it feels.
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I eat whole-wheat-pasta pretty regularly. I think it isn't that bad.
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I eat whole-wheat-pasta pretty regularly. I think it isn't that bad.
Plebeian!
I am sure that, if I were to eat whole wheat pasta, I would not notice a difference either.
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it's healthier!
plus my dad is trying to lose weight so that's what my mom makes!
geez!
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Late to the party here. I lost about 35 pounds last fall, gained 15 or so of them back over the holidays and the first half of this year, and am back on the wagon as of this week.
My secret weapon is WWCalc, an unofficial Weight Watchers application for the Palm. I am a big-time stathead, so I dig a system that breaks stuff out into points (calories and fat = bad, fiber = good, exercise = bonus points) and helps me keep a handle on portion control.
I hear Jough on his comment earlier on figuring out the calories in some recipes being a pain in the ass, but I do it. recipecal.com is a good site for getting nutritional information on particular ingredients. Sometimes I'll figure out the calories, fat and fiber in an entire dish, then break it down by portion size. You quickly learn what is and is not your friend, and adjust your cooking accordingly--cutting back on the oil and butter, f'rinstance. Carbs are OK in moderation, which can of course be difficult.
Word up on wombat's farmer's market suggestion. A good idea is to buy crazy-ass vegetables that you aren't familiar with, and then you have to track down recipes and figure out if you like them. I freakin' love bok choy as a result of being in a CSA a few years back.
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I remember when we had a thread about this back in '04. I had just lost a bunch of weight and then was dumped by my crap-dude-fiance. While I was unemployed I lost even more weight. Then I moved to Alaska.
You can tell that I'm a volunteer firefighter as opposed to career firefighter because career FFs must be able to run 2 miles in less than 13 minutes. I'm hoping that I can get back down to fighting weight soon, because none of the fellas are asking me out anymore. Back in 04 I had a lot of success with the Hacker's Diet (http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/), but now I'm taking a slightly different approach with the Skinny Bitch (vegan guilt (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0762424931/102-1177718-5796959?v=glance&n=283155)) book. We'll see what happens, since I am not sure that I can kick dairy, and I sure as hell ain't giving up giraffe or shellgiraffe. Alaska wild salmon and king crab are two of the main perks that I enjoy as part of living in the Aleutians.
As for veganism...there is a whole different lifestyle in Alaska. You go into the hotel gift shop and there are lots of animal pelts, which have been trapped and tanned by Alaska natives. In Boulder, Colorado (and the rest of the lower 48, I'm sure), there is the attitude that "fur is muder" but in Alaska it's seen much differently. It is similar for animal meat. I don't buy factory-farmed meat, but I do have a subsistence permit and I enjoy giraffe and shellgiraffe. So I doubt I'll go vegan again, but I am gonna try to improve my nutrition (http://www.optimal.org/peter/cron.htm) and maybe even go on the extended-life "calorie restriction" thing. Wish me luck.
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because none of the fellas are asking me out anymore.
Good luck with a more healthy lifestyle for sure... but I hope you don't want to get asked out by guys like that.
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Right now I'm not all that calorie restricted, but my high-nutrition thing is kicking my ass. It is hard to find veggies that are that high in nutrients, and of course calories are moot because most veggies have insignificant calories. I can eat a whole bag of baby carrots (and almost need to so as to get my vitamins) and it's like 12 calories. It is really hard to go over 1000 calories on a high-nutrition diet, so the "low calorie" part is pretty much redundant.
Confidential to Linnea: I'm sure fellas would totally ask out if you didn't live in fuck*ng Elbonia. I mean, you had to know that living on a small peninsula would limit your options, no?
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Confidential to Linnea: I'm sure fellas would totally ask out if you didn't live in fuck*ng Elbonia. I mean, you had to know that living on a small peninsula would limit your options, no?
No offense to Linnea, but doesn't Alaska have like... a 6:1 male to female ratio? Last girl I knew from there said the need was PALPABLE! Not that I'm implying standard lowering is needed here. Moving away from Alaska is generally always a good idea anyway.
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Maybe she should pine for someone she met on the internet who already has a significant other. Maybe that would work for her.
Dick.
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Fun Healthy Living Moments of The Day: I went to weigh myself this morning, and to my delight my very old bathroom scale (you know the rotary kind that spins from 0 to your weight while making a little whirring noise?) told me I had lost three pounds in the last week. Then I stepped off it and it did some weird jiggly thing and instead of going back to zero it went to -10, so I re-set it to zero and re-weighed myself, and it then tells me I've gained two pounds. I get off, this time it goes to +8. I reset it, and I get on, it and it tells me I've lost 5 pounds. I then hear a weird spring-y sound, and while I continue to stand on it it changes to and it tells me I've lost 2 more pounds... So needless to say, I went shopping for a new bathroom scale today, and to my utter delight, I found that every scale I tried at the store seemed to be telling me the exact same weight and that I weigh about 11 pounds less than my home scale had been telling me I weighed.
Easiest weightloss ever!
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Let's talk about men in Alaska, misterqueue. You seem to have some delusions about the quality of men that live and work here. There are a couple of single men that I work with as an EMT/firefighter, but so far none of them have asked me out. Our island has a population that is less than my high school. Our town is supported by commercial giraffeing. I wouldn't have a job up there if not for commercial giraffeing. There are lots of guys, but let's say that they're not exactly...quality. Although I am sure that there are hot, intelligent, kind giraffeermen or processors out there, I certainly haven't met any. Every time I go out, I get rounds of drinks bought for me. I could actually leave my wallet at home before because all the fellas buy drinks for me. However, I don't like talking to most of those guys.
I have also gotten hit on by quite a few of my patients, but I couldn't go out with them because it's unethical (provider-patient relationship). So it's tough. Most of the guys that I know are married or dating, unless you count the giraffeermen and processors that I don't know, and would only get to meet if I went out to the bars. I don't like going to bars unless I am meeting friends there. Being a female and entering a bar leads most men in Alaska to assume that you're for hire, which is wrong.
Anyway, I have gained a few pounds since I've been in Alaska. Since I've been back home (where it's warm and I can wear skirts and stuff) I've lost 5 pounds. I hope that I can keep losing weight even in the shitty Alaskan weather.
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Lots of things
Man, I was just talking about ratios.. not quality. Furthermore, miss, I was NOT trying to question your desiribility in ANY WAY POSSIBLE! What do I know? I've never really been to AK, I'm going off of hearsay which isn't even admissible in court!
But yeah, that sounds like a crap situation indeed.
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To my utter delight I have lost 11.2 pounds this week according to the ruthlessly honest scales at Weight Watchers. I knew I had done well, but that is outstanding if I do say so myself. So I guess we're even this week Mel.
~Paul
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Wow, that's a lot of weight for one week, Paul.
Congrats to both of you. As I have no scale that will weigh me, I will just have to wait and see how much I weigh. I'm still "over 350" and likely will be for some time.
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Jough, I'm sure not being able to monitor your weight at home is a little alarming (and I can't even slightly imagine how much it sucks to have to pay someone just to find out how much you weigh, but thankfully you are paying for more than just the number!) Although I know that the numbers aren't the important part, I do enjoy haveing an easy way to track my progress, and having a number to work on is a nice way to simplify. Have you thought about getting a pedometer? You might like tracking your steps per day, and it would offer you a simple way of knowing where your at and a basic goal of increasing your steps-per-day. Whatever the outcome, if your doctor doesn't give you a clear action plan with achievable goals, I hope you demand it, or smack him and find another doctor who does.
Also, Paul, from having been force to go to Weight Watchers with my mother for many years, I know that the ladies there must all just fuck*ng love you. I mean, when a man was in the room those 50+ ladies giggle like their teenagers. The male-to-female ratio is so alarming at those meetings. If you ever feel down, just remember you are the mutha' fuckin' rooster at the hen party. Hell yeah!
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Maybe she should pine for someone she met on the internet who already has a significant other. Maybe that would work for her.
Dick.
I find it very flattering actually. I just tell Q I'm spoken for and that he'll have to find another. Linnea would be harder to say no to.
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I find it very flattering actually. I just tell Q I'm spoken for and that he'll have to find another. Linnea would be harder to say no to.
Man, I missed jough's response. Should I be kind of proud and filled with a warm glow when he calls me a dick? Cause.. that's like the King of Dicks crowning you with some sort of... Dick Crown. (also, ouch)
anyway cort, you know my fetish for disjointed arms means I'm going to be secretly stalking you... always.
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You wish I'd crown you with my dick, Q-ballz. I ain't lettin' one MOLECULE of my dick touch you.
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Man, I missed jough's response. Should I be kind of proud and filled with a warm glow when he calls me a dick? Cause.. that's like the King of Dicks crowning you with some sort of... Dick Crown. (also, ouch)
Is that like the Crown of Thorns, but with Dicks?
Creepy.
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You wish I'd crown you with my dick, Q-ballz. I ain't lettin' one MOLECULE of my dick touch you.
Damn, you sure are self-dickcentric. I was more imagining something made out of gold with no less than 8 dongalia sprouting out of it like pointy tips in a vaguely festive manner. Maybe each was beset with a jewel of a different color (except no rubies or sapphires as it might look too close to some sort of STD or Genetic Abnormality). Yeah, I probably went into more detail about this than necessary.
In conclusion, seriously dude, that original statement, harsh mallows.
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Dude, stop talking about my c*ck on the internet.
I HATE days like today.
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Well, not that I enjoy bringing us back to topic, but I'm down 3 lbs or so. I'm not sure on account of I weighed myself before I put my contacts in but it was clearly below 195. So, progress, considering I'm not really 'dieting' per se and I'm not exercising more than usual.
Just drinking fewer soft drinks and more water, and thinking about what I eat seems to be doing the trick,
Mellow Mallows.
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Well, not that I enjoy bringing us back to topic, but I'm down 3 lbs or so. I'm not sure on account of I weighed myself before I put my contacts in but it was clearly below 195. So, progress, considering I'm not really 'dieting' per se and I'm not exercising more than usual.
At first I thought you meant that the contacts might add weight.
Silly Mallows.
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Of course contacts add weight, just like socks, unshaven hair, earrings and anything else you weren't born with. I recommend cutting your toenails first also.
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Of course contacts add weight, just like socks, unshaven hair, earrings and anything else you weren't born with. I recommend cutting your toenails first also.
This reminds me of the high school wrestling team. I remember one guy had not only been spitting in a cup all day, but made sure to hit the bathroom right before weigh in. While on the scale he had to take his underwear off but was still .1 over. So he exhaled really hard and made weight.
The saddest part is that we were already being allowed 2 extra pounds because snow had closed all the schools for like a week leading up to this.
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You should post that story on The Saddest Thing (http://saddestthing.com/).
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This reminds me of the high school wrestling team. I remember one guy had not only been spitting in a cup all day, but made sure to hit the bathroom right before weigh in. While on the scale he had to take his underwear off but was still .1 over. So he exhaled really hard and made weight.
The saddest part is that we were already being allowed 2 extra pounds because snow had closed all the schools for like a week leading up to this.
Jesus H. Christ, that is crazy. I just read Marya Hornbacher's book Wasted (http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/0398/hornbacher/), and that totally sounds like something that she would do. Then again, she also got down to like 55 pounds in between hospitalizations due to anorexia nervosa, and almost died like a million times. She (and other anorexics) would abuse laxatives so that they would be shitting water and blood. AWESOME! :P
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yeah wrestlers are insane.
I am remembering pete and pete.
where the guy, if I understood it correctly, was taking a razor to his excess fat.
maybe I was too young to understand what actually was being done.
but from that day on, I was terrified of wrestling.
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yeah wrestlers are insane.
I am remembering pete and pete.
where the guy, if I understood it correctly, was taking a razor to his excess fat.
Yeesh, no one I knew did that, but High School Wrestlers are certified certifiable. I watched a guy at a tournament lose over 10 lbs in water weight by running for several hours in a garbage bag suit.
I've dropped several pounds like that before a match. It was horrible. You just can't be effective. Better to wrestle the weight you're at. I know it builds character and all that, but I can't believe some times that coaches will let wrestlers do that.
My high school wrestling coach was a name named "Cash Stone". That's a superhero name right there. The man had the attitude and the build for it. He past retirement, and still going. He would do everything the teenagers were doing, and heap more on.
Simply and amazing man. If you've ever watched the movie "Visionquest", he's got to play the part of the ref in the last big match. (Visionquest was filmed here in my hometown.)
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Whoa! Drama! Jough, I'm glad you're doing something about your weight. I know you're a cranky old man at heart, but you ain't old for real, which means it's wrong for you to die before your time.
Smells, I'm awfuly sorry to hear about what you're going through now, though at least you live in one of those civilized countries that has universal health care. At this point I must confess I'm one of those foolish optimists (it's more of a defensive possition against reality, really) that won't believe a cause is lost until it is. That's why I'm hoping Science will one day find a cure for what ails you.
I'll be rooting for everybody here who is trying to improve themselves. I myself have been trying to spend less time on the internet, which is why I haven't been around lately, though I may have to check in a bit more often just to see how everybody is doing.
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Yeesh, no one I knew did that, but High School Wrestlers are certified certifiable. I watched a guy at a tournament lose over 10 lbs in water weight by running for several hours in a garbage bag suit.
I've dropped several pounds like that before a match. It was horrible. You just can't be effective. Better to wrestle the weight you're at. I know it builds character and all that, but I can't believe some times that coaches will let wrestlers do that.
Uh, in the athletic rule book that's actually considered worse than shooting steriods in the middle of a game while sodomizing the ref's mother. And if they can prove the coach knew about it he can basically never coach again.
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I haven't really lost anything, maybe a pound, but the belt has gotten a little looser, so that is a decent sign.
The "drop a weighted object onto your testicles every time you eat sugary snacks method" is working pretty well. I had to administer the treatment twice this week.
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Ouch.
I just got a diet aid in the mail, in the form of a picture my sister took while she was visiting, in which I appear to have really unpleasantly vast.... tracts of land. I suspect that this is an unfortunate combination of a particular bra, shirt, and posture while wrangling a toddler and a pug to sit for a picture with me. But anyway I think I will hang it up and have another look whenever I think of ice cream.
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The author of this book (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0865477043/qid=1149896551/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-4641615-4511934?s=books&v=glance&n=283155) on nutrition was interviewed on NPR tonight. It sounded like it might be just the thing.
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Yeah that sucks man.
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Yeah that sucks man.
Yeah, you need to be more specific, there have been maybe 50 main points in this thread. Use the quote tag or something.
~Paul
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everything that anyone said about their health problems
dude, that sucks.
everything that anyone said about getting in shape, getting healthy, losing weight, sticking to their goals
awesome, man! congratulations!
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Hey people, I'm a girl in need of help.
Hiow do you deal with life when you are at the mercy of other people's food? I find that when I go out of town to visit family for the day that they serve the most unhealthy and unbalanced meals (and insanely delicious). The amount of vegetables served to a group of 10 people is usually equal to two cups of some vegetable bathed in a fatty sauce. These family members would take high insult to me bringing my own food, or turning down their food. It seems my only option is to eat almost nothing and be starving for the whole day, and I do not like this option. I'm even thinking of eating a huge breakfast before we leave to help keep me from eating what they serve. I sort of think I just need to accept these visits as a loss, and spend the rest of the week working extra hard to make up for it.
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Eating the huge healthy breakfast and then very SMALL portions of the insanely delicious food sounds like the way to go. Have you ever seen one of the posters of the USDA portion size guidelines? One is here. (http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/images/pdfs_nyc/USDAposters/servingsize_poster.pdf) The amount of pasta the size of a computer penis in particular makes me want to weep. But, these would be good to have in your head while you are faced with the relative's food.
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I wonder if alcoholics have a hard time from people who keep offering them drinks even after they've been informed that they're alchoholics.
One thing to try at family get-togethers is "I'm taking a diet medication that makes me really ill if I eat anything with fat in it" and excuse yourself to be sick after eating something that I was told "wasn't fatty at all, don't worry".
Also, maybe you shouldn't be worried about offending people so much. After all, they're not worried about offending or hurting you, right?
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Bring the food you want to eat and tell them to fuck off if they can't take it.
Seriously.
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Yeah, that's the way to do it Side Show, tell your Mother in Law to fuck off. Who does that bitch think she is feeding, housing, and caring for you.
Some people, geez.
~Paul
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I wonder if alcoholics have a hard time from people who keep offering them drinks even after they've been informed that they're alchoholics.
One thing to try at family get-togethers is "I'm taking a diet medication that makes me really ill if I eat anything with fat in it" and excuse yourself to be sick after eating something that I was told "wasn't fatty at all, don't worry".
Also, maybe you shouldn't be worried about offending people so much. After all, they're not worried about offending or hurting you, right?
Yeah, that's the way to do it Side Show, tell your Mother in Law to fuck off. Who does that bitch think she is feeding, housing, and caring for you.
Some people, geez.
Paul, it's tough because food has such an emotional connection or significance for people. I have a friend whose father loves alcohol and considers it offensive when guests do not have a drink in hand. To him, having drinks with friends is one of life's greatest pleasures--so much so, in fact, that his need to see people enjoying his hospitality leaves little room for other points of view in his mind. My friend has been dating a wonderful young man who is a recovering alcoholic. It was exceedingly difficult for him to attend any functions with his girlfriend's father, because he kept pushing drinks on him. It took enormous fortitude to for him to remain sober and keep refusing the drinks. After much dancing-around-the-subject and "hoping" that her father was taking the cues, it became readily apparent that her dad didn't have a clue. Finally my friend had to take her father aside and bluntly tell him that her boyfriend is a recovering alcoholic and to please stop badering him to have a drink.
Food is even less clear, unfortunately. Everybody has to eat, so unlike Alcoholics, you can't just abstain from food forever. The trick is to live in a socially acceptable manner while sticking to one's guns. I don't like telling people that I have a problem with food. It ruins social events, and it's unnerving to have one's dirty laundry aired publicly at a family reunion. I certainly don't tell anyone that I'm on a diet, because that is even less pleasant to discuss. My solution is that I have to avoid certain situations if I want to avoid bingeing. I have to watch where I go, because there are certain people that will pressure me into eating more than I want. It is exceedingly difficult, because you don't want to hurt Aunt Fran's feelings by not eating some of her famous homemade Italian sausage, but you also have to do right by yourself. I elect to avoid as many food oriented occasions as possible. That's my perspective.
I also got one of those ihealthrecords (http://www.ihealthrecord.org) and they have some pretty interesting articles. These are two of the articles about Managing Hunger and Planning Ahead. I'm sure that everyone has heard all this before, but I found it helpful to read. YMMV, of course.
As you well know, planning ahead avoids a lot of difficulties. This is
very true in managing our eating habits as well. Our home environment is
the first place we need to look. Home is where we think about, plan,
prepare, eat, cheat and fool ourselves that we are on a diet. You need to
make this environment TEMPTATION-FREE. You have control of it and
therefore are captain of your ship.
Food in proper amounts are needed to nourish our bodies, but we typically
consume more than is needed. We often associate food with comfort,
satisfaction, friends, going out or entertaining. These are known as
stimuli and when activated we respond due to habit. Part of a long-term
healthy weight plan requires you to change such habits.
If we know we are going to a banquet or family reunion where a meal is
served, we need to plan what we are going to eat from the menu
selections. If possible, obtain the menu in advance so that you can plan
your intake accordingly. But what about unplanned social events involving
food? Well, we can prepare for those, too. If you are aware of healthy
food choices, it will be easier for you to select foods that fit into your
weight-management plan.
We all have food triggers -- or weaknesses. Now that you are trying to
reach a healthy weight, it is important to plan how you are going to react
when your trigger foods are available to you. First, identify foods that
are triggers for you. A trigger food is a food that you have overeaten in
the past. This might be your favorite dessert or snack food.
For example, you are a fan of ice cream, and you used to sit down and eat
half a gallon at a sitting. If ice cream was a trigger food in the past,
then it will continue to be a trigger food. Make a list identifying your
trigger foods, and plan how you are going to handle them. You may choose
to go for a walk when cake and ice cream are being served, or you may
choose to substitute a healthier food option.
In addition to trigger foods, many of us have trigger situations. For
example, during stressful times you may fall back into old habits. What
did you do in the past after a bad day at work? If you reached for a
trigger food for comfort, you need to find an alternative plan. What are
you going to substitute for food? Making a plan ahead of time will help
you to avoid falling back into bad habits.
Some hints for change include:
1. Set aside a designated eating
2. place.
3. Use smaller plates (luncheon size).
4. Drink water prior to sitting down to eat.
5. Eat slowly. Put your fork down between bites and enjoy the food.
6. Enjoy your company.
7. Do not have seconds.
8. When finished, remove your plate from the table.
9. Right after you have finished your meal, clean up the leftovers, pots
and pans.
Planning also means establishing a daily routine, a set of habits you do
not even have to think about that you will adopt so every day is the same
in terms of eating, exercise, record keeping, etc. Planning ahead is very
much like setting goals. You need to have goals or plans for the day that
are achievable and do them every single day until they are so much of a
habit that you do them without even thinking. If there are roadblocks or
obstacles that are keeping you from staying on your weight-management
routine, discuss them with your physician and your suppor team.
Remember to plan ahead and balance your dietary intake with exercise.
Many times what we call hunger is just a response to other emotions or
situations in our lives such as anger or depression. Very successful
techniques have been developed to manage hunger by behavioral modification
experts. Several of these techniques are explained below. All of the
techniques might not be useful to you, but try each and choose those that
are helpful.
STOP THE TRAIN OF THOUGHT.
Behaviorists suggest that we stop the hunger simply by saying STOP. Say it
as often as necessary until you stop reaching for whatever you were going
to eat. Then, examine the reason you wanted to eat. Was it because you
were angry? Was it because you came home feeling depressed and opened the
refrigerator door? Say STOP and follow with other phrases, such as "I do
not need any more food at this time," or "I am angry, not hungry." Once
you recognize eating patterns, you have made a VERY IMPORTANT STEP. You
will recognize it is not logical to eat for reasons other than
nourishment. The next step will be to substitute another activity to
address the reason you were reaching for food, but just stopping the
movement to the refrigerator or the pantry is a great step toward your
weight loss goal.
SEE FOOD DIFFERENTLY.
Think of food for what it is -- a collection of fats, carbohydrates and
proteins. If you think of a serving of French fries as a collection of
cholesterol attached to a tasteless potato and laden with substances that
are going to clog your arteries, they won't appear quite so attractive.
USE EMOTION TO CONQUER EMOTION.
A little guilt might go a long way. Parents have notoriously used guilt
effectively to get children to clean their plates. Use it the other way --
if you eat this extra food, realize that you will be disappointed in
yourself.
As a final note, remember to stick to your meal plan. Do not skip meals
or eat less than your body needs. Many people who do not eat breakfast and
do not eat lunch are extremely hungry and cannot suppress their appetite
with a normal size dinner. It is important to consume foods in a timely
manner to keep the appetite suppressed. Stick to the healthy eating plan
we have discussed.
This message has been prepared by the Division of Endocrinology at Scott &
White Clinic as a means of providing health education to the public.
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Most of this is very good advice, like not skipping meals, and putting your fork down in between bites to enjoy your food. But I am disturbed that that is the only mention of enjoyment and by the advice to see food as a bunch of fats, carbohydrates and proteins. I think that could be counterproductive. I don't think it's realistic to expect people to eat healthily if it means giving up all pleasure. You need to look for deliciousness elsewhere - like I said before, in a great farmer's market peach, instead of in your relative's Italian sausage, say. But you can't be expected to give up deliciousness. It's just not going to work.
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Actually my mother-in-law is basically awsome, and also has suffered from arthritis since she was my age too, so she is very understanding. However, she is a gourmet cook and the expectations of the dozen plus other guests required her to make with the tasty. It turned out there was a broccolie salade, chicken wings and smoked turkey along with all the other fattier fair, so I was able to stick mostly to the healthier side of things... I couldn't help but eat some chips and cheese cake, but nothing got out of controle.
Also, I did eat healthy like crazy for lunch and breakfast and drank a liter of water on the drive out to visit, and that did help.
I suppose it's more about temptation than anything else - I mean, if there is cheese cake, I want to taste it. I did have the will power to ask for the smallest piece...
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I think cheesecake is basically proof that, not only is there a God, but a cruel and malevolent one. Cheesecake existing in the first place is miraculous enough, but then it basically being composed entirely of stuff that is so bad for you you can only eat it maybe once a year (as opposed to at every meal as our instincts tell us) is surely proof that He's the Real Thing.
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True story: while shopping on Saturday, my SO and I saw hand-dipped, chocolate-coated, cheese cake on a stick. I was actually afraid for a moment.
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True story: while shopping on Saturday, my SO and I saw hand-dipped, chocolate-coated, cheese cake on a stick. I was actually afraid for a moment.
Clearly you need to spend more time at Ren Faires. They have chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick, sausage on a stick, teriayi chicken on a stick, and steak on a stake.
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stake on a stick.
Fix'd
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Clearly you need to spend more time at Ren Faires.
File under: worst advice ever.
Also, where is the stick on a stake? Hello!?
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Stakes on a Plane?
OH NO I DIDN'T
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Clearly you need to spend more time at Ren Faires. They have chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick, sausage on a stick, teriayi chicken on a stick, and steak on a stake.
Or the Minnesota State Fair. Walleye, alligator, ostrich, deep fried candy bars, and spaghetti and meatballs are all available on a stick. Follow that up with a bucket of Martha's cookies and a trip to the milk booth, and you've got yourself the best day of the year.
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What... what happens in the milk booth... do they.. milk you? Because, really, I don't consider being milked as a thing to include as part of the best day of my year... but that's just me.
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What... what happens in the milk booth... do they.. milk you? Because, really, I don't consider being milked as a think to include as part of the best day of my year... but that's just me.
Maybe it's like a portable version of the Korova Milk Bar.
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A bit of the old ultraviolence.
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You pay a quarter and get a glass of milk. You do not get milked there, though you can go across the street and see the milking demonstrations. The butter sculptures of Princess Kay of the Milky Way are a few blocks away, however.
My friend and I had a long-standing bet to see who could drink the most milk at the milk booth, but sadly we never got to try it. That would have been a different kind of ultraviolence.
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Or the Minnesota State Fair. Walleye, alligator, ostrich, deep fried candy bars, and spaghetti and meatballs are all available on a stick. Follow that up with a bucket of Martha's cookies and a trip to the milk booth, and you've got yourself the best day of the year.
DEEP FRIED CHEESE CURDS.
And MINI DONUTS.
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You pay a quarter and get a glass of milk. You do not get milked there, though you can go across the street and see the milking demonstrations. The butter sculptures of Princess Kay of the Milky Way are a few blocks away, however.
My friend and I had a long-standing bet to see who could drink the most milk at the milk booth, but sadly we never got to try it. That would have been a different kind of ultraviolence.
I can't even wrap my head around a milk bar. Let a lone a milk bar drinking contest. I'll stick with the raw bar at the Ren Faire, thanks.
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Wellness update: yesterday I continued with the horrible yard work: aka shoveling limestone into a wheelbarrel and wheeling it around the corner and then dumping it out and starting all over again. Unfortunately, I over estimated my strength and filled the wheelbarrel so heapingly with limestone that I was unable to move it. I had to get the SO to move it for me.
Also, I walked for over and hour, and got home just in time to avoid hail.
Also, what is the muscle on the lower inner arm between wrist and elbow called? I'm only aware of it when it gets sore when I shovel or go bowling.
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Probably the Brachialis, which flexes the elbow, or (goes to anatomy book) Brachioradialis, which flexes and rotates the elbow.
Yeah, limestone is heavy.
Horrible yard work is probably not the best kind of exercise you can get.
I totally skipped my walk yesterday. I just couldn't get away even for fifteen minutes, and when I could it was too late. I did, however, hardly eat at all, which also isn't really a positive but does mean that my overall calorie intake was really low.
I'm not going to beat myself up over "bad days" when I don't do the right thing - just try to focus, one day at a time, on doing the right thing. Like Spike Lee.
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You're doing Spike Lee? No wonder you're feeling the pressure to get in shape - all those red carpets and such.
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Jough... Always Do the Right Thing.
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Horrible yard work is probably not the best kind of exercise you can get.
It's probably not as good as something aerobic for sure. I think activity is good for you, though, as long as you don't strain or injure yourself.
I'm not going to beat myself up over "bad days" when I don't do the right thing - just try to focus, one day at a time, on doing the right thing. Like Spike Lee.
A good positive attitude even toward your bad days is a good way to go. Everyone has them (My journal for last weekend is ridiculous) and sometimes it's just the circumstances of the day (moving!) but it's not a sprint, its a marathon so your attitude is a good one.
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DEEP FRIED CHEESE CURDS.
And MINI DONUTS.
Stop! You're making me homesick!
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I am trying to remain positive, although when I slip a little I do feel badly about myself for a bit. I mean, feeling badly about my body is not going to change overnight. And there's no way I can "trick" myself.
I was reading a book by a dude who lost 200lbs in a year and a half, and he said that he was able to trick himself into thinking that he wasn't giving up anything. I don't think that's really possible. And why do I want to trick myself?
It seems to me that if I'm not enjoying the process there's no way I'm going to be successful. And if not "enjoying" then at least not feeling like I'm punishing myself or straining to get through each day.
I think the reason I'm focusing on general healthiness rather than weight loss is that it immediately eliminates plans or diets that cause weight loss (rapid or otherwise) at the expense of one's overall health - i.e. starvation diets, Atkins, the liquid diet, South Beach, etc. Basically if it has a name and has lots or rules I'm not going to stick to it. And if I don't stick to it, what's the point?
I'm just having a difficult time transitioning from unhealthy to healthy living, and it's not like my body is already in great shape that I can go run a few dozen miles to knock off thousands of calories every day. Even a walk around the block now, for fifteen minutes, walking at a very slow pace is draining. I've had to do it every other day instead of every day to let my knees and ankles rest a little between walks.
Anyway, I've only been actively trying to do the healthy thing for less than two weeks now. Oh, and I already missed a few days of tracking my eating with the software. Right now I'm still writing down what I eat every day on a little note pad, but I really need software that works as fast or faster than I can write, because I type at least 10-20x the speed that I write, but it takes me easily ten times longer to look up what I am eating in these databases and keep track of it.
So I guess I haven't found the right software yet.
What would be awesome for prepared foods or ingredients would be to just swipe the barcode and enter the quantity you've eaten. Swipe the bread, 2 slices, done.
I'm actually surprised how poorly most of the nutrition and meal planning software works. My mp3 library software (iTunes) is way way more sophisticated.
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It seems to me that if I'm not enjoying the process there's no way I'm going to be successful. And if not "enjoying" then at least not feeling like I'm punishing myself or straining to get through each day.
It's difficult but maybe you can focus on enjoying the results. I just spoke with my friend who lost 290 lbs since bariatric surgery. There was no pleasant part of the process but he's really happy and upbeat about everything that has come out of that. Find out what's happening that's better than before and focus on the small victories. They'll grow into bigger victories as you continue.
What would be awesome for prepared foods or ingredients would be to just swipe the barcode and enter the quantity you've eaten. Swipe the bread, 2 slices, done.
You should develop this. You would make a lot of money I think.
I'm actually surprised how poorly most of the nutrition and meal planning software works. My mp3 library software (iTunes) is way way more sophisticated.
I'm doing OK with Fitday - at least it remembers what you input as custom. I'm just using it as a guide; it's approximating my nutrition for me because I don't want to obsess about calories and fat grams, but I do find that it has a good deterrent effect on me - if i have to log it, I probably will at least think twice about eating it.
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Yeah, I was thinking of making my nutrition/eating log public for the SHAME factor, but really, how could I be ashamed about eating something, especially if no one reads it?
Also, I should develop some kind of diet/nutrition thing, because the ones I've tried seem to all suck.
A number of them seem to have exactly the same things in their databases too. I wonder if there's a big nutrition DB I could license...
Seriously, how cool would it be to just put "turkey sandwich: 2 slices Arnold's 12-Grain Bread, 1tsp Miracle Whip, 1 leaf Romaine Lettuce, 2 slices of tomato, 3oz. Dietz & Watson Smoked Turkey Breast, 2 slices Alpine Lace Swiss cheese" and have it calculate the nutrition, plus save the item as your customized "turkey sandwich."
Hell, that wouldn't even be all that hard to implement, other than parsing the different ways that people could describe quantities of foods.
But even then, how many different ways are there?
I know you were taking the piss, AD, but I think I will start brainstorming about a nutrition app. I figured they'd be out there, and I was right, but I hadn't really considered that the current penistraps all suck.
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This is potentially a very good idea as a web app, with such as a free logging/blogging service but you pay to have the stuff automagically calculated for you by product name. Build a community around it and such, or maybe find a site that has a user base but could use an app that doesn't suck.
As far as the bar codes thing, I'm seeing three problems to solve: 1) input -- bar code scanners aren't uncommon, but they aren't something you find for sale in Wal-Mart yet. 2) Linking the UPC code to the nutrition data: both should logically be in some giant national database you can license, but who knows if they are available to normal people... 3) Converting nutrition data per serving to per unit of measure. If this mythical nutrition database exists, it might have info about serving size, which would be awesome, but it probably doesn't.
Given the amounts of suck that seem to be out there, I'm kind of doubting that there's a unified nutrition database available, even though the FDA or whoever *should* have it just for record keeping purposes.
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Serving size is part of the nutritional labeling. As long as the user has a good idea how much they ate, the program should have no difficulty adjusting the output for serving size. I do this for fitday; generally I don't know ExACTLY the ounces or cups of food I ate but I can generally approximate it.
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Yeah, the "expensive" part of a nutrition app is the database. It is just too much for one man to handle. I will however look into renting/buying rather than building and see if it's just a matter of slapping a front-end and a parser on someone else's hard work. Not that it'll be quick and easy by any means, but it's sure to be a fuck-load less work than somehow keying in nutrition info for thousands of items.
I guess it could be done as a social app, but dang, that's a lot of stuff.
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http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR18/dnload/sr18nld.html
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Hey Choop! LTNS.
Thanks for that link. It looks like it would be easy to update and manage. Pretty sweet. And free. We like free data, paid for by your tax dollars.
This looks promising as well:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/etext/000011.html
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Choop! Nice to see ya!
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Hi Choop, nice to see 'ya.
Confession time. Sometimes when I see a post by Choop, I sing to myself Choop, de doop, de do de do de doop ala Salt 'n Pepa.
That's wrong of me, i'm sorry.
~Paul
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Wellness update: Today is my weigh in day, and I have lost another 3 pounds, bringing the overall total to 7 pounds lost. Also, walking to work today I was just kicking it - the business men had to get the fuck out of my way! Yeah! I walk to work so fast that my face is red and I'm all sweaty. Bleh!
Jough, in regard to shame - no. Eating (and getting well in general), especially in your case, can not/should not be about shame. You're fueling your body and nourishing yourself - there's nothing to be ashamed about there, even if you give in to something not so nutritious from time to time. You could put a mirror in front of you every time you eat something, and just look at yourself biting and chewing (basically anyone looks gross if you closely watch them eating) - but why would you want to do that to yourself. Separating the emotional part of you from eating is a lot of work, but also, I think, the most mentally healthy way to go. If you're at all like me (and most North Americans, I think) you've got some association to food as a security blanket. I figure the further away from this state of mind I can get, the better. I don't want to turn to a bag of chips when I feel lonely or sad - I've got friends for that, and generally, my friends are calorie free.
Also, for me a diet/tracker based on UPC codes would fall too easily into the trap of eating prepaired/packaged foods, which is what I am totally working to avoid at all costs. The higher levels of processing, artificial colours and flavours, sodium, and cost, along with lower levels of fiber and nutrients are things I am not in to.
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Yeah, but it's already pretty easy to keep track of un-packaged foods in a nutrition database.
Anyway, regarding shame... fat people pretty much can never eat in public without thin people looking at them such as "Oh look, the fat guy is eating, quelle surprise." I could be eating a baby carrot, and it could have been the only thing I had eaten in two days, but still, I feel their eyes judging me.
I'm really not as neurotic as I sound in print, I swear.
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Yes, jough, everyone is looking at you, in fact I am looking at you right now. And so is Mr Q, and he's also fondling himself, but it's just better not to ask.
Okay, yeah, I know what you mean. I've definitely felt like people are looking at me and judging me and what I'm eating - especially in public. I used to be so embarrassed to order certain things in drive throughs or take outs that I would intentionally and loudly ask for two forks or two drinks so that the person I was ordering from and everyone around me would think I was ordering for two people. Then I'd go hide in my car somewhere and eat it all alone. That's how embarrassed I was. And while I don't doubt a few people would do a double take to see what I was eating and judge me, especially if I was out-of-controle-binging on something really bad for me, I also realize that the shame itself was something coming from inside me. It's your choice to let other people make you feel small or not. Only you controle how you feel. Basically, I chose to frame it that I am working toward positive change. Yeah right now I'm not in my best body, but that's a long time coming, so I'm not going to feel bad that I'm not there yet, and the victories between then and now are things that need to be celebrated too. Basically what I'm saying is this: Remember, you're doing good kid - keep it up! (or basically "Fuck you, I'm Rocking out.")
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Yes, jough, everyone is looking at you, in fact I am looking at you right now. And so is Mr Q, and he's also fondling himself, but it's just better not to ask.
Wait that was jough I was looking at? Well fuck! I at least hope it really was me I was fondling... sure felt like me.
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Wait that was jough I was looking at? Well fuck! I at least hope it really was me I was fondling... sure felt like me.
He Always Checks For Lumps
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He Always Checks For Lumps
Isn't that the subtitle of the new Harry Potter book. "Harry Potter and the Testicular Concerns"
Maybe that was fanfic... they both sound the same to me anyway.
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Did you know that even though they've lost all meaning, I still give cans out? It's true. Huzzah!
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I <3 Smells!
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I have recently realized that I have not even thought about cans in about a month.
so, everyone gets cans!
EVERYONE GETS A CAN!
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I was thinking that maybe on the upcoming board anniversary we could reset everyone's cans to zero, sorta like erasing Original Sin and giving everyone a clean slate.
The entire membership would then be in a perfect state of grace, an absolute balance in the TOUAMB universe. Does one dare disturb that balance? What are the ramifications of giving or taking a can when everyone is equal?
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I was thinking that maybe on the upcoming board anniversary we could reset everyone's cans to zero, sorta like erasing Original Sin and giving everyone a clean slate.
The entire membership would then be in a perfect state of grace, an absolute balance in the TOUAMB universe. Does one dare disturb that balance? What are the ramifications of giving or taking a can when everyone is equal?
I was thinking that it was interesting that the whole can thing had slipped into the background. Trust Jough to find that boring and want to shake things up.
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Does one dare disturb that balance?
Don't make me quote Eliot again.
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Don't make me quote Eliot again.
Pfft.. like anyone has to make you do that.
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TS Eliot? more like TSlut Eliot!
...I was trying to say you are a TS Eliot Slut.
he is pretty awesome.
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TS Eliot? more like TSlut Eliot!
...I was trying to say you are a TS Eliot Slut.
he is pretty awesome.
*Slap*
No! Now think about what you've done.
"Pretty awesome" does not begin to cover the transcendent command of the English language Mr Eliot possessed.
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Well Hobot, I'm going to use MY transcendant command of the English language to pronounce you:
T.S. Elislut
Hur, it rhymes.
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"Pretty awesome" does not begin to cover the transcendent command of the English language Mr Eliot possessed.
Yes, it doesn't begin to cover how much of an insufferable prick he was either. Too bad he was so damned good... *sigh*
Also, Hometown boy! We few and far between river boys have to stick together I guess.
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He looked rather fit. A good example for the thread about trying to be more healthy.
I lost 1.2 pounds at my weigh in. Nothing like the 11.8 from the week before, but it's pretty damn good I think. I'm doing good every day sticking to my guns and staying on program. Gotta get more exercise though.
~Paul
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11.8?
DAAYUMM!
TS Elislut is about right.
OK, so, as long as we're on health: what is the healthy way to gain weight? For the past 18 years I've been on the "eat junk food and the good lord will provide" diet, and it has not really worked for me. I guess I need to gain muscle? I think my current track ends up with my metabolism dying, diabetis (this is how that man pronounces it. Dia-beet-is), etc.
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11.8?
DAAYUMM!
TS Elislut is about right.
OK, so, as long as we're on health: what is the healthy way to gain weight? For the past 18 years I've been on the "eat junk food and the good lord will provide" diet, and it has not really worked for me. I guess I need to gain muscle? I think my current track ends up with my metabolism dying, diabetis (this is how that man pronounces it. Dia-beet-is), etc.
By "that man," do you mean Wilford Brimley?
You don't get diabetes by being too skinny. You get diabetes by looking like Mr Brimley.
Thank you, Judy, for providing a moniker I am more than happy to adopt. See the text beneath my avatar for proof.
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I put in this week's weight loss into my diet software and it gave me an error:
"Please correct weight. It is physically impossible to lose more than 2-4 lbs in a week."
Wonderful.
Anyway, my scale is nowhere near accurate, but it should be at least relatively accurate (calculating weight loss if not actual weight correctly) and I'm down 6.5-7 lbs. since last Tuesday.
Not that I can notice any difference. I mean, I still have over 200lbs to go.
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Hobe-- I was referring to the fact that judging by the rest of my family, my metabolism will lose all speed, resulting in corpulence. And my diet of high-fat and high-sugar foods will bite me in the ass.
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By "that man," do you mean Wilford Brimley?
You don't get diabetes by being too skinny. You get diabetes by looking like Mr Brimley.
Thank you, Judy, for providing a moniker I am more than happy to adopt. See the text beneath my avatar for proof.
Juvenile-onset (type I) diabetics are very often preternaturally skinny. But, yeah, being significantly overweight over time can cause diabetes too. Most diabetics today are type-II, probably because of the general tendency toward overweight.
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It's a hell of a lot easier to do what Jough is doing now than 10 years from now. In my experience, college is a great time to start - meals are cooked for you, lots of veggies available, and a free gym at your disposal. Plus you walk everywhere. So quit eating shit, do some cardio, and hit the weight room. Take a silly little 2 credit gym class in something you're interested in, and you'll be fine. You'll find plenty of gym rats who'll be more than happy to show you around.
And congrats on everybody's weight loss! I'm up slightly this week, but between stress eating and a visit from MC Menses, I'd be amazed if I wasn't. I got to bike about 12 miles yesterday, and I have a nice long walk planned for tonight, so I'm happy.
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a visit from MC Menses,
Aunt Flo' is in da house y'all!
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Juvenile-onset (type I) diabetics are very often preternaturally skinny. But, yeah, being significantly overweight over time can cause diabetes too. Most diabetics today are type-II, probably because of the general tendency toward overweight.
Oh, I'm pretty well acquainted with Type I Diabetes; I worked with an endocrinologist a few summers ago and all that. But since patients are usually born with or acquire the Type I disease early in life, I figured theinevitable meant Type II, since it usually has a much later onset, and has a lot to do with poor diet and lack of exercise.
My initial misinterpretation of theinevitable's meaning and the resulting confusion about skinny diabetics is yet another example of my tendency to be stupid (http://touamb.com/index.php/topic,2900.msg68557.html#msg68557).
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Oh, I'm pretty well acquainted with Type I Diabetes; I worked with an endocrinologist a few summers ago and all that. But since patients are usually born with or acquire the Type I disease early in life, I figured theinevitable meant Type II, since it usually has a much later onset, and has a lot to do with poor diet and lack of exercise.
My initial misinterpretation of theinevitable's meaning and the resulting confusion about skinny diabetics is yet another example of my tendency to be stupid (http://touamb.com/index.php/topic,2900.msg68557.html#msg68557).
Stupid I doubt. You're too smart to be stupid. If that makes any sense.
The bright side of Type II diabetes is that if it's detected early and good interventions are in place and followed, some people actually reverse their diabetes and get back to normal. It's a good thing as Martha would say.
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Take a silly little 2 credit gym class in something you're interested in, and you'll be fine. You'll find plenty of gym rats who'll be more than happy to show you around.
Inevitable and I were talking about this.
I would love to go to the gym and build up a real gun show for the ladies, but the sheer thought of walking in and not knowing what to do while all the strong guys (who I might know) look disdainfully is just too much to bear.
Another scenario: I have a go on something and lift a miniscule weight; they do the same activity but with twice as much heaviness on. The looks on their faces make me want to die and I go home, eat plenty of comfort food and get more unhealthy.
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Nah Judy go for it, I joine the uni gym first year I was here and it was hell of good for me. Plus a lot of places will give you someone to show you around and suggest a program for you, and usually if you are just starting out this involves more machines than free-weights and since the gym rat types are usually on the free weights that means you avoid their stares and disdain (which they don't do anyway because they are into anyone being tere and pumping iron or whatever but paranoia doesn't listen to reason).
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Yeah, Doc's right, the head cases are all grunting, lifting heavy free weights and sneaking furtive glances at each other's groins.
If you can get in on a circuit training class, you won't regret it. That's a good way to work out and have a little motivation to go with it.
As for the gun show for the ladies - just being healthy is probably better than being obsessive about your physique. It's not like you can make your dick bigger with weights anyhow.
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the kind of ladies who like me all go for the skinny-helpless look at first.
and then a few months in, they're asking me to help lift things. they don't get it.
so I am going to work on that.
I might get a job where I will be mostly lifting furniture. That could help!
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Also, Hometown boy! We few and far between river boys have to stick together I guess.
Don't forget good ol' Bill Burroughs. Grew up right over there on Pershing.
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Another scenario: I have a go on something and lift a miniscule weight; they do the same activity but with twice as much heaviness on. The looks on their faces make me want to die and I go home, eat plenty of comfort food and get more unhealthy.
If it makes you feel better, their form is usually awful. They're all lifting their backs up on the bench press, all swinging back and forth with biceps curls - they'll be lucky if they can still bend at the waist at 35.
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Don't forget good ol' Bill Burroughs. Grew up right over there on Pershing.
Oh i could never forget Bill! I had a chance to meet him and I missed it and he died several months later. I've kicked myself in the face for that so many times, which is really hard to do.
Also Tennessee Williams and Kate Chopin etc etc
Truly it is a writer's town!
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you saw fugazi twice you son of a bitch. don't complain about people you could have met.
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Dude, Fugazi < William S, I am just saying. I've seen TMBG like... 15 times or so and I'd trade at least 6 of those for a WSB meetup, even though he'd probably just show me his guns and creepy spider collection.
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William S. Burroughs did not lead a healthy lifestyle. He is not a suitable role model for this thread.
~Paul
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Ooh! Ooh! I've seen Fugazi twice! Am I cool?
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Aunt Flo' is in da house y'all!
MC Menses and da Heavy Flo' Posse representin'! In da' house yo'!
(Thank you mite - I will used that in my monthly announcement to the SO that I am happily not pregnant again for another month - it will include a dance.)
Also, I'm pretty sure that MC Menses and the Posse leaving my crib last week is the reason why I lost four pounds last week. (I'm not sure if this euphemism is disgusting or fun, but there it is.)
And jough, in regard to your weight loss being impossible... well, that is awesome? I guess? I'm glad to hear you're on track, but also hope you're not being to hard on your body. And yeah, I hear you on the not feeling like you've changed at all thing. I went to the diary section and held 7 pounds of butter just to show myself how much weight I'd lost. It's confusing - holding it in my hands, it felt pretty heavy, but then why are my skinny jeans still sort of snug? Then I started thinking that if I unwrapped the 7 pounds of butter and slathered it all over my body in an even layer that coated every inch of me, that it would probably feel like a lot less if equally distributed over my entire self.
And for Wombat, here's your boob sting update: to my absolute horror, the boob string, which touched end to end two weeks ago, no longer touches. I have lost significant weight, but my boobs have expanded just slightly. WTF? I've been drinking a lot more milk, so I blame the growth hormones from the cows. My SO says it's from the pills he's been sneaking into my food when I'm not looking. I can only hope that he's joking.
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I've seen Fugazi twice, and I'm definitely not cool.
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William S. Burroughs did not lead a healthy lifestyle. He is not a suitable role model for this thread.
~Paul
I was only nominating him as a role model to me Paul, TO ME!!
Then again I don't think I'll be shooting my wife soon or heading down to Tanzania to have sex with boys, so... the role model thing only goes so far really.
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(Thank you mite - I will used that in my monthly announcement to the SO that I am happily not pregnant again for another month - it will include a dance.)
Well, I stole it from Mr. R. Stevens (http://dieselsweeties.com), and I'm sure he doesn't mind.
I have a similar monthly announcement. I think I shall also include a dance portion. I'll have to make it short to fit in between cramp attacks, though.
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Ah yes, The Not-Pregnant Dance. The SO asks for that one by name once a month.
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And for Wombat, here's your boob sting update: to my absolute horror, the boob string, which touched end to end two weeks ago, no longer touches. I have lost significant weight, but my boobs have expanded just slightly. WTF? I've been drinking a lot more milk, so I blame the growth hormones from the cows. My SO says it's from the pills he's been sneaking into my food when I'm not looking. I can only hope that he's joking.
Check 'em in the middle of your cycle too. All those hormones and junk could swell 'em a little.
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wow, Hormones. that is the way to say it.
I was typing, and it was something like "don't they get bigger around the time when... when you..."
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William S. Burroughs did not lead a healthy lifestyle. He is not a suitable role model for this thread.
~Paul
Paul I will disagree, if you are referring mostly to the man's taste for the junk (oh hell of nice, double entendre). Heroin is a remarkably innocuous drug if the user can eliminate the potential for impurity (which dramatically reduces the likelihood of overdose because the drug can be measured accurately). Heroin junkies who can eat enough to survive and procure the drug through safe means often live incredibly long and productive lives. Take Bill, for example, who lived well into his 80s or his deviant mentor Herbert Huncke, who died a decade ago at 91 (and continued to shoot up regularly through his final years). Heroin addiction curbs ones appetite for food and sex -- it makes a person an entirely sedentary creature, almost like a plant (I think there's a lot about this in the chapter of Junk that was appended after its initial publishing). Its effect reminds me of an experiment I was reading about in which researchers kept breeding long-living fruit flies until after a few generations they managed to triple the lifespan of this particular species. The resultant methuselah flies would live well long but they would eat very little and refuse to mate with each other. Apparently the key to long life is to eat like a thousand calories or less, never to bump uglies, and generally to limit your activities to urination and opiate ingestion. Hope I saved a life, peace.
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Suprisingly, I have lost 5-7 pounds in the last several days, even though I have been slacking a little on excercise. Despite my father eating through several Entemann's pies, I have not touched any sugary snacks. The testicle-masochism method is working well. Also, no beer and no nachos when the wee-hours wind down.
I also tried something new. I was staring at some cake and I realized, I have eaten so much cake that I can basically taste it without even eating it. So I just tried to taste it without eating it; try to daydream away and let the neurons fire off and that's all. It seems to have worked, the temptation to eat sugary foods has been reduced a decent amount.
Once in awhile I tend to taste things in dreams; that's where I got the idea from. More often than not, dream flavor tends to include vanilla. I guess I perceive vanilla as the most indulgent of flavors.
I hope I dream about a vanilla shake, tonight. But, if I don't... ya know... that's cool.
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Paul I will disagree, if you are referring mostly to the man's taste for the junk (oh hell of nice, double entendre). Heroin is a remarkably innocuous drug if the user can eliminate the potential for impurity (which dramatically reduces the likelihood of overdose because the drug can be measured accurately). Heroin junkies who can eat enough to survive and procure the drug through safe means often live incredibly long and productive lives. Take Bill, for example, who lived well into his 80s or his deviant mentor Herbert Huncke, who died a decade ago at 91 (and continued to shoot up regularly through his final years). Heroin addiction curbs ones appetite for food and sex -- it makes a person an entirely sedentary creature, almost like a plant (I think there's a lot about this in the chapter of Junk that was appended after its initial publishing). Its effect reminds me of an experiment I was reading about in which researchers kept breeding long-living fruit flies until after a few generations they managed to triple the lifespan of this particular species. The resultant methuselah flies would live well long but they would eat very little and refuse to mate with each other. Apparently the key to long life is to eat like a thousand calories or less, never to bump uglies, and generally to limit your activities to urination and opiate ingestion. Hope I saved a life, peace.
Welp, I guess the only thing left for me to do is get hooked on the dope.
~Paul
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I also tried something new. I was staring at some cake and I realized, I have eaten so much cake that I can basically taste it without even eating it. So I just tried to taste it without eating it; try to daydream away and let the neurons fire off and that's all. It seems to have worked, the temptation to eat sugary foods has been reduced a decent amount.
*****_god you are a genius.
~Paul
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I don't think I've ever dreamt about tasting something. I used to have a recurring dream about being in a bakery with such a huge selection that I couldn't make up my mind, so before I ever managed to eat anything I had woken up. I never knew if that was actually a dream about eating or some kind of metaphor.
Now I want some pie, dammit.
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Man, I haven't missed sugary stuff at all. It's the deep-fried savoury high glycemic index stuff that I long for (mostly chinese food, like General Tso's Chicken and stuff, but also french fries, Pizza, pasta, crunchy Italian breads, croissants, etc.
Mashed potatoes and me also go way back. I actually did have like, four tablespoons of mashed potatoes last week. I ate them very slowly throughout the meal so it didn't really feel like I didn't have much.
Oh, and come thanksgiving Yams and Stuffing are going to be hard to not eat huge pans of.
But that's a long way off, and maybe by then I won't be craving the carbs so much.
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I've had french fries three times and mashed potatos twice in the past two plus weeks. Denial is a path to certian failure.
~Paul
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On Bloomsday I had lunch at The Irish Pub in Philly and had an Irish Steerburger (basically a cheeseburger with ham on top of it) and fries. It was good. I also walked about 6-8 miles that day, at a brisk pace, in 90F heat, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to call that day "breaking even." My software tells me I consumed negative calories that day, though, so I'm not worried.
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Spent two days at the SO's parent's place over the weekend and gained three pounds. Ate onion rings for dinner last night because it was the only place between where I was and where I was going to, and had a dream that a man was in our bedroom leaning over my bed to strangle me. Awoke as I was diving out of bed (away from strangler) and screaming like crazy. I screamed so much my throat still hurts. Also my shoulder hurts because I was diving out of bed toward the floor and collided with said floor with my shoulder.
We all suck when it comes to weekend eataing. Boo.
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I had my first bad day on Saturday. I was dragged out for breakfast and I made the best choices I could, but there weren't any real good choices. Then I ate Middle Eastern food for dinner (very delicious). I'm taking it in stride. You can't be perfect everyday.
~Paul
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I'm down to 190 (that's -10). I'm finding that it doesn't matter too much what I eat (assuming I'm not pounding in the processed sugars and starches) as long as I consume fewer calories than I burn off. I've been bike riding, paddling, and moving house (and softball once a week) so It's working out well right now. 5 lbs to my first goal weight and I was expecting that to take until September.
Now I gotta do something about the gray hair I'm finding more and more of.
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Don't worry about the grey, man. Chicks dig the "distinguished" look.
Eating better for me mostly means feeling better and having my blood pressure lower to the point where I can see better.
(speaking of seeing better - went to the opthamologist today and had an exam - I'm just about at the point where I will no longer be able to have my vision corrected with glasses - but hopefully the new specs will get me much closer to 20/20 vision - the doctor already told me not to hold out much hope for ever seeing 20/20, even after the surgery, should I get it).
Anyway, I'm not weighing in again until tomorrow, but I'm trying not even to think about weight right now. I mean, I need to lose SO MUCH that a pound or two isn't even noticeable, and to focus on weight when I'm so ridiculously overweight just seems counter-productive. When I've lost 50 pounds maybe I can start setting goals or something. Right now I don't want to push to get to ____ lbs by a certain date. Mostly because I really have no idea how long it will take me to lose the weight. I'm just using the weigh-in as another data point so I can adjust my diet. Exercise, right now, I'm just getting as much as I can handle, maybe a little more than that (I tend to need a day or three to recover from exercise - like my right ankle is still hurting from all of the walking on Friday, and now it's three days later).
Buying an exercise bike isn't really an option just because of space. But I maybe could join a gym if I can find one that isn't filled with really fit people. I'm not going to join an expensive health club and be the only fat guy in the place. Or the only *guy* in the place, as is the case with most of the local gyms.
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But isn't being filled with really fit people a good advertisement for a gym? They didn't get that way by magic.
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But isn't being filled with really fit people a good advertisement for a gym? They didn't get that way by magic.
It's also hell of such as intimidating if you're already self-conscious.
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It's also hell of such as intimidating if you're already self-conscious.
Which is why Curves always have the windows blacked out.
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It's also hell of such as intimidating if you're already self-conscious.
Even skinny people can be self-conscious. Ask me about my crippling fear of falling gloriously upon my face whilst running on a treadmill! Every time I use the gym at school I wonder, "Will this be The Day?"
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Which is why Curves always have the windows blacked out.
Yeah, dammit. The only way I can get my freak on around a Curves is to sniff around the a/c exhaust vent.
For working out in a non-meat market environment, I like the YMCA. It's a values oriented wellness organization that is very nonjudgmental and the staff at the ones I've belonged too really want to help you . I know this because they work there even though they are really really underpaid. Also, the Y's with pools often have different water fitness classes which may be easier on your ankles.
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Even skinny people can be self-conscious. Ask me about my crippling fear of falling gloriously upon my face whilst running on a treadmill! Every time I use the gym at school I wonder, "Will this be The Day?"
Oh I wasn't implying anything otherwise. I'm just saying from a certain viewpoint a room full of fit people all blowing kisses at themselves in the mirror and flexing ridiculously, while providing a sense of merit to a place, may also present immense fearsome uncomfort.
Like the queen came by, and not only did you break wind rather loudly, but you also were right in the middle of a bawdy joke to your best friend, the punchline of which you would not tell your mother, and the aforementioned Queen walked up behind you RIGHT THEN. Then she strapped you to a chair and carted you around while the House of Lords has a good chuckle at your uselessly urbane nature. That's the level of uncomfort I am trying to get across.
Super duper skinny people have their own issues, which, I am clearly not knowledgable enough to expound on in such a manner.
So yeah.. don't fall off the treadmill, that would probably hurt.
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Which is why Curves always have the windows blacked out.
I have heard from several female friends that Curves has a whole creepy culty vibe going on as well, but this is clearly hearsay on my part.
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Yeah, dammit. The only way I can get my freak on around a Curves is to sniff around the a/c exhaust vent.
For working out in a non-meat market environment, I like the YMCA. It's a values oriented wellness organization that is very nonjudgmental and the staff at the ones I've belonged too really want to help you . I know this because they work there even though they are really really underpaid. Also, the Y's with pools often have different water fitness classes which may be easier on your ankles.
I think I recommended swimming or other pool-type exercise earlier in the thread. Much easier on the joints and it's highly effective. Dude, hit the water!
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I uh, don't know how to swim.
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yeah, me and Judy talked about this Gym issue for scrawny boys the other day.
I think we talked about it in another topic.
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I uh, don't know how to swim.
All the better! Hysterically trying not to drown uses up hella calories!
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I loved going to the gym near my house - 90% of its patrons are gay men. I could come in there looking like a hot mess and it never mattered.
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In Houston I worked out in a gym full of very fit people and they all treated me like everyone else, that is they ignored me and went about their business. Nobody at the gym gives a shit that you are fat.
~Paul
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Dude, this place near me with all of the fit good looking people in it... I walked in the door, and everyone in the place STOPPED what they were doing to look at me. I just turned and walked immediately out.
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I uh, don't know how to swim.
These classes are always in the shallow end. The water maybe up to your chest. The idea is the resistance of movement in the water plus the buoyancy of the water taking pressure off the joints.
Sometimes they use water noodles or other floatation items to kick or paddle to the other end or what have you, but you never need to know how to swim and besides, there is a lifeguard around if there are people in the pool.
Try it out.
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You should be alright. It is just your mind telling you that. There is no way anyone can make fun of you or whatever for being fat at a gym. You are there to get in shape, so they have to understand your trying, etc.
Anyways, as has been previously mentioned, the YMCA is an amazing place. Everyone there is there to workout and get the fuck out, none of that gym politics.
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I agree with the sentiments about the YMCA. I chose to go with 24 Hour because of portability. Had I been able to take my YMCA membership to other locations without having to pay an insane fee I would have gone with them. Alas, there is no 24 Hour Fitness in Price Utah.
~Paul
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Really? I never thought the fee was insane - and they had an 'Away' membership that wasn't that bad as I recall. How much is it now?
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I uh, don't know how to swim.
So take this opportunity to learn!
Alternately, there are water aerobics classes where you stand there and do stuff. Also, walking in water is good exercise.
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Hey jough, It's really important to celebrate the small victories too. Every day of progress is totally worth noting and celebrating - you are extending your life, and actually earning back time you would have otherwise lost. That is a big, big deal, man. You've extended your life by all your hard work over the past few weeks, and that's no small feat. That's a big fuck*ng deal. You've pushed yourself to break out of your old routine in spite of the fact that humans are creatures of habit - a major success.
I was walking to work this morning, and feeling kind of tired after a super stressful day yesterday, thinking that I was too sore and tired and that I should just catch a bus, but then I remembered that in walking to work I was extending the time between now and when I'm in a wheelchair, and it gave me a surge to move on and not just hop on the next bus that passed.
I know your weight loss feels like small potatoes right now, but what might help is potatoes. No not eating them. Next time you're at the grocery store, check out the size and girth of a five pound sack of potatoes (or any other food or vegetable sold by weight). When you're holding five pounds in your hands, and know that you either have lost or will lose this amount of poundage it is actually a really great marker of your accomplishments. (Like I mentioned before, I like to go to the dairy isle and pick up the amount of one-pound blocks of butter in a number equivalent to the amount of weight I've lost. I like to hold it and think - this is the amount I no longer need to carry around every day.) Weight loss isn't your main goal (or mine) but it's a really easy way to measure progress.
I know I keep harping on this, but it can be a really strong motivator and self esteem builder to value the progress you make every day, every hour. It can be a lot easier to give up if you're only focusing on some far, non-specific future goal, vs saying "Today I'm going to drink 8 glasses of water and walk 3 miles," and then hitting your bed at the end of the night knowing you succeeded just a little bit.
I just want you to know that I'm totally impressed and inspired by you, and that you motivate me (cue the sappy music). What you've already accomplished - the possibility of change, has been a huge gift to me. You're talking about your goal of wellness like it's this place you'll get to some day far off, when I see you here, taking steps every day that encourage me to believe that wellness is possible for me too. I was told I have a degenerative disease three weeks ago now, and I've had a few moments of sadness, but I've had entire hours, days, where my focus has been on the possibilities of good stuff - both right now and in the future. And it's because you had the courage to post this thread that I began reexamining my self and to believe that my fate isn't sealed. I totally know that you have moments where you feel like the person you want to be is so far away that you may never see that guy. I totally know how that is. I had a morning like that yesterday. But I also believe, more than ever, that you can get there, and that you and I are both a little more "there" every day. That's exciting and worth celebrating.
Also, I couldn't agree more with everyone saying the YMCA is awesome. At my Y there are people of all different fitness levels and bodies types - and I mean all types from wheelchair bound post-surgery recovery people to elderly ladies, children, the fitest to the first-time-at-the-gym folks.
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Your progress and support has meant a lot to me too, Mel, especially considering your recent trials and tribulations.
I was serious about starting up a site other than this forum for people to share their fitness progress and offer each other support - I already registered the domain and I think it will be my next project. I don't know how long it'll take to get the nutrition and diet stuff up and running (probably quite a while) but in the meantime a place to share blog/journal posts and offer each other encouragement is needed, I think. I should partner up with another web developer. We could get stuff done so much faster and better with two people.
Let's all plan to get together about 50 years from now at a huge party where we can celebrate our health and have it catered with healthy and delicious foods.
What do you say? How's 20 June 2054 sound to the rest of you? It's a Saturday.
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I'm there.
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Oh, also, yesterday I made homemade "gyros." I put it in quotes because it didn't actually resemble an actual gyro as much as I'd hoped.
But I made my own tzatziki sauce with yogurt, cucumbers, vinegar, spices, etc. And instead of that pressed lamb/beef meatloaf meat they use I just used a little spiced skirt steak, but rather than have MEAT and then some veggies to accent it I just used meat like a spice to flavour it.
Also, the pitas at my supermarket really suck (they're these tiny pita pocket things that are awful) so I used low-carb whole-grain wraps instead. Thank dog for the Atkins diet and all of these great products that are reasonably healthy (well, at least not *too* bad for you - these are still 250 calories a wrap). Also, the addition of high-flavour stuff like black olives in addition to romaine lettuce, tomato, and onion, were welcome and made the things really delicious.
I also made homemade potato salad yesterday again (I am bringing most of it to a cookout) and did have about half a cup, which is fine. I added up all of the ingredients in terms of calories, fat, and carbs, and figured that my "serving" was about 300 calories, which is a lot, but not when compared to french fries or potato chips.
Anyway, I'm trying to make some "substitution dishes" that are like regular food, only with healthier substitutions. I'm still not on any kind of diet or meal plan really. Just making better choices. I still use a little real mayo on sandwiches, I just use less of it and get the Hellmann's stuff made with Canola oil rather than... whatever it is that they use in their regular product. Less saturated fat. Still loads of calories.
I also tried making my own mayo once from extra virgin olive oil and it was too good. You're not supposed to want to eat mayo by the spoonful.
I'm still trying to find a site that offers comparisons between brands in terms of healthy choices. And trying to find out real nutritional info on say things like bread is really hard. My dad thinks the labels lie and that they hide bad for you stuff in the "natural flavours" part of the ingredients list. Maybe. But I'm finding that there's a big difference in "made from whole grain" (i.e. there is a little bit of whole grain flour in the bread) to "100% whole grain". Sometimes you'll see a mix of the two, like "Made with 100% Whole Grains" where the first ingredient is "Processed bleached wheat flour" and way down on the list is "unbleached whole grain wheat flour".
Also, the amount of sugar in even "healthy" breads is sickening.
Right now I'm just eating less bread. But I really like bread, and sandwiches and stuff. So at some point I'm probably going to make my own so I know what's in it. But who has that kind of time?
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The amount of sugar in American bread is not only sickening for health reasons, it also tastes bad. Bread is not dessert! Apparently as a nation we've developed the palates of children who want to eat nothing but candy. It's worst with the supermarket whole wheat breads - I guess they think that whole wheat tastes so nasty that we need a spoonful of sugar per slice to make it go down. That stuff shouldn't even be dignified with the name of bread. It's just an edible napkin to keep the sandwich ingredients off your hands.
Really, bread is another thing that you should go to a specialist for. Not to beat the farmer's market thing like a dead equine but some farmer's markets have bakers at them, if you don't have a high quality bakery nearby.
Sorry - the whole bread situation brings out the Pat in me.
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I'm the opposite. I'm not much into eating bread in general, and in following Canada's Food Guide, I find that I really struggle with getting in the minimum daily recommendation of grain foods. I've resorted to eating low-fat whole wheat crackers at the end of the day just to "catch up" on what I'm "supposed" to be eating in a day. I'm aiming for working in some unprocessed whole grain items like couscous and brown rice, but I'm just not all that into them. I'm more than happy to eat grilled giraffe and salmon for dinner, and to me, rice is just a bland additive that I don't really want to eat, bread is bland unless slathered in butter (which defeats the purpose). I'm thinking I'm going to try to eat a larger breakfast of whole grain fortified cereals.
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I don't think most couscous is made from whole grain. And be careful with reading the label on those cereals. That's another thing that even if it's whole grain usually has several pounds of sweetener.
Are you sure your problem isn't that you are eating lousy bread? Eat better bread! Staff of life! Support your local baker!
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I was serious about starting up a site other than this forum for people to share their fitness progress and offer each other support - I already registered the domain and I think it will be my next project. I don't know how long it'll take to get the nutrition and diet stuff up and running (probably quite a while) but in the meantime a place to share blog/journal posts and offer each other encouragement is needed, I think. I should partner up with another web developer. We could get stuff done so much faster and better with two people.
I have the web development skills of a daffodil, so I can't offer my services, but if you set it up, I'm right there with you. I want to lose 70 pounds by the end of the year.
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The amount of sugar in American bread is not only sickening for health reasons, it also tastes bad. Bread is not dessert! Apparently as a nation we've developed the palates of children who want to eat nothing but candy. It's worst with the supermarket whole wheat breads - I guess they think that whole wheat tastes so nasty that we need a spoonful of sugar per slice to make it go down. That stuff shouldn't even be dignified with the name of bread. It's just an edible napkin to keep the sandwich ingredients off your hands.
Really, bread is another thing that you should go to a specialist for. Not to beat the farmer's market thing like a dead equine but some farmer's markets have bakers at them, if you don't have a high quality bakery nearby.
Sorry - the whole bread situation brings out the Pat in me.
My problem is that good bread won't stay on the shelf long enough. If I buy bread or rolls at Safeway they'll at least last the week. Stuff from Whole Foods or the farmer's market is moldy after like two days. I'd rarther eat chemical preservatives than spend extra money for nice bread that can't survive long enough to have more than one sandwich.
I loves me some rice, though. Whenever I make convenience foods I have to halve the meat because otherwise I run out of rice/noodles way too soon. Sit-down Chinese places that won't give you extra rice free make baby Jesus cry.
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This thread is getting very interesting.
It looks like similar goals are being approached with various methods - some are counting calories, some reduce carbs, some try to adhere to established food guidelines and it sounds like everyone is increasing their activity level. I'm also wondering if there are any significant difference between the Royal Canadian Food Pyramid and the US version which I can't remember if it is even a pyramid or not anymore.
Dunno if I am available in 2054 - I'll be 87 If I don't misplace the invitation between now and then...
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This thread is getting very interesting.
It looks like similar goals are being approached with various methods - some are counting calories, some reduce carbs, some try to adhere to established food guidelines and it sounds like everyone is increasing their activity level. I'm also wondering if there are any significant difference between the Royal Canadian Food Pyramid and the US version which I can't remember if it is even a pyramid or not anymore.
Dunno if I am available in 2054 - I'll be 87 If I don't misplace the invitation between now and then...
It was redone last year (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A693-2005Apr19.html). It's "interactive" now.
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Another 2 to 2 1/2 lbs. down.
ONLY 100 TIMES THAT TO GO
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god jough, have some decency! Right now, you are treating that weight as your bitch. YOU ARE BENDING THAT WEIGHT OVER A BARREL, JOUGH.
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While I am not embarking on any Great Plan, I may still show up in 2054, even if I have to do it as a brain-in-a-jar or a cyberholothingie or whatever. We'll laugh together about all this corporeality.
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I don't think most couscous is made from whole grain. And be careful with reading the label on those cereals. That's another thing that even if it's whole grain usually has several pounds of sweetener.
Are you sure your problem isn't that you are eating lousy bread? Eat better bread! Staff of life! Support your local baker!
Oh, I am a total label whore, don't you worry. I compaired every ingredient on every cereal that claimed to be healthy in the cereal isle and chose the healthiest. I don't like sweet cereal, so there is either very little or no sugar in any of the stuff I get. Also my couscous is totally whole grain, and out of five different couscouses had the highest fiber content, so I'm cool.
As for bread - no, I'm just not in to bread, and never have been. I grew up in the kind of house that never had any bread on the table with dinner - it was only used in sandwiches. My theatre is five steps from a local organic/all natural bakery, which is rated the best bakery in the city, and I get to hear actors moan and groan about how tasty the fresh bread they're eating is. I did re-check them out last week when I realized I wasn't getting enough grains, but nothing appealed to me, except the lemon poppy seed cake, which I decided not to buy. I'm just not a bread girl. I do like the way it smells though.
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I am sort of secretly with you guys (only inasmuch as I had been planning this anyway), and I have to say that walking in the humidity here is hell of such as harder than when I was doing such in the fall. Jeezus effin' mother. I just did a mere hour and a half of walking and I'm damned near as tired as I was doing a 6 hour walk maybe a month and a half ago. Some of this might be attributed to the fact that I'm not eating meat anymore and my body is still adjusting, but certainly not all of it.
Good gravy, seriously.
Anyway, go you guys... I am cheering you all on (in secret).
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OK folks,
I'm convinced. I haven't posted for a while, (and never posted much to begin with) but always get a fairly warm reception when I do. Since you all are a good bunch of people, and more supportive than a cone-bra, I am feeling increasing pressure to get on with my own personal improvements with you.
Here's the stats: I'm 27 years old, stand 5'8" and weigh 150lb. I eat mostly vegetarian. I run 4-6 miles per week and do sit ups and pushups regularly. Weight and exercise is not my problem. My problem is that I smoke 2 packs a day and drink either (a)375ml of Whiskey or (b)one bottle of wine... every day.
I have heard that family history has quite a bit to do with your risks, and my family has a strong tradition of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, alcoholism, and as an added bonus..... every smoker in my family has developed lung cancer.
This shit needs to stop. I am young, healthy, and fit, but I will not continue to be so for very long if my habits continue.
So, I'm on the bandwagon with you all, hopefully for good.
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It's a damn shame to hear that, Jeepers. Here's wishing you the best of luck in acheiving your goals.
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I have heard that family history has quite a bit to do with your risks, and my family has a strong tradition of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, alcoholism, and as an added bonus..... every smoker in my family has developed lung cancer.
This shit needs to stop. I am young, healthy, and fit, but I will not continue to be so for very long if my habits continue.
So, I'm on the bandwagon with you all, hopefully for good.
Holy Moly.
That's a big piece to bite off all at once. 5'8 and 150 is good, though - but two tough habits / addictions to break, especially since you are trying to defuse a bomb that was lit long before you were born.
If you have decent health insurance, I think it may be a good idea to consider at least an intake counseling session just to get an objective idea about ways you might go about ridding yourself of smokes and over-imbibing. I don't really have any insight into whether you would clinically be considered an alcoholic or if you personally consider yourself one, but I do know that those two things can really settle into a person and are pretty hard to walk away from.
So, I'm not saying you should go into therapy or anything, but I do think you could benefit at the least from some objective professional advice about approaching quitting.
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Hey Jeepers, that's a hard road too. Kicking any bad habit is a good thing, and every day you don't smoke is another day added at the end of your life.
I've never smoked, but my dad did for ten years before he quit cold turkey.
However, I have had a little experience kicking the drinking. So that you don't sabotage your own success, you should know upfront that you can't even have one anymore. It's so easy to slip at first, but it actually gets easier to not drink after a while. Of course, this is coming from someone who's fallen off the wagon a few times.
You just have to really want to change. If you're just doing it because your girlfriend or parents or something want you to it'll never work. Then once you're on a roll you'll start to think such as "I could have a cigarette/drink, but I've already stayed off of it for three months now... I'd hate to break the streak..."
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Holy Moly.
I'm certian you meant to say Jeepers Creepers!!!
~Paul
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Jeepers, If I may offer some advice, don't try to quit both of those habits at the same time. I would suggest you quit drinking first. I say this for several reasons. One of the biggest reasons is, you'll want a smoke when you drink, but you won't necessarily want a drink when you smoke. Another reason is, smoking is much tougher to kick. In my experience that has been true. I never smoked cigarettes, but I dipped skoal and coppenhagen for a few years. I gave that up over twenty years ago and I still get the craving for a dip now whenever I see a can of skoal. This past January marks 18 or 19 years (I've lost track) I've been sober and I haven't craved alcohol in a long long time. Also, if you drink you're willpower will take a powder and you'll be more likely to start smoking while drunk. Also, you'll make questionable choices about who you have sex with.
So that you don't sabotage your own success, you should know upfront that you can't even have one anymore. It's so easy to slip at first, but it actually gets easier to not drink after a while.
This is probably the best advice you'll receive. I realized that going in and it's the key to my success at staying sober.
~Paul
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Also, regardless of whether you meet the clinical definition of "alcoholic" or not, I have found that it is helpful to just tell people "I'm on the wagon." or "I'm an alcoholic" when refusing alcohol. People may be offended, and insistent, and try to pressure you to drink, especially at first, and especially if your friends and family are all heavy drinkers. But they're not the ones who have to feel like shit after drinking, so they can pretty much go fuck themselves.
I've had to leave places a few times when there was no enjoyment to be had without drinking. I mean, being sobre in a roomful of drunks is boring anyway.
I used to be the only sobre one in places when I was straight edge back in my teens and early 20s. I actually didn't drink on my 21st birthday even. Now I look with lament at the same scenes I used to view with superiority and amusement, and without the feeling of superiority. Of course, this has less to do with being a recovering drunk as it does with being older and by default somewhat less of an asshole.
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Oh, also:
http://Get.FitWith.Us/ (http://get.fitwith.us/)
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So, I'm on the bandwagon with you all, hopefully for good.
Yay, Jeepers, way to put some conscious thought into your way of life! It is so great that you are recognizing your need to re-examine your path.
As for the image of all of us riding on a wagon together... that is a fanciful idea.
Anyway: way to be kid! (I call you kid though you're the same age as I am, but I do this to people twice my age - we're all big kids really) Basically, for me the healthy living turn taken here is part two of the major steps taken by me toward wellness. Part one happend about a year and a half ago, when I realized I had developed a fairly serious problem with hitting the bong, where it had become a nearly daily thing of many many a bowl. Both my SO and I stopped cold turkey. It wasn't easy. The most difficult part for me was no longer having something to numb me when I'd had a stressful or otherwise shitty day. It was so easy to get high, watch cartoons and totally not deal with my emotions.
The problem with stopping chemical abuse (booze or otherwise) is that it is often a social problem - you likely have a circle of friends (or even family) who abuse their bodies in exactly the same way you're doing to yourself. Which can make significantly unhealthy treatment of your body seem normal, even when it's not. The smartest thing you can do right now is let your drinking buddies know the decision you've made and why you've made it. I made it clear to my friends that I would continue to respect whatever choices they made when it came to their own use or non-use, and that I continued to expect the same from them as I made the change. Some of them were cool with this, some were pissed off, and one friend even got upset and assumed I would rat her out to the cops. Also, include your non-drinking buddies (or make some) and let them know you will be spending more time with them while you get your shit together. I'm still friends with the people I smoked up with, but I did take a little break from them to get my head straight. Also my paranoid friend needed a break from me to realize that I wasn't asking her to change, or planning to turn her in - just making personal choices toward my own health. Basically, if you're open and respectful to everybody, they will come to treat you with openness and respect too.
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Jeepers: Something worth knowing is that while smoking increases your risks of lung cancer smoking *and* heavy drinking actually makes it much much worse.
Here's (http://www.aim-digest.com/gateway/pages/cancer/articles/lung.htm) science (http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/964718193.html) in (http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/10/8/813) your eye!
That first one actually looks like I'm contradicting myself but if you check down the bottom it mentions a higher risk for heavy drinkers. Which is the point. A glass of something sweet with your ciggy won't hurt too much but if you're putting away a bottle a day as well as smoking thats hell of bad news for you.
I mean... you're already planning on getting off them already so you don't need to know this, but just in case you need extra encouragement getting off one or the other will probably be a very good thing for you.
Damn, now I feel like I need to get in on this. I weigh... let's see.
Ouch, 209 of your foreign poounds. Damn, I feel much thinner in metric.
If I could drop about 30 of those I'd be feeling pretty good, 40 would be better. I started a new job recently and have been walking there and back, it's about an hour each way and I do it about three or four times I week but it's not exactly power walking or anything and I cancel it out with all the crap I eat anyway so for starters I'm going to try cutting back the sugary crap. Mainly the massive amounts of cola I ingest daily which, since I am pathetically weak, I'm just going to switch for the no sugar variety (caffiene is not a negotiable intake).
Also going to start bringing more fruit with me to uni so I don't buy my lunch every day, the refec turkey sandwiches are grelicious but I must be strong. I love the hell out of mandarins and Bananas so there's no reason I can't be having them for lunch instead (bringing sandwiches and such with me just doesn't work, even if I dump them in the fridge as soon as I get to the office I just *know* they're not fresh).
It may also be time to renew my gym membership, or alternately start going for runs along the river at night, it's getting just about the right temperature for it too.
I know my goals and such are crummy compared to your grand schemes but really I just needed to get this down somewhere so I can look at it later and say 'you can't back out now son, you said it on the INTERNET!'.
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By the way Jough, the is hell of website you've got there.
Good name too, I've always detested people who complain they want to be 'thin' it's not about shape for me I want to be fit, I want my body to work as well as it possibly can.
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I just want to not die this year. And to feel better. And to have women look at my body with lust in their hearts.
Okay so maybe "just" isn't a strong enough word.
Anyway, the web site (http://get.fitwith.us) is just one little page now. I crammed it full of Web 2.0 goodness* though because I can.
* Yeah, this thing is pretty much like one of those "can you spot 20 Web 2.0 features/memes in this page?" thing from Highlights magazine:
- URL hack domain name (where the domain spells something in English) - check
- Garish colours and bright logo- check
- Huge text - check
- Huge background image - check
- Background image that scales to the size of your browser pane - check
- Gradients - check
- Rounded corners - check
- Unnecessary transparencies - check
- Casual diction in help texts - check
- One sentence privacy policy - check
- Ajax-form that submits your email address without loading a new page - check
- DHTML/DOM manipulation that degrades to functioning like a normal web form if you don't have javascript turned on - check
Okay, that last one isn't a common Web 2.0 thing, but it should be.
Anyway, yeah, I spent like, a whole day on that one frikkin' page that doesn't do anything but collect email addresses so people can be notified when there actually is something to DO there.
Of course, much of that time was spent figuring out the best way to handle asynchronous requests, and building data shuffling objects that will be used throughout the real site when I do actually build it.
NOTHING IS WASTED WE USE THE WHOLE BUFFALO
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I lost 1.0 lbs. last night to bring my total to 14.0 lbs.
~Paul
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Way to go man!
14 pounds is a significant accomplishment in its self.
I hope we can all be as successful in our improvements.
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Way to go man!
14 pounds is a significant accomplishment in its self.
I hope we can all be as successful in our improvements.
Thank you man, I need all the encouragement I can get. I hope the same for you with your goals.
~Paul
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I've been sick (bad cold + kidney infection), and that's sorta thrown things off. The antibiotics totally crush my appetite, but if I take them on an empty stomach I get seriously sick. I think I'm down a pound or two, but that may have been muscle. I haven't been able to get much real exercise in about a week and a half.
Good luck with the not drinking, Jeepers. I'll be pulling for you.
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I don't think under normal circumstances your body would metabolize muscle ahead of fat. Maybe you are somewhat dehydrated? That's where my weight goes when I'm sick.
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Correct me if I'm wrong but fat weighs less than muscle so if, through lethargy or illness you lose some muscle mass via fat conversion you would also lose pounds yes?
That's the way I understood mite's comment anyway. I could be totally off as I'm not Captain Biology*.
* That's actually this guy in my building. He wears this cape kind of thing. It's actually like an old garbage bag. And he doesn't really fight crime as much as he tries to spread his bodily fluids all over. Come to think of it, he's less like a superhero and more like a hobo.
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* That's actually this guy in my building. He wears this cape kind of thing. It's actually like an old garbage bag. And he doesn't really fight crime as much as he tries to spread his bodily fluids all over. Come to think of it, he's less like a superhero and more like a hobo.
Does this guy live in the building with you in the same way that Tyler Durden lived with the narrator in Fight Club?
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Does this guy live in the building with you in the same way that Tyler Durden lived with the narrator in Fight Club?
I don't know what you're talking about. I never sleep... in fact I have insomni- OH SHIT!
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I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death.
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I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death.
I believe you mean Brother.
(See also, Delirium, Despair, Desire, Destiny, and Destruction)
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Now now, he said sleep not dreams.
Sleep is obviously Death's cousin and is brother to Sanity, Sex, Sluggishness, Smashing, Silence and Soccer.
Classy with the crossed out destruction though, a nice touch, would read again.
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no, I think he was making a reference to...
a comic? am I right?
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no, I think he was making a reference to...
a comic? am I right?
Yes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_%28DC_Comics/Vertigo%29).
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Paul, what do you mean you lost a pound "last night?" Did some scary psycho Kevin Spacey corner you and force you to cut off a pound of your own flesh? If so, I am so going to find him and smack him up good.
Do you weigh your self daily? I could weigh myself every day, but it's too compulsive for my personality type and could grow to an hourly thing. I try to force my self to only weigh in once a week, but I caved and weighed myself Otherwise I would get obsessive and crazy.
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Paul, what do you mean you lost a pound "last night?" Did some scary psycho Kevin Spacey corner you and force you to cut off a pound of your own flesh? If so, I am so going to find him and smack him up good.
Do you weigh your self daily? I could weigh myself every day, but it's too compulsive for my personality type and could grow to an hourly thing. I try to force my self to only weigh in once a week, but I caved and weighed myself Otherwise I would get obsessive and crazy.
I lost a pound last night (Wed) at my weekly weigh in. I am 1.0 pounds lighter than the week before. Sorry to be unclear.
~Paul
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I was hoping for a funny story, with pictures, about you going to a dance club with broken air conditioning, and just dancing like a demon until the break of dawn. That's how to lose a pound in one night.*
*but it would all be in water loss, and not "legitimate."
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Yeah, I lose more than a pound when I pee in the morning, but it's not real weight loss, just water. That ain't no thing.
A pound down from the week before is good, man. If I only lost a pound a week (which I think is doable) I'd be down to my fighting trim in less than four years. If I could lose (on average) two pounds, well, I'd be set in half that time.
I am trying to only weigh myself once a week (on Tuesdays) but my scale isn't very accurate. If I lean to the left I weigh more than if I lean to the right. So I can really only count on major loss - like if I can lean either way and still show weight loss from the previous week or two weeks before, that's cool. I tend to record the worst it does for me - the heaviest I can be by leaning. That way I won't be disappointed the following week when I didn't lose as much or something.
This will get easier once I get below 300 lbs. and can use a regular doctor's scale. I have one in the basement - it actually goes up to 350lbs - so that should be a better indicator. These first 50 pounds I'm hardly even worrying about. I expect that I'll be down that much by sometime in the fall. I think these will be the "easiest" to lose - as long as I keep my caloric intake down and get more active (it is almost impossible to get less active than I was this winter) I'll lose weight.
It's neat, though, to actually see progress. I can feel it, and I'm down two notches on my belt (mostly I'm sure due to loss of water retention).
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My new scale is so wonderful, but being digital and only going in full pound increments it sometimes dances between one number and another, and I like to tell myself that it's because I'm half a pound lighter and the scale can just not tell me that. I still can't get over my old scale being wrong and telling my I was 11 pounds heavier than I actually am. That is still like a magical gift, and speaks a lot to the power of suggestion, since I actually felt heavier because the number was different, and am so relieved that I don't have that extra 11 pounds to lose.
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I was hoping for a funny story, with pictures, about you going to a dance club with broken air conditioning, and just dancing like a demon until the break of dawn. That's how to lose a pound in one night.*
Well there's no dance clubs in Price except maybe this one place called Big Dogs, but I haven't been in there so I can't say for certain.
I have however been getting active almost every day. I intend to keep that up.
~Paul
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I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death.
at least that's (http://www.lyricsdownload.com/afghan-whigs-omerta-lyrics.html) what Nas says (http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/N-Y-State-of-Mind-lyrics-Nas/9B305CBE5A182E14482568B9002C7F57).
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Weighing yourself in the morning, after the whizz, will give you more consistent results (it will be your lightest weight, but it will *always* be your lightest weight). Even that will fluctuate daily, but it's less likely to include the pound of vegetables you had for dinner etc. Even better is to plot these daily numbers on a graph, and then you can more easily see the pattern over time. That is if you are fixated on weight, though.
I still really enjoy the hardcore numerical approach to anything related to the body, though. My husband and I needed to lose some weight, and we went on a totally anal calorie counting plan (I printed out lists of the stuff we eat, in /100g units, and kept it in a binder on the table, and we weighed everything significant on an accurate digital scale). We both ended up losing 20 lbs, but the nice thing was that it had to work. I've been eating fairly healthy for a long time, and getting moderate and sometimes heavy exercise (usually walking at least 3 miles a day, often more intense cardio and weights too), but it wasn't enough and so I found the 'just eat healthy and exercise' advice pretty frustrating. The problem seemed to be that I was eating too much, but I never for certain that that was the specific problem until we actually kept track of it. In the end I'm glad I did it if only because now I know that I actually do have control over this process if I choose to exercise it.
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we went on a totally anal calorie counting plan
Those are the worst kind.
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.
I still really enjoy the hardcore numerical approach to anything related to the body, though. My husband and I needed to lose some weight, and we went on a totally anal ...Exercise...process...
Behold the power of the almighty ellipsis.
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Yeah, you shouldn't be counting calories of things coming out of your anus. You have to do it the other way.
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Yeah, you shouldn't be counting calories of things coming out of your anus. You have to do it the other way.
Well, weighing by difference is not a bad way to do it. I mean, I generally knew how much was going in too. Really I had trouble collecting the gas outputs, though. That little bag was really annoying.
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Did anybody else see the episode of Bourdain (I think it was the Korean one) where he was eating the chicken anuses? (ani?)
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Yeah, he wasn't so crazy about them - but he liked the fried chicken feet. Go figure.
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Yay! I have lost 10 pounds total since we started this thang!
Also, I went to the visiting carnival, and managed to only eat one of those tiny lil' donuts - the SO ate the other 17. Also, I rode on a roller coaster for the first time ever. Fun!
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Congrats, Smells.
I've only been on a coaster once, when I was 8 or 9. Made me ill.
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Congratulations Mel, that's a really nice accomplishment.
I love Roller Coasters, but i'm too big to ride on most of them. Not for long though. Hell yeah, WTG!!!
I did ride this rollercoaster (http://www.paulmcrae.com/images/Miscellany/Misc/DSCN3619_42_4_6_8-E-S-1024.jpg) last year.
~Paul
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Thrills AND Chills eh Paul?
I hope it delivered on that promise.
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Down just under a pound in the weekly weigh-in, although it was after I ate breakfast (but I didn't eat a pound of food, so likely no extra gain there).
Anyway, I was hoping for more, and +/- 1 pound in either direction can really fluctuate based on how much water I've drinken, whether I've peed or pooped lately, etc.
So I'm calling this week "broke even," even though I ate right and exercised more.
Not fair.
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A pound is enough. It's somethin'. It's better than being up a pound.
Also, the rollercoaster was indeed fun - it was the first time I'd had the opportunity (not a size thing for me, thanfully), as when the Exhibition comes to town they don't usually bring a rollercoaster.
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Smells, I don't think anyone assumed that you were too grande to ride a rollercoaster.
Plus, did you know that FEAR burns calories? It's a fact!
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oh my god, this is totally why my girlfriend and I (and hobot!) are so skinny. Fear is like my number one activity.
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I ain't afraid of no Rolley Coaster! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU14VqcPIDo&search=%22mr%20show%22)
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oh my god, this is totally why my girlfriend and I (and hobot!) are so skinny. Fear is like my number one activity.
Yes, that is it! Everyone out there who needs to lose weight, consult me on how to be afraid of anything and everything, for no good reason at all!
Advanced students will have the opportunity for one-on-one, interactive tutorials on panic attacks!
Only $10K up front.
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Yes, that is it! Everyone out there who needs to lose weight, consult me on how to be afraid of anything and everything, for no good reason at all!
Advanced students will have the opportunity for one-on-one, interactive tutorials on panic attacks!
Only $10K up front.
And according the The Tick fear is the most efficient fuel in the universe. A spaceship powered by fear can actual fly at the speed of lint (the only thing faster than light).
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But how do you keep your fear from causing you to either a) stress eat or b) get drunk/high to self-medicate and then get the munchies? I think constant low-grade anxiety is what makes it impossible for me to lose these last 8 pounds.
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But how do you keep your fear from causing you to either a) stress eat or b) get drunk/high to self-medicate and then get the munchies? I think constant low-grade anxiety is what makes it impossible for me to lose these last 8 pounds.
Stress eating is not a problem for me, because I have never turned to food to alleviate anxiety. Also, developing a fear of food and of gaining weight, while not AT ALL healthy or advisable, is pretty effective in preventing "weakness" in this regard. In terms of self-medicating with drugs and/or alcohol, I've been there and done that, so the experimentation itch is out of my system. And I'm not old enough to buy alcohol legally, so that's a pretty good deterrent. Oh, and without getting into any gruesome details, I'm medicated enough as it is. I don't need the dubious "help" of drugs or alcohol to calm me down, when I have something that's been proven effective in the test subject of Me and that is relatively tailored to my needs.
I realised after composing this response that it seems rather argumentative and contentious -- this was not my intent. Sorry 'bout that.
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I've been doing pretty well food-wise. I made a Beef Barley Soup from scratch last night that was uberdelicious and only 200 calories per bowl.
The only thing that I CRAVE is Chinese Food. I crave crispy yet saucy Orange Chicken like I crave the love of a woman's goodness. It is strong and deep.
Here's a question: how do you satisfy your basic human need to eat something crunchy that is also healthy? I mean, there is nothing in the baked world that is the same as anything breaded and deep fried.
I need some crispy back in my diet, and then my culinary transformation will be complete. But denying crunch is just asking for failure. I've tried searing meats and stuff in a really hot cast iron skillet, but it's not quite as crisp or delicious as say, fried chicken skin.
I did have a couple pieces of bacon on Father's Day. That was pretty good.
But what the fuck can I add to a meal, salad, etc., that is crunchy?
I ask you!
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Triscuits, Baked Tortilla Chips, and Granola have been providing my crunch factor. Then again, I was never that big into fried stuff any-dang-how!
(Sad Admission: I put a little granola on my baby spinach the other day so as to alleviate the crouton factor. It wasn't as bad as I was afraid it was going to be.)
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Celery is pretty crunchy. All that xylem and phloem makes for good transportation of water and nutrients in the plant's vasculature, which makes for a crunchy vegetable. Oh, and raw carrots. See also: apples, crunchiest of fruits (which are surprisingly good in most salads, even when the dressing is not some kind of sweet-ish vinaigrette).
Almonds are also crunchy, and the healthiest of nuts. Gotta love that "good fat."
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Almonds are also crunchy, and the healthiest of nuts. Gotta love that "good fat."
If by "healthy" you mean "bad tasting and containing cyanide" then yes.
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Actually, I meant "crispy" not "crunchy". Yes, there are crunchy veggies, but they're not quite the same as say the skin of deep fried chicken. That's the kind of crisp I'm looking for.
My uncle suggested cutting up tortillas and baking them. I will try that.
Also, I'll have to do some research as to what kinds of nuts I can reasonably eat, but I'm thinking that some roasted nuts on a salad would be awesome. I think walnuts are pretty oily, though, so I'll have to get something that doesn't taste metallic (so no almonds) and aren't too oily (goodbye peanuts and cashews).
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Oh also, whole grain english muffins are pretty much healthy as far as breads go, and they get nice and crispy if you toast them.
Just be careful, because I burned myself doing just that this morning. Damn you cheapass toaster oven!
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oh dude, totillas are the way to go.
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ARE THEY AS CRISPY AS FRIED CHICKEN SKIN?
Basically I am trying to find the healthy analogue of fried chicken.
English muffins? Nigga please. Not even close.
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Actually, I meant "crispy" not "crunchy". Yes, there are crunchy veggies, but they're not quite the same as say the skin of deep fried chicken. That's the kind of crisp I'm looking for.
My uncle suggested cutting up tortillas and baking them. I will try that.
Also, I'll have to do some research as to what kinds of nuts I can reasonably eat, but I'm thinking that some roasted nuts on a salad would be awesome. I think walnuts are pretty oily, though, so I'll have to get something that doesn't taste metallic (so no almonds) and aren't too oily (goodbye peanuts and cashews).
Yeah, I figured my veggie suggestions wouldn't go over too well, but you can't say I didn't try.
As far as somewhat-healthy nuts go, the Emerald Nuts brand has the most delicious roasted almonds in the history of roasted almonds. They have paprika on them, and are just about the best damn food item ever. Do yourself a fuck*ng favour and try them. (Since I am girl who has little to no interest in food, my glowing recommendation of these nuts [THESE NUTS!], and of food I deem "delicious" in general, should impress you by virtue of its rare occurrence. You know it must be good if it's made me all insistent!)
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my glowing recommendation of these nuts
Nah... too easy.
Carry on.
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They are not nuts, but close enough. Toasted or raw sunflower seeds (toast them yourself to avoid the fried ones you will typically get, or use sparingly if they're greasy) are good on salads, as are raw hulled pumpkin seeds. They've got a greeny sort of taste, but they're pretty good for you.
Jough, I would just go for the chicken skin in tiny amounts. Make it a once a week treat or something (one single drumstick, eaten very slowly), but stick to that. Another thing I liked about the calorie counting was that I could have measured indulgences, and compensate by just eating something really lean the next day.
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Jough, I would just go for the chicken skin in tiny amounts. Make it a once a week treat or something (one single drumstick, eaten very slowly), but stick to that. Another thing I liked about the calorie counting was that I could have measured indulgences, and compensate by just eating something really lean the next day.
She speaks wise. Don't deny yourself the things you love, just use sparingly.
~Paul
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You see my mindset, though. I'm trying to find substitutions of healthy things for unhealthy things. Eventually I will find and make healthy things that are so different than the things I used to eat that there is no direct comparision, but right now I'm not wanting to deviate too too much from my past habits.
So instead of mashed potatoes I'll make whole grain brown rice. Instead of shake & bake whole chicken pieces or ordering out fried chicken I'll make a stir fry with lots of fresh veggies and a tiny bit of olive oil.
Instead of store-bought canned soup, I make my own fresh stuff. Etc. Whole grain wraps instead of hoagie rolls for lunch. Baby carrots instead of potato chips. Water instead of soda. Walking instead of sitting.
Tiny adjustments that seem to be adding up.
I may see if I can make my own Lemon Chicken or Orange Beef at some point. I'll have to learn how to make healthy sauces, though, because usually my sauces consist of deglazing the pan with a corn starch and sugar mixture (along with the citrus) so there's lots of sugar to carmelize and lots of oil to keep its consistency smooth.
I wish there was a place online where I could find nothing but healthy recipes. Most of the recipies I'm finding start with "2 lbs. Butter, 2 cups Heavy Cream..."
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Baby carrots instead of potato chips. Water instead of soda. Walking instead of sitting.
Up is Down, Down is Up. Oooooooooooh Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.
Seriously though, that sounds like a decent strategy but I agree with Paul et al to let yourself have some nice stuff now and then just because if you abstain completely you might build up it's importance too much in your mind and just go nuts.
I know they don't really match the crunch factor your looking for but can I also chime in for roasted almonds? Without any kind of seasoning or anything they are just delicious (I hate HATE raw almonds by the way) and if you want to be sure about their healthitude buy some slivered raw almonds from the store and just roast them yourself in the oven, seriously more-ish food.
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When I gotta get a nut I toast pine nuts. Problem is they're like $1.25 an ounce, but they're really good mixed with couscous.
They're not crispy/crunchy, though. I don't know a non-fried way to get that fried food goodness. If you bake tortillas, though, be sure to let them rest for a while -- when I first made them, I was severely disappointed with them as soon as they'd cooled, but the next day they were really good.
Baked pitas are good too sometimes.
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Crunchy (although not crispy): I know no one is going to believe me, but good quality freshly popped popcorn is really good without butter or anything at all added except salt. You also don't have to use nearly as much oil to pop it as it usually says on the jar. This is of course if you can find the plain popping corn in a jar anymore - the popcorn shelves of our supermarket have been taken over by microwavable shit and we can no longer find the Orville Reddenbacher's that really was better than other brands.
Seriously, this has almost completely replaced potato chips in my life at a huge savings in fat.
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Jough: crispy like fried chicken skin? Do you have a BBQ? If so, make beer butt chicken with a nice rub on the skin. If you are specifically craving crispy + meat this will likely be very satisfying for you. Even though chicken skin is pretty fatty, in the case of beer butt chicken, at least you're letting a lot of the excess fat drip off, and not putting the meat anywhere near a deep fryer, yet creating the crisp + meaty combo. I actually had that last night, and it was very nice. I don't have the achewood cookbook, so I went with my own recipe, but it was lovely. Also, I bought a set of beer butt chicken stands, which are everywhere this summer. If you want the recipe, let me know, it's really easy.
As for me, I have having a different quandary:
Pro: In regard to cravings: I have none. Seems the medication I started taking four weeks ago makes me totally disinterested in food, which is a drastic 180 from me a month ago, where I would see something or hear vague mention of it, and then I would want it in an obsessive way. This is a good thing. I do get hungry, but the hunger is never tied to some specific craving, so making healthy choices has been very easy. The med's are for getting me into deep sleep, but since they alter my brain chemistry, they have also effected my entire psychology in subtle ways, and I count the loss of cravings as a big bonus.
Con: I have been having horrific night terrors where I awake mid-scream, often having thrown myself out of bed, three times being convinced that someone is looming over the bed, getting ready to strangle me. In the month that I have been on the med's, this has happened three times, including last night, plus another night terror involving the wall behind our bed crumbling, and me screaming at my SO from the foot of the bed to get up before he's crushed by the collapsing wall. And I don't just wake with a start, I awake as I hit the floor with my back/tailbone (ouch) having thrown myself out of bed, and always, always screaming at the top of my lungs. I know that I am actually screaming both because I wake my SO up (who sleeps like the dead) and because my throat is raw and sore the next day. In my dream state, my eyes are already open when I "awake," so there is a short period where I'm pretty confused and question whether my dream was real or not. It's been fairly horrific, and I've been drenched in sweat with my heart pounding very time, yet, every night, I've basically calmed myself down and gone back to sleep, though I'm starting to be a bit paranoid about hitting the hay, and had one night after the most vivid of the terrors, where I fought hard against going to sleep in fear I would have the dream again. My theory of the terrors is that I am in deep sleep with my eyes open, and my dreaming brain imposes the image of someone in the room to me, yet it also recognizes my real surroundings, making for a confused state combining dream with reality, and basically making for some very realistic, and terrifying dreams.
I'm due back at the doctors for follow-up next week, so I'll discuss it with him. I'm not too sure what to think - in a way, I wonder if it's possible that since I've gone so long without getting to the stage of deep sleep, that now that I am getting there, my brain is over active in that state either because of the med's or because it's making up for lost time. Does the brain get "hungry" for dreaming? Is my brain now dream-binging like a beggar at the feast? From the quality of rest and energy level I've been experiencing, all I can say is that overall the med's seem to be helping in a very significant way, yet these nightmares are the worst I've ever had in my life.
(edit: but say, some of you thing fear is the road to slimness... But I don't want to be skinny and dead of a heart attack via Freddy Kruger, just alive and fit, via good sleep)
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Crunchy (although not crispy): I know no one is going to believe me, but good quality freshly popped popcorn is really good without butter or anything at all added except salt.
To add more non-fat flavor, cayenne or garlic in the salt is also good.
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Oh, one more thing, I thought of AD briefly when I took the day off today to go to the beach. When I arrived, to my absolute horror, there was a film crew there shooting the horrible Canadian version of Dawson's Creek at the beach (this is there second season of the shitty, shitty show). I retreated to the far corner of the only stretch of beach they were not occupying, and occasionally someone yelling "Action" or "Cut" was carried over to me on the wind, but it was otherwise lovely. I also got to hear one of the locals complain about how the shooting schedule was ruining the community. I concealed my saggy old bathing suit under a tank top and got some sun and good exercise in the water, which was very nice.
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To add more non-fat flavor, cayenne or garlic in the salt is also good.
Or curry powder. Celery salt can be good too.
We get almonds roasted in the shell and crack them open like peanuts. Good stuff. You can get them salted or unsalted at Wal-Mart (which is about the only good thing you can get there...)
I agree with Paul. You have to let yourself have some treats, just in moderation. If you decide "I'm never going to eat anything bad for me again in my entire life," you're setting yourself up to fail. I think a better approach is to make permanent changes in your approach to food. Eat better 90% of the time. Then eat something you crave every once in a while -- in limited quantities. Don't beat yourself up over it -- that's counter-productive.
Since about the 1st of April I've been losing roughly a pound a week, with next to no effort. All I've done is quit drinking, cut back on sweets & snacks and avoid buffets at lunch. And continued my exercising.
Obviously not everyone can cut out the vast number of calories I was taking in each day in vodka; you may not be able to exercise the way I like to. But the point is I've changed my routine and my attitude toward food. I don't feel like I can't have something if I really want it. I don't have to spend a lot of conscious mental effort on what I should or should not be eating at any given meal, I think this is working for me because I'm confident that over the long run I'm training myself to eat (and burn) a healthy amount of calories in a day.
I don't feel like I'm expressing myself well (which always irritates the fuck out of me anyway...) I guess what I feel like I've done is work on adjusting my metabolism, attitude toward eating and activity level to a healthier state. I don't worry about individual meals or lapses, but I might worry about a trend toward overeating or skipped workouts. Does that make any sense?
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Tonight is my weigh in night. I am down 4.0 pounds from my last weigh in. I am down a total of 18 pounds in 4 weeks.
I am trying to get back to virgin weight loss, that is weight I haven't already lost once before. I began my weight loss quest on my birthday January 14, 2003 (http://www.paulmcrae.com/Pic_of_the_Day/Images/DSCN3972-E-I.jpg) where I weighed 417.8 pounds. I reached my lowest weight of 304.8 pounds on December 12, 2005 (http://www.paulmcrae.com/WW/IMAGES/2005/12-17-05/DSCN10082-E-1024.jpg). As has been well reported on this board, I have been through a LOT since then. I finally decided to get my shit together and get back to losing weight. I rejoined Weight Watchers on May 31, 2006 (http://www.paulmcrae.com/FEATURES/WLC_06/IMAGES/1024/DSCN13465_6-E-S-1024.jpg) weighing in at 329.2 pounds, 24.4 pounds heavier than my december 12th. low. I've lost back 18 of that 24.4 pound backslide. I currently stand at 311.2 pounds (http://www.paulmcrae.com/FEATURES/WLC_06/IMAGES/1024/DSCN3861_911-E-S-1024.jpg). I need to lose 6.4 pounds to get back into virgin weight loss.
~Paul
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I can attest that letting yourself have something you crave occaisionally is the best.
because it's never as good as you remember it being.
I know this from when I had a really unhealthy habit where I basically only ate Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Like, there was a big scene where my parents confronted me about it and I cried. It was horrible. Because of my school/play practice/sleep schedule, I was basically eating 1 meal a day. which consisted of macaroni and cheese.
and they threw all of it out. and all I could think about for like 2 weeks was "Krack Macaroni and Cheese." And then one day I had it, and realized that it's really really shitty macaroni. Now I just have it occaisionally when I've had a bad day.
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The update-
week 1. I have successfully cut back to one pack a day and two glasses of whiskey a night, each containing no more than two fingers after the addition of four ice cubes. There have also been two days when no alcohol passed my lips all day.
The drinking is not really the difficult issue here, as I feel no insane compulsion to drink, and have no withdrawl when I don't. The smoking is proving to be tough, but I am finding ways to cut back. My goal is to be completely smoke free by september 1st, which is roughly the 10 year mark of the day I started.
also: Congratulations everyone on your successes. Once I quit smoking, I'll probably have to jump on the weight wagon with you all. small price to pay I suppose.
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Good work, Jeepers. Keep it up. And kudos to everyone else for their weight loss.
I'm getting ready to go on the Abs Diet, and once I've got the plan in place, I'll say something in this thread. I'll also be using the webpage that AlohaDawg uses to publicly keep track of my progress. That way, you guys can mock me furiously when I fuck up. Which I will. Often.
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Tonight is my weigh in night. I am down 4.0 pounds from my last weigh in. I am down a total of 18 pounds in 4 weeks.
I am trying to get back to virgin weight loss, that is weight I haven't already lost once before. I began my weight loss quest on my birthday January 14, 2003 (http://www.paulmcrae.com/Pic_of_the_Day/Images/DSCN3972-E-I.jpg) where I weighed 417.8 pounds. I reached my lowest weight of 304.8 pounds on December 12, 2005 (http://www.paulmcrae.com/WW/IMAGES/2005/12-17-05/DSCN10082-E-1024.jpg). As has been well reported on this board, I have been through a LOT since then. I finally decided to get my shit together and get back to losing weight. I rejoined Weight Watchers on May 31, 2006 (http://www.paulmcrae.com/FEATURES/WLC_06/IMAGES/1024/DSCN13465_6-E-S-1024.jpg) weighing in at 329.2 pounds, 24.4 pounds heavier than my december 12th. low. I've lost back 18 of that 24.4 pound backslide. I currently stand at 311.2 pounds (http://www.paulmcrae.com/FEATURES/WLC_06/IMAGES/1024/DSCN3861_911-E-S-1024.jpg). I need to lose 6.4 pounds to get back into virgin weight loss.
~Paul
How do you like Weight Watchers? One of my best friends joined when she started toeing the line of "of gravity", and really liked it. I was doing the program along with her to help her out, just not as an official member, and ended up learning a lot myself. What I liked about it was that it seemed not to emphasize "dieting", but rather focused on teaching you what your body actually needed, and teaching you how to eat properly. I liked the program all around, would definitely become a member if I ever noticed my belts getting shorter.
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How do you like Weight Watchers? One of my best friends joined when she started toeing the line of "of gravity", and really liked it. I was doing the program along with her to help her out, just not as an official member, and ended up learning a lot myself. What I liked about it was that it seemed not to emphasize "dieting", but rather focused on teaching you what your body actually needed, and teaching you how to eat properly. I liked the program all around, would definitely become a member if I ever noticed my belts getting shorter.
I like WW quite a lot. You are right, the WW "diet" is basically eating properly. That is, eat less calories and make better, healtier food choices. By the same token, they encourage you to not give up the foods you love because you think they are bad for you, only eat less of it, less often. They strongly emphasise that it's not a diet, but a lifestyle. I know the WW program chapter and verse, but I continue to attend and pay because I like having a regimented time for the weigh in. It's like a weekly reckoning. Also, the weekly meeting where we get encouragement, offer support and exchange ideas about what works really helps me stay focused. It's also nice to see the other members sucesses, when their weight loss starts showing up on their bodies in a noticable way. It's a very strong motivator, like a competition. If they can do it, I can do it too. Just like this thread, Side Show is a genius to turn this thread into a competition. Even if there is no monetary pay off, winning, losing the weight, being more healthy, is reward enough. It also makes you feel good when your friends suceed so it's a total win/win. You're gonna win J, i'm gonna win, we're all gonna win.
~Paul
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Paul, you are one positive motherfucker. I am proud to know you.
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Down another 2-3 lbs, bitches. Who is your daddy again? What is his name?
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Jough. His name is Jough.
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Jough. His name is Jough.
Last night I had a dream where Jough was paying me to write a song for him (don't ask) and it was really easy to write because I made 'Jough' rhyme with everything.
Some rhyming couplet examples:
He's ultra fine, he's super tough
He rules us all, his name is Jough (Juff)
He'll entertain, put on a show,
You won't be bored 'cause he is Jough (Joe)
He sneezes at times, he'll sometimes cough
It shows he's human... his name is Jough (Joff)
He's quite the fellow, he ain't a cock
You'll know this well if you know Jough (Johkh, which I think is the Manx way of pronunciation)
He woos the women, he's skilled in lurv
Who's your daddy? His name is Jough. (Jurv)
(I'm not sucking up to him; would YOU write nasty things about our Dear Leader?) (Plus, all the above is true anyway)
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Jough approves.
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Jough. His name is Jough.
I thought his name was Robert Paulson?
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Do we have a Noob of the Year award? Because Judy has just won it, I don't care if God itself signs up for an account next week.
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Way to go Judy, way to slap God's Own Dick...
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MQ-- I watched that movie the other day with a girl who thought that it was "about boxing or something, right?"
it was the greatest thing I have ever experienced.
also: judy, that is awesome. I am so proud of you.
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I love your little poem, Judy. This is a truly...interesting community here. I love it.
On the weight loss front, I'm down almost 4 pounds from yesterday!
Of course, that's because I had such a bad stomach bug last night I thought maybe I'd somehow contracted ebola. I haven't experienced its like since elementary school.
And of course this had to happen on the one weekend I've had off since March! I'm hoping we can still be on the road to Savannah soon. I need to be on a beach, dammit!
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I'm going to curse a bit here, so please remove any children from the room.
Mother Fuckin' bullshit. That's how my morning is. fuck*ng hell. Goddamn it.
So I get up bright and early, to start my week of right. I put my feet on the floor beside the bed, and I am in so much pain and am so stiff that I limp to the bathroom. But I look forward to Monday mornings because Monday is my weigh in. So I get out the scale, step on it, and it tells me I've gained 6 pounds, which is basically impossible, since I'd been being especially healthful all week. So I step off (this is the new digital scale I mentioned earlier in the thread that I just bought after the other one broke three weeks ago) and the scale says Er0. I reset it, get back on and it makes what can only be described as a horrible, plastic-y, breaking sound. Now it tells me I weigh 13 pounds. It also tells my SO he weighs exactly 13 pounds also... There is no time for this, as I'm hitching a ride with the SO to our gym which he passes on his way to work. We have a brief disagreement in regard to why he is taking and out of the way route that is not the normal way he goes to work, the I'm at the gym. I get there, and hooray, I'm one of three people working out. Then a former university classmate who I have a very negative history with arrives, and she has lost so much weight that she looks like a walking skeleton. She looks anorexic, her skin stretched tightly between her two shoulder blades, her arms are bones, her face looks tight and old. I'm horrified, but keep stealing glances at her, and somehow I feel I need to compete with her, even though I've been running for a half hour straight and am supposed to be cooling down. I go to take a sip of my water, and to my horror it tastes like the sewer. Seems work on the pipes a block down from my house has made the water undrinkable. I see the scale in the change room and weigh myself there. It tells me I weigh 9 pounds more than my home scale told me I weighed before it broke. I walk home from the gym. I get home and realize I have long since thrown out both the receipt and the box for the scale.
That was the first three hours of my day.
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Damn Mel, that's rough. But is there no chance the store will accept the scale back without a receipt? It shouldn't be too much of a problem as you'll only be wanting an exchange, not a refund.
~Paul
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Paul - they will not take the scale back, I called, so I am going to buy the exact same scale and then return the broken one in the new one's box. I worked out this plan. I am devious.
Ash - I hurt every morning because my joints are turning to dust (I mentioned at the very beginning of the long thread that I have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis). It's never a reflection of how hard I worked the day before for me. I am focused on numbers, or more specifically on weight loss, because the less weight I carry on my joints, the longer time I have between now and when I'm in a wheelchair. I know, I know, I'm making steps to be healthier, and that's what's most important, but my central goal is very specifically about weight reduction, and having not had a reliable way to monitor this angers me. Grr!
I will sooth myself by going shopping for the ingredients for a healthful and tasty dinner.
I was supposed to be writing today, but I'm thinking the day's shot.
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Yikes dear, that's a rough way to start a week. Maybe a different brand of scale would be in order? You don't want this one going sproing on you in a month, either.
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man, I'm sure Smells has enough problems with fellows "sproing"-ing at her as it is. We can't help it! it's a natural thing-- a reflex, even!
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Eeeks. I missed all the scary... Sorry to hear about all this, shittiness.
I admit I read this thread he other night on my lurky return and ran away again. I wouldn't say I've been in the best place, and came back to find the world being about as depressing as I could find it.
I seem to be on a cusp. Over the summer, after another rather bad winter, I have been managing to gain some actual muscle mass. usually, if I do anything, I pay for it later with three days of not being able to move. OK, my legs are stiff as all hell today, and hurt like hell last night, but that was the first time in a couple of weeks. And that brief phase was the first time in about 12 years of pain. I'd like to understand a bit more why they went back to hurting, but have far too many theories.
Now the big downside is my brain. I can barely think anymore, let alone work. I have developed, more than ever, this horrible cloudy, empty headed feeling the minute I try to concentrate on anything, which just ends up making my body writhe in discomfort. I've read that I should cut out dairy and wheat, or eat protein and vitamin D rich foods in the morning, and many other remedies. I don't know that I can face giving up wheat, even for three weeks as a test (especially if it turned out to be the problem!). My best bet so far seems to be something along the lines of meditating and being stubborn with myself, but it's not at all easy. I just figure it's my brain and it's about time it did what I asked of it!
I guess though, at the moment, my biggest fear is the onset of another autumn. I know clearly, afetr the past couple of years that winter has an adverse effect on my mental health, and subsequently physical health, and so am going to have to try really hard to not just undo all the work I've been putting in over the last couple of months. All of this and I could do without a physician even my mother advises me not to visit.
*One hell of a sigh*
I hope you can keep up the good work y'all are doing on yourselves, and I hope you guys being better at it than me motivates me some more!
So, how come Achewood fans are all invalids!?
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Slink! Great to see you.
Sounds like you have SAD. You need a full spectrum light. Relatively cheap (I think mine was around $100) -- it helped me.
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Hey Slink - I was so happy to see you back here posting, but then so sad to hear how rough it's been for you. Living in the land of "my body doesn't do what it's supposed to" I have deep sympathy for what you're going through.
RE: what AW said: Have you heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_Affective_Disorder) (SAD)? It's pretty common here in Canada, and I'd imagine with your climate that it's something you might want to look into, even if only to rule it out. I'm not too sure about the light thing - my mom used one of those lights and it never helped her so I never bothered to try it myself. Both myself and a good friend of mine suffered from it during University, and have both more or less conqured it through dietary change. I've found eating a localized seasonal diet is very important to me. I still worry every winter that it's going to come back because it was such a dark and opressive time for me, but now that I've been free of it for three years now, I'm hopeful that it's gone for good. And basically all that it came down to was that I wasn't getting enough of certain vitamins and nutrients, and all I really needed to do to correct this was eat more potatoes and other winter vegetables in fall and winter.
As for the wheat thing, I dated a guy who found out he was allergic to wheat while we were dating, and you're right, it was basically hell for him to cut out of his diet, but it solved all of his health problems quite quickly. He felt better within the first month or so, and totally well again after about three months. He was quite pissed off to cut it out of his diet, but had to admit it was worth it to not feel so off kilter. Basically it's worth a try, if you think it's a problem.
Finally, for the love of all that is holy, find yourself another doctor another doctor, it's well worth the time and productivity that would otherwise be lost to being ill, or (even worse) time lost to following and invalid course of treatment. Having a good doctor is so important. My doctor is far away - it basically takes up more than half a day if I'm going to see him, but at least he knows what the fuck is going on. I've tried several other doctors much closer to me, but they've either been incompitent, rushed or pill pushers. It's well worth the investment of time if it will lead to you feeling well again.
It's great to hear you've put on some muscle mass - but what will be call you if your not slink-y anymore?
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Thanks guys. It's nice to be back!
Well... As far as the wheat allergy goes, I am kind of, 90% sure it can't be. I mean, it's not like I've ever noticed anything that made me think so before, until this feeling in my haed that has been changing of late. It's kind of tricky, with putting my usual brain problems down to CFS which, particularly by it's original name did point straight to the brain (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) and thus seeed to have some erally odd effects. My dad for instance falls asleep if he has caffeine. I just find a cup of coffee is like snorting a line of speed nowadays. As for adrenaline...
But I've been told by both my physician and a specialist now that there's nothing wrong with me. Well, my doctor thinks it's all depression, which I don't dispute I suffer badly from, but the specialist I saw pointed to a flu epidemic I'd had as a young child (showed up in blood tests) and that it was only Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome, and that I should stop complaining and be better in no time. Well, aside from the fact I am making a difference to my overall health now, it has taken me 12 years to get from the first real signs of my symptoms to here, and probably since I was 5 or 6 and had bacterial pneumonia. So now I don't know what to think about what's going on up there!
For the last couple of years I've certainly been putting my winter slumps down to SAD. I need to look into the particular lights you use to treat that, but I do have a HPS filling in daylight for a range of plants I'm growing, which I would have thought would be helping me, but to no avail as far as I can tell. Then again, I guess I am indeed not relying on photosynthesis, so I might be needing different wavelengths... Indeed, HPS misses out quite a lot - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Spectrum-hp-sodium.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Spectrum-hp-sodium.jpg). I might get round to that then...
I've always considered myself as having a very good diet, but again I guess I tend to not think so much about it, as I assume I'm eating fine. But you know my hatred of processed foods and well, anything not home cooked, and I don't really dislike anything.
I will get round to switching doctors. I promise! I have always just been shot down by my family every time I say I'd like to... I know of at least one doctor in town who I wouldn't mind seeing if I could swing it, but he does work at the same practice so I don't know how that would work.
It's nice to see Fluoxetine being touted as a great treatment for SAD. It cut out all my depression when my doctor put me on it as a miracle cure. It also cut out all emotions and creativity. At least at the moment I have emotions...
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A doctor and a specialist telling you there is nothing wrong with you, when you are going to them because you know there is something wrong with you? Totally. Fired. That is garbage.
As for the other doctor in the same office, go for it. Your current doctor is supposed to be a professional, and shouldn't take this personally, and if he does, he is failing at his job on yet another level, so fuck him. What do you have to lose? If you try the other doctor and he also sucks, then you're back to having the same crap level of care, and if the other doctor is great, then you are off and running.
When it comes to family pressure, even your closest family members only see you from the outside, and probably when you're putting on your best face so as not to make them worry for you - they can't possibly be aware of what it's like to live in your body. They see you, they see you are mostly in one piece, so they belive your doctor is doing something right. They might not get or want to acept that you know what "slink being well" feels like, and that you are currently "slink not feeling well," because it's such a deeply internal and personal state. If they have a personal preference for your current doctor, then don't talk about your current doctor, talk about the state your in, and your desire to investigate all your options for getting well. It's perfectly resonable and normal to get a second opinion, and if you tell your family this without taking it to a personal level, hopefully they'll understand.
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When it comes to family pressure, even your closest family members only see you from the outside, and probably when you're putting on your best face so as not to make them worry for you - they can't possibly be aware of what it's like to live in your body.
Wow. Yes. Exactly! My friends will try to get me to talk about things that are bothering me, and I try to explain, but it never gets across what it is actually like. Exactly as you describe. I don't really like to admit the worst things I experience, which probably has adverse effects on both people understanding the problems, and on the help I can receive in the first place.
If they have a personal preference for your current doctor, then don't talk about your current doctor, talk about the state your in, and your desire to investigate all your options for getting well. It's perfectly resonable and normal to get a second opinion, and if you tell your family this without taking it to a personal level, hopefully they'll understand.
The strange thing is, both my mother and father who go to the same doctor hate him just as much as I do. I did, spurred on by this discussion, talk with them about my changing doctors yet again, and this time they get it. So I will try and go and see a professional for the first time in god knows how long when I get back from Canada. At last! What I think is worst about my animosity towards my doctor is that not only have I realised how much better off I could be if I had been seeing someone who understands, but I tried to talk with him about my relationship breaking down long, long ago, and got nowhere. And it proceeded to fall apart. And that's something that still really, really bothers me. I really had not realised this until a couple of weeks back though, so at least it's not why I hate him.
As I say, as far as the specialist telling me it was a temporary affliction, well, it's tricky now as I say, since physically I appear to be making headway. As far as self administered CBT though...
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Yay! This is good news Slink.
It's good that your folks get it. I think older generations have a tendancy to believe doctors are gods. My parents are of the school that even if you don't like a doctor, they know better than you do (even though it's your own damn body) so you better do what they say. Personally, I think that as an empowered patient, I get better care.
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I think I am replying to things that are in multiple threads here, but Slink, for certain you have to get a doctor you are comfortable with and trust. He/she must listen to you and take what you say seriously. And be able to recommend a specialist when necessary without seeming like he's just passing you off to someone else.
I like to think that my health care is a collaborative effort between me and the doctor, and that we should be working together as a team. He can run tests and examine me and tell me things about my body that I do not know, but I can also tell him things about it that he doesn't (or can't) know. A good doctor will listen, ask questions, offer advice, and pay attention to what you're telling him.
I haven't really found a good doctor yet myself. Maybe it's just the local scene, but they seem to be especially aloof in Philadelphia. Like when you speak to them they're not really listening and often will answer questions other than the one you asked them.
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I haven't really found a good doctor yet myself. Maybe it's just the local scene, but they seem to be especially aloof in Philadelphia. Like when you speak to them they're not really listening and often will answer questions other than the one you asked them.
I've never had a good doctor. I think good doctors cost more than I can afford or something.
How's that old joke go? What do you call the person who graduated last in his class at medical school?
~Paul
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I feel very lucky in that regard. Right now I have the best GP I've ever had. I can't get out of his office without a fifteen minute conversation. He listens, asks questions and is genuinely concerned. Also, he seems like a pretty nice guy. His office is also cool because if you show up before 9 am, they will see you, appointment or no.
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I feel very lucky in that regard. Right now I have the best GP I've ever had. I can't get out of his office without a fifteen minute conversation. He listens, asks questions and is genuinely concerned. Also, he seems like a pretty nice guy. His office is also cool because if you show up before 9 am, they will see you, appointment or no.
I'm just fortunatte that I have had extremely good health my entire life. Most of my trips to the doctor have been due to injury (http://www.paulmcrae.com/images/Miscellany/Misc/033_33-E-1024.jpg) rather than illness.
~Paul
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I'm just fortunatte that I have had extremely good health my entire life. Most of my trips to the doctor have been due to injury (http://www.paulmcrae.com/images/Miscellany/Misc/033_33-E-1024.jpg) rather than illness.
~Paul
There's a story behind this I haven't heard.
Tell us, Uncle Paul!
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August - you live in a small town, though. That doesn't count. You probably know your doctor personally, and have him over for barbeque or something.
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I live in a big city though and I had a great doctor for the last ten years. She listened and she always asked about the latest chapter in my job search and actually remembered my recurring problems and so on.
Unfortunately, she just decided to leave her practice and take a management job at a hospital. And other doctors I've mentioned this to automatically say "Oh, she couldn't stand all the insurance rules and paperwork and everything anymore." They don't know her - the assumption just seems to be that no one can stand to be a doctor under the current system, so that has to be the reason.
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August - you live in a small town, though. That doesn't count. You probably know your doctor personally, and have him over for barbeque or something.
Has to be said, the doctor I would choose now to go and see is the father of an old friend of mine. Possibly just goes to make him seem more human at least...
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There's a story behind this I haven't heard.
Tell us, Uncle Paul!
Oh that was just a run of the mill chainsaw mishap from a few years back.
~Paul
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weekly-ish update...
Things been basically good. Been shying away from drinks almost altogether, been eating like a king who eats sensibly, and the smoking.... ermm, well there's progress to be made there.
I am having a problem with the smoking, because all my friends smoke, and I end up in social situations daily which almost require me to smoke. SO... I'm going to get out of my element. I bought a plane ticket to China, and I leave tomorrow. (not to quit smoking, it's because I've never seen China) I'll be there for 10 days roaming the countryside and having adventures.
a hopefull side effect of this trip is that with 90% of my smoking triggers thousands of miles away, hopefully I will bring this beast under control while maintaining my sanity.
I will post pictures, if any of you care to see them.
also, thanks all for being so awesome. I feel like I don't post nearly enough to feel as "at home" as I do here, but I do anyhow. I think it's because I average 30 minutes of reading posts for every one post I make, so naturally I know you all better than you know me. I will make a better effort to be a good dude when I return.
also also, I know this is rambling, but I'm attempting to fill myself with caffeine to stay up all night so that I'll sleep on the plane the whole way.
THANK YOU GOOD NIGHT WE LOVE YOU MILWAUKEE
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Go to China.
Best way to quit smoking ever.
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Except, from what I've read, they smoke like fiends in China.
Also, I'm jealous. I want to go to China.
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Jeepers, you kick ass. That is basically how Ray would solve a problem. "I need to quite smoking. What is the most financially extravagant and off the wall way to solve this problem? China!"
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Buy some Chinese cigarettes and try smoking them, the cheaper the better.
You'll quit alright.
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Godspeed and of COURSE we want to see photos of you and China. Are you kidding?
Also, you seem like good people, so there's no reason not to feel at home here.
ALSO: Do I see from your myspace site that you're from/living in Philadelphia?
We should do a Philly meetup at some point, just to make the others jealous.
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I lost .6 pounds at my weekly weigh in last night. It's a little bit of a disapointment, but at least it's in the loss column. I ate too much last Saturday and I didn't get as much exercise as I would like. I was turned away from the pool on two occassians. Once because they were showing a movie for the kids in the pool room and another time because they were cleaning feces out of the pool. I really wish they would have told me that before I got in the pool. Yuck. Anyway, a loss is better than a gain. I'll make up the slack this next week. Still 5.8 pounds to go to get back to virgin weight loss.
~Paul
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Go, Paul, go! Like a lonely 23 year old librarian, you will pop your own cherry!
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side_show, that is The Saddest Thing.
but yeah, Paul. You will deflower this weight, and you will brag about it to all the fellows.
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Not surprisingly, gained a pound and a half this week. Although I lost a pound from the day before weighing myself this morning. I mean, a pint of water weighs a pound, so if you pee a pint you can lose a pound just like that.
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Not surprisingly, gained a pound and a half this week. Although I lost a pound from the day before weighing myself this morning. I mean, a pint of water weighs a pound, so if you pee a pint you can lose a pound just like that.
As always one should be careful going by weight alone. Muscle weighs more. Do you feel better jough? Well... DO YOU?!
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As always one should be careful going by weight alone. Muscle weighs more. Do you feel better jough? Well... DO YOU?!
So I guess I shouldn't be too upset by the fact that I gained 1.5 pounds, since I've been running 2.5 miles a few times a week (usually).
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So I guess I shouldn't be too upset by the fact that I gained 1.5 pounds, since I've been running 2.5 miles a few times a week (usually).
I don't think you should be upset by pretty much any poundage you may put on until you weigh at least as much as a small child first.
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I don't think you should be upset by pretty much any poundage you may put on until you weigh at least as much as a small child first.
Quite. I have broken the ten stone mark! That is, around 140 lbs. For someone who is 6'4. I've always been in like, the first percentile of my height/weight ratio, and was down to about 8 stone a couple of years back. That after once making it to 11.
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I have been working out more, so I don't worry too much about actual weight.
One plus or minus, depending on how you look at it - my suit is too big for me. Like, it looks like David Byrne in that Talking Heads video.
I went to my morning interview in just a shirt and tie (and trousers, kids - just no suit jacket). I guess it went over okay, since they made me an offer on the spot and the interview only lasted about a half an hour, with me asking most of the questions.
I have another interview this afternoon and hopefully my suit will be ready by then. Of course, if I don't get a job because I'm not wearing a suit I'm not sure I'd want to work at the place anyway. They either want me or not.
Anyway, I haven't interviewed for a job job (other than meeting with prospective clients) in a few years now. I'm finding myself being extremely casual and not overselling myself. Or at least trying not to. Now I'm doing four interviews in one week and will hopefully have at least two offers to consider over the next two weeks. The concern so far seems to be "Can the bohemian freelancer fit into a company team atmosphere?" I think so. With my Major Life Changes I'm thinking about The Future and I'd like to be managing projects rather than slinging code, so it seems appropriate to work for a company larger than my own if I want to manage projects and a team of developers.
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Someone asked me this morning if I considered taking a job after starting my own business as a defeat.
I do not. I'm actually looking forward to the prospect. And doing one thing and getting deep with it for the full work week rather than splitting my time between the 51,482 tasks you have to do as a business owner will seem almost like vacation.
Plus, I am finding that I need more human interaction outside of dating and internet message boards. It's nice to be talking with peers.
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I am Superman and I can do anything.
I'm not sure I have exact 1:1 peers, as my interests are varied and I have knowledge and experience in several disparate areas (English lit, Web Design, Philosophy, Chess) but of course only one of those at a time ever matters for an interview, unless I'm designing a web site for the literary philosophy of chess or something.
Anyway, second interview of the day - two more next week. I'm not really shotgunning - I already know where I want to work I think - but I'm keeping my options open as I figure one or another will come through with a good offer. Not that money is necessarily the most important thing, but of course, it helps.
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Plus, I am finding that I need more human interaction outside of dating and internet message boards.
We are not enough for Jough. I am crushed.
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Moderator note: Keep it on the wellness tip (occupational wellness is OK) and lets try to get it back on the Health and Fitness tip.
T'anks, eh!
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I'm getting a lot of walking in! And I managed to eat fairly well (i.e. healthily) yesterday despite eating out for both lunch and dinner.
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I managed to eat fairly well (i.e. healthily) yesterday despite eating out for both lunch and dinner.
That is a very difficult thing to do. Congratulations.
~Paul
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I also drank a pint of beer. It was a mixed success day.
For those keeping score - it was not the calories in the beer that was a problem. I did have only one, though. That's sort of a win?
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I did have only one, though. That's sort of a win?
As long as you can refuse yourself the craving for it other times, I'd call it a win. To be able to have one but maintain your resolve would make it stronger? Or is this merely the rationalisation from an addictive mind?
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I hit a really bad wall near the end of last week. I was sitting there, thinking about how I think maybe I've lost ten pounds (I don't know for sure though: see earlier posts about 2 broken scales). I was sitting there, realizing I did not feel any better. That I have not felt any improvement over the past month of aggressive action. In fact, I have been hurting all the more lately, due to my increased activity level (although it has all been low impact). And it hit me really hard that I am not going to get any better. No matter what I do healthwise, my joints will never heal or get better - they will only get worse over time. The last month of me being all chipper and hopeful for myself and everybody else came from my deep denial of my condition, a strange belief that I would beat this thing, and through hard work and perseverance be "cured." I've been depressed for days, angry at my body, and even briefly thought of giving up on the whole wellness plan. I realize that taking care of myself, and especially losing extra poundage, will slow the degradation, but if this is as good as it's ever going to be, then a part of me wants to just let loose, drink wine every dinner, eat butter and cream sauce on everything... just hedonistically enjoy this moment. It would be so much easier. There's the other side of me, that knows that taking care of myself is important, but the little devil and the little angel on my shoulders are totally duking it out right now, and evil side_show is winning at the moment. The easy path... well it just looks so much easier and more enjoyable in the short term.
I'm going to continue with the healthy living thing, but I've really lost a lot of the hope that I'd been carrying for the past month, and it feels sad and hollow to be me right now.
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Sorry you hit a wall, Mel. I'm glad you're still sticking with it regardless - you're stronger than I would be. Have you been screened for depression? It's not exactly uncommon for a person diagnosed with a chronic illness.
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I am sorry to hear that Smells. I will not pretend to know what you're going through, but here is the question:
There's a finite number of times in your life that you will be able to say "I love you" to people who are special to you. Do you want that number to be larger or smaller? Is it worth that being a smaller number in order not to worry about things and just go all out?
I'm not saying that it's a bad thing if you answer yes to the last question, it's just the one thing that I always sort of consider when I'm in the dark, dark hole. Usually, I decide that no, it's not really worth the exchange and get back up, but that's me. YMMV
Chin Up Kiddo! (Heh.. kiddo.. :P )
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I'm so sorry to hear that, Mel. I very, very, very slightly know what you mean. I've been struck many times (worst when I was 17) by the feeling that it's all downhill from here, and even in my working on things now... My knees are struggling to cope, as I have cartilage problems, and felt like I'd given myself another hernia the other night, but in the greater scheme of things, it's barely a drop in the pond compared to what you're fighting.
All I can say apart from that I'll be atheistically praying for you, is the hope that what helped alter my approach to it all might give you some help. The key here is to listen to Cake's 'End of the Movie'.
I'd listened to it numerous times, but this time realised what it meant to me. I'm basically trying to reprogram myself to consider depression and unhappiness as a neutral state. Consider it not something that makes me want to give up, but instead just where I am... And to not consider happiness as something that I am striving for anymore. So now it's just a case of, as with End of the Movie, keeping on going to see how it ends up. It's possibly pyschotic, and going against everything I know of the human condition, but it's the only way I can see to not be stressed out and beaten down every day by the variousness of my life.
I guess it's just all a very subjective way of looking at what happiness means, and how much of it is purely chemical. But as I say, it seems to make a big difference to how all the shitty things affect me.
I don't know if any of that makes any sense, or if it's just retarded. But my sympathies are with you, and hope sincerely you can find a way to as you say, just keep at it. And it certainly sounds like a damned good plan to stick with it, despite the downsides. I have to admit, you be one of my favourite people, even if only to read your wonderful posts...
And you taught me so much about grammar.
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It's only been a month, Mel, and these changes won't happen overnight, or even in a month or two. It's a very long road that you're only just beginning.
You may have better results, though, by giving yourself a chance to rest or recuperate between exercise routines. Maybe only exercise two or three days a week and let yourself rest up a bit.
I did a lot of strenuous exercise on Friday night and took the rest of the weekend off. I'm going to have to see how today pans out to see if I go for a long walk again tonight. My legs from the knees down are still sore from the impact.
I'm sorry that you haven't noticed improvement in how you feel, yet, but as you shed more pounds and get generally healthier it should make some improvement at least, no?
Also, are you just not eating obvious 'bad for you' things or have you added extra high-nutrition to your diet? I've found that by eating more leafy greens and things high in potassium and iron (bananas and spinach, etc.) that I tend to feel a little better the next day.
I hope you're meeting with your doctor and discussing your progress regularly. What works or doesn't work for one person may or may not work for you. It'll take experimentation and a LOT of patience, but we're here for you and I for one am willing to do whatever I can to help and support you. I'm sure you have more local support as well.
Hang in there, kitten.
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Thanks to all for your kindness!
I had an especially bad day yesterday, as I was weeding the yard all day, and developed arthritic pain in my hands for the first time ever. As I depend on my hands so much for writing, I was just so scared and pissed off.
Mr: you are right - indeed, I keep just have to keep reminding myself that the time between now and when I'm in a wheel chair, even if lessened by days or even hours, is well worth the earning. Thankfully, no matter how gnarled I get, I will still be able to make sounds come out of my mouth. I am about immediate gratification by nature, and indeed I need to step back and look at the big picture.
Mite: I had previously had horrible chronic depression about 3 yrs ago, which has thankfully gone away. I'm thinking that I am basically going through the natural mourning process for having being diagnosed with something incurable. Certainly, if the sadness is more than temporary, I'll be talking to my doctor about it.
Slink: I do not know that Cake song, but am hoping to buy a new computer that is not so old as to not let me download music. Also, if all works out, I will soon be getting a government-paid-for iPod (via a trip I'm going to be taking on a professional development art grant, and the fact that the related travel agent gives out free iPods to those booking trips over $1500). If that is the case, Cake is pretty high on my list for downloads anyway.
Jough: I am eating so many high nutrient vegetables and fruits, and of course have eliminated most of the bad-for-me stuff. And as for it being "only a month" - a month is a long time for me. My focus has been totally on wellness and eating perfectly balanced meals during all waking hours for over a month now, and for a girl with limited energy, and other things to focus on, it's been perhaps a little too all consuming. Basically not caring how and what I ate allowed me a lot of time to do my writing without distraction. I'm basically just exhausted and sick of thinking about it all the time. Right now I wish there was an auto-pilot mode where healthful foods just appeared in front of me with no effort on my part. But that doesn't happen unless you have a personal chef, or a wife. As much as I enjoy it in small doses, the amount of careful shopping, prepairing, cooking and the amount of resulting dishes piling up in the sink in need of washing, paired with the workout routine, is taking up all of my time and thought. Whine, whine, whine. I know. I'm just tired of it taking up all of my psychological landscape with no really noteable result other than being slightly lighter. But I will soldier on.
As for taking breaks, I don't know if time off works for me. I'm equally sore and stiff all the time - if I spend the day on the couch, or if I run 6 miles, it doesn't seem to be related to where or how I hurt, and I want to be careful to not let the pain become a reason for being sedentary, since it's basically omnipresent. Immediately after a workout, I get a great endorphin rush, so while I still hurt, the pain sort of moves into the background, and is overtaken by a "runner's high."
On the bright side: I took out my calender to mark my friends' baby due date, and saw that I had mapped out my plan for weight loss for the entire summer at the beginning of last month, (broken down week-by-week) and see that I am one pound away from my goal for next week. I don't remember doing this, but it's my writing, so I must have. I have basically decided that I am all about baby steps right now, and that this single pound of weight loss is the only goal I will focus on this week. Maybe the goal of "being well" is too large for me right now - especially since I've come to accept that I will not be curing my arthritis over the past few days - but one pound, I can handle.
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You are an inspiration to us all Melanie.
~Paul
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By the way, Mel, my grandmother had terrible arthritis from her late teens on. Her hands were completely gnarled, bad knees, the whole lot. And she still managed to go to college (pretty good for a "cripple" from the country in 1930), not to mention sew a mean streak, play the coronet, go sledding with us kids until she was in her 70s, and then, at 85, have a double knee replacement that she bounced right back from.
I'm not saying that just because she made it out alright doesn't mean you will. Hell, I don't even know whether you've got the same sort of issue. But if you needed some sort of a role model, even in some small way, Louise Larson was a pretty good one.
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I had an especially bad day yesterday, as I was weeding the yard all day, and developed arthritic pain in my hands for the first time ever. As I depend on my hands so much for writing, I was just so scared and pissed off.
It's a small point, but can't someone else weed the damn yard?
As someone who has a yard that's too damn big and a body that's just old enough that I'm beginning to see signs that it will not last forever.... I've realized that you have to save your body for the things that matter. And the writing is more important than the stupid weeds. Especially when what you write will be around forever, whereas by next week you won't be able to tell that you pulled the weeds. (Next week in our climate, anyway, maybe up north it takes a little longer. But the point still holds.)
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It's a small point, but can't someone else weed the damn yard?
As someone who has a yard that's too damn big and a body that's just old enough that I'm beginning to see signs that it will not last forever.... I've realized that you have to save your body for the things that matter. And the writing is more important than the stupid weeds. Especially when what you write will be around forever, whereas by next week you won't be able to tell that you pulled the weeds. (Next week in our climate, anyway, maybe up north it takes a little longer. But the point still holds.)
Some of us do actually enjoy weeding and other such yard work.
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Some of us do actually enjoy weeding and other such yard work.
Ooo, want to come to my house?
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Yeah... I actually enjoy weeding. And the SO was in the back yard, excavating wheelbarrow full, after wheelbarrow full of limestone the entire time, so I was doing the easy work.
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Do you both want to come to my house?
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Try weeding in the climate I live in. 12 months a year of grass cutting, palm fronds, stupid panics that grow an inch a day lengthwise and widthwise, coconuts falling in the yard from a 35 foot tall tree and leaves.
You yard work lovers ought to move out here! You'll never be without something to do.
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Hey, AD, do you worry about a coconut just beaning you on the head one day? That is the sort of thing I would worry about. I used to live right by a golf course, and with the amount of golf balls that ended up on our yard I was always just waiting for the day that I got hit with one. Thankfully it never happened.
Today is a new day, I got up at 6 AM and went to the gym, ran for half an hour and did some weights. I'm particularly interested in building bone mass - I've been told that women can't build bone mass after 30 - is that true? I've been making sure to get the right amount of calcium, but also know that weight bearing exercise can build bone mass too. Suggestions?
Also, does anyone have a good web resource for stretching? I'm pretty sure I'm not doing enough of it, but I'm never sure about the proper technique. (I tried yoga, but with all my joint issues, I wasn't able to do any of the moves.)
edit: AD, I just spent an hour building my fit day journal (but I am not as brave a soul a ye' and hence will keep it private). I could spend so much time there, it is scary.
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I try not to obsess about Fitday. Generally I only update it durng the week. It's kind of a check for me more than anything - and it's kind if painful.
There are drugs out there intended to build bone mass for people (especially women) with densitometer readings indicating risk for breaks. Fosamax is one that comes to mind. Without drugs, building bone mass is possible (breaks do heal, although slower) but most regimens are intended for bone mass maintenance.
As for the coconuts - the real worry is one of the kids gets beaned by one. From that height it would probably be lethal. I'm going to have to call someone to trim it and get the nuts down. Or buy me some steeplejack gear and run up there.
Here is one computer-based fitness resource (http://www.yourselffitness.com/)
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I'm going to have to call someone to trim it and get the nuts down.
Can't... help... myself...
Nobody deserved this. I'm sorry.
EDIT: Holy crap, I'm Lyle! I don't think anyone can say this was a bad use of a milestone post.
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AD knows that only a professional can handle his nuts.
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AD knows that only a professional can handle his nuts.
I thought that was only legal in Nevada.
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Smells-- regarding being hit by a golf ball.
This is the conversation the first time my Lady Friend came to my house.
"wow, you live by a golf course. do you get a lot of balls in your yard?"
"no, we never do. The way the golf course points, they're aiming in the opposite direction."
"oh. but isn't that one right there? *points.*"
"...oh. Yeah. Yes it is."
I swear to God we never get golf balls in our yard. Geez.
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I thought that was only legal in Nevada.
Turn your head and cough.
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Smells-- regarding being hit by a golf ball.
This is the conversation the first time my Lady Friend came to my house.
"wow, you live by a golf course. do you get a lot of balls in your yard?"
"no, we never do. The way the golf course points, they're aiming in the opposite direction."
"oh. but isn't that one right there? *points.*"
"...oh. Yeah. Yes it is."
I swear to God we never get golf balls in our yard. Geez.
I struggled to make a joke about you not seeing balls, and needing a lady friend to point out balls to you, but I just can't come up with anything. Sorry.
As for us, as a kid, we lived about 300 ft from the fence of a golf course, but somehow the balls always ended up on our yard. I will always remember my dad cursing at some lawnmower vs golf ball incident.
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I struggled to make a joke about you not seeing balls
I wanted to make a joke about him never seeing the balls because the yardman always takes care of that. You know because tI likes to pretend that he's a working stiff when he's really from privlidge. But I couldn't think of a way to do this and not have it sound jerky of me.
Of course you never see the balls tI, because you are sitting poolside sipping a mint julep while Pedro cleans them out of the yard.
~Paul
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yeah, that basically is what I do.
I will not lie, I am indeed from the opposite of Circumstances.
But working at Bi-Lo still sucks ass.
...I really want to know what a Mint Julep is actually like.
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Drinking a mint julep was on of the first things I did upon officially moving to the South. I had it with a meal that included collards and grits and peas and several types of pork products. Deeeeee-lish.
Ack - just realized I was contributing to a threadjack, so now for som on-topic stuff. After my constant illness and surgery, I'm now up to being able to walk several blocks without then needing to nap for a few hours. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to start running a tiny bit in the next couple of weeks. I've actually lost weight - sickness helps, though I'm having to actually eat three large-ish meals in order to keep my antibiotics down, which feels really weird to me. I just want to be back to normal.
And my anniversary party thing is in a month (since we eloped, we're having a 1st anniversary party for everybody to come & get drunk at), and I need to look beautiful and glowing and stuff, because those will be the pictures that I will be stuck looking at for all time, so I have about 5 pounds to go before I'll consent to be the awkward center of attention. I think I can do it.
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...I really want to know what a Mint Julep is actually like.
They suck.
Have a mojito instead. It's on the same plane of existence but better.
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They suck.
Have a mojito instead. It's on the same plane of existence but better.
As a life-long Kentuckian and former heavy bourbon drinker, I agree. Mint Juleps are teh suxxors.
Why put a bunch of sugar water in good bourbon? The mint's OK, I guess.
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To sort of tie the off topic-ness into the topic:
What about wine? I hear from one camp that booze of any kind are just wasted calories, and is basically a bad idea, and from another camp that wine is very good for me and that I should be drinking a glass a day for heart health. And what about gin? I love me a nice Tom Collins every once and a while on a hot day, but is it worth the sacrifice?
I'd like to know what the philosophies of the other folks working toward wellness are about moderate drinking.
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I have basically quit drinking except for maybe 1 day on the weekend from time to time. During this one day wine is the only thing I will allow myself. The trick is to know what they mean by "one glass". It's like 5 oz, which is approx 90-120 calories depending on alcohol content and the likes.
I don't see a problem with the whole glass of wine a day, it's just, for me, one leads to two and then the hitting starts (okay not really hitting).
Hard liquor is even tougher to regulate as "one drink" is basically defined as a shot. I can't remember the last time I cracked a hard liquor bottle and just had one shot of it.
So, in my opinion if you can hang with 5 oz of wine every day, then great; make it red as tannens are good for you.
(P.S. is anyone else finding it silly that a thread where people are basically trying to keep motivated is still titled "Dying"? Though this amuses me, it may be counterintuitive. I'm just sayin' is all.)
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There are plenty of things that are good for your heart that don't have as many calories as wine. Don't kid yourself.
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There are plenty of things that are good for your heart that don't have as many calories as wine. Don't kid yourself.
Exactly. You know what else is good for your heart? Regular cardio exercise. It's in the name!
The "red wine is good for your heart" line we hear nowadays is not so much a heart-healthy (goodness gracious I hate that phrase!) recommendation as it is a way for people to feel less guilty about imbibing the empty calories in alcohol.
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The "red wine is good for your heart" line we hear nowadays is not so much a heart-healthy (goodness gracious I hate that phrase!) recommendation as it is a way for people to feel less guilty about imbibing the empty calories in alcohol.
Stop breaking my illusions with your damned mumbo-jumbo liberal SCIENCE!
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Stop breaking my illusions with your damned mumbo-jumbo liberal SCIENCE!
It's not so much SCIENCE! as it is skepticism based in curmudgeonry (I invented a word!). I do think there is plausible scientific evidence to support this conclusion, but I can't be bothered to do the minimal research involved. I'm at the beach, damnit! My point is that while red wine may very well have some beneficial properties related to cardiovascular health, there are better ways to stave off heart disease than drinking the alcohol in question.
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there are better ways to stave off heart disease than drinking the alcohol in question.
But Hobot, giddiness!
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How about if you have a glass before your daily cardiovascular exercises? Not only will you get extra heart healthy, you'll probably enjoy your daily cardio more.
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curmudgeonry (I invented a word!)
Oh no you di -int (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/curmudgeonry).
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Oh no you di -int (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/curmudgeonry).
Even better, because this means that I was right all along!
How about if you have a glass before your daily cardiovascular exercises? Not only will you get extra heart healthy, you'll probably enjoy your daily cardio more.
Hell, why not go all-out? Bring a water bottle filled with red wine to hydrate yourself while running on a treadmill.
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Hell, why not go all-out? Bring a water bottle filled with red wine to hydrate yourself while running on a treadmill.
Do I smell a new extreme sport?
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OK, surely putting alcohol and rehydration together is all wrong?
Sod it, you're right. I'm putting a bottle of red wine next to the drum kit, and getting one of those beer caps for when I decide to think about running.
Which brings up the other point. How gay is this? I have, instead of taking up running, taking up skipping. For the first time since primary school. Basically, it seems like it's going to be a hell of a lot kinder to my knees than running, which always just has me dislocating them within a week or two. That then leads to three weeks of sitting around not moving my legs.
Even so, how gay is skipping?
Maybe I need to wear bandages wrapped around my hands like a boxer, just to make the distinction. I don't know what distinction exactly...
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By skipping you mean jumping rope, I assume - that's not gay. Skipping to and fro, that's kind of gay. But jumping rope is OK.
Alcohol dehydrates. That's a primary reason behind hangover. It's a little tough to picture hydrating yourself with anything that has a significant alcohol content. Although it would be fun to have a contest with booze and treadmills. Last person standing wins.
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Last person standing wins.
I'm in. Setting four, and three quart jugs set along side me...
Aaaaaaaand, GO!
Oh, and, I think the gay feeling comes purely from the fact, as I said, I haven't (ahem) jumped rope since I was about 9, and I don't know anyone else who does. But as I say, it's the best source of aerobic excercise I can come up with that won't cripple me.
That said, the other night when I dehydrated myself into cramping, I thought I'd given myself another hernia. One jump and I felt it... Never had cramp in the hernia spot before, yet I have had a hernia, so naturally I was a little wary.
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Jumping rope is great exercise. Boxers do it. Seems to me like it would be harder on your knees than running, but if it works for you...
Skipping on the other hand, is unbearably twee if you are over 6 years old.
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Slink: see, I imagined you using a pink skipping rope, and listening to Britney Spears at the time, and it was such an image in my head that I laughed and laughed. It was a good laugh for me. But if you change the sound track to "Eye of the Tiger" you will be just fine. The boys are being nice, but really, skipping is super silly until you master it. For me it is the constant reminder of being a klutz.
In regard to drunken sports, there was a drunks against sobers improv games competition here. (http://www.123presents.com/drunkimprov.htm) I was very disappointed to miss that one back in the day.
I am going to the gym tonight, but will only imbibe in one glass of wine with dinner prior to my usual Wednesday evening run.
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OK, surely putting alcohol and rehydration together is all wrong?
Yes. Yes it is. This is why there is such a high potential for hilarity and/or health risks!
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Just a quick update, I lost 2.6 pounds at my weekly weigh in this evening. That's 21.2 pounds total and 3.2 pounds away from deflowering the virgin weight loss. One really good week and i'll have my way with her. I stand at 308 pounds, only 8 pounds away from being under 300. That is another big goal for me.
Melanie, 10 pounds is a lot of weight to lose. Please don't lose heart, you are doing awesome. AWESOME!!! It takes time, it just takes time and your body will respond to your efforts and you will start to feel as good as you look. Becasue we all know you are as hot as a pepper and smooth as a mexican brew. Pretty soon your joints are gonna feel like they can kick Chuck Norris's ass. Kick his pansy ass.
~Paul
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But if you change the sound track to "Eye of the Tiger" you will be just fine. The boys are being nice, but really, skipping is super silly until you master it. For me it is the constant reminder of being a klutz.
Oh my. See, I had to go even more manly and somehow end up with a leather skipping rope. Seems a little close to BDSM for me, but hey...
As for mastering it, I seem to have gotten quite good at the straight jumping style, that is, I can swing the rope as fast as I can and be jumping nicely in time to clear it. As for what I remembered preferring when I was young, which was the way you can kind of run through it, I just can't clear it that way. I just hook my foot and try to slaughter myself. That said, kicking a football around the other day almost killed me as well... I just stepped on the damn thing and came crashing down, and then got a face full of puppy tongue. OK, that happens most of the time anyway, but while you're winded it's not ideal...
Just a quick update, I lost 2.6 pounds at my weekly weigh in this evening. That's 21.2 pounds total and 3.2 pounds away from deflowering the virgin weight loss. One really good week and i'll have my way with her. I stand at 308 pounds, only 8 pounds away from being under 300. That is another big goal for me.
Awesome. You pop that cherry!
I'll save the congratulations though, added motivation and all.
Congrats on the so far though... The (I'm sure old now) before and after shots from your site are reason for congratulations enough.
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Skipping rope, of course, what a great idea. That was a lot of fun (http://www.paulmcrae.com/FEATURES/WLC_06/IMAGES/1024/DSCN14110-E-S-1024.jpg).
~Paul
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Paul, I am really wanting to imitate your hairstyle.
Also: skipping is awesome. I do not understand your negative connotations with "twee."
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Skipping rope, of course, what a great idea. That was a lot of fun (http://www.paulmcrae.com/FEATURES/WLC_06/IMAGES/1024/DSCN14110-E-S-1024.jpg).
Aha! Finally, I know someone else who does so. Salvation!
Thanks, as ever, Paul.
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Fun work-out fact of the day: This morning, the spinning class that takes place in the main gym (i.e. in the same area as the elliptical trainer and weight machines I was using) was lead by an instructor with a head set on who was sitting on a bike directly next to the speaker that was emitting the amplified sound of her voice, resulting in horrific feedback that filled me with brief bouts of rage. All the squealing reminded me of that scene in Splash where Darrell Hannah speaks in mermaid-eese and blows out all the T.V.'s. Later another employee came by and sarcastically turned the speaker away from the instructor, resulting in relief. It was a generally okay work-out, but since I'd been running the night before, I was pretty wiped out.
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Skipping rope what a great idea.
Here's a different take (http://www.paulmcrae.com/FEATURES/WLC_06/VIDEO/DSCN4162-E-SM.wmv) on the skipping rope thing.
~Paul
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I'm speechless.
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I'm speechless.
That's twice recently i've left you speechless.
~Paul
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Paul! This is the first time I've heard your voice, and it sounds almost exactly like the voice I have for you in my head when reading your posts!
Also, you can do better than that! Come on!
On the health front: I ate a lot of pizza: yesterday for dinner, and the leftovers for lunch today. It was a Garden Veggie pizza, so I refuse to feel bad about it. It was delicious.
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I bought a pair of trousers today and I had to get a size lower (a size lower in sweat shorts too). This isn't really anything to cheer about, but still, man, I'm a pant size down. How cool is that?
I still can't shop at human stores. I have to go to specialty places. But dang, it sure meant progress.
Then I had Bad Things to eat for dinner tonight. I'm going to feel like crap tomorrow. The weather should be nice, though, so a nice long walk should help get rid of some of these excess calories.
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Loved the video! You've got a great accent.
I'm down a few pounds - 139 today at the doc with jeans and shoes on and everything. So I think I really only have about 5 more to go! These'll be the hardest. Though illness makes me not really eat much, so at least that's one plus of my little situation.
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so, Paul, your voice is not how I imagined it. however, now whenever I try to imagine your voice, I imagine the real voice. So, there goes that.
The fellow asking you "do you know your song?" made me think of a small child being told to recite something. Adorable.
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Daaaaamn... I may have to do a video thing... sometime. That sounds like fun. But first.. mixdiscs must be finalized.
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Fun Fact: Knowing that I weigh myself every Monday seems to help enforce better behavior on the weekends.
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That... is not really the voice I imagined for Paul, no. Nonetheless, hot damn. Is this the dawn of a new Paul Multimedia Age, where we will start to receive videos about your life? How long until Virtual Paulality hits the board?
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It's not so much SCIENCE! as it is skepticism based in curmudgeonry (I invented a word!). I do think there is plausible scientific evidence to support this conclusion, but I can't be bothered to do the minimal research involved. I'm at the beach, damnit! My point is that while red wine may very well have some beneficial properties related to cardiovascular health, there are better ways to stave off heart disease than drinking the alcohol in question.
Heart health is cumulative/additive/whatever, so it's not so it's really a question of whether you should or you shouldn't, rather than whether there are better things. If both A and B are good for the heart (A being even better for the heart than B) , you should probably do A and B Research seems to indicate that one serving of alcohol per day of any sort is heart-healthy (not an average/mean of one per day, people), because it's a vasodilator. Once you go to or beyond 3 drinks in a day, however, the ill-effects outweigh the benefits. Wine has the added benefits of antioxidants from grapes, yada yada. A shot of gin, vodka, or whatever is around 60 calories. Wine is 2-3 times that depending on the portion.
Personally, with a health goal of weight loss, I would stay away from recommending daily wine. However, if you really enjoy it as part of a daily ritual there's a lot of merit in that. A militant position either way seems kind of silly.
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Also, does anyone have a good web resource for stretching? I'm pretty sure I'm not doing enough of it, but I'm never sure about the proper technique. (I tried yoga, but with all my joint issues, I wasn't able to do any of the moves.)
Jogging itself stretches out your legs. Are you stretching to avoid activity-related injury or for some other health benefit? If the former, I've read that stretching helps one focus on the task at hand (say, stretching before a run helps you focus on running), but doesn't reallly help prevent injury.
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Jogging itself stretches out your legs.
It is however really, really bad for your knees, particularly on hard surfaces.
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I guess the reason I want to stretch is because of my overall stiffness and inflexiblity. And also because my wellness plan is to basically follow the Canada Food and Fitness Guide for Healthy Living, which lists two "units" of stretching per week as part of its over all recommendations, and this is the one area of the guide that I am not currently fufilling in any way.
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One thing I've picked up in the last few days is that the best way to help bad joints, is to have the muscle strength around them to support them in movement better. The chondromalacia I suffer in my knee, that is the cartilage softening when the joint moves, can apparently only be helped by working out the leg muscles to support the joint. Alas, it's working out the leg muscles that causes the cartilage to fuck*ng soften in the first place...
But so it's definitely worth finding a way to excercise and build up the muscles around the joints as much as possible. From what I can tell from the internets, this is true of arthritis as well, although I can see that it might be as much a catch-twentytwo as my knee situation (both of which, my knees that is, are starting to really suffer from my working out).
As ever, aside from your doctor maybe having an idea of the excercises that would be best, it's mostly a case of working up very gradually so as to never push past what the muscles are acheiving in the support of the joints. Of course, easier said than done!
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Agreed slink. I'm very careful with my weight lifting, but I make sure to do it, and monitor my progress. My doctor advice in this regard is the same advice in regard to everything outside the medical aspects of my care: Do it moderately.
This morning was my weigh in, and huzzah, I lost that one pound I was hoping to, and another one to boot. At this point, it appears that I have lost 15 pounds so far. It's weird, cause I really don't feel very different (apart from a few of my clothes getting looser that is). Apparently this is equivalent to 45 pounds of impact off each knee. I don't know how this equation works, but the arthritis Canada site equates each pound of weight loss with a x3 reduction in impact on the joints. They explained it, but I don't really get it. Anyway... This is good news! I think I'll celebrate by buying myself a nice trashy magazine or something!
I was at the pet store yestday, watching miniature dachshund puppies squirm in a pile, when I was overtaken by horrific shooting pains in my right hip. The pain was so sharp and hard that my eyes teared up and I yelped out loud. I was surrounded by other people, who just ignored me, and though there was nothing they could have done (except get me a chair! or be kind!), I was really disgusted that everyone just ignored me as I staggered to lean against the nearest wall. Fuck you pet store patrons. Fuck. You. One day will one of my legs just give way? Will I be lying there, people stepping over me, helpless? Yet another reason to take immaculate care of myself: strangers do not give a fuck.
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Agreed slink. I'm very careful with my weight lifting, but I make sure to do it, and monitor my progress. My doctor advice in this regard is the same advice in regard to everything outside the medical aspects of my care: Do it moderately.
This morning was my weigh in, and huzzah, I lost that one pound I was hoping to, and another one to boot. At this point, it appears that I have lost 15 pounds so far. It's weird, cause I really don't feel very different (apart from a few of my clothes getting looser that is). Apparently this is equivalent to 45 pounds of impact off each knee. I don't know how this equation works, but the arthritis Canada site equates each pound of weight loss with a x3 reduction in impact on the joints. They explained it, but I don't really get it. Anyway... This is good news! I think I'll celebrate by buying myself a nice trashy magazine or something!
I was at the pet store yestday, watching miniature dachshund puppies squirm in a pile, when I was overtaken by horrific shooting pains in my right hip. The pain was so sharp and hard that my eyes teared up and I yelped out loud. I was surrounded by other people, who just ignored me, and though there was nothing they could have done (except get me a chair! or be kind!), I was really disgusted that everyone just ignored me as I staggered to lean against the nearest wall. Fuck you pet store patrons. Fuck. You. One day will one of my legs just give way? Will I be lying there, people stepping over me, helpless? Yet another reason to take immaculate care of myself: strangers do not give a fuck.
Congratulations on the weight loss! I am sorry to hear, however, about the lack of empathy from strangers. I was under the impression that Canadians are a helpful and considerate lot.
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Congratulations on the weight loss! I am sorry to hear, however, about the lack of empathy from strangers. I was under the impression that Canadians are a helpful and considerate lot.
I guess people are people. I've always hated people...
Congrats though, Mel. I kinda get the whole 45lbs thing. In as much as if I were to question it I'd have to spend 5 months learning to understand it, like torque steer.
All 'cause most of the things I was told left out the most important peice of information goddamnit!
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Huzzah Smells! That is a lot of weight. Fuck those people man... just... just fuck the hell out of em.
Oh.. I didn't mean... I mean.. not like that, but you know.
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Huzzah Smells! That is a lot of weight. Fuck those people man... just... just fuck the hell out of em.
Oh.. I didn't mean... I mean.. not like that, but you know.
Oh, man, I totally read the first half of your post and ran out and had an orgy at the pet store. I will not go into detail here, as anything more specific in detail would sully us all.
Also, in boob string news, I checked yesterday, and they are the exact same size - no changes here.
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Oh, man, I totally read the first half of your post and ran out and had an orgy at the pet store. I will not go into detail here, as anything more specific in detail would sully us all.
Also, in boob string news, I checked yesterday, and they are the exact same size - no changes here.
That is what I get for not being more specific. I am the worst advice columnist ever!
I'm certain your boob loving SO was pleased with the latter result indeed.
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Boring physics stuff about levers and bones ahead:
Well, our bones and joints and things are like levers, right? And the fulcrums are typically where the tendons (or ligaments? I get the two mixed up) attach. So picture a 15 pound baby sitting (safely harnessed) on a 4 foot long see-saw. On a normal see-saw, the fulcrum is in the middle, so if you wanted the kid to go up, you would push down with 15 pounds of force (well, the equivalent in newtons or footpounds or something, but you get the idea). But if you move the fulcrum closer to you, such that instead of being at the midpoint of the lever it was only one foot from your side. Then, you would need to push down with 45 pounds of force to lift up the baby, because you have 3 feet of the lever on his side, and 1 foot on yours. 3 feet times the baby's weight needs to equal your force times 1 foot in order for the lever to balance.
It's the same basic idea, though you have 2nd class and 3rd class levers in your bones too, which complicates things somewhat. That's why bones can just snap - often the elderly don't fall and break a hip, they break a hip and fall. Your bones have to support many many times your weight when you're standing or moving.
Thanks, otherwise useless physics degree!
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Oh, and another doctor told me he didn't know what was wrong today. So now I have an appointment with my specialist in a week, and another one in August to do a pelvic ultrasound. He wants to see if I have any masses on my kidneys. And it's scheduled for the day before I leave for my reception/honeymoon. So right now I'm just really scared and angry and worried that I have cancer and will have to miss my own anniversary party and honeymoon. And I have no idea how much all this is going to cost me - I've thrown down almost $500 just in copays and prescriptions since the middle of June. I haven't even gotten the surgery bill yet.
But on the plus side I'm down 5 pounds for sure in the last month, which means 15 since January. 5 more and I'll be where I want to be!
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But on the plus side I'm down 5 pounds for sure in the last month, which means 15 since January. 5 more and I'll be where I want to be!
Congrats Mite! 75% to your goal, wow, that's impressive. Keep up the good work.
~Paul
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...the Canada Food and Fitness Guide for Healthy Living, which lists two "units" of stretching per week as part of its over all recommendations...
So if I stretch my unit twice a week, that would make the Canadian Health Authorities happy?
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So if I stretch my unit twice a week, that would make the Canadian Health Authorities happy?
All Canadians as I understand it. Which makes it nigh on a moral obligation.
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"spread your legs and think of Canada, baby!"
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Paul, you can do better than that! Come on!
Is this (http://www.paulmcrae.com/FEATURES/WLC_06/VIDEO/DSCN4266-E-SM.wmv) better?
~Paul
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Is this (http://www.paulmcrae.com/FEATURES/WLC_06/VIDEO/DSCN4266-E-SM.wmv) better?
~Paul
Paul, you are the best person ever. The way you 'jumped rope' in a business suit with a completely straight face (I think), coupled with the beautiful 'maestro walk' at the end, is pretty admirable.
So which lucky early morning dog walker did you get to video that?
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Paul, you get a gold star. You get the fuck*ng goldest, starriest star there is. You rock.
I must say, it must be cooler/less humid in Utah than it is here. If I tried to do that in a suit and tie I would flat out expire leaving nothing but a salty pool with a rainbow oil slick on top.
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Paul, you shine out like a shaft of gold when all around is dark.
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Creeping crappin christ Paul.
Yeah, that'll sure 'nuff do.
Seconded. Also, "creeping crapping Christ" is my new favorite phrase.
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Is this (http://www.paulmcrae.com/FEATURES/WLC_06/VIDEO/DSCN4266-E-SM.wmv) better?
~Paul
You've encountered error message C00D11CD while using Windows Media Player. Additional information is not currently available for this error.
No. It is most definitly not better.
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The combination of too much Greek Festival and too much National Ice Cream Month caused me to have a gain this week. Plus the fact that I have given up caffeine and have had a headache for two weeks running has led to a decrease in exercise. As a result I'm up 8/10's of a pound this week. I'm spinning this into a positive. Call it a wake up call. I re-examined my habits and realized that I am neglecting my three major weak points in following the WW plan. I haven't been a faithful journalist. I picked up my journal yesterday and to my horror saw that I hadn't filled in the last two days at all. I was shocked because I thought I had been doing it all along. My mind was playing tricks on me. I knew I had been sliding up the scale this week, but there is no way to quantify it. I just didn't write anything down for two days. Wow. Next, I haven't been drinking enough milk. Weight Watchers reccomends two servings of milk per day. There is some science that says if you drink your milk you will lose weight faster. I haven't been drinking enough milk. Third, I haven't been exercising like I should. I blame the cronic headaches for that, but i'm going to change all that starting today. Well actually yesterday. I was on program, journal'd it, drank my milk, and did a little rope skipping. This morning according to my unofficial scale I got back that .8 and went down another .4, so I am on the right track.
~Paul
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I was down a pound yesterday, but I'm thinking of stepping up my weigh-ins to once per day just so I can keep track of my water balance and get a more accurate average weight over time. It will hurt the psychological factor, as I'll likely see some gain too throughout the week, but I'll try to make my Tuesday weigh-ins my "true" weight for a week and will be able to contrast and compare better. Who knows, maybe I actually gained a pound this week but had some excess fluid when I weighed-in last week that accounted for my "loss" this week.
Anyway, I too haven't been journaling what I eat enough because my tools suck. I'm currently building an app to keep track of this stuff that works better, but it's slow going with just me on the job, and part time at that.
It's just getting hard to walk enough when it's so friggin' hot outside. When the news warns that going outside could kill you, you tend to want to just crank up the AC and stay indoors.
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I was down a pound yesterday, but I'm thinking of stepping up my weigh-ins to once per day just so I can keep track of my water balance and get a more accurate average weight over time. It will hurt the psychological factor, as I'll likely see some gain too throughout the week, but I'll try to make my Tuesday weigh-ins my "true" weight for a week and will be able to contrast and compare better. Who knows, maybe I actually gained a pound this week but had some excess fluid when I weighed-in last week that accounted for my "loss" this week.
Anyway, I too haven't been journaling what I eat enough because my tools suck. I'm currently building an app to keep track of this stuff that works better, but it's slow going with just me on the job, and part time at that.
It's just getting hard to walk enough when it's so friggin' hot outside. When the news warns that going outside could kill you, you tend to want to just crank up the AC and stay indoors.
Daily weigh in? Does this mean you can now weigh yourself at home? If so, bravo. There was a funky $90 scale that I saw that also measures body fat and water in the body. I thought about buying it, but it had all sorts of warnings on it about it not being for use if you are pregnant, have heart problems or have recently showered or are wet/persiring - I guess it sends a mild charage through your body to read these other things? I had a horrified image in my head of my friend, who is both pregnant and with a pacemaker, stepping on the scale, and just, you know ruining her life. I know the odds are pretty low of this happening, but somehow it just scared me.
I've been really good about writing it all down. Fitday helps me a lot (thanks again AD). I felt really guilty when I ate a bunch of pizza last week, but when I put it in to fit day, I realized that it wasn't a total disaster. Even though I did eat more calories and fat than I wanted to that day, I'd still made sensible choices in eating vegetarian pizza, and through the other choices I'd made that day.
Jough, I totally agree on the walking thing - we've been having a drought here in Manitoba, and there have been days where it's been just disgusting outside. Thankfully the Y has their air conditioning cranked and has better cable than we do at home.
Paul, right now in Winnipeg, we have the Fringe Theatre Festival, which happens every year, so I really thought of you when I was at the festival with time to kill yesterday. The Samosa lady and the Gelattie guy, and the Falafel guy were all looking pretty friendly, but I would have eating only out of boredom, not hunger. It was a pretty big triumph for me to recognize the difference and not give in to an urge that had nothing to do with an actual physical need. Thankfully I ran into an old buddy I hadn't seen in four years, and he filled the emotional need for free (and without calories).
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My dad, who is an engineer by schooling (software engineer by profession) figured out how to add a counterweight onto the end of my scale to add 100lbs to its balance, thus increasing the amount of weight it can measure up to 450lbs.
I'm almost down below 350lbs now (the upper end of the scale) so in a month or two I'll not need it anyway, but it's really amazingly accurate. It's a pretty decent doctor's scale that my dad bought years ago at a medical supply place. It's much nicer and sturdier than the scale that my actual doctor has in her office.
Anyway, I've been reading The Hacker's Diet and I think his suggestions for how to measure water balance and BMI are very good. I may even weigh myself once in the morning and then once again before I go to bed just to collect the data (although again, for my goal-setting I am only counting Tuesday morning's weigh-in as my +/- weight for each week).
My new Get.FitWith.Us software will let people add weight check-in points any time they want, and will graph ups and downs, coming up with an average gain/loss number that will be a fairly accurate measure of actual weight, and then suggest caloric intake and possible exercise routines to maintain consistent and reasonable weight loss.
This stuff isn't rocket science, but it is science, and applying logic and math to my fitness rather than the emotional component I used to assign it (not that I can get away from my emotions, of course, but the science helps me not feel too badly about my body) I'm noticing real, calculable results, which in turn generate good feelings of self-worth and positive feelings that I can get my body into shape.
Coming up: weight training, and all of the fun maths involved in trying to calculate both muscle mass gain and weight loss of fat and such. I have no idea yet how to account for muscle building when dealing with weight loss, but by this time next month I'll be an expert.
More to come.
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Coming up: weight training, and all of the fun maths involved in trying to calculate both muscle mass gain and weight loss of fat and such. I have no idea yet how to account for muscle building when dealing with weight loss, but by this time next month I'll be an expert.
Subjectively you account for it by noticing that you aren't losing weight as quickly, but that your muscles are toned, firm and larger and that you feel better. Objectively I've no idea how you track this. Body fat percentage, I suppose.
Personally I've spent this week trying to kick it up a little notch. Doing a little overeating, so I've been trying to address that. My big goal is to move the big slider on the scale at the gym. I'm only 8 lbs away.
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Yeah, it's really exciting to be near a milestone and to know that you WILL make it if given a little time.
I really don't know how to account for the increase in muscle and decrease in much lighter fat when calculating calorie-intake. I mean, usually if weight loss starts to taper-off a bit software may recommend reducing calorie consumption, whereas what you should be doing is increasing calorie consumption, especially of proteins and heavy minerals like iron and other muscle-building materials to fuel your fat-burning engine.
However, as I said, I am not sure how Science does this yet. Surely such a thing is calculable, although it may be difficult for people to measure in their homes.
I may have to just calculate average muscle increase based on activity that people can enter, and just leave it flexible and inaccurate.
It will be a minor piece of the application anyway, so it's not worth getting one's knickers in a twist over.
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Subjectively you account for it by noticing that you aren't losing weight as quickly, but that your muscles are toned, firm and larger and that you feel better. Objectively I've no idea how you track this. Body fat percentage, I suppose.
Personally I've spent this week trying to kick it up a little notch. Doing a little overeating, so I've been trying to address that. My big goal is to move the big slider on the scale at the gym. I'm only 8 lbs away.
Objectively, you could use any of three methods to measure decreases in body fat percentage. Calipers, water immersion and electric current like Smells was talking about.
I've been lazy and busy and so I have been very bad about updating FitDay. New baby, two others for which I was 100% responsible for the hospital days (we ate out a LOT) and a wife recovering from what amounts to Abdominal surgery...but, on the bright side, I have gotten comments from people for the past week that I look thinner. So something must be happening!
I have been logging my physical activity on another site maintained by my health insurance provider which is also interesting.
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my BMI no longer classifies me as "severely underweight!" I am only about 10 lbs away from being supposedly in the Normal range.
next step: actually gaining muscle mass. Hmm.
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my BMI no longer classifies me as "severely underweight!" I am only about 10 lbs away from being supposedly in the Normal range.
Apparently my BMI says I'm still underweight. I'm also about 10 lbs off being normal. That and all the weight, including probably a little replacement, has been muscle mass. Which is nice. Apart from my knees being all swollen and having smashed a kneecap off a drum lug, I haven't had my agonising leg pain for ages now, except one night when I hadn't really done anything that day. Nice to know it can still come back...
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Oh man. I was so good all last week, then yesterday I went to the Olive Garden. I am up by two pounds. Two pounds! I was so good... Then I was very bad. Oh well. Back to it.
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One day does not a diet break. Check tomorrow, see that your weight is back in line. I promise.
~Paul
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You'll be back to normal surprisingly fast, Mel. Drink some water and take a walk.
The doctors still don't know what's wrong with me. They think I may have some sort of crazy infection that just won't die. So it's another month of antibiotics, and giving up: sex, caffeine, alcohol, spicy food, and refined sugar. I'm thinking of becoming a pothead again just so I can have at least one pleasure of the flesh available to me. It's been a few days of clean living so far, and it ain't all it's cracked up to be, let me tell you. And I still need naps after even the mildest of exercise. But hopefully things will be looking up soon.
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So it's another month of antibiotics, and giving up: sex, caffeine, alcohol, spicy food, and refined sugar.
I don't think I can name a single item I've consumed in the past 2 weeks that didin't involve at least one of these things. Are you just eating boiled cabbage and taking cold showers all day?
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My near-constant tears are suprisingly filling.
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My near-constant tears are suprisingly filling.
Also a surprisingly useful lubricant! I-... I'm just sayin'.
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oh, Q! *theme music plays*
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Christ, right. My next MixDisc will have my own interpretation of Q theme music. This is too good an idea to pass up.
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Also a surprisingly useful lubricant! I-... I'm just sayin'.
Saline-based!
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Christ, right. My next MixDisc will have my own interpretation of Q theme music. This is too good an idea to pass up.
Good gravy I look forward to this more than you know!
Speaking of which... I should get crackin'. I called people Jack Sampsons!
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I really need to make a mix.
but so far, it is like:
8 Mission of Burma songs
4 beat happening songs
1 stevie wonder song
1 art blakey and the jazz messengers song.
basically it is the mix which is trying to do two things at once:
"look! I like a variety of kinds of music!"
"look, I really really like independent music of various types!"
also: in Dying news, I had the following exchange just now.
MOTI (mother of the inevitable): daniel, get a hold of yourself. it is not cool to be out of shape. that is not hip... it is out.
Daniel: obviously we don't hang out with the same people. most of my friends are actively trying to destroy their bodies.
also: I have realized that I have gained even more weight, and that it is all fat. I need to start biking or running or something.
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My near-constant tears are suprisingly filling.
Mite: Do you have a cat? Your avatar makes me think you do. Do you know that if you have a cat, that it carries the strep-throat virus without getting sick itself, but can constantly re-infect you? I know this because my sister repeatedly got strep over and over, and on the sixth time in under a 2 year period, her doctor finally asked her if she had a cat. Turns out her cat was carrying the infection and getting her sick over and over. She took her cat to the vet, and I can't remember if it was an injection or pills for the cat, but it was simple and fairly painless for the cat, and sure enough, my sister never got strep again.
Also, get well soon!
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Daily weigh in? Does this mean you can now weigh yourself at home? If so, bravo. There was a funky $90 scale that I saw that also measures body fat and water in the body. I thought about buying it, but it had all sorts of warnings on it about it not being for use if you are pregnant, have heart problems or have recently showered or are wet/persiring - I guess it sends a mild charage through your body to read these other things? I had a horrified image in my head of my friend, who is both pregnant and with a pacemaker, stepping on the scale, and just, you know ruining her life. I know the odds are pretty low of this happening, but somehow it just scared me.
I have one of those, although at half the cost. I don't think the body fat measurement is very accurate, but maybe that's because it's cheap.
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Whether or not it measures accurately maybe isn't so important as whether it measures consistently. If you get a baseline and it shows you moving in the direction you want to go, it's still probably useful - but not in comparison if you get measurements from other sources.
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Mite: Do you have a cat? Your avatar makes me think you do. Do you know that if you have a cat, that it carries the strep-throat virus without getting sick itself, but can constantly re-infect you? I know this because my sister repeatedly got strep over and over, and on the sixth time in under a 2 year period, her doctor finally asked her if she had a cat. Turns out her cat was carrying the infection and getting her sick over and over. She took her cat to the vet, and I can't remember if it was an injection or pills for the cat, but it was simple and fairly painless for the cat, and sure enough, my sister never got strep again.
Also, get well soon!
Whoa, very interesting! While strep does not seem to be the ultimate cause of my troubles, it might be part of it. I may have to look into that if I get another sore throat.
Man, I wonder if they do a throat culture of the cat. That can't be pleasant for anybody involved.
Now my mom thinks I may have a candida allergy (http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/candida.html) and need homeopathic treatment, but then she's big into new age stuff and not much of a critical thinker. Right now I'm just politely agreeing with her and then not taking her advice, so not much different from normal, really.
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Now my mom thinks I may have a candida allergy (http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/candida.html) and need homeopathic treatment, but then she's big into new age stuff and not much of a critical thinker. Right now I'm just politely agreeing with her and then not taking her advice, so not much different from normal, really.
You mean you aren't drinking your own urine? You should.
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Whether or not it measures accurately maybe isn't so important as whether it measures consistently. If you get a baseline and it shows you moving in the direction you want to go, it's still probably useful - but not in comparison if you get measurements from other sources.
Yeah, I don't think it measures consistently. I would have little to judge it on other than that, as I am inscrutably doughy.
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Hearing this story this morning made me think of sideshow's question about stretching. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5584414
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Interesting. Thanks Jorge. I've basically been just not stretching before my runs, and I've definitly struggled with some days where my hamstrings are so tight it hurts, so I basically have to put some effort into stretching it out. I wonder what the trainers in this article think of yoga?
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I'm down 2 pounds this week. Whoo hoo. I've been riding my bike a lot lately. Onward to virgin weight loss.
~Paul
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I wonder what the trainers in this article think of yoga?
If you're interested in trying yoga for the purpose of stretching, this (http://ms.essortment.com/yogastretching_rthj.htm) is a good resource (despite the annoying ads and lack of pictures/illustrations). It includes a few precautionary notes that are important, too.
EDIT: Actually, upon re-reading the site more carefully, most of those stretches seem pretty obvious. The warnings are the most valuable part; yoga can be great, but it can also wreak havoc on your body, particularly if you suffer from back and/or shoulder problems (as I do).
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060727/hl_nm/exercise_arthritis_dc;_ylt=Aiba6WcWnT.Sl.3n.cQwYOys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-
Sort of a no-brainer here.
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"Getting exercise not easy for folks with arthritis"
In other news: fat people tend to eat too much of things that are bad for them and not exercise enough. News at eleven.
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"National Epidemic: short people have difficulty reaching things on top shelves - news at 10."
So, I managed to lose the two pounds I gained last week, and am now back on track.
I had heat stroke yesterday, while out running errands. I realizes I was too out-of-sorts in the grocery store, and ended up giving up on getting groceries, but stupidly still drove home from the grocery store. I ended up grinding the side of my car into the abandoned house next door's car park. I'm sure I did some lovely damage to the body, as my SO handed me a piece of my car's molding when I got out, but was so dazed that I just staggered into the house and slept for two hours. Not good.
I've been feeling really drained lately, even though I've been exercising less. It's a combination of the drought/heat wave and me working so hard on my writing I think. I had a lot of anxiety yesterday over the play I'm directing this winter. Since I'm self producing it, I've got grant applications to deal with, and I'll be responsible for a lot more than I usually am... I'm stressed.
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"National Epidemic: short people have difficulty reaching things on top shelves - news at 10."
My God, I thought I was the only one!
The heat is really bad for you. Even if you don't get heat stroke it is stressful to the body and makes you miserable. I think we are all allowed to cut ourselves a little slack while the weather is trying to kill us.
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There was a local news report on yesterday about how the most popular ice cream spot in the city is actually suffering due to the heat. It's one of those walk-up joints, no indoor (aka air conditioned) seating, and it seems no one wants to be standing in the noon day sun with a puddle of post-ice cream melt.
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dang, it is so hot out. me and a lady went and got burgers and sat in the park to eat them, and it lasted a very, very short time. there were so many bugs. and so much sun-heat.
but then we came to my house to watch The Godfather II, which she had never seen. so that was good.
addition: also, the other day, the first time I watched The Godfather II (actually the second, but I do not remember anything from the first time.) I watched it while riding a stationary bike.
I rode 7.5 miles! This was possible because it was inside, at night, with a big fan on.
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I know these are extreme examples, but really, watch your ass in the heat people.
And don't forget that in 1995, over 700 people died in Chicago because of a particularly nasty heatwave.
Thanks, NPR!
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Man, Ash, that's one fucked up story. Dumb people shouldn't be allowed to own animals.
Still no a/c here. Management fucked up and ordered the wrong part, and then the head girl downstairs went on vacation. So it's 95 in here during the day, and it only cools off at night if I keep the door proped open. I try to keep feeding the cats ice cubes, but only one of 'em really licks them. They seem fine, if a little pissed off. Much like their owners, in that regard. When the perky girl down front gets back (tomorrow), I'll tell her she can shove my rent hike up her tight little ass, along with the bulk of this month's rent, 'cause I ain't paying it.
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Cats don't care. Cats will lie on a blasting radiator with the sun beating down on them. I think they actually have to get hot enough to cook for it to matter. But dogs are very sensitive to heat, especially short-nosed dogs like my pugs. All summer I get terrifying mass emails from the pug rescue in LA, warning me that my pugs can die if I'm in my car in a traffic jam and my air conditioner breaks, but apparently it's not safe to leave them home either because they can die in a hot house if the air conditioner breaks there too...
I was thinking of hooking up a webcam pointed at the thermostat so I could check the temperature of the house from work for the rest of the week when it's supposed to be 100 degrees. Then I sat down and took a deep breath and had a cool drink and reminded myself that A, I am usually home by 4 in the afternoon and B, the house is old with brick walls and would probably take an extremely long time to heat up enough to kill anyone. But I'm not entirely happy about the situation.
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hobe-- the summer of that heatwave, I lived in Chi-town.
and my mom was pregnant.
that basically sucked. for her. I, personally, had a grand ol' time with pools and sprinklers and such, being 7 and all.
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Thanks, Womby. I'll stop worrying about them now. I sorta freaked when the kitten was panting the other day, but I think he might just be weird.
But I'll start worrying about the cute little puglet down the hall from me! So cute! So little radiative heat loss!
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Smells, I'm glad you are OK from this. You so could not be.
PSA to all you fucks: Please don't be stupid and kill yourselves 'cause it's hot out, Wombats comment is dead on. Cut yourself a little slack and pay attention.
Extreme example follows:
Two trips in a row into the local San Berdoo mountains to go offroad and outback on advance deer season scouting I have had my day fucked up by having to rescue idiot morons who went out ill prepared and had it bite them in the ass. One young couple was hiking the Pacific Crest Trail with their doggy when they started having problems. The only reason I heard them calling for help (they were 200' above the fire road I was scouting) was 'cause I stopped to piss on a tree near the trail split. Turns out they came up from San Diego that morning and set out on a day hike wearing shorts and tank tops, no hats, sandwiches and 2 liters of water each. 7 miles in their doggy quit on them, it was lethargic and wouldn't walk or drink. They emptied one day pack and sorta loaded the dog into it for the guy to carry, the girl took the rest of the load in her pack and they tried to hike towards civilization. When I found them it had been ~90d for hours and we were at 7200' altitude. They were overheated, altitude sick and panicked.
I put them in the bed of the truck and poured most of the 5g jerry can I travel with on them to cool 'em off and threw the 2.5g drinking water jug in with them and took them on a 1.5h trip to the ranger station near the trailhead they had parked at so they could get some medical help for them and the dog. They were really concerned about the dog and wanted to find a vet, I figured the ranger volunteers would know where to send them locally. Got to the ranger station and realized they had both vomited all over the bed of my truck and needed help pretty badly too, they were kida lethargic raving. I hadn't paid much attention to them on the drive 'cause I took a short but pretty rough way out and had to pay a lot of attention to the (lack of) road.
I gave their dumb asses over to the ranger volunteer I hailed over, and helped them get inside, I bailed as they were no longer my problem.*
Two weeks later I had to haul in from 5 miles out a dad and four kids who took a scenic fireroad trip in a MINIVAN that suffered a punctured oil pan on the trail. (dumbass)
I know these are extreme examples, but really, watch your ass in the heat people.
*I was pissed at them 'cause the dog died sometime on the way in.
Ash is trying to get me hot by talking dirty about search and rescue/emergency situations (I'm a volunteer firefighter/medic for those of you who don't know).
Heh! *dirty old lady laugh*
Seriously, though. Heat injury is nothing to fuck around with. Ash, I'm glad it was you and not me, because I would have had to stay with their sorry asses until I could get them to the ER (unless the ranger was a paramedic, because for me it would legally be considered abandonment I left a patient with someone who has less training than me). However, most of the medics I know only carry BLS (basic life support) kits, so there ain't much you can do with 'em other than throw water on them, give them some water to drink as long as they're conscious, and get them to medical attention asap.
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Thanks, Womby. I'll stop worrying about them now. I sorta freaked when the kitten was panting the other day, but I think he might just be weird.
But I'll start worrying about the cute little puglet down the hall from me! So cute! So little radiative heat loss!
Well, really extreme panting is not a good sign even in a cat. But I think it's highly unlikely that a cat who can move around to find the cooler parts of a normal house would be affected. You still don't want to leave them in a car or anything like that, of course.
Oh, but this is making me crazy now. Can I just call in sick to work for the rest of the week?
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Why not leave the AC on low for the cats?
I'm just saying.
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It's broken, dude. Or are your talking to Wombat? I'm so confused.
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Yeah does womby even have cats? I was under the impression she hated felines to hell, what with her choosing to lay down with the filthy canis genus.
When the revolution comes canis lovers will be the first against the wall... okay well after Richard Jeni.
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You can buy dog beds that you soak in water and they stay cool for hours, like scroll down here:
http://www.sitstay.com/store/equip/beds1.shtml#EQCC (http://www.sitstay.com/store/equip/beds1.shtml#EQCC)
That one's so expensive you might as well get your AC fixed though... I think there are cheaper ones out there. But you know how cats are, you'll spend all that money and they won't go near the thing.
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I have two cats, Q. I'm heartbroken that you've never even bothered to look at my Flickr pictures.
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I have two cats, Q. I'm heartbroken that you've never even bothered to look at my Flickr pictures.
Man of course I have.. I even commented Miss "I don't approve of Q's amazing testimonial for months MONTHS!"
It's just, in my head you're "Crazy Pug Lady"... cats don't even enter into it.
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I am having problems with eating the amount I am supposed to eat. See, I used to eat very little, and never any breakfast, but very fatty food. So now eating all this bulk, all these veggies and grains and such, is a serious challenge. I don't have a desire to eat as much as I supposed to, but I know I should for the related nutrients and boost to the metabolism. Especially when it comes to veggies, I'm finding it hard to enjoy them without fatty additives like butter, sauces, etc., and I'm getting pretty sick of eating salad every day.
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How much are you supposed to eat? And is the diet you are using one that basically removes fat? Does it also remove carbs?
Human bodies are hardwired for fat and carbs triggering food satisfaction. If you cut out both, it's going to be challenging both to like the food you're eating and to feel satisfied by it.
Fiber makes you feel full but you don't get that gustatorial enjoyment. On the other hand, fiber cancels out carbs one-to-one so maybe you can add some carbs back in if you reduced/eliminated them for this diet.
No need to SUFFER unnecessarily to lose weight - you should still be able to enjoy eating as you progress.
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Today was indeed my Christmas, Ash. I had avocado sushi for lunch - not lots, just six small rolls - it's like heaven! Oh, yes. I basically don't restrict myself from having anything I want, just controle the portion size, but I also don't really crave things very often, so it's not really an issue.
I think in your situation, that the food was a special treat, but also a sort of freedom replacement. And that that would make them taste all the more delicious.
When you eat it now, does it still taste as good?
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Here is a gumbo recipe that is basically hella vegetables that I really enjoy and that I've had luck losing weight with in the past. One good thing is that you can make a lot of it and not have to prepare it again.
Saute in large, heavy kettle:
1/4 c. oil or margarine
2 onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, diced
blend in:
2 T. flour
Cook and stir over low heat until vegetables are tender.
Add:
2 1/2 c. cooked tomatoes
1 lb. frozen okra (you can use fresh, cooked okra if you want, but this is what I use)
2/3 c. tomato paste (at this point we've reached a second tomato product. I usually don't actually use paste, but often some combination of canned diced/crushed tomatoes and fresh tomatoes. I typically use one or two 29 oz. cans, so I guess it depends on how much one likes tomatoes.)
1 1/2 T. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 T. Worcestershire sauce (track down a veggie version if you want to make this dish truly vegetarian...alas, I'm not hardcore enough)
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. chili powder
pinch dried basil
1 bay leaf
2-3 c. cooked or canned kidney beans OR, for the meat-eaters, wait till it's done simmering and add the chicken
simmer for one hour
chop 1/3 c. parsley
add 2/3 c. cooked chicken for the omnivores (simmer briefly after this)
Serve over cooked rice or with bread. Garnish with parsley
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Here is a gumbo recipe that is basically hella vegetables that I really enjoy...
This sounds really good. Really good. Okra is not common in Canada. Our grocery store definitly doesn't carry the frozen stuff, I've looked before. I did once see some fresh okra at a small African market fairly close to me... But I was uncertain what the good okra was vs bad okra. If I do come across it fresh again, how do I choose it, and how much would I need? Is it supposed to be crisp like a pepper when fresh? Is the whole thing edible, or are there parts I should remove?
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I've never purchased fresh okra, but I imagine you can use the whole thing, save the stem.
When buying fresh okra, look for young pods free of bruises, tender but not soft, and no more than 4 inches long. It may be stored in the refrigerator in a paper bag or wrapped in a paper towel in a perforated plastic bag for 2 to 3 days, or it may be frozen for up to 12 months after blanching whole for 2 minutes. Cooked okra can be stored (tightly covered) in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
http://southernfood.about.com/library/weekly/aa081401a.htm
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Okra? for real?
I've only had it by itself... maybe it's not-disgusting if you put it in gumbo.
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Hush, now.
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Both pickled and fried Okra are amazing.
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Ok, an update.
I'm back from China (I put up a post and pix link in Sports and Liesure) and have updates on my "habits" that I"ve been working on.
I have been smoking marginally less, rarely breaking 1 pack per day, but also rarely smoking less than one. I have been paying a lot of attention to how I smoke though. What triggers me to smoke (fidgety hands and boredom seem to be top culprits). When and Where I smoke most. Observations like these will help me (i hope) when the time comes to quit all together.
I have cut back a lot on my drinking, it's no longer every night, and the volume consumed is less than before. However, this has led to a couple benders where my body, sensing that something is disturbing the force, requests that I stay drunk for 24-48 hours. After that I am severely repentant, and would rank my feelings of self worth as "low". I am doing better though, despite how this all sounds.
plus i got depression
no, not really. I'm pretty happy all around. and newly single wooo!
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Wait, is this thread about okra now? Can I threadjack with an okra story? Oh, what the hell -- I'm back, and I'll threadjack if I want to.
Two years ago, my parents and I moved from Nebraska to Louisiana. This occasion resulted in some pretty classic cultural whiplash, but nothing more notable than my mother's first visit to the local supermarket, at which she encountered okra and was blown away. Okra! In the supermarket! Truly, we had arrived in the South. She immediately grabbed two individual okra units* to show me later. Once she got to the checkout, the cashier looked at her tiny bag of okra units and at her and said, in the tone of someone who is now certain they're addressing a northerner, "don't need much okra, do ya?"
The best part of this: my mother came home and still showed me the okra with pride, even having been publically embarrassed about it previously. We were terminally Northern.
* I'm sorry, but I don't know what you call an individual unit of okra.[/small]
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we sell a reasonable amount of Okra down at the Bi-Lo. normally people buy like... 20 okra. I am not sure what the singular okra is. I think it's just Okra.
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Pod. It's a pod of okra.
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oh god, that seems so obvious now.
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Pod. It's a pod of okra.
Thanks, August. I knew you or one of the many other southerners on this board would come to my rescue on this one.
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Living in Chicago, frozen okra is available at every grocery store unless there is a run (this happened once, I couldn't explain it).
I don't think that this is because Chicago is Northern Mississippi--in my mind, this type of thing is pretty common most places.
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V, that is the best okra story ever. (And I don't at all mean that in a way which is snidely implying that that's no big deal because of how few okra stories there are in the world, or anything.)
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Though fried okra is pretty good, I too find it difficult to consume when it is not part of gumbo or other soup type conveyances. I basically only buy it as a portion of the frozen gumbo vegetable mix that I keep on hand.
Incidentally, I love having frozen vegetable mixes around. Between that and my stockpile of stocks, I can have a decent soup going in under 20 minutes. It isn't as good as one made with fresh in-season ingredients, but it also doesn't take all damn day.
So, go modern technology, I guess.
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Here's the best way I've ever had okra prepared, and I tend to enjoy it but not overmuch. The missus and I were fighting for the last couple pieces at this dinner. I'm pretty sure this recipe requires just about the freshest, perfectest okra pods that ever did exist.
Heat an iron skillet over high heat.
Split the pods lengthwise.
Put the pods face-down in the pan and leave them alone for a minute, then jiggle them around by shaking the pan. If they don't move, you've waited too long and burnt them. If they slide too freely, they aren't done.
Flip one over, and it should be caramelized but not burnt.
Remove the okra from the pan.
Serve.
Sounds simple, right? It is, and that's the beauty. That slime inside the pod mostly cooks off or caramelizes, and you're left with just the fresh taste of the okra.
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Yeesh... I go away for the weekend, and the thread turns all okra on me...
Okay, so I went to the African grocery that usually stocks the okra, and they were all out of it. Also, fried okra sort of defeats the purpose of eating okra to be healthy, doesn't it? Also, V, very cute about your mom. I once went to a spice place, and was very excited to see that they had lots of spices I couldn't find anywhere else, so I took tiny portions in tiny baggies provide. I had about a dozen tiny bags, went to the cashier when I realized I only had my bank card. He weighed my tiny bags and in total they came to $1.01. I apologized as I paid with my bank card, and he too looked at me in such a way as to let me know I'd failed at this basic human interaction.
When it comes to the health, I am down two more pounds. I am also super sore from yard work, but so be it.
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Also, V, very cute about your mom. I once went to a spice place, and was very excited to see that they had lots of spices I couldn't find anywhere else, so I took tiny portions in tiny baggies provide. I had about a dozen tiny bags, went to the cashier when I realized I only had my bank card. He weighed my tiny bags and in total they came to $1.01. I apologized as I paid with my bank card, and he too looked at me in such a way as to let me know I'd failed at this basic human interaction.
Ironically, this is another lesson that I learned from my mother: if it's less than $10, you should be ashamed of paying for it with a check. This doesn't necessarily mean that you won't, just that you should be ashamed of doing so. Credit cards are also right out, unless you're in a situation (you are a poor college student, or in an airport, or a poor college student in an airport) where you are buying something immediately important and have no other option.
Er, not to make this a thread about my mother's weird supermarket behavior. It just, you know, seemed apropos at the time. Carry on!
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Credit cards are faster than cash now. No counting, no change, and you can swipe your card WHILE the cashier is ringing up your order.
I always use a CC at supermarkets, and it's always faster than cash.
Your mother is just wrong.
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Jough-- you can do that-- unless you're shopping at Bi-Lo. our machines flip out when people do that. I actually have to type the amount in, then hit the credit button, before people swipe their cards. People get so annoyed by this. Everyone is Pat in this situation.
a-so: if they want "cash-back" from their debit card, they have to tell me. and then there is no way to easily add it, I have to do it in my head. It isn't a problem until I make a mistake and some little old lady is mad that I withdrew 10 dollars instead of the 20 she wanted.
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It can't be that hard to add 20 on to something.
I'll give you an example: 4,987.5+20= 5,007.5
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Seriously, dude. Your generation makes us very very afraid.
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I used to obey V's mom's rule too. But now at our Whole Foods, if the order is under like 20 or 30 dollars I forget which, you do not sign when you use your credit card. Just swipe it and go. So now it's so much faster than cash that I actually feel bad if I use cash.
I do try not to use my credit card in independent stores and restaurants when I can help it, since it costs them money. But the hell with a big conglomerate like Whole Foods.
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I once charged a two dollar meal at Wendy's with plenty of cash my pocket.
Tell your children not to walk my way.
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I use my card at the concession stand in movie theatres.
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I am not saying that it is hard to add 20. what i'm saying is that once in a great while, I make a mistake. I'm sorry, I suck at math. It is not "my generation." It is just me. A dude who sucks at math. And is known to make mistakes. you're talking about the same guy who can't remember the 4-digit codes for vegetables.
THE ONLY PERSON WHO IS A SLOWER CASHIER THAN ME IS LITERALLY RETARDED.
I'm the guy who sucks. at being a cashier.
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Talk about health please.
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Talk about health please.
Agreed.
How about vitamins? Are we all up on the vitamins? Even though I'm pretty good at eating in a nutritionally balanced way, it can't hurt can it? I've been meaning to ask a pharmacist for a recommendation of a multivitiamin that's not as big as a small egg. I basically gag on large pills, so even if I needed to take two smaller pills, this is my preference.
Also, in regard to keeping hydrated, I chugged a liter of water in under 10 minutes, then my friend showed up uninvited, so I put the kettle on and we sat down to tea. Also I had just had a huge bowl of home made soup for lunch. I swear I peed so many times during her visit, all ducking into the water closet and sliding the pocket door shut over and over, that I just had to explain the situation.
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Also, in regard to keeping hydrated, I chugged a liter of water in under 10 minutes, then my friend showed up uninvited, so I put the kettle on and we sat down to tea.
Careful, tea can actually dehydrate you.
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I basically gag on large pills, so even if I needed to take two smaller pills, this is my preference.
I gag even on small pills, so I take children's chewable vitamins. As far as I can figure, if I take two of the ones I buy, I get an adult dose, but even if that's not quite right, it's more vitamins than no vitamins. And they are delicious so it's like getting to eat candy.
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I gag even on small pills
Much to the chagrin of Tech Support, no doubt.
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Hey, are you accussing the Technical Staff of having small pills?
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No, just that it's unfortunate that you gag on them.
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Speaking of health...
I quit the fuck*ng Copenhagen.
Dipping is basically the nastiest habit ever, and prolly the one I've had the longest. I barely drink, don't go near drugs and flat out don't smoke. All of these are things that I've put in the used to do category long ago, and I don't miss 'em.
But this is different. This is a tough goodbye. This is something I really really like having to go the fuck away.
'Cause in the long run, it'll kill my ass.
I've gone and done it. Ain't no room for going back, I'm getting out before the bad happens.
Doesn't mean I gotta like it, but it is what it is.
Shit Fuck.
It's just me and you, Nicorette.
Good for you, man. That's excellent. Hang tough.
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Rock on, Ash, and good luck. I've heard chewing tobacco is very pernicious; may the Nicorette serve you well.
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Smoking was like that for me. I've quit twice now, the first time for a year, and this time, for just about a year.
I have no intention of taking it back up. The disassociation though, was horrible. I quickly came to the realization that every event was one where I lit up. Waking? Light up. Driving a car? Light up. After a meal? Before a meal...during a meal... the 60 second walk from my car to my office door...
I went with the patches. Keep on it Asherdan. Let the righteous anger flow. That was the big secret to my kicking it. Every headache, every crave was a supermagical "F You!" to the chemicals that were messing with me.
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Yeah Ash, way to go. I think if you poll the ladies (and any sassy gents) around you, they will agree that you will get more kisses if you are not putting that shit in your mouth. And this will lead to your mouth being busy in far more enjoyable ways. And, even if you gain some weight from keeping your mouth busy with eating stuff, in the long run, I imagine some minor weight gain will have less detrimental health effects than snuff. Also, I knew a guy whose whole mouth, and sections of his face, had to be slowly removed due to mouth cancer. If you ever feel the need for a graphic , heart breaking description just let me know.
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yeah dude, for real. quit that shit. it rhymes so it must be true.
edit: you were saying that you did quit that shit. legit!
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I quit drinking almost 20 years ago and I don't have any desire whatsoever to drink ever again. I quit smoking weed habitually about 17-8 years ago. I like the idea of toking up and feeling high, but my recent experiences with weed tell me it's not a good idea. I quit dipping snuff about 22-3 years ago and I still sometimes get cravings to dip. That shit is a mother fucker to kick.
~Paul
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Here's a nice picture of Eddie Van Halen (http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/835/1149/1600/evh.0.jpg) that you can print out and keep as a reminder of what happens to people when they have to fight oral cancer.
Stay strong, Ash. If you need me to drive down there and hide all your snuff, let me know.
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Good luck with that Ash.. seriously. Anything tobacco related is a motherfucker and I'm behind you all the way!
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I'm behind you all the way!
And you don't want to know the things he'll do to your behind if you pick up that stuff again! So... like... watch out and stuff.
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Holy crap, Ash, I am hella proud of you for quitting the dip. I don't want to see you have your face amputated due to cancer.
On a more lighthearted note...Have you ever heard the Robert Earl Keen song "Copenhagen"? Heh! It's a great song. Robert chewed Cope for 15 years and never had a problem with worms or long relationships. The song is basically about all the ways that he grossed out his girlfriends by his chewing habit. "She laid a big one on me, surprised me with her tongue! But her surprise was waitin' there between my cheek and gum!" Yuuuuck! Imagine kissing someone only to find a huge wad of foreign matter in their mouth. Ew. I'm gettin' the dry heaves just thinking about it.
Another one involves his girl grabbing his Coca Cola cup at the movies, not having realized that he was spitting in it. It involves a lot of vomited popcorn. Good times.
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Smoking is a hoss of a different color, but I had similar effects from that. I assumed it was due to my increased lung usage allowing more oxygen to my brain. Made me loopy and light headed for a few days. Then after that there was some fatigue, probably due to withdrawls.
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I think I suffer from not getting a kick. I get a real lull about 8pm where if I'm not careful I just pass out, but then I think if anything I get to sleep at night better for not smoking. One of my really bad habits was smoking last thing before going to bed (or in bed while watching something, which was even worse) and that just meant I was that bit more awake. Plus, it's just nice to be able to get excercise and not have my heart and lungs feel like they're on fire and trying to burst through my sternum. That shit was cold evil feeling.
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I've stayed as far away from nicotine as possible, but speaking from the neuroscientific perspective, the fatigue is likely to be a symptom of withdrawal. Nicotine can serve as a stimulant, and like all stimulants, your brain adapts to its presence; my guess would be the fatigue is the result of your brain adapting back to a nicotine-less state without it, which probably involves pruning receptors and otherwise adapting to a sudden lack of stimulatory input. The good part about this is that it'll get better in time on its own, at least... the bad part is that this is a really sucky thing for your brain to be doing. Strength.
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Hey folks: as of yesterday, I am two pounds away from my goal for September 9th of being down 20 pounds! Yee Haw!
My other goal of getting back to running 3 miles in 30 minutes is probably not going to be reached though. I've been running regularly since June now, and there's been a clear improvement. I have no problem running 3 miles now, without being exhausted like I used to be, but at this point it takes me about 15 minutes per mile, and there is basically no way I want to push myself hard enough to shave 5 minutes off each mile in the next few weeks. I'm going to keep that one as a longer term goal, something that might come to me over time. Being able to say that I run 9 miles a week every week feels pretty cool though. That's a nice thing brag about.
I'm going to continue working hard at personal wellness and have set a goal for one year from my birthday (i.e. end of next month) of reaching my ultimate goal of being right where the BMI scale tells me I need to be, while continuing to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. This means I still need to lose some weight, but in a less accelerated way. It should be a challenge to get there, but not too hard since I've basically changed my way of eating and being active to the point where going back is hard to even fathom.
In the two hours before making this post I was outside digging out limestone from a spot beside our deck to create a pit to fill with compost accelerator, place my composter over, and begin composting with. Breaking the hard, limestone and clay based ground, moving two large wheelbarrows full of limestone, and all the strength that this requires were skills totally outside my reach in Spring. It feels pretty awesome to have my strength back! I can't deny that the pain is a little worse than it used to be, but the trade-off for increased strength and overall fitness is well worth it. I've come to peace with the fact the arthritis is not going to go away, and have also come to a really comfortable understanding of how to read my body and its needs and limits - which is something I didn't even realize I was missing before.
So anyway, I have a lot of work to do over the next year to reach my final health goal, but my short term goal of losing 20 pounds this summer is fait accompli. And that feels pretty awesome.
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Hey folks: as of yesterday, I am two pounds away from my goal for September 9th of being down 20 pounds! Yee Haw!
Congrats!
And to the rest of it too. I've noticed how true it is that you can tell more about your body the better the state it is in.
That said, after a fairly excercise filled couple of weeks in Canada, which involved swimming almost daily, as well as a lot of running, I have been set back somewhat. Both by jetlag and the fact I broke a toe while I was away, so am having to take things rather easy until that heals. Worst part of that is that unlike sprains or muscle pulls, this is taking way longer to heal.
Still. 3 miles, eh? Not sure I can manage that...
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Oh no! Which little piggy was it?
Also, was security totally insane? I asume you flying just after all that shit went down...
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Oh no! Which little piggy was it?
Also, was security totally insane? I asume you flying just after all that shit went down...
The big toe (first?) on my left foot. Seems to be worse today than yesterday, dangit. I tried taping it to my neighbour, but that just made things awkward...
And security was non-existent on my way out. Well, aside from having to take my laptop out of my bag, and someone I was flying with having to take of his shoes, but apart from that I got to keep my mp3 player and the books I took with me the whole way across, which was just as well as I couldn't sleep a wink in those seats.
When we left the airport getting back however, it was crawling with cops. Filming everyone arriving, arresting people, vans everywhere, even hosss... Wasn't 'til we got back home we saw what the deal was. I think we missed it by about 4 hours or so, so I consider myself incredibly lucky. Not sure how I feel about the prospect of flying now they've made it infinitely more unbearable, but then the flight to Italy should be a lot shorter, and maybe with a less painful airline.
It would now just help if Reid would stop looking so fuck*ng smug every time I see him on TV. Great, he screwed international travel beyond belief for no good reason, he gets to look superfly now.
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jough and side_show, it sounds like things are coming along smashingly. This thread has changed the way I see my life, how I eat, and the activities I partake in, thank you all so much for that gift.
That being said, I don't know if anyone has made this suggestion (I'm too much of a lazy a-o-b-o to read 40 some pages :() or not, but does anyone want to trade/post vegetarian recipes? It can be hard to find good/tasty vegetarian recipes without trying a whole bunch of them/buying a book or something. So yeah, vivan las vegetarianos!