Obesity in America - a personal story
Yep, I'm obese. It's such an ugly word. It's hard for me to write it. I prefer overweight, but by definition, since I weigh more than 20% more than I should, obese is the correct term. At 5' 3" I should weigh about 125. So any more than 150, and I'm there. I'm so embarrassed I can't even tell you the exact figure, so let's just say I have more than 25 and less than 75 to lose.
I am a health conscious person. I do not smoke, and drink lightly. And I am not sedentary. How did this ever happen to me?
My mother was hugely overweight for as long as I can remember. I felt so sorry for her. Trying on clothes was a major ordeal. She never looked good in anything, and I can remember thinking to myself "it's okay Mom, I love you anyway..." Back in those days I don't think I realized that the fried bread and canned frosting on saltines we ate before Dad got home (and hid the evidence in the outside trash) were responsible for both her weight problem and the beginnings of my awful eating habits. All I knew was that I was a skinny kid, and no matter what, I'd NEVER be fat. By the time she died at the age of 63 (it was an accidental death - not weight related) she weighed about 325 and required a special casket. By then I was already clinically "obese." You would have thought that the need for a special casket would have sent me for a needle and thread to sew my lips shut.
Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. When I was still a skinny person, I knew I had the genes, that nurtured properly, would lead me into a life of obesity, but hey, I was thin, I could eat whatever I wanted and never gain weight, so what the heck? And besides, cheese and french fries for dinner followed by a hand-packed pint of Baskin and Robbins (1/2 chocolate mint, 1/2 jamoca almond fudge) was soooo much fun!
Fast forward a few years...After the babies were born and that weight lost, I hit 30 and the descent into obesity began in earnest. I had awful eating habits and it was finally beginning to show. I began an exercise program, but the eating habits stayed the same. I never ate breakfast, and rarely lunch. I didn't start feeling hungry until mid-afternoon, when I'd eat whatever was fast and handy. Then I'd graze the rest of the day and into the night. No 5 cheeseburgers, or anything so obvious...just nibbling. Constant nibbling. Even becoming a vegetarian didn't effect the weight issue.
Every once in awhile I'd get sick of myself and diet the weight off, never quite getting to where I wanted to be, but close, then I'd gain it all back...again and again and again. Each time the top weight got a little higher, as did the lower.
Now, I'm not a stupid person. I get that what I put in my mouth has a direct correlation to the fat on my butt. I could write the book about what to eat, when to eat it. I eat almost all organic food, and very little junk food. And if you want to compare calories, I doubt that I eat as many in a day as you do anymore. I have just lost and gained my way into metabolic hell. At this point my body could turn a banana into a pound of fat. But, even at that, if I upped my exercise, cut back just a bit on the intake and spread the calories out over the whole day instead of cramming them into a few hours, I could get the metabolism going and get this issue licked once and for all.
So why is it so hard? I've come to the conclusion that I don't have a weight problem, I have a self care problem that manifests itself through weight (borrowed that from Oprah!) But self care is something I can address if I want to badly enough.
What about those others who either don't get it because of lack of education or are too poor to buy fresh foods, so they eat off the high fat, high salt, high sugar value menu at their local fast food place, or just live in an area where fresh foods are hard to find? What about the ones that are so stressed out that their only comfort is food? If this weight thing is so hard for me, I can only imagine how difficult it must be for them!
Let's face it, for many food is an addiction just as powerful as nicotine or drugs, or alcohol. But, you can't just stay away from food. Somehow you have to make peace with it. And that, combined with our sedentary lifestyles is a disaster in the making.
With obesity comes dangerous health issues that could easily sink the whole health care situation in America if it is not addressed. A whopping amount of money is spent each year in treating weight related diseases. I am still healthy right now. But eventually, if I don't get my weight down, I WILL become a drain on the system. It only makes sense that regardless of whether we get single pay, insurance reform or more of the status quo, this issue is going to have to be dealt with, and hopefully before a staggering number of people, including way too many children, develop the diseases.
So once again we are back to the issue of personal responsibility. I can't make our leaders support single pay, or force them to reform the insurance industry, or make people be doctors so we don't have to ration care. But I CAN take responsibility for myself, get this weight off and do my part to consume fewer of our health care assets so they can be available for those who REALLY need them. And, I can model healthy eating habits for my grandchildren.
I hope all the rest of you who are obese (or even just overweight) or are abusing your bodies in equally destructive ways (ummmm smoking comes to mind) will join me in starting a more healthful way of living, in preparation for whatever the new health care program is going to be.
And Lis, I didn't eat the cookie!
This is very brave to share stilli. Thanks!!
Good luck to you. I too am working hard to live a healthier lifestyle--starting with regular exercise and fresh, locally grown food. High fructose corn syrup is my sworn enemy. A couple years ago, I went to a talk where the speaker displayed a two-year old happy meal. Except for being petrified, it looked exactly like one that I could go buy today at McDonald's. Although I admit to having eaten fast food a (very) few times since then, it's always my last resort. Because let's face it, it's just gross.
It's also indicative of our society's addiction to instant gratification. Charge now, pay later. Eat crap because it's right in front of you and it would take a half-hour to prepare something that is good for you. I've noticed a lot of my family and friends are trying harder to grow some of their own food, to buy the rest locally, and to cut down on their consumerism. Of course, it's spurred by the recession, but hopefully it will be a trend that continues.
August 1, 2009 1:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, O.. Not brave, just needs to be addressed, and who better to address it than someone who is living it?
I'm hoping that this is an issue that will get more exposure in the months ahead. Regardless of where we go with health care reform, it's critical to our country's well being as well as ours individually.
August 1, 2009 3:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
I was thin and then fat in the third grade. I was thin again until I was in my late twenties. I began running and lost 70 pounds. I was fat again when I reached 50. I proceeded to lose 80 pounds.
Now I am fat again. First I used running and nutrition. Then walking and nutrition. I am attempting to walk again. But it takes dedication. Every day. It does not matter if its raining or snowing. If I do not feel good. If I have other commitments.
Stilli, I do think though that we get trapped into thinking what WE SHOULD BE. Maybe it is a cop out. But 25 pounds does not change a life, no matter what they say on tv.
I do understand what you are speaking about.
We must walk more, and eat less. There are no alternatives that I have found.
Great post by the way. Discussing one's real inner problems is not an easy thing to do.
August 1, 2009 1:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think I've gotten sucked into an ideal, Arthur...I've long since given up thinking I'll ever be a super model (wasn't in the cards on my BEST day!) I just don't want to be a drain on anyone, and good health is imperative for that!
August 1, 2009 7:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
You aint never goin to be a drain on me. ha!!!!!!!!!!
August 2, 2009 2:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ah Stilli,
Been there, done that and still have the extra large t-shirts. Now, I still have about twenty extra pounds I need to be rid of...will never get back to size 6, but that's not a goal.
What really helped me was no more processed foods that are loaded with corn syrups and other additives so not good for us. It was crazy, because as soon as I stopped (MSG especially and all it's derivatives), weight just came off. Eating out is challenging, as I tell them no 'seasoning salts' or other flavorings except fresh herbs.
And no aritificial sweeteners or other non-natural/healthy foods. Also helped lower cholesterol drastically and stay away from sugar levels that were sure to evolve into diabetes.
Eating healthier is not more expensive, in fact less costly because the processed foods cost so much more.
While we all need to accept personal responsibility for what we can personally control, we also need to educate ourselves on what's in the food we eat and how it's processed. Then we need to demand better and healthier foods from the suppliers and in our grocery stores.
As for other issues such as smoking, drinking and a sedantary lifestyle - again, isn't it about the 'why'?
But, the truth is, that (as Obama said) with some common sense and the ability to have annual medical checkups that would (hopefully) ensure early detection - our health would only improve. But, without the ability to achieve health benefits that would allow all the preventative care needed - such as is available to our Congress! - millions, no matter what they do, will suffer the consequences.
And fact is, that some - either due to genes or other factors out of their control, will suffer from ill health.
I appreciate your post and take it to heart (and body)! I hope this will only be the first of many posts on what we all can and need to do to ensure a healthier future for all.
Rec'd.
August 1, 2009 1:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Then you'll be my role model, Sammy!
But, you know, eating healthy IS more expensive. It is much cheaper to throw together a box of hamburger helper than to buy all the ingredients for a healthy casserole, and of course with all the salt they throw in, for most people it tastes better (and is faster!) It shouldn't be that way, and maybe if people stop buying the crap and start insisting on REAL food, the companies will do a better job for less money...who knows?
August 1, 2009 7:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Stilli,
So funny that you used Hamburger Helper since that is one of my pet peeves and cost I've researched. The HH doesn't include meat and the costs for noodles and 'seasonings' is astronomical. Plus a box/bag of (i.e.)egg noodles and seasonings (better without all the preservatives, etc.) and sauce makes three times as much at least for same costs. Seriously. And you have a healthier, better 'dish'. (No matter, what still have to cook meat seperate!)
For those who can buy at box stores (i.e. Costco) ang buy larger size noodles, seasonings for less, it's even less. No MSG or derivatives and no corn syrup!
I used to cook three entrees on Saturday or Sunday (cooking all at once really cuts down time) and sometimes made double to put into freezer. That way I had three quick healthy heat 'em up meals ready for week. And honest, it cost much less - took me about two hours to make up to six meals. Always had entrees in freezer for when needed.
August 1, 2009 7:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Right. Eating healthy is cheaper because you get more out of each batch and simply freeze it for later use or eat it as leftovers for lunch the next day.
Not to mention the long-term cost savings from eating right. I still think it is a myth that eating and shopping healthy costs more money. We spend about the same amount at Whole Foods as we did at Safeway and are ten times as happy with what we purchased as a result of the switch.
A little more effort to be sure, but I believe it something we must get back. It is really the only sustainable way for people to live in a modern age of rampant consumption that is slowly choking the life right out of us.
August 2, 2009 8:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for sharing this, Stilli. I know it was not easy for you to do. I like the "self care" terminology. I could use some of that as I prepare to go on the patch and quit smoking this summer. It's going to be hard to do, but I do need to take better care of myself, as you said.
And I'm very proud of you for not eating that cookie. ;)
August 1, 2009 1:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, it wasn't the post I set out to write, but sometimes these things have a life of their own!
August 1, 2009 7:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Do you walk, Stilli? It's the best thing. Start small and work up to a mile or two regularly. More, if you grow to enjoy it, and have a good place (like a park where there's little chance of getting run over) to do it.
It's one of my two major relaxations. OK, cooking is the other one, but I live near a farmers' market and this is "shopping season" for me.
Walk with a friend, and go just hard enough that sometimes conversation is a challenge. Then you're at a good exercise pace. Drink some water both before and after, and start slow and taper off at the end.
My knees are very beat up from years of playground basketball in younger days, so walking is it for me, and I can do five miles well enough - and enjoy it!
You can do this. Anyone can. It just takes diligence for long enough that it becomes a habit. When you start to miss it if you don't get a walk in, you're on the way.
And it's also one of the all-time best ways to clear out your head. When your mind is stuck, move your arms and legs.
August 1, 2009 1:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
With regard to walking, it is better to vary between being just below the point of being winded and being able to carry a conversation normally which has more pronounced benefits to metabolism and circulation, and being just a bit winded (but still able to converse), which is a bit more effective for fat burning and cardiovascular health.
And, importantly, you do not need to have a partner to go with you (although it is of course more fun), you can keep track of windedness by singing along to music or just humming.
With prices as low as they are, though, I would really recommend getting a heart rate monitor! I would venture a decent one is obtainable at about $50, but you may want to spend a bit more to make sure you get a good brand (Polar, for example.) The modern ones are very compact and light.
August 1, 2009 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the info, Karl!
August 1, 2009 7:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm a hiker by nature, OG...climbed to the 11,000Ft point on Mt. Shasta a few years ago (but got weathered out, so didn't summit.) I just haven't made the time in the last few years...that's where the self-care issue comes in. I do for everyone else and don't save enough time for myself. I'm sure there is a psychological reason behind that, but haven't taken the time to figure it out.
Once the weather cools down I plan on taking the babies out in the tandem stroller...
August 1, 2009 7:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good. Do it. You'll be glad you did.
August 1, 2009 7:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
And do your grocery shopping around the perimeter of the store, not in the aisles. It's where the real food lives.
The brightly-colored packages are not your friends.
August 1, 2009 1:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Food choices are not my issue anymore, it's when to eat and how much, but you are absolutely right!
August 1, 2009 7:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've been curious about the high fat diets that put you in a ketatonic blissful state where you don't want to eat more, vs. hi carb diets that turn into sugars but still leave you feeling hungry while putting on the pounds. We've got this weird myth that eating fats makes you fat, as if eating ice cream made you an ice cream.
And then there's water to take away the hunger - for a while. Not that you can discard basic issues of your genetic makeup.
August 1, 2009 2:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
There are all kinds of weird ideas -- I am sure you recall the Atkins/South Beach craze a while back.
There is an insane amount of effort going to fighting against a very simple notion: spend what you consume, or more. It really is that simple.
Notably, of course, there are foods that are better for you, but just using the intake helps immensely. A fellow called Michael Phelps purportedly lives on omelettes, pasta, milk shakes and burgers, over 10,000kcal/day. I, with considerably smaller achievements, take in 4500-6000kcal per day, but expend it all so I maintain about 150lbs.
When you introduce the component of exercise, the scales do tip in favour of more direct carbohydrate intake, in the form of pasta, potatoes, grains, veggies, cereal, bread etc., because the energy within is easier to burn off before it is stored as fat (and, consequently, makes it easier to exercise too.)
August 1, 2009 3:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am very glad that you have found a pattern of eating that works for you. How would you feel about restricting your eating to 900 calories a day? That is what I had to do in college, as a physically active person in order to control my weight. It got worse later as the undiagosed and then poorly treated Thyroid disorder stepped in. 700 calories became the regime on calorie counting methods,which really don't work well for me. I tried for a couple of years going vegetarian, but that did not work at all well for me. Low carb works the best for me, but I continued to have to put up with such _____ from coworkers who all thought they had a right to comment about and criticize other's eating choices, it was a difficult path. (I call them the eating Nazi's) In any case, some of us simply cannot eat the way you describe. If I did, I could restrict myself to 400 calories a day and probably still gain weight. The same approaches just don't work for all, sorry about that.
August 2, 2009 4:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Note that I said "simple," not "easy."
I do not mean to minimize the impact of illnesses on individual people (or, really, make a value judgement at all), but for every you, there are 10, 20, 100, 1000, or more people who do not have to live with such hard restraints. It is not mine to give, but you certainly would get a pass due to extreme circumstances. I think a significant majority of people would agree, and make that mental exception when discussing generalities. I am not sure whether you are objecting to that, or to a perceived slight of not accounting for illnesses?
In terms of laws of physics, it is impossible to maintain or gain weight when one's energy intake is less than one's energy output. The solution, then, is to "just" increase the output (and possibly decrease intake.) There are assuredly illnesses that cause the process to be more difficult or in some rare cases de facto impossible, for example by elevated catabolism[1] over the normal consumption of fat storages, but these make up an extremely small minority which requires a set of solutions all its own.
If you forgive me for intruding, you seem to be very focused on the intake side of things, both in your general comments as well as your reply to me above. I was trying to specifically convey that what, and how much you eat is somewhat irrelevant[2] because any calorie intake can be exercised away.
Because you did not talk at all about the exercise component of your regiment -- quite possibly omitted for brevity? -- I do not know how extensively you have experimented with it. For example, exercising when you are on a 1000kcal/day diet is almost certainly futile, because paradoxically the lack of energy makes it much harder to exercise, and especially exercise well and correctly. So even if a 700kcal/day diet does not cause weight loss, it is quite possible that, for example, >2000kcal + exercise would!
Even for you, though, there is some ratio of intake vs. output that will cause weight loss. Whether it is feasible is not for me to say. Whether you should strive to it is not for me to say.
Again, your situation is unique, and I do not wish to presume anything; above advice and commentary is offered in spirit of assistance.
[1] Using muscles as source of energy, thereby withering them.
[2] Obviously better nutrition, as addressed by others, is better than MSG-filled fast food etc.
August 2, 2009 6:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you for responding.
August 3, 2009 2:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't forget the plastic meltdown on water bottles. You can now throw those out and hope the synthetic hormones didn't do irreparable harm and start over buying stainless steel bottles. (Darn Nalgene anyway! I had just gotten a functional set for work and outdoors put together when the big disaster announcements came out last year.)
August 2, 2009 4:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
My wife has fought weight for years much like you so siento mucho - you have my sympathy. I have diabetes in my family so I exercise and avoided soda pop and sugars in general and high fructose corn syrup sweeteners in particular.
On exercise: Train don't strain. Do not try to keep up with cardio instructors until a good strength and endurance level is reached. It will hurt a person to do that. It is much better to get a heart rate monitor, and stay below 75% of maximum heart rate. Why? Because at less than 75% the body reaches and maintains an aerobic state using available oxygen in the muscles and burning lipids or fat molecules. This is what we call the second wind that allows a hiker who starts slow to finish strong. Muscles strenghten and the metabolism speed up. Better results with less pain are the payoff.
At greater than 75% max, bad things happen. The lungs do not aupply enough oxygen to produce energy so the muscles shift to the anaerobic lactate mode of energy production. Glucose converts to lactic acid which builds up, and overworked muscles including the heart muscles become inflameded and sore. All the glucose is depleted from the blood and hunger kicks in causing a person to eat everything in the frige when they get home, and then fall asleep when the digestive system gets to work and fatigue sets in. A person might as well superglue those pork chops directly on their gluteous perposterous. People who overwork in exercise eventually get injured or sick and quit.
August 1, 2009 3:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the pointers, Tao!
August 1, 2009 7:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Notably, anaerobic exercise is not bad, though for the reasons you mentioned it is usually counterproductive for someone going for weight loss to be doing anything anaerobically, initially at least (and it is probably one of the biggest problems for those starting exercising because it is not perhaps immediately obvious.)
The 75% heart rate, if anyone is unfamiliar with heart rate monitors, is an OK guideline but not an absolute number, as the anaerobic threshold varies from person to person -- and naturally the actual number of heartbeats it corresponds to can vary even more. Most monitors come with some type of a test program to determine all this information, including the optimal "fat-burning zone."
August 2, 2009 6:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you for sharing Stilli, here's something that has helped many of my friends enhance their lives.
http://zenhabits.net/2007/07/5-powerful-reasons-to-eat-slower/
peace and love
August 1, 2009 3:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Great link, jonnie. I subscribed.
August 1, 2009 5:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
One summer in Venice I couldn't help notice that meals could easily take two hours or longer. The difference between the Italians and Americans, as far as, truly enjoying a meal was stunning. After a little research this eating slower and enjoying it more pattern emerged. It's fantastic. bon appetit.
August 1, 2009 5:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's the same over much of Europe, including the UK. We were amazed that when you sit down for dinner there, the table is yours for the night. You had to bug a waiter to get your check...They don't shovel food down their throats over there, but savor their food. We could learn the lesson!
August 1, 2009 7:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jonnie, Great link...I subscribed, too. Reinforcement of all those things I already know can't hurt...like I said, I could write the book!
August 1, 2009 9:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Any suggestions for people who are lucky to have 10-15 minutes for lunch if that? I have been told by some teachers for instance that although they are supposed to have a 30 minute duty free lunch by state law, by the time the students are safely all out the door, and the ones who forgot something have come back and dealt with that, (sometimes pulling you out of lunch and walking back down to unlock the classroom door for them), maybe there is 10 to 15 minutes left, as teachers say they have to return early to their classrooms to be sure students are not unsupervised in the hallways. I'm thinking the average microwave warm up takes 3-5 minutes, and I am told that everyone has to wait in line to use the microwave, so people can heat their food, but then it is to hot to eat, and by the time it cools they are out of time and must be back in the classroom where policy prohibits eating. This is ridiculous. No wonder our teachers are worn out!
August 2, 2009 4:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
The teachers, who hold our future in their hands, have historically gotten the short end of the stick. It is a crying shame! Our civilization will not reach true greatness until this injustice is rectified. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be on our horizon at this time.
August 2, 2009 6:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
So everyone has something. You're fat or you smoke or you eat too much sugar or fat or too much meat. If its not some "health" issue its some moral issue. Some thing you've done that you're so ashamed of you'd never tell anyone. Or something you're doing now that you "need" to change. Its always something.
Its all so easy to judge when a person is wearing their "failing," obvious for the whole world to see. But there are a lot of "failings" that are so much worse than being overweight that no one sees. Some of the prettiest people might have the blackest hearts.
Why do we have to beat ourselves up? Why do we spend so much time beating up others? I just try to accept myself as I am and try to be happy. I try to accept others as they are. Sure growth is good, but not if its so hard for someone that they're miserable all the time. There is far to much pain and suffering in the world to suffer over the petty shit.
August 1, 2009 3:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, in this case, Ocean Kitty, it's more than just looks, although that is what normally spurs me into a diet, I have to admit. But for health's sake I want to stop dieting and just change my relationship with food and exercise.
I can do 45 minutes on a versa climber without getting winded, so I'm not in terrible shape...but I would like the outside me to match the inside me!
Maybe that IS a little touch of vanity.
August 1, 2009 7:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you Ocean Kitty. I appreciate and agree with your post.
Everyone has their own unique situation. What works well for some does not work for others. People keep looking for a simplistic one size fits all solution. There isn't one. Stay balanced and rational, wonderful person.
August 2, 2009 4:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
For what it's worth, the McKinsey study, 'Accounting for the cost of health care in the United States', found that obesity was not a significant contributor to healthcare costs in the US. Now, I'd better duck, before Jason gets here to shred their analysis and me for bringing it up.
August 1, 2009 3:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's one of your favorites, but I dispute the numbers as well as the conclusions. Mostly due to a lack of transparency about the process that led them there, but mostly because
the US medical establishment seems to disagree with their assessment.
McKinsey is not the honest broker you make them out to be if they say with a straight face that the rising levels of obesity in this country don't contribute to the overall cost of the health care. I suspect their client list has something to do with their analysis of obesity's impact on health care costs.
August 1, 2009 5:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I can't help but think obesity is a HUGE drain, regardless of what the study says. The complications of diabetes alone must be a staggering cost, not to mention heart disease...
August 1, 2009 7:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Forgot to add: Great blog!
I am so happy that we are starting to talk about this in a meaningful way with regards to health care rather than the more dismissive and debatable issue of this being about looks.
It most certainly has nothing to do with looks on anything but a personal level.
August 2, 2009 4:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not going to argue it with you as I too have serious doubts. It's a growing problem in many OECD nations, so while we remain the most obese in that group, we are not alone.
August 1, 2009 7:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Probably because we are exporting our stupidity now. Seems to be the only real commodity we have left.
August 2, 2009 7:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
I must say, with regret (haha) that I'm kind of with Jason on this. Though I remember WHO studies that smokers are overall a benefit to society financially - tobacco taxes cover their excess health care costs and they tend not to be around to draw on social security, to put it somewhat darkly. But I can't see a similar dynamic at work for obesity-related illness.
August 1, 2009 7:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's a shame doctors have the liability concerns otherwise they may keep more nutrients. Preventing sick feelings. Keep the donations flowing to BarackObama.com.
August 1, 2009 4:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Stillidealistic, thank you for your honest post. You're on the right track.
Now that I'm more educated about nutrition, the first thing I consider before eating anything is how is it going to make me healthier. This has made a world of difference -- that and consistent exercise.
Though walking is good, I also have DVD's at the ready if I'm pressed for time. You can get fit in your own living room. Each day I do a different workout. Just about any workout you can imagine is available at bookstores that sell DVDs.
What made the final difference was not setting any goals -- just making changes to be healthier. Preparing my own food, eating organic, and engaging in regular exercise are ingrained in my lifestyle. It's hard to imagine anything different.
Good luck! It's doable.
CM
August 1, 2009 4:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, Cindy! The hard part about this whole issue is that it is a wholesale change in one's life. There is no end game. It is changing the way you live forever...Knowing how good it feels to look in the mirror and like what you see, plus having so much more energy should be enough of a reward, but thoughts of curling up with a slab of cheese and a box of crackers are hard to resist!
August 1, 2009 7:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Totally agree with this.
It was never a looks thing for either my wife or I, though she would have a different view I am sure. We decided we wanted to eat healthy, ensure the ethical production of what we eat and limit as much fast food as possible until they changed the way they make their food. We feel fabulous from the inside out as a result and it took relatively little modification of our lives.
I have always been thin. Sorry, folks. Genetics. But I haven't always felt good on the inside or had the kind of energy I have now. I took as much pleasure in the act of eating now, from start to finish. From the Farmer's Market or Whole Foods to planning a meal to researching a recipe to actually cooking and consuming the food, the entire experience has changed for us over the last couple of years.
It costs us no more money to eat and shop this way. In fact, it is substantially cheaper because we don't go out to eat as much and buy less at the market.
Seems to me you are exactly right when you say this is a lifestyle choice and not a looks thing. I see plenty of women and men who are super cute even if they are super chubby. I feel bad for them due to the health issues and self esteem problems and everything else that does along with this very preventable disease.
August 2, 2009 8:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
When I'm not rushed, there is a feeling of "rightness," almost elation, associated with the process of preparing a healthy meal.
August 2, 2009 10:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
Just remembered! The thing that turned it all around for me was cutting out all dairy.
However, for holidays and birthdays, my family thinks nothing of shamelessly devouring two pieces of cake with buttercream icing. We appreciate those occasions all the more! So, I'm not advocating total dairy deprivation. Exceptions are important, just as long as they are few and far between, and associated with something truly special.
BTW, good olive oil is a great substitute for butter and margarine, even on half a whole wheat roll with dinner.
August 2, 2009 11:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
With the exception of cheese, I am practically vegan. For almost all cooking purposes, I use a soy cheese instead of dairy cheese and can hardly tell the difference. But, I'm finding it very hard to give up that slab of real cheese, a nice English cheddar, a round of brie...red sox referenced an article that mentioned a Harry and Sally moment, and it's not far off!
But, I'm a recovering chocoholic, and if I can wean myself off of chocolate, I can wean myself off cheese...I think, maybe...someday....uggggggh!
August 2, 2009 12:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hmmm, English cheddar. :O)
August 2, 2009 2:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
No rennet, of course, just vegetarian or microbial enzymes. TJs has a lot of those...Whole Foods, not so much. (Why anyone ever thought of using the lining of sheep's stomachs to make cheese is beyond me...yuck!) But then Whole Foods sells no food w/ trans fats, and TJs does...you have to be careful!
August 2, 2009 2:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
TJ's also individually wraps fruits and veggies. They are pseudo green where WF requires LEED certified spaces before they will build a store. This is a multifacted issue for sure.
August 2, 2009 2:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yep, Whole Food's produce is much better, but even THEY have a hard time keeping organic fruits and veggies available, and I know they try!
When I grocery shop (for me and my husband AND for my daughter and her family) I make 4 stops...Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Costco (they are carrying more and more organic foods) and then Raley's, our "normal" grocery store, for when a trip to Whole Foods is not cost effective because we don't need much and it is too far of a drive. No wonder I'm so pressed for time!!!
August 2, 2009 3:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
I would love to change our food policies to the point that one could go to any grocery store and get nutritious and delicious food instead of barely palatable - though infinitely nonperishable - poison.
August 2, 2009 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
As a LEED accredited professional I'm not too impressed with the Whole Foods policy. But I guess you have to start somewhere.
August 2, 2009 3:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
That it would even factor into the discussion for them is a positive improvement in my book, though it kept a store out of my neighborhood as a result.
As an aside, I am looking to remodel my rowhouse in DC. Do you know any green architects in this area or one local that might know someone the could recommend?
Can't wait to start the project and report back to TPM about being super green in the middle of the city at a reasonable cost.
August 2, 2009 3:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am afraid that's the wrong side of the country for me. I am sure there are plenty around who are desperate for the work right now though.
Some quick thoughts though- passive light is great, insulation- the more the better, and I strongly recommend updating your systems (on demand water, etc.). If you can donate your old materials, use local renewables(marmoluem, bamboo, etc.). and low VOC products thats' great. But frankly lowering energy use is really the single most important thing. (and as Steve Chu says if you would just paint your roof white to save the world, but that can be tough aesthetically sometimes).
Best of luck.
August 2, 2009 3:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, all good tips that have been central to our planning so far!
August 2, 2009 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
My naturopath suggested using flax seed oil on the times the family wants popcorn for movie night (using an air popper). It takes some getting used to...
I use olive oil for cooking and prefer to put flax oil in my protein drinks, and butter occasionally on those things that really call for it. This is not terribly often. Although this does not magically solve all problems, I feel this is a a more workable way to improve the long term pattern.
August 2, 2009 4:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Still:
I'm 5'6" (always wanted to be 5'9" but you can't have everything). At age 28, already a mother, I still only weighed 102, which was, of course, too thin. However, I can remember taking a size 4 skirt to be altered that year (to be taken in because it was way too big), and standing sideways in front of a mirror, anxiously asking the seamstress if she thought my stomach, which was again concave, looked "poochy."
How could my image of myself have been so distorted?
Yes, an early on-set puberty at 12 had embarrassed me because it drew attention I did not know then how to handle -- but the locked-in distortion that I was "fat" rather than "skinny but developed" persisted well into adulthood, which caused me to starve myself with ruthless determination for thirty years. And nicotine addiction helped. I was elated when I discovered that smoking killed my appetite -- never mind that it would almost certainly kill me, later on.
So that when I finally quit smoking at 42 and began to gain weight I freaked out. I gained twenty-five pounds in no time, but in my head it might as well have been fifty, or a hundred. For a year I went to the gym not once, but twice a day, in the early morning and after work. The result? I was certainly fit, but the weight barely budged. I loathed myself.... at 127 lbs..
Of course I continued to cook for my family, but the sight of food made me ill, and so I rarely ate what I prepared for others.
I was saved from this gerbil wheel of obsession by an astutue friend who suggested that I stop going to the gym twice a day in favor of going to the gym, but also going to cooking school, so that I might deal directly with my aversion to food.
There I met an older woman with a great gift for living. She was in her late fifties at the time, overweight by anyone's standards and yet one of the most relaxed, though elegant women I had ever met. A smarter Ina Gartner, who served generous portions of wit and reality-based wisdom along with her gourmet cooking lessons. Gradually, I, too, began to relax as I began to see the merit of nutritious, beautifully- presented food as well as continuing to valuing the camaraderie of shared meals.
The moral of the story? My weight vacillates now, within a range. But it is worthy of note that it is when I am happy that I may have to lay off the San Francisco sourdough baguette for a while and exercise more, and it when I am unhappy that I have to remind myself to eat on a regular, balanced basis and exercise less.
Never mind. The point is that I know for a fact, now, that my worth as a human being is not an equation based on weight, being absurdly thin, or being plump. Neither is yours, even if you think you weigh too much, so long as you are eating a healthy diet, which you are, and exercising.... and you are happy.
If you are not happy, that's something else. Subject for another blog or, if too personal, private emails.
Life is short, Stilli. I said good bye to a lovely, big hearted though model-thin friend in hospice today. Weigh the priorities, yes?
Desiderio -- Are you saying: "It wouldn't be home without Hellman's"? Can't argue that, at least seasonally. What's the point of a summer, off-the-vine tomato sandwich without it?
August 1, 2009 5:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
What a wonderful story, Wendy! And what a smart and good friend you had to make that suggestion! I never would have thought of it. I noticed that living for a year in France; eating out a lot, but also preparing things at home, ingredients bought from the butcher, the "cheeseman," the pastry-chef, etc, made our meals longer, but with much smaller portions than we were used to back in the states. My husband and I both lost weight after this year-long feast!
I want to say a word about those tables that say that anyone 5'3" who weighs more than 125 is overweight. The tables are wrong. They don't take into account body type or age for two things, but they also only consider a model's lack of any adipose to be appropriate. A more accurate and helpful range for that height would be around 135 pounds. The obsession with being skinny hasn't done us any favors, and it certainly hasn't made us healthier - witness the bingeing and purging that goes on particularly with young people.
I'll go ahead and chime in here on what works for me: the Zone Diet, which allows you (in fact requires that you) eat all food groups, but in a proportion that makes you feel satiety, and also gives the right amount of fat and protein to augment the carbs that you get (mainly from veggies and fruit). It is the only diet that I have ever really felt great every minute of the day.
All that said, another way to keep eating under control is to plan out a day in advance what you will eat, including snacks, and stick to it. It is the ad hoc eating that does us all in.
Synch, I want to echo the kudos for sharing this; whether you acknowledge it or not, we all know it was a brave thing to do. If you find it hard to describe yourself as obese, then don't ever do it again -- you have so many other things to define yourself by, and pejorative labels should never overshadow any of them.
[an aside: I weighed someone who was 5'5" the other day. She tipped the scales at 315 pounds. The Dr wrote that she was "morbidly obese." If you start from there, where does that leave a 5'3" person packing an extra 25 pounds over 125?]
August 1, 2009 7:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, Jan. I appreciate your perspective (in a whisper, this is Stilli, not Synch...I doubt she would appreciate being thought of as the overweight one!) Thank you so much for the kudos. I see the post more as cathartic than brave, but I appreciate the thoughts none the less.
Several years ago my Dr. (who is also a friend) said, "you know don't you that at this weight you are considered obese." He was surprised that I wasn't diabetic, and mentioned that he had been doing some reading about a class of people they were calling the "healthy overweight" and suggested that I might be part of that group. To be honest, I think I would have been better off if he had stuck with the obesity...the "healthy overweight" comment gave me license to avoid the problem.
The McDougal program is the perfect one for me, because it addresses my vegetarianism. I enjoy the food very much, and lots of the meals are super easy to fix. My biggest hurdles are eating throughout the day rather than in the last few hours, and upping the exercise. I just have to DO IT!
August 1, 2009 8:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wow! What a dope I am, Stilli! Thanks for whispering the correction!
And thanks for a thought-provoking blog!
August 1, 2009 9:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
you are going to LOVE this...just talked to synch in chat and used to have a weight problem...she should have a link showing up here soon to a comment she made in another post telling her story...who knew?
August 1, 2009 10:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
She told us her story on weebles wobble. I apologize in advance for some of the language. You know my thoughts on plain-spoken truth as the surest method of effective communication.
August 2, 2009 8:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, Wendy...I appreciate the story very much. Interestingly enough, I have about the opposite of anorexia. Most of the time when I look in the mirror I see a thin person (because that is what I am on the inside!) It's when I hold up a pair of my size 14 pants and think "what elephant wears these?" or watch "Mrs. Doubtfire" and wonder how the hell they got my body to use as the model for his weight suit that I tend to freak! But truthfully, it's my fear of becoming diabetic that freaks me out way more than what I look like. Plus, since weight issues seem to be so prevalent in our family, I want to model healthy behaviors for my granddaughters, so they don't EVER have to face them in their lives. I want healthy living to be second nature to them.
August 1, 2009 7:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
What about Duke's mayonnaise, Wendy?
I've been up, I've been down but I try to exercise the same amount of time each day that I spend online. Walking, biking with the dogs, gardening, housework, climbing stairs, whatever.
And for my 15th wedding anniversary last year, I got back to my "wedding" weight.
August 1, 2009 9:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dukes Mayonnaise is the best (after home-made) and they have a lite variety. Never buy the Fat-Free variety of anything! What you give up in a couple of fat grams is replaced by chemicals that could be better utilized smoothing out varieties of paint or other chemical concoctions that should never be consumed.
Besides, many vitamins can't be absorbed without fat.
My parting shots:
NEVER EAT MARGARINE; ALWAYS EAT BUTTER, AND HALF & HALF IS BETTER THAN THOSE POWDERED COFFEE "LIGHTENERS" THAT RUIN YOUR INNARDS!
Seriously. Those fake products will kill you!
August 1, 2009 10:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Molly and C'Ville: We know Dukes is the best. But does the rest of the world? May it would be better known if it had a slogan as catchy as Hellman's. Can either of you think of one?
August 2, 2009 8:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
NEED GOOD MAYONNAISE? PUT UP YOUR DUKES!
August 2, 2009 9:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
"Get in on the secret of great southern cooks."
http://www.dukesmayo.com/
I don't use much mayo but when I do, it's Duke's.
August 2, 2009 11:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
I have found your warnings are correct, in my analysis of those products. Good advice for everyone, light or heavy, CVille Dem.
August 2, 2009 4:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
Grapeseed Oil Vegenaise! Great on steamed vegetables, and on top of kitcheree, lentils, beans and rice, etc. AND it raises HDL cholesterol! Plus, it's delicious. It is high calorie so should be used a bit sparingly. A tablespoon a day is a good limit.
August 2, 2009 10:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for this Stilli. I don't personally have weight-problems. Just my nicotine crutch. The latter most likely mitigating any issues in the former column. I must say you seem to lead an overall healthy, active life. You seem to be doing more than most to take care of yourself. And I think sometimes one can blow out of proportion the centrality of perfect diet, weight and muscle tone in the leading of a good and happy life. But, then who am I to talk - with a death-stick in my mouth.
In any case, a couple of things I saw in an interesting scientific nutrition program. (1) Soup with the same calorie content as a solid meal stays in the stomach longer and so keeps away those afternoon munchies longer. (2) Also high-protein foods like beans also tend to keep away hunger longer compared to other food with the same calorie content. (3) A lot of the excess calorie intake comes with innocent nibbles which in the aggregate can double your calorie count without you noticing, even if they are 'healthy'. Anyway, I shall stop with the advice, unless you have a painless miracle cure for the cigs...
excellent blog, as always.
August 1, 2009 7:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, pugsley, but no painless way to stop smoking I'm aware of! Truth be told, I'd rather have my problem than yours :-) ! But then you look better on the dance floor than I do!
August 1, 2009 8:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm heavy-boned.
And as you all know, sometimes the Northern magnetic pole shifts. When it does, I gain as much as 40 - even 50 - pounds in a shot. Well, technically, I do. At least, that's what the scale says. Then it shifts again, I "lose" the weight, and it's all good.
Pardon me while step out for my 5 mile evening walk, to be followed by a supper of celery, with a side of chives and a bit of sea salt for dessert.
P.S. Canada is doing ok in fighting obesity, with the rates having risen from 12% to 15% in the last 15 years or so (compared to 34% in the US, says the OECD.) The OECD also notes that there is a time lag in terms of the medical costs of obesity. It takes time for obesity rates to rise, and then for them to cause damage. Nonetheless, we're facing real problems on the Prairies as much of the nearly-20% Aboriginal population subsists on flown in processed foods, and obesity rates on reserves are soaring.
August 1, 2009 8:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Stilli, what a wonderfully and refreshingly honest thing to share with the world.
Size, weight, it's all a delicate balance, as is everything in nature.
It's all relative too. Everything is an expression of its relationship to other things. Speed, height, velocity, density, and yes, weight.
I know weight. Not physical weight. But mental weight-- my mind can be so heavy sometimes I can not move. My mood so dark I cannot smile. Just a white balloon caught and suspended in a thick black rolling fog.
When we share, we lighten. Not just our own burdens. But those of others.
Thanks for sharing, Stilli.
August 1, 2009 8:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obey: I should have confessed that after the hurricane I gave myself permission to have" a cigarette a day." A rationalization, of course but at least I stuck to that for a couple of years. Big mistake. I'm now in the throes of quitting again, my cigarette a day having multiplied, of course, through the extreme stress of the last year. Again, rationalization.
The patch is an option. But when I quit before, and I quit for so many years, what worked for me was to buy a pack a day, but throw out one more per day, before I allowed myself to smoke. Seventeen days later, the last three didn't seem worth the aggravation. So I stopped.
Whatever works.
August 1, 2009 9:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
When I quit, it was with these terrible, terrible, corn silk cigs. I would force myself to smoke them instead of regular cigs. First a one regular, one corn silk ratio. Then 2-for-1, etc. Those corn silk things were so awful that I quit pretty quickly.
August 2, 2009 11:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
Gads, I have been avoiding commenting all day, and after reading all the newer posts, plus your responses, Stilli, I think I will regret it. Full disclosure: I joined the elastic pants brigade several years ago, my story is long, but not terribly interesting, so I'll void most of it.
The main thing I would like to say is that my take is that all the folks who do not have weight problems really and truly believe they are normal or thin by dint of their life choices, habits and food intakes. While many overweight people need to change behaviors, some people are rather destined to be oerweight. Some day a lot more will be understood about the tendency, little strides have been made, but there is sure a lot of misinformation out there.
Thyroid/endocrine problems are under-diagnosed. There are clinical values for thyroid, say T3-T4 tests, and then subclinical values that should be treated and are not. I've had goiter for years, and never quite made the grade for treatment except one brief stint with synthroid, and artificial hormome; hell, give us the bovine or porcine hormone, and let us try it. In Eurpoe that is still all they use. Big pharma issues, anyone? Stress issues/cortisol is another whole emerging field, oh, so many possible causes and fixes.
I was probably the most active person in our county, and always overweight. Three of my four (at least, one died early) grandparents were overweight. Biology as destiny? Who knows?
We garden, prepare everything we eat, blah blah.
I am a bit disable now, and can't exercise much, so I've gained more. Thank god I am gorgeous!
Two other thoughts: I think that in our society, thin is such a virtue because so much is out of our control, eating is one area we can control. Though I swear some of us could live predominantly on lettuce, slowing our metabolisms inadvertently, then a cookie would make us balloon. wWe are all different; Eat for your blood type might work for some, or South Beach, or Weight Watchers, but since we are all different, it is hard to know ahead of time. We are not failures if we stay chubby.
I get cranky when people diss poor people and their obesity. Folks have brought up King Corn as a culprit, but please factor in that in many urban areas there are literally no grocery stores within miles of people's housing. Many people can only find food at convenience stores and fast food joints; how sick is that?
I get from your comments that you are going to change your habits and lose weight; more power to you. I just wanted you to know what I believe are some of the other things to consider. I'd imagine I'll get an ass kickin' from plenty of folks. Oh well.
August 1, 2009 9:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wendy, I didn't used to have much sympathy for fat people, that is until I became one. Now I can see that it isn't all just a matter of will power.
But it IS a problem. There is no disputing that overweight people tend to be less healthy than those who are not, although there are exceptions.
My aim is to be as healthy as I can be. I hope that means I will be thinner, but if it doesn't, at least I will know that I did everything within my power to keep from dieing young as a result of disregarding what my body needs as far as food and exercise are concerned.
I owe it to myself and my family and, yes, even to my country, to try.
August 1, 2009 11:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Cool; and good luck to you.
August 1, 2009 11:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Still:
You are definitely onto something there. When you find the plan that works for you, please write a book about it, and call it The Patriot Act: A National Plan for Wellness. You'll make a mint (no pun intended). I see lecture tours, wellness centers and a healthier America as a result.
I'm not being glib. We may have looked at ourselves through opposite ends of the prism about weight, but whether "too" thin, or "too" heavy, you and I, as well as most people we know, spend too many years feeling guilty in one way or another about food. (I'm with C'Ville on eschewing the fat-free products. They taste awful and the additives are disgusting.)
Good luck, Still, and good job bringing this topic to the fore.
August 2, 2009 8:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for being brave enough to comment. I am bot going to argue with thyroid problems for some people, but that is by far the smallest group who could be classified this way. Mostly it seems this is one of those things that snuck up on the entire country over the last few decades and is now too obvious to ignore.
It's not about being genetically blessed with skinny genes. Plenty of people on this blog giving thin to fat stories. It is more about having created an environment where 75% of the food being sold is toxic. How can anyone be expected to make intelligent choices with the menu we have created? We created this via legislation. Actually, we created this mess through the misguided actions of one man - Earl Butts. Ironic.
As for corn and poor people, how did poor people eat before subsidized corn? Didn't we have inner cities prior to 1972? The high-fructose corn syrup, corn fillers and corn livestock feed has polluted our food supply to the point that even people with normal, healthy metabolisms are getting huge. Not to mention the fact that "food" made in this fashion is less nutritious and actually prompts your body to eat more in response to a perceived lack of nutrients.
At the end of the day, it is about fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and portion control. Most Americans eat two or three times the amount of food that they should in a day. Not surprising when the average fast food meal has half the recommended daily allowance of calories.
It is our fault that poor people don't have the right kind of food to eat. We subsidize the poison that is in the food their lifestyles force them to buy. Again, this is a policy issue as much or more than a personal responsibility issue. Kill King Corn and all kind of things become possible as a result, not the least of which is rediscovering food in this country as a pleasure and a necessity rather than an addictive substance that will kill you.
August 2, 2009 7:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
As someone who is going to inherit a corn farm, I'd love it if some of you folks would visit this area in January and stand out on the flat prairie where there is nothing to stop the wind that shoots out of Canada and then explain how I grow those fresh tomatoes.
Grain isn't cheap just because of subidy, it's cheap because you can grow tons and tons of it in the vast hinterland of the American midwest and store it easily through the very long and very cold winters.
August 2, 2009 11:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Fields lie fallow in the winter right? Not sure what you object to with regards to going back to a more authentic and sustainable method of farming that served humanity for centuries.
We used to grow a heckuva lot more than corn in the vast hinterland of the American Midwest. They grow commodity corn because the US government pays them to grow that corn. Why? Because the price they get on the open market would make them change their crops to something that would pay better.
However, I don't need to go to Iowa to see how this tragedy is being played out. I just need to watch this film or this one or any one of a dozen others to know that what we are doing isn't working in any way, shape or form.
August 2, 2009 2:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
I spent some time in July down in Eastern Oregon. They have a lot of wind like you describe. Several people were using greenhouses for tomato and other wind sensitive crops. Organically grown will command a bit better price, and they seemed to have no shortage of customers, both local and commercial (stores and restaurants.)
The Rodale Organization used to have an Organic Farming magazine. I subscribed to it for years, along with Organic gardening, when I lived on a larger piece of property in a rural area. You might check to see if it still is being published. I know Organic Gardening still is in publication. I recall reading that long-term the organic growers land was more productive (soil improved rather than being impoverished due to chemical use) and profits per acre were significantly higher than comparative non-organic farms.
August 2, 2009 3:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, stilli, I don't know what to say about the harsh self-judgment in this post. That's what saddens me, not your revelation about your weight. Such self-judgment about weight is completely unnecessary, and my guess is there's something about that self-judging dynamic that keeps you stuck. Since you wrote about your mother, it could have something to do with her (and not necessarily in a negative way). I don't know, of course, and I'm certainly not trying to psychoanalyze; I just wanted to mention how the harshness stood out to me.
I think it's easier for people to lose weight for health reasons than for vanity reasons. So if you want to freak out about your weight for strictly motivational purposes, then you should read up on heart disease, the # 1 killer of women. I was only 41 when I lost my mom to a heart attack. She was only 64. She was never overweight, but she smoked her whole life. Her autopsy revealed she'd had a previous heart attack about a year earlier, although we never knew it. She also had 75 to 90 percent blockage in her arteries. It truly is the silent killer, and apparently women have a lower survival rate than men. To lose my mother so young was one of the most devastating events in my life. If you want to be a good role model for your granddaughters, you need to be alive to be one.
The extra weight makes your heart work harder, stilli, and is a strike against you. The good news you don't get winded by exercise, so keep exercising, preferably a brisk 30-minute walk 5 days a week. If you are disciplined enough to blog, you are disciplined enough to walk every day.
Get an exercise buddy. Someone to keep you honest.
But you should get a physical too, to check your cholesterol, blood pressure, thyroid levels, etc., before you embark on a heavy-duty lifestyle change. It's not just about your granddaughters: We want you around for many more years of blogging.
Thanks! ;-)
August 1, 2009 9:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
You are so sweet, Blow, but I never thought I was being harsh with myself, just honest. I want to accept responsibility for my part in my weight, not play it off to bad genes...Yes, I have bad genes, and they are a factor, but how and when I eat and my failure to exercise regularly are factors that are within my control...
I'm slowly working up the courage to go to the doctor. I don't have one since we moved 3 years ago. The one I want is going to be closing her practice to new patients soon, so I have a deadline...God, I'd rather have a root canal!
August 1, 2009 10:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
I predict you'll like the doctor more than a root canal, stilli!
Think of it as a unique opportunity: Maybe you can screw up your courage to discuss health-care reform policies with your new doc. :-)
August 2, 2009 12:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oooooh, now there's an idea!
August 2, 2009 12:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Not only to get checked out for the reasons above, but you ought to have a doctor for other screenings that can catch things early. There are many things that we might not notice early on that get a lot worse later.
A doctor is your friend and has your best interests at heart. Mine got literally pissed last year after I broke my wrist and I had signed up for Martial Arts again before it had completely healed. It was actually kind of touching that he would have such an emotional response!
August 2, 2009 10:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Agreed 100%, Ready. Please, if you can, everybody should have an annual physical. My doc does a great blood work-up every year and discusses the outcome with me. My cholesterol and BP had never been an issue until a year and a half ago, and once I found out about it, I was able to work on it.
August 1, 2009 10:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good recommendation, LisB.
I get a copy of my blood work every year and compare it to previous years. It's very revealing and a huge incentive to continue a healthy lifestyle and even make improvements.
What I learned a couple of years ago is that stress and sleep deprivation can raise LDL cholesterol. I was disappointed, to say the least, in the level that was reported what with all the diet and exercise.
That forced me to take a look at my lifestyle and do some research. The glaring things were stress and sleep deprivation. I have to be really vigilant about those things. When it's bedtime I just have to STOP.
August 2, 2009 10:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Great advice, Ready, and a pretty courageous post yourself. Sorry for your loss when you obviously were not expecting it; you know, many women blow off the symptoms of heart attacks because they are similar to other common maladies.
I have a recurrent problem with esophagitis. It presents just like a heart attack because the nerves follow the same pathways. I recently had pain in my jaw, radiating down my left arm, and I really wondered if this was another episode of esophagitis, or "The Big One." I took a Prilosec and went back to bed. My justification for not going to the ER was that it would be a big, expensive deal; that it would make everyone worry, and that it really wasn't worth it.
Your story makes me realize I was really being stupid. My kids are 19, 19, and 24. I owed it to them to get checked out. Thanks for the reminder. Next time I'll think of what you wrote.
August 1, 2009 10:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, CVille. Yes, my mom's death was unexpected.
You're right that women tend to blow off symptoms of heart attack, and the symptoms for women can be very different than they are for men. In my mom's case, we learned after the fact that she had started asking people with heart problems about their symptoms. So she knew something was wrong. The autopsy revealed she also had a thyroid condition (Hashimoto's). She must have felt ill for a very long time and likely scared as well.
I am positive your kids would be devastated to lose you, CVille. So yes, please take care for their sake. Like my mom you have a strong personality, which is irreplaceable as it is irrepressible. :-)
August 2, 2009 12:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
There is a thin line between judging oneself (attributing fault), and blaming oneself. The latter is negative, the former is "taking ownership" of the problem.
I suppose this is apparent to all, but I wanted to take the moment to explicitly point it out: it is OK to be concerned about weight, as an indicator of health. It is OK, and necessary, to understand the failings in oneself in addition to the various environmental coefficients. The process just must be a corrective one toward a solution, rather than a dissection of a disaster.
Fault vs. blame is something the society as a whole, and particularly politics, could desperately use, but that is then yet another discussion.
August 2, 2009 10:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
Very courageous Stilli.
I have commented on this on one of Jason's blog's:
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/jasoneverettmiller/2009/07/weebles-wobble.php#comment-3526141
August 1, 2009 10:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for adding this link synch! Your story is inspirational!
August 1, 2009 10:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Stilli - - read you post with so much interest. I have battled alcoholism, giving up smoking and now weight issues. I find the latter the hardest of my battles since one has to eat to survive. I do not drink or smoke and am so glad I was able to give those two demons up. The eating, however, has been difficult. I just started back on a healthy food plan and managed to lose five pounds. It is inspiring me to continue with the food plan and hopefully, I will get back into my "skinny" clothes.
Thanks so much for sharing your story and may we continue our journeys together. Love and best wishes for a wonderful trip!!!!!!
August 1, 2009 10:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Many insightful comments have already been made, but I'll suggest a couple of other things that you may or may not find useful.
1. BREAKFAST. Eat a good breakfast. A small or absent breakfast is strongly correlated with overweight.
2. APPETITE AVOIDANCE. Minimize consumption of foods with a high glycemic index - i.e, foods that are quickly converted into blood glucose and thereby tend to cause a rebound increase in appetite after a few hours. These are mainly easily assimilable carbohydrates - white bread, white rice, potatoes, pasta, etc. Curiously, table sugar is also an offender, but less so, because it must be converted into glucose by enzymatic breakdown. As mentioned, high fructose corn syrup is also something to minimize. In contrast, complex carbohydrates are fine, as in the non-starchy vegetables and many whole grain, unsweetened cereals.. Also, protein and fats tend not to stimulate appetite and may even suppress it.
3. EXERCISE. Regular exercise rather than occasional severe exercise is critical in keeping weight within reasonable limits. Others have already made this point, and you're already aware of it, but I do have one more suggestion. Exercise can be boring, and some of that may be necessary, but if you can additionally find a source of exerecise you enjoy, you get a "twofer" - calorie burning and fun. Is there a sport you like - swimming, tennis, or something similarly aerobic? Doing that three times a week and something tedious like a treadmill on the other days would be better than a pure diet of tedium.
4. MAINTENANCE. Many overweight people have lost thousands of pounds. The challenge is not to lose weight very fast, only to regain it, but to maintain a steady regimen you can maintain without too much suffering after your weight has declined. Because willpower alone is rarely sufficient, it's important to find a combination of habits, dietary ingredients, and exercise regimens that don't tempt you to rebel because they make your life miserable. Have fun and good luck.
August 1, 2009 10:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks a lot Fred. As I said, I could write the book, but it never hurts to get reminders! I actually love the versa climber, don't find it boring at all...the problem is and has always been, fitting it in. My evenings are the only time I have free, but if I exercise at night, I can't sleep. I COULD do it in the morning, but I am not a morning person (getting up at 5 am to exercise is practically worse than dieing!) I'm thinking walking the babies is going to be the solution, but the Sacramento heat is too much for them, so it'll have to wait until the weather cools...
In the meantime, I'm thinking maybe a Billy Blank taebo video might do the trick!
August 1, 2009 11:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Stillidealistic,
Do you feel better for having written that? It sounds like you've been through a 12 Step program. It is very sad. No one is perfect. No one eats virtuously every meal of every day of his or her life. Not everyone feels guilty and miserable for occasionally doing so. All of us could make improvements in how we eat. Few of us get as much exercise as we probably need each day. Some of our work schedules preclude it especially when combined with low energy levels. (Read below for more on that.) But guilt for all of this is not a reason to accept abuse from others, and also to accept self-abuse. It sounds like you’ve reasoned yourself through this somewhat successfully, and I congratulate you for that.
I hope I am not sounding too harsh. I am not a doctor and therefore I am not giving medical advice. I am a large person too. I have a metabolic disorder which makes it very difficult for me, in spite of working on eating and living a healthy lifestyle since my 20’s. I flash to boiling very quickly about few topics; this is one of the few. Let me explain what I’ve learned. I hope it may help you and/or someone else who may read this.
Weight may be related to lifestyle, activity, and eating habits in part, but weight to a great extent is also controlled by genes and certain metabolic characteristics. Certainly one's eating habits can over time have an affect. Lots of things can contribute, but no one, should be made to feel so miserable and "bad" that they finally resign themselves to feeling the way I hear your words tell me you felt and deep down may still feel.
There are some very unhealthy things going on in America. First of all, our diets (choice of eating habits and sometimes no choice eating habits like in some schools and institutions) are not overall healthy. We have way too much overly-processed, additive ridden and nutritionally bereft foods in our diets. It takes time and effort to choose and eat better, for all of us, thin or fat, light or heavy. With the economy disaster there has been a flowering of gardening in many parts of our country and books like Square Foot Gardening are flying off the bookstore shelves. But not everyone can farm his or her own organic fresh food. Many people are trying to do what they can about diet and nutrition.
Second, there is an aggressive industry out there that does not want you to feel o.k. about yourself and how you look. They have helped to create the attitudes prevalent in our country today. Attitudes, which make some people, think it is o.k. to ridicule, harass and abuse people for their size, particularly if they are larger than the accepted norm, for whatever reason.
Attitudes that whenever an article or blog post which allows reader comments elicits the most awful comments which because they are targeting “fat” people are left there. If one substituted a few words and changed the same comments to reflect comments about race or mental disability, there would be outrage and the comments would be removed immediately if not sooner. In fact fewer people would dare even make such comments.
These corporations, and the members of the public they've brainwashed, have helped cause many people, particularly women, dislike themselves starting at a very young age. They have created with this stress and pressure an epidemic of eating disorders, particularly in the young. People in a panic about size and shape and weight start doing desperate and unhealthy things, trying to starve themselves, creating blood sugar ups and downs and binge eating. If you didn't have a metabolic problem to begin with, you are lucky if you haven't developed one by the time you get to your 30's, particularly if your family genes make you more susceptible to getting one.
These corporations have manipulated research and information (buy a Dr. or scientist and they will say or show whatever you want. Data can be manipulated that way) to the point that people are confused about what to eat. Particularly people who are busy and have precious little time to shop and cook and eat in a leisurely healthy way anyway.
These corporations now market a variety of very lucrative products including medications, food, and even entire meal plans, frozen and sold to you by the week or month. It is big business and they make a lot of money off the misery of millions of Americans. Since their bottom line depends on you being miserable, embarrassed, guilty, and self loathing so you will be more easily intimidated into fearfully spending what money you have buying all of their products, healthy or not, they are not going to want to see you at peace with yourself and your body.
Third, there is an epidemic of certain diseases in America. This is particularly true of autoimmune diseases, including Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes, and Thyroid disease. Some of the research into this area has brought us recently the revised recommended dietary levels of vitamin D (D-3) that is more than suggested we all receive, particularly in North America.
Thyroid disease has been a real problem the past 20-25 years. There is no definitive diagnosis of why this is so. But doctors' are finding more and more people who have underactive thyroid, overactive thyroid, or a particularly annoying syndrome called Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.
Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune response where the body targets the thyroid your body makes, (and is necessary for your survival), as the enemy. Your thyroid struggles valiantly to make enough thyroid to run the rest of your body functions including other hormone production etc. It often enlarges itself, causing the visible goiter that is another symptom of the disease. For many physicians thyroid disease is a mystery they do not do a good job of finding in a timely way. They haven’t been trained adequately to do so.
Someone with Hashimoto’s can go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for a very long time, because the quick and dirty thyroid test that is given with your yearly physical does not show the antibody, if present, that allows diagnosis of autoimmune thyroid disease, only the presence of thyroid hormone being produced and sent into your blood stream. It takes another test to find the antibodies that are destroying the thyroid hormone, which many doctors don’t even know about or doctors and Insurance Companies do not want to pay to have done. (Ignorance goes a long way to prolonging a Thyroid patient’s misery.) Sadly, one of the long-term effects of undiagnosed or misdiagnosed thyroid disease such as Hashimoto’s can be a factor in other hormone hell. It is believed to me responsible for quite a few of the women’s health issues which may affect fertility, and other problems which may necessitate surgery and removal of ovaries from cysts, fibroids and even a total hysterectomy. My doctor/surgeon told me that she was very sorry she had not had me as a patient years before and expressed frustration with my former physicians. She regretfully told me maybe I wouldn’t have had to have the surgeries that she now had to perform if I had been properly diagnosed and treated.
Thyroid disorder can often run in families, but not always. More women than men present symptoms of thyroid disease. But it seems that gap may be closing. There are theories that certain viruses might have caused or triggered the beginning of the disease for instance. (One of my doctors who was involved in research, said that a particularly bad flu in the early 80’s, which seemed to trigger some abnormalities in some people, (too many to be ignored), is suspicious but to my knowledge, still not proved positively.) Like many diseases, it may have a variety of causes.
If your family has a history of being large, you have cold feet/hands, low body temperature are tired and exhausted frequently, or are lethargic; you should be tested for thyroid disease. If you experience confusion or "brain fog" that comes and goes, dry thinning hair, weight gain that doesn’t seem to have a logical cause for instance, you should be competently tested for Thyroid disease. If you have been diagnosed as depressed, particularly if you do not see a reasonable cause or reason, or really don't feel depressed, but your doctor insisted on giving you a prescription for anti-depressants, you should be competently tested for thyroid disease. Unbelievably a significant percentage of thyroid patients were first put off their doctors, called depressed, and put onto antidepressants while their underlying thyroid disorder went undiagnosed and untreated. It only gets worse when untreated. A very good place to look for information on all types of thyroid disorder including screening quizzes and other tools to help you learn if you are a likely thyroid patient is on About.Com. Mary Shomon is the moderator. Link: http://thyroid.about.com/
While you are working on the other improvements you describe in your post, you can print some of this information and use it to talk with your doctor. If your doctor is not interested in running the necessary tests, find another doctor who is.
Your health is arguably the most important thing in your life. Living your life feeling run over by all the negative influences regarding your weight is not the way to better your life and your spirit.
Persist!
August 2, 2009 3:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
Only skinny people trapped in fat bodies can understand the pain...It's like few other situations.
Had I been fat my whole life, it probably wouldn't be so hard. But I've been thin...I know what it feels like to get approving glances from men. And although I am not heavy enough to get those pity looks, I'm like subtle wallpaper, certainly not seen. But I've worked through those issues, for the most part. And at 57, who gives a rip? It's not like any 25 year old studs are going to be lining up to jump my bones no matter how much I weigh!
Now, it boils down to health, pure and simple.
August 2, 2009 12:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
I was at Sully's site this morning, and he pointed to a discussion Megan McArdle had with Paul Campos, the author of The Obesity Myth.
It's an eye-opener; Campos taalks of what is driving the myth, how government wants to solve a problem that was, to his mind, rather arbitrarily invented, is being fueled by some Old Foes. He maintains that "you just can't turn a fat person into a thin person..." (with a couple caveats.)
http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/07/americas_moral_panic_over_obes.php
Megan and Marc Ambinder (both at the Atlantic)have been squaring off over the issue:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/07/fat-wars.html
August 2, 2009 8:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
Marc mentions as quoted by Andrew Sullivan, that removing junk food machines from schools appears to be helping the children. I have fought over this for years in various schools. It always comes down to economics. The school, often the ASB (student government organization - Associated Student Body) uses the profits from the soda machines and candy, junk snack machines as a part of their yearly budget. They say they cannot replace those funds, as other fundraisers to not make up for those lost funds. The more healthy fundraisers, just aren't well supported. (Consider the meaning of that statement.)
August 2, 2009 3:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hi Still --
Most everything that you would expect,or hope, or fear, would be said here has been said, so I've only go this to add. I've fought this war my whole life. Sine second grade I've been considered fat. It has been, I regret to say, the defining aspect of my life. it has cost me jobs; it has cost me respect; it has cost me perspective.
Short of surgery, there is nothing I haven't tried. And still it's there. Leaves for a while, but comes back in force. No matter what changes I make -- eating, exercise, mantras, it always comes back.
After my last go round, where I lost 120 pounds, -- again -- and as soon as I started eating regularly, following dietitian's advice, it started to come back on. I've put 45 of it back and have maintained that for three years now. I'm not as bad as I was, but a long way from where anyone would say I ought to be. I run/walk 5 miles three times a week. I swim a mile two other times. I don't eat very much (don't have time with the kids anymore). and still, 80 pounds overweight.
So this is what I've learned. Your body knows where it wants to be. For some people that's thin, and for others it's not. So you're not fighting fat, or food, you're fighting your body's desired size.
That's not to say it's not a fight you should have. That's up to you. But you should understand that the only way I've found to successfully battle a weight problem -- a serious one, not a few unwelcome pounds -- is to become obsessed with it. It has to be the most important thing in your world. Everything you do has to start with the question "How is this going to affect my weight battle?" You can't be casual with it, because as soon as yous tart being causal with it, well, you find yourself in Iraq.
Good luck with it. It's no fun.
August 2, 2009 9:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm afraid you may be correct, which doesn't fill me with hope. Except that I suppose if you are eating properly, and exercising regularly, there is a possibility that even though your weight exceeds the guidelines, you may not develop the weight related diseases...who knows?
Thanks for sharing your story. It's nice to know there are others in the boat!
August 2, 2009 11:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Just look at a school pictures taken around 1940 and compare them with the pictures taken now. And, compare the pictures now with the ones taken in the late 60's. In the 40's very few kids had a weight problem. In the 60's, a few were overweight and many were beginning to be just a little overweight. Now, there are still thin kids, but the majority are overweight. Some are far more obese than any kid from the 40's or 60's.
The big difference? Processed foods. Most bodies react negatively to the foods that have been super heated. The processing (especially the heat) makes the simple carbohydrates turn into very complex, and unnatural carbohydrates which many bodies cannot properly break down. Some bodies develop insulin imbalances, which cause those persons to gain weight - they always think they are hungry, because of insulin imbalance.
Once your body develops an adverse reaction to the processed foods, there is really no going back. Your body now has an insulin problem, and you will fight this the rest of this life. Eat healthy and exercise will help, but it will be an uphill battle.
Some peoples bodies, for whatever reason, do not develop an insulin imbalance. They eat all the garbage the food giants are serving, yet they never get fat.
If you want your heart wrenched, visit a super Walmart at 3am the day after the government disability checks are delivered. The extremely obese people, the ones who usually never leave their houses, often go to Walmart then. Walmarts have the motorized carts they can ride and the late hour is an attempt to hide from public view. I have seen 4 or 5 persons who weigh in excess of 600 pounds doing this on several ocassions.
August 2, 2009 10:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
The big difference is more likely exercise. Kids don't work on the farm anymore. Heck, I could probably count on one hand the number of times in the last 20 years that I've seen a kid on my block mow a lawn.
Adults don't plow the fields, they spend long hours in an ever shrinking cubicle.
Our bodies were designed for a different kind of lifestyle.
August 2, 2009 12:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
That is soooooo true! If you look back on pics of the 50's, overweight people were few and far between. All these labor saving devices have given us more time, but that time is now mostly spent on our butts...like...blogging...OMG shoud I give up blogging???? Ain't gunna happen.
But, seriously, we most definitely need to get back to exerting our bodies more, be it in organized exercise, or just forcing ourselves to walk or bicycle instead of getting in the car to go a mile...
August 2, 2009 2:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
I just disagree. Exercise is a factor, but that is not the main problem. The problem is the garbage we are eating and have eaten. Few understand this because the food giants controll the research and most of the dieticians come from schools that teach what the food giants dictate.
There is quality research out there that backs up what I am saying. You probably don't like Doctor Adkins, because the food giants spent a lot of money slamming him. He was a doctor, though, with all the credentials and certainly a life time of experience. I read his book and recommend it. He explains the matter at great length.
Incidentally, I have never had any sort of weight problem, so I don't think my attitude is predudiced.
August 3, 2009 9:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
Just a quick word. There's nothing wrong with eating a cookie. It's cookies 2 and 3 that'll get ya. Good food is good and should be enjoyed.
August 2, 2009 11:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
Matrya: Louis CK explains why for some of us 1 donut turns into like 5 before you even know it... :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSbpyxFC24k
August 2, 2009 11:41 AM | Reply | Permalink