Someone gave this second hand t-shirt to my 10 year old son a few days ago. It's never been worn and still has the tags on it. It's a really nice shirt but we all agree that he can't wear it until we all know what it is he is proclaiming to "love."
We've established that it is Japanese. It came from here but the web site does not offer up any translations.
So - do any of you read Japanese?
Updated: Perhaps it isn't Japanese, despite coming from a Japanese company. A couple of people have suggested it looks like Arabic. I have no idea. Thoughts?
The study out of Tufts University focused on women aged 22 to 55 engaging in low carb diets similar to the Atkins Diet. Participants were found to have significantly diminished memory scores than the control groups consuming a normal diet. Their scores were lower when tested for reaction time and visual spatial memory. The decline was short lived however as memory scores returned to normal upon resumption of a regular balanced diet.
The nation's obesity epidemic has reached alarming levels despite decades of fad dieting, ignoring American's simultaneous trend toward decreasing amounts of physical activity. Americans today burn 700 calories less per day than they did during the 1960's. Treadmill desks offer a unique solution compared with fad dieting. They offer employees the chance to burn significant amounts of calories during the day, enhance their health and at the same time enhance cognitive function.
"Study after study is showing that supplements and diets are at best ineffective at attaining long term overall health and many pose potential harmful side effects as well, yet proven methods such as walking garner slight attention," states Steve Bordley, President of TrekDesk, a treadmill desk manufacturer. TrekDesk, a full sized height adjustable workstation, fits any existing treadmill. Featuring a 72 x 34 inch surface area, there is sufficient space for any desk related task. Workers simply place their computer, phone, files, reading materials, pens and paper and coffee (yes, it has cup holders) and start walking.
It is that simple. Consistent daily walking is very effective in both long term weight loss and also offers significant increases in brain function. A study by the University of Illinois recently showed that memory can be increased by as much as 15% in just 6 months, due to increased blood flow to the brain and that the production of small blood vessels in the brain can be boosted as much as 43%. "A variety of studies have already proven that walking greatly reduces the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimers later in life as well as offering protection from major diseases such as cancers, heart disease, and diabetes," stated Bordley, "weight loss is an important additional bonus."
So why aren't more people walking? A recent study by America on the Move found Americans do not exercise regularly due to time constraints, their second reason cited was will power. TrekDesk answers both concerns. it is automatic and does not take any additional time out of an employees day. Just start walking and working. At day's end an employee has burned between 800-1400 calories, stimulated the lymphatic system to ward off disease and earned a paycheck while doing it.
Son (to Father) - "Do you ever talk to our animals? Really talk to them? Mama has entire conversations with the dogs."
Father - "Do they talk back?"
In my own defense, I come by my craziness when it comes to love of animals honestly. My sister is every bit as bad as I am with her cat, Iggie, and my mother can talk to and play with just about any animal for hours.
My mom came from a family of thirteen kids. When we were growing up, my sister and I loved hearing the stories of the animals that lived in and passed through her family home. We still beg to be told these stories and have begun to share them with my kids.
There was George, the budgie, who used to perch on my Grandfather's head (and who died when he came in for a landing, missed and ended up on a hot element).
There were many, many cats, including Fiona (the beautiful), Fluffy (who lost the tip of his tail) and Kelly (the favourite). There was Nicky, the dog that loved to ride on the my uncle's motorcycle. And there were the various animals my mother's oldest brother brought home (often rumoured to have been gambling winnings) - the rabbit (it arrived on Easter and my mother collected hundreds of little "raisins" that the rabbit kept "laying." Fortunately, she didn't try and eat any.), the monkey (banished after he started swinging from the curtains) and the chicken (that my Grandmother found tied to the table leg in her kitchen).
Really, compared to the way my mother grew up, my house with its dogs and cat is really very quiet.
And yes, I do talk to my animals. They are very sympathetic listeners.
Last night, when my husband Larry took the dogs outside for their last romp of the day, big, hairy, passive, lovable Cooper - our flat-coated retriever - brought along his little stuffed hedgehog squeaky toy. Larry was feeling better (he caught the bug shortly after me) so he was happy to throw a few rounds with his favorite dog.
There are no lights that shine in our backyard at night. The back porch light only goes as far as the edge of the deck. Larry threw the hedgehog into the dark backyard and our black dog went chasing after it. A few seconds later, Cooper returned with what Larry thought was the hedgehog, and they began to play tug of war, as they always do.
Before long, Larry thought, Gee, this is much bigger than his hedgehog. Warmer, too. That's when he realized Cooper had brought him a dead possum! Not only a dead possum, but a possum Cooper killed with one bite to the neck, all within a few moments in the dark. Cooper made no sounds and the possum probably didn't know what hit him.
Larry wrapped the body in bags and put it out with the garbage and tried to wash the ooginess off his hands when he came in. But all the while he kept shaking his head and saying, "I can't believe Cooper did that!"
We nicknamed Cooper "Killer."
I don't believe Cooper killed the possum for the thrill of killing something. Perhaps he was following some latent instinct, but my guess is he confused the possum for his hedgehog and grabbed it before he realized it wasn't his squeaky toy. Either way, Cooper did something he'd never done before. And unlike the other two dogs who got spooked and ran away into the house, Cooper didn't drop the possum and run away. He brought it to Larry in hopes they'd continue their game.
In hopes that I'm not stretching the analogy too far, successful weight loss is like accidentally killing a possum. You run into the darkness to retrieve what you think is your goal only to come back with something unexpected.
I am a product of New Year's Resolution 2005: sh*t or get off the pot. I decided Jan. 1 I was going to lose weight and weigh 190 pounds again. 190 was a weight that felt familiar, a weight that made me feel less insecure and more emotionally available to the outside world. To go any lower would be futile since all the other times I'd gone below 190 before I just bounced right back up in a matter of months, so it was (emotionally) safer to settle for 190.
But a funny thing happened when I ran into that weight-loss darkness (for the gabillionth time). Somewhere between 300 and 190, I learned to *gasp* trust myself and trust in time. I developed *double gasp* instincts. I *in a near faint* began to love the person losing weight and committed to doing everything I could to protect her.
I surprised a lot of people when I kept going down the scale, past the familiar 190 pounds when people started saying, "You're not going to lose any MORE are you?" And I've surprised a lot of people now that two years later, I haven't gained anything back. I surprised a lot of people, namely me, when I killed that proverbial possum of a goal and came back with so much more. Something more than settling for the same old familiar fears and insecurities.
If you're making a resolution to lose weight in 2009, be bold, be fearless. Run into that darkness and find what you're really made of. Resolve NOT to revert back to old thinking and old strategies. Resolve to trust yourself. Resolve to trust time. (Newsflash: weight loss doesn't happen overnight. One pound lost in two weeks is one less pound you have to lose the rest of your life. Or, to put it another way, you can't lose ten., twenty or a hundred pounds unless you lose the first one.)
This morning I read that a man used his own pay stub to write a bank robbery note on. This guy must be brilliant.
I did not go to the gym today, but I did workout at home. It was kinda hard because the rug I was standing on kept slipping. I guess I'll have to do something about that.
My computer at home has been hijacked by some sort of Trojan. A friend of mine is going to try to fix it tomorrow. But until then, I can only check e-mail and such at work.
I signed up for an adult piano class at WVU. It starts January 21 if they get enough people.
I really like Canadian writer Giles Blunt and enjoy his series set in Northern Ontario. All his books feature interesting storylines and are populated by complex characters. The setting of Algonquin Bay (modeled on North Bay) is itself a character in the book - cold, dark and somewhat remote.
And the books really are dark, even compared to other murder mysteries. By The Time You Read This, the last in the series featuring police detective John Cardinal, opens with the suicide of Cardinal's wife. I found it heart-wrenching and I can understand why the author chose a change of pace for his latest novel.
No Such Creature is in some ways very different from Blunt's police procedurals but despite the injection of humour and the relocation to sunnier climes there are a couple of twists that are no less devastating than the author's previous novels.
"Tooling across the American southwest in their giant Winnebago, Max and his nephew, Owen, seem harmless enough, the actorly old fellow spouting Shakespeare like a faucet while his young charge trots him through select tourist destinations along the road. But appearances, as you might imagine, can be deceiving.
Old Max is actually a master thief, and young Owen's summer vacation is his careful apprenticeship in a life of crime. Pulling heists is scary enough, but ominous signs point to the alarming fact that The Subtractors are on their tail, criminal bogeymen who stop at nothing to steal from other thieves. The road trip soon turns into a chase, by turns comic and horrifying. The most disturbing twist: Owen's slow realization that the person he loves most in the world is the one who can do him the most harm."
The book features snappy dialogue, characters that are larger than life, events that test the "willing suspension of disbelief" and little touches or irony that have the ring of authenticity. I was reminded of both Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen but I never felt like I had read this book somewhere before.
In some ways, Blunt tries to do too many things with this novel. I was never sure if I was reading a caper, coming of age book or a story about fathers and sons. But Blunt mostly succeeds in creating a story that's about all of these things. Certainly, I cared about the characters, laughed out loud several times, felt the mountain tension and found myself turning pages compulsively.
No Such Creature is entertaining, amusing, heart-breaking and surprising. You might be disappointed in the ending but you will never be bored.
And you know, those books where you can see the ending coming a mile away? Even with lots of foreshadowing, I was still wondering what would happen ten pages from the end.
I read today that the oldest man is the U.S. died at 112. I hope I don't have to live that long.
I'm trying to get back into the groove of working. It hasn't been easy.
I did not workout this morning. But I will tomorrow. Next week, I have no choice. I have to get back to my regular schedule. Please remind me that I have to do this. Please.
As the New Year arrives I wanted to share simple but effective messages, that are delivered in a more unusual fashion, which in itself gets your attention. Perhaps the next time you are giving a presentation you should think how to get that message across; afterall its not JUST facts and figures is it...
another thought provoking video
This is a presentation of sorts which may just change your view on life, forever!!
Benjamin Zander is the conductor of The Boston Philharmonic and is well known for his orchestra's passionate performances. Rosamund Stone Zander is an executive coach, family therapist, and private practitioner who brings enormous psychological experience to enhancing human behaviour. They have written a fascinating book in which they alternate as storytellers in sharing principles and examples in the form of compelling stories in their lives.
Each of the 12 chapters in the book THE ART OF POSSIBILITY communicates an idea - a new way of opening up possibility within your life, providing an evolving and additive view as the reader progresses through the book.
First, the Zanders talk about “It’s all invented” where humans tend to focus on very few things, missing most of what is going on around them. By shifting focus, you will see many opportunities for the first time.
Second, measurements can cause us to focus too narrowly on where we are today and encourage “scarcity thinking” - the glass is half empty. The Zanders encourage thinking about the glass as half full, citing the well-known perspective of optimism as being empowering.
Third, if you assume that people will do well and help them to see how they can, they will. Mr. Zander gives every student an “A” in his class, and simply requests that the student write a paper to tell what they will do to deserve that A. This gets the students focused on excellence, and takes away the tension that gets in the way of real results.
Fourth, as a mindset, think of your role as “being a contribution - you are a gift to others”. How could that change what you do – to focus on the external perspective?
Fifth, lead from any chair. This is a reference to involving everyone. Benjamin Zander asks his players to write down how he could improve practices and performances, and pays attention to the suggestions genuinely viewing leadership from all levels
Sixth, follow rule number six - “don’t take yourself so seriously – to lighten up”. Examples show, how in taking this on in organisational settings, a new culture can emerge, enabling fabulous creativity and new ideas.
Seventh, be present to the ways things are. Many of us are disconnected from reality. By getting back to it, we can see more possibilities.
Eighth, give way to passion. Going with your strong feelings allows you to be more authentic, and to go to new heights of accomplishment. Allow yourself to let go.
Ninth, light a spark. See you role as creating a spark of possibility to be lit that others can see. Act as a catalyst for yourself and others.
Tenth, be the board of the game you are playing. Instead of defining yourself as a playing piece or even a strategist in the game you are playing, see yourself as the framework for the entire game.
Eleventh, create a vision that generates “frameworks of possibility” for others and work on enrolling them into what is right for them.
Twelfth, tell the WE story. Focus on being inclusive and considering what is best for all. Move from I to We, from independence to interdependence.
There MUST be something amongst those possibilities you could utilize or work on - personally I like No. 3 & 6.
'African states lack the resources to deal alone with climate change and must share water better to feed growing populations, government ministers said at a water conference in Libya on Wednesday.
The world's poorest continent has failed to feed a fast-growing population due to under-investment, bad farm management and more frequent droughts and floods, leaving it hooked on food imports.
The cost of those imports soared to $49.4 billion in 2008 from $10.5 billion in 2005 as world prices jumped, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
That has put a massive strain on state budgets in countries that subsidize imports to make them more affordable.
Of 36 countries grappling with food crises, 21 are in Africa and the World Food Program estimates that nearly a sixth of the world's population -- almost 1 billion people -- are hungry.
African officials meeting over three days in the Libyan city of Sirte said governments should redouble a 2003 promise to commit 10 percent of national budgets to boosting farm output, according to their final declaration.
With droughts and flash flooding increasingly common, they called for more modern irrigation systems that store water and channel it where and when it is needed.
They agreed to seal more region-wide deals to share the water stored in rivers, lakes and underground.
Cooperation would be strengthened on weather forecasting and early warning systems to minimize the impact of drought, desertification, floods and pests.
"Together we must find concrete and effective measures to address the issues of water in Africa, in a spirit of shared responsibility," Jacques Diouf, Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, told delegates.
The ministers also decided to establish continent-wide information systems to better coordinate farm output and make commodity trade more efficient.
The skills and the resources to make Africa self-sufficient exist if only governments would cooperate on managing their water, delegates said.' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And not only to combat hunger, but to combat war. This is the most crucial environmental crisis facing Africa right now: water scarcity. It is such because it is bringing with it hunger, famine, malnutrition, drought, disease, and war. A scarcity of water combined with a scarcity of education and opportunity to help the people of Africa become self sufficient is at the crux of the wars they face as well. However, so many countries in Africa are being run by corruption in order to take their resources as in the case of Sudan, that it is hard to now comprehend a pact that will allow the people the self determination they need to survive.
In my view there is also too much interference from government agencies such as the World Bank and WTO that prevent access to food and keep prices high thus perpetuating the poverty of countries in Africa that rely solely on imports of food, much of it now genetically modified in an attempt to force this technology on farmers for profit.
There is no reason why farmers in Africa cannot have access to natural seeds that will grow their own food naturally for them to stimulate the economies of their countries, save for a concerted effort by world organizations and governments to control the production and access to food and water for profit. And this I fear will become more prevalent due to climate change as we are seeing glaciers in Africa melting as well at a more rapid pace than predicted, which also puts water resources for many in jeopardy.
To come to an amicable agreement among African states to share water for agricultual purposes in an efficient way (drip irrigation particularly) is definitely a step in the right direction. The fulfillment of that goal however, is what is unclear at the moment as we see so much of Africa in the throse of turmoil, war, and corruption. Water is the key to their sustainability and must be made accessible to the poor without cost in order to allow them to be able to feed themselves and live with dignity. Water can combat hunger, war, disease, and hopelessness. It must be the lynchpin to any plan to lift Africa into a sustainable future.
I wasn’t hungry on Friday. Not one bit. I had five Points leftover for the day, and it would have been more if I’d not forced myself to eat some popcorn before going to bed so I wouldn’t wake up hungry in the middle of the night. God forbid.
But wake up I did, only not because I was hungry. Let’s just say I’ll be buying new bathroom rugs and a few new pairs of pajamas after the mess I created with the “stomach bug.”
Not only did I spend 18 hours getting intimately acquainted with my bathroom (and the path from the couch to said bathroom), I had time to think about how my body talks to me about food and how much of it I actually hear.
If I’d done what I was “supposed” to do, which is to eat all my daily Points allowance, if I’d stuck five more Points of food in my piehole before going to bed, forget new bathroom rugs and pajamas. I’d be on the phone with the EPA.
I was busy on Friday (see last blog entry), but nothing sounded good. I ate because, well, that’s what I do. Never mind that my stomach wasn’t feeling quite right or that I felt full all day and didn’t really feel like eating. I stuffed (good) stuff in my mouth, like I do every day.
Somewhere between the chills and the fever yesterday I wondered, When did eating become so rote, so predictable? The answer is, when I stopped really tuning in to what my body wants and needs. I’ve learned how to eat healthy and exercise to the point that I tell my body what it needs. I no longer ask it what it needs.
Of course the exception to that rule is when you don’t want to drink water because it will make your stomach hurt, but if you don’t, you’ll dehydrate and have to go to the emergency room. I got all tough love on my body about that yesterday. But aside from that, there won’t be many occasions when I need to force anything down the esophagus.
Whether I ate anything Friday or not wouldn’t have stopped the stomach bug. But it might have made the experience a little less harsh and I might have salvaged that second pair of pajamas.
This morning, as I laid awake in bed, I asked my body what it wanted to eat. My head was saying, “Eggs and toast! Eggs and toast!” But the rest of me was saying “Bland vegetable soup.” So I got up, took a shower (it was imperative that I scrub the plague off my body before I did anything else), and made a very mild soup with vegetable broth, celery, carrots, a small potato, green beans, zucchini, spinach, onions, garlic, and a pinch of barley, pepper, thyme, oregano, sage, rosemary and marjoram. So far so good. Except for my head, nothing else hurts. Looks like I’ll live.
You know I’m a crusader for mindful eating, but as I discovered yesterday, mindful eating goes beyond just being aware of the food you put in your mouth. It also means being mindful of what your body (not your head or eyes) needs. If your body begs you to not eat, don’t eat! You just might save yourself a visit from men in hazardous waste suits.
In recently released phase 2 trials, the drug, known as lorcaserin, resulted in substantial weight loss in obese men and women. "Lorcaserin is a completely novel mechanism and we think it can bring very robust weight loss. But, also, the safety profile of the compound is excellent," said Dominic P. Behan, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Arena Pharmaceuticals in San Diego, which makes the drug and sponsored a study published in the Dec. 4 issue of the journal Obesity.
"We demonstrated a highly statistically significant, progressive weight loss. This study involved no diet or exercise and the weight loss was rapid and we saw the weight loss in as little as two weeks," he added. A phase 3 trial is under way and, if all goes well, Arena Pharmaceuticals may file a new drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at the end of 2009, Behan said.
With some two-thirds of Americans either overweight or obese, the need for an effective weight loss tool is tremendous. Excess weight can lead to a variety of health problems, including heart disease, stroke, cancer, arthritis and type 2 diabetes. "Obesity is an epidemic," said Dr. Stuart Weiss, a clinical assistant professor of medicine at New York University's Langone Medical Center in New York City. "Diabetes trails behind obesity by a short few years and the numbers of patients that are developing diabetes is staggering."
Diet and exercise are proven antidotes for excess weight, but few people are able to sustain such changes and, even if they lose weight, will regain it. Some weight-loss drugs are already on the market -- such as Xenical and Meridia -- but have certain side effects. The drug Fen-phen, a combination of fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine, worked for many but was withdrawn from the market in 1997 when it was linked with increased rates of heart valve problems in patients.
Fen-phen acted on serotonin receptors both in the brain and in the heart and therein lay the problem, Behan said. "The challenge was to design a compound that was purely selective for the receptor involved, namely the 2c receptor [located in the hypothalamus region of the brain and involved in weight loss] and avoiding the 2b receptor [located in the heart]," Behan said.
The result was lorcaserin, which targets the 5-HT2C serotonin receptor only. For the phase 2 trial, 469 men and women with a body mass index ranging from 30 to 45 were randomly assigned to one of four groups: 10 milligrams (mg) of lorcaserin once a day, 15 mg once a day, 10 mg twice a day, or a placebo. Participants taking lorcaserin at 10 mg, 15 mg and 20 mg a day lost 4 pounds, 5.7 pounds and 7.9 pounds, respectively, over the 12-week period. Those in the placebo group lost less than a pound.
In the 10 mg, 15 mg and 20 mg groups, respectively, 12.8 percent, 19.5 percent and 31.2 percent of participants lost 5 percent or more of their starting body weight, versus only 2.3 percent of patients on the placebo. Participants taking the two higher doses of lorcaserin also shaved inches off their waist and dropped their cholesterol levels. Also, their echocardiograms -- ultrasound images of the heart -- were normal.
"It [lorcaserin] certainly looks a bit better [than other weight-loss medications]," Weiss said. "We don't have much out there. They're really just modest medications and they don't do much at all."
Shortly after World War II, margarine replaced butter in the U.S. food supply. Margarine consumption exceeded butter in the 1950s. By 1975, we were eating one-fourth the amount of butter eaten in 1900 and ten times the amount of margarine. Margarine was made primarily of hydrogenated vegetable oils, as many still are today. This makes it one of our primary sources of trans fat. The consumption of trans fats from other sources also likely tracked closely with margarine intake.
Coronary heart disease (CHD) resulting in a loss of blood flow to the heart (heart attack), was first described in detail in 1912 by Dr. James B. Herrick. Sudden cardiac death due to CHD was considered rare in the 19th century, although other forms of heart disease were diagnosed regularly by symptoms and autopsies. They remain rare in many non-industrial cultures today. This could not have resulted from massive underdiagnosis because heart attacks have characteristic symptoms, such as chest pain that extends along the arm or neck. Physicians up to that time were regularly diagnosing heart conditions other than CHD. The following graph is of total heart disease mortality in the U.S. from 1900 to 2005. It represents all types of heart disease mortality, including 'heart failure', which are non-CHD disorders like arrhythmia and myocarditis.
The graph above is not age-adjusted, meaning it doesn't reflect the fact that lifespan has increased since 1900. I couldn't compile the raw data myself without a lot of effort, but the age-adjusted graph is here. It looks similar to the one above, just a bit less pronounced. I think it's interesting to note the close similarity between the graph of margarine intake and the graph of heart disease deaths. The butter intake graph is also essentially the inverse of the heart disease graph.
Here's where it gets really interesting. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has also been tracking CHD deaths specifically since 1900. Again, it would be a lot of work for me to compile the raw data, but it can be found here and a graph is in Anthony Colpo's book The Great Cholesterol Con. Here's the jist of it: there was essentially no CHD mortality until 1925, at which point it skyrocketed until about 1970, becoming the leading cause of death. After that, it began to fall due to improved medical care. There are some discontinuities in the data due to changes in diagnostic criteria, but even subtracting those, the pattern is crystal clear.
The age-adjusted heart disease death rate (all forms of heart disease) has been falling since the 1950s, largely due to improved medical treatment. Heart disease incidence has not declined substantially, according to the Framingham Heart study. We're better at keeping people alive in the 21st century, but we haven't successfully addressed the root cause of heart disease.
Was the shift from butter to margarine involved in the CHD epidemic? We can't make any firm conclusions from these data, because they're purely correlations. But there are nevertheless mechanisms that support a protective role for butter, and a detrimental one for margarine. Butter from pastured cows is one of the richest known sources of vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 plays a central role in protecting against arterial calcification, which is an integral part of arterial plaque and the best single predictor of cardiovascular death risk. In the early 20th century, butter was typically from pastured cows.
Margarine is a major source of trans fat. Trans fat is typically found in vegetable oil that has been hydrogenated, rendering it solid at room temperature. Hydrogenation is a chemical reaction that is truly disgusting. It involves heat, oil, hydrogen gas and a metal catalyst. I hope you give a wide berth to any food that says "hydrogenated" anywhere in the ingredients. Some modern margarine is supposedly free of trans fats, but in the U.S., less than 0.5 grams per serving can be rounded down so the nutrition label is not a reliable guide. Only by looking at the ingredients can you be sure that the oils haven't been hydrogenated. Even if they aren't, I still don't recommend margarine, which is an industrially processed pseudo-food.
One of the strongest explanations of CHD is the oxidized LDL hypothesis. The idea is that LDL lipoprotein particles ("LDL cholesterol") become oxidized and stick to the vessel walls, creating an inflammatory cascade that results in plaque formation. Chris Masterjohn wrote a nice explanation of the theory here. Several things influence the amount of oxidized LDL in the blood, including the total amount of LDL in the blood, the antioxidant content of the particle, the polyunsaturated fat content of LDL (more PUFA = more oxidation), and the size of the LDL particles. Small LDL is considered more easily oxidized than large LDL. Small LDL is also associated with elevated CHD mortality. Trans fat shrinks your LDL compared to butter.
In my opinion, it's likely that both the decrease in butter consumption and the increase in trans fat consumption contributed to the massive incidence of CHD seen in the U.S. and other industrial nations today. I think it's worth noting that France has the highest per-capita dairy fat consumption of any industrial nation, along with a comparatively low intake of hydrogenated fat, and also has the second-lowest rate of CHD, behind Japan.
Below you will see where my interest in computers started way back in 1986! My first computer was a Spectrum 128k (well I say mine it was actually Punch's but we shared it).
I think we kept the stores afloat in joystick sales as we broke that many. The games took like 5 minutes to load (it felt like a lifetime) and the games were on cassette tape (which made copying very easy - my first line into pirating). The graphics were okay and a step up from the likes of pong.
I then moved onto the Amiga - now things REALLY got interesting. The machine for me was a dream and I soon started looking into what could be done with this baby, and A LOT was possible! I started a group called THE LOST BOYS and worked with many groups on the scene back then such as FAIRLIGHT, ULTIMA, TRADERS DREAMS, and many others. I actually got published in a Amiga Magazine but it wasn't glamorous, it was for a disk I compiled in which when inserted you simply pressed any one of the 'F' keys to install a different virus onto someone's computer - the magazine thought I was some kind of anarchist!?!?
Then I upgraded to the Amiga 600 and then onto the 1200 - where I stayed for a while, great piece of kit. Back then the World Wide Web wasn't really big at all, so we all used a B.B.S. (Bulletin Board System) where one computer would call another only and you could chat or pass across data etc, slow but effect none the less (very costly).
Then it was time to get a PC (as the Amiga scene was dying, shame) so I got a 386!!! Windows 3.1 before they had a nice Graphic User Interface it was horrid; even the Amiga's was better. I upgraded that to a 486 and then onto a Pentium tower unit instead of a desktop. At this point windows 95 had been produced and that then upgraded to 98, 2000 and XP: it really went from strength to strength, until Vista that is!
In the process of updating several computers and numerous formatting (sad fact), I acquired the Playstation! Boy what a console, I was never a console fan until this point there had been several out Nintendo being the most popular. Then the PS 2 was launched and again huge leaps had been taken and was a great time killer for me.
Then came the Xbox and again managed to blow me away great console - not so keen on the controller though. Never did get the Xbox 360!? I did get a Gamecube but again didn't really like it.
As I was travelling alot I decided it best to buy a laptop - at this point they too had come along way, so I bought a Packard Bell. It was okay for it needed to do. Sony released the PS3 which of course I had to get - which also meant upgrading the TV - but that was worth it - again great console, although I don't think they have exploited it to its maximum capability.
Then I had a dilemma - I used a MAC when I worked with Voluntary Action Leicester and at first hated it - but I came to REALLY prefer it over the PC. So when it came time to upgrade my current laptop what to buy!??! After a few months of fighting with myself I opted for the Macbook Pro and I am VERY happy with my choice. Excellent piece of kit easy and simple, nice operating system, great support for software (my first major concern) but all put to rest after getting and using it.
After having such a good experience with the Mac I decided that an iTouch was my next gadget to have - and if you don't own an iTouch or an iPhone I suggest you get one - (iPhone Nano soon to be released so maybe hold off on the iPhone). But essentially its a PC/MAC in the palm of your hand!!!!
Considering where we were about 20 years ago things certainly have come along way and continue to do so. This year for Christmas I am now the owner of a Wii and for the first time I can actually say its a Nintendo product I like, great concept, nice console the games are ok - but more innovation required im tired of seeing Mario and Sonic in ALL Nintendo games!!!
So here's to the future of computers and games! Below is just a few pictures of the past, enjoy ;)
My husband calls our house an RV because I utilize every square inch of storage space our little house offers. Organized to the nines, I store stuff up, under, behind and overhead.
When my house is organized, I am organized. My life can be in total chaos, but when I can find a hammer or batteries or the remote to the CD player without any thought simply because it’s where it should be, I can handle anything.
Being organized helped me lose weight. Being organized keeps me between 128-130 pounds. Organization is my emotional compass. If my house is a wreck, my desk strewn with papers, I guarantee you won’t want to engage me in conversation.
The antithesis of organization is clutter. I hate clutter**** (please read the **** footnote clarification at the end of this blog). I hate clutter more than trans fats, fake maple syrup, and Culture Club. Clutter makes my right eye twitch. And man, was it twitching this morning when I came downstairs and saw my new food processor, hand mixer and box of eco-friendly food storage containers waiting for me on the dining room table. I was fully aware they were there when I went to bed last night, but my mind was still processing the day of family, presents, too many carbs (damn you puppy chow!) and the Mel Brooks movie “To Be Or Not To Be.”
But in the light of dawn, nothing wakes me up quite like clutter.
By 7:30 a.m., I’d mapped out a strategy. The new food processor would go where the old one was and the hand mixer would fit nicely in the third drawer next to the stove. The new storage containers posed a bit of a problem since I have no extra space in my kitchen. Something had to go, either moved to the basement, the garage or Goodwill. I wasn’t sure what.
So, I started at the most logical place. The dogs’ water dish.
Our dogs’ water dish sits between the microwave cart and the long counter that accommodates our sink. It’s always in the way and is 7 feet away from their food bowls in the dining room. I can’t remember why we put it there, but it obviously made sense at the time. In order to find space for the new storage containers, the dish would have to move. I know, it makes no sense whatsoever in anyone else’s mind, but in mine, it’s pure genius.
So, after completely changing our dogs’ eating and watering ensemble (they are now using different bowls in a different location – don’t ask), my next step(s) in finding room for the eco-friendly food storage containers was to:
· Take everything out from lower cupboards and microwave cart · Vacuum cupboards and microwave cart · Reorganize every fry pan, baking dish, roaster, casserole and cookie sheet by order of frequency of use · Put everything back in different places · Bring unused pots to basement · Notice cobwebs in stairwell · Move mixer to where the old food processor used to be · Move new food processor where the mixer used to be · Move old food processor to basement · Notice more cobwebs · Vacuum basement stairs and rearrange items on stairway shelves · Vacuum rest of kitchen · Notice grime on the bottom vent of the refrigerator · Clean out entire refrigerator · Notice mold growing on block of cheddar cheese in crisper · Cut off mold; shred cheese with new food processor · Wash food processor
Finally, at 11:00 a.m., I opened the box of new containers and put them in their new home on the microwave cart. (Peter Walsh, if you’re reading this, you are my hero and I’m pretty sure we could be BFF.)
I now have cheese slices organized in a small plastic container in the crisper (no more slippy sliding all over the cheddar and Laughing Cow), all the Jello-O puddings neatly arranged in a long plastic container (no more toppling over and making Lynn curse), and I can retrieve a cookie sheet without breaking a wrist bone.
Now it’s time to listen to the Cowboy Junkies. I’m feeling organized and can now listen to the music without thinking I have to rearrange a pot or appliance. In addition to the aforementioned items, I also got fun stuff for Christmas, Trinity Revisited among them. It’s a seriously good CD/DVD combo. Trust me.
I hope you are enjoying some R&R, that you’re eating well and working out, and finding peace in the ways that are unique to you. Here are a few photos from my holiday. Talk to you all again real soon.
I'm so proud :)
Claire helps Grammy Lynn cook brunch (as long as I've got bony hips and a free hand, I can whip up anything)
Claire and Grammy eat an English muffin (she pretty much ate my entire egg-white omelet, too, but she did NOT get my mimosa)
Without daughter Cassie and SIL Matt, Claire and new baby in May wouldn't be here. Thanks guys!
**** I am clutter blind outside my own house and vehicle. I only hate my own clutter. I seriously, honest-to-god don’t notice or care about anyone else’s clutter.
Leptin is a major hormone regulator of fat mass in vertebrates. It's a frequent topic on this blog because I believe it's central to overweight and modern metabolic disorders. Here's how it works. Leptin is secreted by fat tissue, and its blood levels are proportional to fat mass. The more fat tissue, the more leptin. Leptin reduces appetite, increases fat release from fat tissue and increases the metabolic rate. Normally, this creates a "feedback loop" that keeps fat mass within a fairly narrow range. Any increase in fat tissue causes an increase in leptin, which burns fat tissue at an accelerated rate. This continues until fat mass has decreased enough to return leptin to its original level.
Leptin was first identified through research on the "obese" mutant mouse. The obese strain arose by a spontaneous mutation, and is extremely fat. The mutation turned out to be in a protein investigators dubbed leptin. When researchers first discovered leptin, they speculated that it could be the "obesity gene", and supplemental leptin a potential treatment for obesity. They later discovered (to their great chagrin) that obese people produce much more leptin than thin people, so a defeciency of leptin was clearly not the problem, as it was in the obese mouse. They subsequently found that obese people scarcely respond to injected leptin by reducing their food intake, as thin people do. They are leptin resistant. This makes sense if you think about it. The only way a person can gain significant fat mass is if the leptin feedback loop isn't working correctly.
Another rodent model of leptin resistance arose later, the "Zucker fatty" rat. Zucker rats have a mutation in the leptin receptor gene. They secrete leptin just fine, but they don't respond to it because they have no functional receptor. This makes them an excellent model of complete leptin resistance. What happens to Zucker rats? They become obese, hypometabolic, hyperphagic, hypertensive, insulin resistant, and they develop blood lipid disturbances. It should sound familiar; it's the metabolic syndrome and it affects 24% of Americans (CDC NHANES III). Guess what's the first symptom of impending metabolic syndrome in humans, even before insulin resistance and obesity? Leptin resistance. This makes leptin an excellent contender for the keystone position in overweight and other metabolic disorders.
I've mentioned before that the two most commonly used animal models of the metabolic syndrome are both sugar-fed rats. Fructose, which accounts for 50% of table sugar and 55% of high-fructose corn syrup, is probably the culprit. Glucose, which is the remainder of table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, and the product of starch digestion, does not have the same effects. I think it's also relevant that refined sugar contains no vitamins or minerals whatsoever. Sweetener consumption in the U.S. has increased from virtually nothing in 1850, to 84 pounds per year in 1909, to 119 pounds in 1970, to 142 pounds in 2005 (source).
In a recent paper, Dr. Philip Scarpace's group (in collaboration with Dr. Richard Johnson), showed that a high-fructose diet causes leptin resistance in rats. The diet was 60% fructose, which is extreme by any standards, but it caused a complete resistance to the effect of leptin on food intake. Normally, leptin binds receptors in a brain region called the hypothalamus, which is responsible for food intake behaviors (including in humans). This accounts for leptin's ability to reduce food consumption. Fructose-fed rats did not reduce their food intake at all when injected with leptin, while rats on a normal diet did. When subsequently put on a high-fat diet (60% lard), rats that started off on the fructose diet gained more weight.
I think it's worth mentionong that rodents don't respond to high-fat diets in the same way as humans, as judged by the efficacy of low-carbohydrate diets for weight loss. Industrial lard also has a very poor ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats (especially if it's hydrogenated), which may also contribute to the observed weight gain.
Fructose-fed rats had higher cholesterol and twice the triglycerides of control-fed rats. Fructose increases triglycerides because it goes straight to the liver, which makes it into fat that's subsequently exported into the bloodstream. Elevated triglycerides impair leptin transport from the blood to the hypothalamus across the blood-brain barrier, which separates the central nervous system from the rest of the body. Fructose also impaired the response of the hypothalamus to the leptin that did reach it. Both effects may contribute to the leptin resistance Dr. Scarpace's group observed.
Just four weeks of fructose feeding in humans (1.5g per kg body weight) increased leptin levels by 48%. Body weight did not change during the study, indicating that more leptin was required to maintain the same level of fat mass. This may be the beginning of leptin resistance.
According to a pair of studies. The two studies—one from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and a second led by researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC—had relatively short follow-up periods of 1 year and 6 months, respectively. Owing to their brevity, neither study found an increased incidence of stones among the patients undergoing the surgery, but both found significant increases in oxalate secretion.
Both also found a supersaturation of calcium oxalate in a number of patients relatively soon after the surgical procedure. "The take-home message from our study is that morbidly obese patients should be counseled regarding the increased risks for kidney stones postoperatively," Bryan Hinck, a former research assistant for senior author Manoj Monga, MD, at the University of Minnesota, told Urology Times. "Not that this should dissuade them from the surgery, but rather inform them of the importance of compliant follow-up."
Hinck is currently a medical student at Rosalind Franklin University's Chicago Medical School. "Based on our findings, patients who have gastric bypass are at increased risk for forming stones," added Bhavin N. Patel, MD, a Wake Forest urology resident who worked on that group's study with Dean G. Assimos, MD, and colleagues. "Indeed, some are at increased risk of nephropathy and perhaps irreversible kidney damage."
I have done this year what I have done every year successively for the last few years; report here on the global water crisis in an attempt to not only inform but to inspire and to move us to action. The need for that action has never been more necessary than it is now. The Earth now sits on a precipice, with man having the power to pull it back or push it off.
Around the world from North America to Africa and beyond, we see water scarcity and drought becoming more a part of daily life for more people. This does not bode well for the future as population continues to rise as the quality of life in the developing world decreases due to war, climate change, pollution, and poverty. Climate change continues to melt glaciers globally at a much more rapid pace than predicted, and man finds himself because of it at a crossroads in a world filled with war, disease, famine, injustice, poverty, and despair. It would be very easy to give up looking at the picture we have painted, but we cannot do so. Our own survival depends on how we treat this planet and our fellow man. How we react to these crises now will determine if the world falls off that precipice or is saved.
I firmly believe that even though we now live in a world of turmoil, this next year will be a year of awakening for many. There are many more organizations that are now bringing awareness and action to the parts of our world in need of potable water and sanitation. There are many more people becoming aware of not only their carbon footprint, but their water footprint as well. This past year saw a surge in activism against the bottled water industry with citizen groups across the world standing up to the corporations seeking to take our water for profit.
These are good signs that point to a more intense activism in the year to come to hold political leaders accountable for policies that seek to fix water infrastructure, restore wetlands, reduce pollution, hold officials accountable for proper water management and efficient agriculture policies, and also hold them to signing a climate treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions that lead to drought and glacier melt this next year.
However, none of these things can happen without us. Without our voices, our hands, our perseverence, and our love for this planet and for the one resource we cannot live without. It is that love and perseverence that carries me into another year of water activism and of reporting to you the stories of our water, it's life, and our contributions to its preservation. May this coming year bring us closer to a world where water is truly appreciated for the beautiful life sustaining source and human right it is.
I heard an interview of Michael Pollan yesterday on Talk of the Nation. He made some important points about nutrition that bear repeating. He's fond of saying "don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food". That doesn't mean your grandmother specifically, but anyone's grandmother, whether she was Japanese, American or African. The point is that commercial food processing has taken us away from the foods, and traditional food preparation methods, on which our bodies evolved to thrive. At this point, we don't know enough about health to design a healthy synthetic diet. Diet and health are too complex for reductionism at our current level of understanding. For that reason, any departure from natural foods and traditional food processing techniques is suspect.
Mainstream nutrition science has repeatedly contradicted itself and led us down the wrong path. This means that traditional cultures still have something to teach us about health. Hunter-gatherers and certain other non-industrial cultures are still the healthiest people on Earth, from the perspective of non-communicable disease. Pollan used the example of butter. First we thought it was healthy, then we were told it contains too much saturated fat and should be replaced with hydrogenated vegetable margarine. Now we learn that trans fats are unhealthy, so we're making new margarines that are low in trans fats, but are still industrially processed pseudo-foods. How long will it take to show these new fats are harmful? What will be the next industrial fat to replace them? This game can be played forever as the latest unproven processed food replaces the previous one, and it will never result in something as healthy as real butter.
The last point of Pollan's I'll mention is that the world contains (or contained) a diversity of different cultures, living in dramatically different ways, many of which do not suffer from degenerative disease. These range from carnivores like the Inuit, to plant-heavy agriculturalists like the Kitavans, to pastoralists like the Masai. The human body is adapted to a wide variety of foodways, but the one it doesn't seem to like is the modern Western diet.
Pollan's new book is In Defense of Food. I haven't read it, but I think it would be a good introduction to the health, ethical and environmental issues that surround food choices. He's a clear and accessible writer.
Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, and happy holidays to everyone!
My family is cross-cultural and, at least, when it comes to my spouse and our kids, very secular. We do, however, celebrate both Chanukah and Christmas and, the last few days, I have felt the stress of preparations for familial celebrations acutely.
Most of this was of my own doing. I was feeling inadequate and judging myself for having such a messy house. There are no decorations (except the tree, which we put up on Monday) and I have certainly not done any holiday baking.
Every level surface was covered in layers of clutter. I also found that stuff that doesn't usually bother me so much (the fact that most of the knobs are missing from our kitchen cupboards, our counter tops desperately need replacing, our bathmats and towels are all frayed and, in a number of places, the wallpaper has been torn off the walls) was making me absolutely nuts.
I did manage to put a dent in the mess but not until I had driven everyone in the house crazy, too. By the time afternoon rolled around my spouse was trying to get me to take deep breaths and my oldest son was referring to himself as "S-erella".
Then, when everyone (my parents and sister and brother in law) arrived, I just decided to let it all go (OK, the wine helped). As the evening unfolded and I relaxed, I was reminded that we were all there to enjoy each other, that I am a grow-up now (even if I don't always act like it) and that all expectations around our own particular traditions were being met.
These are the things you can count on during the holidays at my house:
1. We will light the Chanukah candles (we have a felt menorah and the real thing) and, in lieu of a prayer we will sing loudly and off-key. We call Chanukah "the festival of fried things" and we always make sure that we eat lots of them (latkes are a particular favourite and my spouse and his brothers each believe that theirs are the best).
2. On Christmas Eve, everyone will come over in the late afternoon. My spouse will have to run one last errand after the guests arrive and I will excuse myself to go wrap all my presents (careful wrapping is not a priority in my family).
3. My mom will bring chicken pot pie and tourtiere (a French Canadian traditional pork pie). My sister will bring a celiac-friendly, kosher chicken pot pie (my sister and I are both married to Jewish men).
4. We will begin to unwrap all our presents to each other shortly after dinner. Despite the fact that we will all have declared that we planned on restraint, we will open presents for hours.
5. The first present we each get will be socks.
6. My spouse will put out crackers, cheese and pickles that almost no one will eat because we are still full of tourtiere and pot pie.
7. My sister and I and the kids will all get pajamas.
8. My brother-in-law will give my mom a bottle of wine.
9. We will put out a snack for Santa (we tracked his travels on Google Earth). This year, we left him a banana, blueberry, chocolate chip muffin and apple juice).
10. The next morning, D. will wake up first. We will keep him in our bed for a while so that the others can get a bit of sleep (this morning, D. woke me up to say, "Mama! You fell back asleep!" but he also read to himself for more than an hour).
11. The kids will go and wake up my mom in the attic guest room and we will go downstairs.
12. Santa will have come. Euphoria will ensue. This year's haul included DS games, a hot wheels set (for D.) and a big red bean bag chair (for S. but D. has been eyeing it).
13. We will all find chocolate in our stockings (fair trade, except for D. who has a nut allergy. Santa hasn't been able to find a distributor of fair trade chocolate that's safe for him. D. gets a Mars bar).
14. My brother-in-law will bring a bottle of Baileys (one of the many reasons I love my brother-in-law) and most of the grown ups will pour liberal amounts into our breakfast coffee.
15. I'll go for a post-breakfast dog walk with S. and my sister. They will wear their pajamas.
16. We will have a Christmas dinner, consisting of a turkey with all the fixings. T. will roast the turkey and veggies, mom will make the cranberry sauce and my sister makes the stuffing and desserts. We will all eat until we can't move.
Something we did last year, which we are making into a tradition is watch a movie on Christmas day. Last year it was Elf. This year's choice is Get Smart. Going to go do that now.
May you all be enjoying your good traditions, surviving the meshugas and spending time with people you love.
Well its been an interesting year, so where do I go from here.... ....good question keep 'em peeled to see!
So, this year my blog has had over 3,000 new visitors and nearly 5,000 returning visitors which is nice; someone is obviously enjoying following my life or stumbling across some random posts. The one thing that seems to get the most hits is about losing weight; why are we SO crazy to loose weight fast!!?!?
Folks seemed to have come far and wide, lots from Spain, America and the UK, but also from South Africa, Bahrain, Kazakhstan are just some of the remoter areas that have logged on to my site.
As 20% of the readers/viewers were people searching for 'Vaughan Town' and came across my site, should I get commission??
Dear readers will be aware Christmas isn't my favourite time of year, but I decided to really make an effect and bring a typical English style Christmas to Spain. You know what they say about best laid plans... ...well their right! My package from England didn't arrive, so NO Xmas pudding, NO mince pies, NO Xmas crackers, NO stuffing for the turkey and worse of all NO SNOW! But determined I plodded on (little donkey) and made my own stuffing from scratch! Yeah, you heard me! And mulled wine and all the trimmings - although I must say it simply isn't the same in Spain. The simple things you take for granted and would expect simply couldn't be found (sage for example) even a potato masher!? As per normal we had enough food to feed the street, makes you wonder why we feel the need to do some much?
Onto the presents, I got a Wii and the crazy Rabbids game - what does that say about me?? Not sure but it is fun. As for Sandra, I got here a digital camera and the Singstar games, and a little something put away for the 3 kings (Spains Xmas - 6th Jan), for Ariadna she got clothes of course and China I sent her an electric guitar and amp, hope she likes it!
HAPPY FAMILY
It's weird how the people you think would wish you a Merry Christmas don't, and people you don't expect to, do!!?!? Christmas is ALWAYS a time for unique moments (good or bad), the key I guess is to treasure the ones you have and share them with the people that matter the most.
A funny thing happened on my finger’s third adventure around the edge of the bowl of soon-to-be-truffles goo yesterday: I couldn’t lick. My head was saying, “You reserved the Points! Eat it!” But my stomach was saying, “Put that sugar crap in me and I promise you’ll be seeing it again real soon.” So I rinsed my finger(s) and made the truffles and washed the bowl without another taste.
It’s 9:15 and I’m still in my pjs. I plan to still be in my pjs when I head to the kitchen in a minute and make a batch of Peanut Blossom Cookies and Puppy Chow, both laden with chocolate and peanut butter, but both way too sweet (like the truffles) to really tempt me. I do plan to have for dessert later a piece of Hungry Girl’s 1-Point fudge with a scoop of Breyer’s double-churn fat-free vanilla ice cream.
Also on the menu tonight: ham and scalloped potatoes. My food strategy this year seems to be to mostly make stuff I don’t like or no longer eat. It was not something I did intentionally, but it’s working like a charm. Besides, there will be enough cheese, almonds and homemade bread to make me squirm in my seat later. Ya’ll know how I love me some cheese, almonds and bread more than chocolate and peanut butter (except PB2) any day.
While making the truffles yesterday, I had a moment where I really missed the days of mindless eating. When eating a truffle or two was nothing more than a precursor to the real dessert. When unwrapping Hershey Kisses for the cookies was a “one for the bowl, two for me” game. When cheese, crackers, nuts, and bread would just “hold me over” until dinner. I was lost in these thoughts when the UPS man delivered the sweater I ordered from Macy’s, a very clingy cardigan that I thought would look nice with my gray leggings and black boots. I took it out of the package and tried it on. Yup. It was clingy alright. Hugged, and I mean hugged, every inch of my mid section and butt.
As I looked at my body in the mirror, I realized I could miss the days of mindless eating all I wanted, but I was never going back there. I’d rather eat light and look like I look now than eat whatever I want and hide under layers and layers of clothing. Food doesn’t make me happy. A strong healthy body that accommodates a clingy cardigan does. (Just so we're clear, I really am wearing a camisole under the sweater. I'm not THAT daring :))
So take that cheese and almonds and bread and truffles! I’ll try you, taste you, enjoy you in small bits for short moments, but I’ll enjoy my sweater for a long, long time.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Joyous Kwanzaa everyone! Eat smart. Be well. May you be surrounded by peace and love this evening and always.
For most of us, the holidays are a non-stop food fest that challenges our resolve to eat healthy. From office parties and cookie exchanges to holiday parties and tasty gifts, the temptations are all around. Holiday challenges are even greater for people who have undergone weight loss surgery. “Because people who have undergone weight loss surgery can only eat a half cup of food at a time, they have to focus on portion control,” said Gregory Barnes, M.D., weight loss surgeon on the medical staff at Baylor All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth.
Portion restrictions, along with the need to avoid drinking any liquids within 30 minutes of eating, require some special eat-smart strategies for enjoying the holidays. “Although the holidays may challenge their commitment, I believe that weight loss surgery patients can stick with their goals and remain on track if they’ll do some advanced planning,” said Dr. Barnes.
Try these tips for not just surviving, but actually enjoying holiday parties and food:- Eat something healthy before a party so you don’t arrive hungry.
- Consider bringing a healthy tray of vegetables and dip or other healthy dish to your family gathering or a holiday party. - Because you’re limited to only a half cup-sized portion, be very selective at a buffet. Look for non-fried, healthy options, and keep in mind that a bite or two of a dessert can often satisfy your craving. - Grab your drink and focus on socializing since you will need to wait before eating. - Stand away from the table or buffet so you’ll be less tempted.
More than any other time of year, the holidays are a time when a support system is critical for success. “Our weight loss patients need to find a friend or group that can hold them accountable and keep them focused on their goals at this time of year,” said Dr. Barnes. “Having support is one of the most effective ways to achieve all the benefits of weight loss surgery.”
