Life is Healthy

I've been keeping to my New Year's Resolution of raising my walking schedule to twenty miles a week. I wasn't keeping track of my walking mileage before this, but it was probably averaging only about seven miles per week.

I didn't make any plans on changing my diet for a couple of months, but was just going to focus on the increased exercise. I'm already feeling much better with the increased exercise. I've got more energy and am in a better mental and emotional spirit. But I haven't lost any weight and it's been over a month now!

But I do feel more toned, and though I didn't measure myself at the beginning, it's quite likely I'm losing a bit in inches around most parts of my body. My sister is trained as a dietician. She says they were told muscle is three times as dense as fat. Meaning a pound of fat takes up three times as much space as a pound of muscle. So she thinks I've added a little bit of muscle and have lost some fat. The scale doesn't show this difference at all, but if it's true, it would be a big improvement.

I've done over two hours of research on the web, trying to find the definitive answer for the muscle versus fat density question. (This is as good procrastination as any for delaying my walk today ;-)) There are a lot of conflicting answers out there. If anyone has a good online reference, and more encouragement for those of us who have started exercising but don't see the good results on their scales, please let us know!

I just came across this inspiring video of before and after weight loss photos. These people all lost their weight by exercising and making changes to their diet.



Also check out their website at ShapeFit.com for the many interesting and detailed weightloss success stories.

Thus far, today is going better than yesterday. Got in a good sculpting class. Did a few minutes on the elliptical and did a few minutes of walking, also. So it's all good.

It's Carnival weekend in some of the hottest cities around the world. Please b patient because The B-Life is taking a vacation to see what all the hype is about.

Well, today has been a total bust. I didn't sleep much at all last night, yet I still went to the gym this morning. There I was pumping away on an elliptical when it hit me: What in the hell am I doing at the gym when I feel this bad? The main reason I got up and went was because I thought my work out partner would be there. Not. When I first woke up I thought I should stay home, but no, I had to get up and go. Lesson well learned.

So then I decided to stay home and not venture in to work today. So then I didn't have the Internet. A big wind storm here apparently messed up the cable and blah, blah, blah. It's just now was turned back on.

So this is it for the day. I didn't do much as far as exercise goes, and I'm still tired. So no good post today. Until tomorrow--take care.

I scan the TV guide, my baby on my knee.

"Ross Kemp in Afghanistan?" I say to him. "I don't think we'll be watching that. Well, not unless he's wearing an orange boiler suit."

My baby blows a raspberry of appreciation.

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This may be a quiet week.

All is well. I am just spending some time with family and visiting friends. Posting may be sporadic to non-existent until early next week.

If you like, please post a link to your favourite blog in the comments and let me know why it's your fave.

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There was a good article in the New York Times yesterday encouraging people to eat less meat. Check it out and let me know what your think.

Michelle Obama looks really fit for her age. She just celebrated her 44th birthday last week. The highly publicized story is that she works out most weekday mornings on her treadmill, starting at 4:30am and is in bed by 9:30pm. She has two daughters aged 5 and 8. I'd be interested in getting more information about her actual workout routine, can anyone supply some good information?

Kathy was told she had high blood pressure and had to lose weight. She started on the South Beach Diet in June and had lost 49 pounds by this January. See her story and a couple of other stories of people who want to lose some weight at the New York Times today.

The art print above is Apple Modern.

1. I have a weakness for big brown eyes.
2. He makes me laugh.
3. He laughs at my jokes.
4. The values we share.
5. He calls me on my ‘meshuggahs’ (a lovely Yiddish word that means something like ‘crazy stuff’).
6. He has taught me a whole bunch of nifty Yiddish words.
7. His family.
8. He’s the smartest person I know.
9. He loves me.
10. He can show affection (to his family, his friends and to me).
11. The cute face he makes when he’s feeling a little sheepish (and the same face I see reflected on my oldest son).
12. His unwavering support, throughout the worst and the best of my life as a cancer patient.
13. He’s an amazing father.
14. He still manages to surprise me, even after almost seventeen years together.
15. He chooses good friends.
16. He has kept his hair longer, even though it bugs him because I think it’s hot.
17. He is a sexy beast (and will be mortified that I wrote this).
18. He is beautiful. Inside and out.
19. He has shown me that being angry with me and loving me are not mutually exclusive.
20. We have fun together.
21. He knows me better than anyone (and loves me anyway).
22. He is a really good cook.
23. He tells me that I’m beautiful.
24. He thinks the most casual of clothes are the sexiest.
25. He puts up with the fact that I do not drive.
26. He is incredibly supportive of my writing.
27. He understands that ‘taking care of myself’ can mean yet another ball of wool or a pedicure, even if he doesn’t totally get it.
28. The way we can communicate with a glance and a raised eyebrow.
29. The way he can wax eloquent about hot sauce.
30. I feel like I’m still getting to know him.
31. His calves.
32. He is very kind.
33. He can apologize when he’s wrong.
34. He reads.
35. He lets me talk to him about knitting (and I talk about knitting a lot).
36. He doesn’t knit but he can talk knowledgeably about getting gauge and blocking.
37. He has his own interests and his own friends.
38. He encourages my separate interests and friendships.
39. I can recognize his walk from a distance (and my boys walk the same way).
40. He makes writing this list incredibly easy. I’m confident that I could go on for 100 more birthdays.
41. I love him more than I can say.

Heather has been fat since her teen years. But now at age 31, she is very slim for the first time since childhood. She weighs 140 pounds and her height is 5'9".

She lost 110 pounds in just over one year. See her inspirational story at CNN.

Have you noticed?

घटं भिंद्यात्पटं छिंद्यात्कुर्याद्रारभरोहणम्‌।

येन केन प्रकारेण प्रसिद्धो पुरुषो भवेत्‌॥

English Translation of Sanskrit Quote:

[One] should break a pot, tear a cloth, ride a donkey.
By whatever means possible, a man should become famous.

I've been doing a bit of research, as part of my plan to take control of my diet, feel healthier and STOP GAINING WEIGHT. Oh, and I'd like to fend off cancer, too.

The South Beach Diet was written by cardiologist, Arthur Agatson, "in order to reverse the myriad of heart and vascular problems that stem from obesity" (p.7). Web MD describes South Beach as "a heart-friendly version of the Atkins Diet."

The premise of the diet is that we feel better and lose weight when our insulin levels are regulated and that the way to do this is by consuming mostly foods with with a lower glycemic index (because I am lazy, I am going to let Wiki fill you in on the details).

The book promises that you will lose eight to thirteen pounds in the first two weeks of the diet (I think the idea is that a quick success will get you motivated), known as Phase 1. And the cover of the edition that I borrowed from the library offered the added bonus, "Lose Belly Fat First!"

Who wouldn't love a diet that offered quick results (although Dr. Agatson is very careful to say that weight loss does slow down in the second phase of the diet, when some previously forbidden foods are reintroduced) and that promised to trim fat from what for many of us (especially those of us who've had babies) is a source of considerable angst? And there is lots in this diet that does make sense.

I know that lean protein makes me feel more full and that, if I get too hungry and let my blood sugar drop, I become a little hysterical (my youngest son is very like me in this. If he gets too hungry, he becomes a little terror. The transformation once he is fed is truly remarkable). I also know that I feel much better when I avoid white sugar.

But I have to say that I am a little leery of a diet that prescribes bacon and eggs for breakfast most mornings and that frowns on whole grain bread (although Agatson does say that whole grains are much better than their refined counterparts).

And I know all to well what a bad idea it can be to try any diet that makes you feel deprived of foods you love.

What I am taking from this diet:

• A good reminder to follow my naturopathic doctor's advice and avoid refined sugar.
• Eat smaller meals and avoid getting too hungry.
• Have snacks with good, healthy proteins.
• Avoid refined carbohydrates (I seldom bother with a bun when I have a burger and I don't have bread with dinner, usually. Avoiding carb-centred snacks, especially when we can't have nuts in the house, is more of a challenge).
  

There's been several studies that show pedometers can be helpful to encourage people to get moving and walk more.

In this other study from a few years ago, researchers found that sedentary women had a higher BMI and a higher belly fat ratio than more active women. This would seem obvious to most people but the numbers are interesting anyway. Here 80 middle-aged women wore a pedometer without changing their activity level for a week. The researchers measured their body mass index (BMI) as well as waist and hips (to determine belly fat).

The average sedentary person walks 2,000-3,000 steps per day.

This study found that women who typically walked less than 6,000 steps had a BMI of 29, 44% body fat, a 37-inch waist, 42-inch hips, and a 0.87 waist-to-hip ratio.

6,000 to 10,000 steps had a BMI of 26, 35% body fat, a 32-inch waist, 40-inch hips, and a 0.80 waist-to-hip ratio.

10,000 steps or more had a BMI of 23, 26% body fat, a 29-inch waist, 29-inch hips, and a 0.75 waist-to-hip ratio.

Basically those who walked less had more total fat, and more centrally located fat.

Walking 10,000 steps is doable in 30 minutes time.

The pedometer shown above costs less than $20. It's the best-selling Omron Pedometer

So with only one days rest I'm back at Vaughan Town! This week we have several veterans (people who have done the program before), so me being me - like to make my life hard, decided to try some new things out in both the afternoon activities and in the entertainment section.

The only problem is, I have lots of ideas but little time to put them together - however I have some free time coming up (several weeks in fact) so maybe I'll get busy working on scripts / plays etc.

This group was very business focused and had high expectations of the Anglos I felt, bearing in mind the Anglos are volunteers and not necessarily professionals in any specific capacity. However I think after a few ideas and reminders everyone came together but it took a while to warm up.

The evenings entertainment helped get people to relax and come together a bit more - I hope they do, for their own enjoyment. I did some new material which kicked my ass as I only had 3 days to work on it, but they enjoyed it, so that was good - always listen to your mom she knows best, right!?

My dance nearly killed me, really the mask is impossible to breathe in! We had a great workout, an improv coach, singers and dancers "rock and roll people"!

As for the "master" student I pushed them a little more by getting them to work on storytelling - which is more difficult than simply giving a presentation, they rose to the challenge I'm peased to say.

No snow as yet, but its still there waiting to pounce. The hotel still have a lot of work in the customer service department and several other areas, the service like the food is becoming less and less - I think we need a break from each other (in my opinion) but we will see if this improves as time goes on. I'm actually looking forward to trying the new venue in Montfrague should be nice to have a bunch of fresh faces and personalities.

As usual all the weeks photos can be found here

Vaughan Town - Gredos - Program 70

As I have written before, I am a big fan of singer-songwriter Eve Goldberg. Her voice is pure and clear and her songs always move me. Her most recent album, A Kinder Season, recorded in the months after her mother passed away from breast cancer, was the balm and inspiration that helped me get through the initial shock and pain of my own cancer diagnosis.

You can listen to audio clips from each of her albums on her web site. Go check her out (and buy her music. You won't regret it).

Very recently, though, Eve has released a new song, one with a very important message. The following is from her website:

This month marks the launch of my new song "The Streets of Burma." I wrote this song after watching the TV news last fall and seeing the powerful images of monks and nuns in Burma peacefully taking to the streets to protest against the military dictatorship. Their protests were brutally suppressed. Watching these events unfold from half a world away, I was outraged, and concerned for the people of Burma. The TV news has moved on to other, more "exciting" events, but what has happened to the monks and nuns? What has happened to the ordinary citizens in Burma who long for peace and democracy? That's where my song "The Streets of Burma" was born.

And I'm proud to announce that Amnesty International has decided to use the song as part of its campaign to help free U Gambira, one of the monks arrested following the protests. You can listen to and download the song by clicking on the link above left, and you can find out more about the campaign at www.amnesty.ca/streetsofburma/

Please support Amnesty International's important work in this area.

Montel Williams, age 51, is feeling really great these days. In the mornings he works out in the gym on an elliptical machine and he has been drinking a lot of green vegetable shakes for a couple of years. His face is glowing with health, he says his wrinkles have disappeared and he feels very energized.

He's just written a book called Living Well: 21 Days to Transform Your Life, Supercharge Your Health, and Feel Spectacular.

See an interesting interview about his tips for kick-starting a healthy routine here.

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When is the international community going to get into a serious discussion about population growth and its contributions to this crisis? Is it not irresponsible to continue population increases without adequate resources to sustain humans? If people in these regions wish to have water they must realize THEIR part in the problem and work to be the solution. It is simply insane to keep pumping all of this water out knowing the conditions it is creating while continuing population increases. Especially in light of warnings from the IPCC for this region in relation to climate change which is now also a great factor in lower water levels.

Drain On The Mediteranean/Water Usage Up

Excerpt:

Freshwater has always been a scarce commodity in the semi-arid Mediterranean. It has 7 percent of the world's population, but only 3 percent of its freshwater resources. And the UN-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report predicts that global warming may lead to less rainfall and more evaporation in the region, further reducing the supply of water.

Half the world's "water poor" -- that is, people whose access to freshwater is deemed inadequate -- live in the Mediterranean region, mostly on the sea's eastern and southern shores. By 2025, the Blue Plan predicts that due to population growth and expanding agriculture, the number of water poor in the region could be as high as 165 million in 2025, up from 108 million in 2000.

End of excerpt.

When will we learn?

Here's another way to see your before and after weight loss image. The site is at weightview.com. You can submit your current picture and see what you might look like at your goal weight. They recommend you put the two photos on your fridge for motivation. Has anyone tried it? I haven't yet but plan to today.

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The following email was waiting in my inbox when I got back from yoga this afternoon:

"Dear Not Just About Cancer Blog Author,

Our editors recently reviewed your blog and have given it a 9.5 score out of (10). Your blog is currently ranked in the top 3 in the Conditions and Diseases category of Blogged.com. This is quite an achievement!

http://www.blogged.com/directory/health/conditions-and-diseases

We evaluated your blog based on the following criteria: Frequency of Updates, Relevance of Content, Site Design, and Writing Style. After carefully reviewing each of these criteria, your site was given its 9.5 score.

Please accept my congratulations on a blog well-done!"