Life is Healthy

Jerome, age 47, is a few pounds short of his goal of losing 300 pounds. When he reaches his goal weight he plans on getting certified as a personal trainer. Check out his blog and story at Watch Me Lose 300 Pounds.

I hemmed. I hawed. I limped. I crawled. I negotiated. I meditated. But this dang knee isn’t healing itself, and it damn sure can’t take me biking and hiking like I want. So it is with some foot stomping that I will have surgery June 23.

In 20 years, my family doctor has not steered me wrong. When she said that the fancy “buff n’ shine” that my orthopedic surgeon proposed is my best option for extending the life of my original parts, I decided to heed her advice.

…stomp…

Accepting that surgery is my best option is a lot like when I accepted that losing weight was my best option. I’d tried to deny I was obese, but it’s hard to ignore 300 pounds, just as it’s hard to ignore a knee that’s constantly going out. Once I got honest with myself about my weight, I developed a plan, and life felt lighter even before I lost a pound.

I’m putting together a plan for this knee business, too. Six to 12 weeks recovery time seems like forever right now, but I’ll stick with it – moment by moment, just as I did with weight loss. I’ll do everything I can to recover in as short amount of time as possible.

What a change from my non-exercising days. Back then, if a doctor had said, “Lynn, you can’t work out for 6-12 weeks,” I’d have been ecstatic!

“Woohoo! I ‘can’t’ exercise! I have a doctor’s excuse and everything!”

But now – in this place of weight loss and changed mind and eagerness (yes, EAGERNESS) to exercise – I can’t wait to rehab so I can get back to doing what I love to do: hiking, biking, elipticizing. Heck, just walking without fear of falling will be fabulous!

I can’t deny that I’m a little scared that the moment the surgeon’s scalpel cuts my skin, 170 pounds will seep in along with those old excusive habits. This will be the biggest test in maintenance so far. Can I hang on to this weight? Well, as Don Henley asks, “How bad do you want it?” Answer: I’ve never wanted anything as badly than for this last time down the scale to BE the last time down the scale. I really want it bad enough.

So, I’ll keep on keepin’ on. I’ll eat well, move when I can, and ask for help (online and off) when I need it. No more scary silent worrying. I’m done with that. I have a plan. And looking on the bright side, for a few weeks after surgery, I’ll get to ride around WalMart in a scooter! Beep beep!

So my question to you is: how bad do you want it? And what are you doing to get it?

I cannot describe in words to you the pain my soul feels now. I am not even a resident of this area and cannot begin to understand what it is like to lose your livelihood. However, I am a citizen of this world, and a sentient being with a connection to the Earth and a deep appreciation for understanding how it is all connected to us. This hurts us all, and it will affect generations of humans and all species for decades to come. That is why I have been hesitating regarding writing much about this here of late, because it is so emotional for me. To think of the extent of damage environmentally that is now being wrecked upon this area of the world and the ripple effect it will have seems too much to bear.

I don't know how good some of you are at connecting dots in situations, but this is a blatant example of corporate/governmental good ole boy a** covering, and using a situation to its fullest advantage to make a profit. I am going to post an article here that I posted to Current.com regarding the dispersant Corexit that is being used by BP in order to illustrate this point. To say these people are not criminals that should be arrested for crimes against nature is to be one devoid of logic and morality. However, knowing the corrupt system we live in I fear it will have to be the people who take matters into their own hands. I truly do wonder though if we have the moral courage to do so now.

The US is addicted to oil, and we need an intervention. I surely thought this would be it. Yet, I still see people pulling into BP stations (shame on you) as if oblivious to the environmental holocaust being perpetrated by BP and their collusion in it by supporting them. And yes I know, oil on the whole is not good and we should be much more vocal about calling for CLEAN, AFFORDABLE, ALTERNATE ENERGY. SO WHY AREN'T WE? I did notice the SUN shining over the toxic oil sheened Gulf for all of these 42 days that this catastrophe has been allowed to continue that could power our lives. I did notice the WIND blowing in offshore breezes that holds the power we need to light our homes. The dichotomy was actually quite sad in seeing the oil soaked marinelife and wildlife struggling to live as well... just "collateral damage" to the bastards looking to now stall for time until AUGUST when their relief wells will supposedly be done, of course, without any guarantee they too will work to stop this bleeding of our Earth.

The Black Tide of the Gulf is our moral ineptitude and apathy laid out in front of us. It is everything we are, and it is also representative of everything we could be as a species if we finally use this disaster to understand our true place in this world. And it is not to be the arrogant all powerful masters we portend to be (and actually suck at.) It is to be a stewardship species that cherishes and respects the resources given to us as gifts and the species that live in sympatico with us. It is about respecting that most precious resource- Water. There will be no explaining ourselves should we fail in seeking justice for our planet and those who cannot speak for themselves. And perhaps for me, to think that after all that has happened that we as a species will not rise to the task is even more heartbreaking. I surely hope I am wrong. Please, let me be wrong.

BOYCOTT BP, CALL FOR CLEAN ENERGY NOW.

BP oil blog

Some good information here.

Corexit Is Killing The Gulf

A must read.



Phillipe Cousteau: "This is a nightmare"

Pass this on to counter the lies.

BP oil disaster live news

Week 22 - HI-KEY

The 'French paradox' rears its ugly head again. The reasoning goes something like this: French people eat more saturated animal fat than any other affluent nation, and have the second-lowest rate of coronary heart disease (only after Japan, which has a much higher stroke rate than France). French people drink red wine. Therefore, red wine must be protecting them against the artery-clogging yogurt, beef and butter.

The latest study to fall into this myth was published in the AJCN recently (1). Investigators showed that 1/3 bottle of red wine per day for 21 days increased blood flow in forearm vessels of healthy volunteers, which they interpreted as "enhanced vascular endothelial function"*. The novel finding in this paper is that red wine consumption increases the migration of certain cells into blood vessels that are thought to maintain and repair the vessels. There were no control groups for comparison, neither abstainers nor a group drinking a different type of alcohol.

The investigators then went on to speculate that the various antioxidant polyphenols in red wine, such as the trendy molecule resveratrol, could be involved. Even though you have to give animals 500 bottles' worth of resveratrol per day to see any effect. But there's another little problem with this hypothesis...

Ethanol-- plain old alcohol. You could drink a 40 oz bottle of malt liquor every night and it would probably do the exact same thing.

No matter what the source, alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease out to about 3-4 drinks per day, after which the risk goes back up (2, 3)**. The association is not trivial-- up to a 62% lower risk associated with alcohol use. Controlled trials have shown that alcohol, regardless of the source, increases HDL cholesterol and reduces the tendency to clot (4).

Should we all start downing three drinks a day? Not so fast. Although alcohol does probably decrease heart attack risk, the effect on total mortality is equivocal. That's because it increases the risk of cancers and accidents. Alcohol is a drug, and my opinion is that like all drugs, overall it will not benefit the health of a person with an otherwise good diet and lifestyle. That being said, it's enjoyable, so I have no problem with drinking it in moderation. Just don't think you're doing it for your health.

So does red wine decrease the risk of having a heart attack? Yes, just as effectively as malt liquor. It's not the antioxidants and resveratrol, it's the ethanol. The reason the French avoid heart attacks is not because of some fancy compound in their wine that protects them from a high saturated fat intake. It's because they have preserved their diet traditions to a greater degree than most industrialized nations.

I do think it's interesting to speculate about why alcohol (probably) reduces heart attack risk. As far as I know, the mechanism is unknown. Could it be because it relaxes us? I'm going to ponder that over a glass of whiskey...


* It may well represent an improvement of endothelial function, but that's an assumption on the part of the investigators. It belongs in the discussion section, if anywhere, and not in the results section.

** The first study is really interesting. For once, I see no evidence of "healthy user bias". Rates of healthy behaviors were virtually identical across quintiles of alcohol intake. This gives me a much higher degree of confidence in the results.

BBC News, Athens The Danish company's decision has been criticised in Greece

The world's leading supplier of the anti-diabetes drug insulin is withdrawing its medication from Greece.

Novo Nordisk, a Danish company, objects to a government decree ordering a 25% price cut in all medicines.

People with diabetes in Greece have condemned the Danish action as "brutal capitalist blackmail".

More than 50,000 Greeks with diabetes use Novo Nordisk's state of-the-art-insulin, which is injected via an easy-to-use fountain pen-like device.

A spokesman for the Danish pharmaceutical company said it was withdrawing the product from the Greek market because the price cut would force its business in Greece to run at a loss.

The company was also concerned that the compulsory 25% reduction would have a knock-on effect because other countries use Greece as a key reference point for setting drug prices.

'Insensitive'

Greece wants to slash its enormous medical bill as part of its effort to reduce the country's crippling debt.

International pharmaceutical companies are owed billions in unpaid bills. Novo Nordisk claims it is owed $36m (£24.9m) dollars by the Greek state.

The father of a 10-year-old Greek girl with diabetes called Nephele has written to Novo Nordisk's chairman saying there was more to health care than the bottom line.

"You could not have acted in a more insensitive manner at a more inopportune time," he wrote.

The Greek diabetes association was more robust, describing the Danes' actions as "brutal blackmail" and "a violation of corporate social responsibility".

The Danish chairman, Lars Sorensen, wrote to Nephele's father stressing that it was "the irresponsible management of finances by the Greek government which puts both you and our company in this difficult position".

People with diabetes in Greece have warned that some could die as a result of this action.

But a spokesman for Novo Nordisk said this issue was not about killing people. He pledged that the company would make traditional insulin products available free of charge to compensate.

Related Article:

Second firm withdraws drugs from Greece over cuts

रथस्यैकं चक्रं भुजगयमिताः सप्ततुरगाः


निरालंबो मार्गश्चरणविकलो सारथिरपि।


रविर्यात्यंतं प्रतिदिनमपारस्य नभसः


क्रियासिद्धिः सत्त्वे भवति महतां नोपकरणे॥

English Translation of Sanskrit Quote:

Everyday the sun travels to the end of endless sky in a single wheeled chariot having seven horses controlled by serpents on an unsupported road with a charioteer having disabled foot. The actions of great people are accomplished by their inner strength, not by the means of doing it.

English Commentary on Sanskrit Quote:

Ardi Rizal, a two year old from Sumatra puffs his way through two pack of cigarettes per day. (Photo courtesy SCTV)

Ardi Rizal is a two year-old from Musi Banyuasin in Sumatra with a difference - he is addicted to cigarettes and smokes two packs a day.

According to his mother Diana, "he's totally addicted. If he doesn't gets cigarettes, he gets angry and screams and batters his head against the wall.'

She said that he suffered withdrawal symptoms when he was denied cigarettes. "He complains that he feels dizzy and sick if he doesn't get a cigarette," she said.

His father, Mohammed, first introduced Ardi to smoking at the age of eighteen months.

Ardi, who weighs about 25 kilos, is also too unfit to play with other children and instead gets around on a toy truck.

Ardi refuses to smoke anything other than his favourite brand.

When his father was asked if he thought smoking would harm Ardi, he said "Ardi looks pretty healthy to me. I don't see the problem."

I bought this old rocking chair at a garage sale for $1 in the summer of 2004, the summer I weighed 300 pounds (give or take). Its seat was broad, like mine, and the arms had been removed so it fit me perfectly.

The old gal’s been on my porch through snow and rain, heat and cold, grandbabies, parties, and, of course, weight loss. When over the winter its seat developed a split down the middle seam, someone suggested I throw it away. It was only a dollar, she said.

But throwing away that old chair would be like throwing away my old black pants. My pants, I wrote back in March (see “Ode To My Size 28 Black Stretch Pants”), are my friend. They help me through those days when I wonder: Why am I doing this? Why do I journal my food? Why do I eat the way I do? Why do I (usually) say no to chocolate cake, mac n’ cheese, and half in half in my coffee? I love those things!

“Ah,” say the size 28 black stretch pants, “but you love yourself even more.”

The old rocker is that kind of friend, too. It’s my favorite place to sit when I’m having a “fat” day because I remember that garage sale and how I sat down on it before I bought it. My back and legs were sore from walking around. The air was warm and I was breathing heavy. My face was flushed. Sweat trickled down my back. I sat on that chair to rest and it welcomed me – all of me – and gave me comfort.

When I sit on that chair now, I feel the magnitude of 170 pounds gone. I feel small and bony and strong. I feel healthy and grateful. I feel welcomed and comforted. In a way, the chair is my “Giving Tree.” (“The Giving Tree” is a children’s book by Shel Silverstein.) Only unlike the boy in the book, I (or rather my husband) fixed her seat, and in the coming weeks, she’ll get a fresh coat of paint. I need her and want her to have a long life on my porch.
*******
Congratulations to Lynn’s Weigh Facebook “friend” Wendy, who won the Leslie Sansone “Walk & Firm” DVD giveaway! In a few days, my daughter Cassie will be back with a review and giveaway of a new yoga DVD. Stay tuned!

David has lost an astounding 230 pounds. He used to weigh over 420 and now weighs about 180. He started his determined weight loss journey in March 2008. It's been a lot of exercise and a big change in eating habits. See his story at This Little Piggy Went to the Gym.

Antara News, Thursday, May 27, 2010 19:47 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communication and information, Kiyotaka Akasaka, said Indonesia had made an enormous progress at home upon achieving the MDGs target.

"I see that Indonesia has made progress in reducing poverty, upgrade the education sector and women role in the society as well as increasing the rate of child mortality," Akasaka said here on Thursday morning during a press conference after giving a public lecture themed "The UN, MDGs and the Role of Young People in Furthering the Global Agenda" at Atmajaya University Jakarta.

However, he said, further effort was still needed to boost the handling of several sectors namely maternal mortality, eradication of HIV/AIDS, improvement of environmental sustainability an unemployment.

"Indonesia still have five more years to go. I believe this country will be able to achieve the MDGs target and the UN is willing to assist it," he said adding that Indonesia was among countries in the world which support the UN`s program.

At noon, Akasaka is scheduled to meet with Directorate General for Multilateral Economy, Finance and Development from Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Rezlan Izhar Janie, and other high officials from the ministry. They will be discussing about further cooperation in area of public information.

"Indonesian government has already support UN`s program during the past years. We are hoping that the support will continue in th future," said Akasaka.

In the afternoon he will visit the Peacekeeping Training Facility in Cilangkap to participate in a ceremonial event to pay tribute to Indonesia`s contributions to UN Peacekeeping in anticipation of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers (May 29).

Shrink Yourself talks about powerlessness and the real reasons behind eating to control emotions. This site has some real advice for people who feel like they are out of control.

Sorry I've been MIA for a while. I'm working on The Secret and have had some surprising results. Essentially, I'm rewriting my life. And having some success. As this project goes on, I will keep you up-to-date with my progress. I'm thinking of starting another blog that details my experiences. What I don't want to do right now is lead anyone to believe that I have this thing down pat. I'm still working on it. And it's going to take time. I do feel more in control. And I know that I can only control myself--other people are responsible for their actions or inactions as the case may be. But my life is good. More to come.

I've been on vacation this week. I'm pretending that I'm retired. And retirement will be great. More to come.

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 05/26/2010 8:50 PM

Over 100 women employees of an artificial eyelid maker in the West Java town of Garut went into a trance on Wednesday, forcing the management to put production process to a halt.

The rare incident took place just after the workers of PT Surya Garut Indah were about to resume activities after a lunch break. Quoting a security guard, Antara reported that the mass trance started from a worker and quickly spread to others.

“They became enraged with their eyes turning red, while screaming and uttering unclear words,” security guard Nurodin said.

It took a spiritual healer over one hour to help the workers regain their consciousness, Nurodin added. The management then asked all the workers to go home to prevent the incident from recurring.

The spiritual healer, Junaedi, said a number of workers had resisted his attempt to cure them. Some of them spitted on him, he added.

He said he remained in the dark about the cause of the mass trance.

Antara News, Wednesday, May 26, 2010 03:11 WIB

Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA News) - The Jayapura immigration authorities said two French journalists would be deported to their country through Jakarta on Wednesday.

Head of the Jayapura immigration office Robert Silitonga said Baudoin Koeniag and Carol Helene Lorthiois of Mano Mano TV Arte would be deported because they violated their coverage permits.

The TV journalists were arrested while covering a rally in front of the Papuan legislative building on Tuesday afternoon, he said.

From their questioning, it was revealed that the only journalist who got the news coverage permit was only Baudoin Koeniag.

The permit was issued by the tourism and cultural ministry in Jakarta on April 20, 2010, to cover such areas as Aceh, Jakarta, Bali, Gorontalo, and Sorong (Papua), he said.

Jayapura, the capital of Papuan Province, was not on the list, he said adding that the news reporting permit was given to them to make a documentary film on future Indonesia.

Carol Helene Lorthiois herself entered Indonesia by using a tourism visa. The French nationals would be flown for Jakarta by Garuda Indonesia and later deported, Silitonga said.

Besides being deported, the two French journalists would also be blacklisted, he said.

We can measure the nutrient and toxin content of a food, and debate the health effects of each of its constituents until we're out of breath. But in the end, we still won't have a very accurate prediction of the health effects of that food. The question we need to answer is this one: has this food sustained healthy traditional cultures?

I'm currently reading a great book edited by Drs. Hugh Trowell and Denis Burkitt, titled Western Diseases: Their Emergence and Prevention. It's a compilation of chapters describing the diet and health of traditional populations around the world as they modernize.

The book contains a chapter on Papua New Guinea highlanders. Here's a description of their diet:

A diet survey was undertaken involving 90 subjects, in which all food consumed by each individual was weighed over a period of seven consecutive days. Sweet potato supplied over 90 percent of their total food intake, while non-tuberous vegetables accounted for less than 5 percent of the food consumed and the intake of meat was negligible... Extensive herds of pigs are maintained and, during exchange ceremonies, large amounts of pork are consumed.

They ate no salt. Their calories were almost entirely supplied by sweet potatoes, with occasional feasts on pork.

How was their health? Like many non-industrial societies, they had a high infant/child mortality rate, such that 43 percent of children died before growing old enough to marry. Surprisingly, protein deficiency was rare. No obvious malnutrition was observed in this population, although iodine-deficiency cretinism occurs in some highlands populations:

Young adults were well built and physically fit and had normal levels of haemoglobin and serum albumin. Further, adult females showed no evidence of malnutrition in spite of the demands by repeated cycles of pregnancy and lactation. On the basis of American standards (Society of Actuaries, 1959), both sexes were close to 100 percent standard weight in their twenties.

The Harvard Pack Test carried out on 152 consecutive subjects demonstrated a high level of physical fitness which was maintained well into middle-age. Use of a bicycle ergometer gave an estimated maximum oxygen uptake of 45.2 ml per kilogram per minute and thus confirmed the high level of cardiopulmonary fitness in this group.

Body weight decreased with age, which is typical of many non-industrial cultures and reflects declining muscle mass but continued leanness.

There was no evidence of coronary heart disease or diabetes. Average blood pressure was on the high side, but did not increase with age. Investigators administered 100 gram glucose tolerance tests and only 3.8 percent of the population had glucose readings above 160 mg/dL, compared to 21 percent of Americans. A study of 7,512 Papuans from several regions with minimal European contact indicated a diabetes prevalence of 0.1 percent, a strikingly low rate. For comparison, in 2007, 10.7 percent of American adults had diabetes (1).

I'm not claiming it's optimal to eat nothing but sweet potatoes. But this is the strongest evidence we're going to come by that sweet potatoes can be eaten in quantity as part of a healthy diet. However, I wish I knew more about the varieties this group ate. Sweet potatoes aren't necessarily sweet. Caribbean 'boniato' sweet potatoes are dry, starchy and off-white. In the US, I prefer the yellow sweet potatoes to the orange variety of sweet potato labeled 'yams', because the former are starchier and less sweet. If I could get my hands on locally grown boniatos here, I'd eat those, but boniatos are decidedly tropical.

Instead, I eat potatoes, but I'm reluctant to recommend them whole-heartedly because I don't know enough about the traditional cultures that consumed them. I believe there are some low-CHD, low-obesity African populations that eat potatoes as part of a starch-based diet, but I haven't looked into it closely enough to make any broad statements. Potatoes have some nutritional advantages over sweet potatoes (higher protein content, better amino acid profile), but also some disadvantages (lower fiber, lower in most micronutrients, toxic glycoalkaloids).

Aren't these amazing before and after pics? Lindsay has lost 117 pounds. She peaked out at 289 pounds after giving birth to her third child. It took her 2 years to lose the weight. She plateaued for a few years after that but is now determined to lose another 15 pounds. Check out her very inspiring story here.

The Jakarta Post, Balikpapan | Tue, 05/25/2010 10:07 AM | The Archipelago

BALIKPAPAN, East Kalimantan: Balikpapan’s health agency has declared a public health emergency after eight children and teenagers in the municipality were reported as infected with diphtheria.

“The state of emergency will remain valid until the area is cleared of the disease,” health agency head Diyah Muryani said Monday.

Diphtheria usually infects children under 10 years old.

However, a 16-year-old teenager in the Telaga Sari subdistrict of South Balikpapan regency was diagnosed with the disease.

Diphtheria reportedly also claimed the life of a child in February. — JP

Tempo Interactive, Monday, 24 May, 2010 | 20:12 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has suggested that a specific regulation on emergency procedures in dealing with hunger or lack of food supplies for provincial governments, in a bid to shift some of the responsibilities of the central government to regional authorities.

In a speech at the opening of day of Food Resilience Council conference on “Improving regional commitments to build supply independency and the speed up for food differentiation, Yudhoyono said “Lets make the rule of the game to improve accountabilty.”

Yudhoyono said regents should move to overcome hunger at subdistrict levels, while governors will assume responsibility when the plague moves beyond regencies. “When (the hunger) hit several provinces then I and the minister will responsible.”

Yudhoyono told regional authorities to relieve some of the burden from the central government and immediately abandon their focus on investments or development projects and swing their full efforts on the issue whenever it occurred.

He further proded regional authorities for their intentional approaches to the grass root during election time, and instructed local governments to build more intense communications with the public. “When the market goes weird please have a close look. The same measure applies in addressing public complaints and media reports.”

EKO ARI WIBOWO

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 05/24/2010 9:37 PM

City Police warn residents to keep an eye on newly recruited housemaids to avoid falling victim of crimes committed by alleged theft syndicates.

City Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said Monday hiring housemaids from licensed agencies or those recommended by their relatives are safer.

“It is also important for employers to make sure their maids have relatives or close acquaintance they can reach or contact anytime,” Boy said.

On Sunday, a resident of Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta, lost Rp 30 million (US$3,300), a set of diamond earrings and two cellular phones from her home, all allegedly stolen by her maid, who had only been employed that day.

Started out I was simply going to vacuum the mudroom. That’s all. A little warm-up before my workout. Four hours later, the hallway carpet was now the mudroom carpet, and my glutes were screaming at me (but in a good way).

I’ve been saying for years that “some day” I’d take up the carpet in the small hallway that links the front of our house with my office and downstairs bathroom and put it in the mudroom, and when I couldn’t bring myself to look at, let alone vacuum, the ugly brown and black speckled mudroom carpet one more time yesterday, I knew “some day” had arrived.

I grabbed a big box for the scraps, a pair of pliers, a screwdriver and a hammer. (I should have grabbed gloves, too) and went to work.

Ripping up carpet is like unwrapping a gift. You never know what you’re what you’re going to get. Yesterday I was hoping against hope I’d discover a nice wood floor, not the kind of flooring we discovered when we ripped up the carpet in the original part of the house in 2006:
The hallway I uncovered yesterday is part of the “new” part of the house that was added in the 1940s. I ripped and tugged until I’d lifted out whole the 60- by 53-inch piece of berber. I peeked underneath and hello! 1940s speckled fiberboard!
I love antiques. God knows I do. But flooring like that should have been outlawed. Bad enough it’s speckled ugly, it’s cardboard ugly. And there was no getting that stuff up without professional help.

So I cleaned it up, painted it white, and laid down a braided rug until I decide what to do next.
Meanwhile, back in the mudroom, I removed the ugly brown and black carpet, wiped down the shelving, cleaned the dust off the ironing board (it doesn’t get used much), and relegated the dog toys to the outdoor storage bin. Larry and I cut the old hallway carpet to fit and we laid it down.
When I get a bee in my bonnet like that – when I just can’t stand how something looks or works or I just need a change – there’s no stopping me from starting. Before I lost weight this last time though, I plunged head first into a project not always knowing how or why, and I often lost interest and didn’t follow through. When in 2005 my “some day” came to lose weight (after soooo many “some days” over the years), that same strong desire for change was there, but this time I had a plan and the desire to not stop, even if it meant, to use my carpet story analogy, cutting up my hands or being disappointed in what was underneath.

It’s interesting how that shift in attitude about weight loss caused a shift in my attitude about most other projects I’ve undertaken in the last five years. I still get that overwhelming urge for change – I don’t think that will ever go away or be tempered – but I tend not to jump in without a plan or at least without first committing to seeing it all the way through.

Who knew losing a few pounds would do so much more than change one’s appearance?

As promised, it’s time for another giveaway from my box of weight-loss/weight-maintenance tools. This time, it’s the Leslie Sansone’s “Walk & Firm with Interval Training” DVD. (She’s the lady from the Walk Away The Pounds fame…some of my favorite workout DVDs ever.) I’m also throwing in one of my own Thera-Bands because I ripped in half the pink one that originally came with the DVD. Didn’t mean to. Just got too strong, I guess!

Anyway, you know the only stipulation I have is if you win this DVD, you either give it away when you’re done or keep it if you can’t part with it and donate an item to your local food shelf.

To throw your name in the hat, leave a comment or send me an email at lynnbering@verizon.net. And if you care to, tell me what’s changed in your life that isn’t weight related as you lose weight. I’ll draw a winner on Thursday, May 27.

Congrats to reader Garen (aka Quinta da Quilter) who won the Peter Walsh book in last week’s giveaway.

To those of you who haven’t won one of my giveaways yet, don’t be afraid to keep throwing your name in! I love hearing from you!

Students in Surabaya getting a lesson on the female reproductive system. Sex itself is a taboo subject in class.  (Antara Photo/Eric Ireng)

For Jakarta housewife Rika Henria Ardanesworo, sex is one of the most difficult topics to discuss with her two daughters, and she wishes schools would play a bigger role in teaching students about the subject.

Rika said her daughters, Khesia and Archie, now both in their early 20s, learned the basics of sex from their peers. All she can do now is try to convince them to stay away from it.

“Communication is the key,” she said, adding that she had never formally prohibited her daughters from engaging in sex.

Instead, she tells them horror stories that could result from premarital sex, such as unwanted pregnancies, failed marriages and diseases.

“That is how I teach my kids and hopefully, they can learn from it,” Rika said.

The issue of teenagers engaging in sexual activity again became a hot topic recently after a survey conducted by the Indonesian Commission for Child Protection (KPAI) was leaked to the media.

The survey, which KPAI chairman Hadi Supeno said constituted preliminary research and was not meant to be published, showed that 32 of 100 teenagers claimed they had had full sexual intercourse.

Hadi quoted the teenagers, aged 14 to 18, who came from middle-upper-class families, as saying that they did not receive adequate attention from their parents, thus they were left at home with little supervision over what they accessed on the Internet or watched on television.

“Those teenagers had become curious, and without tight monitoring they could easily satisfy this [curiosity],” he said.

In response to the survey, Communication and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring called for more stringent controls over the Inter net.

However, Hadi said that would not solve the problem.

“Let’s not be naive and just blame technology,” he said. “Like it or not, there is greater access to information these days.”

To address the issue, the KPAI is pushing for a program that would teach parents how to educate their children at home.

“We have been recommending this program to the government and now it is being discussed together with the BKKBN,” Hadi said, referring to the national agency for family planning and population control.

The program, he said, would see health institutions from the city level down to those in villages providing lessons for parents in how to talk to their children about sex, a subject that is still widely seen as taboo.

So should schools also be involved? Wahyu Hartomo, an official at the State Ministry for Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, said that ideally, sex education would be given to students as early as elementary school. “[Sex] education should start from about 12 years of age, ideally,” he said, adding that children should know how to protect themselves against sexual abuse.

The tricky part in the classroom, however, is to provide education without promoting sexual activity. Suparman, chairman of the Indonesian Independent Teachers Association, said teachers should know the boundaries when talking about sex in the classroom.

“Bearing in mind the culture here, it would be difficult not to feel awkward when talking about this,” he said. “If they don’t deliver the message in the right way, it will be seen as too vulgar.”

Suparman said that since we now live in the information age, teachers must find new ways to handle the topic.

“With globalization, teachers must find new methods of giving sex education,” he said.

Suparman added that teachers themselves should receive more lessons before broaching the subject, because sex education “cannot be regarded in the same way as other subjects.”

Religion also complicates the topic of sex education. Amidhan, the chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), said that the lessons must be restricted to the scientific aspects of sex.

“It is permissible to teach children about the dangers of casual sex,” he said, “but do not give them ideas on how to have casual sex.”

He said the most important lesson to be taught in sex education classes was the matter of faith, since the stronger a child’s faith, the more aware he or she will be that premarital sex is a sin. “Faith is the basic lesson,” he said.

In Gorontalo, legislator Adnan Entengo said he felt there should be thorough research before introducing sex education classes in schools.

“We don’t want to steer children to sex instead of teaching them about it,” he told state news agency Antara.

Experts agreed there should not be a dedicated class for sex education because of the sensitivity of the subject. Suparman said sex education could instead be integrated into other subjects such as biology or religion.

“For example, there should be a greater focus on anatomy during biology,” he said.

Hadi said sex education could be incorporated into many subjects, including Indonesian and English lessons.

“Make the students read informative articles and books about sex,” he said.

Antara News, Monday, May 24, 2010 11:19 WIB

Tanjungpinang, Riau Islands (ANTARA News) - Herawaty, one of the victims of a naval vessel which caught fire and sank in Lingai waters, Anambas islands, Riau islands province, on Thursday (May 20), had been brought to a hospital in Johor, Malaysia, for intensive care.

"On Saturday morning, Herawaty was taken by her husband to Johor, Malaysia, from Tanjungpinang for further and more intensive treatment of her burns," Assistant II of Anambas islands regency administration Yunalhas Fasri said in Tanjungpinang Saturday.

He said Herawaty sustained very serious burns and was in urgent need of more intensive treatment.

"Most of the body of Herawaty, wife of the head of Anambas islands tourism agency sustained serious burns," he said.

Another fire victim, also with serious burns, was Ishye Kurnia, who had been brought from Palmatak, Anambas to the RSCM general hospital in Jakarta Friday afternoon.

Three people who had burns and broken bones admitted to the naval hospital in Tanjungpinang are Dr Tajri, Rahayu and Lia Rosiana.

"Six others with lighter injuries and traumatized, are still being treated at the community health center in Tarempa, Anambas islands," he said, adding that all the medical expenses of the victims will be paid by the Anambas islands regency administration.

Up till 10 am on Saturday, he said, three people were still missing, namely Mauli Yulianty (wife of Yusrizal, regent of Anambas islands), Navy Chief Sergeant Hartono, and Dodi Harayudha (Anambas islands administration spokesman).

Antara News, Monday, May 24, 2010 11:33 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Customs officers at Juanda Airport in Surabaya, East Java, arrested two Malaysian nationals on charges of smuggling in 2 kg of shabu-shabu (crystal methamphetamine) on Saturday night, a spokesperson said.

The two Malaysians identified by their initials as LKT and TKP, arrived at the airport on Cathay Pacific, Evi Suhartantyo, chief of the directorate general of customs and excise`s public relations service, said in a statement on Sunday.

They were arrested for carrying 1 kg of shabu-shabu each, she said.

"The 2 kilograms of shabu-shabu are valued at around Rp4 billion," she said.

Earlier, in mid May 2010, the airport`s customs officers also foiled an attempt of smuggling in 50 grams of shabu-shabu carried by an Indonesian migrant worker employed in Malaysia.

The worker, identified by his initial as S, put the shabu-shabu worth Rp100 million in a milk powder container. The customs officers detected the contraband in a profiling check using a drug-detecting instrument provided by the Australian government, she said.

The worker who hailed from Lumajang, East Java, arrived at the airport by Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur, she said.

So given the above and my state of mind, my 52 is obviously struggling as a consequence.  I don't feel this does my photography much justice and I know I can do better.  After spending a while in the local woodland and around the Wrekin, this is what I have to show.

The chosen shot is HERE

Week 21- FLORA & FAUNA

E.coli causes about 80% of UTIs

Urinary tract infections are becoming increasingly hard to treat because of emerging resistance to current antibiotic drugs, experts warn.

They say the problem is spawned by the overuse of antibiotics in the farming industry which enter the food chain.

Scientists from the University of Hong Kong found evidence suggesting resistance genes are being passed from animals to humans in this way.

Their findings are published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology.

The researchers examined Escherichia coli bacteria, which are responsible for the vast bulk of human urinary tract infections. (UTIs).

Looking at samples from humans and animals they found an identical gene for antibiotic resistance was present.

The gene, called aacC2, encodes resistance to a commonly-used antibiotic gentamicin and was found in approximately 80% of the 249 human and animal samples the team studied.

Lead researcher Dr Pak-Leung Ho said: "These resistance genes may possibly spread to the human gut via the food chain, through direct contact with animals or by exposure to contaminated water sources.

"When the resistance genes end up in bacteria that cause infections in humans, the diseases will be more difficult to treat."

Global problem

Although the research was carried out in only one region - Hong Kong - experts say the problem is global.

Dr Ho said: "With the international trading of meats and food animals, antibiotic resistance in one geographic area can easily become global.

"Health authorities need to closely monitor the transmission of resistance between food-producing animals and humans and assess how such transfers are affecting the effectiveness of human use of antibiotics."

Professor Chris Thomas, an expert in bacteria at the University of Birmingham, said doctors in the UK were also seeing resistant strains.

"Antibiotic use in animal husbandry is tightly controlled in Europe.

"But even if the problem is being curbed here, people travelling abroad and moving from community to community will bring resistance with them and it will spread.

"It's a worldwide problem."

He said the resistant infections could be treated with other, sometimes more expensive antibiotics. However, with time, resistance may develop to these too, he warned.

In the UK, it is estimated that one woman in three will have a UTI before the age of 24, and that half of all women will have at least one UTI during their lifetime. They are less common among men.

Bacteria in chicken

Related Article:

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria affecting humans

Jump in antibiotic resistance linked to food industry

Yet it was –

dare I say –

comforting?

Ex (husband #3 from 1990-1994) was at the party because he and my children recently reconnected. I’m cool with that. I supported it, actually. However, he and I will probably never be real chummy again and I’m learning to be OK with that. My kids are happy and that’s all that matters to me. Besides, it’s complicated and not a ball I want to add to the juggle I’ve got going right now with my knees and shoulders and book and what have you.


OK, so back to the chocolate cake. Growing up, I blew out every year’s birthday candles on that cake, and it was the Baby Jesus cake of choice every Christmas (my daughters always insisted on throwing Baby Jesus a birthday party). It’s still the featured cake at my niece’s and nephews’ birthdays, and now my grandchildren’s.

It’s the frosting that sets it apart. While it tastes good in tandem with the cake, I always ate it separate from the cake, like the cake and frosting were individual foods. Today I ate a small sliver of cake, consuming both the frosting and cake together. But it just wasn’t the same. Sort of like Ex and me. We’re both good people. We are just best when enjoyed separately.

What is it about particular foods that anchor us? Remind us? Tether us to a memory? That chocolate cake kept me somewhat sane today. Just seeing it in the pan reminded me of my 30 years before Ex. The times when I was a little kid like Luca and Claire and enjoyed the hell out of my birthday. I didn’t even have to eat it to feel its significance.

Thanks for making it through this complicated maze of thoughts. I hope some of it made sense. I just needed this place to vent and start sorting out this newest layer of life stuff. I suspect we all need a jumping off place like that. I’m just glad I had a nice sliver of comforting chocolate cake to put it all in perspective.

Luca crushing his non-chocolate cake cupcake. Happy b-day, Luca Man!