Monday, November 27, 2006

Post-Turkey Day Blues

"People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas." - Author Unknown


Yep. Tried hard to stick with the plan of attack that I blogged about last time as far as the Thanksgiving festivities were concerned. The thing is, one day of splurging turned into another and snowballed into a long weekend of going over in calories. But today is a new day, a new beginning.

Before I would have given up and said "screw this" and ate myself into even more misery. But I am determined to get back on track today. Holidays come and go, but my lifestyle change is for the rest of my life.

Some say that the holidays are some of the worst times to start a "diet" or lifestyle change. Well, there is no time like the present. I am not an ironman, I am just a regular guy that decided to get back up and press on instead of wallowing in self-pity.

You can make the choice today to press on or wallow. I hope you choose to press on...



"Clogged with yesterday's excess, the body drags the mind down with it." - Horace


Matty



PS - Was on the front page of the Lakeshore edition of the Grand Rapids Press:

http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1164268436145990.xml?grpress?NELK&coll=6

Enjoy!

Friday, November 17, 2006

Tips for Turkey Day

"Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence." - Erma Bombeck

Tips for Turkey Day...

Americans consume around 18lbs of turkey each year, much of it during the Thansgiving and Christmas holidays. The average American packs away 4500cal, which is about twice their daily consumption.

Thanksgiving is about family, giving thanks for the blessings we receive, and the food. Here are some tips to enjoy the day without over-doing it:

1) Get some exercise in the morning - go for a walk or a bike ride. The exercise will help to jumpstart your metabolism in preparation for the big meal.

2) Eat breakfast - most people skip breakfast, wanting to save room for the turkey and trimmings. This leads to over-eating and uncomfortable feelings later in the day. A bagel or bowl of cereal, or even a piece of fruit would help.

3) Have an appetizer - have some appetizers but don't gorge yourself on them. My family tends to go overboard in the appetizer area, so try to limit yourself.

4) Try a little of everything - don't fill up your plate with mounds of turkey and stuffing or mashed potatoes. Put a little of everything on your plate and ENJOY the food.

5) Wait on going for seconds - give your stomach time to process what you've already eaten. This will hopefully cut down on the bloating and nausea caused by over-eating. Remember, leftover turkey and stuffing is better the second day!

Enjoy the day, but don't make gorging on the food your primary focus...

"For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Friday, November 10, 2006

The surgery, for/against?

To tell you the truth, I am not for or against having gastric bypass surgery. I just decided for myself that it wasn't for me. I realized that I would have to change my lifestyle anyway and why not try to do that on my own and avoid the pain & expense of the surgery.

I bring this up on 2 points, the first is that one of my wife's friends (and in turn my friend) had mentioned to her that she was considering the surgery. And to that I offer this advice:

1) Do research. Do a Google search on the pros/cons of having the surgery. Look up blogs or webpages of people that have had the surgery. There are going to be some slanted views, but dig through all the mess and pick up answers to the questions that you have. Their blogs/pages may bring up new questions that you may not have thought of.

2) Go to the orientation. Most gastric/bypass clinics have orientation meetings to discuss what the procedure is, how it works, and what to expect. Bring someone with you that does not have a "vested" interest in you (no blood relatives or wife/husband), someone hopefully objective that can help you keep a handle on the information provided.

3) Talk it out with your doctor and your spouse/family. You need to make an informed decision. All of these people are important to making this decision as this decision means the rest of your life.

The second point was in response to a repeat of MTV's "True Life" I saw yesterday entitled, "I am obese" which followed the lives of 3 obese people:

Amy- 615lbs, planned on having gastric bypass (uses a wheelchair to get around)

Corey- 400lbs, thinks that the gastric by-pass will solve all his problems by forcing him to change his lifestyle

Frances- 215lbs, Happy to be overweight and strives to be a model/diva for large women

I felt for Amy, she could barely get around her apartment - a prisoner of sorts. She had the surgery and lost over 500lbs. Her website does tout the fact that the surgery isn't for everyone and that it was only a tool for weightloss. I must admit, though - she is looking awfully pale and sickly. Possibly due to lack of nutrients and vitamins (malnutrition), which is a consideration to take under advisement when deciding on the surgery.

People like Corey think that the surgery will be a breeze and it will be his magic bullet cure to turn him into the slim, good-looking dude he wants to be. Unfortunately I think that Corey will (if he hasn't already - this was filmed in 2004) be one of the failures - one of the ones that will stretch out the pouch and actually gain weight back. His heart isn't (or wasn't) into making that change for good.

Again, I am not for/against the surgery - I just ask that people do the research and make an informed decision.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Moderation...

"Even nectar is poison if taken to excess." - Hindu Proverb


The world and everything in it is here for us to enjoy. Smells, tastes, sounds, textures, everything has a beauty and an innate sense of well-being. No food or other object is inherently evil or bad, it's how the object is used that garners the connotation of being bad or evil.

Alcohol, for example, if taken in moderation is a wonderful thing. I do enjoy a frosty Guinness from time to time, but I know that too much can not only cause weight gain (@ 15ocal for 12oz) and other problems, both physical and mental.

Money, in another example, is not evil. The bible even states this, "For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. " 1Tim 6:10, NLT

In our own walk to losing weight, we need to remember that food isn't the enemy - it's the indulgence to excess. Have a food that you know you cannot stop eating? Walk away for a while until you get to a point where you have confidence to be able to eat one or two. It's all about control...




"Be moderate in order to taste the joys of life in abundance." - Epicurus