LKG9999's SparkPeople Blog

Is there too much of a good thing?

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 15:02:02 EST

Ran across the following article about excessive Coke consumption (2 gallons a day!) as contributing to a woman's early death:

www.nbcnews.com/id/50796346/ns/healt
h-health_care/

While I generally agree with the points made by the article, I do take issue with one:

'New Zealand Food & Grocery Council Chief Executive Katherine Rich said "there isn't a labeling regime in the world" that could have prevented the death of somebody who chose to...

Spice it up!

Thu, 7 Feb 2013 12:59:08 EST

Last night I read about a store in a nearby town that only sells spices:

www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/penz
eysstores.html

The article was about the different varieties of cinnamon they sell - 5 different types! Who knew that there are varieties of spices? I'm thinking it's worth a road trip to check it out; I use a *lot* of cinnamon and having a variety can help jazz up my breakfasts.

Am I the only one surprised to find out that there...

New Years Resolutions: One Month Review

Fri, 1 Feb 2013 12:11:43 EST

Unbelievably, the month of January 2013 is already history. Remember those New Years resolutions you made? I do, because I applied the KISS principal this year; I've Kept It Simple, Silly. I made only one resolution: to drink 8 cups of water a day. So one month into the new year, it's time for a resolution check.

The good news is that overall I'm doing much better about getting in 8 cups a day. It isn't "natural" yet, but maybe it will get that way after I've been add it for a...

Another reason to drink coffee (in moderation)

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 11:26:09 EST

If you think your morning java is essential to get your brain moving, there's now a study to support that:

now.tufts.edu/articles/coffee-and-mi
nd?utm_source=Tufts+Now+-+Faculty+and+
Staff&utm_campaign=c709915a79-Tufts_No
w_internal_130109&utm_medium=email

Absolutely *love* this study! Just make sure to not negate coffee's benefits by overloading it with cream and sugar!

106

Weight loss on the job

Wed, 9 Jan 2013 14:10:02 EST

My fiance works at Tufts University and sent me an an interesting article on work being done at Tufts related to weight loss at work:

now.tufts.edu/articles/work-it?utm_s
ource=Tufts+Now+-+Faculty+and+Staff&ut
m_campaign=c709915a79-Tufts_Now_intern
al_130109&utm_medium=email

While I'm glad to see that there's some attention to the special challenges of losing weight in the workplace, I was rather surprised that there seemed to be very little di...

Exercise and memory

Mon, 7 Jan 2013 12:28:04 EST

Interesting article on the possible relationship between exercise and memory:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/30
/how-exercise-can-jog-the-memory/

Not sure this can be wholly attributed to exercise (or the lack thereof), but I am wondering if this is at least partially why my 87yo, active father has an amazing memory given his age, but my 83yo sedentary mother is showing definite signs of demetia. Regardless, seems to me that there is more and more evidence tha...

Weight gain or cold scale?

Thu, 3 Jan 2013 12:54:52 EST

I had a funny experience with my weigh-in this morning. I live just a bit north of Boston, and for the past few days it has been very cold. Yesterday I stepped on my (digital) scale and was thrilled to see that I had mostly maintained my weight over the holidays. This morning I stepped on and the scale registered a 7 pound increase!

Knowing that it's nearly impossible to gain 7 pounds in one day, I'm guessing that:

a. The frigid temperature has the scale out-of-wack. ...

New Year's resolutions

Wed, 2 Jan 2013 12:49:22 EST

This is the time of year when everyone is talking about their New Year's resolutions. In general, I don't usually make New Years resolutions; it's always seemed a bit silly to me. Why should a new year make any difference in how I handle my life? But this year I decided to use it as an opportunity to evaluate what was working and what was not, particularly in regards to my health.

Here's what is working: I'm now working out regularly, so that doesn't need a resolution. In 2012...

The Prius Owner's Guide to Weight Loss and Good Health

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 15:37:59 EST

I recently joined the band of ever-higher MPG seekers who drive a Prius. After a few weeks of driving the car, I've noticed there are some similarities between using my car to get the best MPG, and how I treat my body to lose weight and obtain the best state of health.

SLOW DOWN - For the car, slower speeds means a greater likelyhood that it will be powered by electricity rather than gasoline. For my body, this means taking the time to shop, prepare and eat the foods that give me...

OK, now I KNOW this time is different

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 21:30:09 EST

I stepped on the scale this morning for my monthly weigh-in, and discovered I had gained two pounds. Here's what didn't happen: the usual combination of denial, frustration and anger, spiraling into depression and self-loathing. It didn't ruin my day. It wasn't good news, but I took it for what it is: a warning. Because the truth is, I have not been as much on target this past month for losing weight. Yes, I've gone to the gym faithfully, but truthfully my eating - and tracking - has bee...

Workout and - date?

Thu, 9 Aug 2012 15:07:51 EST

Last night, something happened while I was working out that really boosted my motivation. No, I wasn't suddenly bench-pressing 200 pounds or running 6 minute miles. Out of the blue, I was asked out on a date.

Some background: The gym is actually a YMCA, nestled in a suburban neighborhood close to several schools and a park. When I think of the social vibe, it's more kids and family than a singles dating scene. I'm usually hitting the gym around 7:30am, and trust me, at that hou...

Cholesterol: Back to normal in 3 months!

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 11:01:16 EST

Three months ago I had my annual physical and my cholesterol results came back high enough to warrant a recheck. I knew that if I didn't lower it through diet and exercise I was facing medication, and I was determined not to let that happen. Today I got the results of my 3 month recheck and everything is normal! Here are my results:

Cholesterol : 257 to 178
HDL: 68 to 45
LDL: 155 to 109
Triglycerides: 171 to 119

As a side benefit, all those walks in sun...

High cholesterol is a...blessing?

Thu, 5 Apr 2012 15:16:18 EST

Hello fellow Sparkpeople - I'm back.

Two years ago, I reached my goal weight after losing 70 pounds. But staying at my goal weight proved even more challenging than losing the weight had been. I seem to be one of those people who do well when I have a clearly defined goal in front of me, and for 15 months I was working towards the promised land of a normal BMI. But once I got there, the goal of staying in a normal range seemed to stretch endlessly, indefinately before me. And a...

All done with feeling lousy

Sat, 29 May 2010 11:27:12 EST

Since my last blog entry a few days ago, I have been walking around feeling like someone kicked me in the gut. On a positive note, I haven't felt much like eating, and it's been very easy to stay on my 4-day "special diet" that I had started to offset the comfort eating I had done earlier in the month. However that benefit was far outweighed by how just plain lousy I felt.

This morning I woke up (early, because I couldn't sleep), and started thinking about how lousy I was feeling...

In free fall

Thu, 27 May 2010 22:04:34 EST

WARNING: Long, whiny blog post below. My apologies...

As many of you already know, this past week I donned cap and gown for the second time in my life and received a Master’s degree in Software Engineering. In many ways it was a very happy day, the celebration of a life’s goal and achievement. I’d like to say I was completely happy. But very honestly, finishing my coursework has felt more like I’ve stepped off a high cliff and I’m in free-fall, without a clear sense of when i...

70 pounds - GONE

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:15:28 EST

I did it, I reached my initial Sparkpeople goal of losing 70 pounds!

I actually reached this goal on Friday. Sadly, a friend of the family's also passed away that day and I wasn't in much of a mood to celebrate. However after a few days to come to terms with his passing, I feel it would be wrong to not acknowledge having met such a major milestone.

It's actually been a week of achieving goals. The day before the weigh-in which made the weight loss official, I turned i...

Berry sad

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:29:59 EST

I love berries, especially blueberries. Raspberries are like candy, although they spoil really fast. A number of years ago I discovered that Costco carried berries year-round in large quantities and reasonable prices. With my special Tupperware containers that help keep them fresh, I'm now spoiled rotten and have come to expect access to fresh berries all year long.

Recently berries have virtually dis...

How long can YOU hold your breath?

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:32:21 EST

If you need some humorous inspiration, this is it...

10 pounds of contentment

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:05:37 EST

February 2009 I became active on Sparkpeople again and started following the Flat Belly Diet (FBD) plan, which starts with a four-day "jumpstart" program. At least once a month I have been repeating the jumpstart, usually netting a 3-4 pound weight loss each time. This past week, I completed another jumpstart, but this time I only saw a 1.8 pound loss. Since I had followed the plan meticulously and exercised each day, the conclusion I've come to is that being as close to a healthy, normal ...

Does more $$ = less weight?

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 10:12:55 EST

There was an interesting article in our Sunday paper that surveyed the obesity rates in towns north of Boston. Not surprisingly, a correlation was found between obesity rate and median income for the towns, namely the lower the income the higher the obesity rate and visa-versa. While that's not news, what I liked about this article is that it explored WHY this correlation exists beyond the "less money means cheaper, more fattening food", and talked at length about the time crunch that exist...

I'm normal?

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:15:53 EST

This week, I passed into the Promised Land. The home scale shows 165.3, at 5'8.5" this puts my BMI at 24.8. Which means, I am no longer "officially" overweight. I thought I would be whooping with joy, shouting from the rooftops (figuratively) that I am normal, I've made it, I've arrived. Any yet, I'm finding myself feeling strangely flat and apprehensive.

So what's going on here? The first thing is that despite all the articles and discussions on Sparkpeople about body image a...

Things that go bump in the night...

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:36:10 EST

Last Saturday night, I got up to use the bathroom and passed out. Why this happened is still a mystery; the only thing I remember is being really, really hot. I have a doctor appointment on Thursday to see if they can puzzle it out, because I'm stumped.

In many ways I was very lucky. DF heard me fall and came to my assistance immediately. I did hit my head, and have quite the sore spot which seems to be healing on it's own. Fortunately I didn't fall face-forward, risking injur...

This semester is HARD

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 10:58:45 EST

I am completely overwhelmed by my classes this semester. I'm pushing to complete my Master's in Software Engineering before I run out of unemployment benefits, and am taking three classes as I did last semester. However this semester is turning into a nightmare. One class is lovely. It's an architecture class, the work is mostly reading, lots of interesting discussion, and writing. The professor is full-time, well-organized, and the class is enjoyable despite the fact that I have a 5-8 p...

Dual injuries :-(

Sun, 7 Feb 2010 11:02:12 EST

This week I have been dealing with dual injuries. The first one occurred about two weeks ago, when I was in a rush one day and foolishly didn't stretch before using the TechnoCardio Wave machine for 45 minutes. So now the back of my right knee is sore and stiff. OK, no problem, I'll just avoid the Wave machine for a while... even though it's the one machine where I can read while using it. Bummer, but I'll deal.

Then last Saturday I was lifting weights and did something to my l...

60 pounds GONE!!

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 11:20:39 EST

This morning I weighed in and was thrilled to see that I had made my weight goal for February 1st. That puts my overall weight loss at 60 pounds since the beginning of last year. The top of my maintenance range is now a mere 10 pounds away. (My ticker shows the bottom; I'm allowing for a 5-lb. maintenance range. Good thing too as I watched my weight fluctuate almost 3.5 pounds this past week!)

Last year when I started this process, it seemed like I had an impossible amount of we...

Dealing with uncertainty

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:12:04 EST

This has been a somewhat unsettling week for me.

First, there are all sorts of health issues going on with my family in California. My sister-in-law is ending up having a longer treatment plan for breast cancer than anticipated, and my 80yo mother has had two surgeries in the past two months and may be looking at a third soon. So the bottom line is, there is no way they will be in any shape to travel to a wedding this summer on my side of the country, nor will they be in any shap...

I'm trekking to Talloires!

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 22:43:54 EST

OK, not really. But I've joined an online challenge to "trek" to Tallories, France:
trek2talloires.org/

DF works for Tufts and joined the challenge. When he mentioned it at dinner, I asked if I could join. So far I'm beating him there, hehehe...

I'll need to exercise 1 hour every single day in order to make my goal. I'm already pretty close, but need some incentive to increase some of my workouts just a bit. Thankfully, walking and yoga are in...

I weigh HOW MUCH?!!

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 22:17:41 EST

So after a few weeks of holiday festivities - and overindulgance - this morning I steeled myself to step on the scale and confront the damage report. I was not expecting it to be good, and was actually coaching myself to not freak out when I saw the 5, 8 or even 10 pound weight gain that I was sure would be reflected on the scale. I took a deep breath, stepped on, and read... 174.8.

WTF?!!! How can this be?! That's only a .8lb. gain from my last "official" SP weigh-in. Holy ...

Holiday Stress! =:O

Wed, 9 Dec 2009 11:36:58 EST

So this has probably always been true for me, but perhaps this year I'm more tuned in to some special challenges I'm having with the holidays. The first is that just by being bombarded by all of the images of holiday treats, I'm finding myself craving them more. I haven't brought any into the house, but even so it's like my chocolate sensor is permanently on overload.

I'm also feeling so stressed and scattered. I feel like I'm having to deal with one Must-Be-Done event after a...

Food and Mood

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 11:56:08 EST

One of the local Boston papers had an interesting article today on the link between food and mood:
www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articl
es/2009/12/07/new_research_centers_on_
the_link_between_nutrition_and_brain_f
unction/?page=1

What does everyone think? Personally one of the things I find frustrating about these articles is that when they talk about a diet "carbohydrate-rich diet", they don't give a you an idea of what that looks like. Is it 40% ...

What a difference a year makes

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 22:50:28 EST

I was cleaning up some papers this week and came across the lab results for my annual physical from last year and this year:

Total Cholesterol: (2008) 237 (2009) 177 (Optimal) Below 200
Triglycerides: (2008) 205 (2009) 85 (Optimal) Below 150
HDL Cholesterol: (2008) 59 (2009) 54 (Optimal) Above 40
LDL Cholesterol: (2008) 131 (2009) 96 (Optimal) Below 130

Nothing like increasing your life expe...

Fun with avatars

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 11:11:43 EST

This morning I was on hold for a long time and decided to play around a bit with My Virtual Model. Since I don't have any full-body pictures of myself from when I was my heaviest, I'm finding its a good way to remind myself of just how far I've come in 10 months. One of the things that I think has happened to me in the past is that I get used to my new weight and start focusing in on the remaining "flaws" rather tha...

All I want for Christmas is...

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:47:10 EST

... a normal BMI.

I completed another Flat Belly Diet jumpstart today, losing another 3.5 pounds and 1.25 inches. (I've noticed that the rate at which the inches are going down is a little slower, but that makes sense as I'm moving closer to my goal.) I broke into the 170s and am now a mere 10 pounds above a normal BMI and 18 pounds from my goal weight. OK, so maybe I'm feeling a bit cocky after this morning's weigh-in, but it seems like getting to a normal BMI is no longer an i...

Mystery size

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:22:31 EST

If you read my last blog, you know that I found my dream wedding dress on eBay and got it at a remarkable price. The only problem was the size; I wasn't too happy about having to buy a size 1X after all my hard work to lose weight. One suggestion I got was to snip out the size tag.

So the dress arrives today, and lo and behold... the size tag has already been snipped out! So it seems that the eBay seller used ...

A sizable dilema

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:27:21 EST

Last spring, I wrote a blog about shopping for bras. Part of what was so difficult for me then was reconciling myself to the size I needed to get: 40DDD. Say whatever you like about positive body image, being curvaceous, etc,. I just felt huge. Branded by that size as if I was wearing the scarlet letter - or in this case, letters.

Five months later and 30 pounds less, I am still dealing with that same issue. The "girls" have shrunk quite a bit (from 48 to 42 inches, by my measu...

Pass [on] the salt

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:59:06 EST

Yesterday I was dying for some soup at lunch so I had some V8 soup that's been in my pantry. Then at dinner I goofed and forgot to defrost plain uncooked chicken, so I used some frozen pre-cooked chicken. I stayed well within my calories for the day, but was appalled when I saw my sodium intake came in at 3600mg! That's almost 3 times what I normally have without processed foods. I was afraid to weigh myself this morning and I've been noticeably thirstier. Got some suggestions for easy w...

Mind Games

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 12:08:04 EST

This past month I've felt a big shift in where I am in my weight loss journey. I'm currently at 27.7% BMI, down from 34.5% BMI, and aiming for a weight that will bring me to 24% BMI. Even with 25 pounds to get to goal, I'm feeling so much better! I'm wearing jeans that haven't fit for 2-3 years and rediscovering tops and jackets that I can wear again. But here's the problem... I'm almost feeling *too* good. That driving force to lose weight has lost it's edge, because I feel so much bett...

Me and My Scale: A Love(/Hate) Story

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:30:22 EST

In my last blog, I wrote about small but significant mental shifts and attitude changes that I have noticed in the past few weeks. But I left out one of the most important ones, about my relationship with my scale.

Probably like everyone else here, my scale and I have had a very bumpy relationship. It was filled with drama. On days when I would get a "good" number, we were the best of friends. It made me feel wonderful. It told me how pretty I was, how wonderful. Then there w...

Attitude Adjustments

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 11:34:15 EST

I've been thinking recently about how differently I think about weight-related things than I used to. These aren't changes I'm "forcing" myself to make - they're just happening:

My current weight is 185. 25 years ago, I was mortified to weigh "so much" and be "so fat". Now I think, "I'm only 18 pounds over a normal BMI weight for my height, and I already look good."

My weight goal is 160. 25 years ago I was convinced that a good weight for me was 140, a weight that I...

The Price Per Pound

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:22:43 EST

Thought-provoking article in the local paper:

www.boston.com/news/health/articles/
2009/09/15/alex_beam_big_trouble_for_o
verweight_folks/

The comments following the article are worth checking out too... not much "flaming" that I can see, and some more interesting points being raised.

The Perfect Solution

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:33:17 EST

Dear President Obama,

I have the perfect solution to some of the most pressing issues you are working on. Health care and obesity. Climate and the environment. The answer, dear Barack, lies in in what I have named the Crabgrass And Reel Mower Initiative, or CARMI.

Under CARMI, all forms of grass would be outlawed except crabgrass. I'm sure you can see the immediate impact this would have on our environment. No more toxic chemicals polluting our groundwater, as crabg...

Regaining the weight

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:47:19 EST

I had lunch today with a very good friend of mine. When we reconnected in January 2008, she was going to Weight Watchers and had lost a noticeable amount of weight. Last year we worked in the same office for 6 months and she was still working at it diligently. Today I told her that I had lost 40 pounds, and she admitted that she had regained almost half the weight she lost the previous year. I was sorry I had brought the subject up - embarrassed that I seemed to be bragging - afraid she m...

Picture-perfect, NOT!

Thu, 3 Sep 2009 12:49:44 EST

Yesterday I had lunch with an friend from long-ago single days. Since I only see this friend about once a year I put my best foot forward; my hair cooperated, I put on makeup and flattering clothes. All day I felt good, and when DF commented last evening that I looked very nice I suggested we do a photo shoot to update my Facebook and Sparkpeople pages.

Here's the best of what we produced:

Then in the gym, I was talking to one of the trainers, joking...

What I did on my summer vacation

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:24:57 EST

Just returned from a great trip to Nantucket. Nantucket is absolutely gorgeous as well as ridiculously expensive; I nicknamed it Millionaire's Paradise. Downtown looks very much like it did in the mid-1800s, with brick storefronts, gaslights and cobblestone streets. Gardens were at their peak with hydrangea, Rose of Sharon, and perennials in the height of bloom. Being an island it is ringed with sandy beaches and traditi...

Final Project Angst

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:11:48 EST

So here I am, working on the last project for my summer classes, and it's not going well. The technology that I'm working with is new and a bit buggy IMO, and it's slow going working through the issues. Every time I try something, I have to reboot the web server, which takes at least 3-4 minutes per cycle. So it's code something, build, reboot server (and wait a few minutes), try out my project, identify the next problem... Very tedious and frustrating. I really, really want to get this ...

Having a cake in the house, and not eating it too

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:41:11 EST

I've got a real test coming up. My DD is turning 11 today and having a few friends over for a sleepover party tonight. She adores chocolate (like mother like daughter!) so after wrestling with what to do about a cake I bought a smallish chocolate ganache cake. I decided on buying one over making one because I could actually get a smaller one and therefore have less leftover. The trouble is, I know there will still likely be leftovers.

I contemplated sending the leftover cake to DD'...

Summertime, and the weight loss is NOT easy :-\

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 11:22:34 EST

I keep reading about how easy it is to lose weight in the summer. Better weather! More produce! I think it's time to set the record straight. At least for me, summer is NOT a better season for losing weight, it's worse. Here's why:

1. Weather. Yes, it's more inviting than when it's snowing and bitterly cold. However, what about the detrimental effects of heat and humidity, and the warnings not to work out during the heat of the day? When I'm already hot and sweaty, maybe a...

My personal independance day

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 11:48:52 EST

I had a GREAT 4th of July weekend. After a solid month of cool temps, clouds and rain, it was perfect summer weather all weekend - sunny, dry, around 80, perfect for cookouts, fireworks, and sailing.

On the 4th I lifted weights and did yard work, then we went an afternoon cookout at some friends. Headed into Cambridge with the three kids around 6; DF has access to MIT's Sailing pavilion which is located directly opposite the barge for the Boston fireworks. This year we took on...

I rebelled

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 22:07:31 EST

Tonight I went to the gym for the first time in a week due to being away and then sick for a few days. The pool schedule showed few open lap lanes and I could _not_ stomach the thought of riding the stationary bike (maybe that nice ride in Nantucket over the weekend ended what little patience I had with it in the first place). So I decided, it's time to test-drive the new orthopedics! I did 30 minutes on the Cardio Wave, and while I did feel _something_ in my bad foot, it didn't hurt. Gue...