190.4; Weight Loss Tips

The New England Journal of Medicine published a study on weight loss tips.. They found that the things that we seem to hold as true, aren't supported by evidence.  Things like:

Small changes in your diet or exercise can cause steady and sustained weight loss.

Setting realistic goals is important.

Slow, gradual weight loss is better than large, rapid weight loss.

If you wait until you feel ready to lose weight, you'll succeed.

Physical education classes now help prevent or reduce childhood obesity.

Breast-feeding helps prevent obesity.

An act of sexual activity burns 100 to 300 calories.

Initially my thought was to yell that they do work, because they've worked for me.  But then I read that the author of the article is concerned that tips like this really lead obese people astray from losing the weight that they need to.

Now he's not saying that it won't work for you.  But what he is saying is that there is no standardized study that hold these items, among others, to be true.  Interestingly enough, what studies do show are things like: weight-loss surgery for very obese people; structured weight-loss programs; regular meetings with a physician, dietitian or coach; defining for people exactly what they should and should not eat; and receiving prepared meals or shopping lists.

In other words, not everything is going to work for everyone.  You need to find what works for you, what tools you need, and live your journey, not someone else's.

190.8; Dairy Is Not My Friend

Sunday afternoon I attended a party.  My Grandma turned 88.  She's a great woman and I love her to pieces.  I have been having bad dreams that she has died and it's kind of thrown me for a loop.  I believe, with all my heart, that she will be here forever.  While my brain knows that won't happen.

We had fun talking and laughing and seeing everyone. 

And there was pizza.  Yummy pizza with dairy. 

So I had my 6 tiny squares and was stuffed because really, that's all I can eat any more.  It was wonderful pizza with artichokes, green olives, fresh mushrooms and cheese.  Then I had a cupcake for dessert.  Ok, fine, I had 2.

Sunday night is when I realized that dairy is not my friend.  Well, to be more specific, dairy is not a friend to my digestive tract.  *sigh*  I was bloated and gassy the rest of the night (just what you wanted to know about me, huh?).  And to be honest, I still felt the effects of it yesterday. 

So now the question is, what do I do with this information?  I love dairy.  I love cheese.  I love that Greek yogurt.  But do I love it more than I am willing to suffer the consequences?  I think my answer is that for now I do.  When I had issues with milk, I stopped drinking cold milk because that was the trigger.  Then hot was warn milk also.  Then I just stopped milk all together.  At some point, I'll likely decide that eating my beloved cheese and yogurt just isn't worth it anymore.  I've already all but given up on ice cream and milk, but I'll go down fighting for my cheese and yogurt.

189; Elimiation Diets

Have you ever elminiated something from your diet to see if it had an effect?

I did.  About 14 years ago I had a bad experience with a quart of cold perfect chocolate milk and the restroom at work.  Ding Ding says my brain - you may be lactose intolerant.  Yep.  Goodbye milk. *sigh*  I love a good cold creamy chocolate milk, but sadly it hates me!

In the last couple of weeks I've been on antibiotics for my sinus infection.  And that means I need to limit my dairy.  As in no dairy for 2 hours before I take it and 2 hours after.  And I take it 3 times a day.  So pretty much I've been on a dairy free diet.  Almond milk does not equal cream in my coffee - just so you know.

Overall I've not felt much differently.  I will say that I've had less gas.  Pete is thankful... 

But I miss dairy.  I love cheese.  I love greek yogurt.  I love a bit of cream in my coffee. 

So when the medicine is done this weekend, I plan on resuming my yogurt.  Maybe, just maybe, I'll see a big difference that will lead me to switch back to no dairy.  Maybe. 

Happy Friday!

188.4; Fat Shaming

Let's face it.  When you're heavy/obese, people DO judge you differently.  It's human nature and some part of me doesn't blame people for their thoughts.  I mean if I'm honest with myself, I judge people all day long, some negative and some positive. 

The difference is that I usually don't do it OUTLOUD.  And the biggest lesson in life is that my initial judgement is likely to be wrong in some way.  So I've learned that I need to assess people and situations for a while before coming to a final judgement.

But today I read this article:  Fat Shaming To Cure Obesity.  In it, the author explains that the stigma of shaming him as a smoker lead to him quitting. 

I CANNOT imagine how much more shame would have lead me to lose weight.  In fact, the shame of my weight kept me from going to the gym to work out.  The shame kept me from seeking help because I'd have to admit that I was fat.  The shame kept me inside on nice days instead of walking in the neighborhood because I had been called FAT by passerby cars when I was out walking to LOSE WEIGHT.

Shame does not usually lead to changing behaviors.

As with any punishment, shame can have the short-term effect of discouraging certain behaviors. It will, however, have only a weak long-term impact on reducing unwanted behavior and a negative long-term effect in terms of bringing about behavior change (Covington, 2000; George, White, & Schlaffer, 2006). Moreover, using shame to modify behavior will have a number of potential unwanted consequences (Levine, 2005).
 

We should not be shaming people to change.  We should be encouraging people to seek change on their own.  When someone believes that the idea to change is their own and not someone else's, they assume control over the change and are more often than not successful in changing. 

Please, if you know someone who isn't healthy, may be overweight, don't shame them into changing.  Encourage.  Kindness goes a long way in this world.

189; Bzzzz, Bzzzz Ding You're Done!

Weird title, huh?

Most of what the gastric band does is remind you how you should be eating.  Reminds you to slow down.  Reminds you to take small bites.  Reminds you to chew very well.  Reminders.

Have you heard of the HapiFork from HapiLabs?  If not, it's a fork that will connect to some form of media to help you eat better.  According to the website, it will vibrate gently to remind you to slow down, take smaller bites and eat better.  You can not only see your eating on your phone or your computer, but you can connect with a community or a coach to see how you can change your habits.

I have to admit that I'm intrigued with this.  I'd like to see it in action.  It's it really unobtrusive?  Is it something that others will hear and see?  Is it something that you can cheat with? (you know everyone thinks this...)  Does it track when you don't use it for meals?  What if you need a spoon?

The company is also launching something similar to a BodyBug or watch that will monitor activity, sleep, calories, working out.  I've often wondered about these too.  Would I become so addicted to the readings that I'd do whatever it took to meet my goals?  I'm already addicted to getting a certain number of calories burned at the gym for it to be a 'successful' workout.  Would this make things worse?