Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Feeding Tube Diet???


I heard this from a friend the other day and I hoped (prayed) it was a joke. Bad sadly no. Brides, before their weddings, are using a feeding tube for 10 days to lose weight. Yes, that's right, the kind of feeding tube they give patients who can no longer eat on their own. These women are going to doctors who fit them with a feeding tube that goes into the nose, down through the esophagus and directly into the stomach. They are then fed a solution that contains no carbohydrates, just protein and fat, and totals 800 calories a day. They carry the solution around in a tote bag they wear on their arm that looks like a purse.

I wondered why on earth any doctor would do this to a healthy patient who could lose weight on their own by cutting calories. Then I read about the cost. According to the New York Times, it costs $1,500 for 10 days. That includes the doctor's care, the equipment and the solution. Wow! Apparently this is nothing new in Europe, but it's new here in the United States.

You can lose weight if you cut your calories. Anyone can. I wish people would diet sensibly, slowly (you know the way you put the weight on). No matter what you weigh you will be beautiful on your wedding day.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Weekend :)


I LOVE the weekend! At the end of a long week it’s so nice to be able to leave campus and know I don’t have to return for a couple days. So last night was Barrister’s Ball a.k.a. law school prom (yes, law school has prom…stop giggling). I had a great time with my friends.

After I got home from prom I was laying on my couch exhausted (partly because I got up at 6 that morning spent most of the day at school and then the evening at prom) because my friends I spent most our time there dancing (btw the D.J. was awesome). As I lay on my couch feel good but exhausted and knowing my legs will be sore the next day from all the dancing, I decided to look up what calories I burned dancing. According to dietwatch a person my size (well if I am honest a person who weighs almost 50 pounds less than me) burns 1,144 calories with 2 hours of dancing. I ate pretty well during the day. In the interest of honesty I will admit there was a lot of munching on chex mix at prom. All in all I consider the day a success.

The plans for today: a craw fish boil thrown by the school. This will be the second time I have had craw fish. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. There is a lot of delicious seafood there but no craw fish. The craw fish was delicious when I first tried it…wow was it really 2 years ago. So I am sure I will enjoy it this time.
 
So far this is turning out to be a great weekend so I decided to write about non food related things that make me feel good. So here is my list of delights:

Manicure/pedicure
Getting my hair done
Bubble bath
Playing with my pug (Lord Pugsley Von Scruffington III, Pugsley for short)
Taking a hot shower
Watching a good movie
Drinking a good cup of coffee
Going for a night out with the girls
Going dancing
Going on a picnic
Going to an art show
Random acts of kindness
Flowers
Listening to music
Reading a good book in front of a fire
Creating a personal and beautiful space
Going to the movies
Playing board games with loved ones
Having a glass of wine
New clothes

I make this list as part of my goal in changing habits. When I get stressed studying for, or even thinking about, the bar exam I will turn to one of these things rather than to food.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Tips to Live by


I don’t have a degree in nutrition, but I think I have a little insight into what works and doesn’t work in a diet. Maybe you will read this list and think “uh, duh?” but sometimes when cravings kick in and our bodies feel like they’re not our own, but some fat/carb/whatever craving monster, it’s easy to forget these tips.
Here’s a list of dieting rules I am going to do my best to follow.
  1. You made the choice to eat this way- live it or forget it. I have gotten so frustrated listening to people whine about not being able to have this or that. You know what whiners? You MADE the CHOICE to eat/live whatever way you’re doing. Does it suck that you REALLY want a piece (or 3) of peanut butter cheesecake and your size 2 girlfriend can eat all of it she wants? Sure it sucks, but what are you going to do about it? Sabotage yourself over cheesecake and beat yourself up over it? No! Every day our lives are full of CHOICES that we must live with. Embrace the choice you made and don’t beat yourself up over things you have the CHOICE to not feel bad about.

  1. Set yourself up for success. Sometimes, the choices we make, even subconsciously, are contradictory to what is best for us. Take responsibility for your diet and set yourself up for success. If you have a family who doesn’t eat what you eat, seperate their food from your food. Don’t let the chips and soda stare you down every time you go to the kitchen. Before going to the grocery store, get in your mind of what you want to prepare for yourself that will be on your plan and fulfilling and make a grocery list. Don’t go on auto-pilot to the grocery only realizing you only bought junk. I know it’s cliche, but “fail to plan, plan to fail.”

  1. If you hit a speed bump, keep on’ rollin’. One thing I learned from quitting smoking is if you slip it’s ok. This does not have to derail all your hard effort.  If you have not smoked for 6 months but have one cigarette when you go out to drinks with friends are you going to let this stop you? No! Forgive yourself, and get back up on that wagon. If you’re driving and hit a speed bump, what do you do immediately after? Hit the gas! Do the same thing with your diet- you can’t move forward if you hit the bump and just sit there.

  1. If you’re not doing it for yourself, you won’t be successful. There are so many reasons to want to lose weight. Appearance being the most obvious of them all. Maybe you think you’ll have more friends or you will be liked more. Whatever. If you’re not doing it for yourself, screw it. You have to have personal accountability. If you are internally motivated by true selfish reasons, you will find your path to success paved with gravel instead of boulders. If you’re motivated by external forces like the opposite sex or cute designer clothes, when times get hard, they’re easy to dismiss and move back into your old habits. On the other hand, if you’re motivated by your true desire to feel better about yourself or to not be winded after hauling your ass up a flight of stairs- those things are ones that run deep, and you can remind yourself of them every day.

  1. Though your goal is to lose weight you still need to eat. I have watched many friends starve themselves under the guise of a “diet”. I don’t even mean the strange fad diets. I mean honestly not taking in enough calories. If your nutrition plan says you need to eat 1100 calories a day eat 1100 calories a day, or as close to as possible. You are not doing anyone any favors (especially yourself) by cutting that 1100 to 600. This is just as bad for you as being overweight (if not worse). Bodies need sustenance to function. Just remember you are losing weight to feel better. Are you going to feel better if your body is not getting what it needs to function? I don’t think so.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Sad


I am sadden and disturbed by the Georgia Obesity Ad Campaign toward “fighting childhood obesity”. Or as I think of it: Ad Campaign to “destroy children’s confidence and misplace the blame of childhood obesity”.

Look at these horrible posters they’re using in the campaign:




The message itself isn’t bad … what is bad are the photos. They are exploiting children rather than showing pictures of the obese parents waiting at drive through windows for dinner. Or maybe show the portion sizes of the food that most parents serve their kids compared to what they should be eating.

I find this ad extremely inappropriate

As someone who’s been overweight most of life and who’s parents used to push membership in the clean plate club. I can understand where some of the blame lies. I also know what it’s like to constantly called fat and who was looked down on by other parents and children I understand the emotions these kids feel and how humiliating being overweight can be. As someone who learned little to nothing about fitness and nutrition in school I can understand how this epidemic has reached this point.

If you were an overweight kid and you saw any of these posters or commercials can you imagine how you’d feel? Seriously think about that for a second …

I know most people would want to curl up in a ball and hide in your room if you saw a kid that looked like yourself in that as. Do you really think children ask their parents why they are overweight? Do you think you’re doing to suddenly just figure out what you need to change to get healthy? Do you think any parents are going to look at these pictures and suddenly have an epiphany to change their ways because they see that ad?

As a previously overweight kid I know that these photos do nothing but hurt children’s confidence and self-esteem and that they’ll certainly do little to nothing to help address this epidemic.

Now if you’d put the parents in those photos waiting in fast food drive lines, eating the crazy portion sizes, or perhaps sitting in front of TV eating dinner that’d be interesting. I’m sure they’re afraid of angering the fast food or restaurant lobbyist though so that’d never happen. Instead they choose to take advantage of children already struggling to find themselves or their place in society.

Instead of tearing children like this down, let’s build them up. Show them how to make good choices. The blame and responsibility of childhood obesity lays with the adults, the parents, and the educators, not the children.