Diet Questions (Humor)

Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: The heart is only good for so many beats, and that is it. Don't waste it on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up the heart does not make you live longer; it is like saying you extend the life of a car by driving faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: Oh no. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take water out of the fruity bits so you get even more of goodness that way. Beer is also made of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of single one, sorry. My philosophy is no pain - good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU ARE NOT LISTENING! Food is fried in vegetable oil. How is getting more vegetables bad?

Q : Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Oh no! When you exercise muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy?!? HEL-LO-O!! Cocoa beans! Another vegetable! It is the best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for the figure, explain the whale to me.

Q: Is getting in shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!

Weigh In - Oh Yeah

Gotta love a double digit weight loss. Ten pounds gone!

On Thursday I had an appointment with a weight loss management doctor at Melrose Institute. This is the group that I did the binge eating disorder program at years ago that got me started on my weight loss journey. However, until recently they didn't have a weight loss program and Medicare didn't cover such services.

What I came away with after the appointment was:

#1 Need to increase fruits and vegetables to five servings a day
#2 Add a handful of nuts per day
#3 Remove fruit juice from diet
#4 Add Buspar for anxiety
#5 Add Topomax for mood stabilization and mild appetite suppression
#6 See therapist for intake
#7 See doctor again in one month

The Topomax is helping a LOT with my hunger. I still get hungry every couple of hours, but I'm satisfied with less food. A piece of fruit, a handful of nuts, a piece of toast, etc. keeps me going until the next meal.

Making Blogging a Part of My Morning Routine

Sorry I haven't been posting like I said I would. It would get to be the end of the day and I would run out of time and energy. So, I've added my blog to the list of links I go to every morning to make it part of my routine.

What links do I go to every morning? So glad you asked! Ha.

Google - news and cartoons (Family Circle and Unshelved)
LibraryThing - my home on the web, books and reading forum
ATCsforAll - artist trading cards
Hennepin County Library - to check my account for coming due books and books on hold
My bank - to check balance and transactions
SparkPeople - especially the 300lb+ Team
Facebook - to check my wall and play Castleville
Calico Reaction - Science Fiction and Fantasy book reviewer
NotAlwaysRight - also NotAlwaysRomantic, NotAlwaysRelated, and NotAlwaysWorking
My Bible Reading Plan - daily reading of the Bible. I'm almost done. Yay! Been a long year.
USA Today Crossword Puzzle
The Cauldron - pagan forum

Whew!

Disabled Parking at Home

In order for me to get in and out of the house, my husband or Metro Mobility needs to be able to park in front of the house on the street. There are two steps (one regular, one small) then a walkway to the street. The neighbors are usually very good about not parking in front of our house as they know about my mobility issues. Their friends and family, however, usually aren't aware and if they park in front of the house, it makes it very difficult, if not impossible, for me to get out.

I called the city to see if there is anything that could be done, perhaps a handicapped only parking sign. I got bounced around from the city clerk to the police department to the police chief. Hey, at least I headed UP the chain! I'm waiting to hear back from the police chief. Maybe he'll have a solution. Even if not, it doesn't hurt to ask.

***

I did well yesterday and stayed under 2500 calories, did 30 minutes of exercise, and drank 8 to 10 cups of water.

Updating More Often

I'm going to try posting more often. I don't know what exactly I'm going to talk about. The minutiae of my life just isn't that interesting but perhaps writing daily will help me keep focused on my goals. Most posts will be short and sweet.

I've been struggling with hunger lately and it's been showing on the scale. I don't know what the deal is but it seems that just an hour after I've eaten, I'm hungry again. I'm getting enough protein and fat, so it's not that. I'll be seeing a doctor on Thursday, so I'll ask her about it. Meanwhile, I'm "forcing" myself to not eat more than every three hours, no matter how hungry I am and I'm drinking water in-between meals.The schedule is:

5am Breakfast
8am Snack
11am Lunch
2pm Snack
5pm Dinner

ETA: Found an article this evening, The Dieter's Dilemma - How to Stay Full in a Calorie Deficit.

Coming Along

Out of the last sixteen days, fourteen have been under 2500 calories. I'm down to 555. I wish it were a bit faster, but I'll take what I can get. I've added daily exercise. Every hour I do chair dancing to one song on iTunes. I'll increase the amount as time goes on.

My husband really laid the law down last night and I have to put my nose to the grind stone and get this weight off so he doesn't have to be my caretaker anymore. Being told that he doesn't feel like a husband any more but rather a nurse and errand boy is certainly motivating to say the least. If I am going to save this marriage, I need to work very hard to get back in shape.

Follow the Bouncing Ball

Dropped to 558, back up to 560. My current short-term goal is to get as many days under 2500 calories as I can. (Two days so far.) Then my next goal will be to try and beat the number of days.

My exercise hasn't been great. It's been really hard to get to the pool without the pool aide to assist me. My husband has to come help after work or we need to go really early on Saturday mornings. Neither are easy to do with him working full-time and needing to run errands. I know, they are just excuses, but I haven't yet gotten into a new pattern. Last week I had lunch with a friend on Saturday and we couldn't afford the gas to do both the lunch and the pool. This weekend he needs to work over-time, so I'll only get one pool visit this week, too.

I'm seeing my doctor about stomach pain and on-going intestinal distress. They've ruled out C. diff and something bacterial. They've done ultrasound. I've got a big gall-stone, but it's not acting up at the moment. I'm leaning toward a diagnosis of GERD or Irritable Bowel at this point. We'll see.