Thirteen Tips for Healthy Weight Loss

I've found another really good article on weight loss that tells a more realistic and honest story of what we need to do to maintain health and shed some pounds. Take a look at these thirteen basic tips and keep in mind that the bottom line is lots of fiber, whole grains and vegetables, healthy fats, lose sugary treats, and a big dose of common sense.  http://gma.yahoo.com/13-things-diet-experts-wont-tell-weight-loss-170358888--abc-news.html

Exercise alone might build muscle and stamina but is not the answer for major weight loss. That said I'm off to the gym. Not to lose weight, but to stay strong and keep my metabolism healthy. 

Another random travel picture: Blue Mountains, near Sidney, Australia.

Rambo's Daffodils

This morning, my husband rushed into the house to tell me that Rambo's daffodils are coming up in the garden. I had to rush out to see the tiny sprouts emerging between patches of snow at the edge of the deck. It is such a small thing, but after so many years we are still excited at our personal sign of renewal. It is hard to believe that eleven years have passed since I knelt beside the low stone wall placing small amounts of Rambo's ashes in lieu of bone meal into each bulb hole. When we inevitably leave this home, this will be the thing we miss the most.

Rambo was with us for a relatively short time. We adopted the huge strong grey tabby not knowing that at the age of two, he already suffered from the beginnings of kidney failure . . . probably from early neglect. As we know, cats must have ample fresh water all the time to avoid his fate. He was the best cat imaginable. So smart that he learned to sit and raise up his paw to "shake" with astounded visitors. But, what made him so endearing and precious was in part the road we traveled together during the last year of his life.

Each afternoon when we returned from work, we went immediately to the kitchen and pulled a stool up to the counter. As we unraveled the ringer's bag that had become an odd decorative fixture hanging from the cupboard above the sink, Rambo would run into the room and jump onto the stool. There he would hunker down and wait patiently as we stuck the needle in his ruff and filled him with life-saving fluid. Every once in a while if we had not changed the needle or our technique was a little off and he felt the jab, he would turn his head and look back at us with an indescribable look of, well, of understanding.

When he finally succumbed, he and we had extended his life by a year. He was the best of cats and our sadness over losing him was profound even though it was expected. Obviously, as a result of the daily treatments the three of us--two humans and a cat--formed a unique bond of mutual cooperation and care.

We're not exactly the most sentimental or sensitive people in the world, but this experience touched us deeply and remains a strong link in the bond between us, the two humans left behind. And so, we take a ludricous amount of pleasure in watching the inch-by-inch progress of Rambo's daffodils as they push upward and finally bloom, then sadly die back, only to return a year later along with the rush of memories of an intelligent loving animal.

Suzanne Somers: Who Knew?

Actually, Somers has been touting and advertizing fitness and health products for years. You mght have been tempted to make light (or even fun) of her thigh master commercials, but you can't argue with results. The woman looks fantastic. And, she is a best-selling author. This series of short blurbs by Somers on how to lose weight later in life and how to maintain health and vitatlity is well, inspiring. As I read these, my thoughts were yep, that's it, that's what I've been trying to do. I encourage you to look at this article and pick things you can actually do and stick with. The easiest advice is probably what we've been saying all along. Eat fresh fruits, veggies, and fish or meat (red meat in moderation), drink lots of water, and cut way back on processed sugary foods and white flour. Here's the link. http://tinyurl.com/7ghlhvl

By the way, my husband, Tim, has become quite the baker over that past few years. As he finds new recipes and becomes more confident in his own judgement, he increasingly alters them to greatly reduce or eliminate white flour and sugar. By substituting whole wheat flour, bran, and wheat germ, and using only enough sugar for a pleasant ( not super sweet) taste, he is turning dessert type foods into something much healthier and delicious.

Another random travel picture: Back yard of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia

Facing a Huge Problem

Me climbing the

"stairs of death" in Valparaiso, Chile. No problemo, well almost none.

This blog will be a rant about the obesity epidemic in the US. Even in 2004, obesity (being at least 30 percent overweight based on Body Mass Index (BMI)) caused 400,000 deaths and cost $122.9 billion. Things might have improved slightly at present. Nontheless, this country is worried about debt and expenditures, when we are causing a lot of needless expense due to our unhealthy sedentary life styles. The human body was meant to be active, based on the size and strength of healthy muscle tissue. After all, we are near the top of the food chain. But many people get almost no exercise.

 At present 45 to 50 percent of African American and Hispanic women are obese. Perhaps worse, over 15 percent of our children are obese as well. There are many theories about why this is happening to us. Among the possible causes and effects of this epidemic are

--Taking in too many calories and expending too few
--Dehydration, caused by drinking too many unhealthy sugary fluids and not enough water.
-- Too much TV and computer/games, etc. and too little exercise.
-- A food industry that still insists on serving mega-size portions and too often too much fat and sugar.
--Excess salt, sodium, and partially hydrogenated oils.
--Too much white flour, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweetners, preservatives, and additives, like hormones and MSG, which are believed to increase insulin, the fat storing hormone, leading to typical fat deposits on arms, bellies, and chins.
-- MSG is also labeled as hydrolysed vegetable protein, glutamic acid, calcium caseinate, among others, believed to alter brain neurotransmitters, interfering with leptin, which tells our brain when we are full and leading to out of control eating.
-- genetics and hormone imbalances play a role, but this alone does not account for the dramatic increase in the overweight population.

What can we do? Well, for starters when we eat at home we can completely control our food intake. Read labels, buy mostly natural foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and cut down significantly on portion size, especially of meat. In restaurants, share entrees and desserts with a friend. In most places you'll still have plenty to eat. Obviously, more exercise is needed, as I say in almost every blog.

Finally, it is a sad commentary on many levels to see that Paula Deen, the 64 year old TV cooking celebrity, has just announced that she has type 2 diabetes and was diagnosed three years ago. If you have ever seen her show, you know that she is overweight and cooks almost exclusively "southern comfort" type foods high in fat and sugar.

Five Fitness Mistakes

I'm providing another link for a good article, since I happen to agree with all five of these points. Can't say enough about the importance of drinking enough water and not starving ones self to lose weight and get into shape. Check out these tips. http://tinyurl.com/6q64ddk.

Another travel picture. Here we are in Acapulco, one of the ports described in Currents of Vengeance, where Darcy gets into trouble. http://tinyurl.com/3fqqg7e

Taking Vitamin Supplements; A Prudent Approach

I've reprinted the following information on the value of taking vitamins and minerals. As with everything in life, we should be careful of excess that can turn a good thing into something bad.

The Bottom Line: A Daily Multivitamin Is Still Good Nutrition Insurance

Some scientists believe there is not enough evidence to recommend for or against taking a daily multivitamin, because there isn't yet enough data from randomized controlled trials. That's a reasonable but short-sighted point of view since it may never be possible to conduct randomized trials that are long enough to test the effects of multiple vitamins on risks of cancers, Alzheimer's disease, and other degenerative conditions. Looking at all the evidence—from epidemiological studies on diet and health, to biochemical studies on the minute mechanisms of disease—the potential health benefits of taking a standard daily multivitamin appear to outweigh the potential risks for most people.

The good news is, you don't need an expensive "designer" supplement or a name-brand kind to reap health benefits. A standard store-brand multivitamin-multimineral supplement is fine. Look for one that contains RDA-level amounts and that also has the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) seal of approval on the label. The amount of vitamin D in most such supplements is usually 400 IU, so you might want to look for one that contains 800–1,000 IU of vitamin D or get additional amounts from a separate vitamin D supplement as well. In fact, the desirable intake of vitamin D is shifting swiftly; many people may need 2,000 IU per day (or more) to get their blood levels of vitamin D into an adequate range; particularly if they have darker skin, spend winters at higher latitudes (such as the northern U.S.), or spend little time in the sun. For premenopausal women, a multivitamin that includes the RDA for iron is a good idea.

Knowledge about the optimal intakes of vitamins and minerals is not set in stone. So it will be important to continue researching the relationships between vitamins, minerals, and chronic disease, over decades. This may mean more confusing news headlines along the way, as the science develops.

For more of this discussion about the role of vitamin supplements in maintaining good health, go to the  Harvard School of Public Health site at   http://tinyurl.com/6wh3hsy

Back to Fitness . . . I Hope

When I started this blog I intended for its major thrust to be health and fitness--lifelong endeavors for me. Since contending with chemotherapy, I have not been able to get to my regular gym workouts for the past couple of months. Today, I went there and tried to get back into the flow. I know that once a person stops exercising they can get out of shape quickly, but I was hardly prepared for the horrifying experience. The worst part, was my inability to stretch my leg muscles even half what I would normally be able to do. It will take awhile and some dedication to get back where I was before . . . but I will.

It got me to thinking about all the people who never do stretching or any other type of exercise, and how with age our muscles deteriorate at the rate of about 8% every ten years. No wonder so many elderly folks simply lose the ability to walk due to muscle weakness with no other infirmity. Of course, being overweight as so many in our society are, does not help. For them, it is even more difficult to get going and keep going for life.

Although I've always known how important it is to exercise regularly, I now have a greater appreciation for what I would be like now at age 65 if I had not exercised all my adult life. I'm happy and grateful to be back to the point where I can resume a healthy lifestyle. I encourage everyone to continue your exercise routines and if you don't already, to start an exercise program of some kind, even if it first entails just stretching and walking up and down stairs.  Just start somewhere and then never stop.

           My 40 plus year old son, Shayne, on the right riding in the annual Colorado Triple Bypass