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Inspiration/motivation
Chris was outraged. But he is turning his outrage into action. He has founded a non-profit, “Parents Against Junk Food.” This is a good old-fashioned call-to-action website that aims to get parents riled up about this issue.
Chris writes in his editorial:
““One day, mothers and fathers across America are going to wake up, throw open the window, and yell, “We’re mad, and we’re not going to take it anymore!””
Way to go, Chris! Yes, parents need to be responsible for their kids’ health and well-being, but we need to ask for, no demand, that the public institutions that we pay for with our hard-earned tax dollars, support us in our efforts keep our kids healthy and safe.
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Filed Under:
Benefits or hazards of certain foods, Public health, Inspiration/motivation, Children, Overweight/obesity, Food policy, Childhood obesity, Nutrition, Social commentary, Healthy eating
In fact, at that time, King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV was listed in the Guiness Book of Records as "The Fattest Monarch in the World." He weighted 209.5 kilograms (462 pounds). But. to his royal credit, he decided to make a change and eventually was able to lose 70 kilograms (154 pounds) to end up at about 130 kilograms (or 286 pounds). Quite a credible weight loss.
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Filed Under:
Public health, Inspiration/motivation, Overweight/obesity, Food policy, Weight loss
The decision to have bariatric surgery is highly personal. Each individual must weigh the risks and benefits according to their own unique set of preferences. Some folks would never have surgery and refer to losing weight with diet and exercise as “the right way.” Others, like Wendy Hanawalt, suffer from overwhelming complications of obesity and, for a variety of reasons, including insulin related weight gain, turn to gastric by-pass as a last hope life-saver.
Wendy has shared what it was like living as a “really, really fat person” in her compelling story, “Memoir of a Fat Broad.” Now, with her permission, she shares what it is like to live with the after effects of gastric by-pass surgery.
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Filed Under:
Weight loss behaviors, Diabetes , Inspiration/motivation, Overweight/obesity, Insulin resistance, Guest blogs, Complications of obesity, Surgery for obesity
"When you're really, really fat -- and by that I mean what doctors refer to as "morbidly obese," there is one thing that is screamingly clear: people who are not really, really fat have no idea what it's like. As a formerly really, really fat person who's now just fat, I have to say that we have no one to blame for that misunderstanding but ourselves. Our modus operandi is to hide: hide our feelings, even from ourselves, hide who we really are, hide our shame, hide our disabilities. And so, as part of my "coming out" as a person with reorganized intestines (having had gastric bypass surgery), I'm going to "tell on myself," write about what it's like in vivid detail, so that some of you (those who are not RRF) will have a new understanding of the experience and -- at least I hope -- those of you who are RRF will hear someone singing your song.
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Filed Under:
Weight loss behaviors, Diabetes , Inspiration/motivation, Overweight/obesity, Insulin resistance, Guest blogs, Complications of obesity, Depression
Excuse #1: "Why bother?" Because there is "irrefutable evidence" that consistant exercise lowers the risk of many illnesses, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, depression and osteoporosis.
Excuse # 2: "I'm too busy" Hobson points out that regular exercisers are busy too. They just make exercise a priority. It is an expected part of their everyday lives. Regular exercisers have two jobs, two kids, too much to do, and too little time...just like non-exercisers....but they still find time for regular physical activity. Hey, couch potatoes--if they can find the time, you can too!
Excuse #3: "I hate going it alone" Ok, so find a buddy or hire a trainer. PEERtrainer is a great place to look for an exercise buddy...so is Craig's list...so is your local YMCA.
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Filed Under:
Exercise (benefits), Weight loss behaviors, Inspiration/motivation, Yoga, Fitness
This is a great story from Yahoo's website: "Man offers free lawn mowing to lose weight." Like the committments we make to our teammates on PEERtrainer, this guy figured he would get a good dose of exercise if he made promises to folks that he would mow their lawns. Hopefully, he is using a manual mower.
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Filed Under:
Exercise (benefits), Weight loss behaviors, Inspiration/motivation, Weight loss (benefits)
The hike started with a 2,000 foot climb to a saddle between two mountain peaks. We climbed and climbed. My attitude stunk. I kept thinking I should just admit it was too hard for me and pack it in before it was too late to turn around. We hit the half-way point of the climb and I was just about to say, “I’m going back,” when my husband said, “let me carry your pack—I can carry your pack under my pack.” Relieved of this weight on my back, I started to climb again. We had to cross three or four snow fields—carefully putting our feet in the footprints left by the guides. Two hours later, we hit the top of the saddle and before us lay a beautiful meadow gradually descending as far as the eye could see. We had another 5 hours of hiking in front of us, but it was all downhill from there.
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Filed Under:
Exercise (benefits), Weight loss behaviors, Inspiration/motivation, Fitness, Healthy behaviors
Steve decided to do the walk after his weight peaked at 410 pounds and he found himself unable to walk across a department store. He was only 40 years old. He, like many of us struggling with weight, had a personal story behind his weight gain. He had accidently killed two elderly pedestrians a number of years ago. He was swamped with guilty feelings that he tried to drown with food. He gained 150 pounds in the year or so after the accident. It was a "tipping point" in his life. He decided to walk across America...all 3,000 + miles.
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Filed Under:
Exercise (benefits), Weight loss behaviors, Inspiration/motivation, Overweight/obesity, Weight loss, Healthy behaviors
There is a personal story here. Robert Pinkard used to weigh 499 pounds and wore a size 62 suit. Then, he joined a food addiction group and started eating fresh produce. He shed 100 pounds. Although family events are still oriented around food to mark special occasions, Pinkard knows he has to be careful. He says, "I don't eat garbage no more because I really have to watch it."
Now, he is going to help his customers as well. As he was quoted in the Chronicle, "I don't want my customers to die...the longer they're around, the better business is."
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Filed Under:
Benefits or hazards of certain foods, Public health, Inspiration/motivation, Overweight/obesity, Food policy, Social commentary, Healthy eating, Weight loss
Got it off? Now can you keep it off? Unfortunately, the answer for many dieters is no. When they drop their guard and return to old eating habits, the pounds come piling back on. Diane Berry, a nuse practitioner and
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Filed Under:
Weight loss behaviors, Inspiration/motivation
Two news stories caught my eye recently and made me wonder: "Are we creating a new norm of being fat?" One of these stories, "Heavy patients put strain on hospitals," appeared on CNN.com. The other, "Tots getting too fat to fit
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Filed Under:
Inspiration/motivation, Children
Rick Botelho is a family doc who really cares about health promotion and disease prevention. Unlike a lot of doctors who glibly tell patients “loses weight” or “stop drinking,” Dr. Botelho really understands how hard it is to make lifestyle
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Filed Under:
Inspiration/motivation
This is a wonderful piece from the AP wire. It is particularly illuminating to read what Steve Vaught writes about how it feels to be fat. If you want to read more about his remarkable journey, go to his website: http://www.thefatmanwalking.com/.
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Filed Under:
Exercise (benefits), Inspiration/motivation
Every afternoon at four pm, Hubert Beaglebassett comes to my office, puts his chin on my knee, and starts to whine. He knows it will take about an hour to move me away from the computer and into the bedroom where I put on my walking shoes.
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Filed Under:
Inspiration/motivation, Pets
There is a wonderful story in the NY Times today about two brothers who have lived almost all of their lives as diabetics. One brother, Gerald, turned 90 this month. His brother, Robert, is the baby at 86. They came down with Type 1
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Filed Under:
Diabetes , Inspiration/motivation
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