An excuse to gain weight?

RECESSION LARDASSIFICATION 

By Neal Boortz @ January 12, 2009 8:49 AM

This statistic should astound you .. then again, if you have been to Disney World lately, maybe not. The number of American adults who are obese has surpassed the number of adults who are merely overweight. More than 34% of adults are considered obese. That is more than 72 million Americans. This is compared to 32.7% of adults who are just overweight. I'm not a genius, but that means that almost 70% of our population is made up of lardassess ... blubber butts .. however you want to classify them.

But don't worry, now we have an excuse. Because of the downturn in the economy, health professionals are worried that Americans are going to gain more weight. More weight?? They are calling it "recession pounds" and it is exactly what you think: people in a recession spend less money on food and end up buying a lot of junk and fluff for their money. They aren't eating as healthy and therefore gain weight. Naturally this affects the poor the most. EVERYTHING affects the poor the most. Even the end of the world will have a disproportionate affect on the poor. Don't worry .. I'm sure the Obama administration is working on a government program to make grocery-buying a fair playing field for everyone.

My Apologies and a tip

I haven't been posting lately, had a lot of things going on in what I call "Life".

I have continued to lose weight, however. At my last weigh-in, I posted a total loss of forty-five pounds. That's since May.

I've had weeks where I lost ounces, and a couple where I'd gained ounces. The good comes with the bad and luckily, I've had more good than bad. I'm about half-way to my goal, and I plan to continue on until I meet it.

At a recent weigh-in, the nurse told me a tip she had gotten at a recent bariatric seminar. While you are doing your normal activities (not exercise), wear a one pound weight on your ankles and/or wrists. Nurse J had round ones that were kind of fuzzy. As soon as I left the office, I went to Walmart (I was headed there anyway), and checked out their sporting goods section. I couldn't find the same weights Nurse J had (and apparently they can't be found for love or money), but I did find other weights that would do the trick. Walmart has packs of wrist weights, ankle weights, ankle and wrist weights that come in different weights. I couldn't find ankle weights of one pound, but did get wrist weights. I figured that I could try it out and at some other time get the ankle weights.

For the next week I didn't exercise, but wore them for my "normal", non-exercise activities. I wore them at work and when I went shopping, ran errands or the like. I watched my food intake as always, but as I said, did no exercise as such. I gave myself the week off for the experiment. I lost, only about a quarter pound, but it was a loss.

My weights are by Danskin and happen to be pink and black. Hey, I am a girl, after all.

The ones pictured at purple and black and happen to be two pound weights. More than one pound weights are not recommended for normal routine, but would be fine for exercise.

How to Maintain Your Weight

By Craig Ballantyne

Oprah recently featured some former contestants from "The Biggest Loser." Unfortunately, some of them had regained up to 100 pounds since they left the show.

While losing weight is hard, not enough attention is given to the equally difficult process of maintaining weight loss. And what most people don't realize is that the method you use to lose weight helps determine how difficult weight maintenance will be.

Researchers from the City University of New York studied folks who were successful at losing at least 10 percent of their bodyweight in the past year. They were separated into three groups. Group one had lost the weight with a very-low calorie diet (VLCD). Group two had lost the weight with a commercial weight-loss program. And the third group had lost the weight using a self-directed approach.

Initially, the VLCD group had a greater average weight loss (24 percent of bodyweight) compared to the two other groups (17 percent). But the researchers found that they quickly regained the most weight. On the other hand, the folks who had lost the weight on their own - as a result of making lifestyle changes - were able to maintain their weight loss.

What can you learn here? Well, it's like many weight-loss experts keep saying: You must make simple, easy-to-stick-to lifestyle changes if you want to lose weight and keep it off. Crash diets and excessive exercise programs might work for a while, but they won't help you in the long run.

Start your long-term weight-loss program today by finding a form of exercise you enjoy and a diet that suits your personality, and by surrounding yourself with social support - people who are genuinely interested in seeing you succeed.

[Ed. Note: Extending your life and living out your years in tip-top health is really a matter of making simple lifestyle choices. For more easy-to-implement ideas about how to live longer and feel better, click here.

Looking for exercise that is enjoyable and can help you lose weight? Try fitness expert Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training exercise program.]

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I removed the links above as they went to sites offering to sell you something. If you want more information, click here.

Friday Weigh In

I lost another three plus pounds. The official total is now forty - that's 40! pounds lost since May.

I'm absolutely amazed that I've lost that much. I'm nearly halfway to the target set by Dr. M. Still a long way from the target I've imposed on myself, but, I'm not even sure that's a target I will try for. I'm waiting until I get to the first target to decide whether I want to go on, and how far.

I'm still working out on the Wii. Mostly the Wii Fit. Lately I've found myself doing the aerobics module mostly, and the Step program most of all. I get a little frustrated because after all this time, I still don't have the rhythm down. You have to step slowly on and off the balance board and I guess I am stepping just a little too fast. And sometimes, it registers that I missed a step when I didn't! Maybe I was too fast, or too slow, or whatever, but I did it, dang it!

Mostly I can actually get through the entire routine without missing a step (or three or four), I turn the AC down because I can really build up a sweat doing this. Trust me, these "games" are not necessarily easy!

And every once in a while one of the dogs decides he wants to step with me. Mostly the dogs stay on the recliner, watching me like they can't quite figure out what the heck I'm doing. I guess it looks like fun, so one or the other will decide that I need some instruction or something. I'll step back and feel a rake slide down my calf. I admit, that's one time when I do miss a step or two, worried about tripping over a Chihuahua and wondering where the other one is and if I'll fall on either of them. I love my boys, but I wish they'd stay on their chair when I'm doing a step routine. 

But the games are fun. And remembering that I've lost 40 pounds makes it a bit easier. 

The Store

I set up links to The Losing Effort Store. Go, don't go, whatever you want. Just remember the number one rule: you make your own choices and you take all responsibility.

A Wii For Mii

I finally got the switcher I needed to set up my Wii. Now this is fun, but be prepared to have your ego deflated

You set up the Wii with an Mii avatar and a player name. You can design the Mii to look something like yourself. So mine has reddish hair pulled back into a pony tail, green eyes and glasses. You can also set the body type to resemble your own. So if you are a bit (or a lot) on the fluffy side (as I like to describe myself), you can make the Mii avatar to look like you look now, or what you want to look like.

The Mii follows you from game to game across the sports pack or into the Wii Fit module. If your Wii is attached to the Internet, you can allow your Mii to travel to other consoles. You might have other Miis show up on yours. That will be kinda cute, I think. You can have them line up, or parade around the plaza.

The Wii I got has the sports games attached, so I was bowling this afternoon. I used to bowl in a league, but wasn't too good. Luckily, it was a church league, so it was for fun and fellowship rather than winning. Oh, don't get me wrong, we had some teams that were in it to win, if not beat the pants off the other team, but most of us were just there to have some fun. Anyway, I think it will be neat to be able to bowl with the Wii. Maybe I can perfect my form and delivery and, if I ever bowl again, I won't embarrass myself too much. There are also baseball, tennis, golf, and boxing. I'll be getting the tennis racket and other stuff so I can play those games.

Oh, when you go into the Wii Fit, your Mii will appear in appropriate workout clothing. If you are skiing, you'll be in ski clothes and skis. If you're in a gym, you'll be in regular workout gear. When I ws bowling, my Mii was in street clothes.

As you set up the Wii Fit, you'll be asked information such as your birthday, your height, and be told to stand on the balance board. At that time, it will measure your BMI and, using all the information asked, will determine your Wii age. I'd rather not disclose mine. I used to joke that I was older than dirt, but I never said it around the Wii

So, I began my workout. I focused mostly on balance because apparently my posture is lousy, at least according to the Wii. It actually asked if I fell down a lot :/ I used to think I had pretty good posture. Now I'm not so sure. I found that the only way I could get the posture correct was to lean forward, on the balls of my feet, and try to distribute my weight evenly between my left and right legs. It's not as easy as it sounds.

Anyway....I tried out several of the games and found I stink at all of the them. With practice, I hope I'll improve. I skied a downward slope through gates. You stand on the balance board and lean left and right to go through the gates. Not as easy as it sounds. Lean a little too far and you miss the gate...or gates as it may be. I did make it through all the gates once, but mostly, I missed at least a few.

There's a table tilt game where you lean to tilt a table to drop what looks like a pool ball with your Mii's face on it through a hole in the table. As you go through the game, more Mii balls show up. It's fun, but not easy.

I tried walking a tightrope and kept falling. The soccer game was sorta fun. You're on a soccer field and the rest of the team lines up to kick soccer balls to you. You are to lean into the and hit the back with your head. And then they get mean and throw other things at you that you are to avoid. Not easy. Those boys are mean! I also tried out a step exercise. You can follow the chart or watch the Miis. The object is to do what the Miis do as they do it. As you go along, you get a "Perfect!" or an "Ok" to indicate first that you matched the Miis perfectly, or you did the step but not perfectly. Right now, I just want to get the step. I'll worry about matching the Miis as I get better.

The best game for me was the hula hoop. I made 100 spins and added hoops. I haven't played with a hula hoop since was a kid, but it came back to me. One hint: draw a big circle with your hips. That helps to keep the hoops moving.

As in all games, the better you do, the better your point score. Oh, that reminds me. You start out with the basic games and then as you gain points, you open more games. It will tell you that you've unlocked, say a Yoga game. I haven't tried the Yoga yet. I think I'll wait until my posture improves a bit.

Wii is fun, but it is not easy. I think it will be a perfect addition to my work out routine.

I think I'll like this.

Weigh In - Week 13

I weighed in last week and found that I had gained what I thought was a half pound. I found out it was actually closer to a pound. Oh well.

I weighed in today and found that I've lost 5 more pounds. I think my gain last week was due to.....well, to put it delicately, an elimination problem. That resolved itself and I think I would have lost my average of about 2.5 pounds. Over 2 weeks, that would be about right.

The medication (phentermine) apparently has that as a side effect. That's why we're told to drink a lot of fluids and eat a lot of fiber. Luckily, I like prunes and added them to my daily routine. I also found Benefiber packets that I can add to drinks or food. I usually add it to the water or ice tea I drink daily. Each packet adds about 3 grams of fiber (take up to 3 times a day). I like the packets because the are easy to carry in my lunch box.

It doesn't change the taste of the drink. Be sure to read the nutrition information if you plan to try it out. Another product might be better for you.