RULES RULE

I know a lot of people hate rules.  I happen to be okay with rules.  I like knowing what is expected of me in social situations (etiquette) and having an understanding of what to do at a flashing red light (rules of the road) and having little ditties to remind myself of things (righty tighty-lefty loosey).

So I am okay with the idea when the author of The End of Overeating said to make rules for myself to help navigate past the foods that are all around me which are speaking directly to the depths of my brain.  Studies show that there is a  cycle of "cue-urge-reward-habit" which is imprinted on the brain.   It is highly automated and below the level of conscious awareness.  We must rely on other levels of the brain, the frontal cortex which makes conscious decisions, to override the strong emotional/repetitive behavior.  They say the frontal cortex has  Executive Control over our actions and that is where the rules come in.

So one of my rules is Whole Grains only.  I am eating low carb because I am a carb lover - love the bread and pasta.  So when I am dining out, this rule saves me.  For instance, the other night, I got out the door to go to work without my dinner.  When the staff was putting together an order at about 7 pm and I was hungry, I was tempted.  They were going to the Mexican place.  I looked at the menu and thought I could order a chicken quesadilla with just a little cheese.  But they didn't have whole wheat tortillas (I don't like corn) so I did not order.  I was hungry, but I ate a snack when I got home.

I was saved by my rules.  The other part of this, according to author David Kessler, is that the response must be automatic.  The minute you start bargaining or thinking about it you lose the upper hand.  It must be a rigid response to "rewire" the brain. 

There are more "food rehab" tips I will write about lateer in the week.  What are your rules that help your "rehab"?

MORE ABOUT THE "COST" OF OBESITY

Have you read he latest study on the "costs" of obesity?  There are many interesting statistics which have been pulled together from a number of studies and put into a report by George Washington University researchers.  Most of it we have heard over and over about the health care costs being higher and work productivity being lower.  This report even adds in the cost of clothing  and gas - guess what?  Higher.

One thing that makes me mad is that they report that wages for overweight women are lower than wages for overweight men.  Men are not penalized for their weight in the workplace, at least when it comes to salary, but women are.  Dig deeper in the study and you see that you are less likely to even be hired if you are overweight and white.  The highest number of overweight women working are African American or Hispanic.

They do not examine the attitudes behind the lower salary and hiring decisions.  I am sure they want it everyone to think it is all about the numbers.   But it is well known that working mothers miss more days of work  than working fathers because that is how families traditionally handle sick children.  If the woman happens to be overweight - she is counted for this as being related to "obesity."  Thus overweight women have higher absenteeism.  These studies don't scratch the statistic to find the reality underneath and that bothers me.

In the study they suggest more research needs to be done on the reason health care costs are lower for obese African American women.  They also admit that more needs to be done to break out the gender related medical costs.  You think?  Women, by virtue of our biology have higher medical costs, what with child birth and all.  Tossing all of that together and calling it obesity related is very misleading and self serving.

Just as misleading is assuming that every medical intervention has to do directly with one's weight.  My skinny sister has sleep apnea and so do I, but I am sure mine is "related to my obesity" in some statistic somewhere.

I know I am pretty sensitive on this subject.  I am very healthy.  I missed one day of work for sickness in five years.  I have never been to an emergency room.  My health issues do not relate solely to my weight. (ie: I know that my knees will be happier when I lose more but my bad knees are genetic.)  I do not have heart disease, diabetes or high blood pressure. 

I am tired of feeling like I am the scum of the earth, the cause of our societal problems and that I deserve all the trouble I had getting a job because I am fat.  I am tired of being a scapegoat along with the smokers and the illegal immigrants.  Even the bankers are treated nicer...

THE SELF ESTEEM DIET

I have been feeling guilty for not writing more here.  I have been working a lot, the training process for my new job seems to be long and slow and I have been stressed and tired because of it.  I have actually had time to write.  I have just  been out of sorts and I have been overeating and not understanding why.

Tonight I was looking around and found an article on self-esteem.  Normally I do not feel I suffer from self-esteem issues.  Most of the things mentioned in the story don't apply to me.  I can accept compliments, I have a positive attitude and try to surround myself with positive people, I don't dwell on my troubles - after all, my blogging name is Mrs. Brightside!!  So what could be the problem?

I am happy I found a job, I believe I will be good at this job, I like the people.  However,  I am frustrated by the training process.  Everyone keeps saying how much there is to learn, they keep "showing" me things.  I ask to do it, be hands on with the computer, but they just jump in and do it or stand behind me pointing at the screen so that I am not thinking my way through the steps and learning them.  Or, it has been super slow during the times I have been working and there have not been opportunities to learn different things.  I read and re-read the written instructions, but it just isn't the same as actually going through the steps on the computer - seeing where the  forms need to be filled in, where to click, which file things are in, etc.  Also different people I train with tell me different things.

So when I asked how I was doing and I was told I need to speed up, I felt bad.   I think my self esteem is suffering a lot.  I usually learn things quickly and impress people, in this job that is not happening.  It isn't that they seem upset, but they did add another training day to my schedule. 

According to the article, I need to take responsibility for these feelings, set achievable goals and not compare myself to others (the other new hire has worked in vet care for 12 years!)  Certainly, the answer is not to skip the gym and eat too much.  Why is that always the fallback response? 

Hum.  Maybe I do dwell in the negative a bit more than I care to admit.  I talk a better game than I live.  I need to live up to my talk.  Set my goals and stick with them for the job and for my healthy lifestyle.

WILL YOU EAT IT ONCE YOU KNOW?

Many years ago when my youngest was still in a stroller, they opened a Cinnabon in the mall.  Cinnamon rolls for me are one of those foods with so many happy memories attached.  A special food made by my mom for special occasions, a tradition I carry on with my own family.

I have never been one to buy store baked things except for bread.  I am a bit of a snob that way!  But I must say that the mere smell of the Cinnabons told me that they were making a high quality cinnamon roll, and I stopped in and bought one.  I split it with my 3 kids and we all loved it.  Getting a Cinnabon - without icing because that made it too sweet - became an occasional treat when we went to the mall and they behaved.  Then there was a newspaper article about the franchise which disclosed the nutritional content.  The fat content was equal to 3 days worth of recommended dietary fat.

I have never eaten another Cinnabon.  That was in 1998.

So when people question whether putting the nutritional counts on fast food menus or receipt, as they are doing in one Pacific Northwest burger chain called Burgerville - I say YES!  It really can have an impact on people.  They use a service called Nutricate which displays the Calorie and nutrition content of the food ordered and shows the customer exactly how many Calories they are eating. Burgerville seeks to be a fast food industry innovator and to set the standard for other chains to follow. 

Critics say that people who want a cheeseburger won't care, but my experience says otherwise, sometimes you just need to see the numbers right in front of your nose, instead of having an idea of what it could be floating around in your mind.

 I think that is just great, and I hope other restaurants will do the same thing.

A FEW CHANGES

Well, I added a photo as I promised.  Ally took pictures of me before we went out for her birthday dinner.  None of them turned out well but she insisted the one I posted was "a good one"  (even though we were making silly faces by then) so I am using it until we have another photo session.

I have found that my new work environment is going to be very supportive of my dieting.  I will be working very long shifts and it is so busy that it is rare that an actual break is taken for lunch or dinner.  As long as I bring healthy, easy to eat on the run foods for the short breaks I will get - I will be set.  There is a vending machine, but I did not look at the contents, nor do I tend to carry change.  I do not plan to use it - ever.

I do sit at a desk a lot of the time, but I am also up and down to use different equipment, going to the back to speak with the vet and nurses and back up front.  I appreciate that I am not stuck in a chair for 8-10 hours.  I plan to get outside to walk around when I do get break.

SOME LIGHTBULB MOMENTS

A follow-up to my post yesterday...

I did go to the library and checked out "The End of Overeating."  I started reading it this morning.  Already two things popped out at me relating to what I wrote yesterday.  I mentioned that I was anxious about my daughter and I was wanting to eat, even though I wasn't actually hungry. 

Dr. Kessler writes about the power of opiods within the body to calm us and give us pleasure.  The neurons of the brain that are stimulated by taste and other properties of highly desirable foods are part of the body's primary pleasure system.  Studies have shown that there are changes in the circuits of the brain after exposure opiods which cause a desire to keep eating beyond fullness or even being interested in the taste. That the drive, in fact, becomes just slightly less than that for heroin.

Reading that makes me feel pretty good that I only ate a peach!

The second thing was about my dislike for the focus on mocking up foods - like making "mock" mashed potatoes. Or tying to mimic the taste of a candy bar with a bunch of artificial flavors in a protein drink.

I have only read one chapter so far about the food industry, but it is very damning.  the amount of effort that is made to layer fat on fat and add salt and sugar into everything is just disgusting.  And Dr. Kessler names names - Cheesecake Factory, Chili's, Outback and more.  Foods have been manipulated, people have been manipulated - so it is no wonder they are trying to re-create what their brains have been taught to crave.

I will be reading on...

APPROACHES TO WEIGHT LOSS

There was an interesting show on TV last night about the efforts of people to fight their obesity and some of the new scientific knowledge about appetite and the brain.  In many ways the information was not new, but it was interesting to see the combination of stories that they chose to tell.

One woman who had "done it all" including stomach stapling and was still over 300 pounds had electrodes implanted in her  brain to simulate the feeling of fullness.  One man did the whole diet and exercise route, one woman ate huge amounts of food while sleep walking.  They had interviews of other people including David Kessler, author of  The End of Overeating.

The woman with the electrodes was very hopeful at the end of the story, but I am not sure what a feeling of fullness will do to decrease cravings or eating when not hungry which many of us do.  She was saying that she did not have her usual cravings and was eating healthier - so far.  I hope they learn a lot from her willingness to try this experimental surgery.

The thing I frequently think about when seeing these stories, or when reading some of the weight loss forums (not so much the blogs) is that the focus remains so much on the food.  What I can have, what I can't have.  What I can substitute?  Making mock versions of things that people love.  It bothers me.  It is like changing one addiction (unhealthy eating) for another (substitutions/mock food).  When I tried a low fat diet many years ago, I did a lot of those things and the minute I tried real food again - I was a goner!  Back to the real thing!!

I would really like to make my continued weight loss focused on how I am going to eat going forward.  Make it about changing  my awareness and habits and expanding my real food choices - including and all those things we are trying so hard to "mock up" in reasonable amounts and on occasion.

Something I did get out of the program; I am going to read Dr. Kessler's book - I keep hearing such positive things about it.  So I am off to the library!

GYM HOLIDAY CROWDS

It was very interesting today at the gym.  With the holiday it was a whole different crowd of people.  I don't exactly stick to a super regular schedule, but going today made me realize how many familiar faces I usually see.

And the people were behaving differently, too.  At one point I looked up from the rowing machine and I saw groups of men in twos and threes, leaning on equipment, talking together.  Everywhere I looked, there they were - an image from the movie "The Birds" popped into my mind.  After a bit they began to go their separate ways and the image of  something being plotted faded away.

It was crowded and I gave up on using the weight equipment and went to another area to do my knee, back and ab exercises.  I usually take my iPod off for this but there was a young woman speaking a a loud voice to a man while running on the treadmill so I kept it on.  I could not turn it up loud enough to drown out all of what she was saying.  I especially could not miss that the F word was one of her favorites.  So - is it just me?  I think it is unattractive and rude to speak that way in public.  I know some people think words are just words, but in  public I still think there should be some restraint.

Anyway, I moved on and did a little people watching while I was stretching out and cooling down.  There were some older men wearing short shorts.  My girls get very upset by the sight of men in short shorts.  They don't realize that was what men wore on the basketball and tennis courts 20 years ago - it was the style all the guys wore.  Recently I heard a young person say a  rude name for speedo swim suits (banana hammock, if you must know)  but I was a timer for my high school swim team and have fond memories of those speedos and the boys wearing them! 

We may have used more ladylike language, but we knew not to complain about the opportunity to take a good look at athletic young men.

GETTING UP TO SPEED

  I still have a cough and some nasal congestion so I am slowly getting back up to speed at the gym.  (And I am wiping the equipment down after I am done so I don't pass it on!)  I was happy to see that I still lost 3 pounds in the last 2 weeks since I weighed in.

I have not written a lot about my unemployment and job search woes on this side of my blog - but I did finally get a job!  It comes after I decided I was unemployable and started working on a new business with my sister...but I applied for it because it was a weekends only position  working for an animal emergency clinic and I thought I could do both.  Now it turns  out that they want more hours on the new job, but it is night time hours plus the weekends which would make me a full time employee.  My husband is thrilled because it means I can bring home the benefit package (he is self-employed.) 

So this is going to add many new elements for me to deal with.  I will not be home to make dinner some nights.  I will be away from home for some of my meal times.  I will be working late into the night some nights.  I will be sleeping through my usual workout times on some days.  My schedule is going to vary wildly  - where now I am very steady about when I go to bed and get up.  So this will be an interesting set of adjustments.  The good thing is that my scheduled work days will be limited to Saturday-Sunday-Monday.  The rest of the week will depend on what is happening with the business with my sister and will be flexible.

Interesting times to come!!