The Double Standard - The Taboo

I've got a case scenario for you to consider. 

Say you had a friend or family member that you knew was doing something physically harmful to themselves. We will say that every day, they jumped off the roof. They did it because they were used to doing it, and it's all that they knew. 

Sometimes they would hurt themselves physically - get cut, scrapes, or even break a bone. Sometimes they would just roll with it and have no problems. 

What would you do? A caring friend or family member would give them an alternative. They would say that is really not good for you - let's find something better to do. Maybe if they could not get through to the person, they could suggest that they go to a doctor to find out why they do that, so they could do something better. 

Or say that said person also drank a shot of something bad for them daily. A poison that could be tolerated once or twice, but cumulatively would kill them. A caring friend or family member would say something. Would give them alternatives. Would try to help them live and not die. Would try to be an example by not drinking the poison, not jumping off the roof, but showing ways to live. 

Makes sense, right?

Now say it's being sedentary in the first scenario, and using food in an unhealthy way in the second. You'd still want to help. 

When I started this blog, I had to pause and think about it. Because the healthy living business is bigger than ever - but so is the backlash. This post was prompted by one of the countless pictures posted by overweight usually female social media users in their underwear, proclaiming they love themselves just as they are, except them as they are, etc. 

it's two distinctly different issues. 

Yes, you should not hate yourself. People should not hate anyone based on their outer appearance. No one should be treated bad because of what they look like. 

Welcome to the planet. There are morons who like to say mean things. We ALL have our stories of being made fun of in school at some point. It's part of growing up, though it's not nice. But it is. 

Now back to the scenarios and sedentary lifestyle and overeating. It's not okay. I had my wake up call in August of 2011 when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and with substantial degenerative back disease. Both of these were exacerbated by my being overweight and by a sedentary lifestyle. 

I had a choice to make at that moment - continue to walk the same path, maybe shortening  my lifespan and mobility, or I could decide to change. 

I chose to change. I chose to eat healthier and more mindfully, and I chose to start exercising - something I really detested. And over time, I lost weight, I got stronger, I became healthier. 

The response to my enthusiasm for my journey? It fell into two camps. One camp was encouraged by my story, and they used it to bring positive change to their own life. I found a way to feel better and live longer, and I wanted to share it. Help others, who, like me, were fooling theirselves.  

The other response? Vitriol. Anger. Rejection. Why? Because obesity is still a taboo subject. There are actually radical obese people (😳) who think it's a hate crime to even talk frankly about the known medical risks and dangers of a sedentary lifestyle and overeating. It's easier to reject the message or the messenger  than it is to accept where you are with your body and your health. While I have a pointed message, I never pointed fingers. There were many who felt I was singling them out and they took offense. I can't help anyone who is determined to jump off the roof daily and drink the poison daily. 

Obesity is killing people - it's not being ugly, it's the ugly truth. Heart disease, hypertension, diabetes all shorten lives, and obesity exacerbates it. Obesity limits mobility.  It causes muscular skeletal issues. These are facts. 

So I weighed out the rejection factor and I press on with my message of hope and health. I refuse to drink the Koolaid that loving myself means staying where I am. 

Loving myself means  being the best steward of this body of flesh and bones that I inhabit every day. Loving myself means taking care of myself. 

Now THAT'S something to celebrate! 

e b e r

Where Are You?

Tomorrow is my birthday. My birthday, much more than New Years Eve, makes me reflect on my life. Now that I have diabetes, exercise induced asthma, and now I'm taking INH for LTB with a clear chest x-ray, I have a lot of things to think about when it comes to my health. Where do I want to be, from a health standpoint? Positives - since my Aria scale, I am more accountable, and slowly losing weight. My goal weight is 150. No more than 160. This would be ideal for my BMI based on height. I have gotten a Bellicon rebounder, which has really helped my core strength, and helps me do things I couldn't do before on hard ground. - jumping jacks, for example. And it's a lot of fun, so I use it almost daily. My stamina is better. My daily steps and stairs and overall fitness is better. Now areas to work on - the INH is making life difficult. The first huge hurdle is it messes with my carbohydrate metabolism. When I started the medicine last month, my blood sugars went through the roof. Which made me so hungry. But I was trying to eat no carbs. But my sugars were still terrible. So, unhappily, I started back on metformin. I didn't want to, after successfully getting off all meds, but my blood sugars were high, and I knew that the long term effects were bad. So I sucked it up and got back on the meds. My sugars are within normal range. I'm still working on lowering my daily carbs to 40 a day. Exhaustion continues to plague me. It's frustrating. I feel like I should feel better because I am doing better. Exhaustion is something I deal with daily. It greatly affects my motivation. That's why my support groups online help me so much - the Fitbit groups keep me moving, encourage me. The Fitbit challenges help as well. Overall, I am healthier today than I have ever been. My goal is that by next year's birthday post, I will have run my Boston qualifier and made the race list, and I will be at goal weight. And since I will be off the dreaded INH, I hope to be off metformin, too. One day at a time. Controlling that which I can control, and releasing that which I cannot. I'm grateful to be here, learning how to be a better steward of this body every day. e b e r

Step on It

The scale.

For most women, we have a dread of stepping on the scale. 

That's why it's so important the focus is on health and not weight. 

Obsessing about weight causes eating disorders. The other end is denial of our true weight, which leads to more weight gain and an unhealthier self. 

I think an accurate scale is important. It's part of accountability. You can lie to yourself that your weight s fine if you never have to look at it. 

But BMI is important. Obesity and its complications kills more people than any single disease out there. 

So step on it. Get real. Get moving.

Then be balanced. 

I just got an Aria scale by Fitbit for Christmas. I'm so excited! I made a pact with myself to only weigh in on Monday mornings. 

Oh, I want to get on it. Daily. But that is just crazy making. There are so many things that change our weight daily, and don't give us any idea of the big picture.

So for the new year, get on that scale. Get real. Celebrate if you are where you need to be as a healthy person, and if it is a different number, start setting realistic goals. Get moving! You can do it!

You have to start with the facts!  

e b e r

Chew On This

Slow down!

Your eating speed, that is. 

It takes 20 minutes from when you eat something for your brain to register that your stomach is full.

If you're wolfing down your food, you're going to still think you're hungry. Often that leads to mindless eating. 

I'm not a binge eater, but I'm a fast eater. I'm an RN - you eat when you can at work, and some days that's very fast!

Here's where accountability comes in again. You eat the right foods, in the right portions. 

Then you stop!

It's a simple premise. If you can do this, you are on your way to a healthier, less hungry you! 

e b e r

Eating Outside The Box

Deciding to live a healthy life means eating outside the box. 

Cereal boxes. Mac and cheese boxes. Cracker boxes. Basically, almost without exception, anything that comes in a box. 

Generations ago, people grew their own food. Raised livestock. Canned their food. Had root cellars. Shared from their abundance. They were living, breathing, actual sized humans. 

Now we have a generation eating processed "food" out of boxes. Filled with ingredients we can neither name or identify. A generation guzzling chemical laden soda. Eating fast "food" in a car. Growing more overweight, obese, and killing themselves one bite at a time. 

It's amazing that when people decide to get healthy, one of the hardest things to do is drink water. Pure, unadulterated, water. 

It's time to get outside the box. 

It's time to read. 

One of the first things I had to do when I became diabetic was read labels. To say it was eye opening is a huge understatement. I shuddered as I read labels of food I used to eat thoughtlessly. I was looking for nutritional values, but as I looked deeper, I saw that eating from the box wasn't feeding me. You can fill your belly but get no nutritional value. 

Get out of the box. 

Go find a recipe book that features fresh real produce, actual living ingredients. Buy fresh local produce. Learn to cook if you haven't been a cook. If you can read and follow directions, you can do it. 

Start by getting outside of the box. 

e b e r

Cold Turkey

Hello, my name is EBER and I am a sugar addict. 

Oh yes, I know this does not jive with my diabetes diagnosis. I'm well aware, as my blood sugar readings tell me...along with the feelings of nausea, dizziness, and exhaustion. My brain understands logically that every blood sugar over 130 is physically damaging to me. 

It's a long standing love affair. 

The sugar rush of comfort has been my go to for most of my life. When I was stressed out, it was cheese Danish time. Or cookies. Or a huge soda. Ice cream. Brownies. Stop. STOP!

It's not a healthy self comforter. I know this, and I always knew it - but I never have eaten anything to excess. I wasn't the whole row of Oreos girl. But I will eat some Oreos! I'd eat ice cream, but a few bites. I'm not a binger. 

These are the excuses I gave myself. When I was a young person, my slender frame belied my eating habits. 

As the decades added up, so did the pounds - about a pound a year. By middle age I was overweight, and diagnosed with diabetes. 

It's hard to kick 4 decades of bad habits. Especially when they taste so good!

I have had short periods of sugar eating decreased. Just a treat here and there. But slowly, insidiously, the occasional became the regular. Only now, I'm having immediate physical consequences. 

Oh don't read this and think you are immune from sugar and its negative effects. Read this: 

http:///articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/09/02/fructose-affects-brain-health.aspx

 

If that doesn't convince you, how about this article from Neurology:

http://www.neurology.org/content/63/4/E9.full

I though bread would be my nemesis. Alas, no - I have eliminated it with nary a backwards glance. It's the drug induced effects of sugar that have me in their grips. 

There is only one thing to do. Go cold turkey.

Say what?

You heard me. My sugar addled mind must be cleared of the poison. Not little by little, but all at once. Now. TODAY!

Lawd help me. Seriously. 

I've already found recipes for thanksgiving to replace the sugar laden ones. 

This is long over due, and the sugar addiction won't go down without a fight. 

One day at a time. 

e b e r

The #1 Question

What do you think the #1 question is that people ask me about my journey to a healthier of me? It isn't even close. After seeing the changes in my life and lifestyle, they always ask the same thing. 

How do I get the right shoes? 

It's the right question, for sure. Most people, including me in the beginning, are wearing the wrong shoes. And this one thing is a deal breaker! The wrong shoes will keep you from exercising, and could cause temporary or permanent injury. 

So what is my recommendation? 

Go to a running store. Notice I didn't say shoe store! Even if your plan is to walk, go to a running store - they know how to fit you with the proper shoe for what your goals are. They will do a gait analysis for free, and make recommendations based on how you move. 

It is a deal breaker. Yes, you may spend more money than the tennis shoes you buy on sale but shoes are foundational. Proper shoes protect your feet. They help your stride, which helps protect your back. 

So if you are considering starting to exercise, see your doctor. If they give you the go ahead, then... Get thee to the running store. 

Oh, and while you are at it get some good, supportive athletic socks. If they are cute, all the better!

e b e r