Don't look back and wish you had. Look forward and do. --Anonymous

Have you gotten any compliments since starting to lose weight? If so, what's the best one?

We are the only ones who have the power to accomplish what we set out to do. --Author Unknown

The best compliment I got was from a resident where I work. Now, I know she doesn't see as well and she's a little demented, but hey...I'll take it!

She said "I used to be skinny like you!" I just hugged her and said Thank you!

There have been others, too. Whenever I see people I haven't seen in a while, they look at me and say "Wow! How much have you lost!?" I really do't feel like I've lost THAT much to make a significant difference, but apparently, I do!

I get more compliments from male friends, which is nice. They flirt more with me and I feel more confident. I guess that in itself is a compliment!

Ok, this question is kind of hard to formulate in my head, so bear with me. Read my answer, it may help you see what I'm asking.



Think of your desire to overeat and to eat the wrong foods. Chances are, this desire is not caused by the food itself but by some other need not being met. What can you do besides eat that could help satisfy these desires?




My Answer: I'm a control freak, but I usually feel like I can't control anything in my life besides what I eat, like nothing goes the way I want it to, so food should be the one area where I can get exactly what I want all the time. My solution to that is to make my body *want* healthy foods. The long-term solution is doing something purposeful with my life, taking the steps to make my life into what I want it to be. Therefore, I'm paying off my debt and going back to school. This path will take a while, but at least I feel like I'm moving in the right direction.

Elisha...excellent question! I think we all need to know what our plan is when we are out of control...how to get that control we need!

My biggest trigger for over eating or eating the wrong foods is when my emotions are out of control. I have a hard time identifying what my true emotions are (other than angry!). When my emotions are out of control (feeling of being overwhelmed, sad, scared, even joyful), it's hard for me to step back and take a moment to identify what's really going on. So I guess for me...the thing I can do to help myself from staying away from food is to give myself permission to breathe for a moment and remember that the world will go on if I take a moment to "regroup" and identify my feelings/emotions...and then take care of the needs at hand.

Gosh...that was pretty wordy, but it also has to do with not having/feeling in control. The other things I am/have been doing for the last couple of years is remembering to take care of myself. I have been involved in counselling and support groups as well as trying to enrich my spiritual life. And of course, even though my DH tells me this is an "escape from reality" (call it what you want), this place (3FC) helps me to put things into perspective from time to time!

Thanks for these thought provoking quesitons, Elisha...they help!

Things must first happen in your mind before they can happen in your outer world.** Harold Sherman

Other than the number on the scale, what changes have you noticed since you started losing weight? Are you wearing different clothes, are you more outgoing, do you have more energy, etc.

Vitamin E


Vitamin E is actually a family of eight related compounds called tocopherols. Alpha-tocopherol, the type most abundant in foods, also dominates in vitamin-E supplements. (The other leading types are beta-, gamma-, and delta-tocopherol.) The vitamin is believed to function chiefly as an antioxidant, but studies show that it also strengthens immunity in the elderly.



The foods richest in vitamin E are vegetable oils, margarines, meats, legumes, nuts, seeds, and unprocessed cereal grains.



Since vitamin E is fat-soluble, the body can store it for long periods. Deficiency is rare, and often tied to diseases that impair the body's ability to absorb fat, such as cystic fibrosis, chronic cholestatic liver disease, short-bowel syndrome, and the rare, inherited disorder called abetalipoproteinemia. Symptoms of a deficiency include muscle weakness, poor coordination, and hemolysis.



High intake of natural vitamin E from foods is not known to be harmful. But because they believe vitamin E cuts their risk of heart disease and prostate cancer (see below), many people, including nutrition experts, take supplements as large as 20 times the Recommended Dietary Allowance. Side effects from doses up to 800 milligrams per day are generally rare and mild. (The most common is stomach upset.) Higher intake can interfere with blood clotting and cause headache, fatigue, diarrhea, nausea, muscle cramps or weakness, blurred vision, and reproductive problems.



Vitamin E and Cancer*



Of the four leading cancers--breast, lung, colon, and prostate--only prostate cancer seems to be connected to vitamin-E intake. Several studies have shown lower incidence and fewer deaths from prostate cancer among smokers who take vitamin-E supplements. In the general population, however, such a link has not been proven.



Vitamin E and Heart Disease*



Although millions of people take vitamin-E supplements to prevent or treat heart disease, the scientific evidence is mixed. In general, the largest studies show that:



In the general population:



· Heart disease is significantly less common among people who take vitamin-E supplements.



· Heart disease is not less common among people who get extra vitamin E from foods alone.



Among patients already diagnosed with heart disease:



· Getting extra vitamin E does not improve outcomes.




*
Our latest source for the cancer and heart-disease summaries is a review of more than 150 scientific papers, "Vitamins for Chronic Disease Prevention in Adults," published by Drs. Kathleen M. Fairfield and Robert H. Fletcher in the June 19, 2002, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Reprints can be downloaded (for a fee) from the JAMA Web site at www.jama.ama-assn.org.

Your Daily Allowance



The Food and Nutrition Board's (FNB's) Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is officially cited in milligrams of alpha-tocopherol or its equivalent in other tocopherols. In April 2000 the FNB raised the RDA for men by 50 percent and nearly doubled the RDA for women. The new RDA is 15 milligrams for both sexes, including pregnant women. For lactating mothers it is 19 milligrams.




(Because vitamin-E supplements can interfere with blood clotting, patients on anticoagulant therapy should be monitored by a doctor when taking them.)



Upper Limit



In April 2000, for the first time, the FNB also set a Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for vitamin E. The UL does not apply to vitamin E that occurs naturally in foods, but to any form of alpha-tocopherol obtained from supplements, fortified foods, or a combination of the two. For people age 14 to 18 it is 1200 IU; for people 19 or older, 1500 IU. (Be careful: if you're measuring vitamin E in milligrams instead of IU, these upper limits are 800 and 1000, respectively.) Getting more than the UL may be harmful to your health.



(CAUTION: You may need to observe lower limits if you take supplements containing "dl-alpha-tocopherol," a synthetic form of the vitamin. This form's upper limit is only 1100 IU for people 19 or older and 900 IU for those 14** to 18. The natural form, "d-alpha-tocopherol," differs in name by only one character, so check the label carefully.)

Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish.
Jean De La Fontaine

Is there anything about your old lifestyle/diet that you absolutely cannot give up?

For me, it's coffee, with creamer. Sugar--I can take it or leave it (though I'd rather take it--so I bought some Splenda), but I absolutely have to have some form of cream. On the SBD, the only form allowed is fat free half and half, so I guess that's what I'll get, because I have to have it.

15 calorie French Vanilla creamer thingies for my earl gray tea. That, and my diet coke. You will have to pry that from my cold, dead fingers.

What's the craziest/wackiest/most outrageous diet you've ever tried? What the hardest diet you've tried? The easiest? The most effective?

Women Do Need Strength
Over the last decade, researchers have made extremely compelling arguments for the benefits of weight training for women and those over the age of fifty. Still, the number of women who take this recommendation to heart is still quite low. Most women who exercise are spending most of their gym time on cardiovascular exercise. Whatever your reasons for avoiding the weights, if you are a woman, here are ten reasons why you need to take strength training seriously.
1. You Will Be Physically Stronger.
Increasing your strength will make you far less dependent upon others for assistance in daily living. Chores will be easier, lifting kids, groceries and laundry will no longer push you to the max. If your maximum strength is increased, daily tasks and routine exercise will be far less likely to cause injury. Research studies conclude that even moderate weight training can increase a woman’s strength by 30 to 50 percent. Research also shows that women can develop their strength at the same rate as men.
2. You Will Lose Body Fat.
Studies performed by Wayne Westcott, PhD, from the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, found that the average woman who strength trains two to three times a week for two months will gain nearly two pounds of muscle and will lose 3.5 pounds of fat. As your lean muscle increases so does your resting metabolism, and you burn more calories all day long. Generally speaking, for each pound of muscle you gain, you burn 35 to 50 more calories each day. That can really add up.
3. You Will Gain Strength Without Bulk.
Researchers also found that unlike men, women typically don’t gain size from strength training, because compared to men, women have 10 to 30 times less of the hormones that cause muscle hypertrophy. You will, however, develop muscle tone and definition. This is a bonus.
4. You Decrease Your Risk Of Osteoporosis.
Research has found that weight training can increase spinal bone mineral density (and enhance bone modeling) by 13 percent in six months. This, coupled with an adequate amount of dietary calcium, can be a women’s best defense against osteoporosis.
5. You Will Improve Your Athletic Performance.
Over and over research concludes that strength training improves athletic ability in all but the very elite athletes (See Article). Golfers can significantly increase their driving power. Cyclists are able to continue for longer periods of time with less fatigue. Skiers improve technique and reduce injury. Whatever sport you play, strength training has been shown to improve overall performance as well as decrease the risk of injury.
6. You Will Reduce Your Risk Of Injury, Back Pain and Arthritis.
Strength training not only builds stronger muscles, but also builds stronger connective tissues and increases joint stability. This acts as reinforcement for the joints and helps prevent injury. A recent 12-year study showed that strengthening the low-back muscles had an 80 percent success rate in eliminating or alleviating low-back pain. Other studies have indicated that weight training can ease the pain of osteoarthritis and strengthen joints.
7. You Will Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease.
According to Dr. Barry A. Franklin, of William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, weight training can improve cardiovascular health in several ways, including lowering LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, increasing HDL (“good”) cholesterol and lowering blood pressure. When cardiovascular exercise is added, these benefits are maximized.
8. You Will Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes.
In addition, Dr. Franklin noted that weight training may improve the way the body processes sugar, which may reduce the risk of diabetes. Adult-onset diabetes is a growing problem for women and men. Research indicates that weight training can increase glucose utilization in the body by 23 percent in four months.
9. It Is Never Too Late To Benefit.
Women in their 70s and 80s have built up significant strength through weight training and studies show that strength improvements are possible at any age. Note, however, that a strength training professional should always supervise older participants.
10. You Will Improve Your Attitude And Fight Depression.
A Harvard study found that 10 weeks of strength training reduced clinical depression symptoms more successfully than standard counseling did. Women who strength train commonly report feeling more confident and capable as a result of their program, all important factors in fighting depression.