There is only one good, that is knowledge; there is only one evil, that is ignorance. --Socrates

May this thread be used for knowledge; knowledge about the world at large, the world of dieting and nutrition, and the world of our own minds.

Today's question has two parts:

1. What is your most important weight-loss goal this year and how do you plan to meet that goal?

2. What is your most important non-weight related goal this year and how do you plan to meet that goal?

1. My most important weight-loss goal is to exercise regularly. If I exercise, everything else seems to fall in line. I just have to make it a habit again, and stick to it.

2. Non-weight loss related goal: paying off debt. I've let it go on for far too long. (I can say that about the weight too.) There's no reason I can't pay it off, I just have to focus on what is important and just do it.

My strategy for both: stop making excuses. Do what I know I need to do.

Focus, focus, focus.

1. I would love to see a substantial weight loss by the end of the year. And the only way to do it is exercise, eat right, and guzzle the water. All of the above. Every day.

2. Non weight goal? That has got to be organization. In the past couple of years, we have cleaned out my Mom's house AND my Mom-in laws house......and brought it all down here. I have everything from furniture to dishes to great-grandma's doilies! It is packed in boxes from the basement to the spare bedroom, and every place inbetween! I have to decide what to keep, where to keep it.....and if the kids want any of it....what to get rid of.....sheesh!

1. What is your most important weight-loss goal this year and how do you plan to meet that goal?

1. My goal is to not focus so much on the # of pounds lost, but to increase my fitness by sticking to the food, water, and exercise, and letting things all come together. When I plan, and when I exercise, it all works, and I succeed. I plan on making weekly plans for myself, cooking in advance, having the right foods around me, and making daily commitments to get some type of exercise in.

2. What is your most important non-weight related goal this year and how do you plan to meet that goal?

2. This one is harder. I had several goals in my planner, but the most critical right now is to finish my combined certificate in web design, multimedia, and graphic design by the end of the first quarter. That means balancing time to exercise with household chores & upkeeep, and making time to finish the last 2 lessons in the current class, and 1 additional course which should be a killer. My plan to reach this goal is to spend 5 hours each week working on the lesson and assignment, until I complete the courses. Then, we celebrate here with a cyber-fiesta!

If you climbed one step, it means you can climb the rest. --Praveen Kumar

What is the #1 thing you can do to improve your diet?

The #1 thing I could do to improve my diet is to stop letting other affect my eating. Not that I eat whatever they tell me to, because I don't, just that I seem to have less reserve about eating when I'm around other people, and that is not a good thing, considering that people are almost always around. I still eat less than I once did, but even when I'm around the people who know I'm on a diet I eat more than I should, and I eat foods that I shouldn't. That has got to change. I'm the one in control of my eating.

Prepare in advance. I need to plan a menu, or have a mental menu, cook in advance and have my healthy choices available. When I don't have my better choices available, I'll graze on crap that might be in the house or in the office, and I sure don't need that. Plan, shop, prep, follow through.

More motivation to lose weight... (excerpted from the DietPower website... www.dietpower.com)

What Are Your Odds?

Population studies clearly show that overweight shortens lives. According to the Surgeon General, if your BMI is 30 or higher, your chances of premature death rise 50 to 100 percent. A 1999 study at Duke University concluded that overweight cuts life expectancy by one year; severe obesity by four years.

Researchers also know the odds for specific health problems. Here's a rundown, complete with sources:

Arthritis. For every two pounds you gain, your risk of osteoarthritis goes up 9 to 13 percent.1 If you're female and obese, your risk is almost four times normal.2

Birthing problems. Obesity makes you 13 times more likely to have an overdue birth, long or induced labor, or blood loss during birth.2

Breast cancer. Gaining 45 pounds or more after age 18 makes you twice as likely to develop breast cancer after menopause.2 Gaining weight after menopause may also increase the risk.2

Diabetes. Gain 11 to 18 pounds and your risk is double that of someone who doesn't gain weight; gain 44 pounds and your risk is four times higher.1 Reach a BMI greater than 35 and the risk is nearly seven times higher.2

Endometrial cancer. If you are obese, your risk of endometrial cancer is three to four times higher than normal.2 If your BMI is 34 or greater, your risk is more than six times higher.1

Gallbladder disease. If you're a woman, obesity makes you twice as likely to develop gallstones.2

Heart disease. If you're male, gain 10 to 20 pounds and your risk increases 60 percent; gain 22 pounds and it rises 75 percent.1 If you're a

woman, gain 10 to 20 pounds and it increases 25 percent; gain 44 pounds and it nearly triples.1 If you're severely obese, symptoms of heart disease

(chest pain, shortness of breath) will develop seven years earlier than otherwise.3 If you already have heart disease, you will die four years earlier if you're obese.3

Hypertension. If you're obese, you are twice as likely to have high blood pressure.1 If you're severely obese (BMI over 40), you're nearly four times more likely to have it.2

Incontinence. Obesity is a major risk factor for urinary stress incontinence,2 which causes leakage during excitement, fright, or laughter.

Menstrual problems. Severe obesity triples your risk of menstrual disturbance.2


Resources:
1
U.S. Surgeon Generals office, an arm of the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Web site: www.surgeongeneral.gov.


2
American Obesity Association, a nonprofit research and advocacy group sponsored by professional organizations such as the American Dietetic Association and the American Society of Bariatric Physicians, by pharmaceutical companies such as Noll and Novartis, and by companies in the weight-loss and associated businesses such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and Tanita. Among the group's goals are getting obesity classified as a disease, so it will be covered by Medicare and health-insurance companies. Web site: www.obesity.org.


3
Duke University Medical Center, a major research hospital in North Carolina.

WHY BREAST CANCER LOVES DENMARK

The incidence of breast cancer is directly related to the fat in a nation's diet. In Thailand, where the average person gets 250 calories per day from fat, the annual number of breast-cancer deaths per 100,000 population is less than one. At the other end of the scale is Denmark, where fat intake averages nearly 1500 calories per day and breast-cancer deaths number 23 per 100,000. In the United States, the figures are near Denmark's: 1350 calories a day and 21 deaths per 100,000.

Both the American Cancer Society and the National Institutes of Health recommend lowering your fat intake if you want to reduce your risk of cancer. The Institute of Medicine suggests getting no more than 30 percent of your calories from fat. The U.S. average is closer to 35 percent, and many people average 40 percent or more.

OF BANANAS AND BLOOD PRESSURE

A Harvard Medical School study of more than 3000 patients showed that, on average, regularly consuming one milligram of potassium per calorie of food would lower blood pressure by one point. Translation: If you're eating 1200 calories a day and you include a banana and a baked potato in your diet each day, your blood pressure should drop by one point.

This doesn't mean you should begin popping potassium supplements to cure hypertension, however. Overdosing on potassium can cause irregular heartbeat and muscular paralysis.

The optimum level of potassium recommended by the National Research Council: 3500 milligrams, or the amount found in eight bananas, six baked potatoes, five cups of lima beans, four cups of acorn squash, or two cantaloupes.

How much has your attitude improved since you started losing weight? Is your attitude better on days you work out?

My attitude has improved dramatically. Sometimes I feel like I can do anything. I'm so much happier with myself (for the most part) then I used to be. The feeling that I can succeed is spilling over into other areas of my life, and I'm getting things accomplished, which is taking the attitude even further. I'm not nearly so worried about my life as I used to be. Sure, I have my days, but I always will, no matter how much I weigh. Overall, my attitude is much better.

And it is better on days I exercise. Again, there's the feeling of accomplishment, especially if I exercise in the morning like I know I should (and yet hardly ever do), and those endorphins really do start pumping and get me all revved up for the day. I'm always in a better mood when I know I'm doing something good for myself.

How much has your attitude improved since you started losing weight? Is your attitude better on days you work out?

Well, between getting back on track and the change in jobs, I'm sure you all notice a difference already. I know I do. Yes, my attitude has improved. I feel better about myself, I feel better about getting up in the morning. Instead of coming home & just putzing around, I feel like working out. I get up in the morning & I do my mile and then hit the showers. I feel like I missed out when I don't get to- it sets the tone for the day.

I do feel better when I exercise. Once you get through the first 15 minutes, then it's smooth sailing....and then I want to do more. The endorphines really do make a difference.