Friday 24 February 2012

Now that I've Lost the Weight

I took the picture with my digital camera and I tubed it.  So go away copyright police.



I lost 63 pounds and have kept it off for fourteen months. My issues with achieving a healthy diet and proper exercise are ongoing. Some of the specific challenges that I face include ice cream and candy, readily available snack foods, not drinking enough water, salt retention, and cold weather. I can sum those things up in two words. Those words are LAZINESS and IMPULSE.



I will take a pause here and tell you that I am not a fan of the "attaboy/girl" school of getting things done. I have found that having cheerleaders who burst out in hosannas for every bit of progress and non-progress really doesn't help. The issue here is self-esteem, not other-esteem. I have to be my own cheerleader and my own honest critic. The feel-good generation created failure and victimhood. It didn't work well with kids and it certainly doesn't work with adults. The bottom line is results. A pat on the head or hand and a "poor you" is demeaning, patronizing, and stifles the struggle to change. If something is worth having, it is worth working for.



When I determined that I wanted to lose my excess poundage, this was a decision that I had to make. Once I truly made the decision, there were actions that followed. I found a support group to go to weekly. I went to the family doctor and discussed a healthy weight goal. I read about nutrition and weight loss. I cleaned out the refrigerator. I put on my walking shoes and hooked up the dog.



Here are some things that I've taught myself to do that are now a matter of routine for me: When I want ice cream or candy, I think about it before getting it; I don't keep ice cream or candy in my house; I don't add salt to any food on my plate; I rarely eat cold cuts; I eat half as much as I think I ought to and exercise at least twice as much as I want to; I remind myself that nothing tastes as good as a healthy weight feels. There is one thing that I don't do. I don't count calories. Instead, I use a plate guestimate. On an average sized plate, one quarter is for meat or protein, one quarter is for starch, and one half for fruits/veggies. I allow myself one serving of fat per meal (it's needed for digestion) and I endeavor to eat two low-fat yogurts a day. (I am lactose intolerant but I can eat yogurt). I weight myself once a week and adjust my eating accordingly. I strive to stay within five pounds of my target weight, although I have strayed within eight pounds.



Within the past year, I have had specific measurable results. My good cholesterol went up, my bad cholesterol went down, my triglicerides went down. I no longer have sleep apnea and no longer sleep with a c-pap machine (in consultation with my ear, nose, and throat specialist). I lost nine inches from my chest, ten from my waist, and ten from my hips.



Other things that are not quantifiable have also occured in the past year. I donated all of my fat clothes. I am able to slowly jog for longer periods of time in the woods. It is easier for me to negotiate my way over and around fallen trees and other obstacles. And the dog, who now goes for longer and more challenging walks with me, has lost weight too.

Monday 13 February 2012

Dad Shoots Daughter's Laptop and I Do Understand Why



This is the vid that went viral on YouTube.  A parent fired nine bullets into his daughter's laptop because she had ranted on FaceBook [FB] to her friends about having to do daily chores with lots of cursewords.  Dad had spent 130 dollars on new software for her and updated her laptop for six hours and then found her FB curse-laden rant.  Daughter also had blocked parents-- and church friends but not the family dog-- from reading that particular post.  [N.B. I read that bit about the blocking of church friends and the family dog somewhere but I couldn't find it again].

here is the direct link to the vid in case the embedded one here is not working for you:
http://youtu.be/kl1ujzRidmU

sapphoq says: There are things that even a fresh pot of coffee won't fix and this may be one of them.  Dad had said he wasn't able to get her attention with the less extreme method of grounding her for three months last time she did something dumb on FB.  I salute him for getting through to her in possibly the only way that would have worked under the circumstances. 
                        My parents both worked full time when I was younger.  By sixth grade, I was doing all of the grocery shopping for the week and trotting a week's worth of clothing down to the laundrymat.  On top of that, I dried the dishes every night, made my bed every morning, and vacuumed and dusted on Saturdays.  I went to bed at 9p.m. right on up through the end of high school.
                        So yeah, kids need discipline.  That's part of what being a parent is about.  To the family, I wish you the very best.  Dad, I know you will stick to your guns.  Daughter, I read you've been offered a job in a local ice cream parlor or cafe or something.  I think that is a great and I hope you will say yes to that job.
                        With that, I'm out.

http://www.facebook.com/tommyjordaniii/posts/299559803434210

http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-dad-puts-bullet-in-teens-laptop-20120210,0,7989379.story

http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/2012/02/11/daughter-rants-on-facebook-dad-shoots-laptop/

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/670011--angry-dad-who-shot-daughter-s-laptop-on-youtube-stands-by-public-punishment

http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/2012/02/10/dad-who-shoots-his-daughters-laptop-speaks-out-and-responds/

http://www.wbtv.com/story/16907290/dad-shoots-daughters-laptop-after-seeing-facebook-posts-about-parents

Saturday 4 February 2012

Oh Noes, Not That








The latest tag I made using friend's willing kitty.  It is copyleft so all you anti-copy nazies can just go away now.


sapphoq