mizducky's migrations: a weight management blog with attitude

Splurging; recovering; mmm-yoso-ing; plateauing (weekly weigh-in)

Alert visitors to this site will hopefully have noticed--and followed--the link to the blog of my fellow food-blogger Kirk a.k.a. mmm-yoso. Kirk and his crew do an excellent job of covering all sorts of fascinating little mom 'n' pop hole-in-the-wall eateries, especially those specializing in ethnic cuisines, in the greater San Diego area and beyond. I've been a fan and frequent commenter on mmm-yoso for some time now, so it was probably only a matter of time that I became a contributing blogger over there. You can check out my maiden post on mmm-yoso here ... and there should be another one from me going live any day now.

You'll see that this next mmm-yoso post will feature a meal that, erm, doesn't conform all that well to my everyday food routine. It was, in fact, a planned splurge--although a rather bigger one than I think I had originally intended. Oopsie. But hey, these things happen, and it's actually quite simple to recover from them: all you do is just eat more lightly and deliberately for the next few days. That's it. No drama, no freakouts ... just takin' care o' bizness.

In the bad old diet-think days, such overly splurgy splurges would have been the source of much hand-wringing and self-recrimination, often leading in turn to a bad attitude and a what-the-hell might-as-well-really-blow-it-out binge. Nowadays, though, I have banned guilt and self-recrimination from my weight-management philosophy. It's amazing how easy it is to do a course-correction when you're not making yourself crazy over having wandered off course in the first place.

And as a matter of fact, when I did my weekly weigh-in today, I was back on (or still on) that same plateau I've been holding at for over a month now:

• Yesterday's weight: 192.0 lb
• Change since last weigh-in: 0 lb
• Cumulative weight loss: 142.0 lb
• Average weekly weight change: -1.29

So there you go. Status quo maintained, senseless panic avoided. Much more pleasant--and productive--than the old way.

Beth Ditto on being fat | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited

Link: Beth Ditto on being fat | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited.

Here's a lovely little article full of empowerment and self-acceptance.

Even though I am working on healthy weight management, the "healthy" part of it includes not forcing my body down to society's exaggerated ideal of feminine slenderness--so I am "doomed" to forever be perceived as "fat" by those who are still hung up on that overly slender ideal.

Therefore, continuing to deprogram my brain from that societal tyranny of slenderness will forever be an integral part of my health regimen. And articles like the little gem linked to above are a great help in that endeavor.

I'm blogging over on eGullet again

Hi folks--

Just letting you all know that I'm participating in a one-week foodblog over at The eGullet Society for Culinary Arts and Letters, with two other eGullet members who are also working on managing their weight without abandoning their love of good food. The blog can be found here. Come check it out!

Junkfood Science

Link: Junkfood Science.

Wow! What a treasure-trove this blog is! Quoting from its own front-page description: "Critical examinations of studies and news on food, weight, health and healthcare that mainstream media misses. Debunks popular myths, explains science and exposes fraud that affects your health. Plus some fun food for thought. For readers not afraid to question and think critically to get to the truth." Just reading through blog author Sandy Szwarc's series on bariatric surgery is enough to get your blood boiling with righteous indignation. And Szwarc has got the credentials to back up her reportage. Check it out!

The Biggest Ideas - You Have Three Brains

Link: The Biggest Ideas - You Have Three Brains.

A fascinating essay about the triune nature of the human brain. We've got chunks of brain wiring we inherited from way down the evolutionary chain, informally referred to as the "lizard brain," responsible for such primal functions like fighting, fucking, and feeding;  the "dog" brain, specializing in social emotions such as loyalty and love; and the human layer, the neocortex, the seat of rational (and rationalizing) intelligence. A great deal of paradoxical human behavior can be explained by the way these three only semi-connected layers of our brain work independently of each other. In particular:

"Have you ever wondered why you reach for that pile of hot greasy fries while you tell yourself you are on a diet? The answer is that you have three brains, and the older brains were wired to put on weight long ago when food was scarce. Your old brains are not easily controlled by your fancy new brain hardware that reads diet books."

Right on.

Protein deficiency is cause for concern, especially in elderly | The San Diego Union-Tribune

Link: Protein deficiency is cause for concern, especially in elderly | The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Some cogent and helpful information about daily protein requirements, regardless of one's age.

Interestingly, I did the math and discovered the amount of protein I'm consuming on my food plan, according the the formulas this guy gives, is about on-target for a goal weight of 150 to 170lbs. or so.

Now, as I've said before I'm aiming for functional health and fitness goals rather than a specific number on the scale. But for now, I'm good with consuming a protein level appropriate for that weight range. When I eventually do declare goal, I can change my protein intake according to whatever weight that winds up being for me.

"Calorie Restriction" -- key to longevity or just a weight-management plan with mumbo-jumbo added?

Link: The Ultra-Extreme Calorie Restriction Diet Test -- New York Magazine.

Interesting ... especially since I too maintain an average 1400 calorie daily intake, do a certain amount of nutritional tracking and portion-control weighing, spend a bunch of time thinking (or perhaps obsessing) about what I put in my mouth and its effects on my body, and am motivated by desires for greater health.

Only I don't hang all that life-extension/aspirations to immortality mumbo-jumbo all over what I'm doing, and I plan to stop at a goal weight at which my BMI is decidely not unhealthily low--as a matter of fact, I expect my BMI when I choose to go into maintenance mode would still be counted as "overweight" by many diet industry pundits out there.

Oh yeah--and my food is apparently a hell of a lot tastier than what these folks are eating. (Although I have actually tasted Quorn, and didn't think it half bad...)

But otherwise, what I do these days for my food plan is not so very different from what these folks are doing. So maybe I'm dense, but I just don't get the big hairy deal they're making over it.

Let alone the big deal the author's making over his adventures in caloric restriction. Obviously he's never had to be on a standard-issue weight loss diet ever in his life before. Well, welcome to my world, buddy! Thanks for proving yet again, for anyone out there who still thinks weight loss is easy and we fat people are just lazy slobs, that it really is much more challenging than it looks.

Z Trim - too good to be true?

Link: Z Trim - Welcome.

"Z Trim is truly a revolution - the new way to "do food" going forward - a zero calorie fat replacement gel made from natural dietary fiber.  It mimics fat in food preparation so well that most people cannot tell the difference between the high fat version of their favorite food and the naturally lower fat, higher fiber Z Trim version."

I dunno ... somehow this "new way to 'do food'" gives me The Fear bigtime--not least because of this hype-encrusted website. Then again, the actual product seems to bear some similarity to konnyaku, another no-calorie gel that I've been happily using for some time now.

Anybody out there have any personal experience with this Z-Trim stuff with which they would care to enlighten me?

Weekly weigh-in -- plus: info about post-surgery weight gain

Interesting week. First, the numbers:

• Today's weigh-in: 241.0 lb
• Change since last weigh-in: -0.5 lb
• Cumulative weight loss: 93.0 lb
• Average weeky weight loss: 2.51 lb

I'm pretty certain at this point that my slowed rate of weight loss is due to post-surgical recuperation. I got some support for this notion from this webpage. The fact that many womens' problem is gaining weight makes me feel pretty good that my weight is still going down at all, however slowly.

But it does also point out that I need to get a little more achtung about my favorite thing (insert glyph of sarcasm here), regular exercise. No more of this counting hauling laundry up and downstairs and grocery shopping, with sporadic unplanned bouts of walking, as adequate exercise. I'm a little more willing these days, thankfully. I very recently discovered that I can now walk several blocks without gasping for breath or feeling joints start to seize up. I have to go slow and step gently, because there is some joint discomfort, but the pleasure at walking just that little bit better is ample motivation to keep moving. I think I may have turned a corner here.

I want to make this exercise thing as attractive as possible, so I'll get kick-started into doing it. I do have the gym on premises, but nothing beats walking in pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods for making me enjoy exercise. I may indulge myself by driving to attractive walking neighborhoods. Yeah, there's something ironic about driving somewhere to walk. Welcome to Southern California.

Actually ... speaking of SoCal, I think I'll make my first walking jaunt at Ocean Beach, my favorite of the beach communities. Too bad I missed the farmer's market there today...

The Politics of Obesity: Confronting Our National Eating Disorder

                 

Obesity has become an epidemic in the United States with one out of every five Americans facing this health crisis.  In this presentation, the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism examines "The Politics of Obesity". Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism presents" [Health and Medicine] [Public Affairs] -- (wonderful, refreshingly hard-nosed political analysis of how our capitalist food industry, in the almighty quest for profit at any cost, is screwing up the nutrition of our nation and the world. And some thoughts on what to do about it. -- editorial aside)

Presenters:
Marion Nestle
Kelley Brownell
Joan Dye Gussow

Moderator:
Michael Pollan

From Google's new stockpile of stuff it's hosting for UC Berkeley.