In The News....7-16-12

So I'm taking off for vacation tomorrow and probably won't be checking in so I wanted to leave you some food for thought.  News to follow...first...a small personal victory.

Yesterday, I knew I didn't have a healthy lunch.  I was in meetings from 8-1 and didn't bring a healthy lunch. I brought mac and cheese because that's what I had in the house.  I was faced with the same dilemma for breakfast.  I had a Clif bar sitting in my desk, a vending machine approximately 20 feet away and a Starbucks down the street.  I pondered and debated and finally decided that since lunch was not going to be stellar, I was going to do better at breakfast.  So I walked down to a new diner that just opened up and does some breakfast-on-the-go type items and got bacon and eggs.  I substituted bananas for toast and gave the breakfast potatoes to a coworker.  Better decision?  By far!

Also, I fixed up my tickers.  I still have my overall progress because it's important to not forget how far we've come.  I've added a new one with this last 30 or so still to lose to represent a recommitment to final sprint toward the finish (so to speak...we all know it never really ends and maintenanceville is a journey unto itself but I digress...).

So the news...this article bugs me.

NYC's fat ban paying off

It's not the article that bothers me...it's the title.  5 years ago, New York City banned using trans fat in restaurants.  The article goes on and on about how people were against it for numerous reasons and none of those reasons came to fruition.  It then talks about how much less fat New Yorkers are now consuming because of this ban.  This is all well and good but nowhere in this entire article does it talk about WHY that matters.  WHY is this good?  Have we seen fewer prescriptions written for ailments associated with trans fat?  Is their obesity or high cholesterol rates down?  Has is actually helped the public in a tangible way instead of just saying "They're taking in less fat?"  The reason this bothers me is because NY is home to other regulatory type initiatives like the No Free Refills Initiative and the Big Gulps Are Evil Group.  I'm not saying Big Gulps are healthy but I'm a bit of a libertarian and I believe if people want to drink 8 gallons of soda a day and get to be 1540 pounds, that's their business.  As long as I'm not paying for your medical bills, I don't really care.  The title makes it seem like we're getting real results out of this ban but goes into very little detail, outside of purely trivial trans fat volume numbers, as to HOW that ban is paying off for New Yorkers on an honest level.  Questions, thoughts, concerns, confusions?  

Another story that caught my eye was this one:

Father, son lose 260 pounds after weight loss surgery

I was waiting for another surgery horror story...how they lost all this weight because they've been in a coma since undergoing WLS.  But this was not the case.  This father/son team got the lapband in 2009 and have been quite successful in doing so.  Both men were morbidly obese and for a teenager, he was starting his life on a very difficult path.  I liked this quote from his doctor as I think should serve as a good reminder to all of us who undergo WLS.

"The main thing we talk about is motivation," Liu says. "If they can't change their lifestyle, they aren't going to lose more than 30 to 40 pounds."

That might seem like a lot to some, but most who undergo the surgery have 80 to 100 pounds to lose. And if they don't eat right and exercise, they'll most likely gain it all back  

This falls right in line with our "It's not a magic wand mantra."  We can't argue with this and I don't think it was presented in such a way to frame WLS as "not working" or something that makes it "easy."  I also liked how they talked about what the duo can eat now.

Carbohydrates are pretty much off-limits as well, Matt says. Before the surgery, he would usually have a sandwich, chips and soda or a few pieces of pizza for lunch. Now he eats maybe half a chicken breast and half a cucumber. Dinners used to be double servings. Now he orders off the kids' menu at restaurants and can barely eat half.

It shows how the portions are cut but that he's not living off pudding and shakes. Overall, I was surprised to see such a positive portrayal of lapband patients in the news.  Usually it's the horror stories of WLS or the success stories of people who do it "naturally."  Don't get me wrong, I love the success stories but it's nice to see the positive side to WLS too.  The article wasn't open to comments so I also didn't have to endure the fat bashing that always seems to follow articles such as these.

OK...one last one because things like this crack me up.  From the "DUH" section of the paper, 

Too much TV linked with weaker kids

Really?  I really hope this wasn't a government funded study.  Good grief!  OK...let's get into it.

The more TV kids watch in early life, the thicker they get around the waistline and the weaker their muscle strength, a new study finds.

I'm shocked.  How about you?  Basically they polled people in how long kids spent watching TV per week starting at 2.5 years old.  Then when they were 10 years old, they put them through a series of physical fitness tests and found that the more TV kids watched, the less physically fit they were.  *SIGH*  And why is this study important?  Because apparently people never realized this.  The article goes on to explain.

"Kids who watch more TV are known to be less involved in physical activity and less inclined to play sports, but we found there is actually a potential risk in decreasing their athletic performance with too much television," says Fitzpatrick. "This can influence their health as adolescents and adults."

So there you go.  They learned that not only are kids less likely to WANT to be active, they won't be as good at it.  I can't believe they had to publish this.  I can't believe this is NEWS to some people.   Really??  I guess I give people too much credit or something.  

There you have it folks.  Little Tuesday tidbits for you.  Tonight will be spent getting the kiddos ready for the trip.  I bought all kinds of things to keep them busy on the plane.  We'll see how they do.  I'm going to try to fit everything all of our clothes and overnight things we'll need into one suitcase and then give the girls each their own backpack with stuff for the plane.  I'm hoping it all fits.  I'm a little bummed Hubby can't come with us but I'm hoping it pays off with a permanent position and at least I have my mom coming along to help out.  She's crazy good with my girls.  I'm optimistic about staying mostly on plan during my trip as we're visiting family so more eating at home vs out.  I have plans to formally work out at least one day while we're there and try to get more activity in as I go.  **Special note to Jenn - this doesn't mean a vacation for you.  I've still got my phone and a reminder to text you every day.  Go get 'em!  I'm proud of you for working out yesterday...keep it up!**

I hope y'all have a fabulous week and great weekend!  Stay strong in your choices and confident in your journeys.  I look forward to reading all about your accomplishments when I get back. 

I kid! I kid!