VSGmom
Obesity in America Plateaued ….
This is the newest obesity related news article to hit CNN. The headline is ‘U.S. Obesity Rates Unchanged’. By title alone, what do you think of this? Is this GOOD news? BAD news? Not news at all?
Here is the article: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/17/u-s-obesity-rates-unchanged/?hpt=hp_c2
U.S obesity rates unchanged
The prevalence of obesity in the United States seems to have plateaued, according to data released Tuesday. The numbers show 35.7% of U.S. adults and almost 17% of U.S. children and teens are obese.
“There’s been no change in the prevalence of obesity in recent years in children or adults,” says Cynthia L Ogden, Ph.D, an epidemiologist with the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics and the leading author of the report. “But I think looking over the last decade, it’s interesting to see how the prevalence of obesity in men has caught up with the prevalence of obesity in women.”
Ogden and her team compiled the data from 2009-2010 using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The survey measured the height and weight of almost 6,000 men and women and calculated their Body Mass Index (commonly known as BMI) to determine if they were obese.
They found that from 2009-2010, 35.5% of American men and 35.8% of American women were obese, with African-American and Mexican-American men and women having higher rates of obesity than white Americans. Obesity was more common among teens than preschool aged children and among boys than girls.
“This is a good news story but this is not the end of the story,” says Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, Dean of the School of Medicine and Executive Vice President of Morehouse College.
“We cannot feel good… until we see a decrease in the prevalence of obesity,” says Dr. Montgomery Rice.
In Rice’s opinion, efforts over the last several years to educate populations about the importance of daily exercise, to encourage the incorporation of healthy foods into school cafeterias, and to combat food insecurity throughout the country is having an impact on the number of Americans who are obese. But she cautions that more needs to be done and that doctors should focus on giving patients realistic weight loss goals when counseling patients about obesity.
“It’s a difficult conversation to have with an individual, to say ‘okay, you are obese.’” People kind of know what ‘obese’ is but not really.”
For example, as an OB-GYN, Montgomery Rice counsels her patients on the dangers of belly fat and the reproductive issues that could be affected or made worse by obesity. She also encourages patients to focus on losing only 10% of their excess weight at a time.
“What I hope doesn’t come out of this study is that we start to think we’ve made some significant improvement and we stop the efforts that have been put forth,” says Rice.
| Post by: Caitlin Hagan – CNN Medical Producer Filed under: Obesity |
So, lets chat for a moment about my take on this. I think the fact that obesity is not still on the incline is great! We have all lent our voices to this fight. We want people to be aware that obesity is an epidemic and a disease. We want people to get help before they reach the point of needing surgical interventions. And we all want doctors to do their part in fighting this fight, am I right?
This right here ” In Rice’s opinion, efforts over the last several years to educate populations about the importance of daily exercise, to encourage the incorporation of healthy foods into school cafeterias, and to combat food insecurity throughout the country is having an impact on the number of Americans who are obese. But she cautions that more needs to be done and that doctors should focus on giving patients realistic weight loss goals when counseling patients about obesity.” is what I really want to talk about.
Doctors, are you reading? Probably not, but their patients are. So here goes. A doctor needs to be realistic when approaching the subject of obesity. We all step on that scale knowing damn well that it those numbers are screaming out begging for mercy the moment they pop up. We know we are fat, fluffy, chubby or morbidly obese. We don’t need a doctor who is going to be arrogant about it, but we also don’t need doctors who are going to spare our feelings and glaze over the subject either. So, this is where self advocacy comes into play.
I can’t urge you enough, regardless of how dreaded the topic and how embarrassing the numbers, talk to your doctor about your weight. Talk to your pediatrician about your child’s weight. Ask for advice about nutrition if you simply don’t know what you’re doing wrong. Ask for labs to be drawn to rule out underlying factors. Lets take control and grab this thing by the balls! Lets get our families healthy and give our children a healthier future.
A little bit of awareness goes a long long way! The article above is proof! Congratulations America! You didn’t gain more weight! You may not have lost a lot as a nation, but you didn’t put it on either and THAT RIGHT THERE IS PROGRESS! I’m proud of us! Are you?
There is so much beauty in being a woman.
As I sat here this morning, with my cup of coffee in hand, looking out my window at the dreary, muggy, rainy January day before me I openly said “Pick a season!”. Thinking to myself that Mother nature is certainly a wishy washy woman, and a freaking moody bitch. Then I thought about myself, and how these months, this time of year, multiple seasons meld one into the other in my life and I don’t really choose a season either. So I sat and reflected for a bit about women in general.
We are often quick to label each other as crazy, be it in jest or in anger. We call each other bitches as terms of endearment and as terms of hate. We, as women, do the most damage to the image of what women are! We don’t build up ourselves and we don’t build up others. We just don’t.
Women are strong. Women will fight for what they believe in, and get down and dirty in the process. They will argue and go round and round and round like a dog chasing its tail, not because they are crazy, but because they are passionate. Women are passionate about EVERYTHING! Show us a new product and its either LOVE or not. It’s pretty clear cut.
Women are sensitive. If somebody we care about is hurt, we care. If you say something that strikes us wrong, we care. When a woman tells you she doesn’t care, she cares! Women care. Really, we do. We care a lot. About everything. We don’t like to see suffering or hurt. We like it less if we have contributed to it. And even less if we see an underdog being picked on. We rally together. Often against each other. But its not so much out of hate, at the core. Its out of misunderstandings, mistakes, and sensitivity.
Women are nurturing. We will spend a long long time, willing to give our all for something we believe in. We love to know that our little efforts lend themselves to a greater cause. We love to be a part of a village. We are all very well aware that we are stronger with friends and family. Nurturing comes naturally.
When you see the quote “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” remember all of the above. It is not because a woman is crazy, or mean, or a bitch. Its because she is passionate, sensitive, strong and above all else human.
Is there one moment that ties into your obesity?
I know that with in this community we have people who struggle with so many issues. I am aware that many have fought obesity all of their lives. I know that not everybody has an addictive relationship with food either. This week The Biggest Loser started, and while I confess that I NEVER watch this show & this week is not an exception, the Spina Bifida Association of America posted Ben & Buddy’s interview and my heart stopped a little. Why? A few years ago Ben’s first child was born with Spina Bifida as well as other birth defects. She lived for about five months. She never got to come home. In his interview he talks of how that time in his life was a frenzy of work and hospital, with grabbing what ever fast food he could in between. This marked the beginning of his problem. I understand this so much more than I wish I could.
The timing of this is rough. I’ve told you this is my bad season. But I feel its really important to admit that my weight spiraled out of control, very much the same way. And I Imagine that if many of us look back hard enough, we can probably pin point a turning point where our choices turned on us. Where it was easier to grab something fast and fatty than it was to care enough about what it was we were actually doing to ourselves.
Before Kailey was even born, I was up at the hospital day after day being monitored. My dad was with me for most of those trips, and he sat by my side for hours. Even then, before the baby was born, it was easy to grab something sinfully delicious from Au Bon Pain in the hospital, than it was to put thought into what I wanted to eat before or after the appointments.
Once our girl was born, we (my husband and I) really both went down hill with our weight in a big way. Trying to live in 2 places at once is impossible. We had our 1 year old son at home, nearly an hour away from the NICU where Kailey was. Kevin was working full time, two jobs. We had to be with Kailey, we had to be with little Kevin. Our future plans were in a holding pattern because we didn’t expect anything from one minute to the next. We lived with fear and joy jumbled together.
We may have not been incredibly tiny people, but we were by no means the obese people that we became in the months and years that followed. After a while, the chaos became normal routine, and the desire to look nice or to even care was replaced with simply the desire to get through a day. Food became something that comforted the pain. Crappy day? Have a cookie! REALLY CRAPPY DAY? Lets see what the bakery has & while I’m up that way I’ll hit the deli for a hero and maybe the market for some goodies to leave in the fridge for later.
The eating, stopped being about the convenience of the fast food places near the hospital or on the road. It stopped being about nourishing our bodies. Sure, we made it a point to sit down as a family every single night. We cooked a healthy square meal and sat as a family. But that wasn’t the food that made us fat. That wasn’t the behavior that got us into trouble. That wasn’t where there was clearly addictive tendencies.
And here I am now, 18 months post Sleeve Gastrectomy. Happily sporting a size 10 jeans, a large top, watching that damn scale play between 175 and 185lbs (seriously those Christmas cookies were a bitch!) and I have to confess to you that I STILL to this day, want nothing more than to hit the bakery when I have a really crappy day! Fortunately I live in Georgia where they wouldn’t know what a good bakery was if it landed on top of them. And even then, the chances that a bakery in Georgia having a Linzer Tart is about as likely as a pig with wings. So I’m safe, for now.
Kevin is 1 month post his sleeve gastrectomy and he is down 50lbs. He is learning the ropes well.
We both see the behaviors. We know them, can target them, can talk about them. THAT is a big deal, ya know? It takes a lot to be able to say “wow, I did this to myself” But folks, I did this to myself. Certain foods comfort me, when nothing else can. Even now.
A quick update about TJ….
Back in October our son TJ presented with a swollen knee. We have run the gauntlet with this kid, doctors, testing and diagnoses. After a misdiagnosis of Rheumatic Fever, he has been seen by a number of specialists at Emory Children’s and the results are in…. sort of.
We know for sure that this is NOT post strep arthritis. With the MRI in hand, as well as ALLLLLL of the appointments between October and now it is clear to everybody and their brother that this isn’t a sprain or an angry knee, or some silly childhood injury. So, that leaves us to believe that this is Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis and/or (depending on who you speak to and their views of the two/one) Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.
So we have a name, or a few names to put on this knee. But the best news I can share with you is that since we saw the rheumatologist 2 weeks ago, TJ has been on Alieve twice a day and the swelling in his knee is actually down quite a bit right now. In the past it has gone down and swelled up again, but right now, today… right this second it looks GOOD! We don’t care what you call it.
TJ will see the rheumatologist again in February and hopefully we will be able to wean him off of the NSAIDS for a little while, to give his tummy a break.
Gosh I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store for us!!
So here I stand…
I have started this post and deleted it time and again. I don’t have direction or intent. What do I want to write about? What do I have to share? Where have I been? What am I doing? How is life according to weight loss surgery? Does weight loss surgery even play as much of a role in my life as it did a few months ago? Am I once again redefining normal and redefining who I am? It seems I am.
I have made a conscious effort to disengage from facebook a bit, as I think being as deeply involved with it as I was, changed my perspective on a lot of things. So, cross addictions being what they are… I have found Pinterest and let me just tell you… I AM THE BIGGEST PIN HEAD OF THEM ALL! I’ve been dubbed “pin head” by the beloved Haven of http://www.blessmysouthernheart.com
Pinterest is inspirational for me. I sat there for a few days WISHING I could do a lot of the things I was seeing. Wishing I could have a lot of the things I saw. And then I asked myself why I was wishing and not doing? How much of my life had I sat on my ass wishing? This past year was all about doing! So, I started to do.
First I started cooking better for my family. HOLY MOLY, pinterest has some awesome crock pot savvy meals! I was cooking up so much that my mommy and daddy bought me a new crock pot and two AWESOME cook books to go with it!
Next I decided to tackle the house. Here is where I have to explain a little. Having four children in a very tight age group, I have always said that my house is my children’s home. 
I was never one to apologize for the toys and chaos strewn about. I have never been one to want my children playing in their rooms. I have wanted them on the same floor I was on. I needed to hover, they were/are/always will be devious little monsters who get into things you can’t even begin to imagine. Anyway, I digress…. they are now of an age, where I can allow them to be out of sight, and also expect them to be responsible for their own belongings. With that in mind, I decided to start reclaiming my home. Toys were evicted from the front parlor room, formerly known as the toy room and now known as the Christmas tree room, soon to be known as Momma’s space. My husband’s love of junk mail clutter was evicted from my kitchen. All clutter was evicted from the kitchen. The dining room was also taken over by the crazy woman who possessed the momma. And son on and so forth.
Finally, I found myself admiring doodle art. I was spending hours upon hours of time looking at people’s doodles. I learned that there are names to certain types of doodles like zendoodle and line weaving. zensplosions and zenspirations. Seeing the word “zen” attached to the doodles made me reflect a bit. When I was young there was no surface that was safe from me. Oh my mother would get so angry with me as I would color in the squares of plaid school uniform, write on the rubber sole of my shoes, draw on my jeans. I loved the feel of a roller pen on recycled paper, and the feel of a marker on a new vinyl binder. I loved the way a paper bag sucked in the ink of a sharpie marker. The sensory satisfaction I got from doodling made me content! But, it was just doodles. It wasn’t artistic. It was mindless, scribbles that felt good. hearts and circles, and hearts and clouds. Bubble letters and typical teenage angst crap. You know the type.
I got my very first journal a few days before Christmas. First I played with the back cover, then the back page. Eventually I moved on with a little confidence to do a whole page, and I completed it, then I completed my second and now I’m onto my third. I’m developing my own ways. I put pen to paper with no idea of whats going to come of it and by the end it just ends up as it is.
My doctor told me a while ago that I needed to find a way to silence my mind. To just relax and unwind, stop over thinking and just be free. I don’t really know how to free my mind, but I think that with pen and paper in hand I’m pretty close to figuring it out.
So this is where I am, this is where I stand. I’m holed up in my house, being anti social, reclaiming my life, being stingy and selfish and loving it.
Tis the season… for mixed emotions.
I have a hard time this time of year. Its not because its winter. or because its the holidays. 9 years ago I was pregnant with my second child. In November we went for our usual level II sonogram to check the growth and health of the baby, and it was then that we learned that out precious baby girl had so very many different birth defects. We were given terms like “incompatible with life” and “critical anomalies”. Our son was only 9 months old, and it was his 1st Christmas. Our world was spiraling. Here we were debating the fate of our unborn child, as the doctors pushed termination, and still needing to celebrate baby’s first Christmas.
I was in Harrows, a pool store by summer and a Christmas store by winter, walking the aisles in search of decor and a tree to make my home festive for my 9 month old son. Christmas music was blaring, and my heart was breaking. I called my mom on my cell phone and I fell to pieces. “Mommy, I need you. I need you to be here. I need you to help me. I can’t do this. I can’t. I just can’t find joy.” In the middle of trees and lights, I had the saddest breakdown and I simply needed my mommy.
Fast forward to today. Its Christmas time, and I have 4 beautiful children. Kailey, that baby who was “incompatible with life” is 8 years old. She fights a good fight year after year, as does the rest of our family… because this is our life. But every time I walk through a store filled with Christmas trees, lights and Christmas music, I feel despair. Helplessness, a vast disjointed vacancy to joy. I fight to play Happy Holidays, even though I have everything to celebrate. This my friends is the misery that is post traumatic stress disorder.
The months and years after Kailey’s birth changed my relationships with friends and people in general. I have become more closed off and I have become more guarded. People have a difficult time knowing how to be a part of your life, when you can’t answer the question “But shes going to be alright now, right?” with the words they want to hear. It is not anybody’s fault. People want children to be healthy and happy. It is unnatural for a child to be sickly, for a child to have to face the possibility of death. And I can’t blame people for being uncomfortable or incapable of being a part of our every day, because it isn’t easy seeing a sick child go from being strong and happy one day, to hospitalized and weak the next.
And so, it is the season that I pull back from the people who are always present in my life. I don’t know if I’m giving them a chance to scoot away or if its just that I need this time to be alone. But this is what I do. I pull back, a lot! Year after year, I’m rewarded to find that the people I love the most are always waiting for me.
I haven’t written in a while. I have been attempting new ways of working through the PTSD. I have been reclaiming my home, putting the kid’s things in the kid’s rooms and making the living spaces liveable! I have been trying out new recipes in the kitchen, ones that work well with WLS and with children. I have been searching for ways to inspire myself, to be creative, to let my soul sooth itself. Surely healing has to come, eventually, doesn’t it?
I have to confess to Christmas cookie loving. A little too much. Damn the cookies! The cookies and the scale do not agree with each other. Mind you I don’t have hunger, but I do graze! I know it, I need to cut it the hell out! Letter to myself… dear Michelle… CUT IT THE FUCK OUT! Love Michelle.
My other confession is that I may or may not be a 36 year old Groupie. Yes, you heard me! If I had the funds to go to this: http://www.kreweofrocckus.com/eng/ I totally would be there. Meanwhile, I am looking forward to these guys playing (hopefully… in the ATL area) http://thesweetteaproject.com/, and I have attended 2 shows in the past two months where I have taken more photos with one man than I have with my own husband in the same time period. Thats all I’ll say on that matter. Music calms the savage beast. Music makes me dance. Great music, written by incredible artists, performed by people who are sincerely endearing… well… its the whole package and I’m hooked! I’m sorry to these guys, that their groupies are not hot 20 year old chicks but rather moms with carseats in their trucks. But what ever! LOL
I’ve broken all kinds of blogger rules here. This is all over the place, too many words, no real point, not a lot of photos and probably won’t hold your interest. But here it is anyway. I needed to blog, it was a goal I set for myself and damn it… I did it! Love to you all. Thanks for hanging with me. It means everything!
The Breakfast Of Champions (sort of)
My mommy and daddy read my blog (hooray) and realized that I actually USE my crock pot, so they upgraded me to a brand new Kitchen Aid Crock Pot. It was love at first sight. I squealed! I ooohed and Ahhhhed and OHHH pretty! It came at 4PM. I HAD to use it right away! I was itching to! So, I figured crock pot oatmeal would be a brilliant idea!
In the past I’ve made crock pot Steel Cut Oats. I’ve made them in the crock pot over night and they’ve been sticky and brown, I’ve made them in a bowl with in the crock pot and that worked well, but they were too watery. Last night I knew I wanted to do the bowl with in the crock pot method but straight water wasn’t going to do it. I had little milk (BAD MOM!), but I had half and half (REALLY BAD MOM! Always prepared for coffee, not so much for kids!). If I had SILK I would have used that. If I had enough 1% milk I’d have used that. But I had half & half and damn it I’m GLAD I did! It was DELICIOUS!
MY INGREDIENTS: 1 cup steel cut oats (AKA Irish Oatmeal), 2 cups half and half, 2.5 cups water. A pinch of sea salt. Brown sugar to taste (I don’t use much at all, I prefer to let everybody make it as they like it later), vanilla extract to taste (about 2tsp), cinnamon to taste (i like a lot!). Mix it all together in a bowel that will fit with in your crock pot. Put some water in your crock pot, place bowl of oatmeal mixture in croack pot, fill crock pot with water up to the top sides of your bowl, cover and cook on low for 9 hours.
Wake up to a bowl of beautiful oatmeal, dress as desired. TJ likes his with strawberries and sugar. I like mine with blackberries and almonds, Kailey likes hers with pure maple syrup, little Kevin likes brown sugar & a variety of berries, big Kev likes his plain with some splenda, and Alison is simply not touching “that stuffs”
I loved this crock pot so much that my split chicken thighs are in there right now! Dinner is about to be served. I’ve been cleaning and loving my house all day and I’ve not had to worry a damn about whats for dinner! I LOVE IT!
My Dining Room, A Gift to Myself.
Today was the first day that the house has been silent in weeks. My husband was off at a sleep study, the 3 oldest beastlings were off at school, the youngest keeps herself busy with writing, coloring, singing, dancing and the computer. It took a while for me to wake from my stupor. To stretch my legs, and move around. It took a while for me to start to reclaim my space and to realize how much crap has taken it over.
Every home has places that clutter gathers. Every home has its little corner of shame. MY home, with 4 kids, a Saint Bernard, a big man and myself has many surfaces that tend to be taken over. But there are places that are usually sacred “momma’s spot” places, and they were gone today. So, rather than reclaiming my usual spots, I decided its time to reclaim my home. One room at a time, this place will be mine damn it!
My dining room is always the place where everything gets tossed. Kids walk in the door and book bags go to the dining room table. Mother in law comes over, pocket book, bags, what ever she brings for the kids… dinging room table. Art projects.. dining room table. Mail, dining room table (sometimes). Currently there are 4 very large boxes of medical supplies in the doorway of the dining room, stacked two high and two wide. Each the height of the oldest child. Its ridiculous. Granted, the garage is chock full of similar boxes with the same products, and they are heavy and I am the only one in the house who can carry them at the moment. So, yeah its my fault they’re there. But I digress. The dining room, has always been abused and it is in need of some love and attention. I know that if I love it, it will love me back. So, today I started with clearing the clutter off of the table, and sweeping the dust from beneath it. I placed a new table cloth on the table and threw away a bunch of stuff that needed to be tossed away. Tomorrow I will make room in the garage for the supplies (I need to marry some boxes), and carry on with the task at hand. From there my work will carry over to the kitchen and the clutter there!
Room by room, bit by bit… this house will become what I want it to be!
I have my timer, I have my music, I have my swiffer, my vinegar, my paper towels, newspaper (best thing to ever clean your windows with is black and white news paper!), garbage bag, donate bag (OHHH American Kidney foundation, I haz some clothes for you!!!) NOW, if somebody has a magic wand that will make finger prints vanish from my walls, I will be forever grateful to you.
I’m on my way…
YOU CAN COOK SOUP!
Okay, so we’ve made our chicken, we have this carcass and giblets sitting there and a kitchen to clean. You’re wondering what the hell Michelle has gotten you into right? Fear not, here we go. Meal #2 is a nice hearty soup and you’re gonna make it from scratch! No stock, no bullion cubes, none of that pre made crap! Know why? Because YOU CAN COOK and you don’t need that stuff!
Get your Crock pot out, and add some water, salt, thyme a few carrots broken in half (no need to peel them because they are just to make stock), one onion cut into chunks (not small chopped, big chunks), take that package of giblets and open it up, throw those parts in the water (ewww, yeah I know, just do it). Now take your chicken carcass (bones, skeleton, guts.. what ever you wish to call it) and place that in the crock pot. Cover with water. Now if you have some white wine you wish to add, go for it. I use just water. Put your crock pot on low, clean your kitchen, enjoy your night and go to bed.
If you don’t have a crock pot, you will do everything I just mentioned in the morning. You won’t be able to leave it and forget it. You will have to watch it, and cook it for a few hours, but these are still the basics.
When morning rolls around you are going to take your cloves of garlic and drizzle them with olive oil in a small oven safe dish, cover with foil and bake in 400°F oven for 40 minutes or until soft.
While your garlic is roasting, get out your colander and a large pot (okay this step is a bit of a pain, but its worth while). Take your pot holders, and strain your stock into the large pot through the colander. Place the colander with all of the bones and veggies in the sink. Pour stock back into the crock pot and continue on low.
Dice onions, slice carrots and toss into your stock. Saute baby bellas in a bit of oilve oil until golden, then toss that into your stock. Take last night’s chicken left overs and toss those into your stock, and add 2 cups of quinoa.
Grab your roasted garlic from the oven and mash it with a fork. Scrape that into your stock. Add 1 package frozen chopped spinach. ADD SALT (remember you are not using bullion cubes or store bought broth, so you have to season your stock. don’t be afraid of the salt). Add more Thyme, and some pepper. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.
NOW….. that colindar of bones in your sink…you have two choices here. You can either toss it all and call it a day, or you can pick out the meat that was left on those bones and add it to your soup. I pick the meat. I have a family of 6 and a little bit goes a long way. So waste not want not is my motto. I let that cool down, then I pick pick pick, and toss toss toss. Lots of bones and skin that goes in the trash, but there is a lot of meat as well.
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There are so many people who are completely intimidated by the thought of cooking a meal. You don’t have to buy everything pre-made. There is a certain amount of pride that comes with owning my kitchen. My children are now starting to get their hands into cooking and I love it. I don’t want them to feel that everything needs to come from a box or a can. And at the same time, the occasional frozen veg, budget friendly indulgence isn’t going to kill us.
In my opinion, home made is always better on the palate than store bought. I can bend and twist it to my every whim. Doctor it up here and there. And as you saw above, I don’t follow recipes. I am a toss this, throw that kinda gal. But my meals are tasty and they are healthy.
YOU can do this too! I know you can! I hope you give it a try. If you are scared of the kitchen, let cooking a great meal be one of your goals. Once you do it, you won’t quit!
Love your kitchen and it will love you back.
Michelle
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