Fat Reading List: Part 1

I needed to start off my New Year's resolution to lose weight so I turned to my library's audiobooks and came up with Jen Lancaster's book:   Such a Pretty Fat:  One Narcissist's Quest to Discover If Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big; Or, Why Pie Is Not the Answer.  I have loved Jen's writing style since reading "Bitter is the New Black"  (book) and "If you Were Here" (audio). 

In Pretty Fat, she is funny, says what she thinks and honestly, anyone who is fighting the fat bug is o.k. in my mind. It was sobering however when  she realizes, "Even when I lose 50 pounds, I will still be fat...SHIT!"  So, I love her because we are the same.  Well, I am not a narcissist....you certainly wouldn't have found me in a sorority in college...and none of my t-shirts are designer!  Jen won't be judged by the digits on a scale and neither will I.  LOL

Another book I listened to was Skinny Bitch, by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin.  I don't know what I expected (perhaps a bit more laughter and a lot less slaughter house slams) but it did make a point--DO NOT EAT CRAP and while less emphatic but just as important:   do not eat ANYTHING with a face.  It backed it all up with science but the slaughter house visuals just ruined it all for me.  I am a farm girl after all and I loved the movie with Claire Dane's playing Temple Grandin (who revolutionized the design of stockyards making them more humane). Seriously, I think my food police friend, Lynn, must have co-authored this book...it sounds like she does when she talks to me about using sweetners...

     

Finally, I just needed a book to keep me moving on the treadmill and Susannah Charleson's book, Scent of the Missing, fit the bill perfectly.  I loved it!  I laughed, I cried and I almost fell off the treadmill during one particularly descriptive parts.  Her love of animals shines through as she talks about raising a pack of Pomeranians and cats while trying to train a new search and rescue puppy.  Her love of her profession, the team members and their SAR dogs makes it a quick, informative and satisfying read.

Is it Really Health Care if it Makes you Stressed???

Just a note to the uninitiated:   I don't have kids, so my Mom told me I lack the "patience gene". 

January 16, 2012

Dr. P. and Staff--

Please see enclosed letter regarding the very unfortunate problem with the referral to Dr. H.  that wasn’t a referral and the resulting incident at the orthopedics’ office that resulted in 75 minutes of my time wasted and no doctor viewing my x-rays (which I got copied for $40 at the chiropractor's office). 

I am sorry to inform you that after 15+ years as a client I will be searching for a new PCP.  Please cancel my appointment for March 11^th.

Best Regards,

Jackie Turbot
p.s. I would also like to let you know that I was always uncomfortable with the number of drug reps that I encountered in your office. I swear I have seen more there than at any other doctor’s office I have ever been in--they outnumbered the patients on some days.   I always knew they were drugs reps because they brought you and your staff lunch from swanky restaurants and they drove Lexus sedans.  Perhaps if I would have benefitted from more free samples I would not have seen this as a problem?!

p.p.s. This whole mess has really sickened me and made me realize that the whole health care industry is a precarious house of cards and that I need to be as healthy as possible to avoid being in any doctor’s offices in the future. So, thank you for that!
p.p.p.s.  You may really want to rethink referring your patients to Dr. H's office. 

Stuff I am Working on Around the House

Pottery Barn's $179 version

Jackie's $40 version

Rod and I were married 27 years in December last year.  That tied in to this project--and it really got kicked off after a trip to IKEA.  I noticed a couple ladders holding linens and I asked one of the employees, where the ticket was to buy it.  Of course, they had made it.  (I also had my eye on bookcases to convert Rod's reading area which was presently a couple of concrete blocks and pieces of wood--no kidding!). 

So, after spending a couple hours looking for an inexpensive version to buy online, it dawned on me that I would have to make it from scratch.  A trip to Home Depot was in order.  I bought a few sticks of nice pine for about $30 and headed home to set up the sawhorses.  An hour later the project was ready to be assembled.  I used wood dowel pins to attach the rungs to the long pieces of pine.  This was the hardest part, as my measuring on one of the rungs didn't match up. 

A couple hours later (involving a lot of rigging and cussing) I had the ladder assembled and glued--it's not perfect.  But it is good enough!

By this time I had decided on the bookcase from IKEA so I went to pick it up.  I tossed in a can of their paint/stain to match so I could use that on the ladder.  The bookcase went together in an hour or so, but, the fun part was keeping it hidden from Rod.  I parked my big soap cart in the doorway of the spare bedroom and started working on it when he wasn't around.  I put a big red bow on it when I finished and pushed it up against the far wall.  So, unless he had a reason to go in that room--and I couldn't think why he would--it would be safe until the unveiling on December 21st!

Rod was surprised!  We have a really huge, heavy comforter that we don't use that often living in Florida.  This ladder is the perfect place to park it most of the year.  The ladder's final resting place is kind of hidden behind the bathroom door so it also provides a place for him to park his shoes and hang his uniform pants!  That wasn't my original intent, but, since it is hidden who cares!  Oh, and I spent a couple dollars more on some hardware to mount the top to the wall so it stays put.

The finished project--bookcase and ladder.

Rod now wants to go to IKEA again and get some more of the storage boxes to put his odds and ends in on the shelves.  He is also using the bookcase to display an old train set he got from his family and some of his camera stuff.  Success!

Another Completed Pinterest Project

I Wear my Biggest Flaw on the Outside

Do you remember that Wisconsin newscaster, Jennifer Livingston?  She replied to a viewer's email about her weight on camera and opened up a national discussion on obesity and bullying.  And the "Girl on Page 194" of Glamour Magazine, Lizzi Miller? 

She and Glamour were alternately celebrated and villanized for showing "reality".  These women are both gorgeous, beautiful, and completely not what they seem.  Jennifer runs a household with three girls, a gorgeous anchor-man hubby and competes in 5k races--in addition to her newscaster duties where she clearly is smart and effective--oh and she has a thyroid problem.  Lizzi is a plus size model (size 12-14, really? LOL) and is an avid softball player and belly dancer.  At the time the picture was taken she was 20 years old and was clearly confident and awesome. 

What do they have to do with me?  I am THEM--big, flabby, but, smart and confident too.  I have this outward "flaw" that even some of my best friends don't understand.  They suggest diets, just eating a bite, making better choices, just work it off!  They ask, "why can you manage everything else in your life so successfully but fail so miserably when it comes to your weight and eating habits".  LOL, yes, one of them said pretty much that exact thing...and we laughed and then I asked her if she didn't think I ask myself that very thing every single day?  Then I went home and cried...and I don't remember exactly what I ate but I can pretty much guarantee it was too much of the wrong thing too late at night!

Being overweight for many of us is a constant battle of choices.  Most of us know the science of calories and how to burn them off.  It's just that we choose wrong more often than right.  Yea, lets go to the Cheesecake Factory, or to the frozen yogurt place or to the place with those yummy pitchers of margaritas!!!  You, my skinny-but-judgemental friends, will just burn off those transgressions with your super potent metabolism.  Me, not so much.  Even if I drag myself out of bed to the gym, to the walking shoes or the Wii Fit workout--I am wired by my genetics to be heavier than most people.  I just don't have too many Olympic athletes in my family.  We just aren't built that way. 

So, what to do, what to do???   Today I choose to get out and walk, eat healthy and to make good food choices.   I did that for most of the week last week and I dropped 8.6 pounds and bettered my obese BMI from really awful to a still awful 38.26.  Baby steps.  And I know that working on this from the inside is just as important as working it on the outside.  The key today is just to keep working it!

Resolutions--A New Crop for the New Year

Happy New Year! 

What did you do today?  Rod was off yesterday and today so we spent a lot of time together, but, we didn't do much.  I guess that's what you do on a Holiday, right.  That's hard for someone used to going all the time, and somehow, it felt empty and kind of lonely.  There are just times of the year you want all your loved ones surrounding you.  I guess I needed that and I should have done something about it.  It came and bit me in the ass later in the day.  My big accomplishment was seeing almost all of the Rose Parade...I haven't done that in ages.

I started Weight Watchers a week ago.  My Mom and sister started it around Thanksgiving and I have been keeping tabs on their progress.  My sister has done terrific, while Mom decided to take a hiatus until after the Holidays.  (care to guess who I take after???  :))   I think during the whole six weeks, Jodie only gained once--and only 1/2 a pound.  Yea, Jodie!!!  So, I am feeling greatly inspired.  Yep, moved enough to actually sign up for WW online.  AND, to stick with it for the whole week.  Yea, ME!!!

The online program has been great.  It is very similar to SparkPeople, the free online dieting site.  I just felt I needed a little more accountability since my dieting has never really "taken".  I figure if I paid for it, I might be more inclined to actually last more than a day.  I also want to sign up for Planet Fitness but I don't want to do that until I know I will actually GO.  Sounds like I am procrastinating, eh?   Yes, I am.  But, I really want to not let my initial enthusiasm burn out too quick.  If I do baby steps, then I may just be able to get into a routine that I can make into a good habit. 

My worst habit when it comes to my health is night time eating.  Sometimes I feel that my kitchen cabinets and my refrigerator are calling out to me to come and EAT.  It is a very real problem and it is surely associated with emotional eating--brought on by...who knows.  I am afraid my introspection in this regard has not been deep enough or frequent enough to come up with a cause.  But, tonight on the last day of Week 1, I had a very real struggle. 

What do I do instead of eat?  I mean, I always have business stuff to do and it's year end so there is a huge list of inventory/bookwork tasks to be accomplished.  My house is not white glove perfect.  I have lots of projects and things-to-do on written lists.  But, when I sat down and thought about it tonight, I really struggled.  I mean, WHAT DO I DO INSTEAD OF EAT?  Then the tears started and all the food in the kitchen was ready to comfort me, but, I didn't want to ruin an entire week of on-plan eating by raiding the refrigerator.  So, what the f**k do you do when you usually go and binge on something but you want to stop that behavior?  Really, I had to find out something that might work. 

So, I grabbed a glass of water and sat down at the computer and punched "what to do instead of eating" into Google.  I found tons of ideas and lists of things to consider.  I copied them all into a word document and started editing until I came up with MY LIST.  Make that my new "What to do instead of eating" List!  And I made a couple copies so I can put them where I might need them.

So, I am going into my weigh-in tomorrow morning with a positive outlook--I am o.k. with whatever the scale says because I know I did a good job making choices this week.  I stuck to the plan.  I walked a couple times.  I drank lots of water.  And, maybe the most important thing I did was to come up with my new list to help me tomorrow night, or the nights after when I am confronted with the kitchens gremlins trying to make me eat.

Here's my list.  Please let me know if you have any ideas I can add to it.  Again, it's MY list, so I didn't put every single suggestion I came across--just things that will work for me down the road.

 Things to do instead of eating!

Drink a glass of water and then:



Paint your nails

Brush your teeth/whitestrips

Clean/Organize something!

Fold those clothes

Reorganize your closet.

Pick our an awesome goal weight outfit.

Throw away/donate clothes that are too big

Clean my cat’s litter box

Doing dishes

Cleaning the toilet, shower, or sink.

Cleaning makeup brushes works

Clean your TV and computer screens.

Sweep the floors.

Go for a walk

Play the Wii

Start a journal with pictures, quotes, memories

Read a book

Play a game

Put a puzzle together

Take a nap

Make some tea

Put up inspiring pictures/sayings

Pamper yourself

Do a facemask

Soak your feet

Deep condition your hair.

Go to a movie

Call or e-mail a supportive friend.

Do something to keep your hands busy.

Make a grocery list of healthy foods

Work in your garden, or start an herb garden

Study a foreign language online.

Meditate. Sit on the floor, breathe deeply, and think about what is stressing you.

Read poetry out loud to yourself.

Make your bed.

Drive down a road you haven’t been on before.

Take a sketchpad outside and draw.

Sing along to the radio, except in a falsetto.

Write a story and illustrate it.

Donate the old blankets to a local pet shelter.

Pluck your eyebrows and chin hairs.

Get dressed up and have tea elegantly

Rearrange your furniture.

Sew a patch onto a pair of jeans or a skirt.

Go to the library.

Make a self portrait

Change all your passwords.

Walk around your neighborhood/pick up litter.

Clean out every drawer in your house.

Memorize a famous speech.

Sort out your bills

Take a relaxing bath.

Scream into a pillow.

Pray

Read a (non triggering) magazine

Write a blog

Make cards for people

Catch up on Thank You notes

Organize or take photos.

Scratch things off your “to do” list

Give yourself a foot massage

Cuddle with your loved ones!

Water your plants

Tell the binge that you are stronger than it.

Write a letter to your future self

Make a list of why you rock.

Spin around in circles like a Whirling Dervish.

Roll your coins

Stretch on your exercise ball

Read positive affirmations.

Throw a temper tantrum!

Rearrange your furniture

Enter sweepstakes

Volunteer for something!

Update a webpage