Unsafe at Any Size

There was a great panel discussion on KQED’s Talk of the Nation that is definitely worth a listen.  Two of the panelists discussed research in rats that indicate that sugar is addictive, in a similar manner though milder than alcohol and other addictions.  The third panelist discussed Buddhism and conquering food addiction, which I found less compelling.

The upshot was that our foods contain more sugar than ever, and it’s harder to get sugar out of our environment.  Eating sugar does help us feel better for a short amount of time, but ultimately an addictive cycle sets in that requires us to eat more sugar to get the same effect.  And sugar substitutes might produce the same effects.

It’s taken me a loooong time to pull out of my sugar addiction; really, I can’t say that I have totally.  But it’s a far cry from what it used to be.  I used to make homemade fudge (and it was damn good!).

Making my own food has definitely helped; I’m not getting a dose of corn syrup at every meal.  But I still want some sugar after lunch, and I usually have a Skinny Cow bar after dinner.  Not much, but I wonder if I’m keeping the addiction alive.

How do you deal with sugar?

So my son doesn’t want to eat dinner, even though it’s chicken nuggets, usually a big favorite.  Is he sick?

No.  He had a snack at school.

What kind of a snack?

Cereal bars.

Three of them.

My son is 6.  Even given he’s a growing boy, three cereal bars is a LOT of food.

I told him so, and will tell the after school teachers that maybe unlimited access to the goody of the day isn’t such a good idea.  I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I wonder if I need to be concerned.

After all, I started fairly young, too.  My mother tells a story about the first time she gave me a peanut butter sandwich.  I liked it so much I begged for another, then promptly puked it all up.

Now, this story did not presage a life of bulimia, but I didn’t get to be so fat without relishing food, in large quantities, whenever I got an opportunity.  I was the kid who swiped frosting flowers off of birthday cakes–before we sang Happy Birthday.  Oh, and it wasn’t my cake.

I don’t want to give my kid a complex, but I also want to teach about healthy limits.  I’ve read about those crazy moms who are always after their kid to eat less, even though the kid is fine.  But I wonder what would have helped me find those healthy limits when I was a kid.

What would you do?

Huzzah!  I finally got a letter.

The backstory: after losing 110 lbs on Weight Watchers, I’m at a point where I’m feeling happy and healthy.  I’ve met my personal goals for weight loss.  Weight Watchers lets you come for free after you’ve maintained your goal weight for a certain amount of time.  These “lifetime” members get the support from other members for maintaining their weight loss, and can inspire them as they lose their own weight.

There are two ways to become a lifetime member: your weight can be within what the BMI says is healthy, or you can get a letter from your doctor saying a different weight is appropriate for you.

I haven’t lost enough weight to get to the BMI range for my height, and I haven’t after 2.5 years at WW.  I probably could, but I’m happy right where I am.  I’ve made a huge number of lifestyle changes, and at this time don’t feel like making more.

I thought that my regular doctor, who was on Weight Watchers himself and lost weight with the program, would be sympathetic.  But at my annual exam, he argued that based on statistics, people who are in the “normal” BMI range are healthier than those who aren’t.  Even those like me who have good cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. are more likely to hurt themselves when they fall because the weight makes them more top heavy.

Huh?

It’s hard to argue with someone who’s fully clothed when you’re wearing a paper napkin.  And he’s right, statistically speaking.  But there are statistics, and then there are the needs of individuals.  And this individual is DONE!

Fortunately, my gynecologist agreed with me!  At my visit yesterday I told her my plight, and she took mercy.  I now have a letter saying an appropriate weight for me is 170.  I finally feel like I’ve got some agency back!

As great as this news is, it doesn’t mean I can go on lifetime yet.  During my months-long hissy fit, I gained a few lbs I need to lose to get to that 170.  And Weight Watchers has you do 6 weeks on maintenance before you’re officially lifetime.  After that, if you go too high over your goal weight you need to pay.  Now THAT would be motivating for me.

So chocolate chip cookies?  Not interested.  Peanut butter sandwiches?  Nuh uh.  I’m on mission!

I’ve been moaning and groaning that my Y doesn’t have classes at 5.  Well, one class, but they changed it to zumba, which so far doesn’t fit into the fung shui of my workouts.

But I’ve got a little boot camp back!  How?  Kids joined basketball, and their practice is right at bootcamp time!  I’m more excited to sweat than I care to admit.

I used to depend on those frozen Weight Watchers Smart Ones frozen dinners, but so glad I stopped after reading this Consumerist item about a woman who found a frog in her Smart One fettuccine.  Which of course leads to the question: how many points did the frog add?  Two fried frog legs is 4 points, according to my eTools.  No set points value.  There’s two legs on this frog, but they aren’t fried.  And what about the rest of it?

And what about the frog?  Can’t they survive being frozen?  Perhaps after the woman warmed it up it could just hop on out of there?