You Take the Good, You Take the Bad
April 22, 2009 at 3:31 pm | In Culture, Cute Guys, Exercise, Health | 2 CommentsTags: Shane Keough, Matus Valent, Real Housewives of Orange County, cancer diagnosis, Framingham Heart Study, Slade Smiley, baseball, Framingham Risk Assessment Tool
That seems so strange to type in connection to a loved one. It was hard to say it on the phone. I still don’t know what to do; should I do the same as I’ve always been doing, or call more often or take her out to dinner tomorrow evening before they go off to Florida, or what? I’d let my ‘heart be my guide’ but it’s not always reliable. I just called again to see if they wanted to go out to dinner with C and me tomorrow evening.
Thank you for any prayers and good wishes you can spare her and the family.
The Good (and the Ironic)
I took my Framingham Risk Assessment Tool with my last blood work measurements (bp 122/60, cholesterol 198, HDL 43, and I have a calculated 1o-year risk of a heart attack of 2% (i.e., two percent of men with my same characteristics had a heart attack within ten years of taking the risk assessment). Now, this is good, especially since the results, in a UK study, seemed to indicate that the test overestimates risk in otherwise healthy low risk populations, but I have to remember that I got here, especially the improved cholesterol level, via all the things such as exercise I’ve been doing in the past year or so. Ironically, this isn’t so far off my mum’s survival rate.
Which should make me think.
I Am Thinking
About not skiving off the gym tonight, although it’s been since last Thursday that I went and I’m bound to be a bit more puffed than usual. 
I hate this but it’s my own fault and my own fault alone. I chose all the avoidance of the treadmill, and now I must live with the consequences. It’s really rather simple. And so even though I would love to go home tonight and watch a movie, I’ll go and try to do 40 minutes or so, and start building back up to 60 minutes five times a week. We’ll see. 
It’s nice because it’s warm-ish, because it’s spring, and spring makes one think of the start of baseball. Here’s Matus Valent pretending to be a baseball player…
And here, from my favourite reality franchise, “The Real Housewives of xxx” is a real baseball player, Shane Keough, who uses his big bat to swat around little white balls for the Oakland A’s farm team system. First we start with the shirtless wonder at home recovering from a nasty shoulder injury. He still decorates a sofa nicely…
(Keep in mind though that while he was home moping he was horrible to his younger brother Colton, and mostly hung around wearing just what you see here, which is odd for a self-described ‘private person.’ His bedroom is not the living room so why didn’t he slouch off up there, watch internet porn, and exercise that other shoulder of his.)
Here he is lounging by his mum’s pool, apparently counting how many girlfriends he would have on the show (sort of Jo De La Rosa and some Canadian he imported – does something that fine have to go international to get lucky these days?)
(You have to really be disappointed that they didn’t have him do one of those semi-homoerotic spilled glass of milk all over my chest poses, don’t you. That’s not his pool because his mummy, who was bragging about how she had a house for each of the children, just sold his condo for him. Or for herself since minor league ball doesn’t play that much and Shane’s not employing his other assets to earn the odd buck or two. Just saying, is all, he could bankrupt a few ageing queens if he wanted. Especially since random club lovelies mistake him for K-Fed and he loves it….)
Finally, here’s the little stud slugger in uniform nogal.
Now, I know there has been some controversy about how foully he treated his mummy when she showed up with a camera crew and obsessive control freak friend at his game, but I also remember feeling sorry for him when he graduated high school. His dad and mum pushed him so hard into baseball (his dad and grandad were both pro ball players) that they didn’t care about his academic progress; he himself said that school was nothing to him compared to basseball, and so he was only a little bummed out when his mother and father both blew off his graduation because they were too busy with work. Oh, how I wanted to comfort him as he lay there in the pool….
And no matter how foul-mouthed he is I’d take his unself-conscious sexiness over relentlessly self-promoting Slade Smiley any day:
(Who would you pick? The Studly Slugger or the Smoothie with the Smile?)
Rhythm is a Dancer
April 14, 2009 at 10:38 am | In Cute Guys, Health, Uncategorized | 7 CommentsTags: anemia, bone marrow, fear, hypochondria, Matus Valent, pain
But my rhythm’s been off a bit, I can’t figure out why.
Friday we met up with our chums at the crack, er, Peruvian chicken joint and had a lovely evening. Skipping to Sunday, C put the rocks out in the front yard and they look ten times better than I thought they would. Really natural and he’s got them all pointed right to keep the lichen and moss growing.
Saturday it poured from the skies and was cold; I had to have blood work done to see whether or not (a) the change in my thyroid hormone dose was good and (b) to see if I really am anemic. I wonder what you have to do if you are? This isn’t the first time that the result has come back that I’m borderline bloodless. The thing that worries me the most is that it could require a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy if my bone marrow is not working ‘right.’ That scares the living crap out of me. Anytime one of the medical sites says “you may feel some discomfort” you can be sure they mean “you will pass out from the grinding pain.” Well, when I look up this particular test, I get things like “Because local anesthetics aren’t able to numb the interior of your bone, you may feel a deep, aching pain when the needle is fully inserted” and “A core sample of bone marrow is taken with the needle. You may feel a dull, aching pain for a moment as the sample is taken. Again, the pain may travel down your leg.” Let’s parse that. If the anesthetic can’t get to the interior of the bone, you will feel pain when a needle goes into it. There’s no “maybe” about it; I don’t see how it could be otherwise. I get the impression that the deep dull aching pain shooting down your leg is probably the mildest part, certainly less than the sharp shooting soul-destroying pain of a needle breaking into your spine.
Oh, it gets better. Here, I found advice to cover the patient’s eyes “to keep things sterile” – i.e., because it’s so horrific to see that big thick needle coming at them that the patient will jump off the table and run, screaming, into the night. And this gem:
- Anxious patients who have an intravenous (IV) line in place can be given diazepam (“Valium”) by the assisting nurse or physician. This should be slowly hand-pushed (1 mg/min) into a rapidly running IV until the patient’s speech is slurred (keep the patient talking!). This may require 5-20 mg of diazepam over 5-10 minutes. The patient usually falls asleep and snores, but can be aroused. This sedation lasts 20 min to 2 hours and usually produces desirable amnesia for the procedure.Anxious patients who have an intravenous (IV) line in place can be given diazepam (“Valium”) by the assisting nurse or physician. This should be slowly hand-pushed (1 mg/min) into a rapidly running IV until the patient’s speech is slurred (keep the patient talking!). This may require 5-20 mg of diazepam over 5-10 minutes. The patient usually falls asleep and snores, but can be aroused. This sedation lasts 20 min to 2 hours and usually produces desirable amnesia for the procedure.”
Because, you know, the procedure is so horrific that you don’t want the poor sod to be troubled by pesky memories of suffering, and your tales of how you spent your weekend. All this for a little suspicious result. And the treatment? There is none, they shoot you and chuck your body into the nearest landfill. You’re given five minutes to say goodbye to your loved ones and creditors (who will be weeping the most bitterly is anyone’s guess). (Of course not but that’s how panicky I am just sitting here reading about it.)
Now, for the rest of the happy happy joy joy news. Since I’m not menstruating (that I know of!) one of the main causes could be slow bleeding from a cancer anywhere from my stomach to … the other end. So to rule that out I may have to have, oh, I don’t know – a barium drink, or a … an “output” exam (so dignified), or a(n other) colonoscopy. I’ve had two of them, and I’m not fond of the procedure from start to finish. And of course whatever they find may be trouble.
Then the treatment for anemia is either iron supplements (yippee, another pill), or blood transfusions (and they say the blood supply is safe). I don’t think I have any symptoms of anemia, just the lab results. I mean, I’m often fatigued but who wouldn’t be if they got by on as little sleep as I do.
Then there’s another worry; my mum has to go in for more diagnostic checks on some microcalcifications in her breast. She goes in at around 11:00 today; I’m expecting word by this evening.
Of course, now I’m not just trolling around reasonable sites, but sites on hospice care and being terminally ill. And my stomach feels like it’s in free fall. I do this often, read about diseases and wonder what it would be like to have them, and get worried that I do have them or will very soon.
Adding to my feelings of fear and vulnerability is the pain in my right leg; yesterday coming out of the gym I slipped off the curb and slammed my leg down onto the asphalt. I didn’t fall but ‘missed the step’ and the pain shot up to my hip. It’s better now but my knee still feels bad. Last night I could barely walk and I am still limping. I just feel vulnerable and sore and nervous.
And fat.
Matus Valent isn’t fat, is he? Although he does feel the need to wear his shades in the shower…
(He lathers and everyone gets into a froth)
Two Dollars
March 30, 2009 at 12:58 pm | In Cute Guys, Health | 2 CommentsTags: Health, Matus Valent, Roman Sebrle, WeightWatchers
Two dollars is what I get if I’d sold the weight I lost over the past week instead of donating it to the air.
I was not really all that good, much like Matus Valent, here showing us that when it’s his off season he can indulge in sweet stickiness just like the worst of us. (A weakness for donuts and his blond sexiness may be the only things we have in common.)
Once again, time to celebrate, just like Roman Šebrle here, who looks so marvellously happy:
(Things definitely are pointing up for him there!)
Halfway Through
March 29, 2009 at 12:26 am | In Cute Guys, Friends, Health | 5 CommentsTags: Chuck, gardening, Gourmet Shish Kebab, Matus Valent, Real Housewives of New York City
We’re halfway through the weekend and it’s been an eventful one. Friday was a big glum. I lazed off working out which was a big mistake. However, our regularly scheduled activity, dinner with friends, was cancelled and that always throws me off. I don’t ‘do’ change. However, I put the time to good use, watching TV . I did catch up on one of the episodes of Chuck on my DVR, as well as this past week’s Real Housewives of New York. I do love me my Housewives. If anyone’s interested, I comment on them on Friends of Reality TV. I think they’re fun. But oh, did I overeat, in a spirit of rebelliousness, at the crack chicken joint. Thing is they have great fried rice, but I keep ‘forgetting’ that they put rice under the carne asado, so that’s a double starch whammy. Oh, and the left-over cake at work didn’t help. I hate it when people bring in cake like they did for the day before’s going away luncheon. And this was good cake too with proper butter cream icing, not that fluffy coloured Cool Whip. I love it but I hate it. I’m glad it’s all gone.
Today dawned, I guess, early. Not bright because it’s been dull and rainy all day. C and I went to Panera for brekkies, another bit of a mistake as I had one of their breakfast souflées which are full of fat. Notice a pattern here? I went off to the gym to work out, pretty eager actually, but when I got there I couldn’t find my water bottle. Rather than risk a cramp, I basically lazed off with some good reason and came back to Panera where C was waiting.
We had a…discussion…about some issues, and it wasn’t all that pretty for a while, but we got back to our usual loving selves in pretty good time. I’m so glad because I really feel desolate inside when I squabble with him. And this one was a bit longer than usual. At least it wasn’t in public.
Then it was off to one of three garden centers to get some plants for around the garden. C loves gardening and I love the results. Bob is proving his worth daily. C’s feet were muddy as heck from the first place (Patuxent Nursery) in Bowie, Maryland, and the new rubber floor mats work like champs – when the weather gets warmer we’ll just pop them out and hose them off. The only fly in the ointment is that the pins keeping them in place are a bit delicate so we’ve to be careful putting them in and taking them out. The plants he bought there (candytufts and…something) fit in the back and the rubber mat there would have kept things tidy or at least cleanable if they tipped.
Then through the back roads (Patuxent Bridge Road if you’re local) to snobbier Homestead Gardens in well-heeled Davidsonville, Maryland. There are some huge homes in Davidsonville; the median price is about $330,000, which means that half of the houses there cost more. It’s sort of faux-farm country, with horsey type people looking down out of gigantic windows onto their massive lots, and hoping the maid will come soon so they don’t have to clean the whole place themselves. Homestead’s prices are easily twice Patuxent’s, but they have a bigger selection (by a tiny bit) and a non-gardeners’ parking area (a small coffee shop).
We had lunch in Crofton at a new kebab house. It’s okaaay, but I’m not in a hurry to go back. The servings are small, the kofta kebab was overly spiced and the whole thing has repeated on me since.
We’ve never found a place to rival Espiokababs. Back story: ‘Gourmet Shish Kebab’ in Laurel was run by an Iraqi couple and it is fantastic. The food is oh so good, the servings generous, the selection enormous. Mmmmm it was a treat! However, that whacky Iraqi was recently arrested and pled guilty to being an undisclosed agent for the government of Saddam Hussein, and facilitated shady meetings of Iraqi officials, which may have taken place at the table next to us (although I never noticed). So I’m on the horns of a dilemma.
On the one hand, I should boycott the place because, well, he was an enemy spy. And my dad says, though I’ve been unable to verify, that some of the information could have been used in attacks on Army bases here in the US (like where I work) since he apparently went to Fort Belvoir to ’sneak around.’ I wonder though – he was excessively fat and immobile working the register; I don’t think I ever saw him move.
On the other hand, as somebody on urban spoon pointed out, espionage kinda lends an air of authenticity to a Middle Eastern restaurant. And of course, his wife owns the place and he pled guilty in a plea bargain. If he gets deported back to Baghdad (ironic, huh?) I guess it will close. That’s supposed to happen quite soon. So we shall see. But the food really was good.
From there across the county and through Laurel (stopping at the Sports Authority to buy a new water bottle and some new shoes for C) to Behnke’s Nursery in Beltsville. It’s a sort of mid-range place, but it’s got an awfully loyal following.
On the way home I swung by Starbucks for a latte and (more of the pattern) an expresso fat bomb brownie. Home to a nap, from six to nine. So far, unsurprisingly, I’ve not felt hungry for dinner. Which is good since I don’t have the points for it! I daren’t have any snacks tonight, not even my usual Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich. I’ve only myself to blame though. This posting things on the web is really working to keep me if not honest, then at least partially so.
But all is not beer and skittles
So let’s all keep the parents of the world in our prayers and thoughts. They’ve a tough job and no instruction booklet.
Today’s eye candy
Is Cowboy Matus Valent. I don’t think there are many cowboys in Slovakia so he’s adapted well to his new surroundings:
(I’d definitely save a horse, wouldn’t you?)
Didn’t Take Long
March 11, 2009 at 9:32 am | In Cute Guys, Exercise, Health | 2 CommentsTags: Costco, Iraq, Matus Valent, Peapod, Sardi's
It didn’t take long before I blasted over my point allowance and ate into my flex points. C & I went to Sardi’s Peruvian chicken restaurant yesterday for dinner and I got half a chicken with yucca and black beans. Oh, dear. Still I think they lace it with crack because it’s so addictive.
After that we went to Costco to fill up on meats and things – we’d never really looked round the place before, normally just heading straight for the back where the lamb roasts and chickens are kept cold, but last night we did. Pretty good bargains, especially compared to Peapod who normally delivers our groceries. And they do say that thrift is the new extravagance, while showing off conspicuous consumption is about as out of place as a belch at a state dinner.
But I did go over with no exercise beyond walking around Costco to balance it, so I’ll have to be even more careful today and for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, two wrinkles in my plans have already appeared. The first is that we’re planning on going out to dinner this evening, which is a challenge. And the second, well, I really don’t mind the second wrinkle:
He’s back!
Yes, my good friend lieutenant colonel K is back from his deployment in Iraq, with all his bits intact, and we’re getting together for lunch tomorrow (well, it’s scheduled at least). He was the first person I came out to in a long long time and he (as mentioned earlier) was great about it; he invited C and me to his house as a couple for a big pig roast and brought his family to ours twice for dinner. I’m just glad he’s back safely, as you can imagine.
March mood swings
The spring advances and receeds, making us wonder if we should dress for warm or for cold. From the 70’s Sunday (and forecast for today) to the mid 40’s for tomorrow. Jacket or t-shirt? Coat or short sleeves? Matus Valent here has a solution; he’s ready for the ski slopes and the beach!
(Nice of him to have started with the jeans)
Blood letting
March 7, 2009 at 4:37 pm | In Cute Guys, Exercise, Health | 2 CommentsTags: Health, Matus Valent, metabolic syndrome, walking
Hi, everyone, and how are you? I’m fine but I have a bit less blood than before; I had to go get blood drawn for some tests – no worries, just the standard ones. Mainly because my doctor likes to keep an eye on my thyroid levels.
So what’s been going on?
Well, at work things are okay; I finally finished our Annual Assurance Statement (that management controls are in place and operating as intended) and will be briefing it to the CG next week. It’s not really in my job description (spoken like a true bureaucrat!) but it always seems to fall to me to do. I guess I shouldn’t mind; for my little newsletter I was given a cash award, so it’s done well by me even as I’ve tried to do well by it.
The snow is all gone, or is only hanging on in stubborn little gritty piles where it was piled up in shopping center car parks or where the sun absolutely doesn’t penetrate. It’s hard to believe that Monday we had heavy (for DC) snow, the day off work, and today it’s in the mid 70’s (around 22 C for my international visitors) and warm (tho’ not very sunny). I’m hoping that Monday was winter’s last hurrah and the long and infuriatingly slow slide into spring has begun. It’s generally a frustrating time of year, in this area the skies stay grey and the buds don’t come and the warmth doesn’t settle in properly for what seems like ages, until all of a sudden it’s green full spring and you’re sitting outside in that glorious period before the bugs and oppressive humidity comes with summer. But for now, I’ll take this brief warm up with gratitude, as the temps are supposed to go back down to the more seasonable lower 50’s by the middle of next week (about 11 C).
Terrible “incident”
Speaking of international visitors, can it be a coincidence that Morgan Tsvangirai’s car was in an ‘accident,’ and his wife killed? The thing about African dictators is not that they’re dictators, but that they’re so crude about it.
The new normal
My battling back to fighting fitness continues apace, but not as quick as I thought it would. Basically I’m finding harder and harder to go beyond 30 minutes. I think it’s ‘all in my head;’ my knees don’t hurt any more after 30 minutes than they did at 20 minutes, but the inside of the gym has been so hot of late which may take it out of me more. (Yes, I know I promised you my points and exercise log; it will start Monday I promise with a good baseline.) I managed to get to the gym only Thursday and Friday and will go at least once this weekend because frankly I’m a bit worried about this sudden decrease in capacity.
Metabolic Syndrome
In researching my likelihood of living into my sixties, I’ve come across something called metabolic syndrome. It is a cluster of adverse physiological conditions that lead to a greatly increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes (and thus is associated strongly with higher morbidity). The American Heart Association recommends that people with the following characteristics be counted as having metabolic syndrome:
The American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommend that the metabolic syndrome be identified as the presence of three or more of these components:
- Elevated waist circumference:
Men — Equal to or greater than 40 inches (102 cm)
Women — Equal to or greater than 35 inches (88 cm) -
Elevated triglycerides:
Equal to or greater than 150 mg/dL - Reduced HDL (“good”) cholesterol:
Men — Less than 40 mg/dL
Women — Less than 50 mg/dL - Elevated blood pressure:
Equal to or greater than 130/85 mm Hg - Elevated fasting glucose:
Equal to or greater than 100 mg/dL
Just looking at this I have one (the first one), and I guess I’ll know after the 16th (when I meet with my doc to review my results) about the rest. It’s definitely something to pay attention to because “The cardiovascular morbidity and mortality associated with the presence of the clinical features of Metabolic Syndrome were quantified in a large cohort of men and women from the Botnia Study. It was reported that the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality was respectively increased by 3-fold (p<0.001) and 1.8-fold (p=0.002) in subjects meeting the clinical criteria of the Metabolic Syndrome emphasizing the relevance of assessing in clinical practice, the presence of the Metabolic Syndrome.” (A definition of p-value.)
The interesting thing is that many of these characteristics are modifiable by lifestyle changes, changes I’m trying to make. And it’s important, too; this study suggests that “five lifefestyle factors (cigarettes smoking, being overweight, taking little moderate to vigorous physical activity, no light to moderate alchohol intake and low diet quality” can markedly increase mortality. In fact many studies at Fitness Rocks (an excellent, physican-run podcast site) suggest that exercise is medicine. It’s as simple as that.
One person who gets his exercise is Matus Valent, which is appropriate since he’s a fitness model. We haven’t seen much of him so here’s something for eye candy and inspiration:
(What does he inspire you to do?)
Nobody guessed
February 28, 2009 at 10:41 pm | In Cute Guys, Exercise | 2 CommentsTags: Exercise, Matus Valent, Roman Sebrle, walking
Perhaps this will be a good clue:
Still nothing? Well don’t feel bad – nobody guessed who the new obsession lad is so (drum roll) I’ll have to tell you. He’s Czech decathlete Roman Šebrle (SHEB-ruh-leh) and he’s a fantastic athlete. He has set the record for the number of points scored in the decathalon – 9,026 points and he was the first competitor to score over 9,000. He won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. In this last Olympics, however, he only came in sixth. A panel of experts convened by the Wall Street Journal in 2008 ranked him as the world’s greatest athlete.
The article in the WSJ says “The Czech decathlete could jump over Shaquille O’Neal. He could throw a 16-pound ball the length of a 53-foot yacht. From a running start, he could leap over a two-lane highway. Mr. Sebrle has ideal size, according to physiologists, and expertise over a range of athletic pursuits, employing the speed of an NFL back and the vertical jump of an National Basketball Association forward. Some judges questioned whether Mr. Sebrle could withstand a tackle by an NFL lineman, but none questioned his talent in the 10 track and field events that make up the decathlon. He has won Olympic gold and silver medals for the Czech Republic and is the current world champion.”
Here’s a really nice (but oddly quiet) video of this handsome and inspiring guy and his various skills:
A varied and tiring week
This past week was very varied. I started off really good on my diet, had a hogzilla day Wednesday, really good Thursday, Jr. Hogzilla Friday and so far today pretty good. As promised I will put up the auxiliary pages this weekend. I think did pretty well at the gym but by the week’s end I was really tired out quick – perhaps it was the heat that did it, and the relative lack of eye candy as a motivator. I’ve been trying a new strategy – I increase the speed I walk bit by bit until I’m going great guns, then drop it back and then ramp it up again. I’ve been very proud of myself getting myself quite quick, but when I tried to get my 60 minutes back on Friday, zip. I crapped out at 30. Maybe it was the heat. I also need to get back to the weight-losing room; I’ve set Monday as my target to do that. Today, since I mistimed everything, I didn’t get to go so I expect I’ll need to go tomorrow just to stop my knee seizing up. If I skip too many days, I’m all right walking but manomanoman does it hurt to get off the treadmill. I can’t describe how it feels, just maybe imagine one little tendon bearing all your weight, especially as I’m getting down and my bad knee is bent. It is really hard to endure.
To be honest with you, I’m getting a little down on this process, I don’t seem to be seeing results as fast as I’d like, sometimes, I don’t see them at all. And I know the problem. It’s not the output at all. I’m sick, though, of my knee hurting all the time, of wondering “if the house catches fire, could I run out?”, of constantly wondering if I can make it to the shop or through the shop or to the car or wherever without my knee hurting or getting puffed or whatever. I need a breakthrough, a win, to keep myself motivated.
Or I need to dig deeper and find the motivation in myself. That’s partially why Mr. Š. will be my ‘obsession’ for a while; genetics could only take him so far. Sometimes I miss having Neal (personal trainer), but other times I think – well, it was just a charade. I am finding myself wondering more and more if a treadmill here wouldn’t be a partially good idea, for weekends or ‘rebellion’ times, but I just don’t know. I mean, the world is outside my door still, our neighbourhood has paved streets and sidewalks, right? (I just like having the arms of the treadmill to lean on when my back gets tired, or just I feel like it.) Again, I’m finding reasons external to myself and solutions external to myself and nearly always, some gadget or thingamajig that seems like the key to the solution to the problem, proves to be only as good as the grit in the person using or avoiding using it.
More to come; I’m making rasin bread tomorrow – or I am if I have enough butter for the recipe. I can be a little disorganized.
I should just relax
like this other representative from the former Czechoslovakian republic, this time from Slovakia (they grow ‘em good in Central Europe) Matus Valent. This was the first picture I ever saw of him and doesn’t he look the epitome of sexy slumping (until you look a bit closer and realize that the pose he’s in is really unnatural and hardly relaxing at all.)
(It’s like he’s trying to tell you something….)
Bob swallowed a big load
February 22, 2009 at 11:05 pm | In Cute Guys, Exercise, Health | 2 CommentsTags: Bob, Chris Evans, Exercise, Matus Valent, obesity, walking, weight loss
Yes, Bob swallowed a big load this weekend; our friends’ dining room table fit in the back quite well. I was really pleased.
But first, to catch up…C and I found some of the data my counsellor asked me to…
How many fat and old people do you know?
Probably not many, based on what we found. See, my counsellor noted that I’m utterly terrified of general anesthetic because ‘I could die.’ (We were discussing bariatric surgery.) He says, and I see his point, and am trying to follow it, that I should regard overeating with the same concern, alarm even, as I do other dangerous things. It is more lethal to me than many of the things I do on a daily basis (drive fast while texting or searching for information on the net on my iPhone) or fear greatly (having general anesthetic). Since I respect evidence and facts (it was evidence and facts that got me flying without fear, in fact, with real eagerness) he thought some research into the facts and evidence would be a good thing. So here’s today’s true facts about true risks of being overweight or obsese:
Reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association and the Annals of Internal Medicine, the studies found that obesity is of particular concern for younger adults in their 20s and 30s. The risk is greatest for obese African-American men, who stand to lose about 20 years of life, even after accounting for smoking.
(http://www.alive.com/5419a16a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=151)
I’m not African-American but twenty years is a long long time. Then there’s this:
CHICAGO — Being obese at age 20 can cut up to 20 years off a person’s life, with the biggest impact on black men, according to yet another study that underscores the long-term dangers of being overweight.
The research appears in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association and was released a day after another study that said that being fat at 40 shortens a person’s life by at least three years.The JAMA study, led by University of Alabama at Birmingham biostatistician David Allison, found that life expectancy for 20-year-olds with a body-mass index of at least 45 is 13 years lower for white men and 20 years lower for black men, compared with people of normal weight.
Body-mass index is a height-to-weight ratio; 30 and above is considered obese. A person who is 5-foot-4 and 262 pounds would have a BMI of 45 — and look like a sumo wrestler. But millions of Americans are that fat, Allison said.
The life-shortening effects were found to be lower for 20-year-old severely obese white women (eight years of life lost) and black women (five years lost).
In Tuesday’s Annals of Internal Medicine, Dutch researchers presented data on about 3,400 mostly white, middle-aged Americans. The researchers found that being overweight at 40 is likely to reduce life expectancy by at least three years — as much, they said, as smoking cigarettes. Obese, or severely overweight people, lost even more years — about six or seven.
The JAMA study was based on an analysis of nationally representative surveys of more than 14,000 Americans.
Life-shortening effects were less dramatic in people who were less obese.
Thirteen years is also a long time. That’s far too long for C to be alone in the world without me to take care of him, for him to be sad and alone and ME NOT ABLE TO DO SQUAT ABOUT IT, which is what really horrifies me. And then there’s this:
Large decreases in life expectancy were associated with overweight and obesity. Forty-year-old female nonsmokers lost 3.3 years and 40-year-old male nonsmokers lost 3.1 years of life expectancy because of overweight. Forty-year-old female nonsmokers lost 7.1 years and 40-year-old male nonsmokers lost 5.8 years because of obesity. Obese female smokers lost 7.2 years and obese male smokers lost 6.7 years of life expectancy compared with normal-weight smokers. Obese female smokers lost 13.3 years and obese male smokers lost 13.7 years compared with normal-weight nonsmokers. Body mass index at ages 30 to 49 years predicted mortality after ages 50 to 69 years, even after adjustment for body mass index at age 50 to 69 years.
Conclusions: Obesity and overweight in adulthood are associated with large decreases in life expectancy and increases in early mortality. These decreases are similar to those seen with smoking. Obesity in adulthood is a powerful predictor of death at older ages. Because of the increasing prevalence of obesity, more efficient prevention and treatment should become high priorities in public health.
http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/abstract/138/1/24
A loss of 5.8 years is also bad, and this was the lowest penalty associated with obesity I’ve found. In fact the only site I’ve found so far to contradict these data is the clearly biassed “Center for Consumer Freedom” which is funded by the food industry (not that they’re keen on telling people the names of the companies that support their silly denialist crap. I won’t give the link to their ‘data’ as I don’t want to drive traffic to their site.
So what has all these data done for me
As usual the week started off dismally, got better, and ended on a bad note. I made a great roast chicken tonight from Chef Keller of the French Laundry’s recipe, and it was really good, but for lunch we had burgers and milkshakes. Yesterday I made a glutton of myself at our good friends (once Bob disgorged his load) house, but at least I did some intense walking. (I’m alternating sixty minute days with shorter but faster walks; Saturday I got the fastest I’ve done so far, albeit only for one minute. I’m following the advice given in Body For Life. So that was okay, I guess. Comme ci, comme ça, as it were. I expect to have ‘held steady’ this week, but starting tomorrow (it’s always tomorrow, eh, Annie?) I will do better. Partially because I’m going to add two new pages along the top (up there) to log my intake (Weight Watchers points) and output (exercise, cardio and strength) and results (change in weight – still too vain to list actual weight but change is okay).
Other stuff
I did have a good vibe yesterday; I’d ordered some work trousers, some jeans, and some training trousers, and have to send them all back as they are too loose. That’s what comes of using my last order as a basis for it. That made up for buying two shirts I could have sworn would fit which were too short.
We went to mum and dad’s house to check on it while they’re in Florida. I’m a little peeved that despite some very very very unsubtle hints, they’ve not made any offer to C and I to use the Florida condo they’re buying for our summer vacation. We’re looking at either Utah to see the extraordinary scenery or the Carolinas (since not Florida) but if we do a beach vacation I would really like to get a house with a pool as C and I both like swimming in pools as well as the ocean…C actually prefers it I think. There’s tons of condos with pools, and we do go after season (after the kiddies are back in school) but I wonder how many people we’d have to share the community pool with. We’re both very shy, not that anyone’s ever been horrible to us. But if I took off my shirt people may go blind or I’d be arrested for bringing the human body into disrepute.
I baked two loaves of wheaty artisan bread today; but they didn’t rise much, so I’m hoping that their density will be matched by a good flavour. Or that the birds will like them.
A note:
K: I overreacted yesterday evening. The kids were enjoyable at the end of the evening. Perhaps it was the subject matter at dinner. And the ‘pea picker.’(Those who need to know will know what I mean.)
A farewell
Yes, this is our last day with sexy Chris Evans, as I’m going to obsess on more inspirational guys for a while. Can you guess who it is, above? (A hint: His country was once much nearer to our mini-obsession Matus Valent’s country, but some soft fabric intervened.) Do you think Chris will get over it? I hope so; here are some pictures to keep him gentle on your mind as you wrack it for the identity of the newbie…as always, click on the thumbnails to make him grow before your very eyes…
And here’s Matus, in Motion
I wonder if this will help to jog your memory about where our new obsession may be from and who he may be…
(Does it jog anything besides your memory?)
Somewhat displeased with myself
February 17, 2009 at 5:00 pm | In Cute Guys, Exercise | 4 CommentsTags: Exercise, Health, Matus Valent, walking, Weight, weight loss, Weight Watchers
I’m somewhat displeased with myself.
Today I weighed myself. I’d lost 0.4 lbs after two weeks’ doing pretty much what I damned well pleased. Including some exercise. Not a whole lot but some.
So I entered this into Weight Watchers’ site, and had the ‘brilliant’ idea to go back to yesterday and enter all my intake for that day. See, today’s Tuesday and Monday is the day my WW week starts. So I did. I entered the sensible breakfast, generous lunch, FOUR CADBURY CREME EGGS, and pizza.
I ate all my points for the day, and all my ‘bonus’ points for the week.
To top things off, today as I was heating my lunch, I ‘just happened’ to notice some cake left in the office fridge. And ‘just happened’ to eat four slices of it. I imagine that takes care of the next two weeks’ points as well.
So I’d better hit the treadmill, right?
Well, I didn’t go Friday, or Saturday or Sunday or Monday. I’m not making any excuses but I hate to go when I feel I need to be available to C to take him out and about on errands. After working out the last thing I want to do is hit the stores. I wish sometimes he could go by himself. Or that I would feel peppier after exhausting myself.
Tonight I’m at my counsellor so no gym, and tomorrow I have an appointment so same thing.
So I’m disgusted with myself and frustrated with myself, and aware that something has to change. I just don’t know what or how. My counsellor suggested I stop BS’ing myself and that I stop feeling sorry for myself. No whining that it’s mummy’s fault or that daddy’s to blame.
That doesn’t help when you’re living with the aftermath, when your stomach’s full of sugar and flour and disappointment, and feeling bloated. And your back hurts from holding it up.
And you’ve failed yourself.
Any advice, anyone?
Perhaps I should read my way out of this mess, I wonder if Mr. Valent’s book has any worthwhile suggestions?
(Even he’d give up on me and why not, when I give up on myself? At least C won’t, thank God)
(Hey, this is supposed to be a funny little ending piece. I’m not up for it, today. Sue me.)
So What’s New With You…
January 25, 2009 at 11:36 pm | In Cute Guys | Leave a CommentTags: FiOS, Heritage Honda Westminster, Honda Pilot, Hyundai, Joe Ski, Matus Valent, Nissan, Subaru
…scooby-doo?
Well, in the Angloam-C household a lot is new. Firstly we’ve got all our TVs hooked up to FiOS and I love it. We have a multi-room DVR and clear sharp pictures on all our screens. It seems to be faster on the internet than our old cable modem was so we’re happy about that. I’ll do my best to make the blog updates come quicker, I promise.
What else…uh, lessee…we did buy a new car. Yes, we traded in our beloved ‘07 Toyota Avalon Limited with all the bells and whistles, for an ‘09 Honda Pilot Touring with all the bells and whistles (except a for-us-useless rear DVD player). It’s silver in colour, because, well, every car I’ve ever bought new has been silver and it sure is shiny. I like driving it, although it was hard to get used to the height at first. The seat seems a little narrower than the Avalon’s and the ride is a bit less floaty, but the cargo compartment is huge, especially since I don’t think we’ll ever use the third-row seats.
We had looked at the Pilot and the CR-V from Honda; the RAV-4, the Venza, and the Highlander from Toyota; the Forester and the Tribeca from Subaru; the SantaFe and the Veracruz from Hyundai; and the Murano from Nissan.
- CR-V: The car is comfortable but a bit small for me.
- RAV-4: I hated it. I felt like I had to hang on to the steering wheel to stay in my seat. Perhaps I hadn’t adjusted the seat properly. I also didn’t like the rear tailgate swinging out; it seemed it would be a problem in a tight parking lot.
- Venza: I really liked it but it wasn’t different enough, somehow, from the Avalon, to warrant buying it. It’s basically an Avalon station wagon. It may be our next car, though.
- Highlander: I liked it, but the Toyota dealers wouldn’t come down enough in price.
- Forester: It is fun to drive. It really is. But there wasn’t enough leg room for C and the engine is a bit loud and growly. But it corners on rails.
- Tribeca: I couldn’t get the seat low enough to where I didn’t feel the steering wheel wasn’t around my bellybutton. I did like that we didn’t have to pay extra for a third row of seats. I should note that I have a great deal of fondness for Subaru’s cars.
- SantaFe: I was suprised by how nicely this car rode; very smooth and comfortable and the price is certainly good. For a smaller SUV it’s very roomy. But it was ‘rare’ according ot the dealer to find one with navigation.
- Veracruz: Not bad, not very different from the SantaFe, and again, nobody seemed to have one with navigation.
- Murano: Oh, how I wanted to like this sexy car with the continuously variable transmission and the gorgeous styling. However, when I got in it, I bumped my head because the rake of the window glass was so severe. Not good. I can’t drive a car without getting into it and if I can’t get into it without bumping my head, I don’t want it.
So we wound up with the very nice Pilot. When we first tested it I was very reluctant as the previous generation had a very high sill in the door – I had to lift my leg almost as high as if I were doing the can-can just to get out. This one is much different and it’s quite easy to hop in and hop out. There are so many buttons and things to customize and make work just as C and I like. Best thing is I can plug my iPod ito the USB connector in the storage compartment and control it through the audio controls built in. I can even control it with voice commands! For some stupid reason Toyota neglected to put even an auxillary jack into the Avalon we had, so I never ever could listen to my music or (nerdish me) recorded issues of The Economist. And we can haul a lot more stuff for the yard; this year we’d like to blitz the yards and make gardens for our relaxation and leisure and this will certainly make dragging plants and things around much easier.
I will post a picture as soon as I can. I hope it will be serviceable in the coming snow. Here are some ’stock’ photos.
Nearly all the dealers we visited were okay, with two exceptions. One was so far below okay that I wound up wanting to punch him in the face, and one was so far beyond okay that buying from him was much easier than I ever thought it would be. If you want to know about the bad one, I can e-mail you why I found him deceptive, snarky, a smart-ass and a time-waster.
I won’t be so shy about Joe ‘Ski’ at MileOne Heritage Honda in Westminster, MD. He was honest, forthright and got us a good deal we were comfortable with. A decent price on our trade-in too. Because he’s not on commission, he doesn’t have to BS and his was the best price we were quoted. Well, sort of; another dealer actually closer to us (Westminster’s over an hour away) quoted us the same, but we’d already decided to go with Joe because of his way of dealing with us and his reputation. He said he didn’t even know that people on the internet had commented so favourably on him.
Just a Quickie for the Eyes
Here is Mr. Matus Valent, caught behind some blinds. I think the photographer did an excellent job capturing the play of light on his body, don’t you?
(Wouldn’t you like to be a shaft of light, playing on his body, right about now?)
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