BITS-O-WISDOM: "Condensed milk is wonderful. I don't see how they can get a cow to sit down on those little cans." --Fred Allen

Thyroid & Losing 10 Pounds

Most know I am hypothyroid and must take supplemental thyroid. Unfortunately it's not easy finding doctors who will work with you on getting the correct dose. Some insist on using blood tests alone which often are not reflecting true health since symptoms can be debilitating like low energy, and dare I say, weight gain. I used to say I didn't think my thyroid meds made any difference in the weight department but I've changed my tune.

A year ago my doc suddenly decided to reduce my dose, (regardless that I felt great on the dose I was on). Slowly my energy dropped, while my need for sleep grew. My weight started to climb, but I blamed this on other things like my sweetie's feeding me like a lumberjack, restaurants, and other joys of fresh romance--or in our case, old love rekindled. After I started to tame the new behaviors and get back on track, that 10 pounds didn't want to budge. No matter that I was eating less and exercising more. I told myself it takes time to get things moving, don't worry, etc., all the things I tell my clients, but after a few months I decided something wasn't quite right.

My body temperature was low, usually under 96 in the morning; I decided to track my temperature and that convinced me my metabolism had likely slowed because my thyroid wasn't doing its job. I was eating basically the same and working to add more consistent exercise which is what has always worked for me in the past. I started that about a month ago, and also got an increase in the meds -- I'm not suggesting anyone should use thyroid meds as a way to lose some weight but if you have a sluggish metabolism it could be either a medication you take is to blame or something is out of whack. Get yourself checked and do your homework.

Getting thyroid meds right is a real game with doctors and lab tests and doctors who won't listen to patients. If this is a concern for see your doctor but if they pooh-pooh your questions or just brush you off get progressive and do some research. There's been a lot of progress in this field. A good place to start is the About.com forum. You'll also find excellent information on thyroid issues from Dr. Rind and his Dr. Rind website.

BiosLife Complete Helps With Weight Loss

Taking Bios Life Complete 10 minutes before a meal helps decrease appetite as the fibers swell and fill the stomach. It also slows absorption of food so decreases blood sugar spikes for diabetics. Those are added benefits since Bios Life Complete is mainly used to reduce cholesterol.

Referenced in the PDR (Physician's Desk Reference)

Now unflavored too, to add to recipes, or the usual flavors, natural (orange tangy-like) or fruit punch. Both are good. Be sure to get the Preferred Pricing here are the easy sign-up instructions.

Easter in February

I saw Easter candy on shelves Feb. 15th, the day after Valentine's Day. That's just silly. Here's a tip: Skip the seasonal aisle, and do not even look any sooner than one week before the big event. You won't have to "try" not to indulge if you don't have it sitting around.

Food by the Calendar: April

April 12th National Licorice Day

Licorice comes from the Glycyrrhiza plant, meaning "sweet root." This plant is very sweet, add a few tiny pieces of dried licorice root to your tea and it'll sweetened it without adding calories.

April 22nd National Jelly Bean Day

Jelly Beans do not come from a plant so they have no redeeming qualities but lots of people like them and sometimes you'll see packages proudly proclaiming they are fat free. Well duh.

When Fat Was Considered Best

"She's looking frail. Martha! Give that girl something to eat."

Yes, time was when being plump was considered best and products were made that said they could "make the thin plump and comely." In these illustrations the "before girl" was a sad thin little thing and "after" she became a plump, sassy lass with her head held high and a certain confidence to her gait.

Apparently the association was about money; thin meant poor while plump meant you could afford the finer things.

Funny how tastes change but face it; some women already had that body style and were admired and revered, while some did not (poor skinny little things). Imagine the anguish the thin woman felt, yet there was nothing she could do to change her basic physique. Today tables seem to have turned (not for everyone but generally thin is most admired) yet we still have people of all shapes and sizes. If we all looked alike it'd be pretty boring.

Accept your height, and find beauty in your unique characteristics--maybe your body will be the one the masses choose next as the ideal?

Kid's Corner

Keep your arms and legs inside the browser at all times. Design a Roller coaster

Recipe Files: Perfect Oven-baked Fries

Yes, I love french fries but cooking them at home is fun plus you get the flavor but not the soaked in fat that comes with fast food varieties.

Oven Baked Fries:

Pre-heat oven to 475 degrees. Slice three medium firm potatoes lengthwise into 3 or more slices. Soak slices in cold water for 10 mins. Pour 3-4 tablespoons of light vegetable or peanut oil (using pork fat increases flavor, use your best judgment) on heavy baking sheet. Sprinkle salt, pepper and other spices you want directly onto oiled baking sheet.

Drain potatoes and mix with wee bit of oil, then sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper and anything else you care to add.

Place potatoes on baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil, bake for 5 minutes. Uncover and bake additional 15 to 20 minutes.

Flip fries over and cook for additional 15 to 20 minutes (time will vary, you can tell when they're getting ready as you won't be able to wait any longer). Flip again if you're a flipping fool and finish baking if needed another 5 to 15 minutes. Skinnier slices will cook faster.

When done, remove from baking sheet (duh) and place on paper towels to absorb some of the oil, then eat them all up or be nice and share.

If dipping in sauce remember the sauce is to enhance the flavor, not mask it. Sauces are usually pretty high sugar/calorie so just keep that in mind.

No, this isn't low cal, but it's good, and frankly if you'd cook at home more often you'd start losing those pounds faster. It's fun, get back in the kitchen. Invite the neighbors, have a luau. Okay, french fries aren't traditional luau food. Whatever.

Fast food fries absorb a lot of oil--homemade not so much. Be reasonable with quantities and you can enjoy all your favorites.

Exercise: Small Bits Far Better than None

Studies show that it's the total duration of time spent exercising, rather than it having to be all at once. I'm starting to use this principal. I've been riding my bike twice a day for 25 minutes, when I can -- that's 50 minutes which frankly you aren't going to see me do all at once. Will it help get me in shape? Stay tuned. This is the fourth week I've been working on getting back to my consistent exercise and so far so good. Here are my recent stats:

• Week 1: 30.86 miles
• Week 2: 37.10 miles
• Week 3: 30.69 miles
• Week 4: 34.23 miles
• Week 5: 38.60 miles
• Week 6: 53.12 miles -- lots more 10 min rides this week
• Week 7: 28.32 miles -- yes, I'm human, just like you

My calorie counter says that 53.12 miles used 1949 calories. That's just fine by me. When I was in my best shape I rode 15 miles a day, over 100 miles a week, so it's no surprise I was in great shape then. You reap what you sow. The idea is decrease your eating habits by a little (skip a latte, switch to non-fat, eat 4 cookies instead of 6, leave a bite now and then, etc.), and add more movement for extra calorie burn.

Bonus, if you do resistance exercises (anything where you push or pull on weight heavier than usual) you'll develop more muscle too. Muscle is active tissue and requires calories, so you'll burn more calories at rest.

Honey & Maple Syrup Storage Hints

Keep your maple syrup refrigerated, but honey can be left out since it is highly resistant to microbial growth because of it's low moisture content and slightly acidic nature. Some use honey on wounds for the same reason.

Whole Grain Lies: How to Tell if it's Whole Grain

Probably not. Our labeling laws are ridiculous. When sugary breakfast cereals claim to be whole grain, we've got a problem. Parents are fooled into thinking they are giving their kids good nutrition. A bowl of oatmeal is good (plain, ordinary oatmeal you cook on the stove), not ground up crap you get in a little envelope. A nice bowl of most pre-sweetened cereals is no different than a cookie or bowl of ice cream for breakfast.

If labels were honest they'd say, "Includes whole grains," not just slap Whole Grains across the label in big letters. Don't be fooled. If you want whole grains, look for either 100% whole grain or read the label.

Read "The Loopholes of Food Labeling," an excellent article on this subject.

Muscle Weighs More Than Fat, The Debate Continues

We all learned in 3rd grade that a pound of steel does not weigh more than a pound of feathers. A pound is a pound, yet angry e-mails continue clogging my in-box. Adults, some with advanced education continue to argue that saying "muscle weighs more than fat" is true.

The sentence is faulty English. If you don't care about using correct language, then fine, I can't argue with that, but if you want to say it correctly add the words "by volume."

Muscle is heavier than fat by volume. A one inch square of muscle will weigh heavier than a one inch square of fat, yes that is true. See the diagrams of one pound of fat alongside one pound of muscle for a visual demonstration. Consequently, the more fat on your body the bigger you'll be.

If you weigh 150 pounds and have 50% body fat, that's 75 pounds of fat, and 75 pounds of muscle, bone, and water. You might wear size 22 or higher. You are round and not likely very healthy.

If you weigh 150 pounds and have 20% body fat, that's 30 pounds fat, 120 pounds of muscle, bone, and water. You might wear a size 12 or 14 and you would be likely healthy and energetic.

If you weigh 150 pounds and have 18% body fat, you'd have 27 pounds fat and 123 pounds of muscle, bone and water. You may wear a size 10 and you'd have energy to spare.

All three examples weigh 150 pounds but the body size would be larger depending on your body fat. If you want to reduce your size, reduce your body fat and gain muscle to add shape, strength and stamina.

Muscle tissue is active, meaning it requires calories so the more muscle you have the more calories you burn at rest. What's that mean? That means you'll burn more calories in your sleep than the other guy who has less muscle, and that's a good thing!

You want to reduce fat and gain muscle if possible. If you can't work on gaining muscle, at least work on reducing fat. Unless you're a skinny fatty (you look thin but carry a lot of body fat like I used to) you're not going to gain weight by trying to build muscle. You may think it's taking longer than it should be measure by the way your clothes fit and how you look.

Get Muscle to Fat

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but your reading time. Get The Daily Bites

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Banana Bunker

Who hasn't tried to take a banana along and ended up with smooshed banana? To the rescue comes, Banana Bunker; a gadget for transporting bananas. Granted, it looks a bit, well, you'll see...

Read my blog post in The Slimming Pool. I can't speak frankly in e-mail (they get filtered at the drop of a hat) but online, hey, I can say whatever I want so look out!

Pole Dancing for Weight Loss

I had my first class last week. All I can say is wow. Bending and stretching, despite my regular activity is still difficult, and no it's not because I'm 50. Good excuse, but I've never been very limber,
without effort.

My instructor, Isis, in Portland, Oregon, is wonderful. She's also got a background in NLP so she incorporates mind/body into the experience. I highly recommend her if you live in the Portland/Vancouver area. Her studio was called "Becoming Juicy."

I also took lessons from the lovely Chalese and she is something else. With her dance background and generally fun self, she gives the most fun pole dance classes anywhere. Chalese teaches the Strictly Pole class at the Becoming Juicy Studio and also other classes at the Pole-Lates Studio in Clackamas Oregon (where they incorporate pilates and pole dancing. Frankly all classes incorporate pilates since you need to incorporate your core muscles to do any of the moves, but it's a cute name anyway. If you take any classes from either, please tell them I sent you (my stage name is Jezebel).

If you saw it on Oprah's show, it's liberating and very good exercise at the same time. Don't be afraid of your feminine ladies. It's very good to be curvy and pole dancing teaches you to be strong and sexy.

FitWear

Jane Fonda started me on the quest to find great looking things to wear while working out. I once had a turquoise leotard thingy that I loved. I wore it to death and haven't been able to find attractive fitness clothes ever since.

Then I saw Fitlee Motionwear, a combination of fabric technology and fashion design that works everywhere, not just at the gym. That's for me since I live in my workout clothes.

~~~Kidnetics - Recipes for Kids

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Supplements in the News: Acomplia Causes Depression

Researchers are still working feverishly to develop that one pill to end all pills: a drug that will help you lose weight. Trouble is those pesky side effects. Apparently in the trials for Acomplia many withdrew from the study due to depression. Of importance is that these people did not enter the trial with depression, so the reasonable conclusion is that Acomplia did cause the side effect, yet researchers tried to brush it off saying it might be because people taking the drug went in with unrealistic weight loss expectations (oh, right) or were more susceptible to depression to begin with. Give me a break.

That seems like a serious side effect that warrants attention not dismissal. Obviously the desire to bring a drug to market is stronger than the desire to keep people healthy.

My main complaint about any weight loss drugs is their cost since the weig.ht lost returns as rapidly as that stray cat you can't keep out of your flower beds. (Hint, do not grow catnip).

Reports also mention that those enrolled in the study were advised to also eat a calorie-restricted diet and exercise. How is that different that what we've all been told forever? It's not.

The pills don't do it by themselves. Costs start at six and half dollars a day or about $230 a month. That's insane and you must continue month after month after month. It's just plain dumb to spend that kind of money and still be told it won't work unless you also eat less and exercise more. Acomplia gets a thumbs down from me.

Acomplia and Obesity

Learn to Spot a Scam: Red Flag Diet Scams

The FTC has put together a great brochure with examples of the various types of misleading copy meant to separate you from your money. If you find yourself wanting these products, you know
you're susceptible to suggestive ads. [sorry link broke] FTC's Red Flag Diet Scams (PDF).

Really Dumb Diet Products

Diet Toothpaste: Why is this so silly? Raise your hand if you want to eat right after you brush your teeth? Anyone? I didn't think so. I suggest just brush your teeth whenever you have a snack attack and wait for 15 minutes. Lots of the time you'll lose the urge to eat. Try EFT too, for that in-the-moment snacking. Right before you eat, do a round or two on how much you want the snack. Not surprisingly, this product is no longer on the market. Need instruction in EFT for weight loss? Get The Daily Bites

Diet Soap: I'm not making this up. They sell diet soap. How do I find these weirdo products? I just type random words and voila! Please note they recommend 12 bars for "best results," so be sure to stock up! Maybe they have a loofa diet?

One More Bite's Weight Loss Articles Archives

Good Food/Bad Food What's Left to Eat?

For Some Fun Read: You'll Never Eat in This Town Again!

Yours in good eating,
Kathryn Martyn, M.NLP