Music Monday-Big and Rich "That's Why I Pray"

One day last week I was driving home from work listening to the Sean Hannity radio program. This particular afternoon, one of his guests was John Rich from the country duo Big & Rich. During the show, they played the new single from the duo. The thing about Big & Rich is that they run the gamut from rowdy and tacky songs to deep, meaningful songs.  That's Why I Pray falls in the latter.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.   PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

If I Can Lose It

Since my last post was about Michael Bloomberg's desire to ban large drinks with sugar in them in New York City, I decided to review a weight loss book that I recently read on my Kindle.  The book is entitled If I Can Lose It...A Middle Age Tech-Fanatic's Extraordinary Journey & Guide-Book For Losing Weight written by Jonathan Ellis.

Quite a mouthful of a title, eh?  Henceforth, I will refer to it as If I Can Lose It.  The author of the book, Jonathan Ellis, is not a medical doctor.  He is a middle aged man, like me, who has always struggled with his weight, like me, who also happens to be into technology, like me.  So you can see how I might be interested in seeing what he had to say about weight loss.

I really liked his style of writing.  It was conversational and humorous.  Ellis is a man who has tried a number of diets over his life time.  Some of which worked for awhile, but eventually he would go back to his old habits and gain all of the weight back and maybe a few more to boot.  Been there, done that!  His goal in writing the book was to take control of his weight loss plan and to do it in a way that would be sustainable in the long term.

So, what is his secret for losing weight?  Consume less calories each day than your body requires to maintain its current weight.  Hardly earth shattering, right?  That is what doctors diet gurus have been telling us for years.  I remember when I was younger, my mom would have a book of calorie counts and when she was trying to lose weight, she would dutifully tally her caloric intake.

Seems like a lot of work to me.  I can easily see why doing that would get old quick, and would not be easily sustainable.  What if there was an easier way to keep track of your calories each day?  That is the driving force behind the Ellis weight loss plan.  His secret to losing weight is by utilizing the MyFitnessPal app on his iPod touch so he can easily track his daily calories.

I have used MyFitnessPal in the past.  It is a great little app.  In fact, I have recently started using it again.  I am discovering a lot of features that I did not notice before that I think are going to be quite helpful in my goal to achieve a permanent healthy weight.  One of the features allows you to enter a recipe so that you can  calculate the caloric content of the food.  I recently added one of my favorite meals that my wife cooks for us.

MyFitnessPal has tools that you can use on the internet or from the app.  It has a place to enter all of your food and exercise daily to track your net calories each day.  I mostly use the app on my smartphone.  It has a great feature where you can scan the UPC barcode on a package and it brings up the nutritional info so that you can add it to your daily diary.  This way, you do not have to try to remember to log it online at the end of the day.  They have a huge database of info.

In the previous paragraph I mention "net" calories.  This is an important part of the app and achieving your goals that I learned from the book.  When you set up your account, you enter your weight, your goal weight, and how much weight you want to lose each week.  That gives you a daily calorie goal.  It is important that your net calories each day not fall below 1200 calories.  That is the minimum number of calories that the body needs each day to function properly.  If you enter a daily diary of less than 1200 calories, the app actually gives you a warning message.

I have to confess that I did not finish the book.  The first half of the book consisted of the main focus of the book, how to take control of your weight loss plan.  It consisted of 11 chapters which shared encouragement and tips for achieving your goals.  When I got to chapter 12, I stopped reading.  Chapter 12 was over half the book and consisted of his daily diary of his quest.  It probably would have benefited me to read it, but I just couldn't bring myself to do.

I can't say that I highly recommend the book because it really didn't break a lot of new ground for me.  I did enjoy parts of it, and I did learn a couple nice tips.  The thing for me is that I know what to do, it is just sticking with it when I get frustrated.  I do recommend the MyFitnessPal app if you desire to lose weight.  I looked at a few others, but of the ones I looked at, MyFitnessPal had the most extensive nutritional database.  Below is my badge at MyFitnessPal tracking my progress to my goal.


 

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

Michael Bloomberg Proposes Ban on Large Sodas

English: New York Mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I know all too well about the obesity problem in this country.  It is a serious matter.  I have chronicled here on more than one occasion my desire to lose some weight.  Last year, I did lose about 25 pounds over a four month period.  Unfortunately, I ended up gaining most of it back and a few more to boot.  That tends to happen a lot to those of us that continuously struggle with our weight.

Currently, I am back to trying to get down to a more healthy weight.  If you put any stock into the BMI charts or ideal weight charts, the I need to lose about 50-60 pounds.  Currently, my BMI is 32.5, which technically speaking makes me obese.  Now, when I look in the mirror, I think I look average, and most people I talk to say the same thing.  That, I suppose, is part of the problem.  Obese has become average.

I think when a lot of us think of obese, we think in terms of those that would be morbidly obese.  You know, the type of people that we see each season on The Biggest Loser television program.  Most of us have not reached that level of obesity.  The fact of the matter is that there are an awful lot of us who consider themselves normal or average that are clinically obese.

The reason that I bring this up today is because of a news story that was all over the airwaves this morning, first on my morning local news and then again on the talk radio station that I listen to on the way to work.  Michael Bloomberg, the Democratic Mayor of New York City, is proposing an outright ban on sugary drinks (sodas, etc) of greater than 16 ounces in restaurants, movie theaters, sports venues, and several other businesses that serve food and beverages.

Bloomberg says that the ban on soft drinks and other beverages loaded with sugar is needed to help with the ever growing obesity problem in this country.  While I agree that in general there is an ever increasing problem with obesity, and I am sure that Mayor Bloomberg has the best of intentions, it is really not going to do anything to remedy the situation.

How do I know that banning sugary drinks will not help with the obesity problem in this country?  All I have to do is look in the mirror.  I can't tell you the last time that I have had a high sugar drink.  I can tell you it has been years.  I have been married to my wife for over 20 years now.  I know that I have been drinking primarily drinking diet sodas since before I met her.  Coincidentally, I have been battling my weight demons for more than 20 years as well.

I don't know what the answer is for the obesity problem in this country.  If I did I wouldn't be struggling with the issue myself.  Primarily, I believe the answer lies in education, though to be honest, I know all to well what to do, but putting it into practice is the issue.  I do know that I do not believe it is the governments job to decide for us what we can or cannot eat.

Related articles

• Fat Forecast: 42% Obese by 2030 (abcnews.go.com)
• Should Doctors Stop Telling Patients to Lose Weight? (drsharma.ca)
• Well, This Is A Problem: Americans Think A Healthy Diet Is Harder Than Doing Taxes (blisstree.com)
• New York City mayor proposes ban on large sodas at restaurants, movie theaters and sports arenas (nj.com)

Long Weekend Ends, Back to School

Yesterday marked the end of the Memorial Day weekend and back to work.  It also marked the end of my son's long weekend home from school.  Normally, his visits of a mixed bag.  It is always good to have him home, but he is a lot of work.  As much as I hate to admit it, I sometimes look forward to his returning to school so things can return to what is the "new normal" around here.  Don't get me wrong, I love having him home and I am sad that he has to go back, but I am also somewhat relieved.

Due to his disabilities, there is a lot more that has to be done compared to when he is away.  When he is home, we usually have to prepare special meals for him because he would only eat certain foods.  Then there is the issue of his still not being toilet trained.  It is not easy to clean up the dirty Depends of a young man that is 5'10" and 145 pounds.  He also has a tendency to take over the television and my laptop whenever he is home.  We have had computers that he could use, but they are older and slower, and don't work too well, so he often sits with me and we play games and watch videos on mine.

As this past weekend came to a close, there was the usual sadness that he was heading back to school.  However, the sense of relief was not as strong.  Some of the past issues that make having him home so difficult were not as intense.  First, after taking him back from his April break he began eating a much wider variety of foods at school.  We were determined to try to keep up the wide variety of food that he had begun to eat at school.  We made sure to prepare a plate of whatever we were eating and give that to him first.  He ate most of what we put in front of him and we only occasionally had to supplement with chicken tenders when he hadn't gotten enough to eat.

Another thing that made this past weekend better for him was that we bought a new desktop computer for him to use.  When he had his First Communion at school nearly two weeks ago, he received over $100 in gifts.  The next morning, I found a basic computer for less than $300 that would provide him with everything he needed to do the things he likes on the computer.  This consists primarily of watching videos on YouTube and listening to music.  Only occasionally did he want to sit with me and do something together on my laptop.

There still were the other issues that we have to deal with.  His toileting is still a problem.  He usually is OK with urinating in the toilet, but the bowel movements are a problem.  We go through a lot of Depends and wipes whenever he is home.  Often, and sorry to be graphic, we have to give him a bath after a bowel movement.  Bathing is another area that he is not able to do on his own.  And of course, for the most part, when he was home the television was on whatever he wanted to watch, which isn't really that big a deal because I usually only have it on for background.

Since he turned 18, his progress once back at school has been remarkable.  In the past 6 weeks he has made a number of improvements in some of his problem areas.  Previously, he only ate chicken wings or tenders and salty snacks.  Now, he is eating a wide variety of proteins and vegetables.  He even ate ice cream, which he had never eaten, right before he came home.  He is starting to take his medications without having to have the pills crushed and mixed with food or drink.  If he continues progressing as he has recently,  I am sure that some of his other issues will be conquered soon as well.

It is funny, as my son was growing up and it was becoming painfully obvious that he would not have a "normal" life, I was determined to keep him with me as long as I could.  I have a friend that I used to work with who also has a special needs child.  We both talked about how we would want to care for our children because we weren't sure how we could trust anybody else to do it.  I no longer have that fear.  My son is 18, and at the age when a lot of kids are starting to thing of going to college and eventually getting out on their own.  Now, I can see the possibility of him moving on to a group home when school is over and I do not fear it as much as I did.

Music Monday-Trace Adkins "Til the Last Shot's Fired:

It is Memorial Day, a day to remember and pay tribute that those who served in our military and paid the ultimate sacrifice to keep us free and safe.  For all who served in all the wars through our history, thanks.
 

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.   PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

First Communion and Memorial Day

I mentioned on Saturday that it was a big day for our family.  It was our son's First Communion at the school he is attending.  I don't think it could have possibly gone any better, though there were a few potential moments.

The First Communion was scheduled to begin at 4pm, but my wife and I were to get there around 3:30 to meet with the folks that helped my son prepare for Communion.  When we got there, the person we were to meet with was not at the chapel.  I headed up to the dorms to tell the dorm personnel that we were going to take our son out to dinner after his First Communion.  As it turns out, that is where I found the lady we were to meet with.

Unfortunately, nobody had told the dorm worker that my son was going to have First Communion, so she allowed him to take a little nap on the couch in the rec room.  They were trying to wake him up to get him ready but he wasn't cooperating.  Like a lot of us, he gets a little cranky when you wake him up.  I walked in and told him we needed to get ready for church, but he told me he didn't want to go.  I told him that if he went to church and had First Communion that we would take him to Golden Corral for dinner and had a surprise for him.  It worked.

I helped him get dressed and we headed down to the chapel.  We were still pretty early for the service, so we were pretty much the only ones around.  When the priest showed up, my son's eyes lit up and he smiled and said, "It's Father!"  He greeted all of our relatives that showed up and waited patiently.  When the head nun showed up he said "It's Sister Jeanette."  We went over and said hello to her and she told us he had been attending church regularly and was very well behaved.  That is a far cry from the first couple conversations we had with her when he first started to attend the school.

During the service he stayed pretty quiet.  He fidgeted a little now and then.  There were a couple times when he put his head on my shoulders and wanted me to stroke his head or his hands.  When it came time for him to take Communion from the priest, he hesitated at first, but took it with some encouragement.  He then said "just one more time" which got a laugh from everyone.  I know that is something he often says when you get him to do something that he doesn't want to do and are trying to get him to do it again.

After the service, we took several pictures.  He received a number of cards and money as a gift for his First Communion.  He got enough money to cover half the cost of a new basic computer for when he comes home from school for the Memorial Day weekend tomorrow.  As promised, we took him to Golden Corral for dinner after the service.  This was the first time that we had attempted to take him off campus for a visit. I was a little concerned that we would have a difficult time getting him back in the car, but there were no issues at all.

Another concern was whether or not he would eat the same variety of food with us that he has been eating at school for the past few weeks.  The concern was short lived.  He told me that he wanted chicken, ribs, potatoes, and corn.  They didn't have ribs, but I got him a plate of bourbon chicken, pot roast, corn, mashed potatoes, and fried rice.  He ate it all.  In fact, he ate a total of three big plates of food.  He also ate some sesame chicken and another style of roast beef with gravy.  The school nurse also emailed us today to tell us that he ate ice cream at school.  Another new food.

We are looking forward to our long weekend home for Memorial Day weekend.  We have plans to attend a couple of Bowie Baysox games on Sunday and Monday.  Who knows?  Maybe he will even go so far as to have a hot dog or two at the ball park.  All I know is that every day we are more and more certain that we made the right choice in having him go away to school, as difficult a choice as it was at the time.

Poetic Justice and an Expensive Lesson

Have you ever been sitting at a traffic light and have somebody in a high powered, expensive sports car next to you or in front of you? They sit there revving their engine showing off and speed away quickly as soon as the light chnages. Or maybe you are driving along and one passes you at some ungodly speed and you wonder just where a cop is when you need one.

There have been so many times that it has happened to my wife or I while we were driving that somebody will tear down the road.  So often, I end up catching up to them at the next traffic light and laugh to myself.  Other times, I hope that they will get what they deserve, like a big speeding ticket or an accident, though I would not want to see anybody get hurt.

This video gives me satisfaction in knowing that some idiot does in fact get what he deserves.  Unfortunately two innocent bystanders are involved in this particular act of karma.  It is also a very expensive lesson for the idiot driver as he ends up wrecking this $225,000 Lamborghini.