I have been using hand weights and doing toning exercises for the past few weeks.  I am sure I am building muscle.

I know I used to think vegan meals would be tasteless and dry.  I have since learned that is definitely not true.  We tried another vegan restaurant tonight (Naked Sprout in Burlington), for one of our vegan meals this week.  We liked the restaurant ambience and the food, although Logan wouldn't eat anything, not even the dessert (which we ate before I remembered to take a picture).

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-11-11/fatty-foods-addictive-as-cocaine-in-growing-body-of-science.html

This is a post from Linda the Director of Eco Losers (the film) in relation to Heather's post about being addicted to Food.   I thought this article showed a lot of information about this subject.   There have been recent studies that have shown that even watching tv commercials for foods that people are addicted to will stimulate the part of the brain that is correlated to the addiction centre and have the same affect.  Sometimes it's not a matter of willpower to stop eating some of these addicted foods.   The pain of withdrawal could be just as debilitating as the pain of being obese.  The difference is that the addicted person gets instant relief when the food is consumed but then crashes into depression about having consumed that food later.   The more the food is consumed the more the food is craved.   Thus creating a dependency on these foods.   Food manufacturers are deliberately putting ingredients like high fructose corn syrup in products to get people addicted to the food so they will consume more and become repeat customers.   Have you seen the movie Super Size Me?  If you have you would have either been repulsed by the food Morgan Spurlock consumed or you would have immediately wanted to have a Big Mac if you had a junk food addiction to Hamburgers and high fat foods.    If you are an alcoholic and see a drink you can't resist it but you can live without it.   If you are a smoker trying to quit and someone smokes in front of you then you want to have one too.  If you are Food addicted you can't just give up food altogether.  You have to modify your whole lifestyle.   Some people don't have the skills, tools, willpower and support to do this and some people are just so depressed that they have given up trying.    

Heather has been beating herself up for not being thinner and doing better,  but forgets about all the things she has on her plate at the moment.  Life is hard and it's a juggling act.  When you have a million balls in the air something is going to fall.  Usually when you are a mother or caregiver the first thing to go is taking care of yourself.   You do what you have to do to get through your day.    Heather has done a fabulous job at trying to keep all the balls in the air and still lose weight and think about her effect on the environment.   Most people can barely handle one of these things.  

There are so many factors that are involved in gaining weight and not always about the food.   Some people have physical health problems and some people have emotional distress problems and they are dealt with through food as it is easily accessible and acceptable.   But the interesting thing is that being Fat or Obese isn't acceptable but to be able to buy junk food on every corner is ok.  I just walked over to a shiny new MacDonalds across the street that is open 24 hours.  it was jam packed.   I was having a craving for Iced coffee even though I tried to talk myself out of it I went over to get one anyway.   Other than the odd grocery store that is open 24 hours or the odd drug store there isn't such a thing as a Healthy Organic take out restaurant that is open 24 hours.   Gee I wonder why that is?    FOOD FOR THOUGHT!!

I was talking with Paul today about the food vs. pain post and  he pointed out that food can be an addiction. He noted that when you continue to use a substance despite its ill health effects on you, you are an addict. Paul does not have the typical addictions:  he does not drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes or drink coffee. However, he admits to picking up snack food such as chips and overindulging, not caring what it was doing to his body (I have been guilty of this too) in the past.  In overcoming any addiction, you must have a strong will to be free of the addiction and want to enjoy the health benefits (health & environmental) of not being addicted.

It makes perfect sense to me!

I read an article recently about how when a person was overweight and lost weight, they are perceived as less attractive than they would have if they had not ever been heavy.  I know after I lost alot of weight in the past, I was left with stretch marks and flabby skin, in particular my belly and sagging breasts.  This made me feel very self conscious, as I could never be the person who had never been fat because I had the scars of proof on my body.  I lost weight then mainly for my appearance, but now I am losing it for my health, to be there for and a good example for Logan as well as to be a good steward of the environment by not overconsuming resources. 

This is me in 2003, shortly before meeting Paul (not at my fittest, but close).  I had finished losing alot of weight in 1998 and struggled a bit when doing my Master's thesis in 2001-2002 to keep my weight down (it's hard to fit in vigorous exercise when you are trying to finish your work in order to graduate on a deadline and work full time at the same time).  After school was done, I focused on myself again.  But Paul and I got in the comfort zone once we were a couple and both put on the pounds.  Several health problems and 3 surgeries for me made it that much more difficult for me to exercise.  However, I do admit that I didn't eat as healthy as I had or do easy exercises as much as I could have. 

I have had a few older patients recently who are obese.  They live with chronic joint, back and neck pain because of the excess weight they carry.  They seek medical care for relief of pain.  Often it is difficult even to turn over because of body habitus.  When I discuss methods of weight loss, including increasing exercise and eating healthy, they are not interested, as they enjoy their food.  They want a pill or surgery, which come with their own set of problems instead of changing their lifestyle.  It occurred to me that people often choose to live with chronic pain 24-7 for momentary periods of stimulating their taste buds.  Is it really worth it, to live in so much pain?  This is certainly something I will keep in mind as I lose weight and attempt to keep it off. 

Are the long term health effects really worth it for that tasty food?

I used the past few years' worth of my outdoor compost on my one small garden plot this year.  It obviously had seeds in it, as it produced alot of plants, particularly tomato.  My mother and I thinned them out yesterday and planted a few basil with them.  My parsley, dill, lettuce and bean plants came up from last year as well.  If I had known how well the tomatoes would do, I would not have planted so many myself indoors.  I am still working on my extended garden plot, as we are  fencing it in, to keep our canine friend out of it.

Weigh-In Results for Sunday June 10, 2012

Heather:  -1.4 lbs

Paul:        -1.0 lbs

Total Weight Loss to Date

Heather: -42.0 lbs

Paul:       -32.2 lbs

Paul and I have a love-hate relationship with the weekly weigh-ins.  We love it when the number goes down and hate it when the number goes up.  Paul wanted a while ago to not weigh in weekly, but I think it keeps us on track within a shorter time frame.  When Rob Ford changed his weekly weigh-ins to bi-weekly, he didn't do better, rather he gained.  I am so impressed that Paul has lost so much and stuck with it.  He really didn't want to do this, but he is doing very well. 

I tried really hard this week, as my goal for July 1st is quickly approaching.  I think it is going to be hard to achieve a total 50 lb weight loss by then, but I'm going to keep trying.  Just 3 more weigh-ins until then!

Cooking in my sun oven that only requires sunshine to operate!  This is a great option for camping, at a cottage or even in your backyard, as it doesn't require any fuel and doesn't give off any harmful fumes.  It avoids heating up your house with your oven in the summer too.