Taking Control: In the Beginning: "Okay today was kinda lazy day settling in to the new regime and I must say it was not bad. I weighed this morning and i came in ..."
I look forward to following your experience in this. I was diagnosed one year ago with type 2 diabetes. I am on metformin, and I found myself gradually losing weight, just between the metformin and trying to eat at first to not spike my blood sugar and then after my diabetes was largely under control, just trying to eat sensibly. And, since June, getting a bit of exercise running for the train.
I've lost 44 pounds this last year which works out to about 2 dress sizes. I only weigh myself every 3 months, when I visit my doctor. I don't really trust bathroom scales after had a terrible experience with then while pregnant.
I don't mind being fat. I have never lacked energy, and aside from the diabetes, I have been generally healthy. But diabetes is a progressive disease and fat makes it worse. The estrogen fat produces increases insulin resistance. Losing weight is a way to turn back the clock on this disease. I think it is like running up the down escalator, buying time and delaying the worst, perhaps delaying it long enough.
Monday, January 03, 2011
Monday, October 18, 2010
So, I was watching the IT Crowd the other day, and I noticed that Richmond has a nose strikingly similar to Kelly's quite striking nose. Noel Fielding, who plays Richmond, has said of his nose that it is a "F---ing weird shape." In all the time I have known Kelly, he is one of the very few, outside of her blood relations, who have a similar nose. So, I was intrigued. I like the Richmond character, and watching Noel Fielding in outtakes of his Richmond scenes made me want to find out more about him.
I have spent my flu filled weekend cruising youtube for his work. He forms half of a comedy duo, The Mighty Boosh, and is a permanent team captain on Nevermind the Buzzcocks and is a stand up comedian. The Mighty Boosh is odd even by my high standards for odd, as is his stand up. I find both absorbing to watch, but his work on Nevermind the Buzzcocks is what really made me sit up and take notice.
This is a game show of sorts where it seems as if nothing more than points are on the line. Two panels of three compete in answering questions, presented by the host, related to the music industry. Panels each have one celebrity, one permanent team captain, and one musician. Celebrities chosen are often comedians. Noel went on as a celebrity, and then filled in as a team captain and then became a permanent team captain. I do not follow the music industry, but the humor, and the dynamic between the players and the host in the show drew me in.
Of course when dealing with performers, you get individuals who have an "external locus of identity" and with those who have been successful enough to get on the show, huge egos of epic proportion--often in the same individual. The external locus of identity renders those individuals vulnerable to criticism and ridicule, while the sizable egos spur them to indulge in making fun of other's short comings, as well as behaviors that richly deserve ridicule.
Much fun is made of those in the industry, and of the people on the panels. Barbs fly fast back and forth, and are part of the pre-written questions as well as the banter. The comedians are well accustomed to dealing with hecklers, but the musicians are not. More than once, Noel took up for one of the others who seem to be wounded by the flying barbs. While Simon Amstell was still hosting, he challenged him directly for such behavior more than once.
Fielding works to include both his team mates, and at times even draws someone from the opposite side back into the game when they start to withdraw after a wounding remark or personal gaffe. It seems to me the humor has grown much less mean-spirited at least when directed toward the people in the studio. It makes it more fun for me to watch.
It also serves as a positive model for inclusive behavior, which we need more of. Drawing people together is harder than pushing them away. Ridicule used to bully people has resulted in a rash of suicides that recently made headlines. We need more examples of how to be inclusive, especially how to be inclusive while having fun. I hope Noel Fielding continues to provide such and example while being a great deal of fun to watch.
I have spent my flu filled weekend cruising youtube for his work. He forms half of a comedy duo, The Mighty Boosh, and is a permanent team captain on Nevermind the Buzzcocks and is a stand up comedian. The Mighty Boosh is odd even by my high standards for odd, as is his stand up. I find both absorbing to watch, but his work on Nevermind the Buzzcocks is what really made me sit up and take notice.
This is a game show of sorts where it seems as if nothing more than points are on the line. Two panels of three compete in answering questions, presented by the host, related to the music industry. Panels each have one celebrity, one permanent team captain, and one musician. Celebrities chosen are often comedians. Noel went on as a celebrity, and then filled in as a team captain and then became a permanent team captain. I do not follow the music industry, but the humor, and the dynamic between the players and the host in the show drew me in.
Of course when dealing with performers, you get individuals who have an "external locus of identity" and with those who have been successful enough to get on the show, huge egos of epic proportion--often in the same individual. The external locus of identity renders those individuals vulnerable to criticism and ridicule, while the sizable egos spur them to indulge in making fun of other's short comings, as well as behaviors that richly deserve ridicule.
Much fun is made of those in the industry, and of the people on the panels. Barbs fly fast back and forth, and are part of the pre-written questions as well as the banter. The comedians are well accustomed to dealing with hecklers, but the musicians are not. More than once, Noel took up for one of the others who seem to be wounded by the flying barbs. While Simon Amstell was still hosting, he challenged him directly for such behavior more than once.
Fielding works to include both his team mates, and at times even draws someone from the opposite side back into the game when they start to withdraw after a wounding remark or personal gaffe. It seems to me the humor has grown much less mean-spirited at least when directed toward the people in the studio. It makes it more fun for me to watch.
It also serves as a positive model for inclusive behavior, which we need more of. Drawing people together is harder than pushing them away. Ridicule used to bully people has resulted in a rash of suicides that recently made headlines. We need more examples of how to be inclusive, especially how to be inclusive while having fun. I hope Noel Fielding continues to provide such and example while being a great deal of fun to watch.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Not a Lazy Saturday
Well, it feels like a lazy Saturday, because there are no deadlines, nothing that needs to be done at any set time, but we have in fact not been lazy. Kelly started this morning repacking the faucets in the bathroom. I then scrubbed the tub and sink with Ajax and Kelly followed by scrubbing with another cleaner and bleach. I think that we have begun to scrub the enamel off, so white or not, we are done scrubbing.
Lunch was a "nutrition feast" as my daughter enthusiastically dubbed it. Sardines in tomato sauce, a tapenade made of black olives, green olives, avocado, tomato sauce from the sardines (with some bits of sardines) and capers, served on saltines topped with slices of avocado and olives with fresh green pepper strips on the side. So we have had our dose of Omega 3 fatty acids today.
I have done some dishes and am letting the next set soak. I think soon I will make concord grape juice. Not lazy, but not hurried makes for a nice day.
Lunch was a "nutrition feast" as my daughter enthusiastically dubbed it. Sardines in tomato sauce, a tapenade made of black olives, green olives, avocado, tomato sauce from the sardines (with some bits of sardines) and capers, served on saltines topped with slices of avocado and olives with fresh green pepper strips on the side. So we have had our dose of Omega 3 fatty acids today.
I have done some dishes and am letting the next set soak. I think soon I will make concord grape juice. Not lazy, but not hurried makes for a nice day.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Happy New Year!
I sit here, having just rang in the new year with kisses and good wine listening to Auld Lang Syne. And, as I do, I looked up the lyrics and the meaning behind them and explained it to my husband. My son and daughter are still up and happy, and my girlfriend is sitting beside me typing away. It doesn't get much better than this.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Sunday, July 06, 2008
hanging a door is hard
Today we hung a door. Getting the job done was a whole family effort. David did not do much work, it is true, but he was very cute and that helped to inspire us to keep going. Loren did much picking up and gophering. Vernon provide meals, advice, humor (often at the same time as advice) and did major demolition. Kelly did the wiring and rough carpentry and I did design, finish carpentry, and much trimming. I cut bead board Friday and Saturday, and today, I chopped the studs to length and mortised the hinges and generally assisted in getting the door hung.
Mortising hinges without a jig is fiddly. I marked the layout with exacto knives. Then, I used a laminate trimmer with a 5/16th inch straight bit to remove most of the stock and finished with an exacto knife and a 1/4 inch chisel. I sharpened the exacto and the chisel between mortise with an extra fine diamond whet stone. I love not needing to find the oil. I love how fast the material is removed, and I love how quickly I can get a sharp edge. There is a reason experts use jigs to layout and to mortise. It took us all day to get that door up.
We are redoing a bedroom in an addition to a house originally constructed in 1938 or 1940, depending on which documents you believe. Noting is square or plumb, except our new door and the wall it is in.
Mortising hinges without a jig is fiddly. I marked the layout with exacto knives. Then, I used a laminate trimmer with a 5/16th inch straight bit to remove most of the stock and finished with an exacto knife and a 1/4 inch chisel. I sharpened the exacto and the chisel between mortise with an extra fine diamond whet stone. I love not needing to find the oil. I love how fast the material is removed, and I love how quickly I can get a sharp edge. There is a reason experts use jigs to layout and to mortise. It took us all day to get that door up.
We are redoing a bedroom in an addition to a house originally constructed in 1938 or 1940, depending on which documents you believe. Noting is square or plumb, except our new door and the wall it is in.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Can't breathe
Breathing is not overrated. With every breath I can feel stuff shifting around my lungs. Sometimes, I cough it up. I feel weak and I can't concentrate.
Obsessing over blood pressure
I am sick, I have been fighting bronchitis since before memorial day. Last Thursday at 4:00 pm, just three days after finishing off antibiotics, it flared up so bad that I decided to go back to the doctor. I hate going to the doctor. I have not gotten a primary care doc since we moved. I hate vetting a doctor.
I have an allergist and an OB/Gyn, and since I don't currently have any other health issues I want a doctor to monitor, I have not been in a hurry, mainly because I am obese and healthy. I don't have high blood pressure, diabetes, etc., which is very hard for some doctors and even more nurses to understand. I will likely get diabetes, but high blood pressure is not so likely with my family history.
It is dangerous and unpleasant to be treated for high blood pressure when one doesn't have it, as I have seen with my mother and husband. Both have chronically low blood pressure and are overweight. He often has high blood pressure when it is measured at the doctor's office because he is in so much pain from the trek to get to the doctor, and from fibromyalgia generally, but if his blood pressure is measured early in the day it is low, 105 over 70 being fairly typical for him and it gets lower at times. He also has a heart rate of 50 or so too and a cholesterol level of ten. To many doctors, this is offensive. How day a 300 pound man not have high blood pressure! And ten must be a test error! The highest they have ever measured his cholesterol is 32. He new the test was coming and he ate eggs every day to try to get the number up. Recently an idiot from the VA gave him an alleged migraine preventer which has a primary purpose of lowering blood pressure. Vernon told him that he struggles from low blood pressure, not high, but the doctor convinced him to try it.
The next morning, I could tell something was seriously wrong. Fortunately I was working from home that day, trying to fight this damn bronchitis. I made him call the doctor's office. He said he felt light headed. He appeared sluggish and his speech seemed mushy. The nurse was alarmed and advised him to drink lots of water and if it did not clear soon, I was to take him to the ER, as it seems his blood pressure may be "crashing." The water seemed to help. It took until late the next day for him to get back to normal. Not all doctors in the VA are incompetent, and a week after the incident someone finally read the pertinent parts of his chart, and called to apologize for letting the other, more senior doctor nearly kill him by prescribing that medication.
So, I sit here temporarily feeling nearly human from having taken a whole slough of pills. I thought I was going to fell better today, but no such luck. It feels like I will be going to sleep soon, so maybe that will help. At least my blood pressure was convincingly normal at the allergists office. The time before they told me I had high blood pressure and had in my charts a blood pressure of 180 over 120. I don't recall it ever being read that high, so I wonder where they got that reading. If it reads over 140 over 80, I usually make them take it a second time and pay attention to the cuff size and position. I have never had two consecutive high readings when I felt ok. Readings like 115 over 65, 120 over 70, which are the last two readings, are typical for me. They have backed off on the high blood pressure nonsense once more.
Now I wish I could get this bronchitis to back off.
I have an allergist and an OB/Gyn, and since I don't currently have any other health issues I want a doctor to monitor, I have not been in a hurry, mainly because I am obese and healthy. I don't have high blood pressure, diabetes, etc., which is very hard for some doctors and even more nurses to understand. I will likely get diabetes, but high blood pressure is not so likely with my family history.
It is dangerous and unpleasant to be treated for high blood pressure when one doesn't have it, as I have seen with my mother and husband. Both have chronically low blood pressure and are overweight. He often has high blood pressure when it is measured at the doctor's office because he is in so much pain from the trek to get to the doctor, and from fibromyalgia generally, but if his blood pressure is measured early in the day it is low, 105 over 70 being fairly typical for him and it gets lower at times. He also has a heart rate of 50 or so too and a cholesterol level of ten. To many doctors, this is offensive. How day a 300 pound man not have high blood pressure! And ten must be a test error! The highest they have ever measured his cholesterol is 32. He new the test was coming and he ate eggs every day to try to get the number up. Recently an idiot from the VA gave him an alleged migraine preventer which has a primary purpose of lowering blood pressure. Vernon told him that he struggles from low blood pressure, not high, but the doctor convinced him to try it.
The next morning, I could tell something was seriously wrong. Fortunately I was working from home that day, trying to fight this damn bronchitis. I made him call the doctor's office. He said he felt light headed. He appeared sluggish and his speech seemed mushy. The nurse was alarmed and advised him to drink lots of water and if it did not clear soon, I was to take him to the ER, as it seems his blood pressure may be "crashing." The water seemed to help. It took until late the next day for him to get back to normal. Not all doctors in the VA are incompetent, and a week after the incident someone finally read the pertinent parts of his chart, and called to apologize for letting the other, more senior doctor nearly kill him by prescribing that medication.
So, I sit here temporarily feeling nearly human from having taken a whole slough of pills. I thought I was going to fell better today, but no such luck. It feels like I will be going to sleep soon, so maybe that will help. At least my blood pressure was convincingly normal at the allergists office. The time before they told me I had high blood pressure and had in my charts a blood pressure of 180 over 120. I don't recall it ever being read that high, so I wonder where they got that reading. If it reads over 140 over 80, I usually make them take it a second time and pay attention to the cuff size and position. I have never had two consecutive high readings when I felt ok. Readings like 115 over 65, 120 over 70, which are the last two readings, are typical for me. They have backed off on the high blood pressure nonsense once more.
Now I wish I could get this bronchitis to back off.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)