Now I understand that most people will totally balk at this article from Prevention Magazine. But I do believe with all my heart that we, as a nation, are foolishly convinced that being 20 to 40 lbs. overweight is what should be a normal weight for us. I highly doubt myself that I could get back to 117 at 5' 6-1/2" that was what I was at Prom time as a senior. But I felt excellent and even after the birth of my first son, I was 123 and feeling really awesome and looking good! Since after 30 I was at times as low as 130, *and still having pizza and Coke and some desserts* I think getting to 132/135 is certainly not impossible, especially when I already had 3 children.

I fear I may only be 5'6" now also.

I never ever starved myself. I can't. I hate being hungry. What I did do though and don't do today is get plenty of fun exercise . . . swimming 5 mornings a week, riding the exercise bike there, some machines (not that many, they bore me) and playing racquetball (which pretty much ruined my knees). I also walked a lot with a brisk pace.

And I ate very well . . . so it can be done. I truly believe it would take me at least 18 months to get back to that type of fitness level.

Look Younger Naturally

Prevention's Anti-Aging Guide

How to take off 10 years or more--and look and feel better than ever

By Andreas von Bubnoff and Joanna Lloyd , Andreas von Bubnoff has written for Nature, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune. Joanna Lloyd writes often on health and medicine.

We used to think our fate was in the cards--or in the stars. Now, thanks to research unlocking the secrets to living longer and better, we know different. It turns out that 70% of the factors influencing life expectancy are due to good choices and good luck--not good genes.

What are the moves that will peel off the years and show you how to look younger? Prevention asked dozens of scientists studying aging, exercise, nutrition, and related fields which changes deliver the biggest payoff. Read on for their picks on how to look younger -- powerful enough to make these researchers adopt them in their own lives.

1. Stay the weight you were at 18

"Next to not smoking, this is probably the most important thing we can do to stay healthy and live longer," says Walter Willett, MD, chair of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Leanness matters for how to look younger, because fat cells produce hormones that raise the risk of type 2 diabetes. They also make sub-stances called cytokines that cause inflammation--stiffening the arteries and the heart and other organs. Carrying excess fat also raises the risk of some cancers. Add it up, and studies show that lean people younger than age 75 halve their chances of premature death, compared with people who are obese.

The government deems a wide range of weights to be healthy (between 110 and 140 pounds for a 5-foot-4 woman), partly because body frames vary tremendously. So to maintain the weight that's right for you, Willett suggests you periodically try to slip into the dress you wore to your high school prom--assuming, of course, that you were a healthy weight at that age. If not, aim for a body mass index of about 23.5.

Willett can't use the prom-dress test himself. Nevertheless, at 6-foot-2 and a lean 184 pounds, he dutifully hews to the BMI of his youth.

Behavior or Personality Traits Can Influence Health

This article is so good that I would like to pass it along . . . it is not just about how it affects our health. Our outlook greatly enhances or reduces the chances of being productive and happy . . . and we ALL want to be happy, right?

*It's all connected* IMHO

Here's the beginning of the article. The link to the entire article is at the bottom. It's really a good read, makes a lot of sense.

Tomorrow I'll post about myself and my progress or lack thereof. Let's face it, it ain't easy to always do the right thing. Pretty much my portions are really a lot smaller or if large, made of salad fixings. It's gonna take time, folks. :-( At least I'm not going backwards and pigging out :-)

7 Thoughts That Are Bad
For You
Our personalities do more for us than determine our social circles. Temperament can impact a person's physical health.

The idea that behavior or personality traits can influence health is one that's been around for a long time. We're just now getting a handle on to what extent they do," said Stephen Boyle of Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina.

From those with a chill demeanor to the completely frazzled types, mental factors are ultimately tied to physical health. And while a highly neurotic person might deteriorate more quickly than others, not every character trait will kill you. Some might even boost lifetimes.

-- Jeanna Bryner

Cynicism

Cynics who tend to be suspicious and mistrustful of others, a character trait that scientists refer to as hostility, may have an increased likelihood of developing heart disease. "These aren't necessarily hot-headed people, but people who are more likely to read into people's behavior as some hostile motive," Stephen Boyle said during a telephone interview.

In a study of more than 300 Vietnam veterans who were healthy at the study start, Boyle found that those who scored high on measures of hostility were about 25 percent more likely to develop heart disease.

Boyle and his colleagues think that hostile individuals might experience more stress, which can cause spikes in an immune-system protein called C3 that has been linked with various diseases, including diabetes. In fact, the participants with higher scores on hostility showed an increase in these proteins while the non-hostile men showed no such increase.

Use this link to read all 7 impact-negative behaviors.

http://www.livescience.com/health/090911-7-bad-thoughts.html

OK, Back to the Business of Losing Weight

It's all attitude and I've got one -- but I take comfort in this thought this morning ---------------->

Started feeling better Sunday afternoon. Monday much better but decided to rest more.

Tuesday morning and I expect to be back to walking and working towards the 2 miles per day goal. Obviously I didn't make it last week.
I had a constant mild headache all week and then kaput! got sick at the end of the week and all weekend.

It is wicked early in the morning and I'll report later in the day how my walking went.

Sick and Tired, Ugh!

Ummmmm, "No!"
Don't do this or you'll never get serious.
Too tired to post. Have been sick all day with fever and aches, etc.
Tomorrow's another day.

WOW! I didn't know that . . . . . . . . . . . And "The Challenge"

Did You Know This?
The Journal of the American College of Nutrition study found that the muscle you lose is replaced by fat. So you really need to keep your muscles working and conditioned.
"A pound of fat takes up 18% MORE space on your body than a pound of muscle does!"
Isn't THAT something!

The Challenge (between Mr.&Mrs.K)
. . . which should have started 'Yesterday'
-or- "Better Late Than Never, . . . !Right!"

After watching Dr. Oz today (Men's Show)
The Dr. Oz Fire Drill
(the link to his page is at the end of this post)

. . . and watching the 3 out-of-shape overweight firemen from Chicago agree to the 2-month diet and exercise program,
we -- *Mr.K & I* --
TOOK OUR WAIST MEASUREMENTS TOGETHER !!! Yikes !!!
I knew that Mr.K's had expanded but he didn't realize by how much and he knew that mine was waaaay out of hand, but I really didn't realize by how much. What a nasty tape measure! It comes from one of those 'handy-person zillion-mile-high-piled-shelves' stores . . . a cheapo tape measure . . .
Surely it can't be accurate! Sigh. It is.

OK, here are the stats, February 11th:
(taken at the 'relaxed' belly button)
Mr.K's waist: 42-3/4 inches
Mrs.K's waist: 45 honk'in, stink'in inches
All those brownies and chocolate chip cookies and pizza and bread and butter and chicken pot pies are right there wrapped around me! (I had not taken my measurements since
I was looking for my wedding dress in
July 2000 -- obviously a huge mistake.)
Imbarazzo!*

Dr. Oz's firemen are supposed to lose
4 inches in 2 months.
We are shooting for this very loss too.
However, I'm certain that neither of us can stick to a purely vegetarian diet which is what these guys are being given (plus their exercise program). I'm much more prone to stick closer to a vegetarian diet but I bet he'll still beat me. But, will he really?

Can We Both Succeed? Sure, Why Not.
But will Mr.K. get more inches off than me? and quicker? We'll see . . . . .
Date for winner of this short-term goal? April 15th
(Perhaps we'll do a measurement or two before then to keep us in line LOL)
I'll keep ya all posted.

Future Goal?
For both of us to get back to our wedding/honeymoon week jeans (2000). Waists were 33.5 in. each. I was in size 10 and 12 jeans and I still have them lovingly tucked away in my bureau drawer waiting for this day. (Might take til the end of summer or longer but I'm going to do this! By gum!)
Ya, Mr.K's a guy, taller and will most likely get there quicker, but I'm determined NOT to let him beat me with this 4 inch challenge. I'll definitely have to get out my zils and the hoola hope, ooops I mean hoop that is against the wall in the garage. Ya, more like 'hope.' LOL How come when I was a kid I could do this thing so many times and over and over ?

_____________________
*Italian for Embarrassment!

Link to Dr. Oz's Fire Drill: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-oz-fire-drill

Note to Self: No more avocados. Sniff '/'

A Recommendation

I would like to recommend Fit Day .com as a great way to track your daily routines. Here is the link: http://www.fitday.com

This is quite similar to Weight Watchers on-line tracking but it is entirely free! Free is good! Save your money for new clothes or a gym membership or a nice day trip.

There is a section for finding out the caloric values (and more) of everyday foods. It is very handy and you can save your find, if this is a food you eat frequently and want to tally up to see where you're at during the day so that you don't overeat.

I love the weight chart and being able to see that line heading downhill LOL

Just thought I'd pass this along to you all. Hope this helps.

You can also write a daily journal in your Fit Day account about your feelings and progress. Writing about your habits and why you do what you do and how it affects your eating may reveal things that you were not aware of that hinder weight loss.

The reason I journal about this is to see how much better I feel eating the right way so that if I'm tempted to overdo and fall backwards into crazy choices and pig out, that I'll remember how awful I was feeling. Our minds and hearts have a way of fooling us, cajoling us, tempting us and clouding our reasoning. Sometimes it's worse than dealing with bratty kids! I also have natives in my stomach that jump up and down!

Tired, Sleepy and Resting the Muscles

You can feel the dampness of the impending storms. This is probably why I've had just a bit of a headache since yesterday. Boy! were the muscles in my butt aching this morning and around the hip area. So I decided to give it a rest. Tomorrow is another day and I'll be more likely to get back out there and be more refreshed.

Rethinking my avocado input. After this bunch is done with, I may not have any for a couple of weeks. Not sure. I should not be eating an entire one, they are full of calories and fat and even though the fat is a 'good' fat, it seems that curtailing high amounts of fat would be the wisest -- at least until I'm into a very good walking and exercise routine that does a good burn. This is still weeks away.

But overall, I'm eating very sensibly and am quite proud of this.

Weight: I don't weigh myself every single day. My weight can vary and why get all down and negative if the scale doesn't budge or goes up a pound. Seems pointless. I weigh about every 3 or 4 days and always on Monday morning.

Mood: Still very positive.