Nikki -- whew, a blizzard! Glad you are back ok!

Amy -- WTG on the doors!

Things here are a bit blah -- we're all sick. Think we caught something from church. Julia's the bst off. I don't even think she realizes she has a runny nose. Paul and I are worse off -- headaches and noses and coughing and just ugh.

But anyway... some thoughts on recent topics...

On other weight-loss blogs. I'm not really keen on them. They bore me. I prefer fitness blogs that may or may not have weight loss as a side benefit. Because sooner or later, the weight loss has to stop. The fitness can keep on going indefinitely.

Plus there's the unrealistic goal setting (Lose X by Y date) and the emotional haranguing (I'm a failure for not sticking to my diet! Argh!). Neither of these things is something I find enjoyable to read or inspiring in my own journey.

Never mind that weight loss is not a measurable goal in terms of time. If you lose, you lose when your body is ready to do so. It follows it's own timetable of healing.

And that is what I think recovering from obesity is. Healing.

People don't ever say "I'm going to get over this cold in 24 hours!" I find it odd that people say things like "I'm going to lose 10 lbs in 24 days!" or similar.

People seem more willing to let a cold take however long it takes to heal over and make an effort to support the healing process with bed rest, medicine, fluids, etc.

They're not as willing to let their weight loss journey take however long it needs to go and support it with regular exercise, sensible food choices, and talk the encourages rather than erodes self-esteem.

Rarer do I see people setting measurable goals like minutes or miles walked... things that ARE under voluntary control.

Weight loss is not immediately voluntary. You can certainly make efforts to encourage it to happen, but it's not a direct result like deciding to walk.

You decide to walk, you walk, and there it is. Walking! Direct cause and effect. You don't have to wait to see results. They are instantly available any time you care to put one foot in front of the other.

[...]

I think hunger is the best sauce. And the times we've done the fast food thing, it's because we've not planned well and let it go too long and then the urge to eat anything hits. Quickly. And then it tastes good just because we're famished, it's hot, it is immediate, it's filling. For me, esp. crazy -- I get the shakes, headaches the the other typical side effects of a low blood sugar episode.

From past experience I know that fast food actaully tastes horrid when the sauce of hunger is absent. Coats the inside of my mouth with a thin layer of grease that is just awful. And I'm better off planning ahead to NOT let myself get into a low blood sugar episode before starting to think abotu seeking nourishment.

There are no cozy memories for me of fast food eateries representing family fun -- my parents were not big on fast food and any time we had it it was the "make do" option when nothing else was available. Like when stuck in between flights at airports and not having time to seek alternatives.

Paul comes from a different background. For him it DOES represent fun, fast, convinient, no need to plan ahead, type eating.

But even he knows that while the Dollar Menu is cheap, it has hidden costs to health that long run are too expensive to ante up. 30 years old with high blood pressure. Hello too much sodium, too much fat, and the start of the road to heart disease.

Let's hope he's ready to kick the habit.