5 Resolutions Not to Make This Year

Here is the list Cosmopolitan.com put out

1. Quit your job and wait for a dream career opportunity to present itself.
Reality check: Suck it up and hang on to your gig for now. Appease yourself by taking a class or picking up a hobby that will make your résumé stand out, like learning a foreign language or starting a blog.

2. Change your man.
Reality check: While some relationship tweaking is to be expected (hey, few guys are natural-born good kissers), if the words "fixer-upper" and "project" could describe your boyfriend, it's time to get real.

3. Triple the number of friends you have on Facebook.
Reality check: Less time stalking your friends' friends' friends. More time catching up with buddies you actually care about.

4. Don't eat any junk food.
Reality check: Cutting out all unhealthy food from your diet will most likely lead to binge eating, followed by intense guilt, by mid-January.

5. Save more money.
Reality check: Let's be honest. In this economy, we're just happy to be able to pay our rent, gas, and credit card bill.

Lisa's 7 Week Jump Start: Week 1 Results

Here are my base line Measurements:

12/30/09

arm: 15.5 in

chest: 48.5 in

hips: 52.5 in

waist: 43 in

wrist 6.25 in

After one week of Jump Start I am down 1.2 lbs.

This is how I did it this week.

1. Sharing my entree while dining out.

2. Not eating fast food breakfast.

3. Making better choices at Taco Bell. Instead of eating "the box" and regular large soda at 36 points. I had the "diet drive-thru" special with a burrito supreme and diet soda for 14 points.

Patterns of Domestic Violence

Charlie Sheen was recently arrested in relation to Domestic Violence claims. Yet, he has had a history of violence against women.

In 2005, while Richards, his second wife, was pregnant, she filed for divorce on the grounds that Sheen had abused drugs and alcohol and threatened her with violence.

In December 1996, Sheen was arrested and charged with attacking a girlfriend at his Southern California home. He pleaded no contest to the accusation, and was placed on two years' probation. That incident followed yet another, six years earlier, when he accidentally shot his then-fiancée, Kelly Preston, in the arm. The couple split up shortly afterwards.

In the case of Charlie Sheen he is a public figure so future wives and girlfriends can look up this information and think twice before getting in a relationship with him.

Yet, in the case of regular women how can we find out about potential abusers?

Here is a list of traits found in abusive people. These are the things we need to look into.

Below is a list of common behaviors that are seen in abusive people. I got these from a web site geared toward men. This just proves that abuse can't happen in any relationship dynamic if these personality traits are present.

1] Jealousy

2] Controlling Behavior

3] Quick Involvement: Many people in abusive relationships dated or knew their abusive partners for less than six months before they were married, engaged or living together.

4] Unrealistic Expectations: Abusive people will expect their partner to meet all their needs;

5] Isolation

6] Blames Others for Problems

7] Blames Others for Feelings: She will tell you, "You make me mad," "You are hurting me by not doing what I want you to do," or "I can't help being angry."

8] Hypersensitivity: An abusive person is easily insulted

9] Cruelty to Animals or Children

10] "Playful" use of Force in Sex

11] Verbal Abuse:

12] Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde

13] Past Battering:

14] Threats of violence

15] Breaking or Striking Objects

16] Any Force During an Argument

Tyra Banks Says Goodbye to Talk Show

After five seasons, two Daytime Emmy awards and too many girl-power episodes to count, Tyra Banks is announcing the end of The Tyra Show.

“This will be the last season of The Tyra Show,” Banks tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I’ve been loving having fun, coming into your living rooms, bedrooms, hair salons for the past 5 years.”
Wrapping at the end of its fifth season in the spring of 2010, it will be lights out for the show that brought viewers memorable weave-exposing, cellulite-revealing and tear-jerking moments.

Well, I think the show ran its course. I felt she said what she needed to say. She had some great episodes, but she also had a lot of random non-informative episodes also.

Slim Hopes

I found this video via the Fat Nutritionist

It seems to be from the late 1990's, but its still relevant today. If anything, the stats might be worse for adolescent girls' self-esteem and disordered eating rates. Check it out and discuss!

Best quote: "it is profitable for women to feel terrible about themselves."

Not Under the Bus: the Fight for Women's Healthcare

Check out the organization that sponsored the ad above: Not Under the Bus.

Remember this: first they went after abortion coverage (Federal money is already banned, this is abortion coverage paid for by PRIVATE MONEY). Next its birth-control coverage (it already is birth-control coverage by most "pro-life" groups, see the Pill Kills) and some efforts have been made to refuse to cover STD screenings and pap-tests. This is not about the babeeez, its about anti-woman, anti-sex, anti-reality based thinking taking over your medical decisions and care.

Second, I'd like to point out that the vast majority of abortions are paid for out of pocket, even by women who have abortion coverage (the stigma is a serious factor for many and not having an abortion "track-record" is a concern for others), but those that are typically covered by insurance premiums are the SERIOUS abortions for reasons like protecting the life and health of the woman. Protecting the health of a woman is NOT protected in the current amendment (Stupak-Pitts). So, say at five months, you find out that your wanted baby is actually a brain dead fetus--you really want kids, but before you can deliver your dead baby, it will go septic resulting in you having to have a complete hysterectomy and no chance at ever having a kid. Oh, but that's the pro-life position because after all, if you were a good Christian woman God would never have punished you with a dead baby (or so goes the wackadoodle fantasy). Bad stuff happens to good people, good stuff happens to bad people, that's just chance folks. Pregnancy and birth are serious business and a friend in medical school (after her genetics class) said that she was amazed any fetuses turned into health babies considering all that can go wrong (half-joking of course). Sometimes abortion is the most moral option--the best health outcome and supporting of a woman's autonomy as a free-thinking human being. The rhetoric of the center, that abortions are awful, sad things really plays into the idea that all abortion at the outset is bad. The fact is, its the conditions around the abortion and the individuals involved, who get to decide if its freeing, sad, moral, immoral, life-affirming, etc. Not you, not me--its the woman, her partner, her family, etc. And especially in cases where abortion becomes seriously complicated due to the above or similar conditions, it becomes really expensive. A woman should have to go bankrupt to protect her fertility and her ability to have children. That is fundamentally what this amendment does--it punishes women for nature's own accidents. Yes, $500 is a pretty big piece of change for a woman in poverty and in many case denies her full humanity. That's why we need to overturn the Hyde Amendment. But the Stupak-Pitts goes even further into erasing the common-sense, life-affirming abortions for those wanted pregnancies that go very very wrong. Its so indicative of how much conservatives really hate women. Its not about the babeez, its about controlling and punishing women for sex, for the capacity to give birth, for not obeying the sperm magic of the patriarchy.

Recommended Reading

This post was from last week over at Pandagon, but "If Its One or the Other"
is definitely recommended reading regarding the healthcare reform legislature currently in conferencing between the House and Senate. I'm with Marcotte on many points, being the pragmatist that I am, and I certainly agree that to totally discount the House as if Liberman rules both chambers of Congress is the current meme in the media to help kill the public option. There is still some space for the public option or at least a trigger for a public option (which could be enacted if insurance premiums aren't down to X by 2014 which would allow Snowe or even Liberman to vote for it as if the trigger was all they wanted all along to give private insurance interests "a chance" to show they can be reasonable...because of course private profits are way more important than public health to the corporcatians).

Anywho, go read, come back and discuss.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it; also, happy solstice, peaceful Kwanza, happy Chanukah & good movie watching to the rest.

Ideal

The above video explores the European ideal of beauty in women over the past five-hundred years or so in the visual arts. Its all white, but then so was much of Europe prior to the 19th Century (with notable exceptions, of course). So, it wasn't just Ruben, lovin' the fatties--plus, notice the relatively small breasts compared to the Victoria secrets models. Plastic Surgery certainly changes what's possible, let alone what is "idea."

Jump Start Update

Here are the changes that I have made in the first two days

1. High fiber breaksfast of fiber one or old fashion oatmeal.

2. Sharing an entree while eating out.

I went to Weight Watchers and got a baseline weight. I weigh 251 lbs. So now we have a starting point for the 7 week jump start.

Well keep you posted!!!

Lisa's 7 Week Jump Start

Well, I have finished my first semester of Grad school. It was grueling and time consuming. I spent 7 hours a week in class, 20 hours a week studying, and 12 hours a week in commuting. I now have a 7 week break before Spring Semester.

I am going to use that 7 weeks to jump start my weight loss and recommit to Weight Watchers. I have mostly been maintaining bigness for the bast 6 months. Now I am going to get on a losing streak. I have decided to use the 7 hours of class time for exercise. I am also going to turn the 20 hours of studying into more sleep town.

I will be chronicling my journey here. I will post my stats on Wednesday.

Meat Garnish: Hmmmm

So, what seemingly revolting combination of foods/drinks do you find oddly satisfying? Share in the comments!

Book Review: What I Cannot Change

I just finished reading What I Cannot Change by LeAnn Rimes and Darrell Brown. It is an inspirational book. It is a perfect gift for someone having a hard time. The first two chapters of the book describe the feelings that LeAnn Rimes and Darrell Brown went through that inspired them to write the song What I Cannot Change. The remain chapters are postings form the What I Cannot Change Website . The postings are broken down into the following categories: Sobriety, Health, Growth, Life, Family & Friends, Depression, and Faith.

This books motivation can also help in a weight loss journey. You cannot change your genetic makeup but you can change what you eat and when you exercise.

Book Review: Sarah the Duchess of York My Story

Sarah the Duchess of York My Story is an excellent book about how low self-esteem can make you lose yourself and set you on a path of self destruction. Even though this book came out in 1996, it still resonates today. Sarah Ferguson really gets deep in this book. She talks about how she stressed to do more for others to avoid looking at herself. She also talks about how being a people pleaser caused her to push her feelings down until the stress and depression all most pushed her over the edge. I feel many modern women can relate to her even if you don't get sucked into a high profile marriage.

Women Veterans

Back from combat, women struggle for acceptance is an article describing the lack of support our women veterans are receiving at home by their neighbors and their government. Below I offer my tips what are some of the things you as a neighbor can do to make it better.

1. If you never have been in the military, please understand that it tough job mind, body, and soul no matter if you severed state side or aboard. Every job in the military from Navy Seal to cook to secretary has the potential to become life threaten if your installation is attacked. This is why all soldiers no matter what job they will do are trained in combat.

2. Not every women near a military installation is there to support her "man" a lot of those women are actually soldiers.

3. Families please accept all your loved one's solider buddies male and female. Even though we known our loved ones. Their solider buddies know them in a way we never can and we shouldn't break up those bonds due to jealousy.

4. Let your women veteran know about VA CENTER FOR WOMEN VETERANS

Tip from KERF: You Cannot Put Frozen Chicken Into a Slow Cooker

Image Found HERE

Kath at KERF mentioned the other day that you cannot put frozen chicken directly into the slow-cooker/crockpot! Apparently, it keeps chicken in the danger zone (40-140 degrees) for too long when on low. She's in an RD program and she verified this with her food safety professor. So, you need to thaw the chicken (preferably in the refridgerator) prior to placing it in the slow-cooker/crockpot.

I love my slow-cooker/crockpot, especially for beans or soups, but there are so many ways you can utilize them to make your life easier and to cook healthy meals for yourself and your family. I could totally see myself putting frozen chicken in the slow-cooker before I read about the possiblity of dangerous bacteria blooming to large proportions, incubated if you will, under the gentle care of the crockpot.

So, dear readers:

Do investigate the wonders of slow-cookers/crockpots if you haven't already.
Don't put frozen chicken in said pots.

Please share your favorite slow-cooker recipe in the comments!

Wait, I'm Confused: 80's Exercise Video or Gay Porn?

So, this video is pretty much hilarious. Its Dolph Lundgren's exercise video from the 80's--but it really doesn't make any sense. I totally stole this, by the way, from The Fat Nutrionist, by the way--so I can't claim to have discovered it first.

So, apparently, its scenes from his action movies intermixed with him advising the viewers to run in place and then stretch. Seriously? Somebody paid money for this as an exercise video? Also, most of the scenes involve him beating up children, throwing women out of the way so that he can kick a bicylist off a running trail, shooting human beings and of course blowing stuff up. I guess those scenes are supposed to get your heart pumping? Also, check out the zinc oxide on the lips in his life-guard scenes and the total homoeroticism of the squats in spandex short shorts (he's waxed everything, including his legs). So, exercise video or gay porn, you be the judge!

HAES Challenged

I don't like fundamentalism of any stripe. When one's ideology gets in the way of evidence-based assessment, you gotta problem in my book. There was a bit of a firestorm last week over a piece written by Lionel Shriver in the UK's Guardian Newspaper in which she details her concerns regarding her brother's obesity. Her brother was very unwell (notice the use of past-tense because he died shortly after the piece was published of cardiac arrest). His obesity was a major factor of his ill-health, though it was not the only factor. He was 330lbs, diabetic, had a compressed spine, high blood-pressure, major bone/joint problems due to an assault and an accident and serious respiratory problems. His weight exacerbated all of these collective health problems.

After detailing his ill-health, she goes on to criticize the Fat Acceptance Movement, especially HAES, Healthy at Every Size. She couches these criticisms in culturally sensitive terms, understanding that:

I have buckets of sympathy for the obese, often subject to cruelty, ridicule, denunciation and contempt. Fatties are the one subgroup you can still make fun of on the BBC and not lose your job. Likewise, I sympathise with their recurrent sense of hopelessness. Dieting is odious and can require years of determination and sacrifice. I entirely understand the impulse to say screw it and have another piece of cake. But the "fat pride community" doesn't want my sympathy. They want acceptance. They want respect.

Respect, yes, for their feelings, for their humanity. But I won't simply accept that my brother is fat. And his only chance at a future is to refuse to accept himself that his weight gain is irrevocable. Nor can I quite put obesity on a par with being black, female or homosexual. While discrimination against heavy people should be illegal (save when fielding, say, job applications to lead tourists up Mount Kilimanjaro), to equate fat with race, gender and sexual orientation is to cast obesity as an unassailable state over which we have no control.

I think that her concerns are valid, particularly when it comes to HAES. Healthy at Every Size is demonstrably not true. Simply look at the images I chose to accompany this post. The first one is the picture of an anorexic woman who is wasted down to bone and sinew. Not only can you count her vertebrae, you could probably see her heart beating out of her back if the image were a video. She is not healthy at that size. If this is true at that end of the spectrum, it is true at the other end as well. I chose the second image, the image of the average looking girl in the mirror (I think she's supposed to be "fat") and the anorexic girl positioned in the real world. The anorexic girl sees fat, I see average, but average is fat according to our thin-obessed media and perhaps our "normal-range" BMI meassurements. She is not healthy, in the real-world view.

There are many aspects of the Fat Acceptance Movement that I like, especially in terms of preventing fat discrimination, particularly in employment and healthcare access. I also think that decoupling obesity from health as the primary indicator is important because it is only a factor, not the sum of a patient's medical history and often times the obese have other conditions overlooked by physicians eager to suggest weight-loss as the solution to everything. So these are good things and I'm on board with that. Also, looking at the BMI, noting studies that support slightly overweight individuals as more healthy than "normal" weight individuals might be helpful to expand "normal." Personally, I'm not trying to be "normal" I just want to be "overweight" not obese. I think I can maintain that.

HAES fundamentalism, however, that would say someone can be healthy at every weight is simply unhelpful. Its also wrong. I think that one of the reasons Ms. Shriver caused such a firestorm was that she was understanding of the HAES movement's political concerns and interests, but she rejected them as a thin person. I'm a fat person, but I'm not self-loathing in my rejection of HAES, I'm evidence-based. I am a very healthy fat person, my blood panels, my blood pressure, my heart, etc. I was on the elliptical the other day and did 2.5 miles in 30 minutes and kept an average heart rate well within a healthy rate. I should be a poster child for the HAES movement by those measures, but guess what? I know that this body--particularly my joints--will not be able to maintain those great stats at my current weight for much longer and I want to be able to exercise, to move and to travel better, so I'm shedding some weight. I'm not dieting per se, but I am dropping some weight because weight does have an affect on what I can do. I'm not trying to say at what weight you can be healthy and still fat, you have to figure that out yourself, but morbid obesity does have health consequences--simple mobility for one.

So HAES fundamentalists, I'm sorry a thin woman pissed you off by writing an impassioned piece about her now late brother. Healthy at Every Size is simply not true, look at the starving girls in this post, look at the man trapped in the house by his weight. These are extremes, yes, but fundamentalists like to overlook the reality of the natural world in favor of ideology. Just with Global Warming Denialism, ignoring facts is to the peril of more than the self--it imperils our ability to have rational conversations with one another.

Peace

Pilates Kitten

This kitten sure does seem to know how to do the pilates move: The Double Leg Stretch, see instructions here.

Okay, okay maybe this was just an evil ploy to be able to post such an adorable video. Seriously though, the double leg stretch is a killer, in the good way.

Here's the double-leg stretch in detail:


Check out the following mat workout for more good pilates action:



I love that there are so many exercise videos online for free now. So, readers, do you use online free sources?

Book Review: Not Becoming My Mother

Not Becoming My Mother by Ruth Reichl is a cute interesting book. At about 105 pages it is a quick read. The book discusses how one woman changes her perception of her understanding of her mother after reading her mother's letters and journal entries after she is dead. The author describes how her mother provided and anti-example of what type of women to be.

This book helped me appreciate my mother a little more. I don't have the best relationship with my mother. There are was no cookie baking and hugs in my house. Yet my mother did produce a good citizen and a good solider. In many ways I live my life as the Soldier's Creed, because that was one thing my mother did well, be a soldier, . So America can be happy for that. So in away, my good citizenship lessons have served me more in my travels then I think cookie baking and hugs ever would have.

This is the sport aid I want: Garmin Forerunner 305

This is the sport aid I want, the Garmin Forerunner 305 with GPS. It does:

• High-Sensitivity, Watch-Like GPS Receiver That Provides Exceptional Signal Reception
• 1 Piece Training Assistant That Provides Athletes With Precise Speed, Distance & Pace Data
• Includes Training Center Software, Which Allows Users To Download Workout Data For A Detailed Analysis
• Used For Multiple Sports Such As Cycling, Cross- Country Skiing & Windsurfing
• Data Acquired May Also Be Analyzed. Which Provides Online Mapping & Route Sharing

Here's how I'm going to get it (it costs $140 at Amazon):
For every workout, at the end of the week I'm depositing $1 in one of my back-up savings accounts. For every month that I've worked out an average of four or more days per week, I deposit an additional $10 into the account. This is primarily a tool for outside conditioning, so the fact that I won't have it until post winter is totally fine. Hopefully, if I work out steadily, I can purchase it in April/May.

Patrick Stewart Speaks to Amnesty International's About Childhood Experiences with Domestic Violence--Very Moving

Yoga to the People

Have any of you all checked out Yoga to the People? They feature free viewable and downloadable yoga classes. I'm going to try out a couple of their classes and report back (once I can breathe normally again, yoga while stuffed up is well...less effective).

Peace

Orchids: Mine Actually Produced FIVE Blooms!!!

Watching HGTV the other day, I learned what my office level is called: Garden Level, that is half way between the basement and the ground level. So, my garden level office has a kind of odd light composition which turns out to be perfect for orchid blooming! My orchid plant produced FIVE BLOOMS a couple weeks ago (with my new camera cord in hand, I can share them with you).

Extreme close-up, kinda O'Keeffe-esque.

After the original bloom fell off, I watered it like a fern, appreciating the greenery, for almost two years, not really expecting more flowers or really understanding the orchid at all. Then last Spring, these sprigs appeared, so I tied them to the stick using floss hoping something might happen and then a couple of weeks ago, one two three four five blooms came in! Stunning, not smelling of anything really, but beautiful to look at. Quite a nice surprise as we descend into winter.

Book Review: How to Lose Your Ass and Regain Your Life

How to Lose Your Ass and Regain Your Life by Kirstie Alley is her book about the year before she did Jenny Craig. It was a very funny book.

She talks about her Cocaine abuse. She talks about the weight loss benefits of the drug. Yet, she really talks about the pain it brings with it, unlike Valerie Bertinelli did in her book. Kirstie Alley says the a Dianetics: The Modern Science Of Mental Health and Scientology got her off cocaine after one session. She also states that it help her get to the root of her weight gain. She says the weight started to come on after her miscarriage.

Well since this book is pre-Jenny Craig we know that something went wrong in her journey since she gained the weight back.

In my opinion, this book is very funny but not very deep. So if you have the time pick it up. If you don't your aren't missing great wisdom.

Food Blogging: Breakfast, Lunch & Snack

Oatmeal today, I brought this Flax Plus Individually packaged oatmeal from Whole Foods. It doesn't have all the sweetners/junk of other individually packaged oatmeals, so its great to have at work. Its very tasty as well.

Here's the oatmeal served with English Breakfast Tea (made with Silk Vanilla Soy Milk)

Extreme close-up, you can see the light smart balance and agave syrup. I also added chia seeds.

Tea close-up--so what's the difference between "Black Tea" and English Breakfast Tea? Umm, I don't know, I drink both very regularly. I'll get back to you on that one.

Here's an up-close and personal with Agave Nectar. I totally recommend it! It has a lower impact on one's blood sugar than most sweetners (sugar, raw sugar, honey), but it works great on oatmeal and in tea/coffee. I haven't tried baking with it, but I understand you have to reduce your liquids overall whenever using agave or any liquid sugar substitute. If I do try to bake with it, I'll update you on the process.

Lunch was fab (again). Same as yesterday, though as per Lisa D's suggestion, I ditched the cheese and it was almost as good :)

See, no cheese.

Tomato & Red Pepper Soup, really hot this time. So hot in fact that it made a mess in the conference room microwave. I cleaned it up toot-sweet, I'm no Ryan from the office.

For a snack, I had another English Breakfast Tea with a Honey Almond Kashi Bar (only 140 calories, but really good and chalk full of excellent nutritionals).

Pumpkin Oatmeal: Fibery Goodness

Start out with 1/2 cup of Whole Grain Rolled Oats, I like Bob's Red Mill.

1/4 cup of pumpkin pie or pumpkin.

Combine in a pot with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup milk and a pinch of salt.
Cook until perfection, adding a bit of cinnamon or other Autumny spices.

Serve: Yum!

Adding pumpkin seriously pumps up the fiber and the flavor and if you are into exploring seasonal eating, it certainly invokes the spirit of Autumn.

Breaking: Solange Magnano Dies from Complications During Plastic Surgery

A former Miss Argentina dies of complications during an elective plastic surgery operation.

Solange Magnano, 37, died in a hospital after being transferred from a clinic where she underwent an elective surgery on her buttocks on Wednesday, the agency reported.

Magnano ran her own modeling agency in Argentina, and had been a model and Miss Argentina in 1994. She also was the mother of 7-year-old twins.

Of course, some of the coverage, particularly this title: "A Woman Who Had Everything Lost Her Life For A Firmer Behind" is pretty victim blaming.

The article also notes that:

In recent years, Argentina has become an international destination for plastic surgery. The costs of such procedures there are much lower than in other countries.

Estimates say that 1 in 30 Argentines has gone under the knife, making surgeons here some of the most experienced on the globe.

Medical tourism has seen a huge jump over the past decade, and is projected to be a $100 billion global industry by 2010, according to the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions.

Certainly the safety of international surgery tourism is a concern, but I think that the major take-away from this incident is two-fold: 1. Surgery is surgery is surgery and all surgeries pose the risk of death; 2. beauty hurts the beautiful too and its not just ugly, harridan feminists like me ;) who should be critical of our appearance obsessed global media culture.

My sincere condolences to her family and friends. Rest in peace.

In Job Hunt, College Degree Can’t Close Racial Gap

That race remains a serious obstacle in the job market for African-Americans, even those with degrees from respected colleges, may seem to some people a jarring contrast to decades of progress by blacks, culminating in President Obama’s election.

But there is ample evidence that racial inequities remain when it comes to employment. Black joblessness has long far outstripped that of whites. And strikingly, the disparity for the first 10 months of this year, as the recession has dragged on, has been even more pronounced for those with college degrees, compared with those without. Education, it seems, does not level the playing field — in fact, it appears to have made it more uneven.

I feel that in a recession job market a really bad Stereotype prevails. White men need a job more then anyone else because they have a stay at home wife, 2.4 kids, and a mortgage. This stereotype doesn't take account of the new family. Seniors returning to work. Single mothers. Those just starting their careers. I think in recession all jobs are hard to come bye and it because a who you know job market.