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By Roz Rogoff

About this blog: In January 2002 I started writing my own online "newspaper" titled "The San Ramon Observer." I reported on City Council meetings and other happenings in San Ramon. I tried to be objective in my coverage of meetings and events, and...  (More)

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Eating Plan

Uploaded: Dec 18, 2015
Many, many years ago, when I weighed in the high 200's, I tried to curb my compulsive eating by following a modest eating plan. I made it up myself for myself. It involved three simple rules,

1. Eat only when hungry
2. Eat only enough to feel full
3. Stay on this plan for three days.

The first two steps might sound like normal eating, but it wasn't normal for me for many years. Doctors are now discovering that obese people have brain chemistry that triggers binge eating. This doesn't surprise me since I have long concluded that it is an ancient survival mechanism to eat as much food as available and store it on your body as fat (energy) to use when food is not available. Since food is always available in America to people who can afford to buy it, which I always could, the result was never losing the fat and becoming obese.

I'm getting older now and as we age we don't need the levels of energy we needed when we were younger. So the plan I tried to stay on many years ago is the way I'm eating now. That's not to say what I eat is necessarily less fattening but I don't eat as much of it as I used to. So I've lost some weight and am maintaining my weight in the low 200's. That's hardly thin for my height, but it is no longer in the morbidly obese range.

If I lose another 20 or 30 lbs., I will be merely fat. I'm not sure if that would make me healthier, since I have been healthy even when I was very obese. I am programmed to be obese and except for the judgements of others, including my mother and brother who either criticized my weight or ridiculed me for it, I have been healthier than either of them for years.

My Grandmother had a younger sister named Laura. She was heavy most of her life. We called her "Little fat Aunt Laura." She was a wonderful cook and baker. She was one of the few relatives I liked to visit because she made such good dinners and usually finished with strawberry shortcake slathered in freshly whipped cream.

My Grandmother had a photograph of Aunt Laura when she was about 20 years old. She wasn't fat in that picture and was very beautiful. Aunt Laura lived to be 95 years old at a time when the usual life expectancy was about 65 to 70. She lost weight in her later years and it seemed to me she just faded away. Grandma was also heavy in her middle years, and lost it when she was in her 90's. She lived to be 98. My mother, who yo-yoed the same 40 lbs. for at least 40 years, will be 100 next year. Long life runs in my family.
Democracy.
What is it worth to you?

Comments

Posted by Michael Austin, a resident of Pleasanton Meadows,
on Dec 18, 2015 at 5:49 pm

Michael Austin is a registered user.

Fat tissue does not have a chance up against good genes.
Maybe your stem cells have value, that are marketable.
Stem cell research is opening doors, for organ regrowth, replacement organs, etc. Stem cells can be removed like blood transfusions. After several weeks the stem cell removed is replaced. It can be a continuous process, to bank stem cells for later life to repair, tune up, age continuously.


Posted by San Ramon Observer, a resident of San Ramon,
on Dec 18, 2015 at 7:00 pm

San Ramon Observer is a registered user.

Michael,

I've heard about stem cells, but I never heard about storing them for future organ replacement. I'll look into it.

Roz


Posted by Eat less, move more, a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood,
on Dec 19, 2015 at 8:06 am

I have heard every excuse in the world for why a person is obese. It's in my genes, my glands, my metabolism is messed up, on and on and on. It's much simpler than any of those excuses. You eat more calories than you burn. The solution is also very simple. Eat less and get off your couch and burn those calories.

Obesity is probably the biggest health problem in this country. It is NOT the biggest problem in nearly any other country. I am tired of paying higher insurance costs because obese people -- who have chosen to keep eating too much and not exercising, are driving up the cost for their own health care. Bad joints, bad hearts, all sorts of issues that have the same underlying cause. You eat too much and you don't exercise. Who do you see in those motorized carts at Costco? It is always someone who is morbidly obese through their own personal choices. Stop making excuses and start doing something about your own health.


Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore,
on Dec 19, 2015 at 12:08 pm

hey girlfriend...you got a fat problem?

give it a good flush and go shopping...slim down your fat fat tongue

signed...tweety bird!


Posted by rosalindr, a resident of San Ramon,
on Dec 24, 2015 at 12:43 am

rosalindr is a registered user.

ELMM,

Did you read my blog or are you just ranting about your pet peeve? I don't make excuses. I don't have to. I have arthritis in my right hand, which isn't even fat. (see photo above). Everything else about me is fine. I always say, "It's better to have a fat body than a fat head."

Roz


Posted by Be Careful, a resident of Canyon Oaks,
on Dec 24, 2015 at 8:31 am

Roz -

Just a note of caution - I would delete the picture on your handprint which shows your fingerprints. Not widely publicized yet but increasing number of cases of identity theft that start with fingerprint records


Posted by Michael Austin, a resident of Pleasanton Meadows,
on Dec 24, 2015 at 10:07 am

Michael Austin is a registered user.

I have been learning a lot about the aging process the last ten years or so.

I do not like any part of it.


Posted by Michael Austin, a resident of Pleasanton Meadows,
on Dec 24, 2015 at 10:07 am

Michael Austin is a registered user.

I have been learning a lot about the aging process the last ten years or so.

I do not like any part of it.


Posted by DKHSK, a resident of Bridle Creek,
on Dec 24, 2015 at 10:34 am

DKHSK is a registered user.

I consume more protein and green vegetables, and less carbs and sugar. I also workout 5 days a week, weights and cardio, about 1 hour a day.

In other words, I eat like I used to when I was a skinny kid back in the 70's and have the same activity level.

Not saying you should do the same, but this works for me. I've lost around 30 pounds in 6 months. Though I'm tall, most people don't notice the change, but I've gone down a couple sizes.

The science of nutrition is still not fully understood with regards to weight and physiology. The gov has recently changed its stance on sodium and cholesterol, and is also changing its view on fats and carbs. To put it succinctly, they were wrong, and now with better data, is converging on new guidelines.

Sounds just like other "science" studies, no?, but I digress.

DKHSK (Formerly Dan from BC)

ps, sorry Michael, no full name for you...still. :)


Posted by DKHSK, a resident of Bridle Creek,
on Dec 24, 2015 at 11:00 am

DKHSK is a registered user.

Edit: less=fewer from my post above.


Posted by rosalindr, a resident of San Ramon,
on Dec 24, 2015 at 2:58 pm

rosalindr is a registered user.

Good recommendation from "Be Careful" I wondered if it might be risky to post my hand print like that. I deleted it as you suggested.

Nice comment, Dan or DKHSK. I was never a skinny kid, but I wasn't an obese one either. Just chubby. Was healthy then and healthy now at 73.

Roz


Posted by DKHSK, a resident of Bridle Creek,
on Dec 24, 2015 at 4:16 pm

DKHSK is a registered user.

Roz,

Yes I'm still Dan (Formerly Dan from BC). Apparently I had an old screen name that was still registered so I decided to go with that one instead.

FDfBC is retired... :)

Dan


Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore,
on Dec 25, 2015 at 11:15 am

Roz...if you wanna try having sum outta this worl food:

Web Link

Basque Soups are aften made from leftovers, and the best way to go go go! CHEERS!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! HOORAY!


Posted by Food Addicts, a resident of Mohr Park,
on Feb 25, 2016 at 4:35 pm

Thank you so much for posting! I struggled with food for so many years. It consumed every thought--where to get the food, where to hide the wrappers, shame about my 241lb body, and battling with myself about every bite. I tried diets, therapy, exercise, and a number of other tactics, but nothing worked until I found a free, 12-step program for food addiction (www.foodaddicts.org). I've maintained a 115lb weight loss for over 7 years and my obsessive thoughts around food, my body and my weight have all disappeared! I am so grateful to have found a sustainable solution to my food addiction.


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