A New Cause for Childhood Obesity

We all know that overweight kids become overweight adults. But in a study out last Thursday, experts now say that kids who have surgery for common childhood problems like ear infections and infected or swollen tonsils are more likely to become obese too. They say that correcting these types of problems may affect childrens' taste buds, causing them to prefer sweets over more healthy foods--which leads to weight gain and unhealthy eating habits.

When I read this, I had to stop and think. I had my tonsils removed when I was young, and I did gain weight in the years that followed. But for me, I think that was more about pure genetics than anything. Though I wasn't particularly active during my teenage years, I wasn't super sedentary either. And everyone in both my immediate and extended family was always overweight, so I think I just got stuck with bad genes.

The premise of this idea makes sense though. Since sweets are the strongest and easiest to taste flavors, it stands to reason that when taste receptors for other flavors are interrupted or blocked, kids would learn to prefer sweets over other foods because that's all they could taste.

I wonder how things are different for adults who have these types of corrective surgeries. Sure, you don't usually hear of them getting tubes put in their ears; but I have known adults who've had their tonsils removed after years of problems with them. I wonder if, following those types of surgery, adults have the same kind of issues.

Regardless, here's one more situation that may lead to obesity. Maybe our kids would be better off without surgery (where there's an option, of course).

Exercise and Fun...Do They Even Go Together?

When I was growing up, I was a typical kid. I rode my bike all over the neighborhood for hours in the summer, meeting up with friends, playing hopscotch and jump rope, and staying out till my mom forced me inside at dark.

At that young age, I was oblivious to how many miles I rode, calories I burned or hours I spent pedaling around the neighborhood. I just knew I was having fun--and that's all that mattered. Now I'm a typical couch potato who hates anything that requires me to sweat.

Case in point: I went to Walmart today to pick up a few essentials, and by the time I dragged myself into the store through the 90 degree heat, got what I needed (along with what seemed like hundreds of other people), then drove home and put it all away, I felt like I'd run a marathon. Sweat was pouring down my face and I got so overheated I fell on the floor in front of a fan in total exhaustion!

So tell me, was that exercise? After all, what's the difference between Sweatin' to the Oldies and sweatin' to the beat of my own drum as I navigate the aisles at Walmart, then climb the steps at home over and over to put my wares away?

Maybe I've lost sight of the real problem. As a kid, I used to have fun; maybe I've forgotten how to do that as an adult. When I was young, it came naturally. Now, living the life of an overweight adult, everything that used to be fun seems so much harder now--especially exercise.

Do you enjoy exercising to burn those calories...or do you do it just because you "have to?" If you've found ways to exercise and have fun at the same time, I'd love to hear about them. I think if I could make simple movement fun again, I might have more success at losing the weight--and keeping it off this time.

Low-Cal Snacking

Hearing your stomach rumble can be really embarrassing--especially when you're at work sitting in a meeting or in a social setting of some sort. It's not a pleasant feeling either! But when you're between meals and can't fill your tummy to capacity, how can you silence it so you can go on with life and function until that next meal comes?

If you don't know so by now, snacking is the answer...or is it? Wait a minute; doesn't snacking just add calories and cause us to gain weight?

For those of us who are overweight (likely everyone who's reading this blog), snacking can be a danger zone. For many, myself included, once I get started it can be really hard to stop. But by choosing snacks wisely, we can limit the number of calories we ingest even if we do pig out, so it seems a wise thing to do. Besides, it keeps us from eating more than we should at meals, and that's a good thing when it comes to weight loss!

In searching for healthy alternatives to high calorie snacks, I ran across a post on the About.com weight loss blog that offered these options, all of which have 100 or fewer calories each. Not only are they low in calories to help us stay on track; most of them also help satisfy a sweet tooth (see my earlier post on that subject)!

• 1/2 c. sugar-free Jello and two Tbsp. reduced-fat whipped topping
• two handfuls of chocolate raisins
• 1/2 an apple spread with 2 tsp. peanut butter
• 1/2 c. orange juice (Try it frozen!)
• 1/2 c. fat-free, sugar-free instant or packaged pudding
• whole wheat toast with 1 tsp. sugar-free spread
• non-fat yogurt (artificially sweetened)
• single serving of apple sauce
• 1 serving of many varieties of Campbell's soups
• a Fudgesicle
• 6 saltine crackers with 2 tsp. of peanut butter (My personal favorite!)
• half a turkey sandwich using reduced-calorie bread, mustard, and veggies
• mock S'more: reduced-fat Graham cracker, topped with a jumbo marshmallow and drizzled with chocolate syrup

Sounds pretty yummy, huh? Think I'll give the apple and peanut butter option a try right now. Maybe it will keep me from overdoing it at dinner...another 2 hours away!

Give some of these low-cal snacks a try and let me know what you think.

Are Meds the Answer?

Recently I saw an ad for a new weight loss study in my hometown. One of the foremost universities here is looking for overweight people willing to take one of two medicines associated with weight loss, both of them or possibly a placebo, in order to see if either or both medications really work.

Since my husband and I are both heavy, we both applied. It would be nice to do this together, as we're both in the same boat and could attend the appointments together and, I think, be an encouragement to one another.

Even my daughter is jumping on the bandwagon. Whereas my husband and I are closer to 100 pounds overweight, my daughter is more like 50. But she's much younger, and I'd like to see her live a full life, have a family of her own and not be afraid of dying young like we are. Not to be morbid, but this extra 100 pounds or so I'm carrying around is really making me exhausted! I miss the energy I used to have when I was my daughter's age.

Anyway, the university called me today and, after a few questions, said I qualify for the study. Now I just have to cross my fingers, hope my husband and daughter get in, and pray for meds instead of placebos!

Have any of you out there ever gone this route in your attempts to lose weight? I'd be interested in hearing your perspectives, cautions, etc as I try this last "something new."

The Sweet Debate

One of my worst vices is sweets. As I've mentioned before, if my nose even gets a small whiff of something sweet--no matter where I am--I'm drawn to the source. Like other sugar addicts like me, I find it extremely hard to resist temptation, as my mouth waters in anticipation and I'll do most anything to have just a taste.

Problem is, I can't stop with just one taste. Eating just a little something sweet is enough for most people, but not me! That one morsel sends my cravings soaring, and I can easily find myself completely emptying an entire package of cookies or a large bag of M&Ms before I even know what hit me.

The more I sweets I eat, the more I want. And that means tons of wasted calories and more and more weight piled on.

In an effort to cut back on calories when I go on one of these sweets binges and just can't get enough, I've been substituting artificial sweeteners for years. My reasoning was like that of most fat people: I'll take in less calories so I won't gain weight, right?

Wrrrronggg! I just end up allowing myself to eat more than ever, partly because I make excuses and partly because I know I'm not eating high-calorie sugar, so I can pig out even more. But why I am I bigger than ever??

Scientists and nutritionists say that ingesting large amounts of lo- or no-calorie foods really does trick us into eating more. Why? Two reasons. One, as I mentioned already, we actually end up eating more because we know we're not piling on the calories. And two, eating no-calorie sweets actually causes our metabolism to slow down so we store more fat than if we ate real sugar instead. And these principles apply not only to food, but also to those diet sodas (or pop, whatever you call it) some of us enjoy daily too.

From the research, it appears we'd do better to actually imbibe once in a while and eat something sugar-laden just to get our fill. But if you're like me and have a hard time stopping with just a little--whether it's real sugar or a substitute--it's almost better not to take that very first bite. But then we feel deprived and overdo anyway.

Is there a good solution? Anyone want to take a stab at it for all the sugar addicts out there? I'm open to suggestions.....

The Road to...You Know Where

Good intentions. I'm full of them! I intend to eat right this week. Come rain or snow, I intend to exercise every day.

But by the weekend, looking back, I'm usually ashamed at how little resolve I really had. I may have started off the week full of determination and totally committed, but I keep letting little things get in the way and spoil my accomplishments.

Things like that chocolate cake I passed at the grocery store bakery. Or the glazed cake donuts that called my name as I drove past the local Lamar's. It seems anything and everything distracts me from my goals.

I found another blog today about a guy and his struggle to lose weight. In his post today, he talked about how we all make excuses for ourselves when we don't measure up. He's on a weight loss journey, like many of us, and had a particularly tough week last week. He was feeling sorry for himself because he put a couple pounds back on, and many of his readers wrote in with understanding and supportive emails.

But one reader gave him a swift kick in the pants, told him to get up off his butt, get over it and do something about it! He realized right then and there that he needed to heed that advice and stop making excuses if he wanted to live past the age of 45.

Isn't that always the way it is? We start out with the best of intentions, then slowly start sliding downhill because we let everything else get it in the way. And along with the excuses go the resolve--and the self-esteem. Until someone comes along and forces us to confront our demons.

Enough talk. I'm tired of looking like a beached whale (no, I'm not pregnant!) and wondering who that horrible fat lady is in all my family pictures. I'm hitting the treadmill and, at least for today, not making excuses.

One day at a time....

"Drastic" Approaches to Weight Loss

Are you sick and tired of dieting? If so, have you ever considered one of the more drastic approaches to weight loss, like gastric bypass or the lapband?

Once you've tried all the diet plans out there and your weight has yo-yo'ed up and down for years like mine as a result, your metabolism is usually trashed--and anything short of something drastic seems to get you nowhere.

I've been thinking about gastric bypass as an alternative lately. I hear it's really expensive and health insurance usually doesn't cover it (unless you're practically on your deathbed due to your weight already).

I wasn't sure if I was even a candidate for surgery, according to doctors' guidelines, so I did a little research and found a helpful survey on WebMD that helps you evaluate whether or not weight loss surgery is a viable option for you. Surprisingly, it sounds like I may have medical grounds for moving forward with this approach...if I weren't so afraid of complications and so horribly broke!

Check it out and see how you rate under WebMD's guidelines, then let me know how you feel about this option, whether or not you'd consider it and why. I'm curious if my fears are shared by others out there who are heavy like me.

What would you advise?