Misc

An advocacy group predicts that by 2030 more than half the people in the vast majority of states will be obese.

Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released new predictions  recently. The two organizations regularly report on obesity to raise awareness, and they rely on government figures.

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We are closing in on the end of another year. 2015 is almost written into the history books. I’ve done little to help the cause this year. The prediction is just that a prediction. We can change the outcome. If we would look at the cost to our health that being obese or overweight is, we would have to face the fact that weight is a major contributor to health issues.

I say that we make 2016 the year of fat reduction not only in America but in each of us. It’s easy to say we need to lose weight, it’s another thing to lose weight. Let’s allow the grace of God to work in our weight loss struggles. His grace is sufficient.

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You had better write it down. I’m always having these brilliant ideas and thinking I need to remember that. I write a devotional every other day and a health blog every day. That’s 547 articles a year. I need many ideas for writing. The fact is there are many ideas floating around and many land in my brain for fleeting moments. I keep saying I’d need to write that down.

I’m not vain, but I really don’t like carrying around a bunch of stuff in my shirt pocket. Remember the old pocket protectors? I have been known to wear those in times past. I needed several pens and things I used for work. They called people like that geeks. But they were practical. Now I don’t want to carry a little notebook and a pen and pencil plus some breath fresheners all stuffed into my shirt pocket.

Yet writers must write it down when they get a thought. In the restaurant, I’ll grab a napkin and write something down or have Charlene write it down because I don’t even have a pen.

Women can carry notebooks and pens around in their purses. I haven’t reached the point where I carry a man purse. They do make them and some men carry them. There has to be some dignity left. I do have a laptop case I carry. I put a notebook and a calendar in there for traveling. I don’t just carry it around. I would if I was going to a Wi-Fi spot, maybe McDonald’s, Starbucks or even Caribou. But I not normally one for sitting there for hours looking at my laptop.

In fact, I really dislike going to a coffee shop and find a dozen people with their laptops taking up all the tables. I went into a Starbucks in Anaheim, California and everyone was staring at their laptop or Ipad or something. I had to wait for a spot to sit.

I met an owner of a coffee shop in Hilton Head who got rid of their Wi-Fi spot because people would come in and unplug his window signs and then plug-in their laptops. Or they had extensions cords they ran across the floor to a plug-in.

With all that said – I still need to find a clever way to write it down. I don’t know how many thoughts I just couldn’t remember when I sat down to write. Urg. Yep, I need to write down my brilliant ideas–some are more brilliant than others.

“Sleep. Experts say most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night for optimum performance, health, and safety. When we don’t get adequate sleep, we accumulate a sleep debt that can be difficult to “pay back” if it becomes too big. The resulting sleep deprivation has been linked to health problems such as obesity and high blood pressure, negative mood and behavior, decreased productivity, and safety issues in the home, on the job, and on the road.”

We talk about diet and exercise as the two important parts of weight loss. But sleep is another important part of health. Sleep is that necessary ingredient which helps the body recover from the day’s activities.

Though much is not known about the reasons for sleep, it is known that it is necessary. If you go without it very long, the body begins to shut itself down. They list obesity as one possible consequence of sleep deprivation. I’m not sure why. To me sleeping too much might be a cause of obesity.

One thing we can’t do is develop a sleep debt and make it up. Have you slept a long time and finally woke up and you still felt sleepy or tired? The body needs consistency in its sleep. God has built-in restoration and a reenergizing in sleep. It is important to get regular sleep.

If you aren’t sleeping well, then you need to look for reasons why. Is there a dog barking all night? Is the room too light, too dark, too hot, or too cold? Are you stressed? Are you pondering on a project or a problem? Whatever the reason, take steps to eliminate them. Sleep is important.

Remember: “The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep.” W.C. Fields

“Some observational studies had found that people who consumed more calcium—whether through supplements or dairy products—tended to be thinner than those who got less. Also, several small, short-term studies showed that subjects put on a high dairy, reduced-calorie diet lost more weight and fat than low-dairy dieters. All were conducted by a dairy-funded researcher at the University of Tennessee who had patented the dairy weight-loss claim and sold licensing rights to the dairy industry. After other scientists expressed skepticism and consumer activists cried foul with the Federal Trade Commission, the dairy industry decided to suspend its campaign “until further research provides stronger, more conclusive evidence of an association between dairy consumption and weight loss.” Well, there’s now further research, including several clinical trials, and overall it shows no greater weight or fat loss among subjects on high-dairy diets.”

Here is an example of a food industry making a claim and trying to do studies to prove it. The problem with industry funded research, it’s tainted with the bias from the beginning.

Research and studies cost money. In many cases, a particular food industry will fund the research. But the research released to the public, is filtered through the food industry predisposition. We’ve seen this in high fructose corn syrup, cereals, and other sweeteners. And it is often difficult to trace the funding back to the company. There may be intermediate companies or advocates that make it look legitimate.

Anyway, there is a great deal of controversy and conflicting research on the use of calcium. You definitely need it for heath. But how much? Apparently, it doesn’t show any weight loss statistics for drinking milk. I will say however, all the diet gurus will say skim milk is more conducive to weight loss programs than whole milk.

So beware when you see research or studies. They are coming out every day, and they bring conflict and confusion. Use wisdom if you are basing your next step in health care on a study.