Determined To Succeed

Good Sunday morning, my friends (yaaaaaaawwwwwwnnnnnn). And how are we today?

Life has a funny way of doing things sometimes. Remember how I had to go to the dentist, not once but twice, to get my tooth “fixed?” Well…I am headed back a third time tomorrow morning because it just feels – how should I put it – wrong. It feels achy, in a strained, empty sort of way, not in a direct pain sort of way. So, just as a precaution I am going in first thing in the morning.

The last time I was there and getting things “fixed” they didn’t say to me “well, Bill. For the next 48-hours you shouldn’t have this or that,” which is what I guy like me needs. I need some simple, clear instructions about what to eat and not. It is driving me nuts, this tooth-o-mine. As I was out and about yesterday I pondered this and, almost instinctively, reached for a plain Hershey bar in the Wawa. As I did that I caught myself, gave me the tisk-tisk and walked away. But I started thinking about chocolate. Does it really cause cavities? Is it really all that bad for you?

The answer is yes…and no.

Like with all things in the scientific, health-related worlds there are conflicting data. Ugh. I like my chocolate (he says whining).

On the “go-ahead-and-eat-chocolate” side, Dr. Rutai Hui of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College in Beijing and his colleagues did analysis of eight different studies and showed that eating chocolate might bring down cholesterol levels in some people, lower blood pressure and that chocolate eaters were less likely to suffer a stroke or heart attack over the next 10 years.

That’s because they were freaking happy, that’s why (just kidding).

Dr. Hui looked at how cocoa affected blood fats, or lipids, and found eight trials including 215 people. When the studies were analyzed together, the team found eating cocoa cut levels of LDL, or bad cholesterol, by about 6 mg/dL and reduced total cholesterol by the same amount. Analysis also showed that only those who ate small amounts of cocoa — containing 260 milligrams or less of polyphenols — experienced cholesterol lowering effects. People who consumed more showed no effect (polyphenols are antioxidants found typically in fruits, vegetables, chocolate and red wine. A 1.25 ounce bar of milk chocolate contains about 300 milligrams of polyphenols). The team also found that healthy people didn’t get any cholesterol benefits from cocoa, but people with risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, saw their LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol drop by about 8 mg/dL each.

There’s even research that shows chocolate can protect against tooth decay.

Huh?

A study carried out by researchers at Osaka University in Japan found that parts of the cocoa bean, the main ingredient of chocolate, thwart mouth bacteria and tooth decay. They discovered that the cocoa bean husk – the outer part of the bean which usually goes to waste in chocolate production – has an anti-bacterial effect on the mouth and can fight effectively against dental plaque and other damaging agents.

See, now there’s a medical reason to have my plain Hershey bar (just kidding again).

Foods that contain fermentable carbohydrates (FCs) are the nasty cavity-causing culprit. Although FCs are found in chocolate, the cocoa butter in chocolate coats the teeth, making it less likely to cause tooth decay. Chocolate may be high in sugar, but it melts quickly in your mouth, leaving little time for bacteria to attack your teeth and cause cavities. Plus, if you brush regularly, you won’t have a problem!

On the “O.k.-step-away-from-the-chocolate” side…

Pure cocoa has positive effects on blood pressure and cholesterol and also prevents heart disease. However, processed chocolate is what the majority of people are eating, and it contains added sugar, milk fats, saturated fats and corn syrup. These ingredients actually promote heart disease, weight gain, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Also, even dark chocolate is packed with calories. Its fat content may not cause cardiovascular disease, but eating it in large quantities can result in weight gain. (WHY ARE THERE ALWAYS CALORIES? IN THE NEW WORLD ORDER I AM ABOLISHING ALL CALORIES).

The refined sugar in processed chocolate can be detrimental to your teeth when eaten often without regular and proper teeth brushing. Sugar plays a harmful role in tooth decay by providing the bacteria in your mouth with energy. The bacteria begin to multiply faster, and plaque begins to grow in size and thickness on your teeth. Bacteria can also use sugar as a type of glue to cling to your teeth, making it difficult to get rid of with just a toothbrush.

Sugar can also cause and aggravate gum disease. Milk chocolate, along with other sweets, should be consumed only in moderate amounts. It is especially important to monitor the amount of sweets eaten by children to prevent bad habits (including childhood obesity), and tooth and gum problems later on.

So there it is. The good and bad of having a chocolate sweet tooth. I know it’s a bit long-winded, especially for a Sunday morning, but it does make for some interesting reading. I know there is no substitute for good chocolate but fruits provide the same health advantages of dark chocolate without the calories and saturated fats. They also contain natural sugar for those who crave sweets. If you must have chocolate (like yours truly), buy it in the smallest serving sizes possible (like those bite-size Halloween portions). This prevents you from eating up all of your calories for the day but satisfies your cravings.

And what have we learned? Eating some chocolate is O.K. Check. Especially if it’s dark chocolate. Check. Even better if it’s straight cocoa (although I have no idea how that would taste). Check, check. Brush teeth regularly. Double Dog Dare Check. Visit dentist regularly…

Yeah. No kidding…

Monday, Monday…how’s everyone on this fine Monday? Well, I ended up gaining that stupid pound I told you about yesterday but I am still at 239, which is good. I ate better yesterday, grilled chicken and a bit of pasta salad, to try to even out my debacle from Saturday (I really have to think of a way fried chicken nuggets, fries and egg rolls can be calorie and guilt-free). So I start this week with a goal in mind – to be back at 225 by April 30.

I think that’s a do-able goal, right? I mean I find myself doing really well during the week. I set about my work schedule and get stuff done and, because of that, I eat better and healthier portions. What I need to do is have the equivalent to a snap bracelet or electric shock or something when I get a snack attack or craving. This way I can just snap/shock myself back to reality when those evil times come – and make sure I do sit-ups instead of refrigerator opens. Know what I mean?

I just have to make sure I start this week with that new goal in mind. It does help to have that goal. It is do-able as all goals should be. It is not overwhelming as some weight loss goals can be. It will also help I am starting to collect information on childhood obesity for the section of my site I am creating for exactly that. If nothing else that should keep my mind off crappy foods all week.

Do any of you remember the song “Monday, Monday” from the Mamas and the Papas?

Monday Monday, so good to me,
Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Monday morning, Monday morning couldn’t guarantee
That Monday evening you would still be here with me.

Monday Monday, can’t trust that day,
Monday Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way
Oh Monday morning, you gave me no warning of what was to be
Oh Monday Monday, how could you leave and not take me.

Sometimes in the cheese of my mind I think of appropriate songs, shows or movie quotes to go along with a mood, situation or circumstance. For some reason this song was on my mind today. Especially the end of the first stanza. It just goes to show you the beginning of the week can take that kind of turn. That kind of Bugs Bunny “I should have turned left at Albuquerque” kind of feeling, especially if you know, like me, you eat something(s) you shouldn’t. But as long as you keep those goals important and at the forefront of your mind they can and will be achieved. You can thwart the “Mondays.” You can thwart those negative things that can make your day go off the rails. You can and do have a choice in how your Mondays go. I know I do and I will use it to make sure mine doesn’t. It’s one day at a time on this weight loss journey and, once I re-reach my goal, I will celebrate it with you. Until then, I’ll be humming this classic tune to help get my mind right for the day ahead…

…Monday, Monday…so good to me…

…I also might try to make a few of those Easter recipes I gave you guys yesterday. They sound good to me, too.

Sorry this was so late today but I was in a quandry.

I’m going to sound like an old fogie (is that even how it’s spelled?) but I don’t know how to relate to kids these days. Well, I do and I don’t. Last week you heard me talking about a website and technology conference I attended in New York and, while there, I got a wonderful idea to try to help kids who might have weight loss issues through information and resources on my website.

However, the more I delved into the “what” of it all (like what kind of content to have, etc.) I realized I don’t exactly know how to reach kids these days. When I was a fat kid it was the late 70s/early 80s. There were no such things as the following:

• Cell Phones (which kids seem to have younger and younger these days so no texting, mobile internet, etc.)
• iPods (hell, I thought I was king of the world with my first Sony Walkman personal radio)
• Personal Computers (I had a small electronic typewriter that got me through school – a typewriter!)
• Internet (and with it the extension of ways to get and absorb news and information)
• E-Mail (back then we actually wrote letters to each other and sent them in the mail, or snail mail as it’s called today, or passed notes)
• Cable TV (there wasn’t even a fourth Fox network back then. Just independent TV stations and the big three – CBS, NBC and ABC)
• Facebook and Twitter (progress back then was called a “party line,” expensive phone calls people could make to join 20 others to chat on the phone hosted by someone whose only job it was to keep you talking to get you to pay more per minute)

Amazing, isn’t it? Over the last 25-30 years technology has really improved. However, it has made the job of reaching people, especially kids, such a hard thing to do. The only way I can describe it is as practicing “lucky science.” Science because you have to do it so surgically since you can’t reach really large numbers of people using very few media anymore, and lucky because you never know what will resonate with people and take off like wild fire (as Twitter has the power to put information all over the world in a matter of minutes).

So how do I reach kids these days and let them know my simple story? That I was once a chubby kid, who was made fun of in school, and who had the same social problems they do these days because I was obese? How do I let them know I know how they feel when you can’t find age-appropriate clothes that fit, or have to find clothes less attractive or popular because they just aren’t in your size? How do I let kids know it’s normal to feel sad and depressed because you’re made fun of and are different, but also let them know it’s OK to talk about it and try to do something about it?

Jeez! I do sound like an old fogie FER SURE! LIKE TOTALLY! I sound like I’m waving my cane at some hot-rodders burning rubber down the street yelling at them as I wave my cane calling them “young whippersnappers.” But I’m not old (at least not yet) and I do very much remember what it’s like to be the fat kid. Plain and simple – it hurts. It hurts and at a time that is really solidifying who you’re going to become as an adult there are these pressures from family (in some cases), society-at-large, media (particularly fashion magazines geared towards teens) and friends to be this perfect being. And sometimes we are just not and we do not need anyone pointing out our flaws!

I guess it would be simple enough to tell kids this. In fact, it might make it easier for them to believe me when I tell them my personal fat kid story. I just know that America does have a childhood obesity epidemic on its hands, driven by lack of food education, support and economics. Well, I am going to do my best to help in any way I can. Not because I am saying all kids need to be thin or anything. But because it is all about health. Things like asthma and breathing problems (which I’ve had). High blood pressure (which I’ve had). And you could go on with juvenile diabetes, joint pain, etc. That is why I want to reach out. Because if I could go back in time and talk to me I would tell me it’s OK and to not eat so much McDonalds or ribs or fried foods. I’d also tell me the dangers of eating that much and how much I weighed at my heaviest and what problems it caused me. I’d tell me I understand what it’s like not having money to buy better foods and not have the proper resources to prepare them. I’d offer to help.

This is a crazy, mixed up and fast-paced world in which we live these days. But no matter what, kids need our help. And no matter how we reach them and tackle this problem of childhood obesity, we are helping them to become the same old fogies we are today. And I’d rather be an old fogie waving my cane around at young hot-rodders than dead in my 40s from a heart attack brought on by obesity.

As you guys know I am in New York attending a conference on all things website. I won’t bore you with the same details with which I was almost bored to sleep (literally – I had to get coffee during one of the panels or it would have been snooze city) but overall it was a great day for day one and I did end up learning tons about stuff so that I could enhance my own weight loss website. That’s the only way I can put it because my brain is mush.

However, the biggest and best thing I learned yesterday didn’t come from one of the speakers. It came from a mom (I won’t say her name for fear she’d be embarrassed). I ran into her while waiting on the last session of the day to begin. While we both waited I started talking to her about what I do and it was as if her eyes lit up. She told me all about her son and how her son, who is only twelve, has already felt the acute sting of what it’s like to be a heavy child.

Even though he’s not obese, he was chubby and his friends and schoolmates constantly let him know in the ever-so-brutally-honest way that only children can. He was the object of jokes and they made him sad, hurt and, worst of all, alone. I so remember what it was like being an obese kid. Even though I should have fit into clothes designated for kids my age I had to get the next size or two up from that just to find stuff that fit. My “friends” made fun of my stomach and my lack of physical ability because of it. I was called “fatty,” “Buffalo Bill” (that was a popular one), “Big Bill…” You name it. And I used to go home and cry about it…then eat to try to get rid of the pain.

I know exactly what this kid is going through because I went through it myself being an overweight child. Then, as I grew into adulthood it went from bad to worse. The brutal honesty of children gave way to the absolute meanness of high schoolers. Man, they were merciless, especially at a time when I was becoming a young adult, trying to attract girls and trying to maintain what little I had left of a positive body image. That is how my sense of humor became so honed. I needed it in both grammar and high schools just to deflect that pain away from me – even if it meant being the butt of my own jokes about myself. Laughter was the only way I could hide that pain. And believe me there was a lot of pain.

As an adult the insults became less but only because adults (well, most adults) learn to mask insults. But nothing, absolutely nothing, can take the look out of someone’s eyes. You can tell what a person is thinking just by looking at them. Like when I boarded a plane…or entered a restaurant.

When I heard this mom’s story all I wanted to do was tell her son it’s OK and that he is absolutely not (I repeat NOT) alone, which is why I, thanks to her son’s story and my newly-found knowledge from yesterdays brain-scrambler series of talks and seminars, am going to devote an upcoming portion of my website to children and weight loss. I know now there are so many of us “fat kids” out there who need a place to go to know they are safe. That’s all, safe. Safe from the barbs and stings of words that cut like swords. Safe from even being made fun of because they’re crying. I used to do that, too. But no more. Thanks in part to Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative childhood obesity is getting the attention it deserves, shining a light on a problem that’s been festering for decades.

This mom told me that her son has worked hard to get his own extra weight off, which he has done, but that he still says “Mom, I’m fat” when he slips or has a bad eating day (sound familiar?). But help is on the way, kid. Help is on the way. Just know there are many of us out there who has not just survived being pre-teens and teenagers, a feat in-and-of itself. We also have taken the weight off to become healthier and happier people armed with a new way of living so we never see those pounds again.

You can do it, kid. As much as I have faith the adults reading this blog will reach their weight loss goal weights, I have faith in you, too. So keep watching this site. Because through it all, us adults and you kids alike, will get to our weight loss goals. We absolutely will and we will do it together.