After the storm......

Wow, what a long strange trip this has been! I have been through the equivalent of being hit by a 18 wheeler in the last few months, literally.

And all the extra tons of fat layered around my body is mostly to blame.

In February I had my first full physical in years. I can remember that Dr. manipulating my fat rolls, especially my stomach area, and commenting on how hard it is to feel anything with all that fat. I have had my gyno say the same thing many times while trying to find my ovaries. Didn't really matter much to me though because I was confident that if something was wrong there would be other symptoms. Add to that the wonderful taste of food, especially those laden with fat and/or chocolate, that was my main focus.

Losing weight was just always way too difficult.

Anyways, I had just spent the last year eating correctly, for the first time in my life, and exercising, which I really fallen in love with, and wondering why the weight was coming off so easy this time. I mean I had done this many times in my life and hadn't lost this amount of weight, this easily. I guess I just thought maybe it was the age difference, although I knew that the older you get the harder it is to lose weight. I am so good at burying my head in the sand.

By April I was starting to spike fevers in the afternoon, and even though I would work out every morning, walking several miles and lifting plenty of weights, I found myself out of breath going up stairs and needing, for the first time ever in my life, an afternoon nap.

Then finally the back pain and stomach pain kicked in. I was living on Advil, waiting for this fluish stuff to pass, like it had always before. When it got to the point that I couldn't get out of bed I finally went to see the Dr. Now just to clarify, it is not that I waited till I couldn't stand it anymore, it was that all my life I have pushed through feeling ill, and the pain wasn't really that bad.

Long story short, turns out that I have Marginal Zone Lymphoma. The pain was caused by my spleen, that is a pretty small lymph node, had been growing for years and when removed it weighed around 12 pounds. The Dr. said it was the biggest spleen he had seen and I guess I was the rock star of O.R. because of it, with staff coming in from all over to view this thing. It had grown up to my chest bone and down to my pelvic bone, fussing to and surrounding other organs. Ouch.

I almost died. If my Sister had not insisted that I come to Boston to the Dana Farber Center I would surely be dead now.

Now it is 8 weeks after surgery and I am still pretty sick. I may not get better than this and this cancer is not curable. Although they tell me that it is very slow growing and not aggressive. But I may never feel better than this. I may have been sick for so long with this, that I may be at the end of my window.

I don't tell you all this to feel sorry for me. I tell you this to give you another reason to eat right and lose weight. They couldn't find my cancer because I was to fat. There was too much fat in the way to feel it and this type doesn't have other symptoms until it gets to a critical point. There are many things that can go wrong with your health that can't be detected with fat in the way, or even more scary, having to have surgery being extremely overweight. I cringe to think what my recovery would have been like if I hadn't already lost that 100 pounds. I probably really would of died no matter how prepared the Dr.s were.

I think we stay fat because it is comfortable. I know now that I am way past 100 lbs. lighter and I look in the mirror and don't recognize myself, and I smooth on lotion and feel the actual bones in my body, that I feel like I am not me. Like my fat defined my whole life, and kept me safe at same time. I had a fleeting thought the other day, I have to be more aware of my surroundings, because now that I am almost skinny, men will start to notice me and I need to start worrying about the dangers that are out there for skinny chicks. How messed up is that?

I think we stay fat because we don't like ourselves. You really need to think, do I really hate myself so much that I want to die? Because being fat is what will kill you, one way or another. I know that I am not ready to die, and now that decision is not in my control anymore. Well not that that decision is ever really in our control, but now I know no matter how healthy I choose to live my life, this cancer will kill me. I can't do anything about it.

But I can tell you my story, so hopefully it will change your path in life.

Just change one thing today. Walk around the block, change from sugar to stevia, stop eating red meat. Please just change one thing. And call your Dr. for a full physical.

Made It!

I left Georgia last Wednesday for Arizona, with my business partner and best friend, Melissa. Now traditionally, this has been a wonderful adventure, but this time I was really scared. You see, if there is one thing Melissa and I love to do it is EAT! I have worked SO HARD to lose this 81 lbs, and I don't want to gain an ounce of it back.

Melissa and I LOVE food. Not like a wonderful hand crafted salad full of good stuff, well we do like that, but prefer it to be fried in lard and laden in chocolate! Not the salad, whatever else we can put our lips around.

Normally on our travels, we search out tasty gourmet restaurants and never save room for dessert, although we always have it. We have made a few trips together and have had some really good food across this country.

Last year we were in Memphis. Now let me tell you about the best B-B-Q I have ever had, and I have had a lot of B-B-Q! It is a place called "Rendezvous", in the basement, down the alley right in the heart of downtown. If your ever there, do yourself a favor and stop by, it is orgasmic! We had B-B-Q nachos, nachos being a big downfall of ours and these spicy ribs, with meat falling off the bone, that you tasted for hours after eating it. It was such a treat and that doesn't even tell you about the ambiance of the place and wait staff. Just a stellar experience all around!

There was another time in Long Beach California. We stayed in hotel surrounded by beautiful restaurants, oh yeah, there was a beautiful body of water also. We were there for business, but all I could think of was getting out of each meeting and trying out the next new restaurant. We ate at one place where the dessert was enough to feed at least 4, if not more, and we ate the whole thing. I was SO sick after that conference was over. But, OH, the memories.

How is it that we allow food to surround, create, take control of every minute of our day? I mean, the world has so much to offer, there are only so many minutes in every day, there is so much variety, and I lived in this little world were the most important portion of it was taken up with what I was going to eat and when. What a waste of time. It is truly sad the years of creative energy that I have wasted on this process.

Well, I am happy to report that we made it across country without one mistake, misstep or bad food choice. We sought out salads and lean meats and most important we did NOT have dessert. I'm really quite proud of us. Also we managed to workout for around an hour every morning before we took off for the day.

I will admit that I would of rathered to have eaten all the crap and all the desserts. I would of rather have not had to sweat on the treadmill every morning. I would of rather eaten cookies and candies all the miles across the country in the truck. But I'm glad we didn't.

I'm glad I don't feel so sick and stuffed that I can't breathe, I don't miss that feeling, as much as I miss that sweet chocolate taste in my mouth. I don't miss that tired, gotta lay down, have absolutely no energy feeling. But I do miss a moist gooey brownie.

It's a trade off I guess, and today I choose trading fat cells for a healthier lifestyle. It will be worth it in the end. Because in the end, when my BMI is where it should be, I can have bits of that stuff I miss so much, and by then I probably won't even want it!

Big Fat Bellies!

Thanks to Oprah, I have learned so much from a man called Dr. Oz.  If you don't know who he is, it would do you credit to find out.  And if you haven't read his book "You on a Diet" you are missing huge amounts of knowledge you need to know about your body.  Not only is he extremeley knowledge in his field, he explains things in a way that is easy to understand.  With my limited brain power, that is much appreciatted.

Have you heard of body part called the Omentum?  A, yeah, neither had I until recently, thanks to Oprah and Dr. Oz.  

Apparently, the omentum, is a fatty layer of tissue, located, hanging below the muscles in your stomach.  They showed two on Oprah, one healthy, one not, and it was about the grossest thing I have ever seen.

This gross piece of tissue is one of the most dangerous parts of your body to have fat soaked.  It is why they say fat around the middle increases your chances of heart attack.

You have fat every where in your body.  It is in your blood.  Here is another gross fact.  If you take a blood sample from someone is too fat and let it sit all day, a layer of fatty cream will rise to the top.  You know, like the stuff you remove from turkey drippings.  Oh my gosh!  How gross is that.  I can't believe I have walked around my whole life with my blood overflowing with this stuff.

When we eat foods that are rich in fat they are absorbed into our system a few ways.  First they enter through your intestines.  But the worst enemy is the omentum.  This sucker loads it up. And then it notifies your other organs that there is a surplus of fat and it is free for the taking today!  A lot of this stored fat goes to the liver, causing all kinds of problems, refer to the last post please.  This helps cause lousy cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which are no joke.  This is one of the main players in heart attacks.

Our friend the omentum also takes the insulin you naturally produce out of  your blood, which makes your blood sugar rise and in the long run causes diabetes.  The bigger the omentum gets the more difficult it is to breathe because it is pushing against organs such as your lungs and kidneys, which also cause high blood pressure.

I know you don't like how you look with all this fat, I know I sure didn't, but worse, the fat stored in you omentum is the first source of fuel that your internal organs use, especially your liver.  Now you would think that is a good thing, use is on up, but that's not how it works. 

Because your system is all messed up, it sends in an overflow of hormones that throw off your metabolism, makes you resistant to insulin and that can cause sugar to swim around in your bloodstream instead of being used by your cells and damaging your tissues.  It that a wonderful picture?

This would of definitely been some life changing information for me.  I really don't think I would of lived 50 years fat if I had known.  For me it is hard to know this kind of stuff and still keep sucking in the fat!

So here is the thought for today.  Next time your out driving around with your kids and you all decide that a trip through the drive-thru at McDonalds is a stellar idea.  Envision all that saturated fat from the red meat and the fries, etc., traveling down your throat, landing in your stomach and moving on into the omentum.  Is this really what you want for your kids?  Is this really what  you want for yourself?  I don't think so.

This weekend, when your cooking up that Easter feast, change it up a bit.  Bake sweet potatoes instead of making that fattning souffle', and use Splenda instead of sugar.  Serve whole grain rolls instead of lard filled biscuits.  Just changing a few things won't change the taste, but it will change the effects on your body.

The good news is, that this is totally reversible.  And once you make the changes in your diet and start to exercise, it happens pretty quickly.  Make a decision today to live and eat right!!

A scary new lesson.....

As I have grown in my years, by age and girth, I keep learning things that I wished I known years ago.

In this the last year, every 3 months when I get my blood work back, my Dr. keeps asking me "just how much alcohol do you drink a day?"  "Are sure you don't drink?"

Well, um, yeah I'm sure I don't drink!  The last time I drank was Thanksgiving weekend 2007.  I drank all weekend, partied my A** off!  but I haven't had a drop since.  Don't really care for the hang overs.  Plus I love tequila so I always end up doing something really stupid.  Well enough about that, that needs to be in a whole nother blog.

So on this last visit, my Dr. and may I say, Dr. Northrup here in Savannah, is by far the best Dr. I have ever had.  He just really is!  Anyways, he tells me that my liver enzymes have been elevated and I have or am on my way to getting NASH disease! I am basically setting myself up to die, just like my Mom, who wasn't obese, but could sure tip back a few.

What the hell?!?  How do you get a disease from drinking too much if don't drink?!?

If only I know this years ago:  (Courtesy of www.webmd.com)

Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) - Overview

What is nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)?

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is liver inflammation caused by a buildup of fat in the liver. NASH is part of a group of liver diseases, known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, in which fat builds up in the liver and sometimes causes liver damage that gets worse over time (progressive liver damage).

Although the cause is not known, NASH seems to be related to certain other conditions, including obesity, high cholesterol and triglycerides, and diabetes. Treatment for NASH involves controlling those underlying diseases.

What causes NASH?

The exact cause of NASH is not known. It most commonly affects people who are middle-aged and are overweight or obese, have high cholesterol and triglycerides, or have diabetes. Yet it can occur in people who have none of these risk factors. Excess body fat along with high cholesterol and high blood pressure are also signs of a condition called metabolic syndrome. This condition is closely linked to insulin resistance.

Along with excess fat in the liver, which many people have, several other factors may contribute to the liver damage. These are:

• Resistance to insulin, which means that the body can't use sugar (glucose) in the way it should. Normally, your body makes insulin after you eat a meal that has sugar in it. Insulin helps the extra sugar in your blood get into your muscles and liver. If your body does not respond to insulin in this way, then the sugar level in your blood will stay high. This is how insulin resistance can increase your chance of developing type 2 diabetes.
• Changes in how the liver makes fat and what the liver does with fat that is delivered to it by the intestines.

Other factors that have been known to contribute to NASH include:

• Having had surgeries that shorten the intestines, the stomach, or both, such as jejunal bypass operation or biliopancreatic diversion.
• Using a feeding tube or other method of receiving nutrition for a long time.
• Using certain medicines, including amiodarone, glucocorticoids, synthetic estrogens, and tamoxifen.

What are the symptoms?

NASH is a condition that may get worse over time (called a progressive condition). For this reason, you may have no symptoms until the disease progresses to the point that it begins to affect the way the liver works (liver function). As liver damage gets worse, symptoms such as tiredness, weight loss, and weakness may develop.

It may take many years for NASH to become severe enough to cause symptoms. In some cases, the progress of the condition can stop and even reverse on its own without treatment. But in other cases NASH can slowly get worse and cause scarring (fibrosis) of the liver, which leads to cirrhosis. Cirrhosis means that liver cells have been replaced by scar tissue. As more of the liver becomes scar tissue, the liver hardens and can't work normally.

Ok I don't know about you, but that is some scary stuff!   Apparently because it is progressive, I have had it for years, now my liver is scarring.  Had I know this I could of been a great alcoholic!

Seriously, just another bullet to put in the gun!  Do you want your kid growing up doing this kind of damage to their organs?  I don't think so.  So what are you going to do to change things so that this doesn't happen to you, your child, your loved ones, or anyone else???

I ask you today, do just one thing, just one little thing that will change someones life and the way they look at food and eating.  If you go shopping today, read all your labels.  Don't buy anything that has anything white in it, sugar, flour, potatoes, pasta, etc. and replace it instead with anything whole wheat or whole grain.  These whole grains help break down the way your food intake is processed into your body.  It slows the absorption of sugar into the blood stream for one.  It also helps move fat through your intestines so that it doesn't collect in your liver and other places.

Please just do one thing to change the obesity in a child or a loved one, and that includes you!

Native American Children....

I had a long conversation with my best friend and business partner last night about being fat (pretty much all we ever talk about) and then traded opinions on whether or not the world is going to recover from it's downward spiral.

I said yes, she said no.

And I schooled her on what she missed on Oprah (is she not the MOST awesome chick that ever walked this earth??) that day.  It seems that there are 4 places in the world that are what they refer to as "Blue Zones" and this is were folks are living the longest and healthiest lives.  Most living over 100 years!  Holy Moly can you imagine?!?

The first place is in Costa Rica due mostly to the magnesium and calcium in the water, home grown everything and very active lifestyles.  Can you see someone you know to be over 90 and out in their yard every day hacking down vines and hand cutting overgrown brush, chopping wood, etc????  Not in this life time!  Most of us are dead by then!  But this is what these people are doing.

Then, surprisingly, right here in America, Loma Linda, California!  Their health is attributed to a Vegan diet and a strong belief in God.  These are the Seventh Day Adventists.  One woman, Marge, has just turned 104 and she bikes 5-7 miles a day and lifts weights.  She is an absolute power house! Dr. Oz measured her heart rate while she was pedaling and her heart rate was not even elevated!

Ok, so you get the point.  Clean eating, exercise, etc.  But there are 2 more commonalities.

Strong sense of community and strong sense of daily purpose.  Marge volunteers for 7 different causes.  All of these people live in homes and communities with all their relatives.  Most of these people do not have a word in their vocabulary that says "retire".  One man is a 94 year old Dr. still doing surgery!

This is not how most Americans live.......well except the Native American Indian.  All one community, very spiritual, their beliefs and family are the daily purpose.  Yesterday mornings paper stated that Native American children are the fatest (yeah I know, it's not really a word) in the world.  What's up with that?!?

Well, I believe it is one common thread that most folks don't realize, or refuse to talk about. Poverty!  And until that changes, neither will these other problems.  We can teach and talk all we want, but if there is no money to buy quality food, it still won't change.  If there are no programs to help fund community gardens on all this abandoned land, it still isn't going to matter.  Those are just the few I will touch on today.

This has got to stop!  The up and coming generations, if not too fat around the middle, are plagued by drug addictions.  These generations are being wiped out daily, and I want to know what we, YES YOU AND ME, are going to do about it.

I truly believe if the world is going GREEN as fast as it is, especially in hard economic times, this problem can be changed to.

If everyone just did one thing differently today, it would have a huge impact.  Teach a child how to grow organic, fresh tomatoes, or have an apple for a snack, or teach them what the food pyramid is.  This is what we have to start doing.

In the next month, I will start printing t-shirts 4 sale for early childhood obesity prevention. There will be a link posted here taking you to the site were you can buy them.  They will serve 2 purposes.

First and foremost, every cent of profit from every shirt, which will be approximately $10-$15 will go to fund this cause.  Heck, you guys can even pick the causes if you want!  And secondly, each shirt will carry an important message.  You will not only be buying a shirt that will look awesome, with 100% wear-ability, you will also be helping the world to see some words that could actually change someones life for the better!

I'll even dare to take it one step further!  I mean I own the joint, so I might as well dream big!

If you are some type of organization (school, church, 501(c)3, etc.) that sees a t-shirt they believe will make a difference in a child or communities future.  You pay for the production of that shirt and that is all you will pay to get these shirts and spread the word.  We have to keep talking about this, and working together to come up with solutions.  This is mine.  Well, one of mine, you will be reading many here soon. 

Does anyone have a kid that is artistic and wants to design a shirt?  Have them draw a picture, and if possible, add some words on this subject.  If we pick that design, your child will get their picture on the website as the artist for the whole month, and we will also send them 5 free shirts that they can share with their friends.

Okay, I'm quitting here and going to design some t-shirts!

Email me, lets get this party started!

First things first

America is Fat, well I am too, but way less fat than I was a year ago!  And America's kids are fat and getting fatter and more unhealthy as the clock ticks.  I've learned a lot in the past few years, about many different things, but the one thing I know for sure, without a doubt.

If I knew as a kid, what I know today about exercise and nutrition, I would not have spent my life FAT!

The world has got to change!  Isn't that a little simple statement?  Like no one else has ever said that, or wanted that to happen, or even tried to make that happen.  Well I may not be able to change the world, but I can sure try.  And if I can just change the life of even just one child, so he or she doesn't have live a fat life, then I will die a very happy Lady.

I haven't exactly figured it out yet, but my plan is starting to come together, and I am going to blog all the success stories here.  And since this will cost a lot of money, as everything does, I am going to start a line of t-shirts for this cause and give 100% of the profit of each and every t-shirt sold to this cause!