Miss America

Over this past weekend, a new Miss America was crowned. I'm not big into the whole pageantry thing, but I occasionally like to watch the shows. Don't get me started on child pageant shows though which I think are just little girls dressed up to be sexualized adults. In college, I did a paper on child beauty pageants and the "male gaze" which just reaffirmed my thinking.

Apparently, the Miss America organization is trying to change their image, making it more modern and hip from years past. Some people could say it is trying to be more like the Miss USA pageant, especially since they added the swimsuit portion and vice versa. There's always been marked differences between the two pageants with Miss America seeming to be the idea of a more "All-American," the girl next door look versus the Miss USA pageant which is more about glam and looks. Both of course do have looks involved, but Miss America does at least have a talent portion. Miss America also considers itself more of the "scholarship" pageant and each contestant has a platform issue whereas Miss USA has charities she represents

Anyway, my point of this post isn't to talk about the differences between the two pageants. The new Miss America winner this year is 19 year old Kirsten Haglund from Michigan
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image: byrev

Her platform is raising awareness for eating disorders. Three years ago, she suffered from anorexia and is now recovered. What I find interesting about all this is how other people suffering or recovering from eating disorders feel. Now, I do not want to make some generalization statement that all people associated with eating disorders feel this way, it's just something I've noticed in forums I've read.

There seems to be applaud that she is raising awareness for this issue, however, some judgment reserved as well. First off, that's she's only been recovered a short time (no report mentions how long), that's she's only 19 years old, that maybe she didn't have a serious illness--just a phase thing, and that she chose to use this platform in an ironic setting of the Miss America pageant. Sometimes I think "we" place harsher judgment on these type of individuals without really knowing all the information. Even so, we give immense applause to a celebrity who comes out talking about their eating disorder and raising awareness for it. We don't seem to question how long they've had the illness, how long they've been recovered, etc. Many times, it ranges with some celebrities having dealt with an eating disorder for a short or long period of time. Some have just begun to seek treatment, while others have had treatment and recovered. Then we tout them all as positive role models. Some even become speakers for NEDA.

Who's to say this is any different? Since now winning the crown, Miss Haglund has put herself in the public eye. I just don't think it is fair to cast judgment like this. I haven't heard Miss Haglund speak other than this brief clip on Access Hollwood, so it's hard to predict how the year may go. But even so, I view this as a positive thing. We all want more awareness out there, so let's not shoot the messenger.

Tooth extracation day over

Just to report back that my tooth extraction went much better than either the periodontist and I had anticipated. I was in and out of there in an hour. It's definitely good that I was really numb, because periodontics is like the orthopedics of dentistry. I found it funny, because even though I had a sheet over my eyes, I still found myself closing them. Dr. V. said it was so water wouldn't splash into my eyes, but I think it's more for any tooth fragments that might fling into the air and hit your eyes.

Dr. V. was also very good about prescribing the meds I wanted, i.e. an antibiotic and pain med that doesn't give me side effects. Luckily, I have not had much pain at all. I think it's because he did not have to cut into my gum. I'm super glad about all this, however, chewing and eating are a bit challenging.

If you look at that dental x-ray picture in my previous post, basically imagine the entire upper left side gone but one tooth (originally, a bridge was there which they had to section), then a hole beside that tooth from the previous extraction. On the lower right side, a hole halfway between the back and front of my mouth. That's essentially what my mouth looks like now until I get the holes replaced with implants at some point in my life. I'm hoping nothing happens to that sole remaining tooth, then I'm up a creek without a paddle. Same goes for my right upper side which has a bridge as well.

As I left the office and was waiting to schedule my follow-up appt., I glanced over at another x-ray which was very similar to mine except that the person in the chair was much older than me. It was one of those moments of realizing how young I am with this much damage. People my age are not supposed to have ruined teeth. Even my mom who doesn't have the greatest teeth still have ones better than mine. And to think I used to compete with her as to not having cavities when I was younger.

Anyway, I'm now going to stop whining about my teeth. I can't change them for now but just accept it and move on just like the rest of life.

Tooth extracation day

image: about.com

I've been dreading this day since I made the appt. two weeks ago. I'm not even sure why I am so worried about it. I've had countless dental appointments unfortunately and a year in a half or so ago, another tooth extracted. I think it's the pain I'm concerned about. I'm never like this either. Pain to me is like a bone sticking out of your arm or blood gushing out of you. I'm not a wimp about pain, but teeth pain seems to be the hardest for me to deal with. I'm also worried that the dentist is going to end up prescribing some pain killer which gives me awful side effects despite me voicing my concerns about it. This has happened before, so it's not my imagination.

Please don't think I'm nonchalant about losing my teeth, because it really does sadden me quite a bit. It's a grim reminder that even if I never purged multiple times a day, my teeth are still ruined from it.

So at 2:30 PM today, be thinking of me. Hopefully, it'll go better than expected. I guess I should think "happy," positive" thoughts. Maybe it'd be better for me to go off to some la la state where I'm sitting on a beach sipping some non-alcoholic beverage watching the sunset. Okay, I know, a little cliche, but I can dream for the moment, right?

Temptation

Ahh yes, that word temptation. Yesterday, while at work, I was sitting in the office and something caught my eye. I went outside to look and lo and behold, it was a little beagle puppy. Talk about pulling at some heartstrings. I immediately crouched down and opened my arms. She came right to me. She was thin, shivering, and quite hungry. I gave her some water and food which she ate in zero seconds flat. My heart ached for her. I put her in a kennel with a blanket while waiting for a client to show up who was running late

I found this whole scenario quite ironic since the day before a neighbor from down the road called asking if were missing a beagle puppy. I told her no and maybe the dog belonged to someone up the road. In one sense, I was a little angry that this neighbor happened to somehow have left this puppy on our property. I'm not exactly sure how they puppy got in as our gate isn't working unless they dropped her over the fence of something. I could be completely wrong and she "found" her way here too.

Nonetheless, I couldn't stay angry long after seeing this cute face. I'm not even a beagle fan though I have come across those who are near and dear to my heart. I have to admit, I was tempted to take her home. Whenever things like this happen, immediately, I go into some type of "plan" mode, figuring out how to make everything work with my schedule, my dogs, etc. It just seems to be how my brain runs even if the event doesn't happen.

I told my boss about the puppy, and she called the neighbor who also lives on the property to see if she would take it to the humane society. She obliged and took the puppy there. Overall, I know it was really for the best. I know in reality, I do not need another dog (though this would have only been a foster case anyway). There would have been more management to do as well. But if I'm truly honest with myself, I guess I saw it as a sign in a way. I'm not sure how to explain it exactly, but my mind has lately been drifting off to some dark places. I know it'll pass, but they were just there you know?

Offensive advertising not just aimed at women

I was checking my e-mail today and reading some dog news. I was absolutely shocked when I looked at this photo. Just when it seemed that offensive advertising was only seen degrading women, now it comes to shoes
and dogs. How does showing tying up a dog equate with their shoes other than possibly their tagline, "They'll find the way out." This ad was apparently shown three years ago for E(x)it shoes by Ogilvy advertising. Due to the amount of negative responses at the time, they pulled the ad and apologized.




Now, I do not know anything about this shoe company nor Ogilvy advertising. By doing a quick search of both, I found Ogilvy is a huge worldwide advertising company whose goal is to "build brands." They have some big clients like IBM, Dove, Mattel, Nestle, American Express and many others. I guess the idea with this ad was to also help build the E(x)it brand shoes. It just seems like a stretch to me, especially since this shoe company had shall I say some bizarre, equally offensive, sexualized ads for their other shoes.

How cheesy can I be?

Every year, my landlord gives me cheese for Christmas. I hate cheese. It's not an ED thing but more due to a powerful psychological adversive effect when I was young. Essentially, I ate a cheeseburger for the first time when I was five (mind you I had never had anything like this before), and became sick in the car. I don't remember the incident that well, but apparently, my parents had to turn the car around and put me in the bath. Ever since, with the exception of some mozzarella cheese (cooked only), I have hated cheese. The smell, touch, feel of it just makes me cringe. Before, it did not matter about the cheese, because I just gave it to my former roommate. Many of you probably ask why I don't tell my landlord. I'm not sure really. I guess it's the whole not wanting to hurt his feelings since it is a "gift." I may not like it, but regifting is okay, right?

Many people think I'm really bizarre in this since I'm not lactose intolerant or anything. I'm actually the same with most dairy products. I don't drink milk unless it's chocolate although these days I prefer soymilk anyway. Butter is a no as well. It always bothers me if I go to a fast food restaurant which is virtually never and want a salad, almost all of them have cheese. I end up having to pick out every single morsel of cheese which just dampers the whole quality of my meal. It is already at a low point being that it's fast food, but to add this too. I should also mention that I do not eat most meat products but fish.

Anyway, to get to get to my point. I have had this cheese for over a month. I was going to give it to a friend, but the friend I had wanted to give to, I did not see over the holiday. So it's just stayed in my refrigerator unopened, box and all. I was finally just tired of it, so I decided to make some doggie biscuits. That's been one of my goals for this year--to try out new dog treat recipes for my pooches. They love to be my guinea pigs. Here are some photos:

Before going into the oven. Yes, I even added some more grated cheese to the top thinking there wasn't enough cheese knowing good well that my dogs have excellent noses. I guess it was just to amuse me to make them more delicious though they don't care at all. Only one out of three of my dogs is picky.
















Here are the results. Don't they look yummy? My dogs should really appreciate this, because the smell of cheese cooking was absolutely nauseating to me. But I guess they are worth it. :-) Just to note, the darker ones I left in a tad too long. Again, luckily, color does not matter to my dogs, just to my perfectionstic self.

MacBook Air's Thin Obsession (Parody)

This is a parody about MacBook Air's new "thinnest" notebook computer. If you remember from back in the summer, Apple got a lot of heat for their new imac laptop using the tagline "you can never be too thin or too powerful." The whole idea that Apple would even use this really struck a nerve with people. So much so, that the Eating Disorders Alliance sent a letter to Steve Jobs about it. Apple pulled the tagline and replace it with something less offensive.

However, with this new notebook, again, the advertising is the "world's thinnest notebook--ultrathin, ultraportable, ultra unlike anything else."

Now, I know in the computer world, lightness of a computer is an issue, but it just seems like Apple is obsessed with this. It's either that, or just brilliant marketing knowing that this is a hot issue of debate worldwide.

Primary care and eating disorders

I found this article in the American Family Physician about the treatment of eating disorders. This article gives a guideline to primary family physicians on different aspects to eating disorders including what symptoms to look for, how to gauge which treatment setting, different treatment modalities available, as well as the significance of a good therapeutic role for that patient, etc. Overall, this was a fairly good article and worth reviewing.

Treating Eating Disorders in Primary Care

More holes

So I had the dental appt. on Tuesday. Good news is that my teeth look about the same as six months ago. The bad news is that it's not just one tooth that has to be extracted but two. I had broken one awhile ago and had a temporary filling which fell out back in October. Normally, I'd put this off, however, after the last very painful toothache I had in November, I am hesitant to do that. I made an appt. with the oral surgeon a week from this coming Mon. I'm just praying he will not give me a rx for a pain medication that gives me horrible side effects. So there goes the $700 for an online class I was thinking of taking. It sucks how much dental expenses are. By the way, all those missing teeth are going to have to have implants. Why not just do dentures now? It would actually save money in the long run as awful as that sounds.

The rest of the week didn't go too great. I saw my lawyer for the dog bite case. We've offered a counter offer in hopes the other insurance company will budge. If they don't, then it goes to trial and all that jazz. I'm hoping it doesn't come to that, as it is just more time, work, and a big gamble overall. I also had a lousy conversation with a good friend. I'm still upset about it, but I can understand where she is coming from. Then I was asked to work an upcoming conference in March, however, there is a conflict by a day. The coordinator didn't seem too happy about this. And me, being the sensitive type, am just take it personally.

Then all my runs this week with the exception of one were just totally slow and off. My mood has also been a bit down. I'm finding little stuff is irritating me, like not meeting with my main physical therapist but someone else instead. I'm really trying to tell myself that I need to snap out of this funk before it heads into some full depression. I need to remind myself of things I need to do so I don't get to that point:

I need to breathe.
I need to eat better.
I need to sleep uninterrupted.
I need to journal more.
I need to be honest with myself.
I need to clear myself of negative energy.

The week will be time to start fresh again.

The week in planning

Well, my mini-vacation is now over, so it's time to get back into my normal schedule of things. Actually, it's kind of a good thing since I'm a very schedule oriented type person. I do admit, however, that it is nice to get these periods of time to sleep in and catch up on stuff that I'd been neglecting. Overall, I accomplished a good amount, although there's always that voice in the back of my mind saying I could have accomplished more. Sometimes I think I place way too much weight on the whole idea of accomplishing, but then I think what would I be without it? Okay, a bit Ed'd there.

Anyway, just for the record, I did go back to the house where I saw the woman leave with the dog the other day. I talked with some young kid who also did not know who the woman was. We both found it very bizarre. I still feel a bit guilty about it, but I have to let it go, realizing that it's not my responsibility. Who knows I may come across the dog again at some point. That's when fate intervenes if you believe in that sort of thing.

I haven't fully planned the rest of my week. I have a dental appointment today which I'm dreading. It's just a cleaning, but the hygienest always seems to hurt my teeth and gums. The last time I saw her was six months ago when it was supposed to be every three months. You can imagine my teeth will probably be worse which just means more pain. The other reason why I dread this appointment is that my regular dentist will also take a look at my horrible tooth and just remind me that I have to get it extracted soon. I'm really not looking forward to that since the last one I ended up in excruciating pain.

The good thing is that my full dental benefits will kick in, although knowing my insurance company will probably give me a bill saying I must pay this amount. Insurance is nice when it works, but I feel like half the time I end up shelling out way more money than should be the case.

My other appointment this week will be meeting with my lawyer about this dog bite case from two years ago. I'm hoping to have it settled soon and move on with the rest of my life. Closure is a good thing to have.

I'll give an update on these matters as they progress. For now, I need to get dressed and ready for the day.

Guiilt about a dog

Somehow I'm feeling a little concerned. I went for a run yesterday and ran into a dog whom I'd seen before. She came up quickly and silently and startled me. This can be disaster sometimes, but luckily, all she wanted to do was run with me. The last time she did this, she stopped at some point and went back to wherever it was she came from. This time, however, she followed me almost my entire way home. We ran into a house with two dogs, and the owners were out. I'm not exactly sure what happened other than seeing a truck with the dog who had been running with me in it. I originally thought that this might have been her owner looking for her. They stopped and asked if this was my dog and sped away. It happened really fast, and thinking back, I should have said they needed to drop her off on the road I'd seen her. Or better yet, I should have said yes, it was my dog, and taken her back to where I first saw her. Now, I don't know what will happen to her, and I just feel bad.

I think she belongs to someone--has a collar, no tags, looks to be taken care of well. She is friendly and playful--even took my water bottle I dropped and gave it back to me with an object exchange. Even though I know that if she indeed does belong to someone, it is their responsibility to keep an eye out on her or if she ends up in a shelter to pick her up, but there is just a sense of guilt on my part. She never would have strayed so far if she was not following me ya know?

I think I may go back to that house and just ask if they knew those people who decided to pick her up. It would just ease my mind a bit. Normally, I don't care about the dogs around here since many are undersocialized, but this is just a nice dog. Reality wise, I'd think that people around here know that there are many loose dogs and would just leave them alone. Sigh.

Sugar-free gums and weight loss

This article warning about sugar-free gums and weight loss recently was reported on BBC.

The ingredient is sorbitol which is used in many sugar-free and cosmetic products. It's also found in some natural fruits, like pears, apricots, nectarines, and some berries. Excessive use can lead to laxative effects like diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems. In the two cases that are cited here from the British Medical Journal, the patients were consuming a lot of sorbitol (20g-30g) per day and had lost a significant amount of weight.

This news is really not new. The article just wanted to heed warning to consumers. Unless, you're consuming a large amount like this, there isn't much worry, in my opinion. However, some with eating disorders do become gum addicts and often replace gum for food. Sometimes I wonder if that is one of the reasons why the gum label actually says, "this is not a low calorie food."

With that being said, I admit, I do chew sugar-free gum. It's not excessive, nor do I replace gum for foods, but I maybe chew more than I should. For me, I've chewed gum forever. Heck, I even came to America with a big wad of gum in my mouth. My steadfast theory has been that I have a fear of smelly breath or halitosis.

All throughout school, I have chewed gum. Unfortunately, I got in trouble for it too and had to write out stupid sentences about not chewing gum. I never really got this reason, especially since I always disposed of it properly, i.e. not underneath a desk or some other school item, and I was not harming anyone nor disrupting education. So what did I do? I just got more discrete at hiding it. People in high school used to ask me for gum all the time, because they knew I always had it. Throughout the years, I've gotten very picky about gum, and only chew one type for its lasting flavor. I even got really upset when I could not find it around here and had my mom send me some where she found it. She told me the cashiers thought she was trying to kick the habit.

Besides the sorbitol in gum, my main concern is that it has BHT in it which has shown carcinogenic properties. I'm sure in high dosages as well, but it is used in a lot of products to preserve freshness even though it has been banned in some countries. It's interesting, because I never ever give my pets anything with additives in it, yet, I still consume some products with additives, mainly in the form of sweeteners. I'm working on it and have had some success with eliminating all diet sodas, though I never consumed them excessively. Mostly, I just use sweeteners in coffee and tea and one other soy milk product. The rest of everything else I eat is natural or organic. It's a slow process but hopefully one day I can be completely additive-free.

It's decision-making time

Let me do a quick run through of last week to the present time. For whatever reason, I was simply exhausted from last Tuesday through Saturday. Even my normal easy exercises felt like they took a huge amount of effort although nothing was different. The only culprit (if that's the word I'd call it) I can think of is just due to that time of the month even if it is slightly off. By Sunday, however, I had a load of energy. I took a nice run, felt really good, had a pretty good time, my hamstring had minimal pain, it was just great!

Along with this feeling good feeling, I began to think about that dreaded word FUTURE. It's probably one of the most anxiety-provoking things in my life, and it has been for the last seven years. That was after my first goal of becoming a doctor got put on hold, and I was left feeling like I just didn't have a clue where to go from there. With that came increased low self-esteem and just kind of biding time.

So I finally thought that I really need to step up to the plate. This year my main focus is to face some of my FEARS. Since I'm a planner, I'd begun to think about some possibilities and ways to make it work. I thought about taking some additional classes at a local college or online. I had success with online classes over the summer, and they allow the most flexibility for me. I looked at various websites and their schedules on Sunday, but unfortunately, it was a little too late. I missed all the deadlines for submissions by a day or two. It sucked.

Another possibility was to enroll in an online masters or phd program, however, I'm still a little uncertain of them and accreditability. Plus, I just don't see investing 2-5/6 years when I'm not even sure that is the field I want to go in. The other option is to take the GRE. But again, I kind of feel like if I don't know what field, how would that really help me in a grad program?

It was nice feeling positive and thinking I was capable of this, even if it was slightly in a hypomanic type state. However, today, along with an additional option, has led me back into the unknown zone. Recently, I came across in article in Psychology Today about this sort of thing. The title is "When to Choose to Lose." The idea is how we are overwhelmed to cope with so many ideas and options. If you look an our ancestors, their choices were limited. It was either make the choice and live or essentially perish. There wasn't an A, B, C, Z, etc. There wasn't the idea that you must make the correct choice or you have failed. Or that the right choice is going to lead you to happiness.

Some of the experts in this article say that if we limit our choices, we actually are happier--that accepting limitations and making commitments leave us fulfilled. I agree with the last part of the sentence in terms of commitment and feeling better. I have recently decided to train for my first marathon in May. This excites me, makes me feel like there is a goal, etc. I somehow think all of this positing thinking is related to this. I'll write more on that subject in another post.

Sometimes I think because of all the options available and all the different interests I have, it makes it more difficult for me to pinpoint one *thing* I want to do with my life. I know that there is no time stamp on it in terms of looking at a career as lifelong. However, I think I still live idealistically. I want whatever career I'm doing to excite me, to feel passionate about it, and to also live comfortably. But I think I'm also afraid of making the wrong decision and regretting it. According to this article, it is about "satificing," or aiming to be good enough versus the best, letting go of perfectionism and regret.

So where does this leave me? Again thinking and back to the drawing board. If this one additional option had not come up within the last 24 hours, I'd probably settle on taking some online or correspondence courses. I still may, yes, but it's just more ruminating on my part.

Perception of anorexia differs

This article out of UNC Chapel Hill just published today explains how the perception of anorexia nervosa can differ when people are given information about the biological and possible genetic causation of the disorder. Researchers, led by Cynthia Bulik et. al, (if you keep up with research, she was one of the first people to give the now common "gun" analogy in reference to eating disorders, i.e. "the genes load the gun, the environment pulls the trigger") found that undergraduate nursing students who were given information on the genetic and biological causes of the development of anorexia versus those only given the sociocultural reasons did indeed give less blame to the eating disorder individual.

I think this definitely points out the need for continued education and awareness. This, of course, doesn't mean that one should blame everything on genetics or biology, but just that there is a predisposition. After that, there is some personal responsibility into how to live and cope with your life. In general, however, society still stigmatizes those with eating disorders in thinking it is completely their fault, they chose this, that they only want to be thin, etc. There's just so much more to it, and underneath all that stereotypical thinking are the real reasons.

Something else I think would be interesting is to see whether there would be any differences in brain and/or genetics between those anorexics who are deemed "chronic"and those who do not have a long duration of the illness and recover.

Obesity as a brain disorder

As the new year has begun and many people have vowed to lose weight as their resolution, the topic of weight loss and obesity are up there. But then again, do they ever go away? I can't count how many ads I've heard on the television and radio about joining this gym or that gym, trying this weight loss plan, etc. However, on a completely different slant, I came across an interesting editorial in The American Journal of Psychiatry, entitled "Should obesity be included as a brain disorder" by Drs. Nora Volkow and Charles O'Brien. They were addressing this question as an inclusion into the new DSM-V proposed to be published in 2011.

Drs. Volkow and O'Brien propose "that some forms of obesity are driven by an excessive motivational drive for food and should be included as a mental disorder in DSM-V. DSM-IV recognizes eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia as mental disorders with severe impairments and serious adverse outcomes but does not recognize obesity despite its devastating medical and psychological consequences. Obesity is characterized by compulsive consumption of food and the inability to restrain from eating despite the desire to do so. These symptoms are remarkably parallel to those described in DSM-IV for substance abuse and drug dependence (Table 1), which has led some to suggest that obesity may be considered a "food addiction" (5).

They go on to talk about the similarities of the brain regions of those with obesity and substance abuse dependency which is essentially the drive for rewarding properties. That in effect affects dopamine, though in different ways from the substance abuser. They also point out how the medications used for both substance and obesity often overlap.

In their conclusion, they do point out that this classification is a component at looking at obesity as a mental health disorder which is not completely inclusive to everyone.

I think this is an interesting take on obesity and could be true for some people. Dr. Volkow is likely to take this approach since she is an addictions specialist. She was featured in the excellent HBO documentary "Addiction." I thought her explanation about how addiction works was very educational. If you haven't seen this, I highly recommend it.

This editorial was written last May, and in the current issue a psychologist rebutted her thoughts. She also had some interesting things to say, including how from her experience the "health at every size approach" has worked in her practice. This approach is about not dieting, tuning in to your hunger signals, and accepting your size. Drs. Volkow's and O'Brien's also addressed the psychologist and defended their editorial in this issue.

Personally, I think it is an interesting way to look at obesity. I do not think all people who are obese would fall into this category as Dr. Volkow suggests, but it does give explanations into the "drive to eat" just as those with anorexia nervosa have a drive to restrict their food intake or not to find food as pleasurable as some recent studies have proposed. I think with addiction, there is a lot of overlap whether it is to food to illegal substances to an eating disorder if you believe an eating disorder can also be classified as an addiction, etc.

My only issue with so much studying of the brain going on and different illnesses is that people will just blame their brain and forget accountability and responsibility. Don't get me wrong, science is really in its infancy of studying the brain and how it works, but there has to be balance. But the more information we have, the more society can be helped educationally.

Just to point out, there is also an article about binge eating disorder and treatment as well in this current issue.

Healthy eating and dieting

This short article came out talking about how Americans opt for healthy eating, not dieting.

The research group's vice president who tracked what Americans consume says, "We've become more accepting of our weight and the most important thing is, are you healthy?" Balzer said.
Hmm, are we sure about that? I think there may be a general consensus about being healthier, but not less dieting from people. Think about every ad, every new product, pill, etc. that has come out within the last few years.

Just the other day, I saw this ad in a magazine for Weight Watchers. You can't read the small print underneath, but it says, "Seems like a pretty easy choice. Weight watchers actually works with your life instead of against it. Because it's not a diet. It's a smarter way to eat and live. You'll learn how to have a healthy relationship with food so you can finally lose the weight without losing your life."

Isn't Weight Watchers just another promotional weight loss company? Their values may be a little different, but it still is about weight loss.

The fact is that we as a society are still a long way from accepting weight and size. It may slowly, at a snail's pace, be changing, but the issues are still prevalent. Americans are still dieting.

In Defense of Food

Well, Michael Pollan is at it again. He has a new book out called In Defense of Food. The New York Times recently did a review on it. It looks quite interesting. I recently read one of his other books The Omnivore's Dilemma and found that very educational. Even though I like to consider myself knowledgeable about the food industry, that book still blew my mind away. I'm hoping to have the library order it since it is currently not there. When I'm finished with it, I'll give a report.

Happy New Year

Hope everyone had a nice new year. Mine was quiet which was okay by me. I actually stayed up to watch the ball drop. The last several years I've fallen asleep about fifteen minutes prior to the ball dropping. I opened up a bottle of sparkling apple cider that my mom had given me ahem a few years ago. I knew it would either be okay or I'd be sick the next day. Luckily, it was the former. I grabbed a few shots of the dogs as well.

The first one is New Year's Eve prior to the ball dropping. The second is after the ball dropped. You can tell they were thrilled it was a new year. The last one is on New Year's Day. It's amazing how well you can get their attention when you are holding three homemade peanut butter biscuits in your mouth. Of the seven or eight shots I took. this is the only one where all their eyes are open and they are looking at me. The rest ,Daphne was half asleep. I guess I can't be too upset with them. They were pretty good troopers for keeping the hats on.