RRN Online Volume 390

November 22 '03

Volume 390

Dieters’ Alert Stick With It For Success

There’s good Diet news for dieters. A recent study by obesity researcher Dr. Michael Dansinger and Tufts University indicates that persons who stick with a diet for a year lose more weight than those who follow the same diet less rigorously during the same time period. Well, duh. Who’d have guessed that? It makes me wonder if a government grant funded the study. I suppose it doesn’t matter, but it’s good someone is finally able to statistically prove what we already knew, it takes "staying power" to loose weight.

It doesn’t seem to matter which popular diet is chosen, Atkins, Ornish, Zone, or Weight Watchers. Dieters who stuck to the plan for a year managed to lose between thirty and fifty pounds, though the average for all persons in the study was ten to twelve pounds. Personally, I can’t get excited over any diet in which it takes a year to lose a few pounds.

The Atkins diet is popular among dieters but unpopular with nutritionists who insist all that meat and fat can’t be good for a dieter’s heart. However, the study bore out the results of other research indicating the Atkins diet is no more harmful to one’s heart than any of the other diets. Furthermore, it seems all diets that are followed closely help reduce the risk of heart disease, and it’s weight loss that more positively impacts the dieter’s heart than the food consumed.

After discussing these findings with Bodock Beau, he informed me that he had previously developed a simple diet plan that anyone could follow and loose weight. Don’t rush out to buy the book as it’s not yet published, but he calls his diet program the Deprivation Diet.

"Just deprive your stomach of food. That’s all you have to do, if you want to lose weight. There’s no need to count calories, exercise, or purchase specially prepared foods from Weight Watchers or Jennie Craig; just eat less," Beau elaborated.

Beau may be guilty of oversimplification, but then he may be onto something, because I recall losing weight while I was working in Wisconsin and Illinois. My weight loss had nothing to do with the type of food I ate, as I averaged spending around twenty dollars per evening meal and the only meal I skipped was breakfast. On a typical day, I normally skip one meal, and it’s usually lunch. I may find myself a snack, but it’s rare I have a meal at lunchtime.

My recent weight loss resulted from the fact that I ate almost nothing on the days I had to fly. I’m talking twenty-four hours of no meals and only one or two Sprite soft drinks and two or three miniature packets of pretzels the flight attendants hand out to famished passengers on the airplane. The total caloric intake of two Sprites and two packets of pretzels is less than five hundred calories.

I dropped between eight and ten pounds over the five week period that found me working out of state during four of those weeks. The weight loss averages slightly more than a pound per day in the air. Yeah, if one has to fly in order to deprive oneself, the Deprivation Diet can be expensive, unless of course it’s business travel, as was my case. But, really, there’s no reason anyone who is serious about losing weight couldn’t get by on less than five hundred calories a day for one or two days per week.

So, how does the Deprivation Diet stack up against the more popular diets? That, too, depends upon how closely one follows it. I’m sorry to say I’m not aware of any studies on the Deprivation Diet, and it was not included in the Tufts University study, or at least it wasn’t in the information I saw, but if I lost ten pounds over a five week period and if I could maintain that same ratio for a year, I would lose roughly one hundred pounds. Also, if I only lost half that amount, the Deprivation Diet would still look as good as the top five performers in the Tufts’ study.

Caution: If you’re considering the Deprivation Diet or any other diet, it’s a good idea to first consult your family physician.

Things Got Worse With Each Fall

We should have guessed there was more trouble to come, when Aunt Jo ran over herself with a motorized wheelchair. Her accident happened last New Years Day as she tried to park the wheelchair while standing alongside it and manipulating the controls. Aside from a few bruises, one of which was her ego, she might have been okay but for the fact that her worst bruise caused blood to form under the skin and had to be drained. Then, the area didn’t want to heal properly, resulting in several trips to the Wound Center in Tupelo for treatment.

For more years than I can remember, Aunt Jo has walked in a bent-over position because of a hip problem. She had knee replacement surgery on her left knee several years ago and might have had the other knee replaced this year had it not been for a host of other problems.

I’ve lost count of the number of times Aunt Jo has fallen this year, but surely it’s a handful or more. It’s not unusual for the elderly to fall, and in the case of Aunt Jo it seems her falls were related to balance. There was the time when she reached for the light cord to the ceiling fan and fell backwards. On one occasion, she was standing up from a seated position and fell forward. Fortunately, most of the falls did not result in a broken bone. However, she has managed to fracture a couple of bones in her shoulder and forearm.

Her most recent and most serious fall landed her in the hospital. Earlier, Aunt Jo had a bout with a stomach virus, got in a run-down state, and had to be hospitalized. Upon her release from the hospital, Fred and Betty Carter of Lakeland, FL, spent a week with her at home, helping care for her. Betty is a registered nurse, and Fred can do most things Betty directs him to do.

Aunt Jo appeared to be well on the way to recovery when Fred and Betty left on a Sunday, but disaster struck the following Wednesday. One of Aunt Jo’s friends arranged for her to have a "lifeline," a small device that can be worn around the neck or clipped to ones clothing, so that if pressed in an emergency, help can be summoned.

Most of us have seen the "Help, I’ve fallen and can’t get up" advertisements.

Aunt Jo placed the lifeline on her nightstand and was ready to crawl into bed, when she realized she’d left a light on, less than ten feet from her bed, in the living room. She used her walker to return to the living room. But as she reached down to turn off the lamp, she fell. She may have simply blacked out, because she fell like a sack of potatoes, tumbling over the walker and onto her electric scooter. She banged her head, her arm, shoulder, and right leg, tearing the thin skin on her arm in two places and the skin on her leg in one place.

Years ago, Aunt Jo’s doctor "put her on blood thinner" to control her blood’s tendency to form clots which lodged in her arms and legs and required medical attention. However, the downside of blood thinner is it complicates things if surgery is needed, or a tooth needs to be pulled, or as in the case of a cut or skin-tear it’s difficult to staunch the bleeding.

So, she lay there on the floor of the living room, hurt and bleeding, with her lifeline on a nightstand in her bedroom. Twelve hours later, around nine the next morning, a couple of home health care workers found her on the floor and summoned an ambulance. She was taken to Pontotoc Hospital and then to North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo.

After considering her known medical history and putting her through a series of medical tests, her doctors have determined she possesses no less than eleven medical conditions, which they deem "life-threatening." And, given the sum total of all conditions, it’s impossible to correct one problem without precipitating disastrous results. In short, any corrective treatment would likely end her life.

At the time of this writing, Aunt Jo has been hospitalized for three weeks. Things have looked pretty bleak for much of the time. She went without eating for five days and one of her conditions has affected her ability to speak. We, her family of nieces and nephews, can make out most of what she has to say, but she caught me lying to her the other night.

I had her repeat something two or three times and was still in the dark as to what she wanted, so I just nodded and said, "Okay."

She looked at me sort of like Mama used to when she wanted to wring my neck and said, "You don’t know a word I said, do you?"

I had no trouble understanding that remark.

Despite her weakened condition and the bleak days we’ve seen her through, Aunt Jo seems to be improving, at least for the short term. We expect she’ll be hospitalized for a few more days before being transferred to a swing-bed facility in Pontotoc. Afterwards, unless her condition greatly improves, she may continue to require round-the-clock care. It has not yet been determined if that care can be provided by family members alone, family members supplemented by Hospice, or a nursing home.

Given her medical problems, she could live three weeks, three months, or possibly three years. I only know for certain that I shall remember this year as the year Aunt Jo got run over by a wheelchair and then things got worse.

Holiday Memories Second Reminder

Unless one is a relatively recent subscriber/ reader of this newsletter, he or she is familiar with our practice of soliciting holiday memories. Normally, several individuals share a special Christmas memory, but we are not limiting memories to Christmas. Therefore, if you would like to share a Thanksgiving or New Years’ memory, such would be most appreciated.

Christmas is this writer’s favorite holiday, largely because the traditions passed down through my mom’s side of the family placed great emphasis on this particular holiday. Mom’s dad loved Christmas, and he made Christmas the most special day of the year for his three daughters. I must have heard Mom talk about her childhood Christmases a hundred times or more, but I never grew tired of hearing her stories.

Oral history is fine, but sometimes infrequently recalled memories fade and details are lost. I would encourage everyone to write a favorite holiday memory, not so much that I need to use it in this publication, but that it might be read and enjoyed by family members of future generations. Do it today, before the memory is forever lost. It’s a lot easier to preserve a letter or notebook than a mind.

Memories need not be limited to joyous events and may include family traditions. Disappointments such as Santa never bringing this writer a pair of sidewalk skates or new bicycle are as important to family history as the toy trucks and cap pistols that found their way beneath the Christmas Tree.

We will not be setting a deadline for submissions, this year, but, if we are to publish all contributions, we need them at least a week prior to the publication date.

Bodock Beau Memory Test

One day an employee came into work with both of his ears bandaged. His boss asked him what happened to his ears.

"Yesterday I was ironing a shirt when the phone rang and I accidentally answered the iron instead of the phone!"

"Well," the boss said, "that explains one ear, but what about the other?"

"They called back!"

Submitted by Larry Young

Memory Test- 60's Style

1. "Kookie; Kookie. Lend me your _____________."

2. The "battle cry" of the hippies in the sixties was "Turn on; tune in;________________."

3. After the Lone Ranger saved the day and rode off into the sunset, the grateful citizens would ask, "Who was that masked man?" Invariably, someone would answer, "I don't know, but he left this behind." What did he leave behind?________________.

4. Folk songs were played side by side with rock and roll. One of the most memorable folk songs included these lyrics: "When the rooster crows at the break of dawn, look out your window and I'll be gone. You're the reason I'm traveling on, __________________."

5. A group of protesters arrested at the Democratic convention in Chicago in 1968 achieved cult status, and were known as the________________.

6. When the Beatles first came to the U.S. in early 1964, we all watched them on the _________show.

7. Some of us who protested the Vietnam war did so by burning our_____________.

8. We all learned to read using the same books. We read about the thrilling lives and adventures of Dick and Jane. What was the name of Dick and Jane's dog?______

9. The cute little car with the engine in the back and the trunk (what there was of it) in the front, was called the V W. What other name(s)did it go by? _______________ & ________________

10. A Broadway musical and movie gave us the gang names the ________and the ____________.

11. In the seventies, we called the drop-out nonconformists "hippies." But in the early sixties, they were known as ________________.

12. William Bendix played Chester A. Riley, who always seemed to get the short end of the stick in the television program, "The Life of Riley." At the end of each show, poor Chester would turn to the camera and exclaim, "What a ________."

13. "Get your kicks, ________________."

14. "The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed________________."

15. The real James Bond, Sean Connery, mixed his martinis a special way:________________.

16. "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, __________."

17. That "adult" book by Henry Miller - the one that contained all the "dirty" dialogue - was called _________.

18. Today, the math geniuses in school might walk around with a calculator strapped to their belts. But back in the sixties, members of the math club used a _________.

19. In 1971, singer Don Maclean sang a song about "the day the music died." This was a reference and tribute to _______________.

20. A well-known television commercial featured a driver who was miraculously lifted through thin air and into the front seat of a convertible. The matching slogan was "Let Hertz ____________."

21. After the twist, the mashed potatoes, and the watusi, we "danced" under a stick that was lowered as low as we could go in a dance called_________.

22. "N-E-S-T-L-E-S; Nestles makes the very best..._____________________."

23. In the late sixties, the "full figure" style of Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe gave way to the "trim" look, as first exemplified by British model ________________.

24. Sachmo was America's "ambassador of goodwill." Our parents shared this great jazz trumpet player with us. His name was _______________.

25. On Jackie Gleason's variety show in the sixties, one of the most popular segments was "Joe, the Bartender." Joe's regular visitor at the bar was that slightly off-center, but lovable character,_________. (The character's name, not the actor's.)

26. We can remember the first satellite placed into orbit. The Russians did it; it was called _________.

27. What takes a licking and keeps on ticking?____________.

28. One of the big fads of the late fifties and sixties was a large plastic ring that we twirled around our waist; it was called the ________________.

29. The "Age of Aquarius" was brought into the mainstream in the Broadway musical ___________.

30. This is a two-parter: Red Skelton's hobo character (not the hayseed, the hobo) was _______________. Red ended his television show by saying, "Good night, and ________________."

THE ANSWERS:

1. "Kookie; Kookie; lend me your comb."

2. The "battle cry" of the hippies in the sixties was "Turn on; tune in; drop out." Many people who proclaimed that 30 years ago today are Wall Street bond traders and corporate lawyers.

3. The Lone Ranger left behind a silver bullet. Several of you said he left behind his mask. Oh, no; even off the screen, Clayton Moore would not be seen as the Lone Ranger without his mask!

4. "When the rooster crows at the break of dawn, look out your window and I'll be gone. You're the reason I'm traveling on; Don't think twice, it's all right."

5. The group of protesters arrested at the Democratic convention in Chicago in 1968 was known as the Chicago seven. As Paul Harvey says, "They would like me to mention their names."

6. When the Beatles first came to the U.S. in early 1964, we all watched them on the Ed Sullivan Show.

7. Some who protested the Vietnam war did so by burning their draft cards. If you said "bras," you've got the right spirit, but nobody ever burned a bra while I was watching. The "bra burning" days came as a by-product of the women's liberation movement which had nothing directly to do with the Vietnam war.

8. Dick and Jane's dog was Spot. "See Spot run." Whatever happened to them? Rumor has it they have been replaced in some school systems by "Heather has Two Mommies."

9. It was the VW Beetle, or more affectionately, the Bug.

10. A Broadway musical and movie gave us the gang names the Sharks and the Jets. West Side Story.

11. In the early sixties, the dropout, non-conformists were known as beatniks. Maynard G. Krebs was the classic beatnik, except that he had no rhythm, man; a beard, but no beat.

12. At the end of "The Life of Riley," Chester would turn to the camera and exclaim, "What a revolting development this is."

13. "Get your kicks, on Route 66."

14. "The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent."

15. The real James Bond, Sean Connery, mixed his martinis a special way: shaken, not stirred.

16. "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight."

17. That "adult" book by Henry Miller was called Tropic of Cancer. Today, it would get a PG-13 rating.

18. Back in the sixties, members of the math club used a slide rule.

19. "The day the music died" was a reference and tribute to Buddy Holly.

20. The matching slogan was "Let Hertz put you in the driver's seat."

21. After the twist, the mashed potatoes, and the watusi, we "danced" under a stick in a dance called the Limbo.

22. "N-E-S-T-L-E-S; Nestles makes the very best....chooo-c'late." In the television commercial, "chocolate" was sung by a puppet - a dog. (Remember his mouth flopping open and shut?)

23. In the late sixties, the "full figure" style gave way to the "trim" look, as first exemplified by British model Twiggy.

24. Our parents shared this great jazz trumpet player with us. His name was Louis Armstrong.

25. On Jackie Gleason's variety show in the sixties, Joe's regular visitor at the bar was Crazy Googenhiem.

26. The Russians put the first satellite into orbit; it was called Sputnik.

27. What takes a licking and keeps on ticking? A Timex watch.

28. The large plastic ring that we twirled around our waist was called the hula-hoop.

29. The "Age of Aquarius" was brought into the mainstream in the Broadway musical "Hair."

30. Red Skelton's hobo character was Freddie the Freeloader. (Clem Kaddiddlehopper was the "hay seed.") Red ended his television show by saying, "Good night, and may God bless."

Submitted by Ed Dandridge

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