November 22 '03
Volume 390
Dieters
Alert Stick With It For Success
Theres good
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. Whod have guessed that? It makes me
wonder if a government grant funded the study. I suppose it doesnt
matter, but its good someone is finally able to statistically prove
what we already knew, it takes "staying power" to loose weight.
It doesnt 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 cant 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 cant be good for a dieters heart.
However, the study bore out the results of other research indicating the
Atkins diet is no more harmful to ones heart than any of the other
diets. Furthermore, it seems all diets that are followed closely help reduce
the risk of heart disease, and its weight loss that more positively
impacts the dieters 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. Dont rush out to buy the book as its not yet published,
but he calls his diet program the Deprivation Diet.
"Just deprive your stomach of food. Thats all you have to do, if you
want to lose weight. Theres 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 its
usually lunch. I may find myself a snack, but its 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. Im 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 its business travel, as was my case. But, really, theres
no reason anyone who is serious about losing weight couldnt 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. Im sorry to say
Im not aware of any studies on the Deprivation Diet, and it was not
included in the Tufts University study, or at least it wasnt 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 youre considering the Deprivation Diet or any other
diet, its 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 didnt
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.
Ive lost count of the number of times Aunt Jo has fallen this year,
but surely its a handful or more. Its 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 Jos
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, Ive fallen and cant get up"
advertisements.
Aunt Jo placed the lifeline on her nightstand and was ready to crawl into
bed, when she realized shed 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 Jos doctor "put her on blood thinner" to control her
bloods 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 its 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, its 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 dont know a word I said, do you?"
I had no trouble understanding that remark.
Despite her weakened condition and the bleak days weve seen her through,
Aunt Jo seems to be improving, at least for the short term. We expect
shell 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 writers favorite holiday, largely because the traditions
passed down through my moms side of the family placed great emphasis
on this particular holiday. Moms 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. Its 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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