Health for life

As with war, politics, and solving a Scooby Doo mystery, when it comes to saving cash and eating well, nothing is more important than having a plan. Grocery lists keep you from blowing dough on extraneous stuff. Price books give you the best possible food costs. Menu planners ensure you’re not scrambling to put dinner on the table, thus preventing dangerous bouts of crazy.

My own time-tested system combines a half-baked price book, hastily scrawled grocery lists, and yelling, “HON?! What are you in the mood for?” It works for now, but I’m thinking of going the pen-and-paper route. It’s working for Leigh, after all.

Fortunately, there are gazillions of downloadable menu planners, grocery lists, and price books all over the web. Unfortunately, many aren’t free, and involve some kind of weird sign-up or registration. Unless it’s for health insurance or Idol voting (Bowersox 4-evs), I hate doing that.

So, for your organizing pleasure, here are 36 free templates that’ll get you cooking. To know:

• There are no memberships or sign-ups required.
• All files are printable images, PDFs, or Excel spreadsheets.
• To make sure the sites were kosher, I downloaded/opened at least one form from each page. My computer has not virusized yet. (KNOCK ON WOOD.) Still, use at your own risk.
• Again: free.

If you’re craving more than a basic Word document, starred (*) entries go beyond the usual cells and tables. Their artsy graphic designs are Etsy worthy, and will look particularly cute hanging on your fridge.

Readers, if you know of any good templates/spreadsheets/whatever I missed, add ‘em in the comment section. Prettified ones will receive extra bonus points. (Meaning: a quiet “yay” in my small Brooklyn apartment.)

MULTIPLE RESOURCES
These websites include many different kinds of templates.

Better Budgeting
Basic weekly menu planner and weekly dinner planner, along with a grocery list organized by aisle.

Free Printable Grocery List
Dozens of grocery lists and menu planners, both blank and with pre-formatted checklists. Some have cute (but minimal) designs. Click on the sidebar and start printin’.

I’m an Organizing Junkie
Grocery list and weekly menu planner/grocery list combo. Formatted in boxes. A twist!

Keep and Share
Nice compilation of grocery lists for diet restrictions, including gluten-free, kosher, diabetic, lactose-free. Includes a pair of massive two-pagers, as well.

Mom’s Budget
Weekly and monthly meal planners, price logs, pantry inventories, and grocery lists in blue, green, orange, pink, and purple.

Money Saving Mom
Fourteen free downloads, including weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly menu planners as well as a master prep, ingredient, and shopping lists.


COMBINATIONS
Each of these single documents will do double-duty as say, a menu planner AND grocery list.

*A Feathered Nest
Menu planner/grocery list combo that’s super cute without being twee.

About.com
Weekly menu planner and shopping list.

*Carina Gardner
Anthropologie-esque weekly menu planner with a grocery list on the bottom. Nice! (Its the one pictured at the top.)

*Design Sponge
A weekly menu planner/grocery list combo, as well as blank and checklist-style grocery lists. Cute!

Organized Home
Weekly menu planner and shopping list

*The Project Girl
Menu planner and shopping list, with the best design out of everything here. Very pretty!

Saving Your Cents
Weekly menu planner and shopping list. Simple and clean. Use #1. (The others are already on this list.)


PRICE BOOKS
Excel documents unless otherwise noted.

Cheap Cooking
You have to do a little deleting here, but it should work otherwise.

It’s Your Money
A larger file requiring unzipping.

No Credit Needed
Uncomplicated and easy to figure out. My favorite of these options.

Organized Home
This one’s not an Excel spreadsheet. It’s a fill-in-the-blank-with-your-own-pen-style price book.


MENU PLANNERS

Busy Bee Lifestyle
Weekly planner with separate columns for kids and adults. With a picture of a bee! (Note: I like bees.)

*Disney Family Fun
Dinner planner only, but with a cute, kid-oriented design.

*From the Kitchen of…
Super fun weekly planner. Be aware that it’s a big file, and has to be unzipped. I don’t know why, but it reminds me a little of a Lynda Barry cartoon.

Home Life Weekly
Rainbow colored weekly planner.

The Home School Mom
Has one with a weekly activity planner on the side, and one without. Pretty basic.

Main Street Mom
Super, super basic design. But effective.

Meal Planning Mommies
Weekly plan with “I’m a meal planning mommy!” written across the top. Helpful if you forget who you are, not helpful if youre male.

Organized Home
Weekly menu planner made especially for notebooks.

*Petit Elefant
This one involves some re-sizing, but has a totally cute format and design.

Unclutterer
Available in spreadsheet or PDF form. Clean and efficient.

Vertex 42
Basic weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly menu planners in both portrait and landscape print styles.


GROCERY LISTS

Excel Template
Three printable spreadsheets of varying sizes, for general-to-specific shopping.

Mom Ready
Simple and straightforward checklist for your weekly trip.

Painted Gold
Simple blank list organized by department.

Pike’s Pickles
PDF files with both a blank list and formatted checklist.

Split Coast Stampers
Another checklist-style Excel spreadsheet. Also in PDF format if you scroll down a little further

Squawkfox
Landscape-style one-page checklist with many attractive boxes. Pretty thorough.

The Ultimatest Grocery List
Huge single-page checklist, with a massive bonus list for vegetarians! Maybe the best option if you’re looking for this kind of thing.

Vertex 42
Blank template organized by category. Handy.

Readers, whatchoo got? The comments are open!

~~~
If you like this article, you might also enjoy:

• Cheap Healthy Good’s Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Equipment
• Information Central: 32 Free Food Charts, Checklists, and Wallet-Sized Guides
• Pantry of the Gods

Its been too long since Ive spoken about cholesterol, too long I tell you. For those of you who dont know, I would sum up my view on cholesterol like this: its the most overhyped risk factor for heart disease there is. All you hear in the media is "Watch your cholesterol!" or "Cheerios lower cholesterol!" or "This food is cholesterol-free, so its good for you!". Bollocks. Bollocks I say.

First of all, the cholesterol in the food you eat barely has any effect on the cholesterol in your blood, if it has any effect at all. And second, lets set the record straight on "high cholesterol"... please for the love of God, quit worrying about it. Your total cholesterol is just about meaningless unless its taken in context with your triglycerides, HDL, and LDL... even better, your LDL particle number. Despite having no real, accurate clinical implications though, "high cholesterol" has taken on this sort-of boogey man role, scaring every health-conscious person into Lipitor land.

Anyway, I came across something today that was just too good not to write about; this stuff needs to be shared. This study was designed to analyze lipid-lowering therapy, but thats not the part I want to talk about here; its the cholesterol levels of the patients that piqued my interest. The researchers examined 65,396 patients hospitalized for heart disease (heart attack or angina) across the United States. Below youll find a screenshot of the baseline blood lipid data, taken within the first 24 hours of admission. You would expect, based on what you think you know, that heart disease patients must have had high cholesterol, right?

Average blood lipid values upon admission among all study participants.

Nope. On average, their cholesterol was 170.1 mg/dl, well below the high limit of 200. If any of these people had visited the doctor for a check-up a week before their hospitalization, the doc would have looked at these numbers and said "Steve, your cholesterol is great! Keep up the great work!" Assuming his name is Steve.

But things werent great. Each of these people experienced an acute coronary event that required hospitalization and very well could have ended their lives. Its irresponsible that were putting so much stock into cholesterol values when they clearly are NOT a good indicator of heart disease risk.

Sometimes it only takes one little piece of data, like this one, to completely change your beliefs on cholesterol and heart disease. I hope this provided the baseball to your brand new home window.

But what does this mean??
Now, theres an excellent chance that many of these people were already taking a cholesterol-lowering drug. Theres no data in the study to show whether this is true, but since so many people are on them, its very likely. So lets say for a moment that they were on statins. Say their normal cholesterol levels are around 220 mg/dl, and the statins bring it down to a more friendly-looking 170. Well, this only destroys the cholesterol and heart disease connection even more doesnt it? First off, it doesnt say much about the efficacy of the drugs. But also, it shows that reducing cholesterol from "high" back into "normal", at least via these mechanisms, is useless.

Okay, let me say it another way... if high cholesterol is the cause of our problems, lowering it should reduce our risk, regardless of the manner by which we do so. If it is not the cause, and it is just an indicator of a problem, then pharmacologically lowering it will NOT reduce our risk. It will, in fact, just make things appear to be fine when they are not.

Its sort of like when we get sick and we get a fever. We may take over-the-counter meds to reduce the fever; it makes us feel better and it takes away one of the symptoms of our illness. But we forget that the fever is an important part of our bodys defense mechanism to fight a bacterial infection... bacteria dont like the heat. We may feel a little better, but we remain just as sick as we were before, and weve now likely prolonged our sickness by messing with our bodys natural defense mechanisms.

The fever is like cholesterol, the symptom. The bacterial infection is the root cause. Got it? Okay its not a perfect analogy, but you get the point.


What is the root cause of heart disease then? If not total cholesterol, what should we focus on? Well thats a big can of worms... there are many factors that go into it. Stay tuned next week for a comprehensive guide on how to prevent heart disease!

With some creativity, it can be made downright fun.

Cest vrai, nest pas?

Before I leave the topic of vitamin B12 (yesterdays post: New Study Links Metformin To Cognitive Impairment, via inadequate vitamin B12), its important to know that you dont have to be taking metformin, or have diabetes at all, to risk a vitamin B12 deficiency.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) say between 1.5% and 15% of the US population experience vitamin B12 deficiency. Most people over the age of 50 have such poor absorption of the vitamin that the NIH recommends older adults supplement with B12, either by eating fortified foods or taking dietary supplements.

From the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements:
Quick Fact Sheet on Vitamin B12
Professional Fact Sheet on Vitamin B12

Groups that may not be getting enough vitamin B12 or that have trouble absorbing it:

• Many older adults, who do not have enough hydrochloric acid in their stomach to absorb the vitamin B12 naturally present in food. People over 50 should get most of their vitamin B12 from fortified foods or dietary supplements because, in most cases, their bodies can absorb vitamin B12 from these sources.
• People with pernicious anemia whose bodies do not make the intrinsic factor needed to absorb vitamin B12. Doctors usually treat pernicious anemia with vitamin B12 shots, although very high oral doses of vitamin B12 might also be effective.
• People who have had gastrointestinal surgery, such as weight loss surgery, or who have digestive disorders, such as celiac disease or Crohns disease. These conditions can decrease the amount of vitamin B12 that the body can absorb.
• Some people who eat little or no animal foods such as vegetarians and vegans. Only animal foods have vitamin B12 naturally. When pregnant women and women who breastfeed their babies are strict vegetarians or vegans, their babies might also not get enough vitamin B12.

Low levels of vitamin B12 show up as numbness or tingling in the arms and legs, weakness, and loss of balance - symptoms similar to diabetic neuropathy. Other symptoms include constipation, loss of appetite, weight loss, soreness of the mouth or tongue, and megaloblastic anemia. And as we saw in yesterdays post, vitamin B12 deficiency affects cognition, leading to depression, confusion, poor memory, and dementia.

A vitamin B12 deficiency can be detected by a blood test. Also, an elevated mean corpuscular volume (MCV) in a blood test can indicate low B12 status and justifies measurement of serum B12 directly.¹
________¹ Diagnostic Value Of The Mean Corpuscular Volume In The Detection Of Vitamin B12 Deficiency, Scandivavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation, February 2000.

If youre a regular reader of this blog, you may know that I love to talk about cholesterol.  You know about my many blog posts on the falsity of the lipid hypothesis, the idea that high cholesterol causes heart disease.  Its been by far the most covered topic on my blog (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10).  Its always been a major topic of interest to me, because I feel so strongly that people are being misled when it comes to cholesterol.  Its my view that high cholesterol (recognized by most doctors as higher than 200 mg/dl) is completely overrated as a risk factor for heart disease, and that cholesterol-lowering drugs are unnecessary/useless/potentially harmful for 95% of the population.  Everyone is always so damn worried about their cholesterol, and they dont need to be.  So Im "that guy".  Im the guy who scoffs at doctors when they prescribe statin drugs for women with cholesterol levels of 210.  Im the guy who shakes his head when an otherwise healthy person returns from the doctors office upset about having high cholesterol.  And Im DEFINITELY the guy who laughs when you start eating egg white omelets every morning to fix it.  Thats just hilarious in so many ways.
Second test
My diet had not changed that significantly from the first to the second test, in which my total and LDL dropped dramatically.  I began to increase my carb intake a little, and I cut back on the conventional fatty meat for sure.  I ate more full-fat dairy and eggs, as well as some rice and potatoes.  The macronutrient ratios likely didnt differ much from that of the first test:  55% fat, 25% protein, 20% carbs.

Third test
I would say my diet has changed more from the second to the third test than from the first to the second.  I now eat significantly more gluten-free grains like rice and corn, as well as potatoes.  I still eat around 4 eggs each day and drink whole milk regularly.  But of course, meat, vegetables, and fruits are still a major part of my diet.  Oh, and grass-fed butter.  What would I ever do without you.  I would estimate my diet at about 40% fat, 25% protein, 35% carbs. 

Cranberries are more than a holiday favorite, given their remarkable nutritional and health benefits. A new research review published in the international journal Advances in Nutrition provides reasons why these tiny berries can be front and center and not just a side dish. The review authors conclude that cranberries provide unique bioactive compounds that may help reduce the incidence of certain infections, improve heart health and temper inflammation.

Ten worldwide experts in cranberry and health research contributed to the article, including scientists and medical experts from Tufts University, Pennsylvania State University, Boston University, Rutgers University, French National Institute for Agricultural Research, University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom and Heinrich-Heine-University in Germany. The authors included more than 150 published research studies to create the most thorough and up-to-date review of the cranberry nutrition and human health research.

"Hundreds of studies show that the bioactive compounds found in cranberries improve health," said lead author Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, FASN, FACN, CNS, Director of the Antioxidants Research Laboratory and Professor in the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. "For example, the polyphenols found in cranberries have been shown to promote a healthy urinary tract and exert protective benefits for cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions."

Based on the totality of the published cranberry research, the authors concluded that the cranberry fruit is truly special because of the A-type proanthocyanidins (a polyphenol from the flavanol family), in contrast to the B-type proanthocyanidins present in most other types of berries and fruit. The A-type proanthocyanidins appear to provide the anti-adhesion benefits that help protect against urinary tract infections (UTI), which affect more than 15 million U.S. women each year. They present evidence suggesting that cranberries may also reduce the recurrence of UTIs – an important approach for relying less on antibiotic treatment for the condition.

Cranberry Health Benefits Extend Beyond Urinary Tract Health

The authors also cite data that shows the cranberry may improve cardiovascular health by improving blood cholesterol levels and lowering blood pressure, inflammation and oxidative stress. Cranberries have been shown to help support endothelial function and reduce arterial stiffness. Together, these benefits may promote overall health and functioning of blood vessels to help slow the progression of atherogenesis and plaque formation, which can lead to heart attacks and stroke.

Need Fruit? Eat More Cranberries

While all fruit contributes necessary vitamins and minerals to the diet, berry fruits offer a particularly rich source of health-promoting polyphenols. Because of their tart taste and very low natural sugar content, sugar is often added to cranberry products for palatability. Even with added sugar, cranberry products typically have a comparable amount of sugar to other unsweetened fruit juices and dried fruit products. Additionally, the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans asserts that the best use of calories from added sweeteners is for improving the palatability of nutrient-rich foods, as is the case when adding sugar to cranberries. As an additional option, non-nutritive sweeteners are used to produce low calorie versions of cranberry products. Americans can help increase their fruit intake by incorporating cranberries and cranberry products into their diet and there is no need to wait for the holidays – cranberries can be enjoyed year round – fresh, frozen, dried, or in a juice or sauce.

The Disease Management Care Blog feels your pain. 

You help lead a unique and innovative care coordination initiative.  Your program has some preliminary data that strongly suggests quality has increased while costs have remained neutral or gone down.  Patients are satisfied.  Docs are happy.  You even have a patient anecdote or two.

But somethings missing.

While your institutions marketing department has been supportive, you believe that the customers you want to serve are tired of glossy brochures, breathless press releases and chatty sales reps.  Your customer meetings are fun, but you cant tell if the positive feedback is the result of real insight or that second glass of wine. 

On the other hand, the prospect of publishing your findings in some scientific journal is too dreary to contemplate. 

You know some more meaningful is at stake.  You want to share your good news and get some feedback.

Heres your solution: the Care Continuum Alliance Annual Conference.  Hundreds of individuals just like you - individuals who give a damn about patients, are excited about making a difference and want to make a living doing it - will be available to give feedback.  Who knows, some of them may talk partnerships.  Others will resent your competition, confirming that you are on the right track.

The CCA Call for Proposals can be found here.  You have until March 6 to submit.

First of all, Merry Christmas to everyone!  And if you dont celebrate Christmas, then you know what I mean... dont be all hypersensitive and get offended.  The way I see it, if someone said "Happy Hanukkah" to me, I wouldnt take offense, and Id wish them a Happy Hanukkah back.  When someone wishes you a happy-anything, why would you inject negativity into the situation?  Besides, Christmas has become more than a Christian holiday; I dont really consider myself a Christian to be honest (at least not in the traditional sense), its just a cultural thing to me, and its a tradition in my family.  So thats my take.  Of course, this has nothing to do with todays post, but screw it, I needed to get that out there.  Stop being so sensitive.  Im only disrespecting you if you take it that way. 


So today, I just want to briefly talk about something I read about on Whole Health Source about food and opioid receptors.  The opioid receptors, just like they sound, are the receptors in the brain that are hijacked when you take drugs like heroin.  Theyre responsible for the addictive nature of drugs.  This "reward" system is what calls at you to have a cigarette, snort some coke, or inject some heroin.  And the more you do it the more you want it.

But this wiring in your brain has a practical purpose; its not there solely to make sure you end up living in a cardboard box with nothing but your dog and your needles.  Although its pretty good at that too.  But its there to encourage behaviors that promote your survival, so that youll continue to do them.  Like eating food for example.  Obviously, eating is important for survival, so this reward system encourages us to eat foods high in calories and important nutrients.  Eating grass wouldnt get us anywhere; theres no calories for us in grass, and thats why you dont crave it.

As you can imagine, this system is NOT designed for todays food environment, where there are excessively yummy treats at every turn.  This seems like, to me, the driving factor behind obesity.  Foods high calories, sugar, fat, and salt stimulate the reward system the most.  This is why we cant eat just one potato chip; its why theres always room for dessert.  Your body wants those calories like a drug... literally.

Personal example:  Just the other night at Whole Foods Market, my place of employment, I found myself binging on the center of several free cinnamon buns in the dish room.  Everyone knows the center is the best.  But I wasnt even hungry at the time.  Reward circuits just took over.  Luckily I have a metabolism like a ring-tailed lemur.



Manipulating the Reward System
Its been known for a long time that injecting opioids along with a meal will increase the perceived palatability of the meal, hence increasing the amount of food they eat.  In essence, this artificially stimulates the opioid receptors along with a food that wouldnt normally elicit such a response.  It wont change someones perception of the taste of a food, but it increases their wanting for it nonetheless.  Thats the power of the brain.

Interestingly, this phenomenon works in the opposite way too.  Using a drug called naltrexone, which blocks the opiate receptors in the brain, we can reduce ones desire for palatable food without affecting their perception of taste.  From the study, "Specifically, systemic infusions of the opioid antagonist naltrexone in humans reduce reported affective or pleasantness ratings of sweet and fatty foods while not affecting subjective reports of hunger or the ability to detect sweet or salty tastes. Similar data has been reported in rats from a variety of paradigms. (1)"

This is incredibly interesting to me.  Nothing about the food has changed, and in fact, the person is still able to taste it just the same as before.  But the brains perception of the food has totally changed, and that makes all the difference.

This proves that ones wanting for a food goes beyond taste.  Yes, people tend to eat things that taste good... foods that are fatty, salty, or sweet.  But being fatty, salty, and sweet doesnt make a food palatable; its the brain that does that.
  

So there are more than just a few parallels between food and addictive drugs... in fact, the reason we crave that Christmas cookie is the same reason we cant stop shooting up with heroin, and its via the same physiological response.  Is food addictive?  You bet it is. 


Thats it for today, hope you found this as interesting as I did!  Until next time... Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, and Happy Whatever-It-Is-Asians-Celebrate-For-Winter-Solstice!

Im back... "So, where have you been?" you might be asking. Ive been doodling and wandering. Ive been trying new things and hiding out. Ive been to the emergency room, the doctors office, and the drug store so Ive been dealing with a few health issues which I will briefly tell you about later in the blog.

I dont think I can even get it clear in my head where and what I have been doing but here is where I am now: The night before last I watched a movie on Netflix called "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" by Joe Cross, a guy from Australia who came to the U.S. to travel around doing a documentary about his 60 day juice fast. I watched it again, last night and I feel really motivated to try this out. But first...

In my last blog post I was trying out the "Potatoes Not Prozac" potato before bedtime bit to see if it really did make me feel better. Oddly enough it did, but my blood sugars began to run high again. Of course I was not properly monitoring the blood sugar thing so this was unbeknownst to me (of all people). I had begun to substitute sweet potatoes and to use red potatoes for a break in the routine. I really dont remember what else I was doing with my eating. I was mostly sticking to the salads but having pizza a couple of times a month. I would also go to Golden Corral and the Hong Kong Buffet which is across the street from the mobile home park I live in, a couple of times a month.

At the time of my last entry I was also still on unemployment which was coming to an end and I was getting a little stressed that I had no idea how I was going to support myself when that simply disappeared. The one good thing that happened is that God came through with His promise and I got approved for SSDI. So now I am no longer unemployed, I am now retired. Thank God!!

To make a long story short on June 16 I discovered that I have a blood clot in my right leg which goes from a little above my ankle to my knee. The good news is that it is in a superficial vein and not a deep vein which means there is no danger that it might break off and go to a lung. The other good news is that the doctor at the emergency room told me it was "tickling" a deep vein so it was caught just in time. I gave myself 4 shots of a heparin like drug (I had two in the emergency room over the course of a two day period for a total of 6 of these shots and still have the bruises to prove it :). I am now on warfarin which is a blood thinner to help dissolve the clot. I was given a 30 day supply and my doctor has given me a whole list of natural things to take to boost the activity without taking more warfarin.

Then about six days later I got an attack of gout in the middle toe of my left foot. Doc gave me some medication to take for that but only until the pain and stuff is gone. And I am supposed to eat cherries. My blood sugars are better now and the inflammation (which is the cause of these health problems) is going down.

At that time my doctor put me on yet another "program" to try out. I was motivated to try it because of the health issues but over a short period of time I am finding Im not sure I like the results. Part of the program was to re-introduce dairy and fruit which I have done, but I dont like the way it makes me feel and the ankles have swollen again. So I am looking at doing a vegetable and fruit juice fast which they call a "reboot" on the Fatsickandnearlydead.com web site.

Because of my track record I am a little worried that it might just be another "try-it-for-a-few-days" program that I give up on, but I wont really know if it works for me until I try it. I am reluctant to decide how many days to do it for and kind of want to do it for a few days just to try it out. I did the "test" at the web site and was advised to do the "Reboot Entry Program" but that turns out to be different than what Joe and Phil did in the video.

In the video Joe consulted with Dr. Furhman and got the "go ahead" to do the fast. What he did was to use a Breville juicer to juice all kinds of fresh raw vegetables and fruits into a liquid diet for 60 days. In that time He lost a lot of weight by juicing and simply traveled about talking to people on his documentary. He happened to meet a guy named Phil Staples in a Winslow, Arizona truck stop parking lot and interviewed him on the documentary. Phil had the same skin disease that Joe had and they kind of connected because of that common territory. It is a rather rare disease and Joe had never met anyone else with the same malady which is an autoimmune disease that makes the skin break out in a rash and blisters that is painful and itchy. It is not shingles because it can erupt anywhere on the body at any time. They were both put on prednisone to try to control it but were taking lots of drugs and the disease was not going away.

Phil was not ready to try the juice fast, but Joe offered to help him if he decided he wanted to try it. A short time later (perhaps weeks or a month or two -- I dont remember) Phil gave Joe a call and asked him to help him to try out the juice fast. Joe, who was back home in Australia by then, flew back to Iowa where Phil lives and helped him to visit a doctor and get set up on the program. He stayed with him until Phil knew how to use the juicer and how to do the program, and then went back home. They kept in touch on the phone.

Phil was going to do the juice fast for 10 days to see how it went. At the end of that time he went on to do the 30 days, then went on to do it for 60 days. In 60 days he lost 120 pounds. (I think those are the correct numbers.) The film is kind of amazing and I had to watch it again the next day. Because both of their journeys were documented on film you can see the changes happening in them both. I especially liked Phils story. When he started the juice fast his face had a rather grey palor to it and when he was done his skin and face was glowing and he looked like he had shed about 30 years along with the 100 pounds. He began to actually look like the young man he really is.

You really ought to take a look at the film, just to see the transformation. I watched it at Netflix, but you can buy the DVD for about $20 or get it at Blockbuster (if you still have one near you) and view it. They also have some testimonials on their web site that are interesting to view but I liked the film the best and think I will watch it again.

So far I have purchased a juicer (from discountjuicers.com) which is being shipped to me. I have also followed my physical therapists advice and have a couple of swim suits coming too. (Im not sure what size so I ordered two different sizes to see which one fits the best.) My doctor prescribed physical therapy to get me moving again and wants me to exercise in a pool because it is easier on my body and will also keep the leg with the clot in a state of "compression" while I get moving again. Last Wednesday was my first day in a pool of any kind for about 15 years and I realized how much I missed it. So when the swim suit comes I am going to sign up at an indoor pool close to my house to go and exercise a few times a week in the pool. I will be doing the therapy for another 10 weeks, too.

So. Here I am, about to begin another new program. Im not so sure of myself as I begin, but the ideas seem to be good. The fruit and vegetable juicing will be similar to the "raw for 30" program in that it will be "vegan." Oddly, enough, going "vegan" was a problem to my mind but juicing does not seem to be a problem. The foods are the same so the results should be the same. I am expecting a full reversal of the diabetes, a lowering of the blood pressure... and this time, some weight loss, too. Im still feeling reluctant to choose a time table whether it be five days, ten days, or 30 days or even 60 days. I guess I am afraid to begin. Im afraid I might fail or allow myself to be pulled off track.

You know... putting a voice to the fear kind of puts it in perspective. The only thing I seem to be afraid of is failing. Fear of failure is a symptom of "perfectionism" which harbors the idea, "If I cant do it without failing, I wont do it at all." That kind of thinking is a setup for defeat. I think I have been afraid of being ashamed of myself for not being successful or perfect. But, heck, Ive had to walk the "failure" path for a long time. Im going to take the advice I read from the Hellers book "The Carbohydrate Addicts Lifespan Program" which is this:

If you suddenly were losing weight and not feeling good the doctor would investigate to find out why this is happening. They would not blame you, the victim, they would find the imbalance in your body and attempt to correct it. Why dont they do that when you put weight on? There is an imbalance in the body of the fat person that causes them to overeat. Their insulin is not working properly and the response is to over eat because an insulin overload makes you hungry!! Insulin is the "hunger hormone." So this means that if you are fat it is not your fault, either!! You are not some kind of pig with no self control. You are not lacking in moral fiber or have a low below level character or intelligence quotient. You have an insulin imbalance! The Hellers program is geared to help you level the insulin and live a healthy eating lifestyle and can be found at http://www.carbohydrateaddicts.com/.

Im going to kick start my program with a juicing "reboot." I am really very tired of trying programs that dont let me lose weight, too. Yes, I do want my blood pressure to be normal. Yes, I do want my blood sugars to be normal. And yes, I do want to have my weight be normal. I think juicing will be a good healthy way to get those things started. I need some good results. I want to feel like what I am doing is accomplishing something.

We shall see. I will be blogging about it as I go. I know I need the support of the blogging experience. So. As soon as I get the juicer I shall begin the program. I have enough time to get my body ready for it by letting go of the dairy (again). I dont have to worry about the grains, they are already gone. I dont have to worry about sugar, it is gone -- except for Stevia. The meat has been minimal so that should not be a problem.

From the video testimonials on the Fat Sick and Nearly Dead web site I can see there is a kind of "withdrawal period" that seems to take from about three to six days. The first three days being the worst. By day four they seem to turn a corner and things begin to be better after that. Based on that it looks like I should do the 10 day fast first. Then I can decide where to go from there.

I also have enough time to get my spirit ready for it.

Ps 103:2-6 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

Looking forward.

Be back soon,

Marcia

The day I lost my car... I became an avid pedestrian. Every local place became THE place to go for any goods and services. I really didnt want to lose my car, but the many months of being sick and at home, on leave from work and with no paycheck, left me struggling to make ends meet -- and well, car payments were not a priority. I let the car go.

Then shortly thereafter, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. November 17th, 2009.

I thus began to get acquainted with a certain place a lot more often than I would have liked. A certain pharmacy. God, I hate pharmacies. I hate their smell, I hate their lights, I hate the waiting... and the lectures you get every time you get your prescription illed as if you hadnt heard them before for like the billionth time. Ive also never cared for the chit-chat. You know, the chit-chat cashiers always give you when youre ready to go. Im sort of this anti-social who just wants to grab the crap she needs, and be on her way. No eye contact, no talking... bah humbug.

But, alas, there was Sally. (Sally is not her real name.)

Sally loves and loves to talk. Sally is very social. Sally always has something to say, and engages well with customers. Sally loves talking a little too much with her customers. I think she may have even gotten a bit in trouble for it before. Its not easy to leave Sallys side, by the register. Heck, she sometimes even comes over to you while youre in the isle to talk to you while you shop! Shes always full of stories -- about the weather, about how things used to be in Ames, about her cat, about how things used to be in her hometown, about whats on sale, about what the best and most addicting snacks are, about her younger years when she used to have a career in social work, etc. Needless to say, Sally is very annoying.

Some days, when Rod and I used to go into the pharmacy together, wed find ways to try and avoid Sally -- especially if we were in a hurry. Sometimes, wed just want to shop in peace. Sometimes, we might have even gone to a different place altogether. But... in Iowa, politeness reigns. If we failed avoiding her, wed still listen to Sally. Conversation began to get so involved... that now wed be telling Sally our own woes.

Sally knew when I had no job or when I was underemployed with few hours, or when we were sick; when we had many, many struggles. Sally has often given us career advice, and even advocated for us.

In 2010, a devastating flood of epic proportions (the last of its kind seen 500 years ago), hit Iowa. It affected the resources and properties of many folk. Our town lost a lot of water mains and pipes, and the water supply became contaminated. The advice was: purchase water, and if youre poor, please go to these local water dispensing sites weve set up. The problem was the water dispensing sites were SO far away, we couldnt get to them. Buses werent going by certain areas either, because of flooding. Rod and I bought what little water we could, but then had no money left over for actual food. (And you know, with type 2 diabetes thats being treated with only diet, thats a rough ride... you have to seriously mind your carbohydrate consumption and you just cant survive on ramen noodles like someone else with a working pancreas could.)

Local Target stores parking lot, during the floods of 2010

I dont recall why we were at the pharmacy that day... but Sally asked about our day, and how we were faring with the floods, and well... we told her our woes, as had become usual. Sally, as it turns out, had been worried about us. Sally took us to the Red Cross -- Sally got us more water, and Sally took us to the supermarket and bought us food. Sally had endeared herself to us. Her quirky little self got into our hearts. She still, would sometimes, annoy the crap out of us... but our appreciation for her glossed over all that stuff. The stuff of being ourselves, squeaky wheels and all.

I dont believe in a god... and I dont believe that god is love. I believe that LOVE is God. I believe WE are God to one another, when we are in need, and our humanity calls... and we respond with love. And that day, when we needed her most, Sally WAS God. Sally helped us see another healthy tomorrow... and not struggle for today. Sally was also... our advocate. Sally KNEW we had type 2 diabetes... Sally RESPONDED to those needs. (WE can be patient advocates to ANYONE with a chronic illness, with their needs, ANY given day of the week. The opportunities are everywhere. Look for them. THIS is also part of advocacy. Being the glue that connects everything... when all else has failed.) 

Now... about a few weeks ago, I started noticing something wrong in my daily trips to the pharmacy. I really didnt see Sally as often, anymore, and she didnt seem as chatty as her usual self, anymore either. She seemed tired, and I thought to myself, "She looks like shes aging pretty fast; she looks a lot older than she was a month ago." (I didnt say anything.) I really had begun to MISS my daily encounters with Sally, and that daily inconvenience of having to stop and talk to her... while in a hurry to God knows where. "Maybe shes just cut back on hours," I had wondered... or maybe shes got a second job...  or maybe she was spending more time with visiting family. (She always spoke fondly of family far away -- or with annoyance -- depending on who the family member was. lol)

But today, walking home from work, I heard a voice yelling at me from a block behind "Why are you walking in such a hurry?! I cant catch up with you!" I stopped, and turned around. I saw it was Sally... and I got a little annoyed that I had to stop, and wait for her... It had been a pretty tiring day for me, and my carpal tunnel was worse for the wear. Sally lives a block from where I live, and she wanted to chat while we walked. Fine, I could entertain this.

She asked me about ME, first. How I was doing... how Rod was doing. How we were coping along with life. She pointed to her new hair cut... and how she wanted it shorter, for its getting so fine these days, its harder to style. I dont really care, but I politely listen anyway... (Ever the eternal Oscar the Grouch.) Then she gently eases into the topic... The chemotherapy has been really hard... and Sally cant manage it anymore. I am one of the special, chosen people in her world, that she has decided to tell... and no one else. Sally only has 4 months left to live.

I politely listen... offer my company... offer to spend time with her when shes stir-crazy at home, if anything. Sally cant drive anymore, which is just the same... because honestly, I still dont have a car. We can ride the bus together, she says. Itll be good. Itll be fun.

I offer to walk her all the way to her place, but she declines. I give her my cell phone number. We say our goodbyes, and I go home. I reach the bathroom, and undress. I break down and cry, and cry... and cry...

I dont know Sallys real name. Ive never asked.

Hi,

Im still curious about other "diet" programs and I found one that is chock full of really practical advice about losing weight. I mean REALLY practical. It is one of those reads that continually turns on the light bulb above my head. It is almost hard to put down, it is that good. It is called: The "Anything Goes Diet," and was written by John Barban and Mike Cecchin,

(Here is a link to their blog, but it is not as good a read as the AGD system, itself:  http://www.anythinggoesdiet.com/blog/ -- once you get there click on "AGD System" near the top of the page and view their commercial -- try leaving the page for a better offer, too.)

I found out about AGD from an e-mail from the guy who wrote "Eat Stop Eat" (Brad Pilon) who said that if he had written the food side of his "fasting" program it would have been the AGD system. You know me, Ill bite, just to see what gives and I am really glad I did.

Their premise is that there is no "bad food." It does not really matter whether you eat low carb, high carb, low fat, or high fat, high protein, vegan, carnivore, five meals a day or three.... What matters is less calorie intake all together. But they dont advocate "counting calories" either, they recommend "calorie guessing."

They propose that it has been proven that people always underestimate how many calories they consume in a day or week, and overestimate how many calories they burn through exercise. They couple that with the fact that the calorie counts on processed food labels have to be "at least" what is listed on the package, but could be more, and often are. So no one really knows exactly how many calories they consume anyway -- there are just too darn many variables to know -- so calorie guessing is as close as a person can get.

Then they start with the hints and tricks that might actually help you cut down on your calorie intake without depriving yourself of any particular food group or food that you enjoy eating. You also do not have to eat any food that you do not personally like.

They share dozens of tips and practical ideas, but I am only going to reveal this one as an example of how far out of the box they think: They recommend that you buy your gas at the pump. Why? Because if you never go inside the quick mart, you are not tempted by all the calories that line the walls and shelves. Out of sight. Out of mind. -- Out of mind. Out of mouth. -- Out of mouth. Off the waist. Period.

So what about those of us who know they cannot have a bag of cookies in the house because the whole bag will be inside the stomach before it gets a chance to actually "be" in the house? They show you a method that will help you address this problem yourself. If you actually do as they suggest, it is bound to work. You do not have to follow someone elses meal plans and eating guides. They help you make your own.

They show you how to actually eat less food and give you plenty of guidelines to make this happen for yourself. There are no imposed rules. They help you figure out what works for you, so you can actually DO what works for you. You eat the food you love, in smaller, more practical portions and you begin to lose weight.

What you get when you buy their program is five different PDF books of various sizes that help you to understand the program, and also apply it to your life. I was especially attracted to their "Thinking Thin" and their "Social Eating Guide" pamphlets and I was not disappointed with their very practical methods. I was, in fact, quite amazed.

Look. I know this sounds like Im selling their program, but, again, as you know, they dont know me, and I have no affiliation with them. I am simply excited to have found something that I think might actually work for me. As usual, I will have to try it out, to find out for sure, but so far, it looks very good to me and Im excited about it.

I have discovered that I can do 16 hour daily fasts for many days in a row without too much hassle. I did not know that before.  Ive discovered that fasting is natural and is nothing to be afraid of. Im actually beginning to per the feeling of fasting more than the feelings I get after having eaten -- but, if during the eight hours a day that you eat, you over eat, like a Sumo Wrestler, you will continue to look like a Sumo Wrestler. So, it is not as much about the fast, as it is about the quantity of consumption in between the fasts. But, you also do not have to starve yourself. You just need to eat a little bit less, to see results that make you smile. That is my take on the matter.

In the AGD they help you figure out how many calories per day will create a calorie deficit (and weight loss) for you, personally. The only thing I had a problem with was their generic metabolism charts. Ive actually had my resting metabolism measured at my doctors office and discovered that I burn 2400 calories every day, just laying around breathing so if I were to consume 2200 or even 2000 calories, I should lose weight. If I had not known that, I would have been stuck trying to live on 1400 calories per day. I know me. I need more food than that and cannot stick to a diet that is 1000 calories less per day. I really do begin to feel like Im starving and in a very short time I will abandon that program.

So here is what Marcia recommends: Dont use their generic charts. Go to your doctor and find out what your actual resting metabolic rate (RMR) is for real and then base your program on a calorie deficit that you can live with. If you cant live with it, you wont do it. Plain and simple. My doctor had a machine that I stood on in my bare feet, while I placed my hands on two electrified handles (dont worry, I did not feel a thing). It then printed out all kinds of information about me that I did not know before.

If your doctor does not have this kind of a device, then find a place that does. There are some health clubs and weight-loss centers that can do this, but I dont know how much it might cost. They often have an apparatus that you breathe into as you sit in a chair which will give you an accurate reading of your own RMR.

Changing your weight will be so much easier to do if you base your caloric intake count on real information and not those generic charts that only take your gender and your height into consideration. There are equations that can be done that are based on your gender, your height, and your weight but they are formulated for "normal" sized people and may not be accurate for the obese.

I feel very confident in saying that I think the AGD system has lots of useful stuff that will help you accomplish the task youve so long desired to accomplish: losing weight and keeping it off.

They have a 365-day money back guarantee, too. So... try it and see if they dont have a system that works for you. If not, then get your money back.

They even recommend that you eat as they suggest, and add to that a once a week 24-hour fast to really speed up your progress.

Im hoping it works for me.

Ill be letting you know.

Be back soon,

Marcia

This isnt exactly what I wanted to write about, tonight. Im not exactly an "on-schedule" blogger, but I know this is definitely not what I was expecting to write about, tonight.

[Before I proceed, though... I just want to say that I dont want ANY pity. No pity... No feeling sorry for me... No hurting for my circumstances. No advice on what I could have done better (I will rip you a new one, if you do, just be forewarned). Life is what it is, and we are all dealt... what we are dealt, sometimes. Whatever that is. There are people, right now, going through a LOT more difficult circumstances. They deserve our support... so dont you worry about me. Also, this post might have a lot of swearing.]

I just need to process, and I need to vent. So to heck with it.

... Where do I start, I dont know. Its such a blur,  now.

Last Sunday.

Last Sunday, running my hands through my hair, while wanting to put it up in a clasp, I found a large, swollen lump or area on the upper right side above the nape of my neck. It wasnt entirely dissimilar to the one on my left side, but distinctly swollen feeling, and sore if one put gentle pressure on it... and irradiating discomfort.

Of course, being The Angry Type 2 Diabetic that I am, I freaked out... said a few choice phrases rhyming with "What the fructose??" and sort of felt the clammy feel of panic rising up my spine. (You never want to feel that kind of panic when you have no insurance.)

I decided, though... that I was going to remain calm. (HA!) Just monitor it for the week, and wait until Thursday (today), for the Free Clinic, to get it checked out. As things sometimes go, I started feeling... unwell.  "Woozy," feverish... just uncomfortable from the growing pressure in that area of my head... The "soreness" was starting to radiate down to my right shoulder, down my neck... And today, well, it was just difficult to focus, at work, and I noticed I couldnt really walk a good distance without feeling... just weird. Light-headed. Nauseated. "Its okay, though," I thought... "Today is the Free Clinic, and theyll have a look at it."

Now, the Free Clinic in my town is basically a rat pack of some medical professionals of various ilks who volunteer to provide some basic/minimal health care to uninsured people, no questions asked, and which only generally meets on Thursday evenings, from 6-8 pm. You have to arrive at 4 pm, though, and make quite the long line. Waiting for care often averages between 4-6 hours... and its first come first served, of course. They can only see about 15 people.

The problem is... they used to have a somewhat permanent building, which has since been torn down by their tenant -- the next door church, while they make some new additions and changes to their facilities. So, the Free Clinic now has to share space with the next door church, and can only meet whenever the heck the church is not having some event. Which basically means... whenever a magic 8-ball decides.

I walk out there... just praying, praying under my breath that they are meeting. Lo and behold, as Murphys Law loves me so much... They are not meeting. I think its because of some stupid Pancake Day crap. I dont know. (Insert your personal sensibilities approved curses here.)

Then you have to make the tough decisions. Is this something that you think will go away; get better on its own? Am I overreacting? Is this... something that... could potentially get worse very quickly, and kill someone? Is this something that can be stopped, but it just needs immediate attention? I dont know... Do I go to the ER (because the local medical clinic is closed... and, even if it was open, they wont see me because I have no insurance and a hefty past medical bill that I cant prioritize to pay right now (dont judge me... you dont know me... and they wont let me pay anything less than an outrageous amount, every month...), while so underemployed and on food stamps...)? Or do I chance it?

Reluctantly, I decide... Im going to go to the ER. I dont want to be the freak on tomorrows front cover story that died within days, from something simple, or who knows what. The worst they can do is turn me away. And I was wrong. The worst they can do is shame me, while turning me away.

The doctor didnt even really look, or touch the area much. He basically pushed my hair around, said it looked exactly like the left side of my head, that he didnt see any physical injuries, and then asked have I ever cared to examine the left side of my head...

(Yes, doctor, the rest of us who arent doctors are certainly idiots... We go entire lifetimes NOT touching our own bodies.)

....and then proceeded to tell me it was probably just me being worried about it, or at the very most a resented lymph node. He dismissed my other symptoms with the wave of a hand, gave me a smirk and a suppressed laugh, and said that I need to just let it stay like that, and come back in a week if it got much worse (with big disbelief all over his face).

I tried, very unsuccessfully to get his attention. He just basically acted like I was bullshitting him, and walked off.

Nurse Patronizer walks in. Nurse Patronizer notices Im quite angry. I dont recall whatever tipped it off... (pffft!) But... Nurse Patronizer says to me "I dont know what you two discussed," and boy do I let the flood gates go... and I start crying, right there. She begs me to give her 5 minutes and goes off, basically to talk to Full of Himself Doctor, who says "Oh, she needs to just watch the area for 2 or 3 days (yeah, rather than a week, like he had said before... hmmm)..."

Nurse Patronizer repeated over and over again how it wasnt that I had no insurance, while at the same time pushing a flyer on me to go to the Free Clinic tonight.... After I had spent a good chunk of time explaining to them that the Free Clinic was closed. They wouldnt believe me, and kept asking me *why* it was closed. Now how in the &#$@ should *I* know?! All they had was a sign posted about "We will have No Free Clinic Tonight, 03/01/2012." Im not their schedule keepers!

So, really... hmmm... If you are not punishing me for not having insurance, then perhaps you were punishing me for your perceived notion that Im using the ER as a PCP providers office, and not waiting until whenever the heck THEY would have given me an appointment (should I had been able to get one, which I know from experience, that I would have not, because of my outstanding bill. I know how those jerks work, too.)

So, off they sent me... With apparently, a few "lessons" for the road:

• Youve lived with your body for 35 years... and are quite educated, Liz, but you dont know your own head;
• You have no insurance, and are underemployed, so you must be subhuman, or some mentally unstable person making stuff up... abusing our services;
• You are nothing more than money;
• I hope you dont die, but good luck. Suck it up, butter cup.

The Disease Management Care Blog really likes Twitter. Its scrolling 140-character tableau of news nuggets fit perfectly on the DMCBs hand held device, lap top and home personal computer.  Its easy to glance at between tasks and the advertising is blessedly minimal. The DMCB controls the content by following and unfollowing other Twitter accounts with a simple click or a touch.

But why, physician-skeptics may ask, is Twitter any better than traditional web browsing, email, list-servs and handheld apps?  Your DMCB thought about that and is pleased to offer its Top Twelve reasons why every doc should include Twitter in their informatics medical bag.

1. Lit Headlines: The major medical journals use Twitter to efficiently describe their latest content with links. For example.

2. Fame: Traditional print authors are publishing more and more about less and less. Getting peers to follow your original and insightful tweets is the new route to attaining status as an expert.  The DMCB has more than 500 daily followers vs. how many actually read the average peer-reviewed article?

3. News Junkies: Some of your like-minded peers are freely aggregating and retweeting relevant headlines with links for your perusing efficiency. They can be indefatigable.

4. Kool-Aid Immunity: Did you know your Chief, Chair, VP, lead administrator or Dean wants to control all your communication?  Twitter is an easy way to step out of the information bubble and monitor contrary news about that EHR, medical device, performance standards, your institutions business partners, the competition and more. For example.

5. Efficiency: Twitter trains you to be both brainy and brief. If you cant fit it into 140 characters or less, youre wasting your readers time.

6. Messaging: The "@" allows you to interact with established and potential colleagues outside of your institutions email system. Thanks to this function, DMCB has met some wonderful colleagues.

7. Medical Conference Tweets: View formal and informal updates and insights about that conference youre attending from not only the meeting organizers but other attendees.

8. Community: Like-minded colleagues are not only clustering in listservs but in Twitter.

9. Room for Diversions: Efficiency makes it guilt-free to include non-medical content.

10. Speed: Its astonishing how quickly Twitter users spot and link just-released reports that take days to appear on the web and weeks to appear on print.

11. Searches: Yes, traditional literature searches and Google have their advantages, but the "#" function can find links to information resources that you might otherwise miss.

12. The Disease Management Care Blog is on Twitter.

When you hear that 20 million people in the US have diabetes, it may sound like a lot. What it represents is about 9%* of the adult population.

A really staggering figure is the number of Americans with impaired fasting glucose (IFG), a pre-diabetes condition that increases the risk for diabetes down the road, and that by itself has been associated with cardiovascular disease outcomes such as heart attack and stroke.

How many people have IFG? In 2002, about 26% of the adult population, or 54 million Americans. Since IFG usually doesnt cause symptoms, the only way to detect it is through a blood test.


These figures are the result of analysis done by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Their work appears in the June issue of Diabetes Care.

Some of their other findings:

• Diabetes was more common in people over 65. The prevalence in this group rose to 22%. Almost 40% of them had IFG.
  
  
• Diabetes was twice as common in non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican Americans than non-Hispanic whites.
  
  
• IFG and undiagnosed diabetes were about 70% more common in men than women.

* 6.5% diagnosed plus 2.8% undiagnosed

________
For the Diabetes Care, June 2006 article (abstract only):
Prevalence of Diabetes and Impaired Fasting Glucose in Adults in the U.S. Population

For a summary:
One-third Of Adults With Diabetes Still Dont Know They Have It