Category: Life

Politics

If the Government Deems You Obese, They Will Force You to Go to Counseling

Karen

“”The AP reported Monday that ALL obese adults receive “intensive counseling” in an effort to rein in a growing health crisis in America. This “Preventative Services Task Force”, TASK FORCE, urging doctors to identify patients, name names, who have a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 or more, which is considered obese in this country. Doctors are either to provide intense counseling themselves, because doctors have a lot of free time on their hands, or refer the patient to a program which is designed to improve weight loss and health prospects.’ Isn’t this wonderful? This is precisely the thing that the Left said wouldn’t happen. Anyone who claimed that it would was just trying to scare you, where your doctor would have to report you to the government if you fell under the government’s category of obese so that you would go under government-required intense therapy. But hey! IT’S FREE!! HEALTHCARE IS FREE!! IT’LL MAKE IT AFFORDABLE AND FREE!! Oh, the strings attached. And this is what happens when it’s “free” to you. The person who controls the purse strings controls YOU.”

Is it worth it? Is it? When you give someone, or some entity, like the government, control over some aspect of your life, you no longer have any authority to make your own decisions. You are at the mercy of that person, or entity.

NOTHING IS FREE, FOLKS. Everything has a price. And Obamacare? Will cost you your freedom to make your own decisions when it comes to your own body. I’m not willing to pay that price.

I pray every night that this piece of sh*t legislature gets overturned. And I pray nightly that we get rid of this power-hungry dictator in November. Give me back my freedoms!

Yo.


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(Starting at 5:55)

Articles:

Let fat Americans pack it on — but make them pay for it, too

Federal task force wants obese Americans placed into counseling

Obesity Screening: Doctors Urged To Routinely Check Patients’ BMIs
Huffington Post kills me – doctors won’t be URGED to check patient’s BMI’s, they will be REQUIRED to check BMI’s and REPORT obese people, and that’s obese by the government’s standards, so that they, the obese people, can be ORDERED to go to counseling. There’s no urging, folks. That makes it sound like it’s a choice, that it’s a good deed on the doctor’s part. No. The choice was taken away the MOMENT this stupid, asinine law was passed. I hope you’re happy, Liberals, because this is the beginning of the end of personal freedoms and choice.

Getting into Shape

Amping Up My Health Goals

Karen

I’m sort of on a health kick.

Actually, there’s no “sort of” about it – I’m on a health kick.

I’ve been meaning to vlog about this, and I would still like to, but by the time I remember I WANT to, I look like something that dug itself out of a grave and well, I’ll spare you the gory visuals.

This whole thing started with Mother’s Day.

I went shopping with my mom. And as usual, I felt like a cow. My mom has lost weight and she’s downright skinny! Me? Not so much.

But the cherry on my humiliating sundae? The picture of me and my mom together.

Wow. Just wow.

It was yet another wake up call for me. I had gained my last pound – it was time to get serious about losing weight – AGAIN.

I go through spurts. Who doesn’t? And my last spurt? Done sprung a leak, ya’ll.

I went to work the Monday after that fateful, eye-opening picture wracking my brain trying to come up with a plan – did I really want to get back on my exercise routine? I mean, I was GOING to exercise, that’s a given anytime you want to lose weight, but I’ve been known to overdo the exercise thing in the past (like getting up at 4:30 every morning, driving to the gym and working out for an hour and a half every day. Oh yeah, I did that for two and a half years!!) and I really didn’t want to go through that strict of a routine this go-around. No. I needed to amp things up a bit – I needed to not only get back to exercising on a consistent basis, more importantly, I needed to re-train myself to eat smarter.

For you see, I had been so used to just eating what I wanted for so long, that I sort of forgot HOW to eat properly. Now that I’m older and my body is going through “THE CHANGE”, I can’t do that anymore.

The Mother’s Day picture was proof of that.

As usual, God was there for me. For out of the blue, one of my co-workers caught me one day and started telling me about this great new protein shake she had started drinking.

WAIT! I promise you it’s not some crazy fad. Well, okay, it might be a fad, but I’m going into this with my eyes wide open. And by that I mean, I KNOW THERE IS NO QUICK FIX, OR MAGIC POTION, TO LOSING WEIGHT. If you’re serious about losing weight, you have to re-train both your body, and your mind, into a new way of thinking.

This co-worker showed me a before picture, a picture of her at her heaviest. And I looked at her with new eyes. The girl HAD lost a ton of weight. So okay, I’d give it a shot.

Here is what I’ve been drinking for the past month:

It’s called Body by Vi and it’s a protein shake.

Before you roll your eyes – I’ve been on it one month and I’ve lost eight pounds. I increased my activity level, but not by much. I cut out ALL CARBS (seriously, no breads, no pastas, etc) and all sugars, obviously. But it goes beyond the obvious sugars (junk food, candy, etc.), I rarely drink orange juice and I check sugar content on everything I eat now.

Not a bad start, if I do say so myself, but I can do better.

The thing is, the shakes? Are expensive. For example, the type of protein drink I’m currently drinking? Costs $100 for 60 shakes. That’s two shakes per day for one month. Yeah. Expensive. HOWEVER, when you consider the amount of money you spend on food in one month’s time and you’re buying less because you’re making healthier food choices and not buying the normal junk you normally buy, you’re probably saving money in the long run.

So consider that.

And if you go this route? You need to be DAMN sure you’re committed to it because it really WILL be a waste of money if you don’t change your eating habits along with drinking two shakes a day.

For example, here is what I consume on a typical day:

Half a glass of orange juice, (but not every day). I know what I said about orange juice. Yes. It has a ton of sugar. But I drink it because, A. it makes me feel good and keeps my immune system strong and B., it helps me stay regular.

One 8 oz shake. I’ve been mixing it with unsweetened Almond milk – which has 40 calories. It’s less fattening, and it’s a lot less gassy than regular cow’s milk and I’ll be honest (when am I NOT honest with you people), I feel pretty good since drinking it. I don’t miss cow’s milk AT ALL. In fact, when I stop the shakes, I doubt if I EVER go back to cow’s milk, quite frankly.

Peanuts or almonds for a mid-morning snack. I know what you’re thinking – NUTS ARE FATTENING, KAREN. And you would be right, BUT, it’s the good kind of fat – the kind of fat that actually helps you burn the bad fat. And it’s got a lot of protein, which is KEY to losing weight – cut out the carbs and sugars and eat more protein.

One 8 oz. shake for lunch.

Cheese for mid-afternoon snack. Or low-fat yogurt. In fact, I’ve been eating A LOT of yogurt lately. Since I’ve stopped eating sugar, the sweetness of the yogurt actually helps curb my sweet craving.

Then I have a light dinner. I stick to meat and veggies. For example, Kevin made sliders (mini-hamburgers) the other night. I ate just the hamburger patty and put a little mustard on it for flavor. (No ketchup – ketchup has too much sugar). I’ve been buying broccoli, so I cut up some broccoli, dipped it into a little ranch dressing and YUM. I also had another piece of cheese. (I’ve been eating more cheese, too. Now you see why I need an occasional glass of orange juice between all of the milk, cheese and yogurt products I’ve been eating lately).

The shakes keep me full for about two hours. Then I just eat a snack. Honestly? I’ve been hungry, but not ravenous and as long as I have a handful of nuts now and again, even that’s under control.

The shakes themselves taste sweet. In fact, the powder smells EXACTLY like cake batter. It’s delicious. In addition to two big bags of powder, they send you flavor packets that you can add to the shakes to, well, shake things up a bit. 🙂 There are also all kinds of recipes for different types of shakes to avoid the monotony.

Though I’m glad I tried this Body by Vi, it’s just too expensive to maintain. So, I’m going to look into other protein drinks that are less expensive.

But the protein supplements alone are not enough – I need to rev this plan up a few RPM’s … I talked to my co-worker again and she told me that in addition to the shakes, she added something else … something that has sped up her metabolism and helped her to lose thirty pounds – THIRTY POUNDS, YA’LL!!!

I’ll tell you what I’m trying next in a different post.

Right now, it’s almost 10:00 p.m. and I’m having trouble keeping my eyes open. I plan on getting up at 5:00 in the morning and driving to a nearby school to use their track so I can get my three mile walk on before I go to work.

Yes. I do believe I have lost my mind, thanks for asking.

All I know is, I’m determined to reshape my body. I’d LIKE to lose forty pounds, we’ll see if I can make that happen.

More later …

Life-condensed, Work Stuff

So Many Thoughts …

Karen

… so many stories, events, and ideas … and no time to write them down.

I’m starting to resent this job and how much time and energy it sucks out of me every day. I still haven’t found my new normal – after NINE months. I’ve had this job now for NINE months and I’m STILL struggling. I like this job, but is it really worth stressing this much over so little pay?? Is it really worth missing out on life’s little moments??

I’m close. I’m close to finding my new normal. I’m not as tired as I was, but still, it patiently waits to pounce just as I get home, have dinner with my family and settle at my computer to write down my thoughts or what happened that day.

It’s like someone is dangling my creativity in front of my face by a fishing line and just when I reach out to grab it, that entity, that something, yanks it out of reach.

I miss writing. I miss blogging. I miss reading. I miss the long days of laughing at my husband as he tries not to spy on me at his office. (I used to share his office space with him until I got this job).

Is it worth it?

Really?

I’m beginning to wonder.

Excuse me. I have to go. I don’t want to be late to work.

*sigh*

Life-condensed

My Pet Deer

Karen

deer

Kevin and I have gotten into the habit of walking the Nature Trails at our Nature Center – which is about three miles from our house.

Last night, we strapped on our iPods, drove to the Center and we hit the “long” trails (which are about two miles long).

I was so engrossed in the music that I didn’t notice, until I was nearly close enough to touch them, that we had two deer shadowing us. The deer in our area are so used to humans that they literally just stand there and gaze at us with those beautiful doe eyes and sort of wait for us to notice them. After we notice them, they shrug their deer shoulders and continue munching on nearby vegetation.

It’s sort of cool to walk that close to nature.

Life

My Teeth Freaking HURT and Where Oh Where is Myrtle?

Karen

My teeth hurt.

They’ve been hurting for about a month now. I haven’t broken or chipped anything. I know this because I went to my dentist two weeks ago and he looked around, tapped a few teeth, took an x-ray and all I got was an “hmm … there might be a tiny dark spot here,” (pointing to a back molar).

He “guessed” it might be an abscessed tooth, prescribed an antibiotic and sent me on my way.

And here I sit, still in pain.

Luckily, the pain comes and goes. And since I’m still not eating all that much solid food (I promise, I’ll vlog about that soon), my teeth don’t hurt.

Until I eat something and then, YEEEEOOOOOOOWWWWW, MAMA.

It’s weird, but the pain is more of an ache. Like a deep, in-in-my-gums ache. Like more-in-my-jaw ache. So I’m guessing my dentist is right, I probably DO have an abscessed tooth and I’m betting the antibiotic that he prescribed is not strong enough to knock this stupid infection out, which is why I’m still in pain. It seems like I’ve taken this type of antibiotic before and my body’s response?

I LAUGH at your pathetic antibiotic. HAHAHAHAHAHA

*sigh*

My dentist made an appointment for me with an endodontist, (someone who works on tooth roots and gum issues), but when I told the girls I work with who I was going to see, they promptly told me horror stories and scared me so bad that I canceled my appointment and am now on the hunt for a new endodontist. (And lest you think I’m a scaredy cat – one of the girls I work had two, TWO, root canals by this doctor and both of them “didn’t take” and she ended up having to go to ANOTHER endodontist and having BOTH TEETH done AGAIN. Tell me that doesn’t scare you to death … having to go through TWO root canals TWICE!!! Um. No thank you).

I know who I’m going to, I just need to make an appointment. I’ve been putting it off because … well … I don’t really know why I’ve been putting it off. Probably because we don’t have dental insurance and OH MY GAWH, PEOPLE, NO DENTAL INSURANCE AND I’LL LIKELY NEED A ROOT CANAL.

Pass the smelling salts, please.

But contrary to popular belief, I’m not a complete idiot and I know putting it off will just make it worse, so yes mom, I’ll make an appointment tomorrow. *smile*

And speaking of teeth – Jazz went to the orthodontist today … he has to go back July 10th to have some sort of impression made (I’m assuming for his permanent retainer for his bottom teeth) and then back again July 26th TO HAVE HIS BRACES REMOVED! YEE-FREAKIN-HAW, YA’LL! He was supposed to only have them on for two years, but it’s now been two years and EIGHT months so it’s about past time to have these things removed. PLUS. He’ll have them off just in time for his senior year so SCORE!

Men. It’s now time for you to stop reading and go do something … manly. I’m thinking your lawn needs to be mowed, or maybe your oil needs to be changed, or HEY LOOK! Sports! Because you’re not going to be interested in this next part, I assure you.

Ladies? I’m in full-blown perimenopausal mode.

I know, right?? How do I know this?

Because I have a freaking hot flash every 20 minutes!! Because I haven’t had a period in over two months now!! Because … because … well, that’s pretty much it. Did I mention I haven’t had a period in over two months now?!? I mean, I’ve been irregular for about a year now, and by irregular, I mean I’d skip a month, then have a period every two weeks, skip another month, then hemorrhage the next month … you get the idea.

But I’ve never skipped more than two months in a row before.

I went to my OB/GYN a few months ago, (I TOLD YOU TO STOP READING, GUYS. Don’t blame me if you start cringing, I did warn you), for, erhm, personal female reasons, and my doctor was all concerned and “here, you need to take this card and keep track of your periods for me. Oh. And I also want to see you back in July. Oh. And I want you to have a breast exam.”

Because I’m 46 years old and have never had a breast exam.

I KNOW, RIGHT????? I suck. But good gravy, I’m putting that off for as long as humanly possible because I can’t stand to have my hair cut, let alone some strange person man-handling my ladies. (And yes, you can cuss me out and call me an idiot, but I’m stubborn and never do things when I’m supposed to – just ask anyone I know. It’ll happen … eventually. Calm down).

But here’s the thing. I haven’t had a period since I saw my OB/GYN back in April so when (If. I’m pretty sure I’m going to cancel my appointment because, whatever, I don’t need to go back. I’ll go back for my annual unless something strange happens) I see him again, he’s totally going to think I was just too lazy to keep track – this will be AFTER he lectures me for 1. not keeping my July appointment and 2. not having a breast exam.

I’m like the world’s WORST patient, ya’ll.

Anyway … these hot flashes are getting out of control. And they are freaking embarrassing!!!! And they always happen at the worst possible moments!!!!

Something had to be done.

So I started talking to one of my co-workers who has already been there done that and she suggested flaxseed. Hmm. Never heard of it, but okay, I’ll try it. Because if I can find something natural that works as opposed to taking a drug, I’m going that route.

I went to the health food store and in the process of trying to find flaxseed, (I had to break down and ask this one guy who worked there and when I asked him where to find flaxseed and he said, “What do you need it for?” and I said, “I’d rather not say .. it’s a woman thing,”), I found something else I thought I’d try instead.

It’s called, “AM/PM Perimenopause Formula.”

I know. How original. Here’s what it looks like:

I have to say, it seems to be working pretty good. I take one pill in the morning and one at night. The one at night seems to work better for me. It knocks me out cold and I don’t wake up hot and sweaty. (Well. I usually wake up at 5:00 a.m. kicking the covers off, but I used to wake up every two hours kicking the covers off, so we’re making progress). And I don’t feel like I’m a walking flame when I’m at work.

These hot flashes, guys. They’re weird. My skin is cool to the touch, but it’s like someone lit a flame inside my body and the warmth starts in my legs, travels up my body and before long, my cheeks and ears are bright red, sweat breaks out on my upper lip and I’m scrambling to find something sturdy enough to fan myself with. It’s really a bizarre feeling.

Anyway. This herbal stuff isn’t stopping the hot flashes completely but it has certainly cut them WAY down and I’m cool (ha!) with that.

So between my teeth hurting, my hot flashes and my emotions playing a mean game of see-saw, I’m a hot (ha!) mess.

(P.S. – Wondering who Myrtle is? She’s what I call my monthly visitor, who hasn’t been visiting lately. I told you to stop reading, guys!