Saturday, April 23rd

HI ALL, 130.5 here (minus the heavy socks that really do weigh a half pound)

Glad the New York trip was fun and that the scrapper retreat is successful.   You are all doing things right. 

I can't believe girls today want to be chubby to get big boobs. I grew up in the 60's and 70's when everybody wanted to be pencil thin and of course I wasn't.  I sometimes watch that show "Say Yes to the Dress" and it amazed me how many of those brides are obese and have to be laced into those dresses.  When I shopped for my wedding dress, I had to take a skinny friend to try stuff on because they had so little in my size which was about a 16 dress then. 

Puppies were darling yesterday.  Will go visit again in a couple of weeks and have a better idea of who gets to be Miss Tesla, princess of Little Pond (our street). 

Had cold shrimp over shredded angel hair cabbage with feta vinaigrette dressing last night. very good and every thing came out a bag or package. 

diane s

Carbon, somehow I missed reading about the loss of a family member. I am truly sorry. I hope you are doing okay. My condolences.

Shel (et al), Interesting about the teenage girl boobie bootie syndrome. I am guessing this particular desire to have a full bosom and buttocks does indeed stem from desire to emulate a few of the popular television or music or media divas of today. I am also going to guess that this fashion is somewhat dependent upon immediate community demographics. The community in which I teach is generally white collar to upper middle class, with a few very well off families. It is extremely rare to find an overweight child at my school. In our entire student body of just over 450 I can think of only three children (2 third grade girls and one 5th grade boy) who are obese. Athleticism and achievement are highly prized in the community. Swim team is a huge summer activity for the kids and has a huge social aspect for the families.

Health and physical fitness is a huge priority at my school for the kids. The district actually monitors the number of PE minutes our students get - minimum 100 minutes per week. 

Now, about 7 miles away is another town that has a substantially lower economic demographic and it is much easier to find overweight and obese teens in that community. I think a major factor of obesity is the availability of wholesome, natural foods at a reasonable cost. Many families just can't afford to feed their families healthy foods. It is sad, indeed. Would be nice if the US government would subsidize small independent farmers instead of devoting dollars to big agri-business. 

I am up 1.5 pounds today to 199.5! ACK!!!!! However, I woke up already sore from yesterday's workout, which is indicative of major water retention. I am not looking forward to what I'm going to feel like by this evening. I also had a salty dinner, so I suppose the gain is well deserved. I can own this. 

So far today has been spot on. I have to take two students to see The Jungle Book this afternoon (PTA fundraiser). I am on the fence about getting some popcorn. I will not indulge in any other type of food at the theater. I am pledging my oath to limit myself to a popcorn and perhaps a small diet soda (yes, I do love a soda every so often, and if I drink it slowly enough Sleevie cooperates. Drink a soda too fast and Sleevie lets me know he is not happy!)

Gave a lot of thought to Lesa's student's quote. Yup, I am in a tolerating frame of mind. I am going to try on some summer clothes and ideally sized suits today which I want to be fitting into by the end of June. That ought to give me some of the motivation I need. I am hoping so. 

Diane S, pictures????? Send them to me and I can post for you. Do you get to pick Tesla, or will the owner of the dam?

Happy Saturday! 

Oh, another interesting bit of information I came across while reading about the "obesity epidemic" was at what weight comorbidities begin to appear.

The BMI is geared toward and was created for the average caucasian body. In other words, those of European descent. Comorbidities begin to show up at about a BMI of 30 for that group of people. Asians tend to have comorbidities arise at a much lower BMI, often around 25. People of African descent tend not to have comorbidities until a BMI of 35 is reached.

The author found some anthropology studies that showed asian cultures tend to prefer slighter builds because for that race it is most healthy. For europeans a slightly higher BMI is more appealing. In african descended cultures thicker builds are favored.

To me this sort of explains the popularity of the big booty appeal - especially in the African American culture. How many times have we all heard in recent years the appeal for a woman to have some "junk in the trunk"?