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Thursday, 5 May 2016

Princess Health and May 5th, 2016 Last Night. Princessiccia

Princess Health and May 5th, 2016 Last Night. Princessiccia

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May 5th, 2016 Last Night

It was a rough night. I'm pretty sure the combination of perhaps too much coffee, the Mexican restaurant, the pineapple last food of day and general stress, combined to create a painful stomach issue that woke me before 1am. It wasn't pleasant. I finally made it back to sleep around 3am or so--but by work time, I wasn't anywhere near ready to go. I called a colleague to cover my radio show and took a 1/2 sick day. I felt much better by mid-morning.
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A while back, someone mentioned how I only allow the most flattering current pictures to make it on this blog or my facebook page. Never mind that I once published an entire post all about loose skin--complete with my personal loose skin pictures. I'm not confirming or denying, but let's say I'm particular--how does that make me different than anyone else who takes an average of thirteen selfies before finding the one? I'm almost 85% past the point of caring about pictures and whether or not they're flattering. To counter this pointless suggestion--every day, my first tweet of the day is my #morningdeal tweet, a selfie--fresh out of bed, drinking the two cups of water right before a light body weight strength training routine--it's a self-imposed required routine before I allow myself a cup of coffee. The craziness level of my hair is a fairly accurate indicator of that night's quality of sleep. Last night wasn't good.
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#TBT Today's Throwback Thursday photo is one that's likely at my all-time heaviest. I really believe this was closer to 510-515, than 505.

I had a little twitter fun tonight and apparently it alarmed at least one person. "Sean, are you feeling okay?" was a message I received in the middle of my dinner play. You can read the series of dinner Tweets below starting with the premise tweet of how I like to pretend my kitchen is a restaurant, just for me. 

The point of it was a few laughs. The bigger point was having fun while honoring the integrity of my plan. When we take exceptional care and we do these things for ourselves--and our plan--we're practicing a different perspective. I spent many years not giving myself this level of care--and now, when I invest time in the weighing and measuring--the preparing and cooking--the planning and eating, I'm giving me what I need and what I deserve. And really--it's a way to take myself seriously--and not take myself too seriously, all at the same time. It's healthy, in my opinion, to be able to laugh at ourselves, occasionally. It's a balance. Am I feeling okay? Except for the middle of last night, never better!

Today was another day of maintaining the integrity of my maintenance calorie budget, remaining abstinent from refined sugar, drinking a minimum 64oz water (exceeded by 16oz) and I got in a nice workout, too! I'll aim for the same tomorrow!

I'll let the Tweets take it the rest of the way. Goodnight!

Today's Live-Tweet Stream:
















































Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean

Princess Health and Study says intravenous drug users in almost half of Kentucky's counties are at high risk of getting hepatitis C or HIV. Princessiccia

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By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

A preliminary report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified 220 counties in the United States as being most vulnerable to outbreaks of HIV and hepatitis C among those who inject drugs in those communities, and 54 of those counties are in Kentucky.

Most are in Appalachia, but the list includes the non-Appalachian counties of Hickman, Breckinridge, Grayson, Allen, Taylor, Boyle, Mercer, Carroll, Gallatin Grant and Campbell.
Counties deemed most vulnerable to outbreaks are green; top 25 of 220 in U.S. are numbered on map.
Kentucky leads the nation in the rate of acute hepatitis C, with 4.1 cases for every 100,000 residents, more than six times the national average, according to the CDC.

�Both HIV and hepatitis C can be transmitted when people who inject drugs share their needles," Doug Hogan, acting communications director for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said in an e-mail to Kentucky Health News. "Many of Kentucky�s HCV cases are among rural youth, ages 12-29, who have been sharing needles."

Clark County Health Director Scott Lockard called the CDC report a "wake-up call."

"We are potentially on the leading edge of one of the biggest public-health crises to hit our state," Lockard said in an e-mail to Kentucky Health News. "It will take a combined effort across sectors to prevent an HIV outbreak in the SOAR region such as the one that occurred in Scott County, Indiana," north of Louisville.

Lockard made these comments in April after attending a Shaping Our Appalachian Region roundtable that focused on substance abuse and intravenous drug use in the region. More than half (56 percent) of the 220 counties identified as most vulnerable for HIV or hepatitis C were located in the Appalachian regions of Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.

"About 25 percent of our state�s population lives in these 54 counties," Hogan said.

The CDC began this study after an unprecedented outbreak of HIV infections occurred in Scott County, Indiana, in 2014 among its intravenous drug users to see what other counties might be vulnerable to such an outbreak.

Researchers looked at all 3,143 U.S. counties and based their rankings on six variables, including: the number of overdose deaths, per-capita-income data, unemployment data, population studies, prescription opioid sales, and prescription sales for opioid treatments such as buprenorphine.

The report points out that this does not mean that HIV or hepatitis C outbreaks are inevitable in these counties, or that there is a current problem with intravenous drug users in these counties, but says that intravenous drug users in these counties are at a higher risk.

One way to slow down the spread of HIV and hepatitis C is through needle exchanges, where intravenous drug users trade dirty needles for clean ones. Needle exchanges were authorized in Kentucky under a 2015 anti-heroin law but also require local approval.

So far, only Louisville and Lexington and the counties of Boyd, Carter, Clark, Elliott, Franklin, Grant, Harrison, Jessamine, Kenton, Knox, Pendleton and Pike are either operating or have approved such programs. Of the 54 high-risk counties, only Boyd, Carter, Clark, Knox and Pike counties have operating needle exchanges.

Hogan said, "The Kentucky Department for Public Health is working closely with (the) CDC and at-risk communities to increase HIV and hepatitis C testing, and is assisting counties in their processes of establishing syringe exchange programs."

Here's a list of Kentucky counties and their national rankings for vulnerability to the rapid spread of HIV and hepatitis C among people who inject drugs: Wolfe, 1st; Breathitt, 3rd; Perry, 4th; Clay, 5th; Bell, 6th; Leslie, 8th; Knox, 9th; Floyd, 10th: Clinton, 11th; Owsley, 12th; Whitley, 14th; Powell, 15th; Knott, 17th; Pike, 21st; Magoffin, 23rd; Estill, 25th; Lee, 30th; Menifee, 31st; Martin, 34th; Boyle, 35th; Lawrence, 39th; Rockcastle, 40th; Harlan, 45th; McCreary, 48th; Letcher, 50th; Johnson, 53rd; Russell, 54th; Elliott, 56th; Laurel, 65th; Carroll, 67th; Taylor, 75th; Grant, 77th; Adair, 93rd; Lincoln, 97th; Wayne, 99th; Cumberland, 101st; Gallatin, 108th; Bath, 125th; Grayson, 126th; Greenup, 129th; Green, 132d; Casey, 153d; Carter, 154th; Monroe, 163d; Garrard, 167th; Robertson, 175th; Lewis, 178th; Edmonson, 179th; Allen, 180th; Boyd, 187th; Hickman, 191st; Breckinridge, 202d; Campbell, 212th; and Mercer, 214th.
Princess Health and FDA to regulate e-cigs: ban sales to minors, require warning signs, require federal approval; did not address advertising issues. Princessiccia

Princess Health and FDA to regulate e-cigs: ban sales to minors, require warning signs, require federal approval; did not address advertising issues. Princessiccia

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In a long-anticipated move, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced May 5 that it is assuming regulatory authority over all tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, cigars, hookah, tobacco and pipe tobacco that include banning sales to anyone under 18.

�Today�s announcement is an important step in the fight for a tobacco-free generation � it will help us catch up with changes in the marketplace, put into place rules that protect our kids and give adults information they need to make informed decisions," Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a news release.

FDA's new tobacco regulations will prohibit sales of e-cigarettes and all tobacco products to anyone under 18, both in person and online, and buyers must now show photo ID.

Health warnings will also be placed on packages and in advertisements, saying, �WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.� It also bans free samples and the sale of covered products in vending machines not located in adult-only facilities.

The regulation also requires manufacturers of all newly-regulated products introduced to the market after Feb. 15, 2007, a date that is set by the Tobacco Control Act of 2009, to require federal approval. An amendment to the legislation has been submitted to change the date so more e-cigarettes would be grandfathered in, Jayne O'Donnell and Laura Ungar report for USA Today.

The e-cigarette industry is pushing back on these regulations.

"Industry experts say treating e-cigarettes, which don't contain tobacco, the same as cigarettes could lead to such onerous and costly approval that all but the largest tobacco companies would be forced out of the market � and possibly those companies, too," USA Today writes. Jeff Stier, an e-cigarette advocate with the National Center for Public Policy Research and industry officials, told USA Today that it could cost $1 million or more per application.

Vapers also argue that e-cigs help people quit, but studies on that conflict.

Ellen Hahn, a professor at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing and co-chair of the UK Tobacco-free Task Force, told USA Today that the new rule is a good first step toward controlling e-cigarettes, noting "vaping" can get youth addicted to nicotine and threatens to prolong "the tobacco epidemic."

"From a health perspective, to reduce the social acceptance of them is good because frankly, it's the wild, wild West out there," she told the newspaper. "Vape stores are everywhere."

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation commended the FDA for these regulations, noting the use among high school students has "rocketed from 1.5 percent in 2011 to 16 percent in 2015, an increase of more than 900 percent." But it also said the regulation did not go far enough.

"Studies have proven that tobacco advertising directly influences youth, and that such sweet e-cigarette flavors as gummy bear and cotton candy play a role in children trying these products," Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, CEO of the RWJF, said in the statement "Today's final rule did not address these issues, and we strongly urge the FDA to take aggressive regulatory and enforcement actions to prevent and reduce youth tobacco use, in any form it takes."

The regulation goes into effect Aug. 8, and gives affected industries two years to comply. The original proposal was introduced in 2014.

Wednesday, 4 May 2016

Princess Health and May 4th, 2016 Flipping The Ratio. Princessiccia

Princess Health and May 4th, 2016 Flipping The Ratio. Princessiccia

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May 4th, 2016 Flipping The Ratio

I sincerely appreciate each and every email, comment and Facebook message received in support of last night's blog post. I haven't had a chance to reply to every single one, but I will over the next couple of days. After staying up too late last night, I set myself up for a rough day. Tonight, I'm taking better care and getting some extra rest.

The effect of the NYT article on Dr. Hill's study was just as I and many others predicted. Judging from the tone of several messages today and even within my tight support circle, many people read it and was horribly discouraged. I read everything from "I got a sick feeling in my gut" to "I was so depressed about it, I had a binge."

My experience in not being able to go past 515 pounds, despite my best efforts for nearly two decades, certainly supports the set point theory. Why it was between 505 and 515 for me, 700 for another and 325 for someone else, is simply because we're all different. But still, my experience also supports a much more positive side of things. I'm convinced that a damaged metabolism can be revived and healed back to an optimal level. My belief is supported by maintenance weigh-ins like today's.  
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After March 30th's 206.8 all-time low weigh-in, I decided to go to a monthly schedule. Today's visit to the doctor's office found a tiny .2 gain. Two tenths of a pound! I'll take it!
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This nice five pound range since early December on 2300 calories per day is still somewhat unbelievable to me. I would have never guessed it possible for me to maintain at this calorie budget level. I guarantee, there was a time--this level would have meant a small steady weight gain.

Again--this whole thing isn't hopeless. It isn't doom and gloom. There's plenty of hope and promise for transformation that goes far beyond the physical. The physical is truly the least of this experience.

One of the things that has helped me is what I call "flipping the ratio of focus." Instead of starting out focusing 80% on the food and exercise and maybe 20% on the mental/emotional aspects, I've flipped it around. I've focused 80% on the mental/emotional aspects and 20% on the food and exercise. The mental/emotional aspects covers a wide range of things from accountability and support measures to digging deep in order to uncover the underlying issues behind the emotional dependency and connections with food.

And as our mental/emotional transformation develops, incredible epiphanies come--and then, we're able to devote more time and focus on the important elements of food and exercise, because now we've developed a stronger, more stable foundation for everything else.

The non-physical mental/emotional transformation, in my opinion, is the biggest of all. This is why my first and best advice is always keep it simple. Simple is sustainable. Set a limit, make a doable schedule and honor the integrity of your plan--make it something that fits your likes...something that allows you the mental space to work through the deeper, critically important issues. Because let's be honest, it's our behaviors, encouraged by the experiences shaping our emotional/mental development, that brought us here in the first place.

In my experience working with others coming from all methods of weight loss, the biggest conclusion I've made is this: No matter what method of weight loss you choose, there's no substitute for the mental/emotional work required along the way. This is why we can relate to one another on a deep level--because many of the most important things involved are universal.

Today was a tired day, yet surprisingly productive in several ways. I maintained the integrity of my maintenance calorie budget, I remained abstinent from refined sugar and I exceeded my water goal. I'll do my best to do the same, tomorrow.

Today's Live-Tweet Stream:
































Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean

Princess Health and My Recent Paper on Linoleic Acid in Adipose Tissue. Princessiccia

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Linoleic acid (LA) is the predominant polyunsaturated fat in the human diet, and it's most concentrated in seed oils such as corn oil. LA accumulates in fat tissue, and as with many of the nutrients we eat, it is biologically active. In a new paper, we systematically review the studies that have measured the LA concentration of fat tissue in US adults over time. We show that the LA concentration of fat tissue has increased by approximately 136 percent over the last half century.

Susan Carlson, PhD
In 2011, I posted a graph on my blog in which I summarized some of the studies that have measured the LA content of fat tissue in US adults over time (1). It showed a remarkably consistent upward trend. Last year, a University of Kansas nutrition researcher named Susan Carlson contacted me and asked if I had published my findings in a scientific journal, because she wanted to cite the trend in one of her papers. I said I hadn't published them, but that I would love to do so together.

Read more �

Princess Health and Stanford hospital is first in Kentucky to go back to laughing gas, or nitrous oxide, to relieve the pain of childbirth. Princessiccia

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Photo: Abigail Whitehouse, Interior Journal
Ephraim McDowell Fort Logan Hospital's Birthing Spa in Lincoln County is the first in Kentucky to offer nitrous oxide, often called laughing gas, as an alternative pain relief measure for women during childbirth, Abigail Whitehouse reports for The Interior Journal in Stanford.

Dr. James Miller, the unit's medical director, told Whitehouse that the Birthing Spa aims to provide support and comfort to mothers during labor and that nitrous oxide, which was commonly used for this purpose in the 1950s until epidural anesthesia became popular, provides another option to help decrease anxiety and pain during childbirth.

"We in our unit found, when we started hearing again about the nitrous oxide, that it just fit really well with our philosophy of trying to offer choices to moms," Miller told Whitehouse.

Miller said that while epidurals continue to be used most often during labor for pain management, the procedure comes with some risk and are expensive.

"Epidurals cost a lot and haven't shown the benefits. And they changed labor from a low-risk setting to a high-risk setting," Miller told Whitehouse. "With an epidural, we know that it drops the mom's blood pressure, so they have to have an IV ahead of time and load up on fluids to try to prevent the drop in blood pressure, and then it can still happen. Then you have to monitor the baby's heart tones."

In addition to nitrous oxide, the Birthing Spa also offers alternate options for pain management during childbirth, including: water births, which he said have been proven to lower cost and shorten the length of labor, showers big enough for two with multiple shower heads, a nursing staff trained to "almost function as a doula," a beautiful garden to walk in, and massage chairs. The unit also offers epidurals or an alternative intravenous medication for pain.

Miller noted that nitrous oxide, which is delivered through a mask, allows laboring mothers control over their pain management because they can put it on and remove it as needed; it can also be used earlier in the process than an epidural.

Miller told Whitehouse, "It's very fast acting so when the pain is starting to contract, they start breathing the medicine and within seconds it takes effect and then as the pain resolves, they take the mask away and the medicine wears off that quickly too."

Tuesday, 3 May 2016

Princess Health and May 3rd, 2016 A Hopeful Response To The New York Times Article On Dr. Hall's Biggest Loser Season 8 Study. Princessiccia

Princess Health and May 3rd, 2016 A Hopeful Response To The New York Times Article On Dr. Hall's Biggest Loser Season 8 Study. Princessiccia

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May 3rd, 2016 A Hopeful Response To The New York Times Article On Dr. Hall's Biggest Loser Season 8 Study

I sat in the waiting room of the surgery center with mom yesterday morning as we waited for her name to be called. The Today Show was on the television and mom was asking questions about that amazing day I'll never forget. "Did you meet Al?" Unfortunately, no. "Did you meet that other guy?" No, Matt was taking a day off. Our mother-son Today Show Q&A was cut short by, "Beverly, come this way..." I once again reassured mom she was in good hands and this procedure was going to be okay, "I hope so," --It will mom, I love you. "I love you, too, son." And off she went into a patient only area.

And then it was just me, sitting there, watching Today on NBC--and making my way around my phone. I checked email, connected with my private support group via Facebook and thought about lunch plans. It wasn't very long in the waiting before I noticed a news headline for an article in The New York Times by Gina Kolata, picked "especially for me," all about Kevin Hall PhD's study on Season 8 Biggest Loser contestants. The study was over a period of the last six years. And since I've experienced my personal study over the last seven years, I was immediately drawn in to every single word Dr. Hall and this article presented.

The study, monitoring the season 8 contestants, documented the regain most experienced post-show. It concluded the same as similar studies: The body can and does develop a weight "set-point," and for those of us who lose weight, it means our bodies are constantly pushing back to this set point.

While the experiences of my exploration, or "research," if you will, agreed with much of this scientific study, specifically about the body having a set-point weight, I was extremely disappointed in the overall hopeless tone of the article's conclusion. The truth isn't hopeless. I've lived it. I'm living it every day. Trust me, there's plenty of hope. 

Instead of hope, I immediately recognized the fuel for self-defeating rationalizations of which I'm very familiar. I talked myself into staying near, at or above 500 pounds for almost two decades, I know all about self-defeating rationalizations. These self-defeating thoughts, especially when supported by scientific research and presented in a publication respected the world over, become even more powerful. I wonder how many people read this same article and then released their embrace of taking extraordinary care?

To conclude our body will find a way to return to this set-point, as if it's a given, without exploring the role of personal responsibility/behaviors/and habits, not to mention the monumental effects of our necessary mental/emotional transformation, or lack of, was, in my opinion, potentially damaging to the millions of people embracing their plans and holding on to hope for a life at a healthy body weight.

Because, if we're biologically programmed to regain back to this set point, then why bother?

A friend of mine who struggles with weight issues, sent me a text about the study first thing this morning, "...it's a little bit frightening."  Her message wasn't the only one. By days end, I had received several messages and engaged in a couple of conversations about the study. Several things came up, words like depressing and frightening, and the common question: Is what I'm doing pointless?  No, it isn't pointless.

The following is an excerpt from the archives of this blog. In it, I describe my own discovery of this "body weight set-point" and I offer my answer to the question: Are we destined to return to a life of morbid obesity?

From The DDWL Archives-April 17th, 2015:

I don't know when it happened. At some point, I believe, I fried the circuits responsible for regulating my body weight. I hit 500 pounds before age 20 and although it took a lot of over-eating, late night fourth (and fifth) meal eating, an occasional binge and zero intentional exercise to accomplish this, I didn't consider the quantity of food at any one setting should have warranted such a morbidly obese body weight.

I remember reading an article when I was twelve years old about the worlds heaviest man. Reading about his typical day of food just wasn't ever me, at twelve--at twenty, or thirty-five. A dozen eggs, a pound of bacon and a loaf of bread for breakfast? In my late teen years, as the scale crept above 500, I'm sure some might have imagined I had similar eating habits, but no, never did. Perhaps I just spread mine out a little more. But here's the kicker:

At a certain point, I stopped gaining. My body settled between 500 and 515 for years on end while I did absolutely nothing to lose weight or maintain the weight. It was as if I found my body's "set point." And it seems this is where my fried body-weight regulating circuits want me to be, naturally.

I have zero doubt, if it wasn't for this turnaround period from relapse/regain over the last year, I would be back between 500 and 515 by now. Not a shred of doubt. I was headed that way in a hurry.

Recently, a medical paper was published in the Journal Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. And it was written about in a CBS News Interactive piece by Jessica Firger. Below is an excerpt from the article:

"Although lifestyle modifications may result in lasting weight loss in individuals who are overweight, in those with chronic obesity, body weight seems to become biologically 'stamped in' and defended," Dr. Christopher Ochner, lead author and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, said in a press statement.

The authors of the paper say we need to change the way we think and talk about obesity, and use language reflective of the fact that being morbidly obese is a chronic disease. Like addictions to drugs and alcohol, patients can overcome it but shouldn't expect to be "cured."

"Few individuals ever truly recover from obesity; rather they suffer from 'obesity in remission,'" Ochner says. "They are biologically very different from individuals of the same age, sex, and body weight who never had obesity."

Those of us with chronic obesity have a body weight that is "stamped in and defended." Sounds very familiar to me. I wasn't surprised when I read the article. Not one bit. I knew about this from living it.

It's incredibly easy for me to regain weight. If I suddenly stopped intentionally exercising and tracking my consumption, even without binge episodes, I truly believe my weight would consistently creep upward. Maybe not as fast as it did in the middle of binge city-relapse/regain, but with the same ultimate destination between 500 and 515 pounds.

So now what?

Are we doomed to gain it all back because that's the curse of chronic obesity?

Is there any hope at all?

First of all, there is hope for long term recovery. I know people who have done it (maintained their weight loss) for ten, twenty and nearly thirty years. It does take work. And no, it's not fair. And that's precisely where our success starts.

Acceptance. If I'm constantly resistant of the elements I must practice each day because it's not fair that so and so can eat a truck full of food and never gain an ounce, then I'm in big trouble.

It is what it is. I've discovered the quicker this acceptance is fully embraced the quicker I can continue enjoying life at a healthy body weight. Something so effortless to some requires daily attention and diligence for someone like me.

They key, I believe, is finding a way--a plan you can truly enjoy. If you read this blog regularly, you see everything I eat. I do not feel deprived in the least. I love what I'm eating. And it's plenty.

I've set the boundaries of my plan and I hold them sacred. I must always hold them sacred. No sugar, daily food tracking and calorie budget management, regular exercise and most importantly, support. Exchanging support with people like me who are in this deal right alongside, is critically important. Writing this daily blog is also a strong source of support and accountability.


Acceptance to me, means these elements of my recovery become more than habit, they become woven into the fabric of my life, for the rest of my life. There isn't a finish line. There isn't a declaration of some big final victory.

I must never try to live someone else's normal. I must live my normal. This is my normal. And you know what? It's all good, even with the set point weight my body tries to gravitate toward if I don't stay on top of it.
----------------------------------

What would happen if we gave our individual plans the same level of reverence as someone in successful recovery from drugs and alcohol gives their sobriety? 

I've been getting the answer to that question for the last two years. When I started applying this importance level was when I consistently starting shedding my one hundred sixty-four pound regain/relapse weight, plus lost an additional twenty-three pounds and today, I continue to maintain a very nice weight range--and I've maintained this healthy weight range for over eight months. It's all documented--every single day, right here in this blog.

And I always keep in mind--I'm not cured and I don't "got this." My continued success isn't guaranteed. If I continue making what I do each day, important, then I have a really good chance at continued weight maintenance.

Another excerpt from very early in the archives is a message of hope to anyone getting started:

I've been doing a bunch of tough thinking lately about why some struggle so hard while others seem to be so solidly on their way. Why some say they �get it,� but continuously give in to the temptation that's trying to take this away.

I think it's actually harder for people who are exceptionally smart.

Let me explain: It's nearly impossible for someone to really learn something if they already believe they know. Especially when the solution has been broken down into very simple terms and easy to understand mental exercises. It can't be that easy, they might think.

And so their search continues---looking for books and articles to break it down into slices that challenge their intelligence. Some people insist on complicating things. It doesn't have to be complicated. It can be easy if you accept that it can.

Once you turn off the excuses. Once you accept 100% responsibility for your behaviors with food. Once you become completely self-honest about your consumption. Once you realize the importance of consistency. Once you stick to a lower level of calories. Once you commit to a real exercise schedule, once you do these things�it's almost impossible not to succeed. And yes, you have to fight. You have to bring out the fight inside and often times battle that little devil on your shoulder. If any of these vital components are not in place, it can seem very difficult.

You must not forget that I'm a food addict. You must realize and remember that I too spent my entire adult life until now, struggling the same way. I was out of control.

So if you read my words these days and think, Oh Sean, you make it sound so easy don't you? Never forget from where I've come. And realize that if I can get to this place, then it's not impossible for you to get here too.

And you don't have to understand everything to get started. I didn't. (I still don't!)

I didn't know or practice anything but the very basics on day one. You might even say I was going through the motions at first. Along the way these simple truths came out about my past failures and all of a sudden things started making sense. I started to have a better understanding of why I always struggled before and why I was struggling less now. Epiphanies started happening, they're all documented...go back and read them.

So if you're trying to get everything in order in a way that makes complete sense before you start succeeding, you're complicating the process. The things that must be rock solid from day one are your commitment to fight. Your resolve must be �iron-clad.� Your desire to succeed must exceed your desire to binge. It's that importance level thing again. Set it dramatically high. And fight for your life. Defend this journey from those evil thoughts within that threaten your success along this road. And find comfort in the fact that you will learn things and have epiphanies along the way that will catapult you onto different levels of understanding. But in the beginning you must fight. It's a fight worth fighting, it really is.
--------------------------
Okay--back to Dr. Halls study and the article from The New York Times. His study's conclusion, compared to my experience, was spot on. Yes, spot on. I believe 100% the body weight set point is scientific fact for many of us.

I also believe, with nothing more than my own experience to back it up, that our metabolisms can actually improve dramatically depending on what we're putting in our body.

My maintenance calorie budget is 2300 per day. This level, at one time, would have resulted in weight gain for me--but instead, it's now keeping me in a very nice range. How is that possible?

Is it the abstinence from refined sugar? Is it the food selection? Is it the water consumption goal each day? Or is it all of the above? I don't know. I've never claimed to have all the answers. But what I do know for sure is, there's hope. There's plenty of reasons to keep taking extraordinary care.

What I didn't like was the hopeless tone of the overall piece.

I was also appalled by the nine hour workout days on The Biggest Loser. My heart broke for fellow Oklahoman Danny Cahill while reading about the workout schedule he so desperately tried to maintain post-show. It was TV, I get it--there was a schedule--a time frame for hitting these milestones--but my question is this:

How did this approach affect each contestant's metabolism and biological makeup? The weight set point is real, sure--but is what we're doing--the method we choose, making dramatic contributions to the complications explored in the study?  

I've always been big on "consistency beats intensity" and "simple is sustainable." I've rarely worked out for longer than an hour in one day. And still, dramatic results happened. The lessons embedded in all of this reminds me of the age old tortoise and hare story.

I'm passionate about sharing my experiences, perspectives and philosophies along this road. First and foremost, it helps me stay accountable and grounded in support. When someone let's me know how it's helped them, too--that's simply one of the most beautiful bonuses.

The sad thing is this: Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, will read the New York Times article about this study, and likely, less than a thousand will read this blog post. Countless people will feel discouraged by the findings and the idea that regain is a biological certainty. By comparison, few will read this blog's real life study of the last seven years. And you know what?

That's okay. 

Because again, my number one concern is my continued recovery and successful maintenance of a healthy body weight. I'll continue doing what I do, regardless. And as time passes, and I maintain the fundamental elements that keep me well each day, it will strengthen my philosophies and understanding of this entire experience.

I'm simply passionate about effectively communicating a message of hope. I hope that comes through loud and clear.
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I make my way to the doctor's office in the morning for my maintenance weigh-in. I'll have the complete weigh-in update in tomorrow night's edition.

Today's Live-Tweet Stream:




































Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
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