Eles adoram um sacrificio, nao é mesmo, minha gente? Quando a coisa envolve comer e engordar para encher o cofrinho, nossoa amigos atores de Hollywood nao pooupam esforcos. É nessas horas, caro leitor, que toda aquela dieta americana baseada em ovos, bacon e waffles faz sentido.

Nao sao poucos os casos de atores que tiveram que ganhar seus pounds pra preencher alguma vaga em filme bacana. Tanto sacrificio tem um fim nada muito do lá louvavel: a Academia, aquela que entrega o Oscar, adora adores que sofrem e ficam feios pela arte, que o digam Nicole Kidman e seu nariz em The Hours e Charlize Theron e, bem, seu corpo inteiro, em Monster.

Aqui, agora, sem mais delongas, damos nosso top 3 de quem trocou a academia pelo sofá e virou fa de Sonia Abrao, tudo pela arte. Mas atencao, isso vale para eles, nao para voce. Se voce engordar, nao pega nem ponta na novela dos Mutantes como Joaninha Assassina ou Orca Telepática, okai?

1 - Matt Damon

Ho ho ho, meu amigo! E nao é que o tal homem mais sexy do mundo engordou? Claro que continua pra quem curte uma barriguinha e um peitinho caído mas, enfim, Matt Damon, melhor amigo do eterno gordinho Ben Affleck (aquele que pegou duas Jennifers e casou com uma, a que parece um homem) ganhou todo esse excesso de gostosura para seu novo filme The Informant. Depois que a producao acabar, dá-lhe Diet Shake.

2 - Jared Leto

Alem de ser nosso emo favorito, vocalista da banda 30 Seconds to Mars, Jared ousa atacar no cinema como ator de producoes de segundo escalao. Seu ultimo filme bacana mesmo foi Requiem for a Dream. Depois disso, a musica entrou em sua vida e o afastou das telonas. Talento por talento, nota-se que ele se deu melhor comendo para encarnar o assassino de John Lennon, Mark David Chapman, para a producao Capitulo 27. Para as gatinhas emo que curtiam o cara, nao adianta chorar pela jarra de leite. Pescou, pescou o trocadilho?

3 - George Clooney

O cara é bonitao, ja pegou horrores no andar do E.R antes do McDreamy iniciar sua vida sexual e sabe escolher os projetos em que se envolve. Vez em quando, faz un 11, 12 ou 13 Homens e um segredo para levantar uma grana pros seus filmes. Numa dessas, George Clooney foi ousado. Ganhou alguns varios quilos pra interpertar um agente no filme Syriana. Ok, o cara ganhou um Oscar, beleza, beleza. Mas quebrou uma costela durante as filmagens e sofreu pra caramba com o processo de engordation. Ai!

At the same time, I need to work on accepting the fact that I may NOT lose weight, and figure out how to live a full life in spite of whatever size I end up being.

I put on one of my thin shirts today, and knew I was in trouble.   Even when I was pretty fit, it was always tight in a few places, but I was good with that.  Those were the right places.  

These are the wrong places.  I don’t like things that grab me around the middle when I’m bloating.  Like that Friday night before Pride with Meegull.  Okay, I was generally unamewsed (sp. int.) at that whole moment, but having my bloating middle clamped onto was a secondary, core dislike.  This shirt is doing very much the same thing … minus the drunken red eyes and sulking. 

I also put on thin jeans.  Now, I basically have one size of 501s, but as they get to different stages in their useful life, each pair has a slightly different experience.  This pair, a typical pair of 32/32s, is tighter than most at this stage of their life.  And, when I’m being more like the Holsteins in a Far Side cartoon, they really clamp on to my equatorial region.

I dislike having to choose between comfort that displays my belly like it’s a twin sister of the planet Jupiter (or any gas giant),  and a belly that’s less noticeable in favour of discomfort and the appearance of either a hernia or an upcoming career in porn, depending on body position. 

I took a brief break this morning to walk around campus, and found myself singing Bette Midler’s Fat as I Am routine from the 80s.  I’m sure everyone here thinks I was just talking to myself and being a crazy, but you “don’t give a damn, when you’re Fat as I Am!!!”

Of course, knowing full well that spicy food aggravates this, I decided NOT to have the “special” lunch today from the Indian Café here.  I didn’t have the Mutter Paneer, Dal, Ric, Naan, papadom, and sides.

I just had the Mutter Paneer as a side and ½ Naan.  Yeah, that worked.

I need to go for a walk …

Tonight I have a run planned.  It's supposed to be an interval run.  I hate those.  Plus it's hot outside.  Wah.

Last year scientists identified a gene they believe may contribute to obesity. This gene, called FTO, has a high-risk and a low-risk variant.

A lucky 34% of people inherit two copies of the low-risk gene from their parents, while 50% have one of each and an unfortunate 16% have two copies of the high-risk variant.

So how does that affect you and me?

Firstly, the study found that those in the highest-risk group have a 70% greater risk of obesity but weigh on average just 6.5 lbs more.

That’s right, just 6.5 lbs of your excess weight could be due to the FTO gene. So if you are 30 lbs overweight, most of that is due to your eating habits.

Secondly, without genetic testing, you don’t know whether you have the high-risk gene or not.

I think it can be a positive spur to your weight loss to assume that you are in the high-risk group. It means you have to make greater effort to ensure you eat a healthy balanced diet. This will have a positive effect on your health as well as your weight-loss.

Those effortlessly slim people (we all know some!) don’t have this advantage. They may have a diet heavy on junk food. Underneath the slim exterior all sorts of future health problems could be lurking.

Pass the salad!

Like many people in the US, I was an obese individual all my life.   At the age of 28, I tried, succeeded and failed  at so many fad diets (atkins, zone, weight watchers...etc).  I can practically write a book about how to lose weight and put it all back on just as fast.  Sometimes, you end up weighing more than when you originally started.  It is like an angry ex-girlfiend that calls you out of the blue to tell you she was the one that gave you herpes.  Talk about insult to injury.  Ouch.  Maybe that is a bad analogy but I was never good on that portion of the SATs.

At my heaviest I was 320+/- pounds in 2005 and as of today I weigh 183 pounds.  Whenever I talk about my current weight it seems mind boggleing because I never thought I'd get here.  I am sure you are wondering how I did it?  No surgery....no pills...no starvation....no gimmicks.  Are you ready??  What I am about to tell you cannot leave this server, in fact, once you are done reading this, your computer will self destruct. 

Joking.  I lost the weight with....good ole....DIET and EXCERCISE and DETERMINATION.  I didn't need a $40 book, or $50 tapes, or $100 meal plans.  I found that gimmicks only make things temporary (yo-yo dieting).  I needed a change in lifestyle with new habits to make things stick.  I think it worked!  I made a new year's resolution and I actually kept it.  I was able to overcome some bad habits to really get to where I am.  When I started my plan on January 2, 2008 I weighed in at 293 pounds.  I hit the 100 pound lost mark on July 31st and have lost another 10 pounds since then.   I am 8 pounds away from the goal I set when I started.  YAY!

I look great.  I feel great.  I got a new wardrobe.  I have a new attitude on life. 

Everything is peachy right?  Seems like it.  But I find myself wondering where to go from here.  Do I continue to push the weight loss to get to 160...150...???  I may, considering the BMI calculators still call me overweight...which bothers me.   Do I continue to waste away in hopes to never see those hideous numbers on the scale again?  Sometimes I wonder how far can I take this? 

I am not sure why I started a blog but it is definitely free therapy.  I wish I started this in January so that you could have followed me on my journey.  Although the train is late, you can always hop on to see where it will go.  

Read me later.

Sam - NYC

For the week, we slept on a gym floor in a highschool two hours outside of Washington DC. That means that every night, I got to look forward to a two hour drive back to base and a cold, hard and uncomfortable floor. We could actually hear rats scurrying on the ceiling at night. Rebekah Sawyer saw them. People got mysterious bites from unknown animals. The entire time we were there, we felt dirty. No matter how many showers we toook, we were still dirty. The days were long and the work was hard.

Don't mistake that paragraph for complaining. I'm just trying to explain to you how much has transpired within that week. I'm spoiled. I enjoy nice things and fast cars. Before coming here, I would have never ever condesecended to sleep on a gym floor in the prescence of rats and other unknown critters. I remember once my parents and I stayed at a ratty hotel near my grandparent's house. We wouldn't use the blankets or the pillows. I didn't get any sleep at all that night.

The whole shower situation wasn't new. Due to the fact that I don't prespire normally or retain odors at all, I constantly forget to shower. Feeling at least a level of grimy is kind of a standard for me.

I was truely FATter than I'd ever been. I was definitly Flexible and Accomadating. And barely Teachable. It was definitly a lesson in humility.

Now that other inters know about my blog, I really have to be careful what I say, they will hold me accontable for every one of my words. Especially Emily Hogenmiller and Ashley Hebert. They're my personal police officers.

I can't say everything I want to in this blog at the moment. I'm still working over so many things that happened in my mind. i promise I'll wirte what I can articulate when it's possible. But as for right now, the journey is way too intense and the time is too short.

I love you all and miss you dearly.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4362041487661765149]

For more info:

• What If It's All Been a Big Fat Lie? (NY Times Magazine)
• Good Calories, Bad Calories

Last week a report in The Archives of Internal Medicine compared weight and cardiovascular risk factors among a representative sample of more than 5,400 adults. The data suggest that half of overweight people and one-third of obese people are “metabolically healthy.” That means that despite their excess pounds, many overweight and obese adults have healthy levels of “good” cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose and other risks for heart disease.

To keep updated on my previous stories about this person, read up with:

• More fun Co-Worker Stories!!
• Co-Worker Update: More Follies in Fat Land

What I'm about to tell you is not made up.  Although this news is almost a text book example of what happens when you continue with a horrible diet completely void of physical activity, and pretty much validates every point I've ever made on here, it is the truth.

This morning, she told me she just found out that she has type 2 diabetes.

I told her I was very sorry to hear it. 

She goes on to tell me the following:

• The doctor told her it is only in its initial stages, so she is not fully insulin resistant yet.
• He also told her that if she lost some weight and exercised, that it may not progress.
• Her mother was diagnosed with type 2 when she was about her same age.
• Her mother was told the same advice, to exercise, and lose weight.
• Her mother did not do this, so her diabetes got worse, and she recently had to have surgery for advanced glaucoma, or she would have gone blind.

After mentioning that the doctor suggested that she should lose weight and exercise, she laughed and replied to me (I don't know if she told her doctor this) that "I've been trying to do that for years!"

If you need reminding, go back and read my previous posts, where I tell you about her dinner choices.  Of course these are only a few examples, which may not reflect an over-all diet, but it is pretty obvious that her habits with food are far from great.  Not only the quality, but the quantity.  I have witnessed more examples than just what I have explained here.  Yet...  she has told multiple people that she has "tried so hard to lose weight", but just can't seem to do it.  The denial is just flabbergasting. 

In terms of knowing her activity levels, she has said many times that she hates to exercise, yet wishes that she didn't hate it because if she exercised, she could eat more.

Her mom developed type 2 diabetes, so the cause must be heredity, right?

Lets look at the risk factors for developing type 2, according to the Mayo Clinic:

1. Weight - Check √   She is obese.
2. Inactivity - Check √
3. Family History - Check √
4. Race - Check √ She is African American, and statistically more likely to develop it.
5. Age - Not this one, she is only about 30.
6. Prediabetes - Probably √  According to Mayo, this is a condition in which ones blood sugar is higher than normal.  The normal range is between 80-150 mg/dl, depending on how recently you've eaten.  She said hers measured at 200 mg/dl.  The border line for determining diabetes.
7. Gestational Diabetes - no

The tally comes to being positive for 4, probably 5 out of 7 major risk factors.

I think the question is:  Why did she not try and knock out the only two risk factors that are controllable, when she already knew that she was at risk?

Those two risk factors are, of course, having excess fat, and being extremely sedentary.

Why is it that for some people, wanting to appear and be healthy is enough to get them to lead a long/healthy lifestyle?  When for other people, it takes getting a disease - in which two of the major risk factors can be controlled - to get that wake up call.

What's the lessen here?

While the single cause of her type 2 diabetes may not be the fact that she is obese, or that she does not do any regular physical activity, the fact that she has both risk factors working negatively on her body in combination is especially detrimental.

According to the Mayo Clinic:

Healthy lifestyle choices can help you prevent type 2 diabetes. Even if diabetes runs in your family, diet and exercise can help you prevent the disease. And if you've already been diagnosed with diabetes, the same healthy lifestyle choices can help you prevent potentially serious complications.

 

 

However, all fat cells are somewhat insulin resistant.  So, the more fat you have, the more resistant you are likely to be, which causes your blood sugar to rise while your cells are starved for energy.  Long-term high blood glucose levels can lead to blood vessel and nerve damage, as well as heart disease, stroke, blindness, and kidney disease.

According to several sources, even a modest weight loss and increase in activity can have a big difference in increasing insulin sensitivity.

As DR from Healthhabits has put it well:

While it is better to be "Fat and Fit" than "Skinny and Unfit",  it is even better to be Skinny AND Fit.

I just hope she gets the wake up call.

I probably have dozens of "how to" tapes and guides, etc. on sales training that I've bought and collected over the years. Some of what this trainer was teaching was new, but a lot of it was the same stuff I had studied years ago. He said "do what you know".

The same is true with dieting and exercise. I think we all probably "know" how to lose weight and get in shape, especially if you've been around for awhile and dieted for any length of time. I know for me with all the stuff all over the internet about diet and nutrition, I rarely, if ever, come across a "tip" that is news to me.

I am learning new stuff about exercise, but the bottom line's the same. If you don't do anything, it doesn't work. I'm just trying to learn new ways of what moves I make count or work better than some of the old traditional ways.

So, I know that journaling what you eat works. I have never counted calories in my life. I've counted carbs, fat grams, points, but never calories. It was always too big a pain in the neck. I am now using a nutrition tracker, similar to WeightWatchers, but it's free on the web. You track glasses of water, fruits and veggies, and your meals. (It sounds like more of a pain than it is) I've found it to be pretty interesting. After you track your food intake, you get a report of cal, fat, carbs, fiber, protein, and a pie chart showing what you should be doing vs. what you are doing. You can set it up to track whatever you're interested in tracking.

I'm also using the "fitness tracker" to log in my exercise. Do to the new type of fitness exercising I'm doing, my tracking doesn't exactly fit the "norm", but I can see progress, etc. anyhow and that's the main thing. No actually the main thing is I move more so I have something to put on the "tracker", sort of how a pedometer makes you want to walk more steps. LOL.

So for now I'm "doing what I know" works, and feeling pretty good about it. The free tools you find on line are terrific support and the communities for motivation and encouragement are fabulous. It's amazing how you subconciously and conciously start making different choices when you can see in black and white what you are doing.

Shit like this. Jennifer Love Hewitt lost 18 pounds in two weeks! Jessica Alba lost 25 pounds of baby weight in two months! Valerie Bertinelli can fit into her skinny jeans! OMG, you better get skinny fast, cause if you don't, you're just a big, fat LOSER (or is that GAINER?)!

I mean, wasn't Jennifer Love Hewitt celebrating her figure and defending her size just a few months ago when those unflattering bathing suit pictures surfaced? Now, she's decided to get skinny (which apparently means she lost her once amazing rack)?

When is all this weight obsession going to end? Is the stick figure really a sexy look? Personally, I think a woman with some curves is far sexier and more attractive than a Pez-head woman with a stick body. Unless you're trying to pick up Skeletor or the Grim Reaper, I don't think bones are particularly hot. But, maybe that's just me.

OF COURSE YOU DO!
WHO WOULDN'T?!?

And do you want to achieve all of the above with absolutely no commitment or effort whatsoever??

OF COURSE YOU DO!
WHO WOULDN'T?!?

GOOD - because the shady charlatans at Zoft and their fabulous line of wonder gums can, for about $32 a pop, help you chew your way to full-on fabulosity!

Chomp your way to chestiness!

Smack your stress away!

Wear out your jaws for wondrous weight loss!

Munch away your menopausal misery with minty-freshness!

Heck - you can even grab a pack to perk up the peen!

But don't take my word for it
::: I'm serious -- do not take my word for it :::

Check out these completely fabricated and unverifiable testimonials ...

 "I've been taking this product for over a month now and have lost 7 pounds. I couldn't be more pleased! I also have much more level of energy..I guess it's mainly because I'm lighter. I feel great!"
Well thumbs up to YOU, Sandra, 37, from Nevada - sloth and stupidity finally pay off!!!

"It effected nearly since day 1, After 3 weeks I'm using it – the results are great, highly recommend".
Dan, 23, Los Angles
WOW - Thanks Dan from, err, Los Angles??? for that wonderfully ambiguous and moderately illiterate recommendation!

"Loved this product, will definitely order more, I feel much better. At the beginning I was skeptic, but it caused an improvement. Also shipping was super fast! Thanks a lot!"
Karyn, 25, Florida
Awesome Karyn!! I mean, I have no fucking clue what you're talking about - but kudos on that phenominally super-fast delivery -- you just don't SEE that every day!!!

Anyone sampled the Double Bubble Butt yet?

And the funniest shit of all, there was this rather rotund chick who was jiggling her way out of Starbucks and she was wearing a shirt that read: "I love skaters."

Just because a food is fat-free doesn’t mean it’s calorie-free. Get up to speed on “good fats” and lose the fat from your body, not your diet.

Today, supermarket shelves are packed with foods that call to dieters with the words “FAT-FREE.” But as conscientious weight watchers load up their shopping carts with fat-free foods week after week, many discover this alarming fact: their weight is going up!

Getting fat on fat-free
Since the beginning of the “fat-free craze,” statistics show Americans have grown fatter and fatter. Although we’ve been taught to think of fat as the culprit in the weight-loss battle, clearly this is only part of the whole diet picture. Just because a food is fat-free doesn’t mean it’s calorie-free. Many fat-free foods are actually very high in sugar and carbohydrate calories. And these calories, when eaten in excess, become converted into the one thing we’ve been taught to avoid–fat!

Lose the fat from your body, not your diet
Ironically, in order to burn fat and lose weight you need a certain amount of good quality fat. That’s why the ShapeWorks® Weight-Management Program stresses the importance of a well-balanced diet that includes enough “good fats,” such as those found in fish and olive oil, together with Herbalife’s highly nutritious meal replacement shakes and snacks.

By avoiding the fat-free craze and giving your body the complete nourishment it needs with Herbalife’s Cellular Nutrition supplements and weight-management products, you’ll lose weight steadily and feel healthier along the way.

By Staff Writer

Just because a food is fat-free doesn’t mean it’s calorie-free. Get up to speed on “good fats” and lose the fat from your body, not your diet.

Today, supermarket shelves are packed with foods that call to dieters with the words “FAT-FREE.” But as conscientious weight watchers load up their shopping carts with fat-free foods week after week, many discover this alarming fact: their weight is going up!

Getting fat on fat-free

Since the beginning of the “fat-free craze,” statistics show Americans have grown fatter and fatter. Although we’ve been taught to think of fat as the culprit in the weight-loss battle, clearly this is only part of the whole diet picture. Just because a food is fat-free doesn’t mean it’s calorie-free. Many fat-free foods are actually very high in sugar and carbohydrate calories. And these calories, when eaten in excess, become converted into the one thing we’ve been taught to avoid–fat!

Lose the fat from your body, not your diet

Ironically, in order to burn fat and lose weight you need a certain amount of good quality fat. That’s why the ShapeWorks® Weight-Management Program stresses the importance of a well-balanced diet that includes enough “good fats,” such as those found in fish and olive oil, together with Herbalife’s highly nutritious meal replacement shakes and snacks.

By avoiding the fat-free craze and giving your body the complete nourishment it needs with Herbalife’s Cellular Nutrition supplements and weight-management products, you’ll lose weight steadily and feel healthier along the way.

By Staff Writer

I just got back to IHOP less than an hour ago. I've already immersed myself in the Prayer Room. I feel like I've been in the desert and I've finally found the path that's going to lead me back to myself.

The past week has been one of the hardest of my life. I've tried to be incredibly FAT, nice and accommodating. But I'm finding that none of that is in my nature.

Flexible

Adaptable

Teachable

A lot has changed for me in the past week. I've come to realize a few things about the people from back home. I fell more in love with the interns here and the experience. I've realized that I love to serve. I got delivered.

But most of all, I'm finally starting to figure out who I am.

"Here in Your presence God, I find my rest

Here in your presence God...

I've finally found where I belong,

I've finally found where I belong in Your presence"

I've become a bit obsessed with Eat This, Not That, a brilliant feature in Men's Health magazine. Seriously, it is totally, utterly engrossing. I subscribe to their email newsletter, so every week I get a little update on the horrible state of American cuisine. It's enough to make you never want to eat food again. Observe:

The Saltiest Dish in America:
Romano's Macaroni Grill Chicken Portobello
Sodium 7,300 mg
Calories 1,020
Fat 66 g
Salt Equivalent: 48 strips of bacon

I know! It's obscene, right? There's more:

The Worst Drink in America:
Baskin Robbins Large Heath Bar Shake
2,310 calories
108 g fat (64 g saturated)
266 g

Repulsive!

And now (are you ready for this?):

The Worst Food in America:
Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch
2,900 calories
240 g carbs
182 g fat

I could spend hours looking through this site, but what I really like about it is that they offer alternatives. If you're going to eat out at restaurants (which almost everyone does), you should know what your healthiest options are. Or at least you should know what you're getting yourself into, why you can't lose those last few pounds, or why you feel totally bloated and gross after eating at, say, Macaroni Grill.

So yeah...enjoy your next meal!