The tale of the brown fat....

Little do many of us know that there is actually two types of fat - brown fat and white fat. Brown fat is, well, good. White fat is bad. And no, they aren't the kind of fats you eat. They are actually components of our bodies. Brown fat peaks in adolescence and it quite metabolically active - it actually uses and burns calories because of its preponderance of mitchondria - the energy factories of our cells. White fat is pretty much a storage vessel; not very metabolically active at all unless it is the nasty visceral or abdominal fat which is a little factory of hormones and chemical messengers of inflammation. Sadly, brown fat peaks in adolescence and is prevalent in only about 5% of the population.

White fat has a very bad reputation - there is a positive correlation between the amount of white fat in our bodies and the prevalence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, etc, etc. However, white fat gave our ancestors a survival advantage - those of us who had higher amounts of white fat lived longer. How is that you say (after you said white fat is the root of all evil)? Well, remember that our ancestors lived very different lives than we do know. Our ancestors did not have convenience stores and fast food restaurants on every corner. In some cases, our ancestors went without food for very long periods of time. Those who could store more energy as white fat could make it through those periods when food was not plentiful. As such, they lived and could perpetuate the species. Our ancestors with higher amounts of brown fat did not survive such conditions because they burned more calories than they stored. Ladies and gentleman, this is natural selection at its finest!

Things have changed significantly for us in modern day North America. We no longer need to store energy as fat. White fat no longer confers a survival benefit but actually greatly increases mortality and morbidity. Brown fat now confers the survival benefit but has been essentially 'bred' (for lack of a better word) out of our species over time. It has a long way to go before it catches up.

When I learned about this in my Endocrinology class this semester, I thought that it was really interesting so I thought that I would pass it along to you.

So, what's new with me? Thankfully Halloween is over and the plethora of little bars and bags of chips have gone away. I am doing well with the activity - karate, the gym, hockey - but I can't seem to get on track with my diet. A week full of activity can be nullified with a week of terrible eating habits. So, this week I have endeavoured to try to eat a little better. I have eliminated junk food this week - no bars, chips or cheesies for the next 5 - 7 days. I am two days in and I haven't even been tempted! I think that is because I have been eating a little more frequently throughout the day to avoid the inevitable 3pm drop in blood sugar which leads to snacking on anything that is close by.

I have also started drinking more water. Perhaps in the next post I'll talk a little bit about the importance of hydration. I used to drink a lot of water once but I literally got out of the habit. This week I have been toting around a 1L water bottle that I fill up in the morning. My goal is to finish it every day. I am also trying to choose water at meal times. 1L per day isn't probably enough but at least it's a start.

Thanks for reading! Remember to subscribe to this blog so you will get the updates. Thanks to those who have done so already. Stay tuned!

C'est l'Halloween!

So it's Halloween  - a night of tricks and treats....lots of treats. Chips, cheesies, twizzlers, little bars, Nibs, etc, etc. I got 8 little kids come to the door despite the fantastic day we had here on the west coast. So, you know what that means....lots of treats left over!!! I often hear people say, "I only buy the stuff that I don't like to give away because then I won't eat it when it's left over".....yeah, you see, I can't do that.

It's been awhile since I have posted. So, what have I been up to.....well, not too much, unfortunately for me. It is amazing how easy it is to get out the fitness habit. And even more amazing is how quickly one can become deconditioned. There were about two weeks when I didn't get to the gym at all in the last month. I did attempt to make up for that by doing other activities but I often feel bad when I don't get to the gym. Karate has started up again for the year so I have been going to that and I recently started playing hockey. Yes, that's what I said. Hockey. Ice Hockey. I know what most of you are saying....but, she can't skate, can she? I've never seen her skate. Well, you are partly right; I haven't been on skates since university so we are talking about 15 years here. But, I am playing hockey anyway. I have always wanted to play hockey; some of you out there know my story about why I didn't play hockey as a kid so instead I'll only say that girls didn't play minor hockey in Corner Brook when I grew up in the 80s. Anyone who wants to know the real story can ask me.....(love you Mom).

Hockey, and skating in general, has got to be good for me. My trainer changes up my routine every 4 weeks because my body gets used to it and it isn't as effective as it was in the beginning. To continue to get results, you have to challenge your body. Skating represents a huge change to my routine and as such, a huge challenge for my body. So, even if I can only muster 6 laps around the Pepsi Centre, I must be getting a good workout from it. Skating makes me use muscles in my legs that I haven't used in this fashion in a very long time. Reminds me of my first run down Marble for a season - that hurts too. I have played twice and I love it. It's always been a bucket list item for me. I was actually a little winded Friday night so it's a great addition to my overall fitness program.

I'll leave you this evening with a little tidbit from my latest Pharm.D. course in endocrinology: ladies out there (and you guys too), keep drinking your milk. It's not only good for your bones. Studies have shown that people who consume dairy products on a regular basis, lose more weight than people who do not. Canada's Food Guide recommends at least 2 servings of dairy per day. Weight loss was NOT seen in people who take calcium supplements. So, consider this when making your proper food choices - choose low fat dairy products more often; at least 2 servings per day.

Happy Halloween all! Stay tuned for my next post and find out the difference between brown fat and white fat!

Back!....again!....

Yeah, so since my last post, I seem to have disappeared again for a bit. I suppose that I could blame it on the fact that it's summer or that work has been busy or that I have been involved in a few projects here and there or....or....or.... But, really, it's time to do away with the excuses, buckle down and get this done!

Since my last post, I am happy to say that I have returned to my personal trainer/kinesiologist Daniel DeGrace at Health and Performance in the old Canadian Tire building. He's great and he knows his job. He is super busy but he is definitely worth the time and the money. Their BodyFit program works; I encourage you to check into it.

http://www.healthandperformance.ca/

So, I should probably set a short-term goal so that you guys out there can keep me honest. Today is the 17th of August so, let's say 10 pounds by the 17th of September. I think that's doable. But, definitely a challenge as I have a charity golf tournament in Terra Nova and a conference in St. John's during this time period. Not necessarily a food blow out but definitely enough to throw someone off of a routine.

I think one of the biggest problems that I have at the moment is the fact that I don't cook a lot anymore. And I am not really sure why that is. I have heard myself say that I am getting bored with many of the things that I cook lately. I loaded the dishwasher this morning and, really, the cat's dishes outnumbered mine by a mile. And I only have  one cat now. I think that it is time to dust off the slow cooker and the recipe books again.

Happy Friday everyone! The weekend is here so get active. Try not to laze around the house for the next two days.

Oh, and one more thing - I invite you to follow this blog. I'd really appreciate it.

Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day!

Back!

Yeah, so, I had disappeared there for a little while. Sometimes life gets in the way of the best laid plans. I was busy with work, was away for a bit and then went on an Alaskan cruise with the family. Now it's time to get back to reality.

So, the cruise was great. Lots of great scenery and, of course, food! Mom was actually peeved because I only put on one pound while I was away! Must be my metabolism she says as I ate far more cookies and deserts than she did! If you haven't cruised yet, you definitely should! I probably didn't eat as many cookies as mom thought.....and I did go to the gym while I was on the ship. Well, only once but we did do a fair bit of walking on our excursions....

Anyway, yeah, back to reality. I guess that is going to start with getting back to the gym. Karate is finished now for the summer so I will have to take that time and use it for the gym or maybe a couple of walks outside. I used to do that a lot once. A friend of mine is looking to get back to the gym as well so hopefully we can both work out a schedule to go together. Usually more likely to go when I have someone to go with. I do play golf in the summer but I don't know how much exercise I'll get there considering I am a member at Humber Valley Resort and you need a cart to get around the course. I'll have to make myself walk to the ball....yeah, that's it....I'll walk to the ball.....

Summer brings BBQs, camp fires, nights at the cabin and various other outdoor activities. More excuses to eat, perhaps. And I do love spider weiners, roasted marshmallows and s'mores. I truly believe in moderation so there is always room in the summer menu for treats but this year they are going to have to be limited. And maybe switch out the baked potato for salad or something like that. More water and less pop and booze.

Going forward, I'll try to post a little more frequently. Welcome summer and let's get out there and enjoy the sun and warm weather! Take advantage of the summer evenings and get out and get active!

Can I lose 100 pounds?

One of the girls on my staff brought in her high school yearbook last week. So, I thought, what the hell; I'll bring mine in too. It was 18 years ago this June that I graduated from high school. Holy crap! Where does time go? Well, the girls thought that I was just the cutest thing all dressed up in my prom dress so I brought in the pictures so that they could see me in colour - in 1994 we still had black and white yearbooks. The most common comment was about my legs and how long they looked in my dress. I have to admit, my legs were nice when I was 18. I had collarbones back then too....well, I still do but you just can't see them.

At 18, I was 125lbs. So, I started thinking.....could I ever get back to that weight or close to that weight? I have often said that I'd never see 125 again because my body has changed in the last 18 years but is that just an excuse because I think that this would be an insurmountable task? People lose amazingly huge amounts of weight; you only have to turn on the tv to see that. I know a number of people who have lost anywhere between 70 and 100 pounds. It's not impossible but it ain't going to be easy.

I remember working with a personal trainer once who said that I would never be svelte; it wasn't a reasonable goal. I kinda took offense to that; we didn't get off on the right foot. I admit that it is important to have realistic goals, but is a 100 pound weight loss really that unrealistic? I am 5'3"; my body frame is not and was never meant to be carrying around an extra 100 pounds of weight. And do you want to know something completely crazy? When I was 18 and 125lbs, I actually thought that I was big! Can you imagine?

Nothing like a couple of prom pictures to get you thinking.....

For the love of food!!

A friend suggested to me the other day that I might be an emotional eater.....duh! Of course I am! But, I don't discriminate emotions - I eat no matter what the emotion. However, when you examine our culture, food is associated with every celebration; sad or happy. When we have birthdays, we go out for dinner and have cake. When someone dies, we send food to the funeral home. Every holiday is an excuse to eat - think Christmas, long weekends, Easter, etc, etc. Just come in to my store during any holiday season and you will see first hand the connection between food and a celebration.

I love food; most kinds of food, that is. Especially the 'bad foods'. I remember reading an article or watching a show on TV that suggested that people who love food really take the time to appreciate each and every bite. I can't say that I do that; I don't know why I eat so fast. It's not like I had to fight for food while growing up. But, I do enjoy food. One of my elementary school teachers once called me 'Mistress Mummer' because I would hum while I was eating a Chipper during recess. I still do that and, usually, Mom looks at me and says, 'you really love your food, don't you?' and then laughs. Apparently my grandfather used to hum at the table too. Must be genetic.

I remember saying many times in university that I wished that there was a television station dedicated to food and that I would watch it faithfully if it existed. You can imagine my excitement when I found the FoodNetwork when I got satellite tv in 2003. I pay over $100.00 a month for God knows how many channels but the receiver is usually set to 603 - FoodNetwork Canada. I am also hooked on weight loss shows but that is fodder for a future entry.

We often joke at work that we are all addicted to food. I don't necessarily believe that I am addicted to food. Food is a necessity for life; without it I would die. That is fact. It is certainly possible that I could use food as a crutch now and again but it's not an addiction. Although, I do certainly admit that I probably use food incorrectly and make bad choices where food is concerned. Basically, we are just a bunch of enablers at work; no one has to twist the other's rubber arm when food is involved.

It is cruel and unjust that fat is the major vehicle of taste. Yes, it is sad but true.....fat confers more flavour. Have you tasted a shortbread cookie made with butter compared to one made with margarine? Or cheesecake with full-fat cream cheese instead of low-fat cream cheese? There IS a difference....for the better. Not better for the arteries though.....

Now, I don't think that there is anything wrong with loving food. Afterall, just look at the hundreds of ethnicities out there, the spices, the herbs,....My sister has a much more developed palate than I and is much braver than I for trying different foods. She is always visiting some part of the world through its food. I say that she is exotic.....exotic to me is Greek and then that is only really chicken on a stick.

When I was a kid, I despised anything to do with fat and grizzle. I wouldn't drink homogenized milk because someone told me that it was 'full-fat' milk and I envisioned globs of fat floating in the milk. Unfortunately, that kinda turned me from milk period. Now, anything but skim is too thick. I would painstakingly remove all traces of fat and grizzle from pork chops and steak before I ate it. I hated chicken breasts with the skin on it. The joke at the table was that I left more meat on the bone than what I ate. Given that, Mom doesn't understand how I got to where I am now.

I have a decent collection of cookbooks. I own a KitchenAid mixer. I subscribe to the what's cooking magazine. I am interested in trying new recipes as long as they contain the stuff that I like. I am not a gourmet and really, not a very good cook. There are some things that I do well but there are lots that I don't. I suck at stir-frys. I am lazy when it comes to cooking, I think. It is easier to throw something in the oven than take the time to cook it.

So, part of this journey is to restructure my relationship with food. We probably need to become better friends. But, the love will remain.....

Then and Now

When I was 18, I was 125lbs and believe it or not, compared to some of my friends at the time, I thought that I was big. When I look back at pictures, I can't believe the difference between then and now.

I guess it all started with the dreaded freshman 15 - I stayed four months in residence in my second year university - all you can eat fries and gravy and all you can drink chocolate milk! If it hadn't been residence, I'd have thought that it was heaven! Apparently the 10 minute hike to the Education Building three mornings a week did not balance everything out! That September I started living on my own in an apartment on campus and honestly, I didn't eat a lot of junk. Afterall, I was on a fixed income - Mom was footing that bill at the time. And meat was expensive.....I used that excuse a lot when I was looking for a few extra dollars from Mom and Dad. LOL.

Fast forward to my first year of pharmacy and I weighed in at 169lbs. At this point I lived on my own and the apartments that I lived in were always close to a convenience store. Oh to have one-quarter of the money I spent at Stockwoods back! I also had a car. A recipe for certain disaster! Sure I flirted with the gym on and off during my university career and into my professional career but it has always been mostly just that - flirtation at best. I have even invested in personal trainers but even they couldn't cement my resolve with the battle of the buldge.

I have always identified myself as an athlete. I played almost every sport imaginable growing up - tennis, volleyball, basketball, baseball, soccer, karate, etc, etc. And I was good at it; a natural athlete. When I played ball, I was the only girl asked to play on the all-star team and back then there were only a handful of girls playing baseball in Corner Brook. Even my personal trainers said that I had proper posture when lifting weights; they didn't have to show me. I naturally understood. This isn't to toot my own horn but only to impress upon the difference between then and now. The only sport that I am actively engaged in now is karate but it's hard to move your body through kata and avoid attacks in kumite when you are carrying around extra weight. I have a second degree black belt and I remember someone once telling me that I 'didn't look like a black belt'. I can only assume that this person thought that because I wasn't ripped like Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris. At 227 lbs, I still believe that there is an athlete in me; it's just hiding.

Sure I'd like to have a body like Pink (the singer) or Halle Berry, but, at 35 it is becoming less about looking good and more about feeling good and living healthy. I am a health care professional; I spend my days promoting wellness and disease prevention. However, I don't seem to take my own advice. Obesity is the number one cause of diabetes in our province and there are dozens of cancers that can trace their etiology to excess weight. The mortality and morbidity costs of excess weight are frightening! I wasn't asthmatic until I started putting on weight in university. I now find my right knee because my weight causes me to hyperextend at the knee and I have developed plantar fasciitis; partly because I stand at the pharmacy counter every day but the weight doesn't help. My mother says that she doesn't understand because I have so much knowledge.

So, why a blog? I am sure that some of you are asking that. Well, I guess it all comes back to accountability. Perhaps knowing that people are reading this and expecting change will encourage me to smarten up. I am not getting any younger and mom keeps telling me that I have to do it now because it gets harder as you get older. She lost over 70 pounds almost two years ago now using the Weight Watchers plan. She is living proof that it can be done; at any age. You just have to have the resolve to do it.

When I was 18, I never would have imagined that 18 years later, I'd be sitting on my couch, watching The Biggest Loser and blogging about my own struggle with weight loss. I was the baby whose grandmother was worried that I was too small when I was born and the kid who couldn't stand the sight of grizzle and fat on a pork chop or chicken breast. If I met that 18 year-old girl now, I'd give her some swift kick in the ass. I think that she would be shocked at the difference between then and now......