Category Archives for Uncategorized

You Are What You Eat

You may remember that at the beginning of the year I made a resolution to make small changes in my eating habits to improve my overall health and finally lose some of Norah’s darn baby weight. I went to the doctor for my annual inspection a few weeks ago, and she got excited when she saw my cholesterol level – 229. That probably seems high to the rest of the world, but considering that at one time my cholesterol was 310, I’m doing well. She gave me 4 months to get serious and give it my best shot. If I haven’t improved more in 4 months, she’s going to decide whether to put me on medication.

As part of my cholesterol reduction plan, the doctor sent me to a nutritionist. Oddly enough, nutritional counseling isn’t covered by my Blue Cross policy. I guess they’d prefer to pay for my cholesterol meds or my bypass surgery. Anyhoo…I found a nutritionist on the Blue Cross website (ironic, huh?) and set up an appointment for last week. I kept a food log for two weeks and nervously handed it over.

She hmm’ed a few times, pointed out that I had eaten “real” ice cream (I beg to differ…a vanilla cone from Old McDonald’s is not “real” ice cream), and said that I don’t eat enough fruit, but for the most part she was happy with the changes I’ve already made. We agreed to do a little tweaking and review the log again in 3 weeks. She gave me a few good suggestions:

1) Since I cut butter out of my life, I rarely eat the bagel I used to slather it on every morning, so I usually have cereal for breakfast. To increase my fruit intake, she told me to put a cup(!) of berries or other fruit in the bowl with the cereal and I would end up eating less cereal. When I asked about the rule of thumb for a good cereal she said that I should find one that doesn’t have sugar (or cane syrup, brown sugar, or corn syrup) listed in the first 5 ingredients. If you think it’s easy to find a decent-tasting cereal that doesn’t list sugar in the first 5 ingredients, I dare you to head to Stop & Shop. I think I found 4 out of the 15 boxes I checked, and I didn’t look at anything that had crunchberries, marshmallow shapes, rainbow colors, or frosting.

2) I really like eggs, but since they’re high in fat I figured they’d be off the list. The nutritionist told me that if I eat the ones that say “High in Omega 3”, I can have 4 or 5 per week. I was suspicious about the value of eggs from chickens who roam around eating grass but apparently happy chickens lay more nutritious eggs. They’re 50 cents per dozen more at BJ’s. Done! Another good tip she gave me is to use one egg and an unlimited amount of egg whites to make an omelet. I made a huge mushroom omelet tonight with one egg and a container of egg whites from the refrigerator case. It was great!

3) I heard Doctor Oz tell Oprah’s millions of viewers to eat nuts every day, so I asked the nutritionist about them. She told me to stick with walnuts or almonds, and that a serving is what I can grab with my palm facing down, not what I can pour into my scoop or gather in my apron.

4) She suggested yogurt as a midmorning snack, but I was hesitant since I don’t usually have a midmorning snack. She said it would help me make better choices at lunchtime. That makes sense.

5) Cheese is tough one because I really like it. She said to try to the reduced fat varieties, so I bought some and I think they’re fine. I already drink skim milk, eat low-fat yogurt, and Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, so I’m getting my calcium without the fat.

6) On the way out of her office she reminded me to increase my cardio. I do well with specific goals so I asked what she wanted to see. Five times per week – at least 10 minutes per day. What?! I can get that just rasslin’ the kids into their car seats. Done!

So…is it working? I have lost 15-17 pounds since January 1st, and I don’t think I’ll be as likely to regain the weight since I’m not “on a diet”. Is it possible that all I had to do was make a few substitutions? I guess time will tell. If you need some substitution ideas, just try the book I consider my Substitution Bible – Eat This, Not That by David Zinczenko. I guarantee you’ll be surprised.

.

Closure

The experts say that the funeral service is an important part of the grieving process, and brings closure for family and friends. I guess it’s true because I haven’t felt right about posting the mundane events in our lives but after Bernie’s memorial service last Friday I’m starting to feel like I should get back at it. Bernie loved to look at our blog and see what the kids were up to. When I opened his computer I found that he had saved all of the pictures from the blog to his hard drive, and was using one as wallpaper on his desktop. He would want me to keep posting about the joys and mishaps, the proud moments, and the things that get stuck in noses. Maybe they even have internet access in heaven.

Bernie’s service was beautiful. The pastor was the same one who married Ginny and Bernie, a close family friend. The church was nondenominational, and I was impressed with the level of charity work they do around the globe. As the church lady was giving someone directions over the phone she said, “There are people out front holding up peace signs…you can’t miss it.” I should mention that it was pouring rain while they were standing beside the road with their signs. Ben told me later that he was tempted to grab a sign and join the protest. The food was catered and delicious. The dessert was provided by Bernie’s cousin – a sheet cake with Bernie’s picture on it. By the time I went to get a piece, everyone had cut around Bernie and all that was left was his head and torso. I felt a little weird about eating a piece of cake with Bernie’s picture on it, but Aliya said, “Hey! Can I have Grampa B’s head?!” I guess she’s not superstitious. One of Ginny’s friends’ grandaughter helped with the kids, which was fabulous. The DVD went over well, and some people stood and watched it several times.

Ginny is spending the next 2 weeks in Syracuse to go to some doctors’ appointments and take care of business. Then she’ll be back with us for a few months. I still find it amazing that someone would choose to immerse themselves in the chaos of our home, but she probably welcomes the distraction. I definitely welcome the extra pair of hands. Bernie, if you’re reading this, we miss you a lot a lot a lot. Send me a sign if you can.
.

OSV

This year we became members of Old Sturbridge Village, which is a recreation of a 19th century village about 15 minutes from our camp. I hadn’t been there since our 6th-grade class trip, and I only had a vague recollection of rock candy and peeing along the roadside next to the bus. Last year I organized a summer party for my office and I decided on a scavenger hunt at OSV followed by a cookout at an orchard just down the road (Hyland Orchard), where they have a few farm animals, a little ride for the kids (apple carts pulled by a tractor), and a picnic pavillion.

Our corporate experience at OSV was so great that we couldn’t wait to go back this year. There’s so much to do! The grounds are beautiful and the kids can run around to their hearts’ content without being run over, unless the stagecoach driver isn’t paying attention. The cafeteria is reasonably-priced and good, the staff is knowledgable and friendly, and the exhibits are really interesting. There is a boat ride, a stagecoach ride, a discussion by a schoolteacher about what school was like in the 1800’s…you can even try fishing with a bamboo pole. They do all kinds of special events and hands-on crafts, and they show a recently-released movie on Friday and Saturday nights. It’s definitely worth the trip!

http://osv.org/




We took Ginny and Bernie to OSV when they were here in May, so I will post more pics when I dig them out.
.