Thursday, April 15, 2010

The Inflamed Body

I don’t know how YOU On A Diet: The Owner’s Manual for Waist Management did not get on my radar sooner. I absolutely loved this book. It was so easy to relate to and it often made me chuckle. I also saw a review of YOU: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty over at Diane's Training Journal that sounds great. My conclusion: I really need another 'Drea to help me get more reading done.

One of the major takeaways from YOU On A Diet was this statement:

Most important, the process of gaining weight is often a process of inflammation. (75)
The authors (Dr. Michael F. Roizen and Dr. Mehmet C. Oz) go on to say:

Inflammation also makes it more likely that your DNA will be damaged, and a cell will become cancerous. (75)
I can’t say enough how much I liked the illustrations and how the authors broke things down. This book is one that I wish that I had read eons ago. It was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I said that already, didn’t I?

Don’t have time or money to exercise? Here’s the authors’ take:

You need only one piece of equipment: your own body. Your body is your gym. (138)
If you don’t have time to do this, then you have to be willing to admit that the problem is not the fact that you’re out of time but the fact that your life is so out of control that you can’t budget enough time for your health and well-being. (150)
I just touched the surface of this book. The authors cover so much including cheat words (dextrose and mannitol), chemistry, desserts (consider them every other day) metabolism, nutrition felons (in your kitchen) and stress. There are also recipes and a troubleshooting guide.

And for a final quote that moved me:

But to put fat in perspective, remember that it’s an all-body risk factor – with implications everywhere. (118).
This is my body when it was inflamed. At the time, I was at Café Nastaha with coworkers on the occasion of someone who had resigned. It’s so crazy to me how much "birthday" cake and punch and restaurant food we consume at work-related functions. I’m sure that I was having fried falafel on top of my salad at the time and I'm so glad that I don't eat fried wild things anymore.

Have you all seen this video about the New Calorie Counting? As if the old way wasn't challenging enough...

5 comments:

  1. Hi 'Drea,
    I'll have to check this book out. Sounds like it will be equally at interesting as the one I am reading.

    Seeing the picture of you - it's amazing to see how far you've come and how much weight you've lost. Incredible! I hope you are proud of your progress.

    I had falafel last night....

    I also had a dream that my 12 year old daughter was dating a 16 year old rock climber and I was forced to rock climb in order to track them down.

    Just wait til she wakes us this morning. I'm going to find out who this 16 year old rock climber is that invaded my dreams!!

    Have a great day :)

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  2. wow! at you pic! woman you like like a whole different person now! GOOD ON YOU!!!!!!

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  3. @Diane,

    I am proud. When I look at that picture, I see someone who was way too sedentary. I'm glad that I'm on the move now.

    I love the dreams of athletes. I like it that you go rock climbing in pursuit of *the couple.* :)

    I crave falafel very often. I found out that Crazy Bowls and Wraps bakes it -- along with an independent coffee house around here and, really, I could make my own but sometimes I'm a little lazy in the cooking department.



    @midlife_swimmer,

    Thanks. :) It was one of my colleagues who produced that picture. I have to say that I was shocked. 'Wow' was my first reaction too. :) And, wow, my hands were so puffy back then...

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  4. Wow...that exercise quote from page 150 is so powerful.

    Also, You are looking great! What progress.

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  5. MS. Bad Mama Jama,

    Thanks. :) I think that I need to pull out old photos more often to have a greater appreciation of the progress that I've made.

    I really dig the 150 quote too because, really, if you don't have good health, it's going to make life much thornier.

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