Belle

HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS, TOPPERS!!! LOVE YA!! MISS YA!!

WAY TO GO, PAW!!! You have my utmost respect as I know that is not the easiest regimen to follow. (where's that bowing down avatar?) Rocky, you're absolutely right - we do have to figure out what works for us, personally. I tried that d@mned cabbage soup diet and GAINED weight! Two weeks in a row!! Too much stuff that spikes blood sugar, I guess. I couldn't figure it out at the time but it was the turning point for me to go to a doctor about my inability to lose weight no matter what. Jimmy Moore has an awesome low carb blog and interviews lots of the prominent low carb doctors, researchers and authors. He also has started a list of low carb doctors so we can find a doctor who recognizes the benefits of low carb and uses it first instead of drugs. Excellent info for us low carb information junkies! Sudo, if you haven't heard of this Canadian documentary, then you'll find it very interesting. "It is an amazing chronicle of Dr. Jay Wortman and his effort to treat the health problems of an entire First Nation village by convincing them to embrace the diet of their ancestors. As a fellow First Nation citizen, Dr. Wortman knows this means a diet high in fat and specifically heavy in something called oolichan grease, which is like a fishy olive oil." from Jimmy's podcast website. I agree that exercise is important, but I think weight training is the most important. There is some benefit to cardio, but the benefits do not include weight loss. NOVA did a documentary on average joe citizens training for a marathon and not one of them lost any weight despite all the extra cardio they were doing. Exercise is good for making one hungry, not for losing weight. :) The Scientist and the Stairmaster: Why most of us believe that exercise makes us thinner—and why we're wrong is a great article on the subject. I'm actually growing rather fond of yoga, myself.

Do we have a solid answer on this yet? I think we need some more light in here.

Taubes on the study that Sudo first mentioned in this thread:

Happiest of Birthdays, BB!!

Rocky, you might rethink some of that when you get around to reading Taubes' book. That pasta has 29 carbs in one serving after subtracting the fiber - Some low carbers would consider that a whole day's worth of carbs, some a half day's carbs and some would consider it okay as long as it's balanced with lots of protein and/or fat. Way too much for me right now. Finding a long term lifestyle diet is key, I agree and low carb is easy in that protein and fat are satisfying, take longer to digest and keep you full longer so we don't get hungry as often and it's not the intense hunger that comes from a carb crash. I think people don't realize that "low carb" isn't "no carb". A healthy "low carb" diet contains veggies, fruit and high fiber choices. Bottom line is finding what works for us personally and keeps us feeling well, imo. I'm insulin resistant along with a few other issues, including diabetes on both sides of my family, so the low carb lifestyle is what appears to be best for me.... a vegan lifestyle is what a very dear friend of mine considers best for her. Regarding ketosis: Ketosis, generally, only happens with very low carbohydrate intake and/or with very overweight individuals. It is not dangerous to be in ketosis. Ketoacidosis is what most people confuse ketosis with and ketoacidosis IS dangerous. Here's what Dr. Michael Eades, author of Protein Power, says about ketosis: "Ketones... are made when fat breaks down. As you read the words on this page you are producing ketones, but unless you're on this diet or have been fasting, you're probably not in ketosis - the state of having a measurable level of ketones in your blood. Ketones are an intermediate stage of fat breakdown, and not only are they not poison as described by several health writers, but they're used as fuel by most of the body's tissues including the brain. The heart, in fact, prefers ketones to all other fuel. The body must have sufficient carbohydrate to completely burn for energy all the ketones produced. The diet causes the breakdown of fat, producing an abundance of ketones - especially in the overweight person - but the intervention diets don't provide enough carbohydrate to burn all of them. These excess ketones circulate in the blood and must be gotten rid of i other ways. The body releases them via the urine, the stool and the breath. Since ketones are incompletely burned fat, any that you get rid of without actually using them for energy means you are ditching unwanted fat without having to actually burn it off" He goes on to say that unless you are a type 1 diabetic ketones and ketosis is not dangerous. "Dr. Lubert Stryer, professor of Biochemistry at Stanford University and the author of the biochemistry textbook used in most medical schools, says ketones are 'normal fuels of respiration and are quantitatively important sources of energy.' 'Indeed,' Dr. Stryer continues, 'heart muscle and the renal cortex (kidney) use [ketones] in preference to glucose.' Drs. Donald and Judith Voet, authors of another popular medical biochemistry textbook, say that ketones 'serve as important metabolic fuels for many peripheral tissues, particularly heart and skeletal muscle.' So if you trust the consensus among medical experts and scientists, you will understand that ketones are a perfectly normal fuel used preferentially by most of the tissues in the body for their energy needs. In fact - except for type 1 diabetics - there is no evidence for the opinion that ketones are dangerous." *********** I will further second the recommendation for Taubes' book. The link to that an another excellent article written by him are in my first post of this thread. He documents medical study after medical study providing proof that the low carb diet is the healthiest, best diet for MOST people and ESPECIALLY people with diabetes, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and many, many other health situations. Insulin is a primary factor in fat production and storage in our bodies - low carb regulates, controls and minimizes insulin production in the body. The fact that a high carb/low fat diet is what you see so much of is due to political and ego wrangling of not a few people in high places - also heavily documented by Taubes in his book. I can not recommend that book enough - it has really opened my eyes. Dr. Eades, in fact, has a blog entry about Tabues' book, a medical review of it and Taubes' response.

Brushstroke, I can understand why that would make you angry, but realize they had a responsibility to check your vehicle out because of the woman's complaint.... and we don't know what she said to them. She may be a nutcase, she may not be. Maybe she confused your car with someone else's - regardless, they are obligated to check it out. If they hadn't and you HAD been a stalker intent on causing her harm, then they'd be all over the news for ignoring her call. It's a catch 22 situation for officers and there are way too many of those kinds of scenarios that they encounter every day. I was married to a police officer for almost 8 years. It's a very sensitive subject for me. I can tell you they are extremely frustrated and it's aggravating being an officer, especially since they are always under scrutiny and attack. They can't win for losing. No matter what they do it isn't right, isn't safe, doesn't seem like a wise decision..... Police officers have more and more rules and laws implemented every day that limit their effectiveness. CRIMINALS HAVE NO RULES! They put their lives on the line EVERY DAY. EVERY traffic stop, EVERY domestic violence call, EVERY police call could put the officer in a lethal situation. They arrest bad guys all the time who are released back onto the streets because of the judicial system and because they have more rights than the arresting officers. They ARE researching, testing and implementing new things every day. They have computers in their cars and can get information quicker, but it's still not quick enough. Police officers are expected to be perfect 100% of the time and it's just not a realistic expectation. There ARE going to be mistakes. They have good days and bad days just like everyone else. They sometimes don't sleep well; they sometimes come to work with a head cold, in a bad mood, upset over their marriage, their family, their bills....in addition to that they live every single day of work, every single minute on high alert, always watching and hyper-sensitive to the fact that any situation could become life threatening for someone, including themselves. AND most of them do it because they love the job, they love feeling like they are effecting change and helping keep the country, their city/county safe for people. God knows it ain't because of the paycheck!!! All officers are not bad. Yah, there's some bad ones, but I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt.....

Pau1 Brook5 once said to us that the more of the word we learned, the more black & white the world became. He's right.... from a TWI perspective. The more we subscribed to TWI's view of the scriptures, the more judgmental we became - after all, we were the only ones with the truth! Things were "right" or "wrong" - there was no gray area and there were no exceptions, except where leadership was concerned. And, to make it even more confusing, what was "right" one day could be "wrong" the next.... buying a house or financing a car, for example.

In a simple word, "no". I'm not even sure I believe that it was inspired by "God". There were many scrolls not included in the Bible and that choice was made men - scriptures were copied by men - men who were not perfect - I have a lot of the same questions that Rascal has and see too many parallels in other religions/belief systems. The more I learn about other beliefs, the more I see the Bible in a different light and saying things other than what we were taught it says. Furthermore, I think arguing over semantics and every jot and tittle is a waste of time and gets away from the main lesson which Jesus succinctly said (allegedly ) to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. On these hang all the law and prophets. Bottom line - Love - this is also the bottom line in just about every other belief system/religion I've studied. The rest is just stuff to debate, discuss or argue about, no?

(((((+odd))))) so good to see you! And, as usual, you contribute greatly to the discussion. My brother maintains that those things we do not like in others are generally reflections of aspects of our own that we do not like. :) Interesting perspective and, in some cases, I believe that to be true. It's much easier to be angry with someone else than with ourselves. Is it that we're holding others to the standard we, ourselves wish we would attain? That theory does fall flat, however, when we judge someone who is a rapist, child abuser, murderer, etc. as most of us do not (I hope!) have those issues. Likewise, I try to strive to consider that each person is doing the best they can. Their best may not be the same as mine and on certain days our "best" is going to be better than other days. Again, that seems to fall short in many ways, when considering the depraved individual. The person who cuts us off in traffic, to continue with that example, is simply doing the best they can - e.g. they don't know how to drive any better, they are helplessly selfish when behind the wheel, they are doing their best to get home to a sick child, they didn't mean to do it, didn't realize they did it, etc.... doesn't matter - when we consider that they are doing the best they can, it makes it a bit easier, as Lindy said, to not be so angry. That anger does nothing to help anyone. It does seem to me that every religion/belief system in the world boils down to "love" - loving your fellow man and, usually, whatever "god" is at the center of that system.

P-Mosh, they've been done - that's what Taub's book documents - lots of tests going back to the 1800's have been done that prove it much better and with much more dramatic results than the one study that's getting so much attention. :)

I shot a .357 and my ex's Glock .45 once - felt like I was going to break my wrist on the recoil. I'll stick with my little Kel-Tec, thank you very much. I can hit a gecko between the eyes using that one. I never won an egg toss, but I did win a cow chip toss contest once and came in second in a watermelon seed spitting contest. Great pics, Ron! Thanks for sharing them. :)

:eusa_clap: Tres Kewl, Rascal and the gang!! Tres Kewl!

Haven't seen it - just wanted to say it is good to see YOU, Oen! :)

Good going, Raf! I'll bet your car and home smell real sweet now. That's one thing I loved noticing.

Gary Taubes book "Good Calories, Bad Calories" lays out the scientific proof that low carb is by far the healthiest diet - especially for cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes. He also lays out the ego, political maneuvering, intimidation and foul play that prevents the low carb diet from being prescribed and promoted the way it should be. In case you're not into the book, here's one of his great articles on the same thing: "What if It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?" Way to go, Doc!! Lookin' Good!

(((((Lifted))))) Thanks a bunch Abi and Eyes. I'm enjoying your posts while I await my copy. Thank you Avondale and others for sharing, too! :)

Even with the irrefutable evidence that is available many still won't believe. And many who still deny that irrefutable evidence - or at least lie about it. The worst are those who justify the reprehensible acts of those wolves in sheep's clothing.

Well, he could send a couple of us tickets to one of the concerts so we can watch him in action.

I could probably do that too. My house was re-plumbed a few years before I bought it and all the plumbing is in the attic so during the summer I have instant hot water and have to let the cold water run for a while before it's actually cool. I have a huge oak tree that shades most of my house all day and, boy oh boy, am I thankful for that! Love the smell of clothes dried on the line. The rain is so unpredictable here that I'd really have to pay attention to get away with it, but.... hmmm..... I'm sure that's one more thing I could look into doing.

I'm so sorry you're having to cut back like that, Geo.

I'm unplugging just about every electronic device I don't use on a regular basis - including the microwave and coffee pot. I'm using the ceiling fans and increasing the temp on the a/c unit. I'm using the microwave and toaster oven more than the stove. I've even considered how long it will take me to bike rather than drive in the Baja to get to work. Not much feasible given the FL thunderstorms we have this time of year though. What are you doing, if anything? Is it worth it???

Cake, I am so sorry for what you experienced. I must say that I experienced first hand observance of that type of behavior at the hands of Pa*l Bro*ks because he thought it was "educational" for us. It broke my heart and made me literally sick to my stomach, which is pretty amazing given how sold out I was to TWI doctrine at the time. Dottie Moynihan, having so much longevity and credibility in TWI made it that much worse. There are stories of how brutal Bob Moynihan was to his own son that are just plain awful and if I can find links to those I will try to find them. I will give credit, though, to his son's perspective of his own upbringing in how he is (at least WAS) not as anal in the way he was raising his kids, last I heard. Those things stay with us for life. I wasn't married that long, but the verbal, mental and spiritual abuse at the hands of my ex were less than eight years long, they are deep and impact my daily life to this day. I can only imagine how deep those experiences must be coming from parents and those we were taught to place on a pedestal near and dear to God's heart. Thank you for sharing your experiences here with us.

When it comes to TWI, victims, the law and most things along this subject (and my persona favorite = Harry Potter ) There is no authority in dove's words. Precisely why he, Oldiesman, Whatthe hey, Mike and others should be completely ignored on these subjects - if no one acknowledges them they have nothing to contribute or fight against. On other subjects they are delightful... well, some of them are...

Abi, I'm interested in ordering two copies of the book - one for me and one for the therapist that I had for years after leaving TWI. I'm trying to find the link for the book through Amazon that gives credit to Paw for purchasing through GSpot -- I can not find it, though I'm certain it is under my nose. Can someone please post that link? I'd like very much to order two copies and I'm going to ask my therapist to give his perceptions/thoughts/whatnot given Kristen's book and his years with me. I'm really looking forward to reading the book. I'm only partially through the first GSpot Radio interview and hope to finish the rest soon. I will say, based on your post here that, being raised in a middle class/upper middle class family, the fact that everyone I first came in contact with was people of the same class gave credence to their teachings of "the more abundant life". Had I been exposed primarily (as I later was) to people who were mostly struggling to make ends meet, I am pretty sure that those initial claims of "the more abundant life" would have sent me away laughing my arse off. By the time I recognized the difference between what they were teaching and what the people were living, I was so brain dead or conditioned not to question things that I justified it some how.