Journal Entries
Be Careful What You Ask For
Posted Apr 28, 2003
My voice is gone, I cannot speak,
With throat so sore it burns and aches.
Knives must have cut away the sound
And left a silence in their wake.
I prayed for silence just last week -
Please, dear God, for pity's sake
Surely some quiet can be found -
The noise I wanted you to take!
This wasn't what I had in mind.
Now I'm afraid your aid to seek
For fear my hearing will be next
If I again ask for relief
From clangs and bangs of any kind -
telephones, tv's, mouses's squeek.
Is it a cold, or am I hexed?
My voice is gone, I cannot speak.
Hypatia
Discuss this Journal entry [4]
Latest reply: Apr 28, 2003
Hypatia's 10 Step Diet
Posted Apr 24, 2003
I have been trying to get up enough courage to start another diet for several months. I'm old enough and secure enough that I don't really care what other people think about my appearance. So I'm not doing it for that reason. I'm doing it because my back and one hip hurt all the time. I'm doing it because I get winded climbing the stairs. I'm doing it because it's getting hard to bend and pull weeds out of my garden. I'm doing it because my blood pressure, which has always been low is now high normal. I'm doing it because I have a closet full of good clothes that are too tight. I'm doing it because I'm not getting any younger and if I wait it will be even harder.
Anyway, the decision has been made. The big question is which diet do I choose. Working in a library, I have access to a large number of diet books and magazines containing diets. Each one is "the miracle diet". But there are so many of them that my head was spinning by the time I got through them.
After wading through mounds of pages and talking to other dieters, I have come to some conclusions. First, in the short term, about any diet will work. Second, in the long term, almost everyone regains the weight lost - plus some. Third, the people who are most successful at keeping the weight off didn't go on diets as such, but made lifestyle changes that they can comfortably live with for the rest of their lives.
What I decided to do was to take the best tips from the diets I read and create an eating plan that fits into my lifestyle. Here are things that almost all of the diets agree on:
1. We should all drink more water. Our liver is important in metabolizing fat. It doesn't work efficiently if we are dehydrated. The usual recommendation of drinking 8 glasses (a half-gallon) of water a day should be considered a minimum - not a maximum amount. Twice that much will keep the liver flushed out and working efficiently. And drinking cold water will force your body to burn calories warming it up. So, step one in my program is to drink lots of ice water.
2. Eating small meals is better than eating large meals. If you eat 1800 calories a day, you are more likely to lose weight if you spread them out over several small meals than if you eat them in two or three larger meals. As we age, our metabolisms slow down. But studies have found that if an older woman eats only 500 calories or less, she will metabolize them as efficiently as a young woman. Above that amount, the more calories in the meal, the less efficiently the calories will be burned. So, step two is to eat four to six small meals a day. At regular times. (This doesn't mean you can graze all day.) I'll have 350-400 calories at 7am; 250 calories at 11am; 250 calories at 2:30pm; 500 calories at 6pm; and 250 calories at 9:30pm. This should let me lose weight without being hungry all the time.
3. Refined carbohydrates, hydrogenated oils and transfats are unhealthy. The combination of sugar, white flour and shortening is the triple whammy of modern diets. And if you read food labels, you know that one or all of these ingredients are in almost everything. Step three is to eliminate - as much as possible - sugar, white flour and these unhealthy fats. From what I've read, these manufactured fats are far more dangerous to our health than the saturated fats in meats and dairy products. In their place I will use whole grain bread and crackers, whole wheat pastry flour, olive oil and one of the margarines without transfats like Smart Balance, and sweeten with Splenda. This means I'll have to do my own baking and learn to adapt recipes to make them healthier.
4. Most modern diets don't contain enough fiber. We eat about 18 grams of fiber a day. The minimum healthy amount is 25-30 grams a day. Insoluble fiber protects us from colon cancer and prevents constipation. Soluble fiber lowers cholesterol. Both kinds absorb water in our stomach and help us feel full. Fiber is definitely our friend. Step four is to add more fiber to my diet. This means making substitutions like eating an orange instead of drinking a glass of orange juice; eating cereal (oatmeal) for breakfast more often; eating beans more often; choosing whole fruit for snacks.
5. The more color that fruits and vegetables have, the healthier they are. So, Step five is to make every meal colorful! Spinach and Romaine lettuce has more vitamins and other nutrients than iceberg lettuce. Ripe red peppers are more nourishing than green ones. Red and black grapes are more nourishing than green grapes. Sweet potatoes are more nourishing than white potatoes. You get the picture.
6. Certain food combinations may be harmful. This is the one I'm the least sure about., but it keeps cropping up. Some of the things I've heard is to eat fruit by itself. One diet suggests that we eat nothing but fruit in the morning. And if we eat fruit later in the day, we should do so at least 30 minutes before we have anything else. It's also supposed to be harmful to eat meats and starches at the same meal. So, a steak and a salad is ok. Or a baked potato or pasta primavera and a salad. But not a steak and a baked potato, or pasta with meat sauce. Stir-fry is a good choice, but not if you include rice or noodles. So, just in case there is actually something to this, step six is to keep it simple and not combine too many foods at the same meal. Since I'll be eating often, this shouldn't be too hard.
7. This one will be the hardest for me. Exercise! We all should exercise more. Our lifestyles keep us sedentary. Exercise will lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. Strength training will build muscle, which in turn burns calories. And I'm stiff and awkward anymore when I move, so I need a program that will restore my flexibility. Step seven is to start an exercise program. I have a stationary bicycle and an air walker. I have dumbbells. I have tapes for pilates, aerobics and yoga. None of them do me any good because I don't use them. Here's the plan. On MWF I will use my air walker or my stationary bike. On TTS I will do the pilates and/or yoga. On Sunday I will rest. I'm also going to try to incorporate more exercise into my daily routine. Things like parking farther from the door at work; walking to the post office, bank and city hall instead of driving; going up and down the back stairs at the library, which are steeper, instead of the front stairs; walking the dog!
8. Apparently eating dairy products actually helps you burn fat. So step eight is an easy one. Eat more dairy. I love cheese and milk but don't eat them much any more because I thought I shouldn't. This one is going to be a pleasure. I'll be able to take cheese and whole grain crackers to work. I'll be able to have a glass of milk at bedtime without feeling guilty. Step eight is going to be a pleasure.
9. Losing weight slowly is healthier than losing it quickly. You're also more likely to keep it off. One reason diets fail is because we set our goals too high, become discouraged and then go back to our old eating habits. Therefore, I have set myself a weight loss goal of 1 pound per week. Step nine is to set a practical goal.
10. And finally, the last tip is to start the way you intend to finish. This isn't a diet. It is a lifestyle change. It is a new way of eating and exercising. I'm not going to do it in stages. A month at one level then changing to another level, etc. Also, I'm not going to give anything up entirely. If I want a treat, I'm going to have one and enjoy it without feeling guilty. But I won't have it every day or have a lot at once. I'll be eating enough fruits and vegetables that I shouldn't need supplements. So I'm not going to obsess over that. Neither am I going to obsess over exact calorie amounts or carry around calculators and calorie counters. I intend to become healthy and fit in exactly the same way that I intend to maintain it when that time comes. Step ten is to start the way you intend to finish.
There it is. I really think that this is a reasonable approach to weight loss and maintenance. I'll give you progress reports occasionally to let you know how it's going. And if anyone out there wants to join me and share tips, recipes, whatever, then that would be very welcomed.
Discuss this Journal entry [54]
Latest reply: Apr 24, 2003
Happy Easter
Posted Apr 17, 2003
I have an Easter poem in this weeks 
. (Shameless plug!)
Here is the recipe for my mother's "Special Holiday Coleslaw". Well, at least it's a version of it. Mom never actually uses recipes, so other than general directions, you're on your own. It makes a lot!
1 medium-sized head of cabbage, finely shredded
1 tart apple, chopped
1 cup red grapes, halved with seeds removed (sometimes she uses raisins instead of grapes)
1 cup walnut pieces
For the dressing:
1 ½ cups Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 - 4 tablespoons milk (enough to make it smooth and creamy)
salt and pepper to taste
Making the Easter Basket cupcakes is really easy. First you need cupcakes and buttercream frosting. Any flavor. Use what you like. Since it's Easter, it would be nice if you used carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, but hey, it's your stomach. To turn the cupcakes into baskets you'll need coconut tinted green to look like grass, jelly beans and whatever other small candies you want to use, and pipe cleaners for the handles. New pipe cleaners! Not used ones. 
So, turn the cupcake upside down and dunk it in the coconut, which will stick to the frosting. Next, put your candy on top of the coconut. Then bend the pipe cleaner in the shape of a basket handle and stick in the cupcake. Voila. Easter baskets!
On a more serious note, and in keeping with the reason we celebrate Easter, I offer the following from the Coptic Gospel of Thomas, translated by Thomas O. Lambdin:
Saying (3) Jesus said, "If those who lead you say to you, 'See, the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty."
Saying (77) Jesus said, "It is I who am the light which is above them all. It is I who am the all. From me did the all come forth, and unto me did the all extend. Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there."
Saying (113) His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?" "It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying, 'here it is' or 'there it is'. Rather, the kingdom of the father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it."
Discuss this Journal entry [4]
Latest reply: Apr 17, 2003
Fabulous Fudge Cheesecake
Posted Apr 8, 2003
1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs
1/2 cup powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar)
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup butter, melted
Filling:
3 8oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 can Eagle Brand milk (sweetened condensed milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups semisweet chocotate chips, melted and cooled
4 eggs
In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs powdered sugar and cocoa. Stir in butter. Press onto the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Add melted chocolate and mix until blended. Add eggs. Beat on low speed just until combined. Pour over crust. Place pan on a baking sheet.
Bake at 325º for 45-50 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool of a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around trhe edge of the pan to loosen. Cool an hour then refrigerate overnight before serving.
Yield: 10-12 servings.
Discuss this Journal entry [37]
Latest reply: Apr 8, 2003
Taxing Caskets
Posted Mar 27, 2003
According to the Associated Press, the Missouri Supreme Court has been asked to answer the question "When does someone own a casket?"
This debate arises from the state's custom of considering caskets as retail items and collecting sales tax on them. The state's position is that a casket is personal property owned when a contract is signed to purchase it - or at the least when a body is placed inside.
A funeral home in St. Louis filed for a tax refund contending that a casket should be placed into the same category as carpet or kitchen cabinets that are professionally installed inside a home. Once installed (buried), the carpet (casket) becomes part of the real estate and is not subject to a consumer sales tax.
Last February the Department of Revenue rejected the funeral homes request for a refund based upon that argument. However, an administrative hearing judge overturned the decision in August and awarded the funeral home a $101, 565.00 refund. The state has appealed to the Supreme Court.
Complicating the issue is the fact that the a casket remains in the posesion of the funeral home even after the purchase contract is signed. The funeral home, not the customer, insures the casket against loss or damage. "We say the customer doesn't own it until it's buried...."
The state attorney general's office contends that ownership does not require possession or the responsibility of risk. Instead ownership depends on who is making the decisions about the casket and the burial.
Discuss this Journal entry [30]
Latest reply: Mar 27, 2003
Hypatia
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