Health note: Mountain Dew--

[tigertoy]

I didn't feel like posting anything about this earlier, but about three weeks ago, I decided to try giving up my one daily Mountain Dew.  I was spurred to thinking about it because of my sleep therapist strongly advising me to avoid all caffeine.  I don't actually believe the caffeine is affecting my sleep, but I am convinced that I really could use to skip that 46g of HFCS a day.  Since that point, I've only had Dew on Sundays, when I pamper myself as part of my EFRC work day lunch.  Instead of the Dew, I'm allowing myself a small amount of chocolate with my lunch at work.  I've found it surprisingly easy; I don't miss the Dew at work.  But the biggest surprise is that last week and this week, when I did have that can, it didn't even taste all that special.  It wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't good enough to justify the evil HFCS.  I will continue to include a Dew with my EFRC lunch for at least one more trip, but I think I'm ready to put Mountain Dew on the same list as hamburgers:  "This food is really bad for me, so I should only have it if I really enjoy it, and I find that I don't enjoy it enough to justify the bad, so I no longer eat it.

Unfortunately, my weight is still stubborn, but it is down a bit, coming in at 238.6 when I saw Dr. B last week -- the lowest it's been this year.  (I feel like I'm trying harder than I ever have to lose weight, and the lack of results has been frustrating me; this was a factor in stopping the Dew.)

Comments

[tollermom]

I can soooo relate to the frustration with weight loss (or the lack thereof). I spent 18 months working out 2-3 times a week with a personal trainer, being reasonably good about my diet, and I still only managed to lose about 12 pounds during that time.

Now, don't get me wrong... I felt tons better for being in better shape, but it was extremely frustrating to be spending all that time (and money!) and have so little in the way of visible-on-the-scale results.

No concrete advice to offer... just sympathy. Been there, done that!

[billroper]

Muscle weighs more than fat, though, so it's possible you lost a good bit more fat than 12 pounds.

[tollermom]

Yeah... my brain knows that, but it's hard to override the emotional response when the scale Just Doesn't Move for weeks and months on end.

In discussing it with Dr. H (yes, I finally made an appointment w/ Indy's Dr. Dorsai), she thinks it's worth checking my thyroid levels when we do bloodwork. Even as totally needle-phobic as I am, I'm almost looking forward to that bloodwork, 'cause if it turns out that a thyroid imbalance is part of why my metabolism's so whacked, I'd be thrilled, 'cause at least then I'd have an explanation and something that could be fixed. *crosses fingers*

[msminlr.livejournal.com]

The REAL tell-tale is your slacks-size: if you have to buy new slacks because the old ones are Just Too Baggy, you're on the right track.

[mbumby.livejournal.com]

I know it's difficult when the results don't show, but don't get discouraged. And good fortune in out-stubborning your (current) weight.

[billroper]

I understand that there are studies that show that it's more difficult to lose weight when you're not sleeping properly. That might be part of the problem...

[beige-alert.livejournal.com]

Something I've been trying to do for some time is at least upgrade the quality of the bad-for-me stuff I eat. And keep the quantity under control, but that seems easier with more satisfying (and more expensive....) foods. I also found I lost a noticeable amount of weight on vacation even though it hardly seemed as if I was eating less. I was just eating less junk, even if there still was plenty adequate chocolate. (Not to mention coming back and thinking "*THIS* is what we consider one serving of high-fructose corn syrup over here? No wonder we're all huge!")

[daev.livejournal.com]

I guess you really can book without Dew.

Re: Health note: Mountain Dew--

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

i'm not even gonna touch the weight thing. :) (so, so, so totally fed up with north american attitudes and myths about weight.)

i was aghast when i found out canadian dew has no caffeine. what is the point?

after consuming so much of it for so many years, i tasted it again just a few months ago, and man, i have no idea why i drank the stuff. it doesn't even taste good anymore.