<p>Going out to breakfast this morning with a dear friend who is going through a hard time. (otherwise I would pass) What should I order? Obviously skip the hash browns. My cholesterol is great, blood pressure low but need to drop some weight.</p>
<p>I like ordering two eggs over easy and fresh fruit hold the toast - or have a slice of whole wheat - it’s not that many calories even with a tsp or so of jam. </p>
<p>Actually if I’m eating out, I’d probably just consider it a day when I’ll eat something less healthy and take an extra long walk to make up for it and have something I don’t make at home like French Toast or pancakes or a waffle.</p>
<p>I love ordering oatmeal - REAL oatmeal that someone else made. I like the goodies that come with it, the little cup of brown sugar that I’ll indulge in when I’m out, the raisins or if I’m lucky, the currants! Sometimes a little fresh fruit. H and I also have a breakfast place that makes it’s own granola that is especially good. </p>
<p>Dang - getting hungry - but time to head out the door. It’s my morning for a long one and I can’t eat much before I do that.</p>
<p>mom60: At a restaurant for breakfast, I usually order an omelette – 3 whites, 1 yolk – with spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, whatever; and add a piece of whole wheat toast.</p>
<p>On another topic, here’s an interesting short article from today’s NYT about strength training’s cognitive benefits for women:</p>
<p>[Vital</a> Signs - Strength Training Aids Mental Acuity in Women, Study Finds - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/health/research/26exer.html?ref=science]Vital”>http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/health/research/26exer.html?ref=science)</p>
<p>Friend is running late. Breakfast has turned to lunch. It is raining so soup sounds good.</p>
<p>I’m heading out for a walk, although my feet are very sore from my last night’s “experiment”… Warning: if you get a home treadmill and have never run on a treadmill without your shoes, do not try to run 2 miles during your frst attempt to run barefoot! You’ll end up with blisters :p</p>
<p>Soup & perhaps a small salad with dressing on the side or some balsamic vinegar might be a nice choice. I’m fond of soups, but watch out for those creamy ones–loaded with calories!</p>
<p>Here is a WSJ article that caught my attention - one can be normal weight and be fat at the same time:</p>
<p>[The</a> Scales Can Lie: Hidden Fat - WSJ.com](<a href=“http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704762904575025313433081780.html?mod=yhoofront]The”>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704762904575025313433081780.html?mod=yhoofront)</p>
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<p>Primary hemochomatosis is inherited. There’s also a secondary form, which is what he had. His numbers began to drop once he changed his diet and started exercising (which also improved his fatty liver disease), and are now normal, and he’s taking a vitamin supplement with iron with no problems. </p>
<p>The gastroenterologist initially wanted to do a liver biopsy, but by the time they got it scheduled, his numbers had already started to improve (each doctor wanted their own set of blood tests, so he had several over several weeks) so she cancelled it. When he went to see her in December for a follow up visit, she said, “What are you doing here? I don’t need to see you anymore.” So she told him to leave and told him there would be no charge for the visit and he could get his co-pay back.</p>
<p>Mousegray - You might enjoy having a hard boiled egg for lunch.</p>
<p>We ended up at a small French bakery cafe. The soup was onion which I don’t care for. I ended up with the mushroom quiche. It was a very small slice and not one of those tall quiches with a small mixed green salad with a light oil and vinegar dressing. The portions at this cafe are small so I don’t feel like I did badly. I passed on splitting the chocolate croissant for dessert.</p>
<p>I walked 2.6 miles (with a big hill in there) yesterday and today plus another walk later today. And I joined the Y yesterday! I have felt just great today and yesterday, so much more energy. I hope I can keep this up.</p>
I don’t understand how one uses a treadmill. Going nowhere. Same views. Same smells. and for me, motion sickness. Used to walk but DW feet hurt. Now bike with different everything everyday.
<p>eddieodessa, I love hard boiled eggs and could eat them all day long, but I have high cholesterol. Can’t quite figure out if eggs are a no-no. The doctors send mixed signals on this one. For now, I’m trying to keep my egg consumption to about 5 a week (which is low for me!).</p>
<p>I can’t say I love the treadmill but I got on it at home today when I was late for my step class. Turned the TV on and watched for almost an hour while walking/jogging!</p>
<p>The WSJ is food for thought. Pun intended. Being thin and being healthy are 2 different things. I’m the poster child. Thin by nature and lots of travel meaning lots of restaurant meals and airport food, I was always small but my blood work was nothing like it is when I began eating healthily.</p>
<p>While calories–what’s consumed vs. what’s burned will control your weight, it won’t control you health.</p>
<p>So mom60, a small piece of quiche might not have been too bad calorie wise, it probably was made with heavy cream, whole eggs, full fat cheeses and crust with lard. Yummy, but not healthy. That’s what keeps people coming back to restaurants–the food tastes so good.</p>
<p>In the end, you need to decide if the goal is weight loss, or weight loss and health.</p>
<p>After years of being among ‘ladies who lunch’ lately my friends and I have lunch at one of our houses, today take out from Whole foods- a chicken, kale salad and a green juice we made from fresh veggies.</p>
<p>While this would have looked gross to me at one time, I’m trying to embrace the CA spirit and actually enjoyed it!</p>
<p>Yes, it is true that we can be thin but not as healthy as we may appear. As they say, “we are what we eat.” Lately, I’ve been working to put more veggies and fruits into our bodies at our house and less of the yummy ice cream, chocolates and other treats. I’m starting to see salads and small sandwiches as meals instead of the larger portions I have been used to. It is a change in mindset.</p>
<p>I got a slight scare the other day when I got the results of some bloodwork. It seems my liver enzymes are slightly elevated. I guess perhaps I’m hypersensitive to alcohol and may have had a few sips over the holiday season. A doc I spoke with says it can stay in your system for an entire month, and that was literally just a few sips! I guess my body is pretty sensitive 
Oh well, fortunately I have never acquired much of a taste for alcohol.</p>
<p>HImom: Just make sure you get follow-up tested in another month, to make sure those numbers go down.</p>
<p>^^Regarding “hidden” body fat…the company I worked for did total health assessments of senior employees. I weighed 146 pounds and had 22% body fat at 5’5", size 14. A co-worker had an 18 " waist, size 4, same height as I and had 40% body fat.The difference? I was a runner and she was a couch potato.</p>
<p>Hey, not to be the bearer of bad news, but “fit” doesn’t always equal “healthy.” DH was very fit - ran regularly, did triathlons, etc. Because we knew of his genetic tendency for high cholesterol we ate a heart healthy diet. However, he still had a heart attack at 43 and just had a defibrillator put in at 57. NOW, what his cardiologist has said is that he would have never survived the first heart attack, and because our diet has been even more stringent since the first event, he survived his recent episode. </p>
<p>So - we are pretty philosophical about things. We play with the genetic hand we have been dealt, but there are no guarantees. We don’t get all smug because we exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet. Stuff happens and we are grateful for being so blessed so far. Our closest friend, who ate just like us and was as nutty as DH about running, swimming, and biking, died a year ago of colon cancer. As I said, stuff happens. There were an awful lot of people at the funeral who were overweight and hadn’t had a lick of exercise in a long time. That’s just how it goes. </p>
<p>One thing I have found is that when you are fit, sometimes you have to be extra careful about getting the attention of health providers. </p>
<p>Anyway, I don’t mean this to be a depressing post, it is just that no matter what we do, some of how life unfolds is just beyond our control.</p>