Healthy Me

I have some good and bad news. The good news is that the weight I lost after switching my thyroid medications is still holding. One milestone reached! The bad news is that it's been at a stand still. I'm going to give it a little push to reach my next milestone. For this past month, I'm still losing hair and am cold more often than not so I will increase my thyroid medication slightly.

I've broken the weight loss into smaller milestones to keep me encouraged. My next milestone is the next ten pounds. Once I reach that, I'll have the last weight milestone to do.

Maybe I'll be planning wedding favors for our vow renewal after all! I refuse to spend money on a dress and party until I feel better. The weight has been a big issue in terms of self-image the last few years but it is one I hope to conquer! I'd love to say my vows again in a way that we both would love!

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists are changing their guidelines for women for all those embarrassing tests women don't like to get but must. Here's the rundown:

• Pap smears every two years instead of annually (surprising given the HPV rates in this country).
• Routine paps at age 21. They used to say within three years of sexual intercourse. Now it's age 21. (I'll still take my daughters when they becomes sexually active for exams and paps, whatever age that is.)
• If you are 30 and over and have three consecutive clear pap tests, you can wait three years for your next one.
• If you have HIV or cervical abnormalities, you might need more frequent screening (ya think?).

I wonder if that means insurance will stop covering them annually now?

I caught today on Rachael Ray's show part of a segment about the 400-calorie fix for losing weight. No, it's not JUST 400 calories a day. It is 400 calorie meals four times a day. Big difference there. The segment said that women should only have about 1600 calories a day. That sounds about right I think.

We are living in a society where everything is super-sized so that may not seem like very much but seriously, portions are way too big anymore. Between all the pharmaceuticals in our system with side effects like weight gain, busy schedules that don't leave a lot of time for exercise, and large portions, it's no wonder obesity is as bad as it is in the U.S. A.

I'm sure many doctors wouldn't want to hear about the fact that the obesity that causes health problems for so many may be caused by the pharmaceutical drugs doctors prescribe to them but that's the way it goes. It's a vicious cycle. I'm not a doctor. I don't go to work in a lab coat with all this medical schooling behind me but my instincts tell me Big Pharma bottom line has too much influence on our doctor's treatment plans and I don't like that.

A small study is indicating that being on the pill may help your asthma. Fluctuating hormones may make asthma worse so when they are stabilized with an oral contraceptive, you might see relief. However, the risk of stroke increases, you will probably gain weight (with the health problems that go along with that) and might increase your risk of cancer.

Darned if you do and darned if you don't.

This study only included 17 women though so I wouldn't take it too seriously just yet.

John Stamos talked about this today on The View: Project Cuddle

It didn't take long for it to start burning up the 'net so if you are interested, there's the link for you.