I admit what I do is not strenuous but it does get my heart pumping and depending on the temperature I do some sweating to the rhythm.
A simple half-hour doing step aerobics on our Wii while watching the likes of True Blood or Ray Donovan keeps me at an even keel.
Five years ago I was pushing 193 and managed to get down to 155. Now, after two months of laziness I packed on four pounds.
This morning I went back to my exercise regime.
Wii didn't recognize me. It referred to me as "Stranger" and admonished me for being AWOL for 58 days. Where have you been? It asked. Oh well, better late than never, glad to see you're not dead....NOW, GET TO IT STUPID!
Last night and before work this morning Wanda baked the most excellent cinnamon oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I've ever tasted. She put them in the freezer. I'll have a few when I lose these four pounds.
Last Wednesday evening the Oakland A's baseball team had its 15th annual fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. This year, as in all the past, they sold Root Beer Floats.
Root Beer Floats!
For $2 you can buy a 12 oz. float that has close to 300 calories and FIFTY GRAMS of sugar but for $15 why not go for the gusto with unlimited refills in a 32 ounce mug.
Children's Hospital is right down the road from the baseball stadium. I did my pediatric rotation there. How convenient for the community. The research funds can be sent directly to the hospital along with future patients.
Next month be part of the cherry pie eating contest to help raise funds for childhood obesity.
Prilosec: The purple pill....One each morning....24 hours...Zero heartburn.
"Now you too can eat all the BBQ and hot dogs you want, just like me," says a guy in a trucker hat and a plaid shirt with the sleeves torn off. While I admire his career tenacity I am not going to take health advice from the voice of a tow truck.
Don't eat too much, don't eat so late, don't eat fatty foods and you shouldn't need the purple freaking pill.
God, we're here once. This is IT.
I know it's a very difficult concept. I am certainly guilty of thinking I have more time than I probably do. But there are certain things that we can do to help improve our life and hopefully increase our longevity. Healthy living, exercise and diet truly are not that difficult. It's the getting started that's hard.
Like most things in life that need changing the "One Day at a Time" concept seems to work best.
Ricky Volpe an economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture says. "Beef prices have risen more than just about anything in the supermarket, over 18% in the last three years, hitting a record high."
Beef prices are expected to climb even higher so to cut costs look for cheaper cuts such as beef clod and flat iron steak, or a shoulder cut called Vegas Strip. "Ask your butcher for the best cooking method," says DennyMike Sherman of the National Barbecue Association.
I'm not taking advice from the voice of a tow truck or a guy with two first names.
Now I've had flat iron steak and it's a damn good thing I had a sharp knife and all my teeth. Vegas Strip conjures up images of hot dry weather, dancing fountains, volcanoes and scantily dressed pirate girls but not great cuts of beef. And clod, screw that. Think horse droppings and dirt balls.
I limit my steaks to the occasional cruise dinner and when the kids BBQ. Son-in-Law Eric has a Big Green Egg and serves up a great rib eye.
I'd much rather eat a salad and hummus than a hunk of clod.
Now a Personnel Finance and Consumer Spending Reporter suggests we should "Shop Around" for medical care.
To cut medical bills, consumers should take a leaf from
their strategies for other big purchases: Shop around.
Doing so can have a substantial payoff. A Change Healthcare
analysis released this spring found that prices can vary by more than 300
percent on the same service, even within a given insurer's network of
providers. Sometimes the
price gap is even wider.
Another study this year found that giving birth in
California might cost as little as $3,000 or as much as $13,000—and
that's only for simple vaginal delivery.
Don't think that being insured gives you license to get
complacent. With more plans entailing high deductibles and other out-of-pocket
costs, big price swings still matter, said Dr. Davis Liu, author of "The
Thrifty Patient."
"Make sure you're
not compromising on quality of care," said Liu. To do that get details
from your doctor about say, what kind of imaging technique is preferable for
that MRI, or qualities needed to pick a good physical therapist. Then look at
ratings and reviews.
Colonoscopy $1,379 to $4,242
CT scan $307 to $2,747
Mammogram $135 to $397
MRI scan $511 to $2,815
PT visit $62 to $228
Vaginal delivery $4,359 to $12,613
Psychiatrist visit $55 to $195
Madison was a happy girl who grew up on the upper west side of New York. She went to the best private schools in the area. Madison was always willing to explain why she was better than the majority of her school mates. "My parents spent well over $13,000 for my birth. So you might say I was born with a silver venthouse on my head."
It's not freaking McDonald's.
When is the last time you saw a price list and menu on the wall at your local ER? How easy do you think it is to get fees from the doctor or hospital?
For better health and the avoidance of inferior cuts of beef I'm staying away from the clod. I would sure as Hell question a $55 an hour psychiatrist.
Yes his heart was in the right place but many of his depressed patients took the gas pipe.
Oh sure, I can switch my television and Internet provider to satellite or ISDN but I only have one option for cable. Maybe it's naive but I like to think whatever choice I make I'm getting the best option for my money. I don't mind looking for the best deals on clothing and household goods but I'm not going to shop for a colonoscopy.
Nor should I need to.
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