Drop 10 With SELF: Tostones, Starbucks and Another Two Lbs

Need a little extra inspiration? Meet our Drop 10 Blogger, Danielle. She's lost 10 pounds (and counting!) in her first five weeks on the plan. Follow along with Danielle every week as she shares her experience.

It is so hard to resist those interoffice emails inviting me to eat cake for someone's birthday, bagels for that work breakfast or free doughnuts because it's Friday. I like to think of it as torture. I just try to pretend that my Drop 10-approved waffle sticks with maple dip taste better -- and if nothing else, make me feel better.

I'm also feeling better, physically, too. Over the weekend, I celebrated a friend's birthday at a Cuban restaurant in Richmond's city center. Living in the suburbs can spoil a girl -- I'd never have to walk far from my parking spot to my destination. This weekend, though, I parked a half-mile from the restaurant and actually enjoyed my walk there, probably because I felt so fit, too.

But I couldn't let my diet stop me from celebrating, so I used my banked Happy Calories on some (phenomenal) tostones. And the Happy Calories are what make the diet so flexible. That, and all the awesome to-go options. I had the Starbucks lunch meal (Dubbed the Power Plate, it consists of a Starbucks Protein Bistro Box and a Tall, sweetened, blackened Tazo Shaken Iced Tea.) two days in a row because I was just so busy. A diet for busy people that has take-out and tostones options? What more could you want?

Image Credit: Courtesy of Subject

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Another Danger of Depression?

Title: Another Danger of Depression?
Category: Health News
Created: 3/29/2013 12:35:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 4/1/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Another Study Sees No Vaccine-Autism Link

Title: Another Study Sees No Vaccine-Autism Link
Category: Health News
Created: 3/29/2013 10:35:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 3/29/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Another Study Sees No Vaccine-Autism Link

Experts say finding should reassure parents of young children

By Amy Norton

HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, March 29 (HealthDay News) -- Although some parents worry about the sheer number of vaccines babies typically receive, a new U.S. government study finds no evidence that more vaccinations increase the risk of autism.

Looking at about 1,000 U.S. children with or without autism, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found no connection between early childhood vaccinations and autism risk.

Children with autism and those without had the same total exposure to vaccine antigens -- the substances in vaccines that trigger the immune system to develop infection-fighting antibodies.

"This should give more reassurance to parents," said lead researcher Dr. Frank DeStefano, director of the CDC's Immunization Safety Office.

The findings, which appear online March 29 in the Journal of Pediatrics, cast further doubt on a link between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders -- a group of developmental brain disorders that impair a child's ability to communicate and socialize.

The first worries came from a small British study in 1998 that proposed a connection between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. A spate of research since has found no link, and the original study was eventually retracted by the Lancet, the journal that published it.

Then came concerns about thimerosal, a preservative once used in certain childhood vaccines (but never MMR) that contains small amounts of ethyl mercury. Again, international studies failed to show a link to autism.

More recently, worries have shifted to the notion that children are getting "too many vaccinations, too soon." In the United States, children can be immunized against 14 different diseases by the time they are 2.

DeStefano said his team focused on antigen exposure, rather than just the number of vaccinations, because that gives a more precise idea of the "immune system stimulation" kids received through vaccines.

A recent survey found that about one-third of parents thought children receive too many vaccinations in their first two years of life, and that the shots could contribute to autism.

But there's no scientific evidence of that, said Dr. Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

He said it's understandable that parents might worry. "You see your baby receiving all these vaccines. It looks like too much. It feels like too much," Offit said.

But, he said, there's no biological basis for the idea that vaccines "overstimulate" the immune system, and that somehow leads to autism.

Every day, babies' immune systems battle many more antigens than are present in vaccines, DeStefano explained. "Most infants can handle exposure to many antigens," he said.

The findings are based on 256 children with an autism spectrum disorder and 752 autism-free kids who were matched to them based on age, sex and health insurance plan.

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Another Study Says Mediterranean Diet Good for the Heart

By Kathleen Doheny

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Feb. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Score another heart-health win for the Mediterranean diet.

Eating a diet rich in olive oil, nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables, along with red wine, helped those at high risk for cardiovascular problems avoid heart trouble better than those eating a low-fat diet, a new Spanish study has found.

During a follow-up period of about five years, study participants on a Mediterranean diet that emphasized either olive oil or nuts had a 30 percent greater reduction in relative risk of a heart attack, stroke or death from cardiovascular disease, said study lead author Dr. Miguel Angel Martinez-Gonzalez. He is chairman of preventive medicine and public health at the Universidad de Navarra in Spain.

"This is a moderate-to-high benefit," he said. "The low-fat diet also helped, but to a lesser degree."

The new findings are published online Feb. 25 in the New England Journal of Medicine. They will also be presented Monday at the International Congress on Vegetarian Nutrition in Loma Linda, Calif.

The findings echo those from previous research.

Martinez-Gonzalez's team evaluated nearly 7,500 men and women. They ranged in age from 55 to 80 when they enrolled in the study, which began in Spain in 2003. Fifty-seven percent of the participants were women.

While the men and women had no history of heart attack or stroke or other cardiovascular problems at enrollment, they did have risk factors such as type 2 diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure or high cholesterol.

The researchers assigned the men and women to one of three groups -- a low-fat diet, a Mediterranean diet that focused on nuts or a Mediterranean diet that focused on olive oil.

On average, the men and women were overweight or obese. In all three groups, the average body-mass index was 30 or close to it, which is defined as obese.

The olive oil group consumed about four tablespoons a day or more. The nuts group ate about three servings a week or more, including walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds. Members of both groups also ate plenty of fruits and vegetables, as well as fish, and drank wine with meals. They could have white meat but were told to avoid red and processed meats.

The low-fat group ate low-fat dairy, breads, potatoes, fruits and vegetables, and lean fish. They were told to avoid oils, baked goods, nuts, red and processed meat, and fatty fish.

At the end of the study, 288 cardiovascular events had occurred. While 109 of those events occurred in the low-fat group, 96 were in the group that ate a Mediterranean diet with olive oil, and 83 were in the Mediterranean diet-with-nuts group.

When the researchers looked separately at stroke, heart attack and death, only the link between the Mediterranean diet and stroke was statistically significant. The researchers found a link between the diets and heart protection, but it did not prove cause and effect, they said.

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Yet another Scrum blog

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is the blog of Sebastian Radics, a Scrum master with about four years of Scrum experience behind him. He also has about 13 years of software development to his name, lending credibility to everything he shares in his blog.

In case you’re not familiar with Scrum, it is a method used to manage software projects, as well as and product or application development. It is known for challenging traditional management methods, and one of its strength lies in its feedback loop.

In the blog, you can learn so much about Scrum. The regular weekly Scrum readings provided, for example, should be mandatory for anyone using the method. Additional insight is provided on different topics such as creating a learning and social networking environment for your team members, alternatives to burndown charts, how to communicate in a non-violent way, and so much more. You can also pick up book ideas from which you can benefit.

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Another Study ‘Showing’ No Contamination from Fracking

Where to begin in a review of Pro Publica’s article on new research into the migration of subterranean brine to shallow water above? The inflammatory, overreaching headline? The leap from Duke University’s study to conclusions suggesting to the public that hydraulic fracturing is polluting drinking water?

Let’s start there. On that point the article is self-rebutting. See the fourth paragraph:

"No drilling chemicals were detected in the (shallow) water, and there was no correlation between where the natural brine was detected and where drilling takes place."

Then, near the end of the article:

"Nevertheless, (Robert) Jackson, one of the study's authors, said he still considers it unlikely that frack fluids and injected man-made waste are migrating into drinking water supplies. If that were happening, those contaminants would be more likely to appear in his groundwater samples, he said. His group is continuing its research into how the natural brine might have travelled, and how long it took to rise to the surface. 'There is a real time uncertainty,' he said. 'We don't know if this happens over a couple of years, or over millennia.'"

As for the study itself, Jackson and his team say they found that naturally occurring brine migrates upward to shallower depths. They say the risk of the migration could be greater in areas that have undergone hydraulic fracturing. Yet, there’s this from the study’s introductory summary:

“The occurrences of saline water do not correlate with the location of shale-gas wells and are consistent with reported data before rapid shale-gas development in the region …”

Energy In Depth has solid analysis on the study, here. Highlights:

The study fails (as Jackson notes above) to establish whether the migration occurs over 10 years or 10 million years. Without that, it’s impossible to determine whether the phenomenon is cause for concern.If brine is traveling up from thousands of feet below the surface, why haven’t the pathways Duke’s researchers identify allowed natural gas in the Marcellus region to leak out and disappear over time?There’s no discussion of whether the Marcellus Shale – which is largely a dry region with “virtually no free water,” according to Penn State’s Terry Engelder – even contains enough brinewater to leak.

Engelder, a Marcellus expert who was asked by the researchers to review their work, notes a number of questions the study leaves unanswered, reducing its usefulness. He writes:

"My review is predicated on the objective of your paper which is stated as a search for '...specific areas of shale-gas development in northeastern Pennsylvania that are at increased risk for contamination of shallow drinking water resources with deeper formation brines...' (the last sentence of your abstract). The term, risk, suggests that your paper veers from a conventional geology paper and enters into the realm of science-based advocacy or if you like, science policy."

Engelder is on target there. Unfortunately, the academics, wittingly or unwittingly, produced a study that is easily morphed into a siren call by opponents of natural gas production. Pro Publica’s article is Exhibit A. Exhibit B is a Bloomberg News story under this headline: “Pennsylvania Fracking Can Put Water at Risk, Study Finds” – despite the fact the study found no evidence of such a risk.

Words like “can,” “may” and “might” camouflage the point that the study didn’t find a correlation between the location of shale-gas wells and occurrences of saline water. To suggest otherwise in a news article is disingenuous and counterproductive in the national discussion of energy from shale.

As Engelder notes, the study is a platform from which advocates can mislead. On this story, The Associated Press got it right, focusing its report on what the study showed: “Gas drilling in northeastern Pennsylvania did not contaminate nearby drinking water wells with salty water, which is a byproduct of the drilling.”

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Another Fracking Strawman, Up In Smoke

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, telling Reuters on Monday that state regulation of hydraulic fracturing isn’t enough:

"There are some who are saying that it's not something we ought to do, it should be left up to the states. That's not good enough for me because states are at very different level, some have zero, some have decent rules."

Bold, to be sure. So we wonder about the “some who are saying” in Salazar’s comment. Who’s he talking about? Perhaps EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, who said this in an interview last fall:

"The vast majority of oil and gas production is regulated at the state level. There are issues of whether or not the federal government can add to protection and also peace of mind for citizens by looking at large issues like air pollution impacts, which can be regional. ... So it's not to say that there isn't a federal role, but you can't start to talk about a federal role without acknowledging the very strong state role. We have no data right now that lead us to believe one way or the other that there needs to be specific federal regulation of the fracking process."

Worth repeating: The chief of the federal agency charged with protecting the environment says they’ve got nothing indicating that there needs to be “specific federal regulation of the fracking process.” More Jackson, a few days later on MSNBC:

“States are stepping up and doing a good job. I always say it doesn't have to be EPA that regulates the 10,000 wells that might go in."

Now, about the last part of Salazar’s comment, that some states have “zero” hydraulic fracturing regulation. We’ve checked around, and it looks like the secretary succumbed to a bit of Washington hyperbole there. A 2009 report by the Groundwater Protection Council, funded by the Energy Department for its National Energy Technology Laboratory, didn’t detect any oil and natural gas-producing states with ZERO rules.

Meanwhile, state officials sure sound deserving of Jackson’s confidence.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission Chairman Dana Murphy, before Congress last fall:

"My fundamental point would be to encourage that the states are the appropriate bodies to regulate the oil and gas drilling industry. Protection of water and the environment and the beneficial development of the nation's resources of oil and gas are not mutually exclusive goals. Oklahoma is proof of that."

And Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer:

“Simply put, because of our long history of oil and gas development and comprehensive regulatory structure, Pennsylvania does not need federal intervention to ensure an appropriate balance between resource development and environmental protection is struck.”

And Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper:

“I was personally involved with 50 or 60 (fracked) wells. There have been tens and thousands of wells in Colorado … and we can’t find anywhere in Colorado a single example of the process of fracking that has polluted groundwater. … There is a lot of anxiety out there certainly with hydraulic fracturing. But often times that anxiety is not directly connected to facts.”

If Secretary Salazar is dissatisfied with state-centered regulation of fracking – which is closest to and most responsive to individual industry operations – he should check with Administrator Jackson. And also with officials in the states, who clearly take the responsibility to oversee fracking within their borders seriously.

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Another Year, Another Birthday

I turn 26 on Sunday.

I’m not where I thought I would be. Yet, in some ways I’m way passed where I thought I would be. I suppose it’s hard to predict your life because you can’t predict what opportunities and changes will come your way.

Anyway, to celebrate my birthday I’m going to cross off one of my fitness goals that is New Zealand related – climbing Rangitoto.

Yep, a nice hike up a volcanic island sounds like a fun thing to do on my birthday weekend.

This weekend I’m also going to go to my favorite things: go to a farmers market, eat Mexican food, read a book, go for a bike ride, walk JuJu, and spend time with friends. You know, all the things I love to do.

Last month I wrote a post about things I wanted to do before turning 26. Here’s the list and how I did.

Weigh in at under 200 lbs. – Last time I weighed in I was at 201. I haven’t weighed in since because I’m weighing in monthly and don’t want it crowding my mind. But I’m close!Buy something at LUSH. - Haven’t done this yet but just bought something from The Body Shop so I’m happy. Go ice skating. – We went skating with friends and had a great time and workout. Go snowboarding and teach Kepa. – We went snowboarding indoors and had an amazing time. Kepa picked it up quicklyGo on a roadtrip. – I just realized this didn’t happen. I originally planned a trip to Wellington but finances changed and this wasn’t possible. It’s still on my to do list though!

As always happens when I create a list of goals, I hit some and miss others. But no matter what I always end up improving myself and my life. That’s why I keep making them!

One of my favorite things about having a blog is my ability to keep track of my life. I can’t believe I’ve stuck with this blog for so long considering how quickly my interests and life changes. But I’m grateful to have this record to look back on, good and bad.

Since I’ve been blogging…

Woah. Crazy how time flies, isn’t it?

Related posts:

Happy New Year!!Some Plans For The YearThe Bad Food & The Birthday PresentsBirthday Week!Happy Birthday Mom!

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Another Friday Five MishMash

Woah. Today’s been a crazy day. Our internet has been wonky and SLOW because we used it all up this month too soon and that makes my work difficult since it’s 100% online. It’s been a tiring, trying day but doing this post will cheer me up I know it!

I’m thinking about buying a snowboard. If I can find one on TradeMe (site that is like Craigslist meets Ebay) I might get one before our snowboarding trip this winter. Visiting Snowplanet rekindled my love for snowboarding and woke me up to the fact that I live relatively close to mountains now (Memphis was so flat and so far away from them). I definitely plan to go multiple times while I live in New Zealand so getting a board and boots might be a good idea. I’ll think about it more but it’s been added to my “wish list” of eventual purchases.

Plus snowboarding is good exercise so I can count that as activity towards weight loss which makes a snowboard almost necessary. Right? ;)

Wedding Recap: Food & Drink – because our food was yummy!

Wedding Recap: What Went Wrong – because no wedding is ever perfect!

1. Life is short. Yesterday I was listening to a podcast with a caller who had terminal cancer at 36. She said she hadn’t prepared for it because she didn’t expect it. What a reminder that life is short.

2. Sodium overload this week. I’ve consumed way too much sodium and I know it. I’ll post about this soon but for now all I can think about is whether my next meal is high in sodium and how I can lower it.

3. Measurements. At the gym I noticed in the mirror that my legs appeared smaller than they once were. I couldn’t tell if my judgement was accurate or not so I decided to check my measurements when I got home. Holy moly, I really have lost inches off my body in the last three months. It’s pretty exciting. In a couple days I’ll have my final LiveFit measurements to see!

Four Awesome Things About This Week

JuJu and I had a great week this week. She finally is starting to understand how to walk on a leash without pulling her excited little self all over. Also she now understands the word ball and will find her ball in the yard on command which is amusing. Smart doggy!Dinner tonight is chicken enchilada casserole. I have no idea how to make this but the idea popped into my head last night and it sounded delicious.I’m going ice skating tomorrow with a group of our friends here. Even better, today’s daily deal was for this exact activity so we are going to save half the cost. I used to dislike daily deal sites but lately they’ve been allowing us to get out and try things here without blowing our budget. I’ve only been ice skating a couple times before but it was somewhat fun so I’m looking forward to this!A reader sent me a donation because his mom likes to read my blog. This rarely happens and I don’t ask for donations but it made my day. Thanks David and David’s mom!What are you having for dinner next?What is your favorite way to treat/pamper yourself?Baths or showers? Which do you prefer?What is your favorite/most trusted news website? Why?Do you still read actual newspapers or just get news online?

That’s it for me! I’m done fighting with this internet for now since I know I’ll have another couple days of slow speed to deal with.

Enjoy your Friday and your weekend!

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Another Friday five MishMash

Woah. Today's been a crazy day. Our internet is shaky and slow because we all used up too early this month and that my work makes difficult since it's 100% online. It is an exhausting, trying day but doing this post will cheer me until I know!

I'm thinking about buying a snowboard. If I have a on TradeMe (can find site that is like Craigslist meets Ebay) could I get one before our snowboarding trip this winter. A visit to Snowplanet rekindled my love for snowboarding and woke me up on the fact that I live relatively close to the mountains now (Memphis was so flat and so far away from them). I'm definitely planning to go multiple times, while I live in New Zealand so becoming a Board and boots would be a good idea. I will think about it more, but it has been added to my "wishlist" of any purchases.

Plus snowboarding is good exercise so I can count that as an activity to weight loss making a snowboard almost necessary. Right? ;)

Wedding Recap: food beverage &-because our food was tasty!

Wedding Recap: what went something wrong-because no wedding is ever perfect!

1. life is short. Yesterday I was listening to a podcast with a caller who had terminal cancer at 36. She said she hadn't prepared because they don't expect. What a reminder that life is short.

2. Sodium overload this week. I have way too much sodium consumed and I know it. I post about this soon, but for now all I can think about is whether my next meal is high in sodium and how I can lower it.

3. measurements. At the gym I noticed in the mirror that my legs appeared smaller than they once were. I couldn't tell if that was my opinion accurate or not so I decided to check my measurements when I came home. Holy moly, I really have lost inches off my body in the past three months. It is pretty exciting. In a few days I have to see my latest LiveFit measurements!

Four awesome things about this Week

JuJu and I had a great week this week. She is finally starting to understand how to walk on a leash without pulling all over her excited little self. Also they now understand the word ball and finds her ball in the garden on the command that amusing. Smart doggy!Chicken enchilada casserole is dinner tonight. I have no idea how to make this but the idea popped into my head last night and it sounded delicious.Tomorrow I go ice skating with a group of our friends here. Even better, today's daily deal was for this exact activity so we go to save half the cost. I used to hate daily deal sites, but lately they have been giving us out and try things here without blowing our budget. I only been ice skating a few times before but it was somewhat fun so I'm curious about this!A reader sent me a donation, because his mother loves to read my blog. This rarely happens and I do not ask for donations, but it made my day. Thanks David and David's MOM!What are you having for dinner next?What is your favorite way to treat/indulge?Baths or showers? Which do you prefer?What is your favorite/most trusted news website? Why?You still get actual read newspapers or simply news online?

That's it for me! I'm done with this internet fight for now, because I know I still have a few days of slow speed to deal with.

Enjoy your Friday and your weekend!

No related posts.

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