It's Spring! The sun has returned to gorgeous Seattle. OK, not so much today, but at least we're out of the deep gloom that was so unusually long this winter. How much am I loving the back yard again! A lot. :-)
So, here is the update I'm sure you've been anxiously awaiting.
I started back to work at Cingular (Now the New AT&T -- as opposed to the old AT&T that I first started working for over 7 years ago, but whatever) in November on the same team and in the same position I left in August. The team was very happy to have me back and after the nightmare of Infospace I was (and continue to be) quite happy to be back.
Don't misunderstand, neither the job nor the company is perfect. But in the grand scheme of things as long as I'm going to work in IT it's nice to be someplace I am knowledgeable, know the teams, and have the confidence of my business partners. Until I can find a nice small business and can unplug from the high-stress tech merry-go-round, this isn't a bad place to be.
So, there's the job taken care of; on to the health update. After some web research on liver function, I decided to try and improve mine with some changes to diet and exercise. My time line for seeing results was 6 months. When I went back in for a checkup I found out that my GP at Evergreen had left abruptly so I started seeing a new doctor. Had a blood workup and went in to review the results with the new doctor. He looked at the current liver function and compared it to my past results and had 2 important observations:
1. The liver function has remained very stable over the past several years. It is not worsening.
2. While the liver function is slightly elevated above "normal." The key word there is "slightly" and is not unusual in obese patients.
Bottom line, slightly above normal is not unusual in patients with a weight history such as mine (been overweight since I was 7 and have been dieting my whole life), AND it's not getting progressively worse which would be the real red flag. Very good news and quite a relief. I also found an herbal remedy that has a long history of improving liver function called Milk Thistle. I've started taking that and will get tested again in a few months to see if it's helping.
Additionally, I've finally gotten over the whole idea of "dieting." PBS aired a fascinating special on obesity a few weeks ago called Fat: What No One Is Telling You that reviewed the latest medical research and presented various individuals dealing with weight issues. You can watch it online here http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/takeonestep/fat/index.html. The bottom line, which should surprise no one, is that calorie restrictive diets do not work. The statistics on the number of dieters who regain all or more of the weight they've lost are devastating.
The advice? Stop dieting. Gradually improve your food choices and move your body more. Sounds ridiculously simple, doesn't it? No potions, powders, or magical machines required to improve your health? Nope. The medical community is finally coming to terms with the reality that genetically -- yes, at a molecular level -- we are all predisposed to a particular body type.
I hear you asking, "if it's genetic then why alter my behavior?" Is weight/health impacted by actions and environment? Of course! First off, dieting is a medically proven way to ensure that you will become an obese adult. On the positive side, just because you don't fall within the insurance company guidelines for healthy weight (which a precious few people actually do), it doesn't mean you can't be healthy! We MUST get over this idea that thinness = health. It simply isn't true and is destroying the health of millions who starve themselves thin only to end up much fatter than they were before they started.
Several startling studies found that overweight adults who had never been on a calorie restricted diet had a better overall health profile than those overweight adults who had been on one or more restrictive diets. Again, diets not only don't help, they do harm.
Well, there's hopefully the start of more consistent blogging. Encouragement may help... :-)
