Hey You, I Am Calling You Out!!!!

 A Bully By Any Other Name.......

When I was a teenager, I expected childish, bullying behavior; however, when I grew up I assumed that adults behaved differently.  Apparently, some adults never grow out of this phase!  Instead of demanding lunch money or just physically abusing you, adult bullies have taken to cyber space!

The bariatric community is full of individuals who were bullied as children and young adults due to their weight.  We as a whole should join together to stop bullying in all forms since we were often the victims of it.  However, lately there has been an upswing in the amount of cyber bullying in our community and instead of banding together to stop it, we either follow it or stand silently by!

  Your words can cut like a sword when someone is dealing with issues of WLS and the negativity makes those issues compounded.  It is easy to sit in judgement of someone else's life from the anonymity of a keyboard.  Would you behave this way or speak so boldly if you were in the other person's presence? Or would you behave like a compassionate human being?  None of us are perfect and it is ridiculous to expect perfection.  Everyone has good days and bad; if you don't want to read about it, move on. To some it may seem like whining; however, it may be a cry for help and your harsh words may push this person over the edge.  Remember the golden rule, if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all!
 

 
As grown adults with families and children of our own, is it not time to stand up and say, "No, we will tolerate this behavior any further?"  To follow or stay silent is saying yes to not only bullying others in the community, but setting a precedent for the present and the future.  Following a cyber bully makes you a cyber bully too!  Who knows, you could be the next victim or it could be your child!

  

 Treat others as you would want to be treated yourselves and let's make this a kinder, more unified community!

 

BBQ Brisket without the Smoker

Ever wanted that BBQ Brisket, but don't have a Smoker?  I have the easy solution.

Items Necessary:

Brisket (As much or little as needed for the crowd you are feeding)
Onion Powder
Salt
Pepper
Liquid Smoke (I prefer Wright's Hickory Liquid Smoke)
Aluminum Foil
BBQ Sauce (I recommend Gates Original BBQ Sauce)

Be sure that the excess fat is trimmed off by yourself or ask your butcher to remove prior to purchase.  You want some left on, this adds flavor and moisture to the cooking process.  However, you don't need excessive amounts, it will only add calories and unnecessary fat.

Start by preparing the aluminum foil, the end goal is to create a pouch to seal in the meat and juices and roast the brisket slow and low.  I start with two long sheets and fold them into each other at the seams to make the bottom layer.

Place the brisket on the aluminum foil and begin seasoning.  Liberally apply onion powder, salt and pepper to brisket.  Then apply liquid smoke to brisket, covering all of the brisket.  I use approximately 1/2 a small bottle to 1/2 of a brisket.  Do not be afraid to apply liberally, this is what gives it that "smoked" flavor.  Take a piece of aluminum foil and finish the pouch to enclose the brisket.

Place in the oven at 250-275 for 4 hours.  Remove from oven and check for tenderness.  At this point, the meat should be starting to easily be punctured. It is at this time that I apply the BBQ sauce.  I was born and raised in Kansas City and I like my sauce on the spicy side.  Gates sauce is a little on the spicy side and only contains 3 grams of sugar per 2 tablespoons of goodness.  I prefer to have my sauce cooked, due to the spices become more mellow after cooking, but it is fabulous without being cooked. I continue to cook the brisket with the sauce for at least 1 more hour.

When the brisket is complete, remove from the oven and let it sit for at least 5 minutes.  Cut this meat against the grain or pull it apart for the best BBQ beef sandwiches you have ever had.

I hope you enjoy!

Jill xx

What is an Obesogen? And how do they affect us?

The technical definition is "Obesogens are chemical compounds foreign to the body that are hypothesized to disrupt normal development or homeostasis of metabolism of lipids ultimately resulting in obesity.
Obesogens may be functionally defined as chemicals that inappropriately alter lipid homeostasis and fat storage, change metabolic setpoints, disrupt energy balance or modify the regulation of appetite and satiety to promote fat accumulation and obesity." (1)  But, in lay-mans terms it is any toxin, chemical or pesticide that we put in our body that disturbs our bodies chemical and hormonal make up that disrupts the endocrine system.  Obesogens include plastic based chemicals, pesticides, hormones and chemicals fed to cattle or livestock, naturally occurring chemicals relating to soy products and our prescriptions and chemicals in our tap water.  Obesogens can trigger an unnatural increase in fat cells, therefore interfering with the body's ability to process leptin, the hormone that triggers the feelings of satiation.(2)

I know that prior to the weight loss surgery, I did not feel full. I ate processed food.  Since the surgery, I try to eat as clean as possible and have significant changes in my appetite.  I do believe it is due to the theory of obesogens.  The theory was coined by Stephen Perrine with Heather Hurlock in The New American Diet.  The author got 400 volunteers to go back to a diet that was based on eating environmentally conscious meats, fish, produce and dairy products.  Those who stuck with the plan for six weeks reported an average weight loss of 15 pounds.

Now I believe that weight loss surgery was my first key to living a healthy life.  But, now I choose to live and eat a healthy life style.  Yes, my food bill has gone up.  And yes I eat hormone and antibiotic free chicken and meat.  Most of my vegetables are organic.  But the more that I read and the more that I learn about my immune system and how compromised we all are, the more I wish to make sacrifices for myself and my family.  My family (my children included) struggle with their weight and I hope to not pass this disease on to them.  If I can give them a fighting chance then I owe it to them.

I encourage you all to educate yourself on obesogens and how BPA can make you obese.  93% of all Americans have BPA in there system (according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and many scientists liken this to a national experiment on ourselves while we continue to use these chemicals.

Here are some ways to stay safe:

1) Eat well and exercise! Keep your immune system strong by not flooding it with obesogens and exercise to strengthen it further.

2) Buy fresh produce instead of canned or packaged.  Canned vegetables and products are lined with BPA most of the time and can leach into your food.  Try to buy fresh or glass items instead of canned.  Eden Foods and Pomi actually make BPA free containers, look on the containers.

3) Any time you are eating the skins, buy organic.  I know money is tight right now for many folks, but I highly recommend you buy organic when eating the skin.

4) Don't put plastic in the microwave. BPA will get released into the food you are eating and drinking, even a simple, "I am going to warm this up," will leach chemicals into the item that are poisoning you and your kids.  Don't buy any plastic ware that has the number 7, on the bottom of it.

5) Check the safety of your cosmetic.  Two recommended brands are Burt's Bees and Josie Maran Cosmetics.  Check Environmental Working Group for the efficacy and safety of the brand you use.

6) Use cleaning products that are frangrance free and no air freshners.  I have to admit this one is hard for me.  I love my house to smell fresh and clean.  However, using bleach and vinegar are cheaper and make my home smell just as nice.

7) Filter your tap water. Run off from farms can put pesticides into our tap water, it never hurts to filter your tap water, not to mention the amount of prescription medication that they are finding in our water now.

8) Leave your shoes at the door.  I live in sunny south Florida.  Our lawns are bright green and there's a reason, we all fertilize and spray for bugs.  Everytime you walk in your home, you are bringing those pesticides inside with you.  Leave your shoes at the door and lessen that exposure.


Scientists believe that these chemicals are linked to not only Obesity, but to Breast Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease, ADHD, Endometriosis, Infertility, Lupus, Polycystic Syndrome.


Resources:

1. ^ ^{a b} Kirchner S, Kieu T, Chow C, Casey S, Blumberg B (March 2010). "Prenatal exposure to the environmental obesogen tributyltin predisposes multipotent stem cells to become adipocytes". Mol. Endocrinol. 24 (3): 526–39. doi:10.1210/me.2009-0261. PMC 2840805. PMID 20160124. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2840805.
2. ^ Grün F, Blumberg B (2006). "Environmental Obesogens: Organotins and Endocrine Disruption via Nuclear Receptor Signaling" (reprint). Endocrinology 147 (6): s50–s55. doi:10.1210/en.2005-1129. PMID 16690801. http://endo.endojournals.org/cgi/reprint/147/6/s50.pdf.