Refuse To Regain

What’s In Your Life Charter?

By Barbara Berkeley I enjoyed Lynn’s last post especially. Not only did it resonate with the essence of maintenance, but it was completely familiar. I suspect we’ve all come to pretty much the same way of feeling about the process of keeping weight off for a lifetime. In my soon-to-be-released book on maintenance, I discuss the usefulness of establishing a “life charter” to help clarify this permanent commitment. After reading Lynn’s blog, and following my challenge to readers to describe... Read more →

Lynn's "Balance Plan"

By Lynn Haraldson-Bering Have you seen or perhaps even used a balance board? It’s basically a 2-foot by 1-foot wooden board with a rollerball underneath. The idea is to stand on it while performing other exercises such as lifting free weights. The goal is to teach the body how to balance itself, to be more stable. The first time I got on one of those suckers, I felt like I was on an amusement park ride. I was all over... Read more →

Let’s Get Specific

By Barbara Berkeley Mrs. Irving, our ninth-grade English teacher, was the terror of Snyder High School. Standing just under five feet, clad in voluminous orthopedic “space shoes” and a shapeless shift, Mrs. Irving still managed to strike fear into our 15-year-old hearts. With her shock of white hair, her smear of blood red lipstick and her piercing glare, she commanded the classroom. Woe to the student whose homework was left undone or who conveniently forgot to read the assignment. Mrs.... Read more →

Adding Up The Numbers

By Lynn Haraldson-Bering If I measure once, I have to measure ten more times: my waistline. Some experts say to measure your waist at the belly button and some at the “natural” waistline. For me, that’s at least a 2-inch difference in numbers! If I go by the belly button measurement, my waist-hip ratio is “high” and I’m allegedly at risk for heart disease and diabetes. If I use the waist measurement from my natural waist, where it curves in,... Read more →

Does Your Body Want to Regain?

By Barbara Berkeley Bravo to Lynn and her last entry on maintenance! Indeed, maintenance is the journey. Weight loss is simply the first step on the path. Time and again I watch people make a rookie error: assuming that their journey is finished once they lose weight. We all know where that ends up….back in the large- sized clothes in short order. But what of those who decide to pay serious attention to maintenance? They are left with the task... Read more →

Maintenance is the "Meat" of the Journey

By Lynn Haraldson-Bering The more I learn about the biology of weight maintenance, the more I realize just how complicated our bodies are. I used to think losing weight was the be all and end all of my journey. I understand now that losing weight was no more than packing my bags for a one-way trip. Maintenance is the meat of the journey. One of Barbara’s patients told her about several articles on weight loss and maintenance published recently in... Read more →

Friday the Thirteenth: Russert Dies Too Soon

By Barbara Berkeley I will miss Tim Russert badly. As a political junkie, I have been riveted by the spectacular fireworks of this year’s presidential race. No one has told the story or shared my passion as well as Tim Russert. He was smart and decent; an everyman whom anyone could relate to. But Tim Russert’s death, just like the deaths of approximately 300,000 other good and decent people each year, was unnecessary. After the tributes, mourning and remembrances....who will... Read more →

A Doc’s Life - Part One: What’s in the Mail?

By Barbara Berkeley As I leafed through the mail yesterday, it occurred to me that those of you who are not physicians may be unaware of some of the small details that make up the lives of docs. One of these details is the daily postal bombardment. In addition to the usual assortment of underwear, outdoor furniture and clothing catalogues, in addition to the credit card offers, the pleas from charities, political campaigns and causes, in addition to the monthly... Read more →

Kicking It Up A Notch

By Lynn Haraldson-Bering I was in the middle of a two-arm row last Friday when it occurred to me I’d lost count. My mind was off somewhere thinking about god-knows-what. ‘How many was that?’ I wondered. My muscles couldn’t tell me because my routine had become so easy there was no “burn” anymore. That’s when I knew it was time to kick myself in the butt and develop a new strength training routine. I like the variety of hand weights... Read more →

A Hundred Words for Snow

By Barbara Berkeley The Eskimos, who live in intimate contact with fluffy white precipitation, have developed more than one hundred words to describe it. These include: aput ("snow on the ground"), qana ("falling snow"), piqsirpoq ("drifting snow"), qimuqsuq ("snowdrift"), "pokatok" ("grainy, salt-like snow"), "mauyak" ("soft snow"), and "ayak" ("snow on your boots”). English speakers, on the other hand, are left empty handed. We call it snow and that’s the end of it. Language reflects experience and engagement. The things that... Read more →