The depo shot worked immediately. My period stopped. And the nurse practitioner informed me with regular use my fibroids should shrink. But there is one side effect that is causing me concern: weight gain. Yes I have gained about 5 pounds because my appetite has increased. Now I must be ever so diligent.

I go back to the doctor in May for another shot and a check up.  I am going to be really fastidious about watching my carbs and what I eat. I do not want to use being on depo-provera as an excuse for gaining weight. I have worked too hard to keep it off.

If  giving up bread is tough for you, maybe this news report from ABC news will convince you.

Bread and rolls are the number one source of salt in the American diet. It seems like all  those scientist are figuring out those “healthy whole grains” that we were brainwashed to eat are not so healthy for us after all.

A while back I wrote about the dangers of pizza and what crappy food it is. Well it made the list of foods where Americans get a lot of their salt.

See, this is why I disagree with groups such as Weight Watchers, when they tell people they can eat anything in “moderation.” I believe that you can’t eat the same foods that made you fat.

I always go to Barnes and Noble to see what new books are out and of course during the month of January they always have a big display of diet books up front because of all the people who make losing weight their New Year’s resolution.

I am a sucker for the diet book display. As a matter of fact, I like reading diet books.  I like reading diet books because I want to check out the author’s hook. What new gimmick does an author have (or their publishing company have) to get people to buy their gimmicky diet book. The gimmick can’t be “eat less, exercise more,” because you can’t make any money off of that and that is too simplistic and boring. I have pretty much figured out the diet industry. The diet industry does not want people to lose weight. If every body lost weight, they lose a lot of money. So, they must have gimmicks so to speak to keep people buying their product.

But once in a while I will come across a book that just makes me want to buy it and Why Women Need Fat by William D. Lassek, M.D. and Steven J.C. Gaulin, Ph.D is such a book. This book totally explains how Americans got duped into eating a “low-fat” diet. The authors explain why women have more body fat than men and why women need to eat good quality fats. If any of you read Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes, he explains how Ancel Keys, a researcher from the University of Minnesota, scared us into thinking that fat was bad for our bodies, especially saturated fat. Lassek and Gaulin discuss this same topic in their book and they have come to the same conclusion Taubes and others have: Ancel Keys research was bad science and Americans have gotten sick, fat, and diabetic because of this terrible dietary advice. Because Ancel Keys gave this horrible advice that people stay away from animal fats (saturated fats) and move towards vegetable oil (made out of soy) and corn oil, we have gotten obese.  These oils have caused the obesity problem because they are high in omega-6 fatty acids. Our bodies need more of the omega-3 fats, which comes from fish, eggs, grass-fed beef, flax seeds, walnuts, etc. We use to get a lot of omega-3 fats from beef, pork, chicken but guess what? Back in the 1950′s, the federal government change their food policies and began to subsidize corn and soy. Factory farming of animals, which is now the norm, mainly uses animal feed made out of corn and soy. Corn and soy is high in omega-6.  The only way animals can get omega-3 is from eating grass. Another interesting fact that I learned from this book is omega-3 fat makes us thinner by increasing the burning of fat in the body and decreasing the amount of fat we store. It also reduces the amount of insulin in our blood and as many of you know, insulin in the fat storage hormone.

We have to have some omega-6 in our diet but unfortunately Americans get way too much and it is causing a lot health issues. When we eat omega-6 fat, high levels of arachidonic acid is produced in our blood. When there is a high level of arachidonic acid in our blood, our appetites increase. This book list so many detrimental causes of omega-6 that you have to read it for yourself to find out. Just get this: The more omega-3 fats that you consume, the thinner you be. And do not be afraid of real butter, whole fat milk, whole fat cheeses, etc. That is not the cause of yours, mine or any one else’s weight problem. It is the processed junk food that we eat that is full of carbohydrates, sugars and processed oils.

But how does this affect women? Most of us know that women carry extra fat for the preparation of pregnancy and child-birth. According to the authors, women stockpile fat specifically in the hips, thighs, and buttocks area so there is plenty of DHA for their growing baby. Babies and all human beings for that matter require DHA because our brains need it to function and babies need a lot of it to help their brains develop while in utero.  Mothers must stockpile this DHA in their fat tissue so when they become pregnant that DHA can be diverted to their growing babies. Yet the mother’s brain still requires DHA. So some DHA is being stored in her fat for her future babies and some is being used for her current needs, which means a human being, especially a female, requires a lot of DHA! The only way one can get DHA is through omega-3 fats.

By the way, process food makers hate omega-3 fats because they go rancid really quick. Omega-6 fats have a very long shelf life. That should tell you something right there.

The human body is going to get this DHA, one way or another. American women have a very high omega-6 and low omega 3 in their diets, which means they have low DHA in their blood and fat tissues. Since American women consume less omega-3 fats and therefore have less DHA, they must store twice the amount of body fat versus women in Japan, where the omega-3 fat consumption is very high, in order to have enough DHA for their future pregnancies. So that is why women are fatter than they were 40 or 50 years ago: We are not eating enough omega-3 fats and too much omega-6. Also, saturated fat from animals was demonized and yet saturated fat from animals keeps us full and satisfied. Yet 100 years ago, women ate way more saturated fat from animals and were thin and there was not heart disease. Presently,women in European countries eat more saturated fat from animals and are on average 20 to 30 pounds thinner than American women. According to the authors, the majority of the saturated fat that Americans eat does not come from animal products, it comes from processed omega-6 vegetable oils. I also read the exact same thing from Dr. Loren Cordain, author of The Paleo Diet, that Americans get the majority of their saturated fat from processed junk foods, not animal products. Think french fries, potato chips, pizza, and cookies.

The authors kind of pooh-poohed the carbohydrate debate, saying that carbs and sugars are not the cause of America’s weight issues. I kind of disagree with that because I think all three things, refine carbohydrates, sugar (high fructose corn syrup) and these processed vegetable oils, are the culprits when you put them all together. Within the last 50 years we took on a bad experiment in the American diet, trying to get people to lower their fat consumption and we all became fatter for it. Women began to work outside of the home and the food industry met the demand for quick, easy to prepare foods. By reading this book, I totally understand the importance of eating “real food.” I do not eat fake fats. The only fats I consume are butter, olive oil and coconut oil. I now understand why potato chips are crap, even though I like a small bag from time to time. So for my readers out there, start eating real food. No more box food. Cook more of your meals at home. No more crappy cereal. Give up the fast food. Fast food is full of trans-fats and omega-6 oils. No more skim and 2% milk. Stop counting calories. Eat high quality, nutritious food and the weight will come off and stay off.

Please, don’t judge the hair too harshly. I have always had a hard time managing my hair. I have been “blessed” with hair that is extremely thick and grows really fast so I know it is way time for a hair cut.

Anyway, here is my before picture, June 2006:

Now here I am 5 years later, Sept. 2011:

I am really proud of the fact that I have kept my weight off for 5 years. I guess I am a success story now. Like I said previously, I still have 30 pounds to go. If I keep eating this way, I know it will eventually come off.

I am now back to work, starting up a new school year at a brand new school here in the Research Triangle Park area of NC. It has always been a dream for me to start a brand new school library from scratch. So far it is keeping me busy, but not too busy where I can tell all of you about a new book that is out titled Wheat Belly. If you have a weight problem, suffer from celiac disease, have diabetes, or have heart disease this book is a must read.

Since I lost weight eating a low carb diet, I knew that carbohydrates were the cause of my excess weight. However, I would notice that when I ate wheat, I wanted more wheat. I knew I had a gluten sensitivity and would try to stay away from the stuff, but sometimes I would slip up, just like an alcoholic, not understanding why I would want to eat the stuff knowing it was bad for me. After reading Wheat Belly, I now understand why. Basically, the wheat we eat today is not the same stuff we ate 50, 60, or 100 years ago. The wheat of today has been genetically modified and hybridized to create larger yields and to withstand insect and fungi damage. Therefore it contains more gluten then the wheat my parents or grandparents ate. Have you heard of Celiac Disease? It seems that more and more people are being diagnosed with this painful disorder and it is due this GMO wheat that is in our food supply.

But get this. I never understood why wheat raises a person’s blood glucose level say higher than popcorn or oatmeal and it has absolutely nothing to do with the fiber content of these foods. This book finally explains it. As Dr. Davis says, wheat is a “super carbohydrate” because it contains  amylopectin A which digest in the human body really, really, really fast, which in turn raises your blood glucose levels sky-high. This is why bread raises blood sugar to a greater degree than any other carbohydrate, and that includes sugar (and please do not go out and start eating sugar and think it is an okay food, because it’s not.) So really, eating two slices of bread, white or whole wheat, is no different from drinking a can of sugar sweetened pop or fruit juice.

Dr. Davis also does not give a free pass to other carbohydrates. Even though carbs such as rice, corn, potatoes and beans do not raise blood sugar levels as high as wheat, he does say they do cause blood glucose problems and suggest that they are eaten in very small portions, between 1/4-1/2 cup serving.

So yet again, we Americans have been duped. We were duped about how dietary fat makes us fat and have heart attacks. Now we have been duped about “healthy whole grains.” It is kind of like what my Grandmother Sadie said years ago, “Don’t eat a lot of starch it will fatten you up.” She did not know how starchy foods fatten one up, she just knew these foods did.

I totally recommend you go out and get the book and read it for yourself. Here are a couple of reviews about the book here and here.

As a Black female who has struggled with her weight all of her life and has now kept a significant amount of weight off, I am more aware of the problem of African-American women being extremely heavy. When I was 60 pounds heavier I was not truly cognizant of the situation. I guess I thought it was normal. However, I see so many young African-American women overweight, it is very disturbing and to me a crisis that no one in the African-American community or the health community at large is addressing.

Health is important. Health equals wealth. The healthy you are, the longer you can generate income and live a long productive life. Now that I am “middle-age” (I turned 41 in April) I realize that going to the doctor is not cheap and I want to do as much preventative care as possible. I recently went to my physician in July for a physical and got a clean bill of health. My blood glucose level was 77 and all of my blood chemistry panels were normal. Here is a link to my results if you want to read them. Being sick is expensive and I am very grateful that I have health insurance because if I didn’t I would have paid close to $1,000.00 out of my own pocket for my doctor’s visit. Yes, this $1,000.00 tab included the doctor’s visit, the physical, the lab tests and the radiologist visit because my doctor ordered an ultrasound of my uterus.

No, Black females are not lazy because I know many of you reading this are thinking that. I did not see myself as lazy and slothful. My weight was always in the back of my mind because I did not know what to do to get it off. At one point in the 1990′s I was literally killing myself at the gym trying to drop weight. People would always say, “just don’t eat so much” and to be honest I did not. Once I figured out that my body did not tolerate carbs well, especially wheat, that I finally got that I had to watch my carbs, sugar, wheat intake etc. to keep my body in check.

I know what I am going to say is going to offend some people, however these are my observations of what I see, not necessarily steeped in fact. So here it is: From what I observe there is strong cultural pressure for White women to stay thin and for whatever reason Black females do not “feel” this cultural pressure to stay thin. One thing I know for sure is that for most Black women, their self-esteem is not necessarily tied to how much they weigh. With that being said I feel that Black women need to have a paradigm shift immediately and put more emphasis on staying at a healthy weight. Being “fat and fine” is not cool. It causes so many health problems down the road. And to be honest it also affects income.

Again, all of this is my observation, nothing steeped in scientific research. I really notice this while attending a retreat this past week. The lunch that was served was the traditional southern style food: fried chicken, barbecue, hush puppies, sweet tea, fried fish, salisbury steak, you all get the drift. Anyway, me always in observing mode , I notice how the black women ate and the white women ate. African-American women ate the food as what I would call “normal.” They enjoyed it. They did not pile their plates with food mind you, but they were not as discriminating with what they ate. In other words nothing was off-limits. If they wanted fried chicken, they ate fried chicken. If they wanted banana pudding, they ate banana pudding. The food was there to be enjoyed and savored. As a matter of fact, there was so much food left, participants at the retreat were encouraged to take food home so it would not be wasted. I observed a couple of black women getting take out containers to take food home with them. No White female did this.

The White females were a little different. I would say they were much more discriminating. There were a couple who did not get any meat. The portions that White females as a whole  were small and none went back for seconds, unless it was for something to drink. As a matter of fact while I was standing in line there was one White female who was not eating any meat and she was getting some other items and a Black female across from her looked at her is a disapproving eye and said, “What, that is all you are going to eat?” The young White female responded with a smile, “I am a very picky eater.”

Also as an aside, I observed the men as well. During the retreat, women, both Black and White brought snacks and were constantly eating throughout the retreat. Men of both races did not bring or eat any snacks. Could this be why men lose weight faster than women, because they do not snack as much? Yet, I digress. That topic is for another blog post.

Now, why am I saying all of this? This obesity issue with Black females is going to kill us and it already is. Am I saying we should be more like White females? No. What I am saying we can not down play this obesity thing by saying I am a “fat and fine” and I am a BBW. Nor should we go to the other extreme and have eating disorders. We have to be to be more discriminate about what we put in our mouths. There is a difference between being Toccarra Jones big (who by the way is 5’9 and weighs 170 pounds) and Gaby Sidibe big (300 plus pounds.) And speaking of income, Gaby Sidibe’s roles are limited due to her size. Anna Wintour said she did not want her on the cover of Vogue, which is a huge career move for anyone in Hollywood. Look, it is already difficult for Black actors and actresses to get roles in Hollywood. That is just the reality of the situation. But if you are 300 plus pounds it is even more difficult. I believe that is why Jennifer Hudson lost so much weight. Jennifer knew if she did not drop the pounds, acting gigs were going to dry up quick and she would not be considered for a lot of terrific roles. It was a career and income move for her, period, and I am proud of Jennifer for dropping the weight and looking terrific. There were a lot of African-American women who are angry with Jennifer for losing weight because she was not going to be a part of the “Big Girls Club.” Look guys, it was a career and income move. A woman has to make a living and if their are millions of dollars on the line, you would lose weight, too.

And by the way, Jennifer Hudson was on the cover of Vogue. So was our First Lady, Michelle Obama. So race had nothing to do with Gaby getting on the cover of Vogue. Gaby’s weight was her downfall for not getting that coveted honor. Yeah, sure, she was on the cover of Elle. But Elle magazine is not Vogue.

I do not know how to solve this problem. The only thing I know to do is to continue to change myself and be an inspiration to others. But I would like to hear from you all. Why do you think this obesity issue is a problem with Black females? How can this problem be solved. You can leave comments on my blog or you can email me at thelibraryteacer@gmail.com. I love to read your comments and ideas.

Yet, I had my physical during my time off of work this summer and I would say my numbers were pretty good.

Cholesterol 157 (total)
HDL 61
LDL 96
Glucose 77
Blood Pressure 110/80

My “blood Chemistry” such as uric acid, triglycerides, etc. were all in the normal range. My doctor did not tell me those numbers because I got a postcard in the mail with a check off saying they were good. My vitamin d level was low, 31.7. Ideal levels are between 45-55.

I eat two eggs a day, with the yolk. I scramble my eggs in coconut oil. I use butter in my vegetables. I put mayonnaise in my tuna fish. I love some rib eye steak. Pork chops, too. I always eat dark meat chicken with the skin on it. In other words, I eat a lot of saturated fat. And my total cholesterol is 157. Based on what the scientist say, my cholesterol should be sky-high especially with all the saturated fat that I eat.

When the nurse at Duke saw these numbers, man she was more excited than I was. I guess she was not used to seeing numbers like these and immediately asked me what was I doing. I did not tell her I try to follow a low-carb lifestyle, I just told her I stopped eating pizza, Chinese food, fast food, all the usual suspects. Then I proceeded to describe my typical daily food intake and the Duke nurse said, “Oh that sounds like you are following the Dukan Diet.” Maybe it is, maybe it ain’t. Who knows.

So clearly, with regards to myself, saturated fat does not cause high cholesterol. And it sure does not cause high glucose levels. I am beginning to think those high falutin researchers lied about saturated fat and heart disease and weight gain. And then they spread these lies to the doctors and nurses. What a shame, what a shame, what a shame!

Has this all been a sham? Have Americans been avoiding eating fat for absolutely no reason? Have we been torturing ourselves with low-fat diets and end up fat in the process because we eat too many refine carbs?

Yes, folks. We were lied to.

Obesity rates have now increased in 16 states and 12 states now have obesity rates over 30 percent. North Carolina, the state where I live, is the 14th most obese state in the union. Mississippi is still number 1.

The poorest among us are the heaviest. 33 percent of Americans earning less than $15,000.00 per year are obese and 24.6 percent of Americans earning $50,000.00 per year are obese.

Black Americans, especially black females, have a serious problem with weight, according to this report. So do Latinos.

So what do the so-called experts suggest in the report to combat the problem? More physical activity in the schools, more healthy school lunches, more grocery stores in low-income neighborhoods, blah, blah, blah, blah ,blah.

I get so tired of these experts telling us this dumb advice. You know why? Because that is not the problem. The problem is all the crappy, junk carbs that Americans are eating. Carbs are cheap, plan and simple. My grandparents knew this, your grandparents or great-grand parents knew this.

I was talking to my neighbor who is 68 years old the other day. She wants to go walking with me and I told her about my weight loss, and of course I get the question, “How did you do it?” I say, I really watch my carbs, stay away from bread and you know what she said to me? “My mother always said bread makes you fat.” I kid you not, those were her exact words.

And I do not need to do a $10 million study to figure this out. Just go to any grocery store and look in an obese person’s grocery cart. I always go to the Super Wal-Mart to do my grocery shopping because it is 2 miles from my house and walking through the store and watching what people buy you can clearly see why so many people, especially African-Americans and Latinos, are obese. Here is a list of what I see in shopper’s shopping carts:

Pizza
Hot Pockets
Tostinos Pizza Rolls
Ramen Noodles (people buy these by the case load)
Chips
Processed Meat such as bologna and hot dogs
Breakfast Cereals
White Bread (you can buy the Wal-Mart brand $1.00)
Soda, Fruit Punch
cookies

These foods are cheap and carb heavy. If you are trying to feed a family and have limited dollars this is what one would gravitate to.

If I was before these so-called experts I would say one thing: It’s the carbs, stupid. Now stop spending all this money on these expensive studies.

Here is a link to the full report. You can click on where you live and find out how your state stands in this obesity crisis.

Here are Michelle’s 4 tools that have helped me to keep weight off now for 4 years:

1. Eggs-I can’t say enough about eggs. Eggs are high in protein, approximately 6 to 7 grams per egg and they are very filling. I eat the entire egg because the yolk is high in choline which is good for brain health. Typically, I eat 2 eggs a day, sometimes scrambled, sometimes boiled, depending on my mood.

2. Whey Protein-I use to drink whey protein drinks back in the late nineties, but did not realize this power house food was keeping me slim and retaining my lean muscle. Now I realize how important whey protein really is. One scoop of high quality whey protein has between 18 and 24 grams of protein. It has a high biological value (bv) meaning it will promote lean muscle gain. Since I have been supplementing my diet with whey protein, I have notice my clothes are fitting way better than usual. Also, my appetite is not as strong. I typically drink two whey protein shakes a day, which gives me an extra 50 grams of protein .

3. Green Tea-I do not know how this stuff works, I just know it does.  There is something in green tea that speeds up your metabolism called EGCG and when I take it before exercise, I can keep going forever. I take a green tea supplement daily and drink a cup a day and boy do I feel good. The caffeine in green tea probably helps with keeping my energy elevated as well.

4. Exercise-I find that exercise keeps me lean and elevates my mood. It also cuts my appetite to the point where I do not want to eat at all. I have the will power to stay away from carbs and sugar and all the stuff I know will get me fatter. For example, today, I walked/jogged for 45 minutes around 9:30 am. The only thing I have eaten today is eggs, cottage cheese, orange, whey protein drink and lots of water. I know I need to eat something else, I am just not hungry and it is 3:00 in the afternoon.

4.5 Okay, just one more tip. Weighing myself once a day, first thing in the morning has been tremendously successful for me. Some people think this is excessive, but you know what? IT WORKS! Why does weighing yourself once a day, first thing in the morning work? You catch weight creep! Most people can’t go by how their clothes fit. I can’t. Only really skinny people can do that. If you weigh yourself regularly and the scale goes up a couple of pounds, you can decide was it something you ate, is it your monthly cycle, did you eat too late, etc. So if you can catch it at 2 to 5 pounds, you won’t be shocked and depressed when the scale gets to over 100 pounds overweight. And it is easier to lose 5 pounds than it is to lose 100 pounds. If you do this one trick, you will completely transform your weight loss, I guarantee it.

There you have it. The 4 1/2 tools that have help me to keep the weight off. I hope you find these tips useful.