One of my friends sent me a clip from Facebook that was an article from August about the Louisiana legislature establishing a tax on obese government employees. It would be similar to the $25.00 fee they now charge employees that smoke at work or at home. The thought behind it seems to be that regular healthy folks should not be carring the weight financially for the care that obese folks have to have in the hospitals. Since a lot of poor folks are both obese and uninsured, they want to tax them.
This wrong on so, so many levels.
But I have a solution. One even I could vote for, in good conscience.
Don't tax the obese. Tax the things that make them obese. Put a tax on foods that have hydrogenated vegetable oil in them. Tax carbs...say a half-cent per carb? My Slim-Fast would then cost about 2 cents more. But six of those crunchy peanutbutter and cheese crackers would cost about $.50 more. Menu items with gravy and wonderfully unhealthy sauces would be more than similar foods prepared without them.
Taxing carbs would also lift awareness about the consequences of food choices. Greater educational exposure would create an environment where the possiblity of good changes is not only possible, but probable.
Tax all the food supplements that the government subsidizes...that enter our daily food chain, that line our arteries. Provide us with choices we can afford to make. And we'll be happy to make them. Yeah, that's the ticket.
Happy eating!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Updraft
After the "crash landing" experience earlier this month It was good to have some positive experiences. We were reminded by phone of our dental appointments on Tuesday. We receive two free checkup/cleanings a year from our sometimes helpful insurance coverate, so we were happy to spend the morning there. When we were just winding up we received a cellphone call from our Primary Care Physician's office saying that we could come in that day instead of waiting until November. Since we had already been postponed from September, we decided just to make a day of it and drove through the driving rain (no pun intended) to LR. Arriving early, we stopped at the bookstore my sister-in-law manages and picked up a case of Bibles we are giving away to kids at our church.
Yvonne said she would go to lunch with us so we went downtown to "Dave's Place", a former Schlotsky's sandwich site, now open at noon and some evenings (with a jazz combo playing). We had been there before, but not in several months. We ordered salads, tea, non-or low-carb foods. It is nice to be able to go out and still stay on program.
Dave, the owner and chef has, it turns out, been on a quest like mine to lose weight. He has lost 104 pounds so far. I think that's simply amazing for someone who is preparing really tasty food for other people every day! I went back to the kitchen and talked with him. He remembered me and immediately congratulated me on losing weight! We talked about how each of us is managing it, with the upshot of it being that we agreed: turkey is our best friend (no carbs, high protein, low calories). We really enjoyed being out with Yvonne!
After taking her back to the bookstore we still had some time so we went to Best Buy where I picked up a set of disks that go with my new HP computer. They had not been able to find them when I bought the thing, but they had them right away for me. I like Best Buy most of the time!
Then we went to the clinic, registered, and were weighed and taken to a room. Linda had gained some. I had basically held my own...which I count as progress, given the week away from home we spent earlier. When the doctor came in he was amazed and gave me all sorts of emotional strokes for having lost 70 pounds in four months. He also said, and this was important to us, that if I continued to do as well as I have been, I will NOT need the lap-band surgery. I WILL, however, need to make the low-carb lifestyle my way of living. Forever. He checked both of us out and said he wanted to see us in January.
Before he left he told Linda she could go on the same food plan I am following, and give us another source for the Low-Carb Slim Fast that does so well for us. She was very happy about that; it has been difficult for her to cook for one. Now we can drink together! I felt very good about the visit and all the positive strokes we both received. Good words really to lift a person up!
We drove back out to West LR to pick up new CPAP masks with the new prescriptions the Dr. gave us. He saved us (at least for now) about $8,000 that we would have had to spend on getting prescriptions from the sleep disorder doctor after a costly sleep study. We have good CPAPs, just fragile masks. I was happy to note that the new masks are more substantial in the previously weak joints. Maybe they will last longer.
After an uneventful drive back to PB, Linda settled in at the house while I went to the church to help with choir practice...catch up on some correspondance, and filing. Got home late, but not too late to watch a Russel Crowe movie with Linda...then off to sleep.
Today has been spent mostly at the church with counseling, bookkeeping, writing, studying, and, this evening, our weekly "Wacky Wednesday" with the all the children. I told Bible stories and introduced a script for a children's musical. We'll see if that seed grows.
Tomorrow is a day full of counseling, writing, printing, and preparation for Sunday's activities. This weekend is also the start of the hunting season...for muzzle-loaders. We have seen only one deer in the back in a couple of weeks. I think they know when to head for the deep woods.
Me, I think I know when to head for bed! It has been nice experiencing the uplifting events of the past couple of days. I know not to trust the updraft as a source of continual support, but it is good for soaring from time to time.
Yvonne said she would go to lunch with us so we went downtown to "Dave's Place", a former Schlotsky's sandwich site, now open at noon and some evenings (with a jazz combo playing). We had been there before, but not in several months. We ordered salads, tea, non-or low-carb foods. It is nice to be able to go out and still stay on program.
Dave, the owner and chef has, it turns out, been on a quest like mine to lose weight. He has lost 104 pounds so far. I think that's simply amazing for someone who is preparing really tasty food for other people every day! I went back to the kitchen and talked with him. He remembered me and immediately congratulated me on losing weight! We talked about how each of us is managing it, with the upshot of it being that we agreed: turkey is our best friend (no carbs, high protein, low calories). We really enjoyed being out with Yvonne!
After taking her back to the bookstore we still had some time so we went to Best Buy where I picked up a set of disks that go with my new HP computer. They had not been able to find them when I bought the thing, but they had them right away for me. I like Best Buy most of the time!
Then we went to the clinic, registered, and were weighed and taken to a room. Linda had gained some. I had basically held my own...which I count as progress, given the week away from home we spent earlier. When the doctor came in he was amazed and gave me all sorts of emotional strokes for having lost 70 pounds in four months. He also said, and this was important to us, that if I continued to do as well as I have been, I will NOT need the lap-band surgery. I WILL, however, need to make the low-carb lifestyle my way of living. Forever. He checked both of us out and said he wanted to see us in January.
Before he left he told Linda she could go on the same food plan I am following, and give us another source for the Low-Carb Slim Fast that does so well for us. She was very happy about that; it has been difficult for her to cook for one. Now we can drink together! I felt very good about the visit and all the positive strokes we both received. Good words really to lift a person up!
We drove back out to West LR to pick up new CPAP masks with the new prescriptions the Dr. gave us. He saved us (at least for now) about $8,000 that we would have had to spend on getting prescriptions from the sleep disorder doctor after a costly sleep study. We have good CPAPs, just fragile masks. I was happy to note that the new masks are more substantial in the previously weak joints. Maybe they will last longer.
After an uneventful drive back to PB, Linda settled in at the house while I went to the church to help with choir practice...catch up on some correspondance, and filing. Got home late, but not too late to watch a Russel Crowe movie with Linda...then off to sleep.
Today has been spent mostly at the church with counseling, bookkeeping, writing, studying, and, this evening, our weekly "Wacky Wednesday" with the all the children. I told Bible stories and introduced a script for a children's musical. We'll see if that seed grows.
Tomorrow is a day full of counseling, writing, printing, and preparation for Sunday's activities. This weekend is also the start of the hunting season...for muzzle-loaders. We have seen only one deer in the back in a couple of weeks. I think they know when to head for the deep woods.
Me, I think I know when to head for bed! It has been nice experiencing the uplifting events of the past couple of days. I know not to trust the updraft as a source of continual support, but it is good for soaring from time to time.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Crash Landing
The word came a week later than we had originally hoped. Linda and I were on the way to the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, when my cell phone rang. It was my District Superintendent, calling to tell me that my request for funding for bariatric surgery had been denied.
On one hand I understand the decision. Ours is a partially self-funded insurance group; those who are members pay all the premiums. No government bail-out. Last year we experienced a $1700 increase in our personal deductibles and a 20% increase in premiums. The committee is looking at a 19% increase in premiums this year, based on claims through the first 9 months. They also looked at the fact that no other major carriers in the state carry that coverage. (It is still looked upon as "elective" or "cosmetic" surgery. To allow me to be covered would have opened up a can or worms for them...or rather a lot of folks that would also want coverage. I was told that my presentation was by far the most compelling they had seen in recent years...but they still had to deny my request. So in a way I understand.
On the other hand, I feel like I am part of an organization that lacks the compassion it preaches. It's not a comfortable feeling, even more so since I don't have the option of leaving it for some more friendly group. If being morbidly obese becomes considered an "official" handicapping condition, attitudes will change, as will the coverages for medical relief. I remember when we had no accomodations for wheelchairs, curbcuts, restroom stall sizes, elevator requirements, doorway widths, etc. All these have come about in my lifetime. In years ahead perhaps those of us who need surgical intervention for health reasons (not cosmetic)will benefit from a more enlightenend view of the disorder.
So I tried.
Linda was very disappointed, much more than I was. And yet, I find little pockets of anger and resentment popping up here and there. The hope of the possibility of a surgical intervention was definitely something hard to give up for both of us. While we knew it was a long shot, and prepared as we were, it was still a hard landing onto the field of reality. We survived, but are still not intact.
It was good that we were not at home when we got the news because we immediately had other things to focus on, and were surrounded by a supportive community that did not rely upon the church for its validity. We actually enjoyed the trip away, did a lot of things together. Linda drove the car for much of the trip (we took her new little Ford Focus). We enjoyed the 39 miles per gallon we got most of the trip.
We heard many, many storytellers, renewed friendships, made new friends, and enjoyed the cool but very nice weather of the mountains.
Foodwise, we had taken a supply of my low-carb drinks and adjusted our stops to places we could honor that committment with eating well...and right. We did eat out three or four times, but avoided starchy and sweet foods. And while I have not been back to the scales since we returned, I feel like I held my own, and am back in my regular routine now.
Back at home the weather is cooler. I am happy to find that I have an almost new collection of long-sleeved shirts that fit me fine now. I am looking forward to being able to purchase some new clothes soon.
More later...time to go find another meal of delicious low-carb food!
On one hand I understand the decision. Ours is a partially self-funded insurance group; those who are members pay all the premiums. No government bail-out. Last year we experienced a $1700 increase in our personal deductibles and a 20% increase in premiums. The committee is looking at a 19% increase in premiums this year, based on claims through the first 9 months. They also looked at the fact that no other major carriers in the state carry that coverage. (It is still looked upon as "elective" or "cosmetic" surgery. To allow me to be covered would have opened up a can or worms for them...or rather a lot of folks that would also want coverage. I was told that my presentation was by far the most compelling they had seen in recent years...but they still had to deny my request. So in a way I understand.
On the other hand, I feel like I am part of an organization that lacks the compassion it preaches. It's not a comfortable feeling, even more so since I don't have the option of leaving it for some more friendly group. If being morbidly obese becomes considered an "official" handicapping condition, attitudes will change, as will the coverages for medical relief. I remember when we had no accomodations for wheelchairs, curbcuts, restroom stall sizes, elevator requirements, doorway widths, etc. All these have come about in my lifetime. In years ahead perhaps those of us who need surgical intervention for health reasons (not cosmetic)will benefit from a more enlightenend view of the disorder.
So I tried.
Linda was very disappointed, much more than I was. And yet, I find little pockets of anger and resentment popping up here and there. The hope of the possibility of a surgical intervention was definitely something hard to give up for both of us. While we knew it was a long shot, and prepared as we were, it was still a hard landing onto the field of reality. We survived, but are still not intact.
It was good that we were not at home when we got the news because we immediately had other things to focus on, and were surrounded by a supportive community that did not rely upon the church for its validity. We actually enjoyed the trip away, did a lot of things together. Linda drove the car for much of the trip (we took her new little Ford Focus). We enjoyed the 39 miles per gallon we got most of the trip.
We heard many, many storytellers, renewed friendships, made new friends, and enjoyed the cool but very nice weather of the mountains.
Foodwise, we had taken a supply of my low-carb drinks and adjusted our stops to places we could honor that committment with eating well...and right. We did eat out three or four times, but avoided starchy and sweet foods. And while I have not been back to the scales since we returned, I feel like I held my own, and am back in my regular routine now.
Back at home the weather is cooler. I am happy to find that I have an almost new collection of long-sleeved shirts that fit me fine now. I am looking forward to being able to purchase some new clothes soon.
More later...time to go find another meal of delicious low-carb food!
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