Welcome to "The York'52 Weight Room" --- last updated on Saturday, May 1, 2010 @ 9:00 pm EDT

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What follows here below is an on-going series of e-mails between myself and any others who have committed themselves to a program of weight reduction.
Check back here regularly for updates in my communications with these york '52 people about their commitment. 
 
...Bruce**********

---e-mails will always be posted here below --- organized by participant --- with the most recent always on top---

Punky Stevens, York '52:

____________________________________________________________
----- Original Message -----
From: "H. Bruce Downey" <>
To: "Punky Stevens '52" <>
Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 9:14 PM
Subject: Fw: Weekly Report

> That's great Punky.  Good progress on what's to be a very long road for both
> of us.
> And you are to be congratulated for these 4.8 lbs you don't need!
>
> ...Bruce**********
> _____________________________________________________
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ralph Stevens" <>
> Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 11:19 AM
> Subject: Weekly Report
>
>
>> Bruce
>> It's been seven days since I started the new venture to loose weight and
>> to jump start a new lease on better living for a longer and healthier
>> life. My new electronic Taylor scale read 206 on April 15 and this morning
>> it was 201.2 but some of that 4.8 pound decrease in one week may be from
>> slightly different clothing.  I'm nearly three pounds lighter when
>> stepping out of the shower.
>> Another measurement I decided to track is my waistline and it is 41
>> inches. No wonder my size 36 pants feel snug most of the time.
>> Energy level seems to be increasing and I'm feeling good.  Thanks for your
>> inspiration.
>> In the future, I'll continue to report weight weekly but girth on a
>> monthly basis.
>> Punky
>>
____________________________________________________

----- Original Message -----
From: Ralph Stevens
To: Bruce
Sent: Sunday, April 18, 2010 12:00 PM
Subject: Long life-Get Moving

Bruce
It's interesting that lately I'm noticing more articles about diet an exercise being the keys to long life. Here is one in today's paper expressing that living to 100  is doable if you treat your mind and body  properly.
http://www.mercurynews.com/search/ci_14870196?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com

A prescription for long life

By Melinda Sacks

Correspondent
Posted: 04/17/2010 12:00:00 AM PDT

Walter Bortz, 80, doesn't waste time. Up at 5 a.m., he starts his day with reading (three books a week, science-related non-fiction) and writing (his latest book, "The Roadmap to 100," is due out this month). Two days a week he runs three miles. On his third running day, he does 10 miles. Then there are the lectures on healthy aging, his consulting, fundraising, his Web site and spending time with his wife of 57 years, Ruth Anne, at 79 also an accomplished long-distance runner.

The schedule is rigorous enough to make someone half his age feel tired.

But Bortz is on a mission. He wants everyone to get fit and realize their human potential, which he believes means living to be 100 years old for many people.

"It's never too late to start moving," says Bortz, who is preparing to run his 40th marathon Monday in Boston, "but it is always too soon to stop."

Bortz has made it his career to study, write and teach about the potential of the human body to thrive to the age of 100. He knows not everyone his age is capable of running a marathon, but he is convinced that being fit represents a 30-year age offset when it comes to health. A fit person of 70 is biologically similar to an unfit person of 40, Bortz argues, irrelevant of genes or medical care.

"Age has a bad rap," he says.

Bortz blames inactivity as people grow older for many of the symptoms associated with aging, including muscle and bone weakness, a compromised immune system, narrowing of the arteries and frailty and decline of the central nervous system and metabolism. While lack of exercise isn't the only thing that contributes to poor health in elderly people, it is a key, Bortz says.

Bortz talks about his ideas while relaxing in front of the picture window in his Portola Valley family room. Outside stands a majestic oak, beyond which is a view of the San Francisco Bay. Beneath his red crew-neck sweater, khaki shorts show off tanned runner's legs.

Bortz began running some 40 years ago while dealing with grief after the death of his father, an internist and president of the American Medical Association.

"I got interested in healthy aging because my father was a great man, and medicine was in my umbilical cord," he says. "I was a hot whippersnapper with four little kids, and I went to work in my father's hospital. I was running big NIH grants. When he died, I crashed."

He moved to California and became the geriatrician for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. Over time, Bortz built a booming geriatric practice. He joined the staff at Stanford Hospital and is still clinical associate professor of medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine.

The idea that old age is a disease that needs to be medically treated rankles Bortz, who is a member of a fitness group he describes lightly as "a bunch of old farts running around a track. I've been trying my whole life to get old people to take a walk," he says. "Old people need to take a walk; they don't need to take a pill."

His assertions are backed up by a plethora of research.

A number of recent studies point to a correlation between physical fitness and the absence of central nervous system degradation, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

An extensive NIH study showed that leg strength, not age or disease, was the single best predictor of later need for placement in a nursing home.

A study at the University of Hong Kong demonstrated that lack of physical activity had a high correlation to risk of dying. This same study showed that 20 percent of deaths in people 35 and older could be attributed to lack of physical activity.

A large study by the American College of Sports Medicine and the AMA reported that those between 50 and 70 who undertook a walking-based exercise program reduced their risk of death 27 percent by walking 30 minutes per day, five days a week. The study found those in the same age group reduced their risk of death 32 percent by exercising vigorously just 20 minutes a day, three days a week.

A long-term research project at Stanford University followed 500 older runners for more than 20 years, beginning when their mean age was 59. The risk of dying among runners putting in 25 minutes every other day at mean age 78 was only 15 percent, in contrast 34 percent among non-runners at the same age.

(More research studies are cited in Bortz's book, "The Roadmap to 100: The Breakthrough Science of Living a Long and Healthy Life.")

So what can the average person do to protect against what have long been considered the inevitable ravages of age?

"Get moving!" Bortz says. "Non-movement is not an option. I go back to the Paleolithic times ­ if you didn't move, you died."

Bortz hopes his work will lead to a move away from the idea of aging as a disease. "I want to be chief of preventive medicine," he says. "We need to change the world."

Exercise trumps diet when it comes to health.

All kinds of exercise, including housework, walking and even fidgeting contribute to fitness.

Warm up before any vigorous exercise to reduce the chance of injury.

Walk, no matter what your age. Walking has been proven beneficial for all ages and for fighting obesity.
 

----- Original Message -----
From: Ralph Stevens
To: H. Bruce Downey
Sent: Sunday, April 18, 2010 2:34 PM
Subject: Re: Intra-day and Inter-day weight variations

Bruce---See RED comments
Punky


At 04:35 PM 4/17/2010, you wrote:
Punky:--- I believe that if you follow the low-carbohydrates NO SUGAR NO GRAINS diet, by definition your daily intake of calories will always work out to be less than what your Taylor scale says you may eat to maintain your daily weight.  Because of this, you can continue to count calories if you care to, but since the answer will always be the same, you'll soon stop doing so.  I now consider calories as a guide only and probably won't tally the total intake per day ever again---too much trouble.
 
My intra-day weight can vary by as much as 3 lbs.  And I've noticed too that upon arising, my weight is always the lightest I will ever be throughout the remainder of the day.  And another thing.  That early morning reading I take will always be 3 lbs lighter than it is when I get on the scale just before bedtime.  For me, that's just the way it is.  I also follow this general rule before I take any readings at any time during any day:---  Clothing (except for shoes) always adds 3 lbs to my weight...so I always try to have on pretty much the same kind of clothes before I step on the scale at any anytime during the day, or for that matter between days. Yes, I understand the clothing issue as extra baggage when steppping on the scale.
 
If you're recording your weight in a ledger, then in comparing one day to the next, I'd always use that reading just after arising every morning.  No other intra-day weight readings matter.  That early morning reading is what's consistent from one day to the next--- provided you're wearing similar clothing from day to day...like say long pants, belt, a shirt, and socks, or whatever fits the California climate. .  Were you wear shorts one day and long pants the next, there would be daily variations just due to that variance alone...especially since we're talking about measuring weight in tenths of a lb.  My ledger includes  a  +/- statement and when it doesn't relate or is inconsistant,  I circle it as a reminder. Yestereday we had dinner with friends and although I didn't eat much, WHAT I ate was the killer---small BBQ, french fries, chili beans, sherbert and cookie---BAHHHH.  My sensitive Taylor scale read 204.4 this morning (+2.6 from previous reading) BAHHHHH
 
Please tell me by e-mail each time you want me to reflect the cumulative effect of exactly how much weight you've lost--- right now at our website it still reads 3.2 lbs since April 15th--- for I would like to keep "The York '52 Weight Room" as current and up-to date as possible,  Me?  I've only lost 5 lbs total since April 6th, so my changes posted at "The York '52 Weight Room" are both less frequent and less dramatic than yours--- but that's just the way it is for no two people are ever the same. I don't think recording data every day or even 3-4 days is time/effort effective for what we're doing.  I'll send my weight reading on a weekly basis and you can take it from there.  Since I started recording on tax day 4/15, I'll send an update on 4/22.  As always. I'm open to suggestions.
 
Keep at it, Punky, for you are to be admired by all for your perseverance.  And credit is due to Sandy as well, for it is she who keeps you on the straight and narrow, just as my Nancy does.  In our case, both Nancy and I are following this same diet.  Makes it easier to do the shopping and prepare the meals.  I'm no cook and never have been. You should add Nancy  to "The York '52 Weight Room" statistics. As for Sandy, she needs to seriously gain weight, but her interest in eating more doesn't support her needs. Brownies and fresh bread are her staples. and her exercise is nil.

Punky's PS; My Mother's day gift will be a couple of downloaded audio books.  I've never done it but our library system here in San Jose is fantastic.  More later

 
Bruce's P.S.  In case you hadn't noticed, I've been posting our exchanges of e-mails at "The York '52 Weight Room".  To find them, first go to the main page @ http://www.majordomoers.com/Docs/TheYork52WeightRoom.html Then look for the various categories of e-mail tracking I'm doing at the top of the screen...and when you find the one with your name on it, point to and click the "here" that you find beside it.  
...Bruce************
---- Original Message -----
From: Ralph Stevens
To: H. Bruce Downey
Sent: Saturday, April 17, 2010 5:34 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: Answers to your nutritional questions are always found at "The York '52 Weight Room" --- Just try me

Bruce

With my inquisitive mind, I just had to know what calorie intake I was eating so Sandy helped me find all of the numbers.  The second day on "the diet", I ate approx. 2000 Calories. Since my Taylor scale indicated that I need to eat 2700 to maintain 206, it appears that I'm destined to lose weight.  The scale is proving it to be true since my weight this morning was down to 201.8----and that's hard for me to believe.  I had an "err" signal and I re-weighed several times and it bounced from 201.6 t to 202.7 which is still remarkable since this is only my third day.

It's now about 8 hours since I weighed myself this morning and the scale reads 205.2.  Do you  have that much fluctuation in your weight during the day?

Yes, I do notice what others in the grocery line are eating----and it typically fits their physique including their small children. If I ever get my size 36 pants to feel comfortable again, I'll be a happy guy.

Thanks for your inspiration to go through with this.

Punky

----- Original Message -----
From: Ralph Stevens
To: H. Bruce Downey
Sent: Friday, April 16, 2010 2:58 PM
Subject: Re: Kenj emil

After vacillating and playing with the scale (trying different activity levels) I officially started the diet on tax day April 15th.  My ledger entry for 4/15 at 6:10AM is 206 lbs.
The food intake list includes a double breakfast, my usual of oatmeal and a  second with Kelle and Zachary who stay with us occasionally depending on their schedule.  The one 8" waffle and syrup and 2 slices of bacon crashed the diet for the day----or so I thought. I also had much more water than usual---5 eight ounce bottles.

This morning at 6:15AM the scale read 202.8 and I attribute this low number to the vigorous 1 1/2 hour of line dancing  followed by a long walk around a golf course.  I've decided to only weigh myself in the early morning before breakfast since shortly after the second breakfast, the scale measured 207.6-----indicating I needed to get serious. The half cup of oatmeal followed by waffle may be history soon.


So how are you doing?----and others?---or should I be checking with
"The York'52 Weight Room"?

Punky


----- Original Message -----
From: Ralph Stevens
To: H. Bruce Downey
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 10:35 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: Pass the Butter Please

I think the Ezekiel bread is quite good and after I get some no-sugar jam, it will be even better.  I may try light butter with canola oil also.
Punky



At 02:03 PM 4/15/2010, you wrote:
Interesting e-mail of yours on the difference between margarine and butter, Punky--- but remember this:---  If we're not eating any flour and no bread in this diet...what's to put either butter or margarine on?  So instead, I'm eating flourless Ezekiel Bread for it's the only thing coming close to even looking like the bread I once knew.  So what's there to put on this Ezekiel Bread of ours?  Olive oil is what's recommended in the weight watcher's diet...but I couldn't possibly do that...so I cheat.  I eat 'Land-O-Lakes light butter with canola oil' and sometimes SMUCKER'S NO SUGAR JAM on my Ezekiel Bread.
 
...Bruce***********

   
----- Original Message -----
From: Ralph Stevens
To: crow@vt.edu
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 11:12 AM
Subject: FW: Pass the Butter Please


This is interesting information from a chemistry professor friend of mine at Texas A & M----Punky

Subject: Fw: Pass the Butter Please
 
And We are feeding this to our kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pass The Butter ... Please.    
        This is interesting . .. .
Margarine  was originally manufactured to fatten  turkeys.  When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put  all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their  heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get  their money back. 
It was a white substance with no food appeal  so they added the yellow colouring and sold it to people to use in place of butter.  How do you like it?   They have come out  with some clever new flavourings....   
 DO  YOU KNOW.. The difference between margarine and butter?  
Read on to the end...gets very interesting!   
Both  have the same amount of calories.
Butter  is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8  grams; compared   to 5 grams for margarine.
Eating margarine can increase  heart disease in women by 53%  over  eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent  Harvard  Medical Study.
Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in  other foods.
Butter  has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few and   
only  because  they are added!
Butter  tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavours of  other foods.
Butter  has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years .
And now, for Margarine..
Very High in Trans fatty acids.
Triples risk of coronary heart disease ...
Increases  total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and  lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)
Increases  the risk of cancers up to five times..
Lowers  quality of breast milk.
Decreases immune response.
Decreases  insulin response.
And  here's the most disturbing fact.... HERE IS THE PART THAT  IS  VERY INTERESTING!
Margarine  is but ONE MOLECULE away  from being PLASTIC... and shares 27 ingredients withPAINT
These facts alone were enough to have me avoiding margarine for life  and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is  added,  changing the molecular structure of the  substance).   
You  can try this yourself:
Purchase  a tub of margarine and leave it open in your garage or shaded  area.  Within a couple of days you will notice a couple of things: 
 *  no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it  (that should tell you something)
 *  it does not rot or smell differently because it has  nonutritional value ; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny  microorganisms will not a find a home to grow.  Why?  
Because it is nearly plastic .  Would you melt your Tupperware and  spread that  on your toast?  
Share  This With Your Friends.....(If you want to butter them   up')!
Chinese Proverb:
When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it,  you have a  moral obligation to share it with  others.  
Pass the BUTTER PLEASE

----- Original Message -----
From: Ralph Stevens
To: H. Bruce Downey
Sent: Friday, April 16, 2010 7:19 PM
Subject: Re: Opps--- those pancakes that came with the scale?

I use Krusteaz Wheat and Honey pancake mix---just add water

Yep, it contains flour an lots of other things.  Corn syrup was listed down near the bottom.

Guess I'll limit pancakes and waffles to when Zachary visits.
Punky

----- Original Message -----
From: H. Bruce Downey
To: Punky Stevens '52
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 7:11 AM
Subject: Opps--- those pancakes that came with the scale?

Opps--- those pancakes that came with the Taylor scale?  Nancy says that Taylor-made recipe contained no HFCS, for they were home-made.  Still they contained flour...and flour is out...at least in the diet I am committed to.
 
...Bruce**********

 
----- Original Message -----
From: H. Bruce Downey
To: Punky Stevens '52
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 5:56 AM
Subject: Fw: Answers to your nutritional questions are always found at "The York '52 Weight Room" --- Just try me

Thanks, but no thanks, Punky.  I can't eat pancakes. Remember: All baking mixes contain HFCS.  Besides, pancakes are grains, and I'm a hunter and a food gatherer, and not seeking these agricultural products we find on the shelves of our grocery stores--- not now anyway--- not before I lose my 20 lbs.  Generally speaking I shop for what's available around the perimeters of these food stores--- and not what's so prominently displayed in the middle of them.
 
And then too, you bring up a point here that I hadn't focused on before.  If you follow the weight watcher's diet that I have spelled out in some detail at "The York '52 Weight Room" you won't find the word "calorie."  And why not?  Because we're not counting calories in this diet--- we're simply concerned with what we eat--- and not concerned with how much or how little of what we eat in constant fear of "too many calories."  We do have some limits, and even minimums--- like the number of times we are expected to eat fish per week--- that would be 5--- but there is no upper limit when it comes to fish in our diet.  And the daily limits within the whole fruit category are there to limit --- not calories--- but in recognition of the natural sugar content inside all whole fruits.  And ours is basically a low-carb, NO SUGAR NO GRAINS diet.  Stay away from those and you don't count calories.  All other diets are basically low-calorie diets.  Even our Taylor scales tell us how many calories we may eat that very day to maintain our current weight.  EAT ANYTHING YOU WANT --- and if it's less than that set-in-stone amount of calories everyday--- you'll lose weight.  But by concentrating instead on WHAT WE EAT during these "diet days" of ours makes for a healthier you.  Case in point, there are no HFCS's in the weight watchers diet, whereas there well could be if you're simply counting calories and eating/drinking whatever you want by simply substituting one HFCS product for another inside your calorie counting.  Remember my golden rule:--- Eat this, not that, and you'll be healthier during these "diet days" --- healthier than say the guy standing next to you in the check-out line at your favorite food store--- as a slight smile begins creeping across your face upon looking at what food he bought in his shopping cart.
 
...Bruce************
 
 

----- Original Message -----
From: Ralph Stevens
To: H. Bruce Downey
Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2010 8:19 PM
Subject: Re: Answers to your nutritional questions are always found at "The York '52 Weight Room" --- Just try me

Bruce
You continue to provide good information---thanks

Did you see the blueberry pancake recipe in the Biggest Loser booklet that came with the scale.?  I can't believe that four pancakes are only 140 Calories
Punky


 
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ralph Stevens" <>
To: <Bruce>
Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2010 4:15 PM
Subject: New Scale

> Bruce
>
> This Taylor Model 7544BL electronic scale has lots of bells and whistles.
>
> It also read 5 pounds heavier than the doctor's office visit last
> Friday but decreased 0.4 lbs from two hours ago---perhaps I didn't
> have my fat wallet on during the last reading.
>
> I changed my activity level from 2 to 3 and the calorie count (to
> maintain the 207.6 lbs level) went from 2426 to 2712.   My BMI (body
> mass index) is 28 which is only two away from an "obese" rating. BAHHH
>
> I think I'll start keeping track of what I eat and the calorie
> content---as close as I can.  Obviously I need to shy away from many
> beloved items and that may take some doing.
>
> Thanks for pointing me in the right direction Bruce and I look
> forward to feeling more comfortable in my 36 waist pants.
> Punky
>
> PS: Tomorrow I'll officially start the weight program and weigh my
> self early before breakfast, water intake and without shoes and
> pocket stuffings. Keeping a daily ledger will help keep me focused---hopefully.
>
> Punky
___________________________________________________________________________
----- Original Message -----
From: H. Bruce Downey
To: Punky Stevens '52
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 8:29 PM
Subject: Fw: On the commitment you have made to yourself

Remember this, Punky:--- Your diet is whatever you make it to be.  You can "cheat" by spreading honey on one slice of Ezekiel bread and pure butter on the other--- either routinely, continually, or maybe just once in a while.  Your scale will always be honest with you.  You're either losing the weight you want to lose...or you're simply maintaining your beginning weight and that's about it.  FYI Nancy has since discovered a new spread for my Ezekiel Bread at breakfastime --- Smuckers now makes not simply "Low Sugar" jam, but "Sugar-free" jam.  Look for it in your food store right there with all the other jellies and jams.  This product comes in various flavors to your liking...but it won't taste quite the same as you're used to.  Just a tad different, but you'll get used to it soon enough.
 
For breakfast, you NEED protein to preserve muscle throughout your diet...and oatmeal is NOT by itself enough protein--- only 5 grams.  Oatmeal is also a grain. The diet I am following is basically a NO SUGAR, NO GRAIN diet.  While Ezekiel Bread is a combination of 4 grains AND 2 legumes (lentiles and soybean), these grains and legumes are harvested--- not in the usual way but as sprouted grains--- and these sprouted grains and legumes make for more protein (2-slices of Ezekiel Bread = 8 grams of protein).  One serving of oatmeal is 150 calories.  So too are 2 slices of Ezekiel Bread.  But notice the step-up in protein delivered by the Ezekiel Bread in comparison to one serving of Oatmeal.  And just as I do in eating my Ezekiel Bread for breakfast, should you choose to continue eating oatmeal for breakfast, you and I both need to ADD some additional protein to our breakfasts---like say cottage cheese, an egg or two (1 egg=7 grams of protein), or fat-free, plain yogurt--- these categories of breakfast food.
 
This all gets a tad complicated because none of us are nutritionists...hence we know absolutley nothing about the very food we eat.  We just eat it.  What a crazy state of affairs it all is.  That's why before embarking on any diet, you need to do so under an MD's supervision.  He/she may well refer you to a nutritionist who can go over Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner specifics and WHY far better than I--- a non-professional.
 
As for the others in our Class of York '52, there  were only a handful that expressed any interest.  You elected to commit yourself to make some changes in what and/or how much you eat in order to lose weight.  In contrast, Ken Jones told us what he regularly eats--- not that he is eating it to lose weight...just what he eats...which he refers to as his "diet."  That leaves only three others who are apparently "interested" in what I have to say on this subject...but not interested enough to commit to any program for their own purpose of losing weight.  So who am I talking to?  Except for you, Punky, "I'm taIking to the wind."  Bottom line--- you won't need any help you can't get in attending that 65th York '52 Reunion.
 
...Bruce**********  
 

 
----- Original Message -----
From: Ralph Stevens
To: H. Bruce Downey
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 12:19 PM
Subject: Re: On the commitment you have made to yourself

Bruce
My first morning slices (2) of Ezekiel bread were no problem so switching from Sandy's home made wheat bread should go easy. (Oops, I did use honey on one and butter on the other.) Now I must address my usual fruit (2 tangerines) and 1/2 cup of oatmeal with fat free milk and pack of Equal. 

I'm soon hoping to see a few  more comments from our York '52 class who decide to join your health project.  As mentioned several times, I plan to attend the 65th York'52 Reunion and I'll need all the help I can get.
Punky
 

----- Original Message -----
From: "H. Bruce Downey"
To: "Ralph Stevens"
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 6:53 PM
Subject: Re: Taylor Scale

> Ours is a 7544BL Cal Max Scale--- subtitled "The Biggest Loser".  It cost
> $39.95 at Bed Bath and Beyond.  Nancy said when she bought it that there
> were other even more expensive scales...perhaps with more memory?  Ours has
> the feature of creating different users, each with their own user number
> beginning with Number 1, followed by Number 2, etc. etc.  You enter specific
> personal data pertaining to each user--- personal data such as height, age,
> gender, and an activity level selection.  The scale remembers each user's
> personal data in memory.  When you select a user number and get on the
> scale, your weight is displayed as well as a calculation of the maximum
> calories that you can afford to eat that day to remain at that very same
> weight then being displayed, as well as your related BMI at that exact
> weight.  That info is then stored in memory until the next time that user
> gets on the scale.  Then when another day comes, before reselecting your
> user number, you can instead go into memory mode, select that same user
> number, and the scale will display the last recorded info just as
> before...at which point you then have two choices...(1) either get on the
> scale without selecting a user number or the memory mode for any user, and
> without identifying who you are, simply get on the scale and see how much
> you weigh--- there will be no calculation of calorie count to maintain that
> weight and no display of the equivalent BMI for that weight.  In other
> words, your memory bank remains as it was the LAST time you were on the
> scale and is not updated.  That's the way I use it...I can always go to
> memory mode and pull up my last recorded weight which always remains as it
> was on April 6th (Weight 221 lbs, Calorie Count of 2,900, and BMI of 27.
> By never re-selecting a user number, the memory bank remains just as it was
> when I first stepped on my scale back on April 6th.  OR (2) An alternative
> use of the scale would be to reselect your user number, then step of the
> scale and that read-out of Weight, Carorie Count, and BMI will REPLACE what
> was in memory before and that new reading is then what is stored in memory
> as your LAST weight.  The choce in using your Taylor scalevis yours on
> whether (1) you use the select feature for updating the memory each time you
> use the scale OR (2) leave the memory as it LAST WAS (your Day 1 reading)
> without updating that data as you daily progress through your diet.  If you
> simply get on the scale withoug selecting either SELECT or MEMORY mode, and
> see the results of just your WEIGHT ONLY, then get off the scale--- well
> there will be no memory of what you weighed TODAY.  That;s how I use my
> Taylor scale.
>
> Remember too always weigh yourself at the same time every day...and upon
> waking each morning...that's the lightest you'll weigh for the remainder of
> your waking hours.  You may get on the scale several times a day, but the
> range in INTRA-DAY readings could vary by as much as 3 lbs.  You'll find
> out.
>
> Taylor may well make better scales--- with say more memory than the model we
> bought.  Ours will only remember one reading--- the very last time you got
> on the scale.  But you can control this by using that memory only once--- so
> the last time is always the first time which will confirm your weight,
> calorie count to maintain that weight, and BMI on ONLY that very first day.
>
> Like I said before, its important that what you get is any electronic scale
> that displays results in tenths of a lb.  Even tenths of a lb are important
> to us.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> ...Bruce*************
>
>_________________________________________________________________________
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ralph Stevens"
> To: Bruce
> Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 12:00 PM
> Subject: Taylor Scale
>
>
>> Bruce
>> Please send the model number of your Taylor scale.   I've located a couple
>> that say "Electronic Cal-Max"  with one being about $10 cheaper than the
>> other but from different stores (Bed Bath and Beyond and Target)
>>
>> I'd like to purchase the exact scale as you have so we can compare notes
>> on on the various features.
>>
>> Punky
>>
>____________________________________________________________________

 
----- Original Message -----
From: H. Bruce Downey
To: Punky Stevens '52
Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 1:20 PM
Subject: On the commitment you have made to yourself

Thank you for this, Punky.  And so I see that you too have more at stake in our "York '52 Weight Room" than just a passing interest.  Accordingly, I have added a section to our "York '52 Weight Room" so that I can post your progress, comments, and struggles for all to see on the Internet should you care to do so. 
 
Go now to http://www.majordomoers.com/Docs/TheYork52WeightRoom.html and when you get there, look near the top for the message that reads as follows:
 
For e-mails to/from those committed to a diet they too are currently following to lose weight, point to and click  here 
 
 
Such a commitment as yours to better health through weight loss and eventual weight maintenance at a level which you decide makes for a "healthier you" should not go unnoticed--- for yours is a road ahead that is just loaded with sacrifices to attain a sustainable goal at whatever weight you now want to be.  So congratulations, Punky.  And I am so happy that whatever diet you now undertake, it has your own MD's guidance and blessing.  That's important, for we're all a tad different, what with the medications we take and why we take them.  Me?  I take blood pressure medication and have for a very long time.  But just between you and I you and my cardiologist who I next see come August, 2010, I'm looking forward to the day when I can come off that blood pressure medication altogether, because in my case I truly believe that my high blood pressure has been caused all along by the extra lbs I carry around.  When I get down to say 200 lbs (my actual weight should be 197 lbs to get to a BMI of 24 which is "right" for my height).  There is a formula for figuring out BMI's which I shall try to find, then post to  "The York '52 Weight Room" .  I already have a chart of different heights and weights that came with my new Taylor-made digital scale with its memory chip and I shall try to post that chart to  "The York '52 Weight Room" as well. 
 
I recommend you getting a digital scale as well, for its gradations are in tenths, and in this business of weight loss, even tenths of a lb. become important.  Another thing you should do is this.  When checking your weight on a scale, you should do so at the same time of day as you did the last time you checked your weight.  Reason?  It's been my experience that I can weigh say 3-lbs more in the evening after supper than I do in the morning before breakfast.
 
Best of luck to you, Punky on this weight-loss adventure you're undertaking.
 
...Bruce************
 

 
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ralph Stevens" <>
To: <H. Bruce Downey>
Sent: Sunday, April 11, 2010 1:56 PM
Subject: Weight Room

> Bruce et al
>  I thought I'd "weigh in" on your recent project to reduce weight,
> belly rolls and feeling better and will start by saying I had a blood
> test and meeting with our doctor regarding the out-of-range
> results.  Here are the OOR results:
>
> HDL Cholesterol was 37 (range is > or = 40)
> Hemoglobin A1c is 6.5% which is considered "diabetic" with new
> test  parameters (Range for non-diabetic is < 6.0%)
> Glucose is 107 (Impaired range is 100-125)
> TSH was discussed quite a bit  and my 5.91 is High and is possible
> under-active thyroid (Range is 0.40-4.50)
> Platelet Count is 118 (Range 140-400)
> Eosinophils is 7 (Range 0-6%)
> Absolute Eosinoophil is 728 (Range is 15-500)
> Cholesterol is 104 (Range is 125-200)
>
> From the above, the doctor recommends diet (similar to what you
> prescribe) and more exercise with a follow up blood test in three months.
>
> The journey begins today and I'll buy some Ezekiel bread but will
> also check the ingredients of Sandy's home made wheat bread and her
> brownies. These two items are always present in our house as she
> bakes them every other day.
>
> Congratulations on your 2 lb loss since April 6th.  FYI- I used to
> loose that much during a strenuous evening of fast dancing, but it
> came back quickly.  I'm sure your two pounds are gone forever.
>
> Punky
 

 
----- Original Message -----
From: Ralph Stevens
To: H. Bruce Downey
Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 3:37 PM
Subject: Re: Ezekiel Bread

Our local Whole Foods store had it and the first young lady clerk I asked escorted me to the frozen section where many Ezekiel items were located.  At $3.79  for the original loaf, it's about $1 higher than the Orowheat 100% wheat bread we normally get.

Another friend sent the following web site that determines the amount of mercury you eat when eating different fish.  It's an interesting calculator.
http://www.gotmercury.org/article.php?list=type&type=75

Enter your weight, the type of fish you eat ------ or plan to eat,   and the portion in ounces

The result is the amount of Mercury and it's health level.


 

 
----- Original Message -----
From: H. Bruce Downey
To: Ralph Stevens
Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 1:26 PM
Subject: Re: Ezekiel Bread

Look in freezer section where your food store has "natural food".  You won't find this on any shelf.  It comes frozen--- then you always keep it in the refrigerator once its thawed out.  I just know your food chain has Ezekiel Bread.  You just don't know where to look for it...and apparently neither do they.
 
...Bruce************
 
 
----- Original Message -----
From: Ralph Stevens
To: H. Bruce Downey
Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 12:55 PM
Subject: Ezekiel Bread

Bruce

I didn't find any Food for Life Ezekiel products in four stores and have emailed the company to find out if they are in in my area. Several clerks I asked know nothing about flourless bread.

In the meantime, here is what Sandy bakes every other day

Wheat Bread
Water,
Wheat flour 1-1/4C
White flour 3/4C
Sugar 1T
Salt 1/2t
Powered Skim Milk 1T
Butter 1T
Yeast 1-1/2 t

Brownies
Flour 3/4 C
Butter 1/2C
Cocoa 5T
Sugar 1C
Eggs 2
Vanilla 1t
Baking Powder 1/2t
Salt 1/2t


I'll try my best to not consume occasional snacks of these items----but no promises. I'll ask that she bake every 4-5 days.  BTW--she is a believer in not what you eat but how much you eat.
Punky