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The Birds and the bees

A new study from StatsCan indicates that the number of teens (15- to 19-year-olds) reporting having sex is on the decline, particularly amond teen girls. Notice how I emphasized that word "reporting"? That's because unlike most of the major news media, I do not believe that the rise in popularity of chaste popstars like The Jonas Brothers is the reason is the cause for this decrease. Sure, teens might not be talking about having sex, but that doesn't mean they're not having any.

Teenagers are horny. They're built that way. If you think your teenaged son or daughter doesn't think about it several dozen times each day, you are either incredibly naive or raising a eunuch. If they're not having sex already, it's likely because the opportunity just hasn't presented itself yet. (Trust me. I didn't go on a date until I was 21 years old, and it wasn't because I was waiting for "the one"--I was just that big of a dork in high school.)

Your teenager probably isn't going to talk to you about what he or she gets up to when not under your watchful eye. They're probably also not going to talk to you about how they define "sex". A lot of them follow the Bill Clinton school of thought there. These are topics they probably aren't going to bring up with nosey government statisticians, either.

So, Canada, what am I driving at here exactly? Basically, just like you don't believe your teenager when they tell you Sally's mom will be chaperoning the party, don't believe the government when they tell you your teenager isn't having sex. Don't take it as a sign that you can postpone having "the talk". Don't start thinking that it's time to take the condom machines out of the school bathrooms. And don't think you raised your son or daughter better than that. Because some day your kid is going to have sex, even if it's not until they're 21, and they're going to need to know what to do and how to do it safely.

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Lucky 13

Today was my thirteenth weigh-in with Weight Watchers, and I have reached my penultimate goal: achieving the weight I was when I graduated from high school. I have lost 20 lbs, and have reduced my BMI from 25.8 to 22.6. I have lost more than 10% of my body weight, which translates to a reduced risk of health problems as I age. I have decreased my body fat, lost 3 inches from my abdomen, and increased my strength and endurance: I can now run 5 km in 30 min, 2.4 km in 13:50 min, and lift 65% of my body weight in the assisted chin and dip.

Most importantly, I've learned how to apply my knowledge about exercise and nutrition to my everyday life. I knew how to eat properly and how much exercise I should be getting before, but now I am a lot more conscious about what I put into my body, and how much. I have also become better at setting goals for physical activity and pushing myself to meet them. I have improved my quality of life and my outlook, without sacrificing a lot of the things I enjoy. It is a cliché because it's true: all things in moderation.

My ultimate, and on-going, goal is to maintain this healthy perspective. It will be difficult: we have a move coming up, which is always stressful, and next year I will be in school and spending a lot of time commuting each day. So, I am planning ahead. I've scouted out a gym in Belleville that also has a branch in Kingston, so I have no excuse not to fit in some form of PT regardless of where I am. I've collected a large number of healthy, tasty, tried, and trusted recipes that Capt Mike can prepare in my absence if I can't get home in time to make dinner. I will pack a healthy breakfast, lunch, and snacks for myself to take to school each day. And I will continue to give myself credit where credit is due.

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Mark your calendars

Sunday, October 19th, I am going to run my first half-marathon. Yeah, it's a long way off, but I figure if I didn't register today and make the commitment to do it, it would be way to easy to wake up that morning and hit my snooze button.

So, I've got plenty of time to train, and will not start following a program per se for a little while, but I have been trying to increase my running volume over the past month or so. My goal before I leave Quantico is to do the 16 km loop around the base, and I am definitely more than halfway there. And, since I am carting around a lot less of myself these days, 14 lbs less, running is a bit easier. My step is springier. I feel like I look a little more convincing as one who runs (I still can't call myself a runner).

Now I just have to remind Sarah Caloccia that she promised to run this thing with me. ;-)

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Some stuff

A few things that have happened in the past few weeks:

Capt Mike, Dexter, Zeppelin, and I enjoyed a day at the beach. We were even able to sit on a patio in the sunshine (while wearing our North Face fleeces). Can't do that in Ontario in February.

My new lifestyle plan is going quite well. In fact, I need to get most of my pants and skirts re-tailored. I also feel quite a bit better, mentally and physically. I don't mind looking at myself in the mirror, and I feel a little more solid when I'm running and working out. Those are both pretty good things. I've also noticed my digestion has improved (I know you were all very curious about that...).

Capt Mike and I went out for a lovely Valentine's Day meal at The Grille at Morrison House, in Alexandria. We were the youngest couple there by at least 25 years... in fact, we looked so out of place that we got carded. Sadly, knowing that Capt Mike was doing the driving, I had left my ID at home. Being almost 30 (gasp), I didn't think it would be a problem, but they insisted, and poor Capt Mike had to drink his complimentary glass of champagne alone. However, a very nice, though drunk, older gentleman took a shine to us as we were waiting for our table, and he used his connection with the bartender to get me a glass of pinot noir served in a tumbler, so it looked like cran-grape juice to any nosey inspectors who might have seen us.

I've been accepted to St. Lawrence College. I had applied there for three programs, but if I accept their offer, I will be enrolling in their Culinary program in the fall. I am still waiting for a response from Queen's for the MPA and BEd programs though before I make my final choice. I have, however, informed the NRC that I will be taking a year's leave of absence for personal/education reasons starting next September. They're supportive of it, so that's one less thing to worry about.

And so, life goes on. I just need to find more time to practice my guitar and blog. :-)

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I'm coming out

Hello, my name is Saedigh, and on Tuesday, January 29th, I joined Weight Watchers. There, I've outed myself. I am not sure why I wrestled with the decision to blog about it, or why I felt sort of embarassed about admitting it, but there you go.

For the past few years, I have noticed that my weight has increased gradually, culminating in a 13-lb difference between what I weighed when I graduated from University, to what I weigh now. This has been the result of several ups and downs, but the overall trend has been up. It's been subtle, but it's definitely been up. So, I've decided to do something about it.

I chose Weight Watchers because I like their overall message of learning to eat responsibly and making wise choices. I am using their Points system, and although it's only been three days, I have learned something: I was eating healthy, well-balanced meals, but my portion sizes were slightly larger than they should have been. This was, for the most part, counteracted by my high level of activity (after 3 days, the number of "activity points" I have accumulated is more than half the number of "weekly points" I am allotted above my daily total), but not entirely. Thus, over the course of 6.5 years, I have gotten slightly larger.

It's actually a pretty neat little system they have set up. Every day, I am alloted 22 points, and every week I have 35 points "banked" should I need them. And, every activity I do also gives me points that I can "swap" for food, if I need to. Their web site has an extremely user-friendly calculator that lets you use the information on food labels to calculate points, as well as a list of different foods and activities and their corresponding point values. For example, 45 minutes at high-intesity on the elliptical will earn me 6 points; a homemade barbecued hamburger, sans bun, is 6 points (I plugged the recipe into their calculator to get that result). So far, I have not tapped into my 35-point weekly reserve, and like I said, have been racking up the activity points (18 in 3 days). Supposedly, by following this program, I could expect to start losing 1-2 lbs per week after the first 3 weeks. Of course, the success depends on my honesty when inputting my consumption and activity levels into the daily tracker (also on their web site). So far, I have been very faithful, even saving the label from the chocolate bar I ate yesterday when I was famished before my guitar lesson, and plugging the nutritional values into the calculator when I got home. On-going success depends on my ability not to fall back into "portion distortion" once I've achieved my goal.

My only complaint about the system is that it doesn't appear to account for a difference between fat and lean body mass or waist circumference, both of which have been repeatedly proven to have an impact on overall health. I can understand it's not easy to calculate one's body fat percentage reliably at home, but I think measuring waist circumference would also be a helpful added measure to incorporate into their method.

So, why am I telling you this? Because I figured it's a good way to keep me honest, and to develop a support network should I need it. Also, I think it could be helpful to others, whether they know me or not.

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Chubby Cheeks

A recent study published by the International Journal of Obesity states that the number of overweight babies (0 to 6 months) has doubled between 1980 and 2006. To me, this highlights a serious problem: people have become so fat and lazy that it necessitates the publication of such a journal. And you know that by "international" they really mean "North American". One could possibly generalize to the Western Hemisphere, but who are we kidding? In other parts of the world, the ability to grow fat is still somewhat of a luxury.

I am not sure what to do about fat babies; in fact, I would be hesitant to promote any sort of intervention in wee ones, both for their own health and for the sanity of their parents. But I do have a solution for fat school-aged children: get them the hell outside.

It's the middle of summer holidays here in Pembroke, and every playground I pass as I walk Dexter stands empty. The aboveground pools in local back yards are devoid of splashing and laughter. I know that Pembroke has a reputation for being a bit of a retirement community, but this is ridiculous. There's not a child in sight, unless you are willing to look into livingroom windows (which I do not recommend, as it could be seriously misconstrued). Instead of running around with waterguns and climbing trees, you will find them curled up inside on the couch, playing video games and watching TV.

Society, your children are fat because you let them be fat. Hell, you encourage it. You buy them the latest gadgets to keep them glued to the TV. You refuse to let them play in the backyard unsupervised (heaven forbid they show any initiative and want to go to a playground), but are too busy yourself to go out and watch them. You chauffeur them even a short distance because it saves your time. You screw up their food instakes by insisting that they follow your bizarre flavour-of-the-month diets along with you. You lobby your schoolboards for higher test scores at the expense of gym classes and outdoor recess.

Of course, I can say all this with zero authority because I am not a parent.* How could I possibly know the struggle it takes to balance budgets and nutrition at the same time? There are probably a lot of things about parenting that I have yet to learn, but I do know one fundamental truth: the cost of setting aside 20 minutes every day to engage in some sort of rigourous physical activity with your child is relatively small compared with the costs of a lifetime supply of artificial insulin, a heart transplant, a liver transplant, dialysis, or a seeing-eye dog, all of which are the end results of complications resulting from obesity. Now get the hell outside and play with your kids.

*However, as a taxpayer contributing to the universal healthcare system your children are destined to overburden, I have the right to an opinion.

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