DIETS, ETC.

On July first of this year I decided to do something about my weight. By way of some history, I weighed ten pounds at birth and never looked back. I was raised in the south by an overweight mother who came from a lineage of overweight people. Virtually everything I ate as a youngster was fried in pork fat. Even the few vegetables I ate were seasoned with bacon grease. I have been heavy most of my life. So as you can see, I have had every excuse to live my life as a fat man. It is my genetic propensity you see. While all of this is true, I still have been less than careful with my diet as an adult. I have been very lax in exercise. It has only gotten worse after retirement.

I have tried all the easy diets. Carbs, grapefruit, you name it, I’ve tried it. For me they don’t work.

My first problem is that I don’t like diet foods. I like fried foods. I like desserts. I like potatoes especially with gravy. So how on earth was I going to pull this off? By the way my Dr. told me that if I didn’t lose some weight I was going to have to go on diabetes medicine. At the time my blood sugar was 128. She also told me that my condition could be solved with just weight loss.

The following is my regimen beginning July 1st.

First I decided to consume no more that 1500 calories a day for two weeks and then to reexamine how I was doing. I also decided to write down everything I ate or drank and to be brutally honest with myself. Further I asked my lovely wife, Linda, not to help. I had to do this myself. Any suggestions from her would probably be interpreted by my fat side as nagging. She agreed to stay out of it.

After the first two weeks, I decided that it was doable at least for a while longer. I used Pam spray instead of added fats. I measured my drinks at cocktail hour and cut back almost half. I reduced my portion size by about half. I ate slower. Still I was able to eat my normal foods. I stayed away from diet foods.

My first official weigh-in was scheduled for August 13 at the VA so I decided to stay with it at least until that date. I started at gulp 360 pounds. At the weigh-in I topped the scales at 326 pounds. My blood pressure reduced so much that the Dr. cut my meds in half. My blood sugar reduced by over 20 points. My total cholesterol dropped to 123. My reaction was “wow”, and at the same time “whew”. The Dr. said I was losing too fast and to increase my calorie intake. What???

I am now over three months into this project. My average daily calorie intake for July was 1398, August 1539, and September 1578. My highest on any day during each month was, 1631 for July, 1805 for August and 1826 for September.

I have learned some things that I wish to share. If you weigh 320 pounds, you need 3200 daily calories to maintain that weight. If instead you consume 2000 calories, you will lose one pound in three days. Each 3500 calories represents one pound of gain or loss. A great web site is www.thecaloriecounter.com. It has the count of virtually anything you can imagine.

With the above formula, one should be able to track one’s success or failure based entirely on your intake. Exercise of course helps but the real weight loser is calorie awareness. Linda or I prepare most of what we eat from scratch and we therefore know the ingredients. I can make shrimp alfredo with cream sauce and have a good sized portion and stay under 350 calories. The same is true for spaghetti and meatballs. The key is to know what goes in it and to keep portion size down. Also stay away from bread.

My normal breakfast has been two eggs, two pieces of bacon, one piece of ten grain toast with one teaspoon of butter and six ounces of tomato juice. That folks is 406 calories. Lunch usually consists of a salad which includes a ½ cup of leftover meat from dinner and Caesar dressing (two tablespoons). Cardinis is 80 calories per tablespoon. Most salad greens are negligible in calories. I charge myself about 350 calories for lunch. Cocktail hour is usually 350 calories. If I keep dinner under 500, then I’m there. I do not snack between meals and I try to eat slowly. As you can see, it isn’t brain surgery. My next weigh in is October 10 and I will report to this writing my result.


Well today is October 10 and I just returned from the VA. If my formula was correct, I should have weighed 310 pounds. That is precisely what I weighed. All the blood numbers were in line. There was a problem however. The Doctor again said that I was losing too fast and that I had to increase my calorie intake. At this point he doesn’t want me to lose more than twenty pounds in the next year. There are apparently almost as many problems with fast weight loss as there are with being overweight. I am now reconsidering my diet and trying to decide how I will do this. I intend to continue losing and posting my results. If this helps anybody out there, great. Next week, to celebrate my birthday, I am going to have a pizza.

Ron Scarbro October 10, 2008

DEBATES OR DEBACLES

As I am writing this the Vice Presidential debate is imminent. I won’t be watching it. I didn’t watch the Presidential debate either. But Ron, you’re such a political junkie, how could you not watch? Easy answer. The so called debates are not debates at all. They are instead gotcha politics. This one especially is a joke. The moderator, Gwen Iffil, has written a book praising Obama and it is scheduled to be released sometime around inauguration day. She is also a regular on that bastion of fair and balanced viewpoints, PBS. She has a definite interest (money) in seeing that Obama is elected. She will be making up her own questions. Call me crazy but I think Biden will have a pretty easy time of it.

What concerns me is that there are apparently still people out there who haven’t made up their minds about this election. We only have two choices. This ain’t brain surgery. If you are, at this point, on the fence about whom you would support for President, I suggest you stay home. What on earth could one of the candidates say in this televised debacle that would sway you? Or are you instead watching to see if there is a train wreck?

I ask myself, what could Obama say that would cause me to change my opinion and vote for him? That’s pretty simple too. All he would need to say was that he was totally and completely changing his entire political philosophy, throwing off his socialism, and adopting a pro-American stance. That would be the conservative philosophy. He would also need to suddenly and dramatically gain about twenty or so more years of life and experience. It wouldn’t hurt if he could gain a military background either.

Obviously I don’t need to waste an evening watching a TV show to make up my mind. I made it up months ago. On Election Day Obama will still be a one term junior Senator from a predominately liberal, democrat state with little or no foreign policy knowledge or experience. He will still be an advocate for tax increases. He will still attempt to destroy our medical system by trying to adopt a universal health care program. He will still believe that America is an unfair country to him and his ilk. He will still think that American citizens shouldn’t have the right to keep and bear arms. He will still be looking for liberal judges who would attempt to re-write the Constitution rather than their job of interpreting it. No debate is going to change his mind, so why should it change mine?

Handing America over to the liberal left will bring about a financial disaster of monumental proportions. It will take generations to fix the mess that such a handover would cause.

No, I will not be watching this debate/debacle. If I wanted to see and hear liberal agenda spewed, I could always just tune in any PBS program, or MSNBC, or really just about any major network show, news or otherwise.

I have said before, if this wasn’t so serious and dangerous, it would be fun watching the liberals face the reality of governing this great country. One thing is certain, I will have plenty of material to write about. Stay tuned.

Ron Scarbro October 2, 2008

BATTLESHIPS

Recent news is reporting that Russia and Venezuela are teaming up to hold war games in the Caribbean Sea. This wouldn’t even attract my attention except that it is so silly. Make that dangerous and silly.

Let’s see if I have this right. Hugo Chavez, tin horn thug from South America, and Vladimir Putin, former would be absolute ruler of Russia, are teaming up to show the world their military might. I think they call this saber rattling. It seems to me if you are going to rattle a saber, you should not play with paper swords. Is this the same Russia who, when playing with nuclear submarines, sank their prized vessel and lost their entire crew? They did finally call us up and try to get us to help them pull the ship and crew back up, but it was, unfortunately for the crew and their families, too late.

Is this the same Russia, who when playing with nuclear power, poisoned hundreds of miles in and around Chernobyl? We will never know how many died initially and have died since because of their malfeasance.

Now they want to once again get out and play big boy games. It reminds me of Frick and Frack playing battleship. Odds are they will more likely have serious problems in these alien waters.

I have some recommendations. I think we should dispatch a couple of our most impressive aircraft carriers fully loaded with the latest jet fighters. We should cruise down to the Caribbean and just let both would be warriors get a glimpse of what real armaments and weapons of war look like. We do not need to get in their way, just cruise around to let the sailors see what they would be up against if they allowed their over ambitious governments to get sillier. Besides, we would then be close at hand when the Russians and Venezuelans begin colliding with each other or running aground. We would be in much better position to bail them out by having this head start.

Of all the things these governments need to be spending their treasure on, war games have to be the least important. I have seen pictures of the thousands of poor wretched souls living in cardboard shacks in Venezuela. The Russian economy is in the tank and without extreme high oil prices might cease to operate in the world. The same is true for Venezuela.

Being the ever helpful individual that I am, I am now offering even more suggestions for these two would be world powers. Chavez, you need to get back to the work that your country does best. That is producing outstanding baseball players. Russia, this is your task. You need to get back to the job of producing vodka and world class female athletes who look more like starting fullbacks in the National Football League than like women. This is what you do best. Your female weight lifters and shot putters used to be the envy of the world. Leave the job of world security to the people who have the ability to take care of it. We promise not to invade either one of your countries. After all, we have enough baseball players and female shot putters for now, and very soon now we won’t even be a buyer for your oil. Oh, and look out for that big rock.

Ron Scarbro September 29, 2008

POLITICAL CHOICES

Like most of you, I have been receiving a lot of forwards lately on matters political. Within my e-mail group are many and varied opinions. There are some die hard conservatives and some equally passionate liberals. I still count them all among my friends regardless of how misguided some are. I started trying to verify most of the forwards through snopes.com but after a while I grew weary of the effort. Now I just read them for the information and in some cases the humor.

This blog posting will serve to clearly identify my position on the coming Presidential election.

First of all, I believe all four of the candidates are people of high integrity. They are probably people that we all would enjoy having a drink with or going to a football game with. I don’t think you can rise to the position they have reached without being good people.

Secondly, none of the four would be my first choice for the office they are seeking. I believe the office of President is an awesome responsibility and very few could do the job as I would like it done. Today it would be very difficult for me to name an individual who would be my first choice.

This then is my dilemma and this is my answer. I believe Barak Obama is a socialist. I believe his vision of America is alien to mine. As a socialist he believes in re-distribution of wealth. He would take from those who have and give to those who don’t. I do not think he truly understands that the only people in this country who produce wealth and jobs are the people at the upper end of the financial scale. As a liberal, he is less willing to make the hard decisions regarding the defense of this country. He would be far more likely to reduce our military might than to add to it and make us even stronger. He would surround himself with liberal sympathizers whose interests are not the interests of America. These are people who would change America to more resemble Europe and we all know what a mess Europe has become. After all, our ancestors have already escaped there once. He is apparently not convinced that we need to get our energy house in order. He seems to be more concerned with far out environmentalists than with people traveling to their jobs or heating their homes this winter. He no doubt buys into the global warming nonsense. Finally he doesn’t believe that personal responsibility is a trait of America. Let the government take care of you. After all they know what is best. To all this I say nonsense. This is not the America I know and wish to pass on to my grandchildren.

On the other hand we have McCain/Palin. Is Palin ready to be President? About as much as Obama is ready to be President. McCain is a veteran and as such knows the true meaning of war and commitment. Obama may have read about war in a book but that is as close as he has come to this reality. In an emergency, who would you rather have at the helm of the Ship of State, a proven veteran or a neophyte community organizer? That seems pretty clear to me. Someday, when he is much older and has gained the experience of those years, Obama may well become a serious contender for the Presidency but not until he has grown a few more years.

So that is my take on this election. We have a choice. We can choose a seasoned veteran of the military and of life, or we can choose a kid with virtually no experience at anything. What I don’t understand is how is this a choice? Tip O’Neill once said “Politics ain’t beanbag”. That is certainly the case now. This election ain’t beanbag. It is very serious. Choose wisely. The country you save may be your own.

Ron Scarbro September 29, 2008

HURRICANE GUSTAV

As I am writing this, I am watching the breathless coverage of Hurricane Gustav. One would think in viewing this that this was the first hurricane ever to hit the coast of Louisiana. Some of the networks, the cable channels, and the weather channel have wall to wall coverage of this storm. If I am not mistaken, storms have hit our gulf coast several times a year for all eternity. Some strong and some just so-so. So what is so special with this storm? I have a few thoughts on this subject.

This is the PC coverage requirement. This is the make up for Katrina. This is the media doing their mea culpa for previous sins. The sin of omission. When Katrina hit, several people died. Hundreds of homes were lost to flooding. The left jumped on this as an indictment of President Bush and the rest of America. We let the people of New Orleans down. We didn’t take care of them. We just let them suffer and die. We didn’t physically evacuate them. Finally we haven’t re-built their city.

You can think what you wish, but I deny responsibility. Consider this. If you lived in a city that was in the path of several major hurricanes every year, and you lived below sea level, and you were somewhat protected by some very questionable levees, and you didn’t evacuate when you were given plenty of time to do so, and you didn’t carry flood insurance, and you suddenly lost everything, how much of this loss would be your responsibility? How much of it should be mine?

New Orleans is supposed to be the city where the party never ends. Perhaps it is past time for the party if not to end, at least to be tabled until the adults have time to get their city ready to deal with the nature of their normal weather patterns.

This reminds me of the California problem. Every summer they have brush fires. Every summer hundreds lose their homes. Every winter rains bring mud slides and what homes are left slide down the mountain. It never fails. People, when asked, plan to re-build. Right in the spot where Mother Nature has told them that homes should not be located. Of course their insurance goes through the roof, but so does yours and mine. Ultimately we all pay for the excesses of the few. I am told that some insurance companies are trying to deny coverage for these multiple losers. I wish them luck.

Every Spring, in tornado alley, twisters spring up. Homes and farms are lost. People are killed. It is the nature of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Indiana. Often other states feel the power of these storms. Still people choose to live there and to re-build. How much of their loss should be the loss of the American people? How much should be theirs because of their choices?

Nature, by its nature, isn’t very friendly to humans and other living critters. It is therefore incumbent upon us to take responsibility for our own safety and for the security of our possessions. Why should the people in Bangor, Maine be held liable for the irresponsible people in New Orleans? Why should the people in Fargo, North Dakota be held to account for the hillside dwellings in southern California? Whether through insurance or more probably through taxes we all pay.

I have this message for the political left of this country. The biggest flaw in your philosophy is the absence of personal responsibility. As more and more people grow weary of supporting the so-called wards of the government, this problem will only get worse. Those who pay are rapidly being overtaken by the people who receive. This does not bode well for the continuing general welfare.

To the media, you’ll forgive me if I change the channel or turn the thing off entirely. I have seen enough hurricane coverage to assuage my guilt for generations to come.

Ron Scarbro September 1, 2008

PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS

The democrats have held their convention and the republicans will do so this week. Obama’s choice for veep is Joe Biden and McCain’s choice is Sarah Palin. I have been asked by a number of people my opinion of these choices. With this writing I hope to offer some commentary on that question as well as other matters we face as the election draws near.

The office of Vice President is mostly a ceremonial office with little importance or function up until it becomes the most important office in the free world. That, of course, is if or when the President becomes incapacitated or worse yet dead. The Vice President must be able to step in and be the President.

Let’s examine what it takes to be the President. I am not talking about the constitutional requirements of age or citizenship, I’m talking about their preparedness for the job. As a sidebar, if a draft dodging, womanizing, redneck from Arkansas can be President, anyone can. We survived him and we will survive anyone America chooses. That having been said, we all have our preferences. Sometimes, however, good has to be sacrificed for just good enough. That’s called compromise. We make our choice for elective office from among the choices available to us. Obviously not voting is also a choice. While that may make you feel better, it only serves to force others to make the choice for you. You may or may not be happy with the result.

Barak Obama is a young inexperienced fellow from who knows where. His total resume is that of a “community organizer”, and a one term U. S. Senator. His total time in the Senate however has been spent running for President. So he brings us nothing but good speech making. Joe, me too, Biden is a lifer politician who has always been running for the presidency. The democrats continue to offer very little to America in the way of leadership.

John McCain is a war veteran, some might say hero, who has spent many years in politics. He also has been running for President forever. He has sponsored some questionable legislation but for the most part has been a good soldier. Sarah Palin is a first term Governor from Alaska who was previously the mayor of Wasilla, AK. She is an avid moose hunter, ice fisherman, and a life long member of the NRA. She is a strong advocate for the second amendment. While those qualities do not qualify her for leadership of the free world, they do make her special to me. She also apparently is a very honest person who is a thorn in the side of the political establishment of Alaska with all their iffy practices.

There isn’t much else to report. These will be our choices. How will you vote? What is important to you? With your kind permission, I will offer my thoughts.

First and foremost our President must be ready to protect and defend this country. Sometimes that means bombing and killing. It also could mean using diplomacy, sitting down and having conversation but only if that has a positive end result. You can’t match wits with an unarmed person. I suspect the morons who have decided to be our enemies are not given to too much compromise.

Secondly, our President must select the Supreme Court Judges who are supposed to interpret our Constitution. Since the Constitution is not a living document, it does not need to be re-written every time some idiot doesn’t like what it has to say. Laws are made by our elected representatives, not by the judges.

Finally our President should preside over the country and promote the general welfare. Everything we need for life in this country is guaranteed by the Constitution. Presidents do not spend treasure. That is the province of the Congress. Granted the President can veto bills, but the Congress can also override that veto. Historically Presidents have been given credit for things and been blamed for things that they do not have any power over. Most of our financial messes originate in the hallowed halls of the Congress.

We have some awesome challenges facing the next administration among which are energy, terrorism, wars, and the economy. They are all inter-related. If it wasn’t such a dangerous world, it would be fun for me to watch the democrats deal with it. But it is a very dangerous world so I will choose John McCain and Sarah Palin. I encourage you to do the same.

Ron Scarbro September 1. 2008

WINNERS AND LOSERS

I had previously mentioned that I had been watching the Little League World Series. It has been very enjoyable. As of today it is over for another year and the winner is Hawaii. This essay is not about Hawaii however. It is instead my observations of the entire event.

As you watch these youngsters on the field and at bat it doesn’t take much imagination to see big league ball players. They emulate all of the mannerisms you would see in their adult counter parts. They scratch and spit just like the big guys. Their uniforms betray their young years. Some of the plays I have seen on defense would be the envy of any big league team. I have seen home runs, sacrifice bunts, lay out catches of impossible line drives, and double plays. Sometimes I had to blink and remember that I was watching twelve and thirteen year olds. The pitchers were throwing curve balls as well as fast balls. Many also had change-ups in their arsenal. What’s more, the kids could hit them.

I tried, as I watched, to recall when I was twelve or thirteen. It is hard to imagine that I had this kind of maturity or prowess. I might have still been trying to tie my own shoes.

Little League is for a certainty a marvelous way to bring kids together for a team sport. It teaches team concepts. Everybody has a job and success is dependent on everybody doing their job well. Little League teaches respect for rules, authority, and the opposition. It teaches sportsmanship.

Little League also teaches how to win but more importantly, it teaches how to lose. Remember the old Wide World of Sports slogan “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”? I saw both at these games. As a father and a grandfather I must admit I had a difficult time watching young kids crying their eyes out when their bone-headed play or pitch caused their team to lose. Such is the agony of defeat.

I am sure you are aware that there is within this country a group of people who don’t believe in competitive sports for youngsters. They don’t believe in keeping score or having winners and losers. They think that these kids would suffer irreparable harm to their psyches if they didn’t win every time.

This then is the issue of this essay. Childhood is training for life. Little League is a school for adulthood whether as a ball player or as an engineer. I have this information for the group who would deny these competitive lessons to youngsters, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Sometimes you commit a bone headed error that loses the sale or the account. Life goes on. You may recall as a youngster when you made mistakes during a game and when your screw up cost your team the game. How did you handle that then? You probably survived the event and went on. That lesson may very well have been the spark that caused you to do better the next time.

I mentioned how it affected me watching kids cry at a loss. I wanted to cry with them. Then I remembered that some day those kids will remember not the loss, but the experience. They will remember their teammates. They will remember their coaches. They will remember the pizza they had after the game and how it all washed the tears away.

Life and a baseball game are full of uncertainties. We have no guarantees of success. What we have as Americans is opportunity. Opportunity to succeed and opportunity to fail. The lessons we learn early in life serve us as we continue to grow. The marvelous thing about life in our great free country is that we can define our own success.

Contrary to the line once uttered by Tom Hanks in a movie, there is sometimes crying in baseball.

Ron Scarbro August 25, 2008