It was given to me by Regents president Peinovich when I spoke at the Regents College commencement last decade. At the time, embarrassingly, I was too big to fit it, so it was packed away. Yesterday it re-emerged, and now, happily, it is much too big to fit me . . . so I'd like to pass along to someone who will fit it (probably a person who is size L or XL [male]). Here's a link to a photo. http://tinyurl.com/Regents-Sweatshirt If you pay the postage ($8.09 for parcel post in the US), I'll send it to the first person who asks -- or I can hand it over postage-free in Berkeley (but you might need to pay for the non-fat latte at Peet's).
If no one else has claimed it, it would be my honor to wear it. If I am the one to claim it, let me know how you'd like that immense amount of money transferred!
I'd be interested in hearing how you managed to so drastically alter your size. As for myself, I dropped 45 pounds of fat during a 6 month period in 2008. I haven't gained any of it back. It isn't terribly difficult to maintain my present weight, but it does require some conscious effort. I'm what most would consider a healthy weight now. Not skinny, but not fat.
Rich: Sorry, you're #2. You've got to try harder. (Actually, I may even have a 2nd one somewhere; I seem to recall I got one after talking at the commencement, and another at the ceremony where they made me an honorary something-or-other.) perrymk: Thank you for asking. After trying many things for many years, I found an approach that worked for me. Conrad Lai, MD was an emergency room physician who was really bothered by the number of people who came through the doors either because of a weight-related problem, or one that was exacerbated by the weight. He reasoned that many people (I surely was one of them) do not stick with diets because they are so slow. Lose a few pounds a month and reach your goal in only a year or two or three? Not inspiring. (My wife's hiking buddy, Ronna Kabatznick was, for years, the chief psychologist for WeightWatchers. She confirms that the main reason people drop out of that program is not because it doesn't work, but because it doesn't work fast enough.) Dr. Lai's approach involves taking three small risks, none of which is even remotely as problematic as the weight problem. One is a powerful appetite suppressant. One is a metabolism speeder-upper. And the third is an extremely low calorie diet at the start. And this is combined with weekly checkups, and a weekly sophisticated body scan that shows the percentage of body fat, muscle, and both intra- and extra-cellular water -- for the body as a whole, and for each limb and the torso separately. And his own formulation of a multi-vitamin, with more chromium than one usually gets. So when I lost 15 pounds in the first two weeks, it wasn't "just water loss" but was 4 pounds of water and more than 10 pounds of fat. My goodness, but this was encouraging. Bottom line (so far) 60 pounds in the first five months; then tapering off, and "only" 22 more in the next five months. Roughly 20 more to go, I think. Semifinally, two key words: (1) Exercise. Grudgingly, I agree it is necessary. I do a 45-minute workout for geezers at the YMCA 3 times a week, and folk dance a lot on weekends. (2) Konnyaku. How could I have gone my whole life till now without knowing about this Japanese product, which Dr. Lai introduced me to. Noodles that have literally zero calories. So a big bowl of noodles with a simple tomato sauce might have 30 or 40 calories. I bought it online (miraclenoodle.com), till discovering it at Asian markets, and even (in its tofu-added version, which has a few calories) at Safeway, as shirataki. See: http://tinyurl.com/konnyakunoodles I think Dr. Lai is onto something. From one small office 2 1/2 years ago, he and his colleagues now have 7 in northern California and one in Colorado. More seem inevitable. http://www.jumpstartmedicine.com/about-us/
Ah, I hesitated. I didn't respond immediately, only after I saw no one responding (on the public thread anyway). Sigh..... Congratulations on your weight loss. Sounds exciting. And I agree, it sounds like they're on to something good....
Great job Dr. Bear on the working out and weight loss!!!!!!!!!!! I agree about the noodles. People have been mistakenly taught that carbs are bad. Not true. Fat is bad, period. Abner
Fat in excess is bad, especially saturated fats. However, a certain amount of unsaturated fat in your diet is essential to good health. Those rail thin, anorexic models and Hollywood actresses may appeal to current fashions but they are really unhealthy. Far too many young girls develop eating disorders trying to look excessively thin. The key is eating a well-balanced diet combined with regular exercise and proper rest. Congratulations to Dr. Bear on losing all that weight. Not only is it easier on the heart, it is also much easier on the joints.
There is only one diet that I actually believe in, The Food Pyramid. Thanks to some software, the internet, and several decades of research, they can tailor it to each person's exact needs rather than just the general "eat 2 of this" and "4 of this" like they used to promote.
Excess fat was implied in my statement. Something as simple as limiting fried foods, etc. Also not falling victim to the old "oh, but it is natural fat". I have a neighbor who eats tons of avocados, and he is huge!!!! His heart is not doing very well. So, essentially, eating steamed vegetables, carbs, white meats, etc. in a balanced LOW fat way is optimal. Most do not have a problem not eating enough fat. The anorexic models you mention suffer from just that, anorexia. Abner
Another group of unhealthy people are professional bodybuilders. To get that excessive muscle and excessively low bodyfat they display on stage puts them closer to death than to health.
