Posted on 8/27/2003, 10:37:12 AM by Cincinatus' Wife
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- With sweat forming on his brow during a brisk 5 a.m. walk, Gov. Mike Huckabee said he has found the willpower to step out of the buffet line and toward a healthier lifestyle.
"I've prayed many times, `Lord, install in me that kind of metabolism where I just can enjoy every single thing that's on the buffet,' " he said.
Huckabee said in the middle of his now-regular early-morning walk that he has dropped 50 pounds since starting a medically supervised diet on June 10.
He said his attitude changed after he was diagnosed with adult-onset diabetes last year.
On most mornings, Huckabee sets his coffeepot to brew, grabs a mug and heads out with his black Labrador Jet to walk four laps on an asphalt path inside the Governor's Mansion grounds. He covers just under 2 miles in 25 minutes.
"My normal routine is to do a walk," he said, wearing yellow mesh shorts, a King Biscuit Blues Festival T-shirt and an Office of the Governor baseball cap. "Then I'll go inside and by then the paper comes. I ride a (stationary) bike and read the paper."
Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee takes an early morning walk with his dog Jet on the grounds of the Governor's Mansion in Little Rock Thursday, Aug. 21, 2003. Huckabee has lost 50 pounds since starting a medically-supervised diet June 10. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)
Besides his diabetes, odd symptoms prompted an arteriogram in March. The heart tests showed no disease, but "it really shook me up," Huckabee said.
"I just had every symptom you can have. It scared the living daylights out of me."
And when his friend, the overweight former Gov. Frank White, died of a heart attack at age 69 in May, Huckabee knew he had to take action.
"I had seen him just the week before he died, and I could see how he struggled to breathe, but I never imagined that he was going to die," Huckabee said. "I knew I was a sitting duck and it wasn't a matter of `if,' but `when' and `how bad.' "
Because Huckabee has dropped 50 pounds -- he won't say how much he now weighs -- he can control his diabetes with diet. He follows the Weight Control Program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, after previously trying the Atkins Diet and low-fat diets.
While many believed that Huckabee gained weight on the campaign trail, the governor says he grew because of the harried schedule of the legislative session.
He said he doesn't eat at campaign events or other receptions because he's busy shaking hands, posing for photos or talking.
"Here was the problem. I got home at 10 at night. I'm starving to death, haven't eaten since noon, so I go in and whatever's sitting around in the refrigerator, I eat that," he said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta recently ranked Arkansas third nationally in the percentage of residents considered obese.
AN EFFECTIVE PROGRAM FOR WEIGHT CONTROL. The UAMS Weight Control Program is a multifaceted, individualized approach to the correction and control of chronic adult obesity. The program is tailored to each patient's medical needs and consists of several dietary phases with the support of behavior modification, individual counseling, and prescribed exercise.
There are three distinct phases of the program:
I. Weight Loss
II. Refeeding, Weight Stabilization, and Maintenance
III. Long-term Follow-up
Each phase has its own dietary plan and each is supplemented by a specific behavior modification and/or nutrition syllabus. Patients must participate in all aspects of the program, because we feel that a "healthy weight" can only be maintained by adopting a life-style with improved eating and exercise habits.
WHAT KIND OF DIET IS THIS?
The UAMS Weight Control Program begins with a nutritionally-balanced low fat diet, which may incorporate dietary supplements, and progresses through stages of refeeding with lean basic foods.
In the initial phases of the program, we recommend that you eat only small amounts of regular foods. Instead, you "eat" 800-1000 calories per day, in the form of a nutritionally balanced food supplement containing carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. This pre-measured, pleasant tasting powder, mixed with water or other low-calorie beverage, provides the nutrients necessary to minimize hunger and maintain healthy tissues throughout your body. In this phase, you also drink 8-10 glasses of water daily to maintain your proper health and hydration. You will report to the program weekly, where you will be carefully monitored, meet with one of our physicians, and attend a class in Behavior Modification or Nutrition, taught by a trained professional.
When you and your program physician agree that you are close to your goal weight and can resume regular foods, usually at about 5% above your goal weight, you will be gradually re-introduced to food. Your physician, along with a dietitian, will assist you in there-introduction of various foods and combinations to suit your individual needs. Strict adherence to the prescribed menu and behavior modification techniques will permit you to complete the program in the healthiest fashion.
In the UAMS Weight Control Program, we believe that changes in lifestyle, leading to permanent weight loss, are of utmost importance. We want this to be the last "weight loss program" you ever attend. For this reason, we are careful about the use of "diet drugs", which may lead to weight loss that is only temporary, and which may have dangerous side effects. However, as new and improved diet drugs become available, we will be able to prescribe them to selected patients.
___________________________________________________________
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PETA people) Doctors' group urges Atkins diet ban
This is from around 1998 when he'd lost weight from fen-phen (he gained it all back when they pulled it off the market). If he can get back to his 1998 weight, he'll be a force in 2008-- having been a governor for 10 years and having serious national connections with all the governors he's worked with and with people like Bush and Lamar Alexander who are into education policy and his association with the Southern Baptist denomination. He's also a terrific speaker-- coming from his past as a preacher. He gave the best speech at Arkansas' 1991 Boys State (Clinton, BTW, gave the same damn speech one week later at Arkansas Governor's School he'd given at Boys State).
Atkins for sane weight loss, Atkins for life.
I know people also who did the same thing.
Too bad Atkins isn't PC. The sugar, grain, prepacked food concerns, etc. must be lobbying like hell up on Capital Hill.
May he should have prayed for some self control to stay away from the buffet??
Carolyn
I did the same thing, beginning on May 1, 2003.
I have lost 20 lbs, about 5-7lbs to go, and I feel great, clothes fit, and I am flexible again.
You will see the same success.
Popular Antidepressant Effective in Children, Researchers Say*** Zoloft, a commonly prescribed antidepressant, is effective for treating moderate to severe depression in children and adolescents, researchers are reporting today.
The research, the largest published study of children to test any of the antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or S.S.R.I.'s, found that 69 percent of the subjects who took the drug improved significantly, compared with 59 percent of those who took a dummy pill, a difference that some experts termed modest.
The researchers, whose report appears in The Journal of the American Medical Association, concluded that Zoloft "is an effective and well-tolerated short-term treatment" for depressed children and adolescents.*** (push those pills)
Personally, I decided to take the low fat approach. I have nothing against Adkins as many, many, of my friends have been successfull with it. If there is anything that gives me pause about Adkins is that the gains almost come too fast. Virtuallly everyone I know who has "gone on a diet" and lost a whole bunch of weight in a very short amount of time has put it all back on within two years. I prefer to go the slow steady route, trying to lose two pounds a week. Exercise and a low fat diet does that for me. It worked before and it's working quite well again.
Personally, I hate the whole concept of "going on a diet". The implication is that its a temporary thing. It is a self-defeating mental construct. One should decide to "change" their diet. Make a lifestyle change that you are prepared to live with for the rest of your years. I also believe that if you want to lose weight and change your basic body shape you must add exercise to a change in diet. Trying to do it by diet or exercise alone is a very difficult road to hoe but the two combined have some synergistic effect that works wonders. Another good thing about the low fat approach is that there are no complicated formulas or food counts you have follow - I just practice one basic rule. Don't eat it (leaving aside the issue of "no-fat" brands) if it's creamy, crunchy, dairy or fried. Certainly there are exceptions to this, celery and pretzels are Ok despite being "crunchy" and skim milk and "no fat" cottage cheese are not only acceptable but essential for me to obtain the high levels of protien I need for weight training. For the most part, however, stick with my creamy, crunchy, dairy, fried, thing, exercise every day, and you wil love the results.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.