Librarians vs. Dietitians: Does This Profession Make Me Look Fat?

Oh, Superboy, don't you know Lana doesn't care what YOU look like? It's only Lana that needs to stay away from the Midwest casseroles.You can have super seconds!

I'd like to say this was the only "fat shaming" comic from that era, but they did use it quite a bit. Then again, they were the prototype of the typical sitcom situation of chubby hubby - hot wife. In fact, they went one better: chubby-hubby - multiple hot wives!

Which is why the most recent episode of FX's Louie, "So Did the Fat Lady" showed some amazing moments of true statements on how fat women are treated even when on date with a non-buff guy. You just need to read that monologue and see the clip here.

I've seen some backlash, but most of the comments on the internet are (surprise!) mostly positive.

We never get over the body image issue. Which brings us back to another chapter of:

Let's Compare Stereotyped Professions!

This month's Today's Dietitian has an article on body image among Registered Dietitians, or, more importantly, how RDs are perceived when they are not "thin." Because when people hear that someone is involved in nutrition, the assumption is that you cannot trust them to be "good" if they're "fat".

I can see how this can be a problem for RDs.  Never mind that thin doesn't mean healthy. But it can become way too time consuming to worry about your public perception when you should be worried if you're doing a good job.

Librarians don't fret about their weight. They do, however, fret about EVERY OTHER ISSUE OF THEIR IMAGE. And what's sad is that it's been going on for decades.

I'm not sure if the constant fear of appearing "cool" is better or easier than the fear of being "fat." In fact, it's pretty easy to slide into "creepily odd" from "attempted cool.".

But even though my Librarian peeps fret more, I think it's probably more of a burden to the Dietitians. 

I can speak from the both sides of being "uncool" and being "fat." Cool is really subjective; you'll always find someone who probably fits or relates on some level and will embrace the uncoolness. And for all their vintage clothes and snarky attitudes, Librarians have found more often that library users actually want to more older, nerdy types because they are perceived as knowing more. And I say this as a heavily tattooed librarian that can easily quote kitschy 60's comics. Most patrons treat me a lot different now that I've aged into suits and button down shirts.

But being fat...even your fellow fatties have issues with that. Body image is harder to escape. Especially as you relate it to perceptions of health. Studies show that our perception of health and weight are pretty skewed and it starts at a fairly young age.

So, I'm not sure who "wins" this round. It's bad enough we both have to deal with a lot of other stereotypes. But self-image is a very rancid icing on this unhealthy cake.

And yet we continue to see this in all media, even comics. 

Maybe this tiny segment on Louie might make a difference. But we can just keep on keepin' on in our two much-maligned, but truly awesome professions.
 


References:

“Dietitians and Their Weight Struggles.” Accessed May 15, 2014. http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/050114p32.shtml?utm_content=buffer42dff&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer.

Fonseca, Helena, and Margarida Gaspar de Matos. “Perception of Overweight and Obesity among Portuguese Adolescents: An Overview of Associated Factors.” The European Journal of Public Health 15, no. 3 (June 1, 2005): 323–28. doi:10.1093/eurpub/cki071.

Knowing and "No"ing

This was making the rounds recently, from Jimmy Kimmel:

Not too surprising. I'm a little more surprised by the comments on some sites that linked to this, somehow blaming the restaurants for not really handling gluten free food properly for those who have celiac disease and THAT'S why these answers are ignorant.

Wait...what?

This video shows that people are denying themselves gluten WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING WHY! Why are you blaming restaurants for something you don't even know why you're avoiding?

I'm sure this was staged in some way, but I certainly hear this enough from folks when they approach me to ask my opinion of trying a diet, as the Streamlined Ska Librarian lifestyle is so successful ... for Streamlined Ska Librarians.

Yes, as I've said many times, what worked for me was portion control and an increase in exercise. For me. And having tried "specialized" diets in the past, I know that any sort of real restriction, especially for those of us with binge issues, does not work in the long run. But many people, like those in the video, want to hear that eating "special" is THE answer.

But I also notice in these all new gluten-free/paleo/artisinal-crafted diets that they forget one main thing: our portions have gotten a LOT bigger in the past several decades.

I'm not even going to reference one scholarly article. There have been so many written lately. Soooo many.

And basically they all show that increased portions increase our energy intake AND that portions have gotten bigger in general.

So it's not that you're eating no gluten. You're still increasing the amount of other food you are eating. And a lot of these "faux foods" actually have more sugar, so...

Let's take a look back at some vintage cookery. We often get unneeded/unwanted donations in the Library or we are looking to de-accession older, damaged copies. So when old cookbooks come in, they often are sent to me to covet, pick through and invoke Head Librarian privilege.

"Mine! Stay away! Hissss!"

And while there are some truly questionable recipes in some of them, I do love perusing them. Look at this lovely setting from the Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook section on salads:

I'm not sure what kind of salad they're making, but it certainly got Grandpa and Grandma all excited! Get a room, you two!

Now some of these salads, many of which include canned fruit, gelatin and/or mayonnaise, would not normally make it to my table, nor might they induce  friskiness as I approach AARP levels. But I can't help but notice that most of these salads say they "serve 6" even though they include a much smaller amount of ingredients than similar salads found on culinary websites today. So you can dress up your salad with Princess Mayonnaise (1/2 cup mayo, 1 tbsp maraschino syrup, 4 chopped maraschino cherries and 1/4 cup cream, which equals about 2.5 TEASPOONS per person) and not deny yourself a serving of Baked Prune Whip for dessert (I'll only share that recipe if asked).

One of the other books I took home was the Larousse Gastronomique, which is more than just recipes. It's an encyclopedia of historic food in France. It's filled with descriptions of ancient herbs, spices and cooking methods, as well as citations of various foods in French literature. (The Balzac marzipan story is fascinating.)

It also references foods, like otter, which "have a horrible taste." I like that sense of completion.

By including all sorts of foods, even those not considered edible, the book shows that you can extend your food choices to everything. It's the exact opposite of what we see today. The readers of this cookbook avoided foods in  that were considered poisonous or bad tasting. Otherwise, it was fair game to experiment. 

Nowadays should we look at the dozens of pages of garnish recipes and avoid them because they might contain gluten? Also, very few of the recipes give the amount of people they were meant to serve as it's assumed you wouldn't eat an entire plate of Double D'Agneau on your own. 

So if you really want to have a Streamlined Ska Librarian body ... tough, it's mine. But don't deny yourself soemthing unless you KNOW why you're doing it.

OK, I'm going to go try some Otter a la Princess.



References:

Crocker, Betty. Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book. New York; London, 1950.

Montagné, Prosper, Charlotte Turgeon, and Nina Froud. Larousse Gastronomique: The Encyclopedia of Food, Wine & Cookery. New York: Crown Publishers, 1961.

Certified with issues

So, this happened ...

It's always nice to have a sense of completion. 

I admit that I tend to be a combination of the "needs to know everything" and "ooh, bright shiny object" sort of researcher. (I think those are prevalent in most good librarians, streamlined ska-loving or no). I tend to delve into new subjects and often find myself running off to the next one soon after. Because I like to know WHY and HOW.

But even though I've been hunkering down into nutrition and weight loss research for a few years, I have not tired of it yet. I think that's because of a few reasons. One is that there's always new material and research being published, both scholarly and "media-oriented." The other is that I'm living it. 

This weight loss/maintenance/lifestyle/whathaveyou cannot leave my head. Especially now that maintenance needs a tweak or two. Part of that is being vigilant, resourceful, positive, etc.

The other, more difficult part, is just accepting yourself in the mirror. 

I will admit, I think I look hot. I think (and people agree) that I look much better now at age (as of this coming Sunday) 49, than I did at 39 or even 29. But that doesn't stop me from having moments of body image issues. That moment of "oh crap, what the hell do I look like here?" even though in the next moment, I can think "nice guns!" or "check out the dude!"  But now that there's been some tight pants issues, the "oh crap" stuff gets magnified. It's ridiculous, I KNOW it's ridiculous, but that's how mindsets about weight and body image work. 

There have been quite a few studies on body image, but very, very few of them include men. Although there was a recent one with college men showing that they react to "fat talk" the same way women do...it can make you have body issues. Is it all the same for us? Probably not.

So, it's interesting to see this recent post and video about one man's struggle with body issues. It hit a few chords for me. And it does drive home that it's really only recently that men have begun to talk about this at any level near where women do. 

But the big thing he mentions is that you can lose weight, but unless you're in the right mindset, it's not going to remain off. It's merely a diet that has a start and end and invariably it's not the band-aid you think it is. But men tend not to talk about those issues that make us reach for the extra cupcake.

And I can see this in me. This recent weight loss (now over 2 years on) is beginning to crack and that is what I'm addressing now. It's interesting to run through the regimen in my head and see where it needs .. sharpening, as it were. To see what issues need to be addressed now.

I know I will not let myself get back to total Retro Ska Librarian weight and body issue laden self. But I can see I need a little more "jumper cable" work on myself and to check myself when I think I see what I do when I run past a large window or when I get dressed for work in the morning. 

Sadly, there's no certificate for that. 


References:

Engeln, Renee, Michael R. Sladek, and Heather Waldron. “Body Talk among College Men: Content, Correlates, and Effects.” Body Image 10, no. 3 (June 2013): 300–308. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2013.02.001.

Pagoto, Sherry L., Kristin L. Schneider, Jessica L. Oleski, Juliana M. Luciani, Jamie S. Bodenlos, and Matt C. Whited. “Male Inclusion in Randomized Controlled Trials of Lifestyle Weight Loss Interventions.” Obesity 20, no. 6 (June 1, 2012): 1234–39. doi:10.1038/oby.2011.140.

“Yes, Men Struggle With Body Image Issues, Too: Here’s My Story.” Huffington Post, April 29, 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bustle/positive-body-image-_b_5193674.html.

Trudging back in...lip up!

I'm back! Did you miss me?

Almost a month without a post! I'm making for a bad blogging statistic. Then again, I'm not doing this professionally or receiving kickbacks/free schwag, so there have been other pressing matters. To be fair, I've even missed a lot of the Rangers games on their way to the playoffs, so you KNOW I've been busy!

I believe all the other pressing issues that made the blog so very post-secondary are now squared away...at least on my part. If and when there is news to reveal, I will do so when it happens.

Then again, as you know, I am not one for very much personal detail on my site, except in relation to my Streamlined activities. So, there may not be much change here, except that I'll now (hopefully) be back to regular posting and perhaps a return to the Foodie Pen Pals pool. I didn't give up my regular perusals of scholarly journals and the accursed Well section of the NY Times, so I've amassed quite a few "for a future blog post" citations. But as I'm going through these citations, I'm noticing one thing.

Nothing new is really being said.

We've kind of hit this data/news plateau in that yes, our portions and sugar intake have increased and we all work longer hours than we used to and we exercise less and now we're all facing this great obesity dilemma. And while this is going on, we're still bombarded with health and nutrition "experts" (and we probably ignore the poor underpaid RDs and Librarians who have FACTS) in order that we may find the quick fix.

And I could, I suppose, post the basic same post for the next several decades and I certainly would have enough resources to do it. But others are doing it better and on a more regular basis.

So right now it's back to the increasing scale.

Here's a recent photo of me at work:

And here's one from two years ago at a similar event:

In the older one, I'm drowning in an old suit. It's way too big for me. In many ways, that was cool. I basically now had dressy clown clothes because I lost so much weight. 

In the newer one, I'm bursting out of my outfit and not all in a good way. Extensive weight training had begun and my body shape was something I never imagined having. Yes, my back, chest and shoulders are all much bigger. That jacket can barely fit around me on the top. I no longer fit in a medium t-shirt and that's not from fat gain, but rather from larger lats and shoulders. I don't mind THAT sort of size increase.

But you can also make out that the "donut" is making a comeback. Not that it went away completely, but it definitely got a few extra fillings injected. And that's an issue.

I am doing less exercise, and more binging. Maybe from stress, maybe from timing. Most likely just not being present while I'm eating. It does take will power and mindfulness. (And somewhere, my teenage punk self is derisively sneering at my using such a word about life. But, hey, we all grow up, kid!) 

But is it really stress doing this? A rather extensive literature review from a few years back shows that the answer is a definite "maybe". But they still think it does play a role:

"Despite the limitations discussed, we can make some broad conclusions that support the idea that stress can influence food intake. The studies examined revealed that stress can lead to decreased and increased eating, which may be related to stressor severity, such that in animals a severe stress results in a lower intake and in humans the response is variable. There is some evidence to suggest that elevated stress levels are associated with a greater desire for hedonic, highly palatable foods that are energy dense. This may contribute to excess energy intakes and weight gain, which is supported by longitudinal studies that suggest there is an association between chronic life stress and future weight gain."

"Chronic life stress." I wouldn't say my life is chronically stressful situation. In fact, I think the stress makes me control more things around me, such as exercise. 

One of the studies mentioned in the previous one was this paper regarding twins in Finland and weight gain. They also took into account personality traits, as well as stress factors. One of the conclusions (although again, they say this was a fairly modest study) was that "low levels of extroversion in young men [was a] stable personality character related to subsequent weight gain."

One thing I have never measured low on was extroversion. (As one of my old friends once said, "Dan, you're not subtle as a brick, you're subtle WITH a brick!" That was about my dating habits, but you get the idea...) So this would mean I should always have been a skinny fella...at least if I grew up in Finland with a twin. 

The answer once again falls to ourselves. I found what works for me, and, unfortunately, I need to find a way to maintain that while still having a life and the stress contained therein.

But there is one difference now. And I find it fascinating. I now feel deprived if I DON'T exercise and I find that I lose little ground muscle-wise if I miss the gym for a week. In the past, I would find myself not being able to lift the amount I had been if I hadn't been doing it for a while. Or getting winded easily. But now I notice I can still lift, pull, span, fly, squat, etc. at continued higher weights. Even my abs are stronger under the donut (the six pack under the pony keg). And again, looking at myself in the mirror...yes, there's a donut, but I also can't help but see a more solid, muscly body, as well. 

So while there are moments that I am terrified I will fall back to complete Retro Ska Librarian, I see that I made a big effort to get to Streamlined and it doesn't fall away immediately.

But I have to keep at it, and that includes blogging about it. 

You're stuck with me and my muscly fingers.   

I will add one more thought to this long post. Another recent NY Times op-ed piece was by someone who was a fat child in the midst of a non-fat family and his journey (via fat camp AND self-awareness) to his own acceptance. It struck a lot of familiar bells. But one thing he focuses is on is what he would say to his son if his son was fat. And it was getting him interested in sports and moving and activity, but with support. 

Now as I've posted so many times before, being that "bad at sports" fat kid myself, it wasn't just me at an age to be aware enough that I was fat to want to do something. It's having the upbringing to know enough about moving and sports and activity to enable that innate feeling in your kids. If I had children back in the day, I imagine they'd be sedentary pop culture bookworms like me. If I had them now, I think I'd make more of a conscious effort to explore movement with them, whether or not they felt fat, thin or didn't care. ("Hey kids, let's play Legion of Super Heroes Freeze Tag!" And it has to be alphabetical or you run a lap!")

Or, I'd probably just make them sing and dance along to this:

I'm back, kids!!


References:

Korkeila, M, J Kaprio, A Rissanen, M Koskenvuo, and T I A Sörensen. “Predictors of Major Weight Gain in Adult Finns: Stress, Life Satisfaction and Personality Traits.” International Journal of Obesity & Related Metabolic Disorders 22, no. 10 (October 1998): 949.

Max, Joshua. “What I’d Say to My Fat Son.” The New York Times, March 22, 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/opinion/sunday/what-id-say-to-my-fat-son.html.

Torres, Susan J., and Caryl A. Nowson. “Relationship between Stress, Eating Behavior, and Obesity.” Nutrition 23, no. 11–12 (November 2007): 887–94. doi:10.1016/j.nut.2007.08.008.

"The plural of anecdote is not data"

Tonight's dinner: lamb tandoori meatballs, brown rice, brussel sprouts with lemon & garlic and a dollop of tomato sauce a la Marcella Hazan

Hey, I'm still here! Things might be perking up here again, now that my MOOC is finally ending (provided I don't tank the final test). It was an EdX course from McGill University on Food Chemistry, as done by their Office of Science and Society.

I took this course for a few reasons. First and foremost, I'm a firm believer in continuing education. It's important to be a lifelong learner, be it a new language or creative technique, or taking on an entirely new topic. Not surprising coming from a librarian, I suppose. After all, it was one of Mevil Dewey's big passions, as well.

And, seeing as I have been so immersed with food and health and weight, I thought this course would be interesting. I also thought it would be a little less daunting and time consuming than the MIT Solid State Chemistry course I MOOC'd last year. (Averaging 3 hours a night on differential equations and molecular modeling was invigorating, but a little too much of a time suck).

So, this course seemed like a just right slice of healthy dessert. I think it also helped that the professors giving the course were of the same mind set and belief as mine in regards to food and weight maintenance: you should look to the research, but it's not that all the answers have yet been found.

I really enjoyed how they would delve into results of various intervention studies, case control groups and meta-analyses to show how results can be skewed or varied depending on who is marketing the results.

And they had a healthy skepticism for most of the media-based nutrition gurus out there. The title of this blog post is a quote from one of the professors in regards to some of the "natural miracle weight loss miracles" we see.

And it was nice to see that studies they referenced were the sorts of things that I was uncovering in my own searches.

That's not to say that I didn't learn a lot. I actually learned quite a few things about epidemiology, agriculture and fertilizer, molecular reactions and the like. Learning about things you already know is sort of like re-reading a good book. Adding new things into the mix is like finding out there's more volumes in to the series.


What do I have to show for this course, aside from a nice certificate if I don't tank next week's final? 

A renewed respect for my own journey and my continued search for research. I admit that it wasn't just the stress, weather and workload that was affecting my maintenance. It's the amount of crap you have to mine though when you connect into the health movement. But this MOOC helped me see that you CAN find the actual facts and data underneath the anecdotes. 

The Streamlined part of my persona has always been one of constant work. The Libarian part doesn't really get to rest on this topic either. 

The Ska part never worries.

References:

Dewey, Melvil. "Adult Education" from Journal of Social Science: Containing the Transactions of the American Association, 266-268: 42, American Social Science Association, Leypoldt & Holt, 1904, pp. 152-156.

Johansson, Kari, Martin Neovius, and Erik Hemmingsson. “Effects of Anti-Obesity Drugs, Diet, and Exercise on Weight-Loss Maintenance after a Very-Low-Calorie Diet or Low-Calorie Diet: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 99, no. 1 (January 1, 2014): 14–23. doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.070052.

Pittler, Max H., and Edzard Ernst. “Dietary Supplements for Body-Weight Reduction: A Systematic Review.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 79, no. 4 (April 1, 2004): 529–36.

When bad nuts happen to good people

Time is passing by and I refuse to be another blog death statistic. But other obligations happen. It's one thing to miss most of Purim, but I also missed National Registered Dietitian Day! Apologies to my "grass is greener" fellow service profession! Happy Day to you all, you men and women who make a difference in our health and wellness.

.

The Dietitian (center) with fellow staff members from the Utah State Insane Asylum, 1914 from the Utah Valley University Archives via the Digital Public Library of America.

Hey look, separated at birth!

"Jacob Edwards Librarian with cat in Southbridge Massachusetts" from the Jacob Edwards Library via DPLA

Maybe during the upcoming National Library Week, we'll invite some RDs over for petticoat bleaching and cat tricks.

I have still been reading and saving research for suitable blog topics, even when more "light" news makes its way into my feeds. Hey, look, my home borough is now considered the most obese in NYC! (At least according to it's borough president). I will say that Staten Island is probably the least walkable part of NYC, in relations to commuting and day-to-day errands. That's the sacrifice you make for having trees and wetlands (and the former city landfill).

But let's look at the diet again. I was always a big nut fan, so incorporating more of those into my healthier food intake was not so big of a stretch. However, I did try to make an effort to stick to the plainest nut selections I could find. Unsalted or lightly salted and no added spicy-sweet-coated-extra stuff. Part of this was to acclimate my taste to more "natural" flavors. And sure enough, it sort of worked. I only buy peanut butter that has one ingredient: peanuts. And all other "normal" peanut butter now tastes like frosting to me. (Which can be dangerous, because we all know about my strange frosting binge addiction).

But I also try to shy away from the other flavored nut mixes, because, be they salty or sweet, they tend to make me crave more. And more. And even more. But plain nuts, while tasty, don't send me into a binge tailspin. Sometimes there might be bored mindless eating, but that's easier to control.

So I was interested in this recent study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition on the effects on flavorings in regards to peanut consumption. The results showed that there wasn't much health difference between plain unsalted peanut ingestion compared to salted, spicy or honey-roasted flavors. In fact, the showed what one might imagine when you eat some peanuts on a daily basis: increase of "good cholesterol", decent maintenance of weight and not even a marked increase in glucose levels with the honey-roasted. The conclusion? Hey, peanuts aren't so bad no matter what. 

Of course the big difference here between the casual peanut muncher and the control groups is that the latter were given a pre-packaged 42g serving of nuts which came to about 240-255 calories, depending on type of peanut. So they are eating what most peanut companies show as the recommended serving size of peanuts (which is about 1 oz.). However, if we look at the Planters website, their dry roasted nuts come in 6 oz. bags, 12 oz. cans and 16 oz. jars.

That bag is almost 1,000 calories. The jar is over 2,500 calories. I know if a bag of salted or honey roasted peanuts comes my way, I'm going to eat that entire "wee" 6 oz. bag. And if there's a jar in the house, well... there's a lot of trips back to it. 

Because even their regularly salted peanuts have extra sugar and spices on them. And that's what I start craving.The tailspin begins!

So, this study, while possibly helping the peanut industry show that it doesn't hurt to add on the stuff to the nuts, doesn't hold water in real life situations. 

Yes, nuts are healthy and a better daily snack than say, cupcakes or deep fried mac 'n' cheese balls. But too much of anything is too much. And most of us don't control our snacking urges so well. So, if there's a jar of peanuts, I'd rather it was unsalted and easier to leave behind. 

So in belated honor of that Dietitian in the Insane Asylum (which sounds like a great name for band), I raise my proportionally correct portion of completely additive-free nuts to you. Hold the honey.




References:

Jones, J. B., Provost, M., Keaver, L., Breen, C., Ludy, M.-J., & Mattes, R. D. (2014). A randomized trial on the effects of flavorings on the health benefits of daily peanut consumption. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 99(3), 490–496. doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.069401
 

The Unhealthiest Borough: 75% of Staten Islanders Overweight, BP Says - St. George - DNAinfo.com New York. (n.d.). DNAinfo New York. Retrieved March 18, 2014, from http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140317/st-george/unhealthiest-borough-75-of-staten-islanders-overweight-bp-says

Foodie Pen Pals Update and where is the Librarian stuff?

It's been a bit of a busy time. Work obligations, Rangers games, doing a Food Chemistry MOOC via McGill University, (not as time consuming as the Solid State Chemistry MOOC from MIT I did last year, but still a commitment) and some presentation prep, so I've been a bit lax on the blog front. I have been active on Twitter regarding librarianship, and I'm sure a lot of recent visitors might be a little confused.

The blog is about me, my body, food and research about those topics. And more posts are coming.

But first, more importantly.....my Foodie Pen Pal package finally arrived! Three weeks in the limbo of the US Postal Service, then sitting in my local PO Station while the notice card once again "accidentally" didn't get left.

But it arrived at last! And it was AWESOME!

And that's just the outside!

Natalia put a lot of work into the outside and the inside of the package:

And we haven't even got to the good stuff!

So what was in these hand crafted label packs?

Natalia sent me local (from California) items but also treated me to some of her favorite Puerto Rican favorites, including a package of coffee from her own private stash! Thanks, Natalia's mom!

There was also garlic salsa and hot sauce from Hot Licks, a few Rise Bars, a Chuao Maple Bacon Bar, and....a salted dulce de leche white chocolate bar from Eclipse Chocolates. All delicious. The hot sauce made it into dinner. The dulce de leche didn't stay closed much longer. And that coffee will be downed first thing at sunrise!

So, Thank you, Natalia for sending stuff that lasted all this time, but also answered my many desires.

A happy end to a busy time.

Next research-laden weight post soon...