Health Expert Phat in My 40's shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/164740/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/164740/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/164740/index http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/139417/replaces-pyramid Sat, 04 Jun 2011 13:33:10 -0400 Phat in My 40's Do you know what you are supposed to eat to be healthy?  The FoodPyramid has now been replaced with MyPlate, an icon which emphasizes the fruit, vegetable, grains, protein and dairy food groups.  The new icon will be used in messages to illustrate healthy eating based on the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans released this January.  Primary messages from the Guidelines include: Balance Calories Enjoy your food, but eat... http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/139417/replaces-pyramid http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/138584/late Thu, 19 May 2011 16:40:19 -0400 Phat in My 40's That’s true, right?  Too late for what though.  Well, actually I can think of plenty of things where it COULD be too late to do something about the current situation, but weight loss is not one of those. If there is still anybody out there reading these posts, you may have noticed that I’ve seemingly  dropped off the face of the website.  The last post I put up was in March.  The topic was whether Medicaid... http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/138584/late http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/135069/medicaid-weight Mon, 28 Mar 2011 02:58:50 -0400 Phat in My 40's Depending upon where you live, the answer will vary.  Just like different insurance plans may have exclusions of coverage for weight loss-related programs and treatment, so do the insurance plans provided for by state Medicaid programs.   As part of the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance, the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services Department of Health Policy research team... http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/135069/medicaid-weight http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/134043/weight-joints Tue, 15 Mar 2011 11:59:25 -0400 Phat in My 40's Has anybody ever said that to you?  Or statement something similar, starting with: if you only lost weight... if you changed your diet... if you exercised more... I haven’t had friends or family say these things to me, but I have had doctors say something similar.  My gynecologist once said that I was killing myself by being so much overweight.  But it was my rheumatologist who specifically suggested that I eat more... http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/134043/weight-joints http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/132286/monster-referee Sun, 20 Feb 2011 11:17:02 -0500 Phat in My 40's Lately my body acts like it is missing an essential mineral or vitamin, or something.  It believes somehow that sugar is vitally important in maintaining optimal health and wellness.  Sugar, yes, that substance which is found in hard candies, cookies, coffee (I must have sugar in my coffee), and a recent donut.  I must have sugar!   The Sugar Monster   I’m trying to figure out when exactly the sugar monster... http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/132286/monster-referee http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/130364/methotrexate Sat, 29 Jan 2011 12:05:26 -0500 Phat in My 40's It’s already the end of January.  Where has the time gone?  I know that some of the time has been spent outside trying to keep up with the weather.  We had an ice storm last week and a big snow storm this past week.  Digging out of both of these has been a lot of physical work.  My body is very sore.   But two years ago or even one year ago, I could not have done what I was able to do this year.  Sure I... http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/130364/methotrexate http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/129121/flu-ms-obesity Sat, 15 Jan 2011 10:50:52 -0500 Phat in My 40's How is the year going?    So far 2011 has been a mixed bag for me. It started with a nice belated Christmas gathering with my mother, boyfriend, and his mother.  Unfortunately, my boyfriend had a nasty cold so we each stayed in for New Year’s Eve.  I didn’t even watch the ball drop.   In the first week of January, music lessons started back up again.  It was good to see the kids again after having... http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/129121/flu-ms-obesity http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/127819/review-continues Fri, 31 Dec 2010 12:02:19 -0500 Phat in My 40's 2010 has been a year of change in many ways. At the very beginning, I wanted to remain anonymous behind a cute screenname - “Phat in my 40s.”  But a friend gave me the boost I needed to let you know who I am, Lisa Emrich, musician and blogger living with multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.   My journey began in January 2010 at... 271.6 lbs I began educating myself on what my specific numbers mean. Body Fat and... http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/127819/review-continues http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/126054/diverticulosis Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:01:57 -0500 Phat in My 40's Recently I learned something new about myself.  Not anything extraordinary or shocking, but it does involve my health.  Following a colonoscopy on Friday morning, a doctor discovered that I have diverticulosis.   What is diverticulosis?   In the lining of the colon or lower portion of the large intestine, small pouches or sacs which bulge outward can develop in weak spots of the colon wall.  Each pouch is called a... http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/126054/diverticulosis http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/125427/thankful-choices Sun, 28 Nov 2010 20:13:06 -0500 Phat in My 40's Did you survive the Thanksgiving holiday?  Eat lots of turkey and starchy dishes?  I did...and I did.  Let’s talk about how we survived a holiday which is often celebrated with a gluttony of food.  And about how we did it without feeling like complete losers with our diets and health goals.   One thing which I did for myself this year was to make sure that I had at least one dish which would be fulfilling,... http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/164740/125427/thankful-choices